The Intrinsic and Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ
Message Four
The Intrinsic Fellowship of the Churches
for Their Organic Relationship
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
Rev. 22:1 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.
Word of Appetizer
What is the intrinsic fellowship of the churches?
The fellowship is the flow of the eternal life within, through, and among all the members of the organic Body of Christ; it is illustrated by the flow of the water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem.
The intrinsic fellowship of the churches is the flow of the divine life among and through all the members of the organic Body of Christ. The fellowship of the Body of Christ, which is the fellowship among the churches, is the fellowship of the apostles; to have fellowship with the Triune God in the apostles’ fellowship is to put aside our private interests and join with the apostles and the Triune God for the carrying out of God’s purpose.
Spiritual Burden
The divine fellowship is the reality of living in the Body of Christ in the oneness of the Spirit; the divine fellowship blends us; that is, it adjusts, harmonizes, tempers, and mingles us together into one Body.
We need to imitate the apostle to bring the local churches into the fellowship of the Body of Christ and follow the apostle’s footsteps to bring all the saints into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
We need to see and enter into the intrinsic fellowship of the churches; the fellowship of the Body of Christ, which is the fellowship among the churches, is the fellowship of the apostles.
We need to see and enter into the organic relationship of the churches; a local church is a part of the unique Body of Christ, and the fellowship of the Body is universally one.
The divine fellowship is the reality of living in the Body of Christ in the oneness of the Spirit; we must have the reality of the fellowship and blending of the Body of Christ; the purpose of the blending is to usher us all into the reality of the Body of Christ.
The Experience of Life
The divine fellowship blends us; that is, it adjusts, harmonizes, tempers, and mingles us together into one Body; Our horizontal fellowship with the saints brings us into vertical fellowship with the Lord; then our vertical fellowship with the Lord brings us into horizontal fellowship with the saints.
In this divine fellowship God is interwoven with us; this interweaving is the mingling of God and man to bring the divine constituent into our spiritual being for our growth and transformation in life.
Practice and Application
We need to enter into the vertical aspect of the divine fellowship by the divine Spirit, the Holy Spirit; this aspect of fellowship refers to our fellowship with the Triune God in our loving Him; our fellowship with one another by the exercise of our spirit in our loving one another.
By being restricted in the divine fellowship, the Body of Christ is kept in oneness; we should not do anything without fellowshipping with the other saints who are coordinating with us; fellowship requires us to stop when we are about to do something.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1: Fellowship is not “socializing” (1 John 1:3)
(Please illustrate that fellowship is joint participation, common participation.)
T2: To see and enter into the intrinsic fellowship of the churches: (1 John 1:3, 7)
(Please illustrate that the circulation of blood in the human body is a picture of inner fellowship in the body of Christ.)
Day 2
T1: Fellowship is the issue of the eternal life (2 Cor. 13:14)
(Please illustrate that the fellowship is carried on by the Spirit in our regenerated spirit. Hence, it is called “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit”.)
T2: The intrinsic fellowship of the churches is the unique fellowship of the apostles (Acts 2:42)
(Please illustrate that the fellowship of the Body of Christ, which is the fellowship among the churches, is the fellowship of the apostles.)
Day 3
T1: The divine fellowship is an interwoven fellowship—the horizontal fellowship is interwoven with the vertical fellowship (1 John 1:2-3)
(Please illustrate that the divine fellowship has the horizontal aspect with the vertical aspect.)
T2: Entering into the experience of the divine fellowship in its two aspects by the two spirits (2 Cor. 13:14; 2 Tim. 4:22)
(Please illustrate with experiences that our Christian life is a life of the fellowship of the divine life.)
Day 4
T1: The organic relationship of all the local churches is based upon the organic fellowship of the divine life (1 Cor. 12:28)
(Please illustrate with experiences that there is no organization, but there is the fellowship of the Body of Christ.)
T2: In the divine fellowship there is no separation (Acts 9:31)
(Please illustrate that to practice autonomy or federation among all the local churches is wrong.)
Day 5
T1: The divine fellowship blends us; harmonizes us (1 Cor. 10:17; 12:24-25)
(Please illustrate with experiences that we all have to learn not to do anything without fellowship.)
T2: By being restricted in the divine fellowship, the Body of Christ is kept in oneness (1 Cor. 12:24-25)
(Please illustrate that the local administration still exists, but in the spiritual element all the churches should be blended together as one.)
Day 6
T1: The Lord blended the seven churches in Asia into one (Rev. 1:4, 11)
(Please illustrate that in the eyes of the Lord the churches are one.)
T2: The apostle Paul blended the two churches in Colossae and Laodicea together as one (Col. 4:16)
(Please illustrate that we need to imitate the apostle to bring the local churches into the fellowship of the Body of Christ.)
