The Ministry of the Word and God’s Dispensing for God’s Economy
Message Three
Ministering Life for the Body
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Rom. 12:4 For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function,
Rom. 12:5 So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
I. First John 5:14-17 indicates that not only do we have and enjoy the eternal life, but we can also minister this life to other members of the Body of Christ—1 John 5:14-17: (Monday)
A. Such an asker, who abides in the Lord, is one with the Lord, and asks in the spirit of being one with the Lord, becomes the means, the channel, through which God’s life-giving Spirit can give life to the one for whom he intercedes—1 Cor. 6:17.
B. The ministry of life is the ministering of the Christ whom we have experienced as life—2 Cor. 1:3-4.
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II. If we are to minister life, we need to know, experience, and gain God as the God of resurrection—Rom. 4:17; 2 Cor. 1:9; John 11:25: (Tuesday)
A. God works through the cross to terminate us, bringing us to an end so that we will no longer trust in ourselves but in the God of resurrection—2 Cor. 1:9.
B. The more we die with Christ in this way, the more the power of His resurrection is manifested in us, and the more we can minister life to the Body of Christ—John 11:25.
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III. We need to know the Body in life—1 John 5:11-12; Col. 3:4; 2:19; Rom. 8:2, 6, 10-11; 12:4-5: (Wednesday)
A. The Body of Christ is formed by Christ as life within us; this life is mingled with us to become the Body of Christ; knowing the Body in life is the result of our experience of life and spiritual growth—1 John 5:11-12.
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B. Knowing the Body is a dealing with individualism; all who do not know the Body are individualistic persons—1 Cor. 12:14-22. (Thursday)
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IV. We need to know the Body in practicality—1 Cor. 12:20, 27; 15:58: (Friday)
A. The local church is the expression of the Body of Christ in a certain locality; in the Lord’s recovery there is only one work, which is the work of the Body—1 Cor. 1:2; 12:27; 15:58; Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:16.
B. In the Lord’s recovery there is only one work, which is the work of the Body; what we are doing today is not our individual work but the work of God’s economy, which is the building up of the Body of Christ—1 Cor. 15:58; 16:10; Col. 2:19.
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V. According to the teaching of the Bible and our spiritual experience, there is definitely such a thing as the consciousness of the Body of Christ—1 Cor. 12:26-27; 2 Cor. 11:28-29: (Saturday)
A. The consciousness of the Body of Christ comes from the enjoyment of Christ; it is the consciousness of the life of Christ within us—Col. 2:16-19; 3:4, 15; Rom. 8:2, 6, 10-11; 12:4-5.
B. The Body of Christ is universal, the life within us is universal, and the consciousness of the Body is also universal—1 Cor. 12:26-27; 2 Cor. 11:28-29.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask and he will give life to him, to those sinning not unto death—1 John 5:16.
But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, even as He willed. And if all were one member, where would the body be? But now the members are many, but the body one—1 Cor. 12:18-20.
Word of Appetizer
First John 5:16 mentions ministering life to others. How can we minister life to others?
Ministering life is dispensing life; when we have a surplus of life, we can use this surplus to minister to and serve others. This means that such a petitioner, who abides in the Lord, is one with the Lord, and asks in the spirit that is one with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17), becomes the means through which God the life-giving Spirit can give life to the one for whom he intercedes. This is a matter of dispensing life in the fellowship of the divine life. If we want to be those who can dispense life to others, we must abide in the divine life and walk, live, and have our being in the divine life.
Spiritual Burden
The ministry of life is ministering the Christ whom we have experienced as life; the ministry is produced by the work of the cross; it is by the way of the cross that we have the riches of Christ as life to minister to others.
We need to know the Body in life; knowing the Body in life is the result of our life experience and spiritual growth; we can know the mystery of the Body of Christ only when we reach the fourth stage of the spiritual life; if we want to know the Body and live in the Body, we need to deal with the flesh, the self, and the natural life.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
First John 5:14-17 indicates that we not only possess and enjoy the eternal life, but we can also minister this life to other members of the Body of Christ.
If we are to minister life, we need to know, experience, and gain God as the God of resurrection.
We need to know the Body in life. We need to know the Body in practice.
According to the teaching of the Bible and our spiritual experience, there is indeed such a thing as “the consciousness of the Body of Christ.”
The Experience of Life
When we remain continually in the death of Christ, we experience the power of Christ’s resurrection; the more we thus die with Christ, the more the power of His resurrection is manifested in us, and the more we can minister life to the Body of Christ.
Our enjoyment of Christ is actually from Christ as the Head; therefore, when we enjoy Christ, we make Him subjectively and experientially our Head; when we enjoy Christ, this Head gives us a consciousness of the Body; if we have the consciousness of the Body, when others suffer or are blessed, we will identify with them and feel the same affliction or blessing.
Practice and Application
We not only possess and enjoy the eternal life, but we can also minister this life to other members of the Body of Christ; if we are to pray for a brother as described in 1 John 5:16, we need to be one with the Lord; such a petitioner, who abides in the Lord, is one with the Lord, and asks in the spirit that is one with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17), becomes the means and channel through which God the life-giving Spirit can give life to the one for whom he intercedes.
If we are to minister life, we need to know, experience, and gain God as the God of resurrection; God works through the cross to terminate us and bring us to an end so that we will no longer trust in ourselves but in the God of resurrection.
If we want to know the Body and live in the Body, we need to deal with the flesh, the self, and the natural life. What we do today is not our individual work but the work of God’s economy, which is the building up of the Body of Christ.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Eternal life can overcome death (1 John 5:16-17)
(Please illustrate that eternal life swallows up the death within us, and it also swallows up the death within other members.)
T2 Becoming the means and channel for God’s life-giving Spirit to give life to those for whom we intercede (1 John 5:16-17)
(Please illustrate that if we want to pray for a brother as described in 1 John 5:16, we need to be one with the Lord.)
Day 2
T1 The experience of the cross always brings in the enjoyment of the God of resurrection (2 Cor. 4:10-12)
(Please illustrate that the work of the cross terminates our self, causing us to experience God in resurrection.)
T2 Dispensing life into others is always the result of our accepting the killing of the cross (2 Cor. 4:10-12)
(Please illustrate that when the Lord was on earth, He was under the killing every day, and the apostles also experienced this killing work.)
Day 3
T1 Everyone who is to engage in spiritual warfare must first know the body (Eph. 1:23, 1 Cor. 10:17)
(Why is it said that there is nothing for which we need to know the body more urgently than for spiritual warfare?)
T2 Every saved person is a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27)
(Please illustrate that although we are a member of Christ, what each of us has within us is by no means the life of a member, but the life of the body.)
Day 4
T1 Anyone who truly knows the body definitely cannot be independent (1 Cor. 12:18-20)
(What are the first proof and the second proof of knowing the body?)
T2 Whether a person knows the body depends on whether he knows authority (1 Cor. 12:18-20)
(Please illustrate that the third proof of knowing the body is knowing authority.)
Day 5
T1 The universal church is the totality of all the local churches (Eph. 1:22-23)
(Please illustrate that this universal church is the body of Christ.)
T2 The nature and principle of the universal church are the nature and principle of the local churches (Acts 13:1)
(Please illustrate how the church is unique in the universe and also unique in every locality.)
Day 6
T1 Our inward feeling for the body is rich and transcends locality (2 Cor. 11:28-29)
(Please illustrate that although we serve in one locality, the result is universal, not just for that locality.)
T2 Since we are members of the body of Christ, we need to have a feeling for the body (Phil. 1:8)
(Please illustrate how we can learn to live in the body, always being subject under the Head, caring for the feeling of the body, and living together with all the members.)
