2022-5丨General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

III. The intrinsic building up of the organic Body of Christ is by the direct building by all the members—into the Head and out from the Head:

A. In order to be built up, we must hold to truth in love, growing up into the Head, Christ, in all things—Eph. 4:15:

Eph. 4:15 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ,

1. We must hold to the divine truth of God's eternal economy, of the all-inclusive Christ, and of the church as the Body of Christ.

2. We must be subject to the Head, Christ (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:23; 1:22, 10), and allow His divine life to expand and increase into all our inward parts (Rom. 8:10, 6, 11; 2 Cor. 5:4).

1 Cor. 11:3 But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.

Eph. 5:23 For a husband is head of the wife as also Christ is Head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the Body.

Eph. 1:22 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church,

Eph. 1:10 Unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him;

Rom. 8:10 But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.

Rom. 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.

Rom. 8:11 And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

2 Cor. 5:4 For also, we who are in this tabernacle groan, being burdened, in that we do not desire to be unclothed, but clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

3. The word Head in Ephesians 4:15 indicates that our growth in Christ should be a growth as members in the Body under the Head; our growth is not only in Christ but also in His Body.

Eph. 4:15 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ,

B. Out from the Head, in the divine dispensing, all the Body is joined closely together through every joint of the rich supply and knit together, interwoven, through the operation in the measure of each one part—v. 16:

Eph. 4:16 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

1. When we grow into the Head, we can produce out from the Head many functions for the building up of His Body.

2. Every member of the Body of Christ has a measure through the growth in life and can function for the growth and building up of the Body of Christ.

Morning Nourishment

Eph. 4:15-16 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

“Holding to truth” [in Ephesians 4:15] is in contrast to the sleight of men and the craftiness in verse 14. To be carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men and to be led into a system of error is to fail to hold to truth in love. Truth here refers to things that are true. The first item of these is God’s New Testament economy, which is God’s eternal plan. God has an eternal plan in the universe, which is His economy. It is to dispense Himself in Christ into His chosen people that He may have a corporate expression. The second item is the all-inclusive Christ. The third item is the church as the Body of Christ for expressing Him. These three things are the true things. We should hold to these true things in love that we may grow up into Christ. All teachings and speakings that separate and isolate us from these three things should be rejected. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “The Perfecting of the Saints and the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” p. 97)

When we hold to truth in the love of God, we will grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ (Eph. 4:15). This shows that our growth in life with Christ should be the growth of the members in the Body under the Head. In everything big or small, such as the way we dress, the way we comb our hair, the way we shop, and the way we speak, we should take Christ as the Head, submitting under His headship. In this way we will grow into Him and will allow Him to occupy all our inward parts, that is, our mind, emotion, and will. In this way He will gradually increase and grow within us.

When we allow Him to be the Head in everything and when we grow up into Him in all things, we, being supplied with the riches of His life, will receive something from Him to transfuse into other members of the Body. Our growth in life is a growth into Him, but our function in the Body of Christ is out from the Head. First, we grow into the Head; then we have something out from the Head for the building up of His Body. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “The Perfecting of the Saints and the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” pp. 97-98)

All of us members have to hold to truth in love that we may grow up into the Head, Christ, in all things (Eph. 4:15). Through the love of Christ within us, we love Christ and the members of His Body. In this love we hold to the reality, which is to hold to Christ with His Body. In this way we will have Christ increase in us in all things, and we will grow into the Head, Christ. The word Head here indicates that our growth in Christ should be a growth as members in the Body under the Head. Hence, our growth is not only in Christ but also in His Body.

When we grow into the Head in this way, we can produce out from the Head many functions for the building up of His Body. Verse 16 tells us that out from the Head the whole Body is being joined together through every joint of the rich supply and is being knit together through the operation in the measure of each one part to grow together and to build up itself in love so that Christ may have a full expression. Every one of us as members of the Body of Christ has a measure through the growth in life and can function for the growth and building up of the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure,” pp. 84-85)

Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 45; CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure,” ch. 2