The Service of the Member
For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office [function]: so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another. (Rom.12.4,5)
One
How many of us who are Christians know that we are not only believers but also members of the body of Christ? We ought to understand that in the Adamic life there is not just the sinful or the natural which needs to be dealt with, the individualistic temper must also be dealt with. What do we mean by the individualistic character in the Adamic life? It is that attitude of life which insists on maintaining my independent existence, my independent living, or my individual action as though I were the only one living in the world. This kind of life hinders us from entering into the reality of the body of Christ. We should know that the antithesis of the body is the individual. For us to enter into the reality of the body, we must be delivered from individualism.
The body of Christ is not just a teaching. The body of Christ needs to be entered into experientially. Whoever has not entered in does not know what is within. He who is saved can easily detect whoever is saved or not; in like manner, the one who has already entered into the reality of the body of Christ may also discern quickly whether others have entered into the reality of it or not. When you are saved you have not only heard the doctrine of salvation but also seen that Christ is the living life. In salvation you enter a new realm. And after being in this new realm you are able to discern clearly the situation of the unsaved in retrospect. Similarly, those who truly live in the body of Christ may vividly perceive the conditions of all who have not lived in the body. People may understand the book of Romans and not be saved; likewise, men may appreciate the letter of Ephesians and not know the body of Christ. When you forsake sin and enter into Christ, you are saved. But you need to be delivered from being individualistic in order to enter experientially into the body of Christ.
God permits us to be individuals, but He does not allow us to be individualistic. Before we enter experientially into the body of Christ we are full of individualism. Even our spiritual pursuit is inspired by this trait. Why seek for holiness? That I myself may be holy. Why desire for power? That I personally may have power. Why look for fruits of labor? That I individually may have fruits. Why wish for the kingdom? That I myself may possess the kingdom. Everything is bound up with "I". This is not the body; this is individualism.
Just as Peter at Pentecost had saved in one day three thousand people, so I dream of saving three thousand in one day that I too may produce many fruits. Yet we need to recall that the eleven other apostles stood up with Peter. Did the other apostles ever jealously complain, saying that if Peter could save many people, they too should be able to do the same? Or did Peter ever build up in his mind a high tower of boasting, saying that he could save people whom others could not? We know that no such thing ever happened. For God does not look for an individual vessel but is out to get a corporate one. If you truly see the body of Christ you will neither be jealous nor proud. Whether the work is done by you or by me or by others makes no difference. All of this is a body matter, nothing is purely individual.
We therefore need to see ourselves not only as believers but even more so as members. I am a member; hence I am not the whole—not even the half—but only a small part of Christ’s body. It is unquestionably a tremendous deliverance to see the body and to recognize oneself as only a member. Formerly many things were centered on our individual selves. Whether it was work or living, all was highly individualistic. One day when we discerned the body we were naturally delivered from individualism. In salvation we first see Christ and then we are saved. By the same token, we first see the body and then quite naturally we are delivered from individualism and become members of the body in reality. Not in the sense that we outwardly say we will act according to the principle of the body when we are faced with a situation, but in the sense of acting according to the principle of the body because we have received the revelation and have entered experientially into the body of Christ. With the natural life being dealt with, we spontaneously perceive that we are members.
How do I live as a member of the body of Christ? The body must be taken as the unit and boundary of all my works and living. In the physical realm, when my hand works, it is not my hand but my body which works; when my feet walk, it is not my feet but my body which walks. A physical member never does anything for its own self; whatever it does is for the sake of the body. So too is this true in the spiritual realm. All the actions of a member of the body of Christ are governed by the body of Christ, not by the individual member himself. Whether God puts me in first or in last place, it is equally acceptable with me. For only the one who does not see, know, and experience the body of Christ will be proud or jealous.
We must realize the relationship which exists between the member and the body. A member cannot be a substitute for the entire body, yet it can affect the whole body. Personal defeat and personal unholiness will influence it. Secret failure of an individual may not be known by men, but the devil knows it. Hidden defeat of a single person may not be perceived by others, yet the evil spirits know it. The defeat of one member touches the whole church. For this reason, we must seek after a life of love: it is for the entire body. We must pursue after a holy life: for this also is for the body’s sake. We must desire spiritual progress: but it too is for the sake of the body.
Let us seriously ask ourselves: Am I an independent individualist? Or am I a member of the body? Am I just a believer? Or am I also a member? You are without doubt a Christian, but if you cannot be with other people for five minutes without having some trouble or finding yourself incompatible with others, how can you demonstrate that you live as a member? The Lord will not be satisfied with such kind of living. May God give us light that we may clearly perceive the body of Christ. And having perceived it, we will naturally be delivered from individualism and will spontaneously live as members.
