Can You See the Body of Christ?

If a person wants to control everything and regards himself as very important, what need is there for the body? Can you see the body of Christ? 1 Cor. 12:19. Jesus is only Lord for those who are in His body. If you are preoccupied with your ministry and position, you don’t understand how the body functions. 1 Cor. 12:11-13. Does your ministry in the church enable others to see the body? 1 Cor. 12:25. Do you walk in the Spirit so there is no division in the body? Though we be-come many, we must continue to function as a body. There is an openness, a liberality in the hearts of those who have re­ceived revelation over the body of Christ. They see the glory in the ministries and gifts of friends who are different than they are. What a challenge it is to serve in such a way that our children and young people can be born again, become dis­ciples and become a part of the body of Christ. For this labor to succeed, we must clearly see the body of Christ and labor for its growth. Phil. 2:12. Are we willing to die to ourselves so the body can grow? Let us be far more enthusiastic about the body of Christ—that body where Satan has lost his power. There is only one body; that is why God works in us to humble us for the sake of the body, for the sake of the whole.

Think to receive words that are able to build up Christ’s body. Col. 2:18. How serious to miss out on the help the body provides to keep us from our own high-mindedness! We must finish our course in love.

The ministry of a true shepherd leads to the perfection of the saints. Things can go just fine even if I’m not in charge! Be flexible—why can’t someone else do it? Someone who has more grace for it? Be low-key with regard to your ministry and leadership. Even though God has given you a ministry, be willing to relinquish it when younger servants grow up and can, in a natural way, relieve you as you get older. No one else would have been able to take over the ministry of the angel of the church in Sardis if he was not able to hear what the Spirit spoke to the church. It wasn’t their calling to do that work. In more mature churches, servants usually grow up who can handle a lot of the practical and spiritual work and thereby relieve the leader of the church so that he can concentrate his power on the spiritual ministry. It is so important not to stiffen into a form or custom. Be flexible! It is a declaration of failure, of bankruptcy, for a shepherd if other servants don’t grow up in his local church.

Don’t be self-important and condescending. That makes it difficult for the younger trees to grow up around you. See how the Master did it. He made his calling and election sure in and through His humiliation. That is how He received a Name that is above every name—a Name before which every knee will bow. Humiliation makes us stable. Why can’t someone else perform a baptism, for example? It doesn’t necessarily have to be the most spiritual person who performs a baptism (but he must have gone from darkness to light). There has to be some order, but not in such a way that a baptism, a child blessing, a wedding or other events have to be postponed just because you are not able to be present. To carry on that way is nothing less than spiritual megalomania. We must have confi­dence in the brotherhood.

To a certain degree, being a leader is the result of having received spiritual gifts. The leader of a church is not necessar­ily the most God-fearing person. I pay close attention to the churches and I listen to the Spirit and God’s promptings; I have a spiritual sense when it concerns these things. We must always choose what is best, and a priority is that a work is accomplished. Through the help a person receives in the church, he can grow and develop. Many have been weak, but through godliness they have grown up and become a great blessing. Those who continue in humiliation grow up to be-come powerful people in the Godhead who can be a great blessing for others. Be God-fearing and continue in humilia­tion. Then God will certainly equip you with spiritual gifts that you did not have when you began.

The fact that a person is well-educated or gifted does not in any way mean that he is spiritual. The school on Mt. Zion is quite different from any other school—it is the greatest and most wonderful school a person can attend. You learn things there that help you in this present world and in the world to come. God chooses whomever He wants, both high and low. We are strengthened emotionally, and we receive wisdom from God to take life’s circumstances in a good and blessed way. That is how the brotherhood is.

The One who has overcome death speaks in the church. He has opened the way. He has made it possible for you. Kiss the Son lest He be angry. Walk on the new and living way! He will lead you out of death into the dwelling place that He has pre­pared for you in heaven. Work on your heavenly dwelling; the Lord will mightily strengthen you.

David speaks about Saul and Jonathan as beloved and pleasant in their lives. David differentiated between Saul and the evil spirit. Thus David was able to remain in goodness, and he could leave it up to God to deal with Saul. The words of a desperate man’s mouth are as wind. Job 6:26. Just let them blow. The person is desperate and unstable. When you can just let go of things, it is much easier to remain in goodness.

We need to gain wisdom in our service. Both king and priest must be manifested in our ministry. The wisdom from above is first and foremost pure, and then come all of those tender, gentle elements of the Godhead. Strong human per­sonalities can take control if you are not a king—you thereby teach them to be disobedient. Put a bit in their mouth and guide them with a rod of iron to the place where they belong. Jesus was circumcised even when He was the Pharisee’s din­ner guest. He put things in their rightful place. Many are falsely taught that Christianity is always to yield and give in. If strong people learn that it is possible to exert pressure and get what they want, they have learned something they should not have learned. That causes suffering for those who are God­fearing. Our ministry must always contain power and good­ness; otherwise, we become a lion without teeth, and people will just laugh at us. The work of an overseer is to draw out those who are lowly—those who are nothing—so that they too, can develop as individuals in the body of Christ. Those who are strong must never to be allowed to butt away the weak.

See to it that your relationship to your wife and children is not so close that you cannot swing the sword or be free to act as a servant of Christ. The church respects a person who can say “The Holy Spirit and we have decided . . . .” Many are weak when it comes to being influenced by large families. When someone tells you something, learn to listen to the Spirit so that what you say is not tainted by some external factors.

There are eunuchs who have become eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. They have consciously and will­ingly chosen to give up all the possibilities that the world could give them. These are the Levites of the church, and you must watch over them and make sure they receive what is their right.

Let us give Him our ear so we learn of Him who is meek and lowly of heart. We need help. Dear Jesus, give me wis­dom so I can do what is right, even in the small details. Let us reach out for the commandments of life and come to a greater salvation. The fruit of that will be fellowship, brotherhood and a glorious dwelling place for the Spirit in the church. Let us walk in these commandments. If we want to progress, we must think about these things and live in them. Life goes so quickly! As much as possible, the person of Jesus must be re­vealed through us. He will powerfully strengthen us in this development.