EXCERPTS FROM THE MINISTRY

THE MARK BUILDING UP THE CHURCH

If we do not experience Him in such a practical way, it is absolutely impossible to build up the church. This is illustrated in the type of Eve, who was brought into being by coming out of Adam (Gen. 2:21-24; Eph. 5:30-32). Eve was a part of Adam, something out of Adam. Only that which came out of Adam could be the wife to Adam. Every part and every aspect of Eve were something of Adam. This confirms that the church can only be built with that which is out of Christ. Doctrines and gifts do not build the church. Christ Himself in the saints is the only material with which the Body of Christ is built. If we lack the experiences of practically living by Christ, we will only be a certain kind of “religious church.”

Furthermore, we must learn to experience Christ not only as our life but also as our food, the bread of life. He is the food supply within us. Day by day we have to feed on Christ and be nourished by Him. This must not be merely a teaching to us but our daily and hourly experience. In John 6:57 the Lord said that he who eats Him will live because of Him. If we are going to live by Christ, we must eat Him; then He will be so real to us. It is sorrowful that many Christians are not eating Christ daily.

Let me illustrate in this way. When you were born, you probably weighed between six to eight pounds, but now you are over one hundred pounds. Your body has been built up, but please tell me, by what means? Was it by going to the restaurant and looking at menus? Of course not. Your body was built up by the things that you ate, by many eggs, chickens, potatoes, apples, bananas, and so forth. How, then, can the Body of Christ be built up? It is not by teaching, for the more you are taught how to eat, the more you will be reduced. In fact, if you only learn the art of eating, we will soon have a funeral for you. You may learn many things and even be the best dietitian, but you will soon die. Similarly, you may know all the good, scriptural, and even spiritual teachings and yet be starving from the lack of food. The churches today need the “mothers” to nurse the young ones and give them not teachings but something of Christ to eat and drink.

If you ask me what is troubling me these days, I will tell you that there are only two things: One is that although so many dear brothers and sisters have really seen the negative things of Christianity and something about the Lord’s way with His church, I am afraid that they will practice the church life by outward methods. You say, “Formerly I pastored a church in a certain way, but now I see that that way is wrong. So I will drop that way and use another way.” This is still a religious activity, not the building up of the Body of Christ. The building up of the Body of Christ is something from within. You must feed on Christ, eat Christ, and drink Christ so that you will be nourished with Christ. When you are full of Christ, you will minister something of Him as food to others. Then the Body of Christ will be built up.

It is not a matter of method. If you read the whole New Testament, you cannot discover one method. If I have any method at all it is this: first, you must be put on the cross; second, you must feed on Christ in the spirit day by day; third, when you are nourished and full of Christ, you need to nourish others with Christ. Then the church will come into being. The only method is to go to the cross, feed on Christ, and nourish others with Christ.

The other thing that troubles me is this: Although we have been talking so much about Christ as our life, I fear that we know this only as a message, as a term, as a subject; we do not have the daily and hourly experiences. We need to be continually regulated and anointed by Him. Daily and hourly we must feed on Him and have intimate fellowship with Him. We need to forget about ourselves and contact Him, enjoy Him, be regulated by Him, and anointed by Him all the time. This is the inner life, the inward experience of the indwelling Christ. I would recommend to you a book written by Andrew Murray entitled The Spirit of Christ. It will be a great help—not to gain knowledge but to experience the indwelling Christ in your daily life. As you let Christ be your daily food, you can testify to the whole universe: “I am tasting Christ day by day. I am having such an intimate, living fellowship with Him hour by hour. I am under His regulating and His anointing all the time.” We all need to pay full attention to this matter. This is the mark of God’s economy. If we miss this mark of God’s economy in our spirit, how can His economy be worked out in the church? When you drive your car, you know where to put the gasoline and how to start it; that is the mark of running your car. If you lose that mark, although you may have a very beautiful car, it will not run.

This is why the book of Hebrews gives us such a verse like 4:12. The Word of God is living and penetrating so that it divides our spirit from the soul. All the experiences taught in the book of Hebrews must be realized by discerning the spirit. The all-inclusive Christ as the good land is in the spirit, and His dwelling in the Holy of Holies is also in our spirit. If you do not know how to discern the spirit from the soul, you will miss the mark and cannot enjoy Christ. Every day you must deal with the living Christ, who is subjective to you. Christ is within you, and He is living, real, and practical. When you eat Him, drink Him, and feast on Him as your daily nourishment, you will live by Him and with Him and be under His constant regulating and anointing. This is what we need to experience all the time if we are going to impart Christ as food to others. If people are fed with Christ, He will become the material in them, and then the Body of Christ will gradually grow and be built up. I do look to the Lord that our eyes will be opened to see the heavenly vision and the inner revelation of this living, indwelling, subjective Christ in our spirit as the mark of God’s economy.