Serving the Church of the Living God as the Organic Body of Christ (1)


	Serving the Church of the Living God as the Organic Body of Christ (1) The Church We Serve is the House of the Living God The apostle Paul wrote three books of the New Testament which were entirely focused upon the practice of the church life. These books are First and Second Timothy, and Titus. The basic thought of these epistles is that the church is the house of the living God (1 Tim. 3:15). In these three epistles we can see how the church should operate, how the church should bear the testimony, the relationship between the church and the workers, and how to handle the situation when the church becomes degraded. These three books show us how to serve and exercise in the church life. The Church We Serve is the Organic Body of Christ Let me ask, what really is the church? We may respond that the church is the Body, the new man, the kingdom, the called race, the Bride, or one of many other titles. But we must understand what it is we are serving. If someone were to ask us what it is that we do, most of us would answer, "I serve the Lord in the church." If this person were to continue by asking, "Are you a minister?" we would say "no." If the person then asked, "Are you a pastor?" we would say "no" again. The question would become, "Then what are you?" to which we might say, "I am just a brother in the church life." In response to this, the person might ask, "What kind of church do you mean? Is it Baptist? Methodist? What are you?" We might reply that we are simply the local church. But many groups, such as the Baptists and the Pentacostals, also refer to their local assemblies as local churches. How many of us really see the church, or truly know what the church is? To give a doctrinal definition is not difficult. Most of us would be able to explain that the church is the Body of Christ or the kingdom or the new man. But if we desire to serve the church, become more operative in the church, and become a blessing to the church, then how would we answer the question, "What is the church?" If we do not have a proper operational understanding of what the church is, then our service cannot produce what God is after. As the Body of Christ, the Church We Serve is a Divine Organism Over the past centuries, we may say that the truth of the church has advanced. Especially over the last ten years, the truth of the church has been made very clear to us. We now realize that the church is an organic Body. And when we say the church is an organic Body, we must realize that this means that the church is a divine organism. Therefore the church can never become something of an institution. I am troubled when I hear some in the recovery say that we have a headquarters, and that it is in a certain place. I always feel sorry when I hear this, for it means there is a lack of understanding regarding what the church is. If the church is an organic Body, there is only the matter of person, there is not the matter of place. As the Body, the Church Must Have a Physical Existence The Local Churches Are the Body's Physical Expression The church is an organic Body. As an organic Body, first it must have a physical appearance. If a body lacks a physical appearance, it is but a ghost. A body provides an existence in the physical realm, something by which the host can participate in the sphere of earthly existence. Therefore whenever we talk about the Body, we cannot bypass the local churches. Without the local churches, the Body has no physical manifestation. The local churches are the expression of the organic Body of Christ. Therefore the first crucial thing that we must realize when we talk about the Body is that the local churches are very important and precious, for they are the Body's physical expression. The Local Churches Are the Practical Realization of the Body For instance, to submit yourself under Christ's headship in the Body means practically to submit yourself to those who are physically in your locality. If you live in one city, it is not practical for you to submit to the brothers in another city, or to write to a brother far away, "Brother, I love you and I submit myself to you." Such submission would not be practical. The local churches are necessary for the organic Body of Christ to be realized in the practice of its members. If you really see the organic Body, then you will firstly realize that the local churches are necessary as the Body's physical aspect. As long as it is a body, there is a manifestation. The physical manifestation of the Body is the local churches. Without manifestation, without the physical aspect, there is no Body. Once you see this you will realize that there must be a practical expression of the Body in every city. Now our discussion of the Body is no longer doctrinal. The Church as the Body of Christ Must Possess the Divine Life as Its Content The second necessary item for the organic Body is that it must possess the divine life as its content. Not only must the Body have a physical existence, it also must have life. Now we come to something much more challenging than merely the existence of the local churches, because we realize that we cannot be satisfied only if the local churches exist, for in their existence they must be filled with life. The Church as the Body of Christ Cannot Exist Devoid of Life When a local church is void of life, that church is practically gone, for it must be something of the organic Body. When something is organic it is a matter of life. Therefore when the life is gone, everything is gone. Many of us in the church life, however, have unconsciously adopted the way of law instead of the way of life. Perhaps this is partly due to the influence of Chinese culture among us, even with those who were born in America. It seems we love to be told what to do and to follow along with what the crowd is doing. Very few of us feel it is absolutely imperative that we follow the Lord. Which do you find easier to say: "Praise the Lord, I am in the flow" or "Praise the Lord, I am with the present Christ"? To many, being "in the flow" means that they no longer have to be responsible to the Lord or to anyone else anymore. I don't say that you should not be in the flow, but remember that you have to be the carrier of the flow. If there is a flow, you must carry it. If you are in the flow because you are carried around by whatever happens, then you are dead and are no longer functioning according to life. This indicates you have not yet seen the church, for the church as Christ's organic Body requires that we function by life. In the Churches We Must Supply Life Rather than Regulation In every local church there must be the organic life. Some of you are leaders in the churches and some are learning to be leaders in the churches. Some of you are young, and not yet involved directly in the leadership. But regardless whether you are directly in the leadership or not, you should have the desire to be a flowing source of the divine life to your local church. If life is in your place, the church is there. If the life is not there, the church is not there. These two matters are the most basic - life and existence. If you wish to serve the organic Body, you cannot do so without the existence of the local church, and you cannot do so without the operating riches of the divine life. Each one of us must have a strong aspiration to supply life to our local church. When the saints touch you, they should touch life. They should touch a person who is in life, and who is able to dispense life. Life, and the absence of life, is the deciding element of your church's health. Our church should not become a center of regulation where the saints are under instruction as to "how," "what," and "when." Rather the saints should realize that they are in the Body of Christ, a divine organism. Concerning the organic Body, we can say that physically it is a matter of local churches. If there is a church in our locality, then there is a place for brothers to come and fellowship in the Body, regardless of how many are meeting together. Then in every place where the members are gathered, we have to learn to be more "Western" than "Eastern." In other words, we have to be buoyant, we have to be proactive, and we have to be prevailing according to life. Life Is Defined by Needs and Drives The Body of Christ is organic, and therefore it must be filled with Christ as life. The more life, the better. What defines life? Life has its needs and drives. Every life has something that attracts it, and something that drives it. For example, why do we have to eat? Because our human life generates this need, and life drives us to eat. It doesn't always matter if we think we are hungry or not. If we are alive, we need to eat. If we say, "I didn't eat for a whole week, and I don't even care," then pretty soon we will not care anymore, because we will be dead. We have to care, because life has its principles. When we say that a church must be filled with life, that means there should be many signs of life. The saints must be spiritually hungry, and they must be fed. The saints must be desirous for the truth, and they must be finding the truth. The saints must be endeavoring to bear fruit by preaching the gospel and through shepherding others. The saints must be seeking the good of the other saints in the church life, and at the same time learning to love one another. All of these are signs of the organic function of life. Life Should Be the Driving Force of Our Labor in the Church Life You may ask, "How should I take the lead in my locality?" The answer is to take the lead in life. When you have this life driving you, you will forget about what a vital group is supposed to be, or whether some type of activity is supposed to be at your home, or at someone else's home, or at the meeting hall. Brothers, don't be legalistic by letting issues replace life. The word "vital" means "of life." So if you are being driven by life concerning the home meetings, concerning the campus work, concerning the gospel, or concerning any number of items, then your church life will be prevailing. If your church life is not prevailing, it means that the life-element is not prevailing. But when the organic life begins to operate freely in the church life, your church life will be prevailing. Once you are in life, you can no longer tolerate being common or remaining in a box. You will desire to see life expressed in every aspect. Perhaps after one year the whole church will become different because you have learned to allow the divine life to operate according to its needs and drives. Do not worry about trying to control excesses. Every life has its laws. The divine life never goes wild. So when you really are in life there is no looseness. But life always operates dynamically, and in freshness. If life is truly driving you, you will not allow your church to be held down by anything that is opposed to its operation for the building up of the Body of Christ. May we all learn to serve the church by life.