Eph .1:22 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, (23) Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.
There are many members in the Body of Christ, and the members are one, each having their different function. God has not ordered all the members to have the same function. All the members are different. "For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function" (Rom. 12:4). How then can these members with different functions be linked and fitted together harmoniously in one Body? There are three basic principles which are essential for the harmonious functioning of the Body of Christ. The first defines the relationship between the Head and the members; the second, the relationship between the Body and the members; and the third, the responsibility of the members. All three principles are indispensable. The first principle of living in the Body of Christ is to obey the authority of the Head. Both the existence of the Body and the function and activity of the Body depend on authority. Whenever authority has no place in us, the Body is paralyzed. Any part that is disobedient is paralyzed. A paralyzed body does not follow the directions of the head; where there is life, there is authority. If we want to have life, it is impossible to reject authority. Those who are full of life must obey authority. If my hand has life, it cannot resist the direction of the head. To be alive implies that we are being directed by the Head. Therefore, the first principle of living in the Body of Christ is to obey the Head. If we have not yet been dealt with in such a way as to be rendered obedient, what we know of the Body is only a matter of theory, not of life. God must deal with our fleshly life that we may see how blessed it is to be obedient to the Head. We must aim at obedience. Many times, we seek for opportunities to make good progress, to become holy, and to become righteous. We should similarly seek for opportunities to be obedient.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, Vol. 37, in The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, pp. 27-28. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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