Crystallization-Study of Colossians –Week 8
The Body of Christ
Morning Watch
Monday 6/26
Related verses
Eph. 1:22-23
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.
Eph. 4:12
12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the
ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,
Col. 1:18
18 And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the
beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself
might have the first place in all things;
Rom. 12:1-5 (1, 2, 5)
1 I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions
of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well
pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be
transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may
prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well
pleasing and perfect.
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to every one who
is among you, not to think more highly of himself than he
ought to think, but to think so as to be sober-minded, as God
has apportioned to each a measure of faith.
4 For just as in one body we have many members, and all
the members do not have the same function,
5 So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and
individually members one of another.
1 John 5:11-12
11 And this is the testimony, that God gave to us eternal life
and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have
the Son of God does not have the life.
Suggested Reading
To live in the Body is to live corporately with the
members under the Head (Col. 1:18). To live the Body life,
first we must be under the Head and take the Head as the
life, the principal object, and the center (Eph. 4:15-16).
Many people desire to be holy, spiritual, and overcoming.
© Living Stream Ministry, 2017, used by permission
But these are their own desires. They are not under Christ
the Head. Instead they are their own head. This makes them
unable to live the Body life. To have the Body life, whatever
we think or do has to be under the control of Christ the
Head; we have to take Him as the center of our whole being.
Second, we have to coordinate with all the members to live
a life that expresses the Head (Rom. 12:5). We have to learn
to live in the Body and submit to the Head all the time, to
care for the feeling of the Body, and to live together with all
the members. We should not take our own spirituality,
holiness, or victory as the center. This will make us
particular and individualistic and will cause us to condemn
others and make demands on them. Neither should we try to
keep some regulations and conform ourselves to others.
Rather, we should live in the Spirit to express Christ in an
organic and coordinated way. (The Oneness and the One
Accord according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body
Life and Service according to His Pleasure, p. 39)
What do Christ being the Head of the church and the
church being the Body of Christ mean? They mean that all
authority is in Him. All authority is in Him because all life
is in Him. The whole Body is consummated in Him; He is
the fountainhead of the life of the Body. The Body has no
life of its own. “God gave to us eternal life and this life is in
His Son” (1 John 5:11). Even after eternal life is given to us,
it still rests in His Son. The Son does not part with it; He
retains it in Himself. “He who has the Son has the life” (v.
12). This verse does not say, “He who has the life has the
life.” We do not possess life as life; only by possessing the
Son do we have life. A Christian receives his life from the
Lord. Yet this life can never be separated from the Lord. A
believer is related not just to life. By being related to this
life, a believer is related to the Son of God. This life makes
us members of the Body of Christ. This life relationship
rules out the possibility of being separated from the Head,
because our life is derived from the Head. The flow of life
in us continually depends upon our relationship to the Son.
As soon as there is any obstruction in our fellowship with
Him, the life in us is immediately blocked. He is the Head
of the Body, and life can flow freely to us only when He is
in full control.
June 26 - July 2, 2017
For Christ to be the Head means that He has the
authority in the Body. We are not the head, and we do not
have the authority. The only thing we should do is submit to
the authority of the Lord…We will be challenged at the
outset by the headship of Christ. We cannot say, “But..." We
cannot say, “I think…” We can only bow to His
sovereignty…The Body’s only duty toward the Head is
obedience and submission without any opinion, idea, or
proposal. In the Body of Christ, no individual’s idea or
proposal counts; all these have to be cast down. We should
only submit to the authority of the Head. We should just
listen to His command and do as He says.
An acceptance of Christ as Head involves a repudiation
of all other heads. Christ alone is the Head of the Body; no
one else can be the head…Only Christ is the Head.
Therefore, all of us have to obey Christ. Today we see many
human methods and ordinances abounding in the church.
How wrong this is! Human plans and human decisions are
against the headship of Christ. (Watchman Nee, The
Mystery of Christ, pp. 31-33)
Further Reading: The Mystery of Christ, ch. 6; The
Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 211-212; The Issue
of the Dispensing of the Processed Trinity and the
Transmitting of the Transcending Christ, ch.6
Corporate Reading of “The Heavenly Vision” - Chapter
5 – Sections: The Vision Of The World; The Things Needed
For Man’s Existence And The Steps Of Man’s Fall; Delivered
From The Fall and Becoming Simple
Tuesday 6/27
Related verses
Eph. 4:15-16
15 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in
all things, who is the Head, Christ,
16 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and
being knit together through every joint of the rich supply
and through the operation in the measure of each one part,
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Morning Watch
causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself
in love.
1 Cor. 1:10
10 Now I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that
there be no divisions among you, but that you be attuned in
the same mind and in the same opinion.
John 21:20-22
20 Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved
following, who also reclined on His breast at the supper, and
said, Lord, who is the one betraying You?
21 Peter therefore, seeing him, said to Jesus, Lord, and what
about this man?
22 Jesus said to him, If I want him to remain until I come,
what is that to you? You follow Me.
Phil 2:1-4
1 If there is therefore any encouragement in Christ, if any
consolation of love, if any fellowship of spirit, if any
tenderheartedness and compassions,
2 Make my joy full, that you think the same thing, having
the same love, joined in soul, thinking the one thing,
3 Doing nothing by way of selfish ambition nor by way of
vainglory, but in lowliness of mind considering one another
more excellent than yourselves;
4 Not regarding each his own virtues, but each the virtues of
others also.
Rom. 15:6
6 That with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Suggested Reading
Paul spoke of “holding the Head, out from whom all the
Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of
the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God” (Col.
2:19). Since Christ is the Head of the Body, we have to hold
the Head. Holding the Head is acknowledging that only
Christ is the Head; it is coming absolutely under His
authority. We can be joined to the brothers and sisters only
when we hold the Head. The members of the Body are fitted
together and able to live the Body life through holding the
Head. Our relationship to the Head determines our
relationship to the other members. All the questions
© Living Stream Ministry, 2017, used by permission
Crystallization-Study of Colossians –Week 8
The Body of Christ
regarding our relationship with the brothers and sisters can
only be solved when we come under the absolute authority
of the Lord. Unless we recognize the headship of Christ in
the Body, we will never have a perfect fellowship with the
other members, because it is our common relationship to
Him that causes us to be related to one another. We may
look different outwardly, but the Christ within us is the
same. This is why we can fellowship with one another and
be one with each other. Apart from Christ, we have no
means of fellowship. When we do not hold the Head, our
fellowship becomes invalid. The basis of our fellowship is
our mutual holding of the Head. When we all hold the Head,
we will hold to one another, and our relationship with the
Body will be proper. (Watchman Nee, The Mystery of
Christ, pp. 33-34)
If we hold the Head, we cannot have a special
relationship, feeling, or fellowship with any individual or
group of individuals. There is no room for our own
preferences in the Body. We have no direct communion one
with another; it is all through the Head. For instance, when
my left hand hurts, my right hand comes to its aid
immediately. The right hand does this because both the left
hand and the right hand are under the direction of the head.
The mutual relationship of the members passes through the
Head first. What does it mean to form parties? Forming
parties means that a few Christians have a direct relationship
with one another and are detached from the authority of the
Head. They communicate with each other directly, but their
communication has not passed through the Head. They have
a special relationship with one another, but their relationship
has not passed through the Head.
We must not move in relation to another member
except under the direction of the Lord. If He asks us to do
something for a fellow member and the fellow member does
not appreciate it, we do not need to worry since all of our
dealings are with the Head. If we hold the Head, getting all
our direction from Him and doing all as unto Him, we do
not need to worry about the consequences.
If we hold the Head, we cannot have different
interpretations of Scripture. Differences arise when someone
is not holding the Head, because He cannot possibly say one
thing to one member and something else to another. If
differences arise, we must not try to straighten them out by
discussion; rather, we should just recognize Christ as the
June 26 - July 2, 2017
Head. In the church we all must hold the Head, whether it
involves the understanding of the truth, the handling of
business, or any other matter. Christ is the unique authority
in the Body. The place of all the members is to hold the
Head and to acknowledge Him as the unique and supreme
authority in all things. If we let the cross deal with our
natural life, we will find no difficulty in our relationship
with the fellow members of the Body. (Watchman Nee, The
Mystery of Christ, pp. 34-35)
Further Reading: The Mystery of Christ, ch. 6; Further
Talks on the Church Life, ch. 2
Corporate Reading of “The Heavenly Vision” - Chapter
5 – Sections: Satan Corrupting And Systematizing The
Earthly Things That Are Necessary For Human Existence;
Preoccupying Elements; Not Frustrated From The Will Of
God
Wednesday 6/28
Related verses
Col. 1:14
14 In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins;
Col. 2:19 (positively)
19 And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body,
being richly supplied and knit together by means of the
joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.
1 Cor. 3:6-7
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.
7 So then neither is he who plants anything nor he who
waters, but God who causes the growth.
2 Cor. 1:5-7
5 For even as the sufferings of the Christ abound unto us, so
through the Christ our comfort also abounds.
6 But whether we are afflicted, it is for your comforting and
salvation; or whether we are comforted, it is for your
comforting, which operates in the endurance of the same
sufferings which we also suffer.
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Morning Watch
7 And our hope for you is firm, knowing that as you are
partakers of the sufferings, so also
you are of the comfort.
2 Cor. 4:10-12
10 Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of
Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our
body.
11 For we who are alive are always being delivered unto
death for Jesus' sake that the life of Jesus also may be
manifested in our mortal flesh.
12 So then death operates in us, but life in you.
Suggested Reading
Although we cannot participate in Christ’s suffering for
redemption, if we are faithful to Him, we must share in His
suffering for the producing and building up of His Body.
Paul was a pattern for us in this matter. Immediately after
his conversion, he began to share in this suffering of Christ,
to partake of the afflictions of Christ for the sake of His
Body.
For the producing of His Body, Christ suffered a great
deal. But because this suffering has not been completed by
Christ Himself, there is the need for His faithful ones to
make up this shortage. Paul did not suffer for redemption,
but he did suffer for the producing and building up of the
Body of Christ.
The Apostle Paul was a pattern for the believers to
follow (1 Tim. 1:16)….Because by the Lord’s mercy Paul
was set up to be a pattern for us, whatever he was, we can
be also. We must believe in the Lord’s mercy. If the mercy
of the Lord made Paul a pattern, then His mercy can
accomplish in us the same thing that it did in Paul. This
means that just as Paul suffered for the producing and
building up of the Body of Christ, so we must also suffer for
the church. (Life-study of Colossians, p. 98)
God causes the growth [1 Cor. 3:7]…by getting into us.
The more God is added to us, the more growth He causes.
As we have seen, without the increase of God within us,
there cannot be any growth. The growth of the Body
depends on the growth of God [Col. 2:9], the addition of
God, the increase of God, within us. Therefore, God gives
the growth by giving Himself to us in a very subjective way.
Since God gives growth in this way, we need to take
time to absorb Him...As we daily take time to eat food, we
© Living Stream Ministry, 2017, used by permission
Crystallization-Study of Colossians –Week 8
The Body of Christ
should daily take time to absorb the Lord, take time to
assimilate the riches of Christ. Our contact with the Lord
should not be rushed. If we are in a hurry, we shall not be
able to absorb much of His riches. We need to allow
adequate time for prayer. This will enable us to absorb more
of the riches of our God.
As we have pointed out, God is not simply a term nor
an object of worship. He is real, rich, and substantial, and
we need to absorb Him. Our God today is the processed, allinclusive Spirit, and we have a spirit with which to absorb
Him. Thus, we must exercise our spirit to stay in His
presence to absorb Him. This takes time. Although we all
have experienced absorbing the riches of God, our
experience is not yet adequate. For this reason, we must
spend more time to absorb Him. Do not spend so much time
in your mind, emotion, and will, but spend more time in
your spirit to adore the Lord, to praise Him, to offer thanks
to Him, and to speak to Him freely. As you fellowship with
Him in this way, you will absorb His riches, and He will add
more of Himself into you. The more God is added into us,
the more growth He gives to us. This is the way God gives
the growth.
Only God can give growth...The most I can do is to
plant or water. I cannot give growth to anyone, for I cannot
give God. Only God can give you Himself. Without Him,
we cannot have growth. God Himself is our food, and we
need to seek Him at His dining table, where we need to take
time to eat Him slowly. Then more of Him will be added
into us. This addition of God into us is the growth He gives.
For God to give us growth actually means that He gives us
Himself. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 456-457)
Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 12, 52
Corporate Reading of “The Heavenly Vision” - Chapter
5 – Sections: Deadened By The Flesh, The Self, And The
World; Delivered From The Three Damaging Elements; Not
Conformed To This Age But Transformed By The Renewing
Of The Mind For The Building Up Of The Body
Thursday 6/29
Related verses
June 26 - July 2, 2017
Phil. 1:8
8 For God is my witness how I long after you all in the
inward parts of Christ Jesus.
1 Cor. 12:13, 18, 20, 22, 25-26
13 For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one
Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and
were all given to drink one Spirit.
18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them,
in the body, even as He willed.
20 But now the members are many, but the body one.
22 But much rather the members of the body which seem to
be weaker are necessary.
25 That there would be no division in the body, but that the
members would have the same care for one another.
26 And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer
with it; or one member is glorified, all the members rejoice
with it.
Rom. 12:15-16
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who
weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another, not setting your
mind on the high things but going along with the lowly; do
not be wise in yourselves.
Suggested Reading
Since we are the members of the Body of Christ, we
should have a feeling for the Body. First, we must take the
feeling of the Head as our own feeling...[Philippians 1:8
shows that] Paul took the inward parts of Christ Jesus as his
own inward parts in caring for the church. This also means
that he took care of the Body of Christ by taking Christ’s
feeling as his own feeling. Christ’s feeling became his
feeling for the Body. We all should be like Paul, taking the
feeling of the Head as our own feeling. This is most
necessary for our living the Body life. Furthermore, we
should not only take the feeling of the Head as our feeling,
but also do so in the principle of caring for the Body...In
order for us to have the Body life, we must care for our
fellow members and must be full of feeling for the Body [1
Cor. 12:25b-26].
If we as members have the feeling of the Head in
everything and care for the Body, we will take the Body as
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Morning Watch
the rule in our mind, thoughts, words, and actions. We
should deny ourselves and should identify ourselves with
the Body. By doing this, there will be no separation or
disconnection from the Body. The life that we live will fully
be the Body life, and the Lord will gain the expression of
His Body. (The Oneness and the One Accord according to
the Lord's Aspiration and the Body Life and Service
according to His Pleasure, p. 41)
In Colossians 2:17 Paul says that the body is of Christ,
but in verse 19 he speaks not of Christ, but of holding the
Head. The reason for the change in terminology from Christ
to the Head is that our enjoyment of the Lord causes us to
become conscious of the Body. If we are those who enjoy
Christ continually, we shall not continue to be
individualistic. The saints who are individualistic are those
who do not consistently enjoy the Lord. The more we enjoy
Christ, the more we become Body-conscious. We should
touch the Lord in the morning, but in the evening we should
come to the church meetings. It is not normal to enjoy the
Lord during the day and neglect the meetings of the church,
which is His Body. Even if your environment does not
allow you to attend all the meetings, inwardly you should
have the sense that your whole inner being is with the saints
in the church meeting. This consciousness of the Body
comes from the enjoyment of Christ.
The more we enjoy Christ, the more intense is our
desire for the Body. However, if we fail to contact the Lord
for a period of time, we shall automatically neglect the
church life or lose interest in the meetings. The less we
contact the Lord, the more critical we become of the church
or of the saints. We have an eye for the faults and
shortcomings of others. This shortage of the enjoyment of
Christ opens the door for the enemy, Satan, to come in to
make us critical of other members of the Body. But if we
begin again to enjoy the Lord, the door will gradually close.
Eventually, if we are constant in our enjoyment of Christ,
the door will be completely shut. Then, instead of criticizing
the church, we shall praise the Lord for the church life, and
we shall testify how much we love it. What brings about
© Living Stream Ministry, 2017, used by permission
Crystallization-Study of Colossians –Week 8
The Body of Christ
such a change is not admonition or correction, but the
recovery of the enjoyment of Christ.
The dear, precious One whom we enjoy as our food,
drink, and breath, is the Head of the Body...Since the Christ
we enjoy as our everything is the Head of the Body, the
more we enjoy Him, the more we become Body-conscious.
This indicates that the enjoyment of Christ is not an
individualistic matter. It is a Body matter. We need to enjoy
Christ as members of the Body in a corporate way. (Lifestudy of Colossians, pp. 491-492)
Further Reading: The Oneness and the One Accord
according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body Life and
Service according to His Pleasure, chs. 3-4; Life-study of
Colossians, msg. 56
Corporate Reading of “The Heavenly Vision” - Chapter
6 – Sections: The Vision Of Consecration; Bound By The
Flesh, The Self, And The World
Friday 6/30
Related verses
Col. 4:15-16
15 Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nymphas and
the church, which is in his house.
16 And when this letter is read among you, cause that it be
read in the church of the Laodiceans also, and that you also
read the one from Laodicea.
1 Cor. 1:2
2 To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who
have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints, with
all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in
every place, who is theirs and ours:
1 Cor. 12:27
27 Now you are the Body of Christ, and members
individually.
Eph. 4:4
4 One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in
one hope of your calling;
June 26 - July 2, 2017
Rev. 1:4-6, 11
4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to
you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is
coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His
throne,
5 And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn
of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him
who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood
6 And made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to
Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.
11 Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the
seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos
and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to
Laodicea.
Suggested Reading
The Body of Christ is the source of the local churches.
Such a universal Body is like the father to all the churches,
and all the churches are like the children to the father.
Now let us consider the profit from the Body of Christ
to a local church. Many of the members in a local church
may not actually be saved directly by that church. Instead,
they are saved elsewhere and come from other localities.
This is the benefit from the Body to that local church. This
is the profit from the “father” to his “child.” Some among us
enjoyed the inheritance from the Body, but then they gave
up the Body and would not care for the Body. They have
caused divisions, and divisions are a part of degraded
Christianity. (The Problems Causing the Turmoil in the
Church Life, p. 33)
The church also has different aspects. The church is the
unique, one, universal church. In practice, however, the
church is expressed as the local churches. Therefore, the
New Testament speaks of the church in Jerusalem (Acts
8:1), the church in Antioch (13:1), and the church in Corinth
(1 Cor. 1:2). Revelation 1:11 speaks of the seven churches
in Asia—in Ephesus, in Smyrna, in Pergamos, in Thyatira,
in Sardis, in Philadelphia, and in Laodicea. In practice these
are many churches, but all the local churches are the one,
unique church. The church has the local aspect, and it also
has the universal aspect. Locally, the churches are many.
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Morning Watch
Universally, the churches are one. The church is the unique
Body of Christ, and this one Body is expressed in many
localities as the local churches. (Five Emphases in the
Lord’s Recovery, p. 43)
All the local churches are the one unique Body of
Christ in the universe (Eph. 4:4). Every local church is a
part of this universal Body, a local expression of this unique
Body. This one universal church, the one Body, comprises
all the local churches. There may be thousands of local
churches, but together they constitute one universal church.
The universal church is the unique Body of Christ, and all
the local churches are simply the local expressions of this
one Body.
We need to be impressed with the fact that the local
churches are the local expressions of the Body of Christ (1
Cor. 12:27; Eph. 2:22). There is only one Body, but there
are many expressions. Universally, all the churches are one
Body, and locally, every local church is a local expression
of that universal Body. Therefore, a local church is not the
Body but only a part of the Body, an expression of the
Body.
In the New Testament we see many local churches, and
together these local churches are considered one universal
church, for they constitute the one Body of Christ. In
Matthew 16:18 the Lord said, “I will build My church.”
Here the church is in the singular number, indicating that it
must be the universal church. But in Acts and the Epistles
there are many references to “the churches”—the churches
in Syria, the churches in Asia, the churches in Macedonia,
the churches in Galatia. The Bible first refers to one church
and then to many churches because the one church, the
universal church, is the totality of all the churches, and all
the churches are local constituents of the one universal
church, the unique Body of Christ. (The Conclusion of the
New Testament, p. 2156)
Crystallization-Study of Colossians –Week 8
The Body of Christ
Corporate Reading of “The Heavenly Vision” - Chapter
6 – Sections: The University Of The World; Turning From
Judaism To The Heavenly Vision; The Consecration In The
Upper Room
Saturday 7/1
Related verses
Col. 2:18-20, 23
18 Let no one defraud you by judging you unworthy of your
prize, in self-chosen lowliness and the worship of the
angels, dwelling on the things which he has seen, vainly
puffed up by his mind set on the flesh,
19 And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body,
being richly supplied and knit together by means of the
joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God
20 If you died with Christ from the elements of the world,
why, as living in the world, do you subject yourselves to
ordinances:
23 Such things indeed have a reputation of wisdom in selfimposed worship and lowliness and severe treatment of the
body, but are not of any value against the indulgence of the
flesh.
Matt. 16:18, 24
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this
rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not
prevail against it.
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come
after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and
follow Me.
Luke 9:23-25
23 And He said to them all, If anyone wants to come after
Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and
follow Me.
24 For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but
Further Reading: The Problems Causing the Turmoils in the whoever loses his soul-life for My sake, this one shall save
Church Life, ch. 4; Five Emphases in the Lord’s Recovery, it.
ch. 4; The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 192, 200, 25 For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world
210; One Body and One Spirit, ch.1; Further Talks on the but loses or forfeits himself?
Curch Life, ch. 2
Suggested Reading
© Living Stream Ministry, 2017, used by permission
June 26 - July 2, 2017
Seeing the vision of the self has much to do with the
Body. Today we are in the Lord’s recovery, and the
recovery will eventually come to this crucial matter—the
building up of the Body. The enemy of the Body is the self.
The greatest problem, the greatest frustration and
opposition, to the Body is also the self. When we have the
self, we do not have the Body. When we have the Body, we
do not have the self. In order for the Body to be built up, the
self, the independent soul, must be dealt with. The self is the
independent “I,” the independent “me.” When we are
independent, we are in the self, the Body is gone, and we do
not have peace. (The Heavenly Vision, p. 41)
Why is it so difficult for us to be built up? The
difficulty is the self. It does not matter whether the self is
good or bad, pleasant or ugly. As long as there is the self,
there cannot be any building.
For instance, some brothers have a dominating self, and
because of this dominating self they cannot go along with
others in doing things for the church. No matter what the
situation may be, these brothers must be the dominating
ones. How, then, can they have the building? In order for
them to be built up with others, the self must be broken. The
problem is not their strong character; it is their dominating
self. It may be right for them to be strong, but they should
not dominate others. A person who is built up with others
may be very strong, but he is properly related to others and
constantly has fellowship with others.
A marble column in a building is strong, but it is related
to others. It is strong, but it does not dominate. The situation
is the same with a strong brother who has been built up with
others in the Body.
In being built up with others, the greatest problem is the
self. Some brothers and sisters like others to praise them or
to say something good about them. If you were to speak to
them frankly and truthfully in love, they would be hurt and
offended because they are so much in the self. This indicates
that even though such brothers and sisters are meeting on
the ground of the church, it is very hard for them to be built
up because of the self.
You need to see the vision of the Body. This vision will
break you. You will be broken under the vision of the Body.
You will realize that the only way for you to be built up in
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Crystallization-Study of Colossians –Week 8
The Body of Christ
Morning Watch
the Body is for you to be broken. The only way to realize
the Body is to be broken.
We need to realize that the hindrance to the building up
of the Body is the self. Certain brothers and sisters have
seen something of Christ and of the church and have come
to the ground of the church. However, they have never
opened themselves to others. Outwardly, they do not
criticize the elders, and they seem to be very nice, but
inwardly, they are critical. The problem with them is not
sin—it is the self. This indicates that in order to be built up,
we need to be opened, exposed, and broken. We should be
able to present ourselves to others in fellowship and tell
them that we are ready for whatever is necessary to be built
up with them.
God’s intention is to have the church, and this church
must be the Body. We must be built up in the Body, but the
hindrance to this building is the self….If we would be built
up in the Body, the self must be condemned, denied,
rejected, and renounced. Day by day the self must be
renounced in all things. Only when the self is renounced
will we have the Body and be genuine members of the
Body. (The Heavenly Vision, pp. 34-35, 37-38)
Further Reading: The Heavenly Vision, chs. 3-4; To Serve
in the Human Spirit, chs. 1-2, 4, 8
THE CHURCH — HER GENERAL DEFINITION
HYMN #824
1 - The Church is Christ’s own Body,
The Father’s dwelling-place,
The gathering of the called ones,
God blended with man’s race;
Elect before creation,
Redeemed by Calv’ry’s death,
Her character and standing
Of heaven, not of earth.
2 - New man of new creation,
Born through her risen Lord,
Baptized in God the Spirit,
Made holy by His Word;
© Living Stream Ministry, 2017, used by permission
Christ is her life and content,
Himself her glorious Head;
She has ascended with Him
O’er all her foes to tread.
3 - Christ is her one foundation,
None other man may lay;
All that she has, as Christ, is
Divine in every way;
Her members through the Spirit
Their death on Calv’ry own;
They’re built in resurrection —
Gold, silver, precious stone.
4 - One God, one Lord, one Spirit —
Her elements all one —
One faith, one hope, one baptism,
One Body in the Son;
The triune God is in her,
One Body members own,
By faith they are united,
In hope of glory shown.
5 - From every tribe and nation
Do all the members come,
Regardless of their classes
United to be one.
No high there is, nor lowly,
No Jew, nor Gentile clan,
No free, nor slave, nor master,
But Christ, the “one new man.”
June 26 - July 2, 2017
7- Her local gatherings model
The New Jerusalem;
Its aspects and its details
Must show in all of them.
Christ is the Lamp that shineth,
With God within, the Light;
They are the lampstands bearing
His glorious Image bright.
Lord’s Day 7/2
Psalms 133:1-3
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to
dwell in unity!
2 It is like the fine oil upon the head That ran down upon the
beard, Upon Aaron’s beard, That ran down upon the hem of
his garments;
3 Like the dew of Hermon That came down upon the
mountains of Zion. For there Jehovah commanded the
blessing: Life forever.
Eph. 4:1-6
1 I beseech you therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, to
walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering,
bearing one another in love,
3 Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the
uniting bond of peace:
4 One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in
one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all
and in all.
6 - One Body universal,
One in each place expressed;
Locality of dwelling
Her only ground possessed;
Admnistration local,
Each answ’ring to the Lord;
Communion universal,
Upheld in one accord.
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