1 Cor. 12:25 That there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same care for one another. Eph. 4:3 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.
Those who have seen the Body of Christ have a feeling for the Body of Christ. Once they do anything sectarian or anything that divides God's children from one another, they feel uneasy inside. Since they love all those who belong to God, they cannot divide God's children from one another. In the Body, love is something spontaneous, while division is something unnatural. A man has two hands, and it would not matter how many things one hand said against the other hand, the two hands can never be separated from each other; it is impossible to divide the two. All sectarian spirits, all divisive attitudes, and all outward moves and inward thoughts that cause separations between God's children are proof of the lack of vision concerning the Body of Christ. Many people do not live according to the principle of the Body. Rather, they live according to the principle of individualism. This individualism can be found everywhere. In the prayer meetings, some can only pray by themselves; they cannot pray with others. They can only have others listening to their prayers; they cannot listen to the prayers of others. They do not respond to the prayers of others and cannot say amen to them. When they come to the meetings, they only care to speak their part. Then they have nothing more to do with the others; whatever prayer, burden, or feelings others may have seem to be totally unrelated to them. This is the principle of individualism; it is not the principle of the Body. Such ones do not see the Body, and they cannot work together with others before the Lord. Sometimes when three, five, ten, or twenty brothers are speaking together, you can sense that some of them can only speak about their own burden; they have no heart to speak or hear about the burdens of others. If you sit down with them for an hour or two, the only time they are alert is when they are talking about their own affairs. When the subject is about other people, they begin to wander around in their mind. If you talk to them afterwards, you will find that they did not hear a single thing that the others said. These small indications tell us whether or not a man has seen the Body of Christ.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, Vol. 37, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, pp. 242-243. 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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