The Word of God Is Nourished and Grows-
But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. (Isaiah 28:13)
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their heart: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: (Hebrews 8:10)
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. (Luke 8:15)
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (I Peter 2:2)
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, (Galatians 4:19)
We feed on the body and blood of Christ that are given us in the spirit realm, as portrayed in the material realm by receiving the elements of the Lord’s Table.
The milk and solid food of the Word of God are added to us by the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit Himself provides the wisdom, power, and virtue that enable us to share the Divine Substance.
The Gospels and the New Testament Epistles demand that we be in the moral image of Christ. We cannot obey the commandments of the Scriptures by our own wisdom and strength. Fortunately we do not have to be formed into the image of Christ by our will power and ability. The new covenant utilizes the full resources of the Godhead in order to bring about our complete transformation into the image of Christ.
We have a part to play. Our part consists of cooperating with the Holy Spirit as He works with the Word of God (both in the Scriptures and also in personal revelation to us), with the body and blood of Christ, and with ministries and gifts acting together with our circumstances. All of these are carefully controlled by the Lord for the purpose of creating Christ in us.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (II Corinthians 3:18)
The Holy Spirit brings us step by step into beholding the Glory of the Lord. As we behold the Glory of Christ our flesh is brought down to the death of the cross and our inner man is renewed day by day by the impartation of His resurrection life.
Death and life. Death and life. Day by day. Day by day. We—sometimes without realizing it—are being transformed from our fleshly self-life into the image of Christ.
The process of transforming a justified (blood-washed) human being into a saint of God is termed sanctification . We commence in a state of alienation from God because of our sins, and finish as the holy habitation of the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.
How marvelous is an atonement that can bring a person from total separation from God all the way to complete reconciliation—reconciliation to the extent that there is a marriage between God and the believer and the believer is perfectly in union with God and God with him!
Contents
The Word of God.
In the Holy Place of the Tabernacle of the Congregation there were three articles of furniture:
The Table of Showbread (Exodus 25:23-30)
The golden Lampstand (Exodus 25:31-40)
The Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1-10)
The Table of Showbread represents the Word of God, the Divine Substance, the body and blood of Christ that we must keep on eating and drinking until Christ is formed in us and the Divine Godhead can dwell in us.
The Lampstand portrays the Holy Spirit who reveals the Substance of Christ to us and enables us to partake of Christ. The Altar of Incense symbolizes the Spirit-filled prayer, praise, worship, adoration, intercession, supplication, that must ascend continually to God from the heart of the of the disciple who has laid down his life in total consecration to God’s will.
The Holy Place of the Tabernacle was a tent, and there was no light in it at night except for the shining of the golden Lampstand. The Table of Showbread could be seen by the light thrown across it by the Lampstand.
So it is in the Christian discipleship. The Holy Spirit "throws light" on the Substance of Christ. The Holy Spirit reveals Christ and makes Christ alive to us and in us.
The Word of God is being formed in us by the enabling Presence and actions of the Holy Spirit.
Each day by faith we take our place with Christ on the cross. Each day we are raised up by the Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life in Christ. All the while the living Word of God is being created in us a little bit at a time.
But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. (Isaiah 28:13)
The preceding verse describes the manner in which the Word of God is brought to us and formed in us. The Word of God is a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces, and our heart is the rock. The Word of God is a fire that burns up the chaff in our personality (Jeremiah 23:29). Command upon command, rule upon rule, here a little, there a little, the Word of God is being formed in us.
We are becoming the Word of God. We rush forward in enthusiasm for the Lord, but then fall backward because of problems and are broken, and snared, and captured. The Lord God in His love for us snares us in His net.
We often kick against the instruments with which God fashions us into the image of His dear Son. The Lord is patient, knowing that our end will be glorious.
The Father has given His Word to us so that we can understand His will for us. God’s Word brings:
Guidance (what we should do in a specific instance).
Wisdom (the ability to solve problems and resolve dilemmas, and the right way to behave in general).
Judgment (the ability to separate the lawful from the unlawful, the holy from the unholy).
Knowledge (a consciousness of what is, was, or will be true in both the spiritual and material worlds)
Understanding (a deep awareness of the will and purpose of God in the heavenlies and on the earth, coupled with a compassion-filled appreciation for the many factors and pressures that cause people and situations to be as they are).
The Word of God renews our mind (Romans 12:2) resulting in the transformation of our personality. Our renewal and transformation enable us to escape being changed into the spirit and ways of the evil age in which we live and to be fashioned instead into the image of Christ, God’s Son. The Word of God enables us to prove the will of God for ourselves.
The Word of God is both general and specific.
The Word of the Father to us is both general and specific. In the Scriptures, the Word of God is general. The Scriptures contain the plan of salvation that God has provided in Christ plus a history of people and events that have been involved directly in the revealing of God’s provisions and purposes for the earth and for the heavenlies.
Every Christian who sets out to be a conquering saint must take care to study the Scriptures daily, reading and meditating in the Old Testament and New Testament writings. The man of God renews his mind continually by daily study and contemplation of the written Word and by consistent exposure to the spoken ministry of the Word as it is preached and taught.
The Word of God comes to us also in a specific manner. This may take the form of a dream, vision, prophecy, or other anointed ministry of the living Word, a sudden illumination of a Bible passage, a consciousness of words or a voice framed in our mind or heart, or even an angelic visitation.
Christians need specific guidance, wisdom, judgment, knowledge, and understanding. We must hear from the Lord from time to time and must keep ourselves in the place where we can hear His voice and are sensitive to the Presence, will, and leading of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord has promised to reveal Himself to us personally.
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (John 14:21)
The Scriptures are our infallible authority and guide by which we can judge the spirits that come to us and also gain a broad knowledge and wisdom concerning God’s provisions and purposes related to salvation. The Prophets and the Epistles teach us how God wants us to behave in the world.
We also must be growing in our ability to discern His specific guidance for us as an individual, as the Spirit assists us with the many decisions with which we are faced as we press on in our pilgrimage toward the fullness of Christ.
The Word of God that we have just discussed is both general and specific as it renews our mind. The Word brings the necessary knowledge, wisdom, and understanding without which we are drawn into the likeness of the ways of the world.
When religious people do not submit themselves to a daily walk with the Lord, as in the case of many church leaders throughout the centuries, they lack understanding of God and His ways. They end up destroying the work of God and persecuting and killing those who do walk with the Lord. They do always err in their heart. They do always resist the Holy Spirit.
We must have the revelation of God’s will in constant application to our consciousness so that His will acts as a mold on us. As the mold comes down on our thinking and awareness we are transformed into His image. The mind of Christ is being created in us.
Impartation of the Divine Substance
The Word of God comes to us not only in terms of information and understanding by which we obtain salvation and by which our consciousness and judgment are renewed, but also in terms of the impartation of the Divine Substance.
We must eat the Word. We must eat the sacrifice. We must partake of the Divine Substance of God. This dimension of the Word of God (the Divine Substance) passes the level of our consciousness and judgment and has to do with what we are in essence.
We become one with Christ, our Passover Lamb, by eating Him. Christ is in us and we are in Him. It is the will of the Father that we be in complete union with Christ. When the fullness of the atonement has been developed in us we will be so identified with Christ that separation from Him or existence apart from Him will be inconceivable. We are being made one with Him as He is one with the Father.
The Word of God was made flesh. We must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to become one with Him. His flesh and His blood are our eternal life.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:51)
Christ is the Word of God made flesh. He is the Bread of life. Without Him we have a deep spiritual hunger that nothing in the world can satisfy. Christ Himself is the tree of life. He is eternal, and when we eat His flesh we have eternal life.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. (John 6:53)
Before we accept Christ we are dead spiritually, along with the rest of the people of the world. When we come to Him and believe in Him, He gives us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink. These elements are eternal life.
How do we eat His flesh and drink His blood?
The Holy Spirit gives us the flesh of Christ and the blood of Christ in the spirit realm, often through the ministry of the members of the Body of Christ. Preaching, teaching, prophecy, counsel, exhortation, the word of knowledge, tongues, and all the other ways by which the Holy Spirit reveals Christ are the means for the impartation of the flesh and blood of Christ to us.
The Holy Spirit brings the Life of Christ to us in our personal devotions as we wait on the Lord and meditate in His Word.
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (John 6:54,55)
When the word of God comes to us through the Holy Spirit it enters us and affects us in two different ways. First, the Word of God builds up our mind, renewing our thinking along the lines of the mind of Christ. We understand what is preached or taught or prophesied or what we read, and our grasp on God and His grasp on us are strengthened and enlarged. We keep on being transformed by the continual renewing of our mind.
Second, the Holy Spirit brings the Word of God to us in the form of the body and blood of Christ. The Substance of God enters our personality and we partake of the Divine Nature. We eat His broken body and we drink His blood as the Holy Spirit imparts to us the Substance of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word of God comes to our mind as we study the Scriptures and as it is given through the ministries and gifts of the Body of Christ. The Word of God also enters our heart in the form of the body and blood of Christ.
The Word of God to our mind brings guidance, wisdom, judgment, knowledge, and understanding. The Word of God to our heart gives us life in our inner being—the Life that is the Substance of Christ and that will raise us up at the last day.
He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. (John 6:56,57)
It is the will of God that we partake of Christ continually so that His Divine Substance can be increased in us. He is our Life. As the Holy Father is the Life of Christ, and nothing that Christ is or does is apart from the Father, so we are called to exist and act as part of Christ. We are "the fulness of him that filleth all in all."
It is His will that this relationship develop until nothing—absolutely nothing—that we are or do is apart from Him.
The Communion service
The Communion service illustrates our coming to Him and eating His body and drinking His blood.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)
As we eat the flesh of Christ we become one with Him in His death and resurrection. We eat the Passover Lamb and become one with the sacrifice. Our sins are forgiven through His blood. As we drink of it, the justifying, healing authority and power of His blood enter our body, soul, and spirit and we are delivered from bondages of all kinds—spiritual, mental, moral, emotional, and physical.
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion (sharing) of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion (sharing) of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. (I Corinthians 10:16,17)
As soon as the flesh of Christ was broken and distributed He never again can be made whole until every last bit of His flesh comes together into the one Body of Christ. Such is the greatness of His eternal love. Christ will remain "imperfect" until each member of His Body has been made perfect and brought into oneness with Him, and through Him into oneness with every other member (Ephesians 4:13).
Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? (I Corinthians 10:18)
Under the Levitical law the priests, and in certain instances the worshipers, ate of the animal sacrifices after they were offered (Leviticus 7:6). Those who ate the sacrifices became one with the altar and with all that the altar represents.
As we eat the flesh of Christ and drink His blood we become one with Him in His death and resurrection. Our sins continue to be forgiven as we walk in the Spirit of God, and His flesh and blood in us fill and transform our being.
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. (I Corinthians 11:23,24)
Every time we Christians sit down together and partake of the Communion we are remembering our Lord Jesus Christ. We are announcing the fact that through His death on the cross His body and blood are given to us so we may eat and drink, and thereby live.
The Communion calls to our mind that Christ is our Life and that we are to live by Him and not by the perishing physical existence that we have in the world.
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. (I Corinthians 11:25,26)
The blood of Christ washes away the sins of the past, when we receive Christ as our Savior, and of the present as we confess and forsake our sins.
The blood of bulls, goats, lambs, and birds acted as a covering over the sins of Israel. There was no authority or power in the animal blood to take away the sin, only to cover the sin until God provided His Lamb—the Lord Jesus Christ.
Under the new covenant we drink the blood of the Lamb of God, and that blood is the justifying, remitting, purging, reconciling, eternal Life from God Almighty. We live by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. His flesh and blood are our eternal Substance and Life. Every time we choose to turn away from evil and do the will of God we are fed in the spirit realm with the body and blood of Christ.
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. (I Corinthians 11:27)
The Communion elements are not merely a venerable church tradition that we observe because it seems to be a good thing to do. The Communion elements, from God’s point of view, are the Divine Substance and eternal Life of the Godhead given to death-doomed people that they may live in the sight and Presence of God.
It is important that the believer receive the Communion elements as the body and blood of the Lamb of God with all due reverence, awe, giving of thanks, and purity of heart and mind.
If there is known sin in the worshiper’s heart he must confess it to God. Also, he must make restitution if his sin is against another person and the circumstances seem to indicate that the offended person has an apology or payment due him.
If the worshiper is bound in sin he may need help in prayer from other members of the Body of Christ.
It often is needful and helpful to confess our sins to our husband or wife or to another good friend in the Lord (of the same gender as ourselves). Confession to another Christian enables us to expose the deceitfulness and pride that keep our thoughts and motives hidden in the dark recesses of our heart.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. (I Corinthians 11:28)
Self-judgment is an important part of the growth of Christ in us. As we are learning to walk prayerfully before the Lord the Holy Spirit brings to our heart and mind the various sins that are part of our personality. We must practice diligence in bringing these sins before the Lord in confession so that we may be forgiven and cleansed (I John 1:9).
If we would judge ourselves, it would not be necessary for God to judge and chasten us. We must cleanse ourselves by bringing our sins of imagination, motive, word, and deed to the fountain of the blood of Christ so that we may be forgiven and delivered from all sin and rebellion.
If we partake of the Communion elements, the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, but are not keeping ourselves in the place where we can hear the reproofs of the Holy Spirit concerning the uncleanness in our life, we will be judged by the body and blood of Christ. The judgment may result in our sickness or death.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. (I Corinthians 11:29)
When we do not judge ourselves the Lord chastens us so we will not be condemned along with the world.
Human beings can obtain eternal life only in the Word of God. The Word of God in the form of words and phrases is given to our minds as the Holy Spirit, through ministries, books and other media, and special revelations, brings guidance and understanding concerning the working and purposes of God.
The Word of God in the form of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is imparted to our whole being, bringing Substance and Life.
All of the material resources of the world, all the wisdom, knowledge, riches, and pleasures of the mental and physical domains—all that the world is, in other words, can never bring eternal life to a single man, woman, boy, or girl. Christ Himself is the Bread of life. Unless a person eats His flesh and drinks His blood he or she cannot live. He remains spiritually dead. Christ is our Manna from Heaven.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)
When we attempt to find peace and satisfaction in the world apart from Christ we soon discover that they cannot be attained. When we have only material resources to fill our deepest needs we dry up in our inner being and soon our life becomes an unbearable chore. When we eat His body and drink His blood we satisfy the hunger and thirst that are in us.
Christ keeps on feeding us and giving us to drink of Himself so that we never hunger or thirst again. Mankind died through Adam’s sin. Restoration of life in the Presence and sight of God (and there is no life worth living apart from God) comes only through the Lamb of God, Christ.
The milk and solid food of the Word.
When first we are converted to Christ and begin our pilgrimage we need to be nourished continually with the milk (first principles) of the Word of God.
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (I Peter 2:2,3)
We can receive the milk of the Word from the anointed ministries of the Body of Christ as the Word is preached and taught, and also from our own reading and meditating in the Scriptures.
There are few things in the Christian discipleship as necessary for the development of the victorious life as daily reading and meditation in the Scriptures. Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God. We escape the corruption that is in the world by laying hold by faith on the words that God has written to us.
We grow in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, judgment, faith, love, and hope as we keep on reading and meditating in the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Many Christians do not spend enough time each day learning the Scriptures. As a result they remain weak in faith. They do not grow properly in the Lord.
As soon as we begin growing in the Lord we need to start on the solid food (advanced principles) of the Word of God. The evidence that we are growing in the Lord is our increasing ability to distinguish between good and evil, and our increasing strength and willingness to embrace the good and renounce and reject the evil.
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine (the elementary instruction) of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, (Hebrews 5:12-6:1)
A baby cannot eat solid food because its system is not able to digest it. However, when the baby grows into a boy or girl there is a hunger for solid food, provided normal development has taken place. A healthy child has a good appetite. He craves food and will cry if he does not get it. A sick child loses his appetite because his body is occupied with a higher need—the overcoming of disease.
A healthy, growing Christian craves the solid food of the Word of God. As soon as a Christian gets a taste of solid food he will become restless until he finds a place where it is available to him on a regular basis. If solid food is not available anywhere, spiritual immaturity, deformity, and death may follow.
The ministries and gifts of the Body of Christ.
God has provided a variety of ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit by which the Word of God can be brought to the mind and heart of the disciple.
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: (Ephesians 4:11,12)
If we are to have the milk and solid food of the Word of God we must have the full set of ministries God has provided. It is necessary that there be apostles and prophets as well as evangelists and pastor—teachers ministering to us in these days so that Christ can be formed and brought to full development in each disciple.
Christians must pray without ceasing that God will restore all the ministries to the Church of Christ and that every saint will be brought into the fullness of the image of Christ and into the complete knowledge of Christ and union with Christ.
The Christian churches of our day are pouring almost all of their resources into gaining new converts. This is not a balanced emphasis. While some resources should be pointed toward preaching the Gospel toward those who never have heard, the major effort should be to bring to maturity those who already believe.
Because of the imbalance in the distribution of effort the world is full of baby Christians. They present little or no threat to Satan’s empire. Many of them do not continue to make a profession of Christianity after a few years, falling back into sin. Those who do continue in the churches soon become filled with the various sins and failures that plague church people. We may have enough evangelists but we have a sore need for apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers. How else are we to come to the measure of maturity as measured by the fullness of the stature of Christ?
Mature Christians are not always in evidence in the Christian churches, as numerous pastors understand only too well!
The plan of God is as follows: as the several different types of ministry in a variety of ways bring the Word of God to our heart and mind, two aspects of our personality are affected: (1) we grow in the ability to minister to the Body of Christ and to mankind in general; and (2) Christ is formed in our personality. As these two aspects operate and develop in each member, the Body of Christ is brought to unity and maturity in Christ.
The Substance and Life of Christ (His body and blood) are added to us when the Holy Spirit reveals Christ through the members of the Body of Christ. Our mind is renewed as the Word of God creates in us the mind of Christ. Understanding of the purposes and methods of the Lord grows in us. Also, we gain wisdom and knowledge that enable us to better meet the practical daily needs that arise while we Christians are making our journey through the wilderness of this life.
Christ is formed in us by the gifts and ministries given us by the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:11). Each Christian has his or her own ministry by which he can build up himself and also make his individual contribution to the perfecting of the whole Body of Christ.
There is no instance in which a member of the Body of Christ has nothing to give. If we are not aware of our own role in the building of the Body of Christ we should present our body a living sacrifice that we may "prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" for our life (Romans 12:1,2).
Chapters 12 and 14 of I Corinthians discuss the subject of the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit and the exercise of the gifts and ministries in the assembly of the saints. The purpose of the gifts and ministries is to build the Body of Christ—that Christ may be brought to full stature in the Church (I Corinthians 12:12, Ephesians 4:13-16).
Christ is the Cornerstone of the living, eternal Temple of God. The Temple of God is being constructed as each member of the Body of Christ exercises the ministries and gifts given to him or her by the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of God has given to every Christian a spiritual enablement so that he may be adding to the building of the Body of Christ.
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16)
The Holy Spirit has distributed a wide assortment of gifts and ministries to the members of the Body of Christ that the Body may be brought to full stature.
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:4)
These gifts are given to us by the Lord with the understanding that we are to learn from the Holy Spirit how and when they are to be used. The members of the churches, for the most part, do not know what their gifts are. Many who do possess functioning gifts do not understand how or when to use them.
Because the gifts and ministries are not operating properly the Body of Christ remains to this day a valley of dry bones. The gifts and ministries must be functioning if the Body of Christ is to be brought to maturity and unity.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. (I Corinthians 12:7)
The ministries and gifts that the Lord gives us are the money, the talents of the Kingdom of God. It is Christ’s understanding that we shall spend His money in the marketplace and show a profit. If we do not use the Lord’s money in a profitable manner (in the building of the Body of Christ) He will, at His coming, take away the responsibility that He has given us and will entrust it to another Christian who has been wiser and more diligent (Matthew 25:26-28).
The Spirit of God apportions the ministries and gifts as He has determined in His own sovereign counsel, although it is wise on our part to covet ministries and gifts and to pray for them (I Corinthians 12:31,14:13,39, Luke 11:5-13).
But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. (I Corinthians 12:11)
Each of us has a unique set of spiritual abilities and a ministry in the Body of Christ that we are to perform. No one else has been assigned the task that is ours to do. The Body of Christ depends for its unifying and maturing on our performing the job, on adding the part, that has been delegated to us by the sovereign purposes of the Holy Spirit. God wastes nothing and He makes no mistakes.
The only way in which we can find what our ministry is and start to perform it is to present our body a "whole burnt offering" on the altar of God (Romans 12:1,2).
At first the presentation of our body as an offering to God may seem like an unreasonable demand by the Lord in that we are prevented because of it from pursuing our own life as we consider to be desirable.
When we remember that God in His love has set us aside (and this is true of every member of the Body of Christ) as a priest and deliverer so we may represent Him to His creation, the offering of ourselves to His will is viewed by us as no more than reasonable and appropriate.
We Christians must grasp the importance of the assignments of the King and hasten to give ourselves to the offices to which He directs us. His gifts of service are far more important than any sacrifices we are invited to make.
In the event that we as an individual do not build the Body of Christ with our gifts and ministries, God will follow another route in order to provide the part for which we were responsible; for the Body of Christ shall become a enlargement and counterpart of the Son of God, Christ. God already has spoken that fact into existence.
We ourselves will be stripped of our assigned office, now or at the coming of the Lord, and it will be given to another.
God is not a person with whom to trifle. The day in which we live is not a time to float about in indecision. The end-time spiritual battle is ready to be joined. Eternal destinies are being decided. Each of us must choose whether or not to give himself over to God’s highest calling for his life.
God promised Abraham a Seed who would overcome the enemies of the Seed and who would be the source of blessing for all the nations of the earth. Galatians, Chapter Three states that the Seed is Christ and that there is no other seed. The Seed of Abraham is Christ, the Anointed Deliverer toward whom the prophets point.
Most students of the Scriptures in all probability have been aware of these facts. What has not been realized as commonly, although the Scriptures are clear enough, is that Christ consists not only of the Head, Jesus, who is the Lord of Glory, but also of His Body.
"If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29). Being Abraham’s Seed means we shall overcome our enemies (the enemies of Christ—Luke 10:19) and shall be the source of blessing for all the nations of the earth.
The Anointed Deliverer who is to come, the eternal resting place of the Lord God of Heaven, is made up of the sovereign Head—the Lord Jesus Christ, and also of His Body, which is His Bride—the Church.
The Body of Christ is being created at this time on His broken body and shed blood just as Eve was created on the rib of Adam. The gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit are one of the principal means by which the Body of Christ is being fashioned. Also, suffering plays an important role.
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. (I Corinthians 12:12)
God Almighty has designed the Body of Christ according to His own wisdom and love.
But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. (I Corinthians 12:18)
God has provided every element necessary for the creation of the Body of His Son. The gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit are given to the Bride of the Lamb to help with her preparation.
The ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit are not to be identified with a particular denomination or local assembly of saints. The ministries of the Spirit are given to the Church, the Body of Christ. Each disciple is to use his gifts and ministries faithfully wherever God places him and in the manner in which God directs. When ministering in the local assembly he is to be subject to the elders of the assembly.
And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. (I Corinthians 12:28)
The gifts and ministries are given for the building up of the members of the Body of Christ. Each member of the Body must be brought to maturity so that the Body will be prepared to be joined to the Head.
There cannot be so much as one member who has not been made ready, who still is opposed to the Holy Spirit concerning the loving of righteousness and obedience and the hating of sin and disobedience. One imperfect member would be an imperfection in the Body of Christ—and that is not acceptable. The Bride will be presented to Christ by His Father without any blemish (Ephesians 5:27).
How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. (I Corinthians 14:26)
The Body of Christ has not been brought to maturity as yet because many of the members of the Christian Church are not functioning in the several gifts and ministries on which the maturing of the Church depends. Also, we must have more of the solid food of the Word of God added to our heart in the form of the body and blood of Christ, and to our mind in the form of knowledge and understanding.
We need, in addition, a mighty outpouring of power from on high—an additional and more powerful baptism with the Holy Spirit and with the fire of Divine judgment. "Holiness to the Lord" is the cry of the Spirit of God in the present hour. Many glorious areas of Christ’s Kingdom await us as we press forward in God.
The final act of God needed to separate the tares from the wheat, and to bring the Body of Christ to the unity and maturity necessary for Her union with the Head, is the great tribulation period. The great tribulation will serve as the burning "sun" that will mature the Lord’s "wheat." Apart from that time of unprecedented trouble the Church would remain as it is today—an intolerable mixture of the flesh and Christ.
The "Christ," part of whom is in Heaven at this time and part on the earth, will be brought to perfection as the various members of the Body, the anointed ministries and gifts, work together effectively. As we are able, let us present ourselves to the Lord so that He may reveal Himself to us and through us.
It is the demonstrating, the revealing of Christ through the Holy Spirit that brings the broken body and shed blood of Christ to the inner man of the Christian. It is the "pure milk" of the Word made alive in the Spirit that causes us to grow until we are able to partake of the "solid food" of the Word (I Corinthians 3:2). We are built up "according to the effectual working in the measure of every part" of the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:16).
It is not the will of God that His Seed lie dormant in us. The Divine Seed, Christ, has been planted in us for the purpose of growing into a son of God, a brother of Christ. Christ is to be formed in us.
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, (Galatians 4:19)
The farmer waits patiently for the fruit of the earth. God is waiting patiently until Christ comes to maturity in the believers.
The development of Christ in us is the rising of the Day Star mentioned in II Peter 1:19:
We have also a more sure word of prophecy (the Scriptures); whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
There must be a full and continuing revelation of Christ through the Holy Spirit in every assembly of the saints. Each disciple must take up his cross and pursue a consecrated life saturated with prayer, Scripture reading, personal holiness, faith, hope, love, perseverance, courage, and unswerving obedience to God.