Crystallization-Study of Colossians –Week 8
Morning Watch The Body of Christ June 26 - July 2, 2017
Monday 6/26
Related verses
Eph. 1:22-23
22And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church,
23Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.
Eph. 4:12
12For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,
Col. 1:18
18And 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)
1I 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.
2And 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.
3For 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.
4For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function,
5So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
1 John 5:11-12
11And this is the testimony, that God gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son.
12He 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. 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.
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
15But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ,
16Out 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, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.
1 Cor. 1:10
10Now 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
20Peter, 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?
21Peter therefore, seeing him, said to Jesus, Lord, and what about this man?
22Jesus said to him, If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.
Phil 2:1-4
1If there is therefore any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of spirit, if any tenderheartedness and compassions,
2Make my joy full, that you think the same thing, having the same love, joined in soul, thinking the one thing,
3Doing nothing by way of selfish ambition nor by way of vainglory, but in lowliness of mind considering one another more excellent than yourselves;
4Not regarding each his own virtues, but each the virtues of others also.
Rom. 15:6
6That 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 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 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
14In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins;
Col. 2:19 (positively)
19And 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
6I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.
7So then neither is he who plants anything nor he who waters, but God who causes the growth.
2 Cor. 1:5-7
5For even as the sufferings of the Christ abound unto us, so through the Christ our comfort also abounds.
6But 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.
7And 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
10Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
11For 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.
12So 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 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, all-inclusive 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
Phil. 1:8
8For 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