Spirituality is a Body matter

From chapter 1 of  “The Vision, Type, and Practice of the Building Up of the Church”

“Orthodox Christianity focuses on the following three matters: zeal for the gospel, loving the Lord and living for Him, and pursuing spirituality in order to live a holy, overcoming life. These are the three main lines in today’s orthodox Christianity. Those who emphasize zealously preaching the gospel feel that nothing is more important than saving souls. Those who emphasize loving the Lord and living for Him have taken a further step. They feel that since they have received the Lord’s grace, they should love Him fervently and live for Him. Everything they have is for Him. Those in the third group have taken another step. They want to learn to live in the spirit in order to live a holy, overcoming life.

These three items are correct and good. However, the vision that we have seen is not merely to preach the gospel zealously, to love the Lord and live for Him, or to be spiritual and live a holy and overcoming life. The vision that the Lord has given us is for us to be built up together in His life and in the Spirit to be His Body, the church. We cannot be individualistic and just preach the gospel zealously and save sinners, or love the Lord and live for Him, or pursue spirituality and live a holy, overcoming life. We must be built up together in the life of Christ in order to be one Body as His corporate vessel, and we must be built up together in the Spirit in order to be the temple of God as His dwelling place.

Some people are indeed zealous for the gospel and are willing to pay the price by spending their time and effort to save souls. However, because they have not consecrated themselves to the Lord nor allowed Him to touch certain areas of their being, they feel that their service of preaching the gospel is the unique need. As a result, they can see only this point. Furthermore, although their conduct has changed such that they are moral and good persons, they do not let the Lord be their Lord, they do not allow Him to touch them, nor do they care for His intention. Believers in this category zealously preach the gospel, but they have not consecrated themselves to the Lord.

The second category of brothers and sisters not only preach the gospel zealously but also love the Lord and consecrate themselves willingly. They surrender their rights to the Lord and let Him touch everything in their life and living. Although they testify that they live for the Lord, they still live by the self because they do not yet know the flesh. It seems as if they do not live for themselves, but actually they live by the self because they do not live in the spirit. They do not know the meaning of walking and living according to the spirit.

The third category of believers not only preach the gospel zealously and consecrate themselves to live for the Lord; they also learn to live in the spirit. In everything they ask whether it is what the Lord wants or what they want, whether it is His doing or their doing, and whether their conduct is according to the self or according to the Spirit. In every situation they learn to live before the Lord and in the Lord. However, their spirituality seems to be individualistic, and their living is personal. They are in the church, but they live an isolated and individualistic life. They have contact with other brothers and sisters and may even give a message, but they are not blended and cannot coordinate with others. Such believers can be compared to a drop of oil in water. Although the oil is in water, it is not blended with the water. These believers may be very spiritual and live before the Lord, but they do not know the meaning of coordinating in the Body of Christ. Hence, they are not built up together with others in the church.

We know that we should preach the gospel, but we are not satisfied with merely preaching the gospel, because God is not satisfied. We know that we need to love the Lord, live for Him, and have a thorough consecration, but we cannot be satisfied or at rest in our spirit with this, because God is neither satisfied nor at rest. We should go further and learn to be spiritual, to live in the spirit, and to have a spiritual living. However, we still cannot be satisfied or at rest with this, because God is still not satisfied and cannot rest. The vision that God has shown us is that we should be built together in the spirit and in life with all those who love Him with a pure heart in order to be His spiritual house so that we can be coordinated together to express the Body of Christ. When this vision is fulfilled, we will be satisfied and have rest because God will also be satisfied and have rest.

If we read from Genesis to Revelation with the view of God’s intention, we can see that God desires to gain a city, not merely thousands of saved individuals. He does not want to display to the universe many beautifully carved precious stones. He wants a city that is built with many precious stones. Just as God does not want many materials but a building, so He does not want many spiritual people but a Body, a dwelling place, the new man, and a counterpart.

Therefore, there is no place for personal zeal or personal consecration in God’s intention, nor is there a place for personal spirituality. Instead of asking whether there are gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, grass, and stubble, we should ask whether the gold, silver, and precious stones are separate or built together, whether they are scattered or built up, and whether they are the issue of individual spirituality or of built-up spirituality. The Lord has given us the vision of the church; hence, we have seen that having proper conduct and being spiritual are not adequate. Not only is there no place for wood, grass, and stubble, but there is also no place for gold, silver, and precious stones unless they are built up.

This vision should capture and control us so that instead of being individualistic in our zeal, our love for the Lord, our consecration to live for Him, or our spirituality, we would be built up together. We must be built up together.

We rejoice and worship the Lord when we see a brother zealously preaching the gospel, distributing gospel tracts, and exhorting people to believe in the Lord, and we are sorrowful when we see a brother arguing with other people. Nevertheless, we must be clear that zealously preaching the gospel is not up to the standard of God’s vision concerning the church.

Similarly, we rejoice to see brothers and sisters serving and laboring for the Lord and letting Him control their time, energy, and money. These believers do not care only for themselves, nor do they put the Lord aside and labor for themselves. However, we cannot be satisfied with this service, because the vision that we have received does not stop with consecrating ourselves to live for the Lord.

Furthermore, we rejoice and give thanks to the Lord when we see a brother who not only loves the Lord fervently and willingly gives everything to Him but also has his being and living in the spirit. Nevertheless, the vision that we have received does not stop with such a living. Can such a brother be built up with others? A person may be spiritual yet individualistic; he does not blend with others, nor can he coordinate with others. Such a person has learned spiritual lessons and is careful to live in the spirit. He is not offensive, does not speak casually, and does not voice his opinions, but like a drop of oil in water, he is unable to blend with other believers. It is not a matter of being in harmony with others but of blending with them. Such a person is individualistic and cannot blend with anyone.

Perhaps such a person does not think that he is individualistic, because he still meets with the brothers and sisters in the church. He may meet with the saints but not be blended with them in the spirit. Instead of arguing with others or criticizing them, he may express his so-called spirituality, saying, “I dare not say anything with regard to this matter. If you feel that this is of the Lord, go ahead and do it.” If he is asked to intercede for a certain matter, he might pray, “Lord, if this matter is of You, bless it. If it is not of You, please intervene.” This brother holds the attitude of a spectator. The affairs of the saints, whether right or wrong, do not have anything to do with him. Hence, even though he may express a certain degree of spirituality with the brothers and sisters, he does not blend with them, nor is he built up with them.

The more spiritual such a believer is, the more individualistic he becomes. He may even think that his individualism is acceptable, because others have not achieved his spiritual height and thus neither understand nor appreciate him. He may say that all spiritual people take the lonesome path, which only the Lord knows. He may think that the brothers and sisters are his cross and that he should pray for those who cannot keep up with him and do not understand him and, hence, do not know the Lord. Such reasoning causes him to be isolated and to despise the other saints. As a result, his isolation, not the Body, is built up. This isolation becomes a stronghold that cannot be torn down, and this makes it impossible for him to be built up in the church.

We need the Lord’s mercy to see that such a condition is abnormal and does not match the standard of the building. Being spiritual should not result in being individualistic; rather, it should result in being built up with all the saints. Being spiritual should not result in living individualistically before the Lord. Being spiritual should result in our apprehending the breadth, length, height, and depth with all the saints (Eph. 3:18). The more genuine our spirituality is, the more we will lose our individualism and enter into the Body.”