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KNOWING THE BODY
Everyone who wants to engage in spiritual warfare must first know the Body. Nothing requires us to know the Body so urgently as spiritual warfare, because spiritual warfare is not an individual matter but a Body matter. No individual believer can fight with the enemy; it takes the whole Body. If we wish to learn spiritual warfare, we must first know the Body.
We must wait until the fourth stage to speak of knowing the Body, because the Body referred to here is the mystical Body of Christ, the church. This Body is formed by Christ as life in each of us, Christ mingled with us. During the second and third stages of our experience of life, we are still living in our own life; therefore, we cannot know this life that mingles with us to form the Body. Only when our self life has been utterly dealt with and we have the experience of passing through the Jordan and entering into the fourth stage will we be able to touch the reality of this life of the Body and come to know the Body.
Everyone who is saved is a member of the Body of Christ. Is the life in each one of us, then, a life pertaining to the members or to the Body? The Bible and our experience prove that though each one of us is a member of Christ, the life in each one of us is not a member life but a Body life. All the members of our body are sharing one life. Each member shares in common the same life together with all the other members, that is, the life of the entire body. For example, an ear, unless it has been cut off, shares the same blood that flows through the eye, the nose, and the whole body. Similarly, in the Body of Christ, when one member is joined to the Body or having fellowship with the Body, his life is the life of the Body, and the life of the Body is his life. It would not do for him to be separated from the other members, or vice versa, because the life in him and in the other members is of the same Body; it can neither be distinguished nor separated. It is this life that joins us together to become the Body of Christ; or, to say it more precisely and emphatically, it is this life that mingles with us to become the Body of Christ.
We cannot, however, experience this before the difficulties of the self have been entirely dealt with. If we are still living according to the flesh, in ourselves, and serving the Lord in our natural ability, the life of the Body, which is Christ Himself in us, has no way of being manifested, and there is no way for us to know the Body. The more we live by the flesh, the less we feel the need for the support of the Body. If we live by our self-opinion, we find no need for the sustaining of the church. If we serve with our natural ability, we sense no need for the coordination of the members. Only when our flesh has been dealt with, the self-opinion has been broken, and the natural life has been smashed, will the life within cause us to realize that we are simply members of the Body and that the life in us cannot be independent. Hence, this life requires us to have fellowship with all other members and be joined to them, and it also brings us into that fellowship and the experience of being joined together. It is at this time that we begin to know a little concerning the Body and become qualified to engage in spiritual warfare.
On one hand, we say that if we want to fight the spiritual warfare and deal with God’s difficulty, we must first deal with our flesh, self, and soul-life, thus solving our own difficulties; on the other hand, we say that in order to fight the battle, we must first know the Body, and in order to know the Body and live in the Body, we must first deal with our flesh, self, and soul-life. Whether, therefore, we speak from the standpoint of fighting the warfare or knowing the Body, we all must first pass through the preceding three stages—coming out of the flesh, the self, and the soul-life—in order to attain to the fourth stage of the experience of life.
We will now consider the matter of knowing the Body from several aspects, beginning with God’s plan.
GOD’S PLAN
God’s plan from eternity is to obtain a group of people to share His life, bear His image, and be united with Him as one. In the purpose of this plan there are two points that we should observe in knowing the Body.
God Wanting to Work Himself into Man and Make Man like Himself
This matter is absolutely related to His Son. The Bible reveals to us that God is in His Son; all that God is and all that God has, all the fullness of the Godhead, dwells in the Son (Col. 2:9). We can say that if there were no Son of God, there would be no God.
The usual concept of a son places the emphasis on the son being born of the father, and the son and the father existing as separate beings. But in the Bible the emphasis in relation to the Son of God is that He is the expression of God and cannot be separated from God. In John 1:18 we read, “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” This verse reveals that the Son of God is the expression of God, or the expressed God. No one has ever seen God, but now the Son of God has declared Him. When man sees the Son of God, he sees God. The Son of God is the expression of God and the manifestation of God. Outside of His Son, God has no expression or manifestation. Therefore, God and His Son are inseparable.
Since God and His Son cannot be separated, neither can the object of God’s plan be separated from His Son. God wants to work Himself into man, which means that God wants to work His Son into man. God desires to make men like Himself, which means that God desires to have men like His Son. God wants men to be one with His Son. Genesis 1:26 shows us in figure that in creation God wanted men to have His image and share His likeness. In the New Testament it is pointed out clearly and practically that God wants men to have His image, which means that He wants them to “be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). When men are conformed to the image of His Son, they bear God’s image, because the Son is the image of God (Col. 1:15).
In God’s Sight This Group of People, Which He Purposed to Be United with His Son and Bear the Image of His Son, Being Not a Number of Individuals but a United, Corporate Body
We can trace this thought from the three different ways that the Bible speaks concerning our relationship with His Son:
(1) We are the brothers of God’s Son (Heb. 2:11; Rom. 8:29). This aspect may seem to indicate that we as individuals are brothers of God’s Son, but the Bible emphasizes the fact that we and Christ together express God. Before Christ came in the flesh, God had only one Son and one expression in the universe. After Christ came to this earth and became flesh, He imparted His life into us so that we may become sons of God and His brothers. Henceforth, God has many sons in the universe. As this one Son is God’s expression, so all the sons are similarly God’s expression. Therefore, in saying that we are Christ’s brothers, the emphasis is that we and Christ together are God’s sons and together are God’s expression. Even so, the Bible does not infer that as brothers we are a number of separate individuals. For though we become brothers of Christ one by one, the Bible further states that we are the “house of God” (1 Tim. 3:15). Though we are many sons of God, the individual son is not the unit. The unit is the corporate unity of all the sons, who have come together as one house, one family.
(2) We are the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:31-32; 2 Cor. 11:2). Some may think that because there are thousands of saved ones, Christ has thousands of brides, as in a polygamous system; but the Bible shows that Christ has only one bride—the church, which is composed of all the thousands of saved ones. When the Bible says that we are the bride of Christ, the point of emphasis is that we have come out from Christ and are a part of Christ, just as Eve came out from Adam and was a part of Adam. In the beginning Adam did not have many ribs removed but only one, that is, the rib that became Eve. Similarly, Christ did not have many segments removed (such as one segment for one brother to be saved and another segment for a sister to be saved), but only one segment was taken from Him, and that was for the saving of the church. The church is the only part that came out from Christ. When we say that we are the bride of Christ, the idea of corporateness is expressed more specifically than when we refer to ourselves as the brothers of Christ.
(3) We are the Body of Christ. In Ephesians 1:23 we read that the church is the Body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:27 we read, “You are the Body of Christ, and members individually”; in 1 Corinthians 10:17, “We who are many are one Body.” These verses state that we are the Body of Christ, not that each one of us individually forms the Body of Christ. We are joined together to become the mystical Body of Christ, and we as individuals are members of this Body. The Body, therefore, can best express our corporate oneness.
The point to be stressed in what we have said regarding ourselves as the bride of Christ is that the church came out from Christ. When we refer to ourselves as the Body of Christ, the point to be emphasized is that the church and Christ are one. Just as Eve came out from Adam and was presented to Adam to become one flesh with Adam, so also the church came out from Christ and is presented to Christ to become one with Him. Christ is the Head; the church is the Body. The two cannot be separated. The church itself is one; the church and Christ are also one. This demonstrates even more clearly that what God desired for His Son was a corporate Body, not a number of separate individuals.
In summary, we see five points in God’s plan: (a) God desired to work Himself into man and unite Himself with man so that man would resemble Him. (b) God is in His Son. Therefore, when He wanted to work Himself into man, He wanted to work His Son into man; when He wanted man to be united with Himself, He wanted man to be united with His Son. (c) The people whom God wanted to be united with His Son are the brothers of His Son, those who share the sonship with His Son and together with His Son express Him. (d) This group of people is the bride of His Son, a part of His Son, taken out from His Son. (e) This bride not only comes out from His Son but is presented to His Son to become the Body of His Son. When this Body appears, the plan of God has been fulfilled. To put it quite simply, the plan of God is to have a Body for His Son, and this Body is the church. The church is the Body of Christ; it is the sole object of God’s plan. God’s creation is for this; His redemption is for this; His work throughout all generations is for this. When this purpose has been accomplished, the Body of Christ will appear, the bride will appear, and the many brothers will appear. It is then that God’s desire will be satisfied, His goal reached, and His plan fulfilled. Thus, if we want to know the Body, we must know the plan of God.
GOD’S CREATION
Second, we will consider the creation of God. We have already said that God’s heart’s desire is to get a group of people who will have His life and express Him. For this purpose He brought His creation into being. But when God created man, He did not create many men but only one—Adam. If God could create one man, He could have also created thousands of men. Why then did He not at the same time create thousands of men, instead of creating only Adam and letting thousands of men come out from him? The reason is that the thought of God is only one.
From the beginning of history, the number of human beings is countless, but since they have all come out from Adam, in God’s sight there is only one man. To God there is but one man in the universe, not millions or billions of men. We can prove this by 1 Corinthians 15:45 and 47. In this passage the apostle speaks of Adam and Christ as “the first man” and “the second man.” This second man is also “the last” one. Therefore, from the creation till now, in God’s eyes there is only one other man besides Christ. In order to complete His purpose and fulfill His plan, God created only one man. It was not in God’s thought to impart Himself to many individuals. His desire was to impart Himself to one corporate man and to express Himself through this one corporate man.
This same principle also holds true in the creation of woman. In the creation God made only one woman; that is Eve. We know that Eve represents the church. He made only one man, which means that He desires only one corporate man to become His image. He created only one woman, which means that God desires only one corporate man, which is the church, to become the bride of Christ. In conclusion, in God’s creation His thought is one, and this oneness is the Body that we speak about.
GOD’S REDEMPTION
Third, let us consider the redemption of God. In His redemption His thought is still only one. Speaking from the standpoint of our experience, some have been saved recently, some scores of years ago, and some hundreds of years ago; some were baptized in the United States and some in other countries. But though these events have taken place at different times and in different places, from God’s standpoint, He never saves individually. When He saves, He redeems the whole church.
A good example of this is the account of the Israelites coming out from Egypt. When the entire house of Israel came out from Egypt, the lamb was eaten and the blood applied at the same place and at the same time. Then at the same time and at the same place they passed through the Red Sea. From our limited viewpoint, some ate the meat and applied the blood at one place, while others ate the meat and applied the blood several hundred houses away. When passing through the Red Sea, some were in the front of the procession, and others were in the rear of the procession; they may have been thousands of feet and many minutes apart. But in God’s viewpoint, they ate the meat and applied the blood simultaneously in Rameses (Exo. 12:37), and their passage through the Red Sea (14:29) was also a simultaneous act.
For example, when an ant transports its food from one corner of the room to another, he considers that he is traveling quite a distance, but from our viewpoint, he is simply moving about in one room. Similarly, in our understanding, salvation takes place earlier or later, here or there; but with God a thousand years are like one day (2 Pet. 3:8). Therefore, in the eternal view of God, we are all saved at one time. He did not save us one by one, individually; He saved us corporately, as one man. Therefore, in His redemption, as in His plan and in His creation, His thought is still one. He did not plan for His Son to have two bodies but only one; nor did He create two persons for His Son but only one. Whether in God’s plan, in His creation, or in His redemption, the thought is one and one alone, and this oneness is the Body.
IN CHRIST
After we were redeemed into Christ, our position in Christ is still one. In ourselves we are many, but in Christ we are only one. In Christ there is only one church. In Christ there is one mystical Body. This mystical Body of Christ is one. The spiritual meaning of the Body is one. Whenever we as Christians are not one, we are not in the Body, and we demonstrate that we have not seen what the Body is.
The Epistle to the Ephesians speaks especially about the church. It states that the church is the mystical Body of Christ. The Epistle to the Ephesians is also a book that mentions the matter of “one” the most. It mentions seven “ones”: one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father (4:4-6). Seven is the perfect number. So this perfect “one” is in the Body, and this perfect “one” is the mystical Body of Christ.
IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
In Christ we are one; moreover, in the Holy Spirit we are one. This oneness in the Holy Spirit is what we commonly call fellowship. If we live in the Holy Spirit, we have this fellowship, and we have this oneness, which is the reality of the Body. When we lose this fellowship in the Holy Spirit, we do not have this oneness, and we do not have the Body.
IN LIFE
In life we are still one. We have mentioned elsewhere that the life within us is not a divided life but a complete life. Because of the fellowship in the Holy Spirit, the life in each one of us is complete and undivided. The life in me is the life in you and also the life in God. Therefore, His life in all of us is one. We are all one in this life. Not only the good Christians are one with us in life but also the failures, the weak ones, and the poor ones. This oneness in life is the mystical Body of Christ.
IN FELLOWSHIP
The fellowship we refer to here is fellowship in life. Since we are all one in life, the fellowship issuing from this life is one. Whenever there is oneness, there is fellowship. When there is no oneness, there is no fellowship. Therefore, when we are in fellowship, we are one. Today, in Christendom, people often advocate unification. This proves already that they are not one and not in fellowship; that is why unification is necessary for them. If we live in fellowship, there is no need for unification, for we are already united; we are one. This oneness is the Body of Christ.
IN EXPERIENCE
Since all the seven points already mentioned indicate oneness, in our experience we should also be one. If in our experience we are one, we are conscious of the oneness, and we touch the oneness; then we know the Body and live in the Body. But in fact it is not so simple. In God’s plan, in God’s creation, in God’s redemption, in Christ, in the Holy Spirit, in life, and in fellowship, all are one. We have no problem with these matters, because these are accomplished facts on God’s side. But on our side, whether we are one in experience differs with individuals. Some already have a little experience, whereas others have none. What we will stress now is this oneness in our experience.
First of all, we must know that our knowledge and experience of this oneness are definitely related to our spiritual age. With the young and immature, their knowledge and consciousness of this oneness are superficial and light; with the experienced and mature, it is deep and weighty. For example, a newly saved brother feels that he is far behind the other brothers who have been saved for five or ten years. But when this brother grows in his love to the Lord, he tends to feel that the other brothers and sisters who do not love the Lord cannot be compared with him. When he learns some spiritual lessons, he feels that he is much superior to those brothers and sisters who have not learned. Sometimes, when in a meeting with young brothers and sisters, he feels that their prayers, being poor both in content and in utterance, are not good; therefore, he will not open his mouth. This continuous feeling of being different from others proves that he does not have the consciousness of oneness and that he is still in an immature stage, not knowing the Body.
This is not the case, however, with the experienced brothers and sisters. There are two seemingly contradictory aspects to their feelings. On one hand, they feel that these younger brothers and sisters are really far behind them, but on the other hand, they feel that they are the same as all the brothers and sisters. Whatever the brothers and sisters feel, they feel likewise. The immature ones always feel different from others, but those who are deep in the Lord and developed in their spiritual experience feel no such difference. Therefore, the reason we cannot be one in our experience is because we are immature and shallow. When we arrive at this fourth stage in our spiritual experience, there is no feeling of difference but a spontaneous feeling of oneness with all. This is knowing the Body.
If we speak with regard to dealings, knowing the Body is also a kind of dealing, that is, a dealing with individualism. All those who do not know the Body are individualists. Their views, actions, living, and work are individual. All this individualism is because they still live in the flesh, the self, and the natural constitution. This resembles the parasitic vine, which winds itself about the tree and dies only when the tree of flesh, the self, and the natural constitution are cut down. Only when the flesh, the self, and the natural constitution have been severely dealt with will individualism be removed. When men no longer live as individualists, they come to know the Body.
Knowing the Body is not a doctrine that by speaking and hearing you may understand. Knowing the Body is the result of many past experiences. Having passed through all these experiences, we come at length to know the Body. When we go to visit a place of fame, we travel a certain distance; at length we arrive at our destination and see the object of our journey. So it is with knowing the Body. If we wish to know the Body and touch the reality of the Body in experience, we must walk a certain distance and climb certain slopes in the spiritual life. We must start from the experience of the clearance of the past and pass through the experiences of dealing with sin, the world, and the conscience, climbing diligently from one stage to the next. We must be severe with ourselves in learning the lessons one by one, especially in dealing with the flesh, the self, and the natural constitution. Only when we have experienced the first three stages of our spiritual life and attained to the fourth stage do we naturally arrive at the place where we can know the mystery of the Body of Christ.
Any spiritual knowledge in reality cannot be gained without experience. All is based on experience. True spiritual knowledge does not go beyond the lessons we have experienced. For example, there may be a Bible truth of which we cannot fully grasp the meaning because of our limited experience; all we have is a small feeling about it. If we would follow that feeling and try to experience it, the truth would one day become enlightened to us. On one hand, the truth brings in the experience; and, on the other hand, because of the experience, we know the truth. In this way we come to true spiritual knowledge.
Consider some other examples. If one has not experienced fellowship in life, he does not know the meaning of abiding in Christ. If one does not have the experience of walking according to the Spirit, he does not know the teaching of the anointing. Likewise, if the flesh has not been dealt with, self has not been abandoned, and the natural constitution has not been broken, he cannot know what the Body is. He may know a little regarding the doctrine of the Body, but he cannot touch either the actuality or the reality of the Body. The Body of Christ is not a doctrine; it is a reality. One must climb over the hills of experience before he is able to see and touch the Body. Knowing the Body does not depend on our supplication. Praying and fasting for three days and three nights will not enable us to see the Body. This is useless. The knowledge of the Body is the result of our experience and spiritual growth. After sufficient experience we arrive at a place where we naturally know the Body.
I will never forget the message given by Brother Watchman Nee in a special meeting. He repeatedly stressed the fact that before Romans 12 there must first be Romans 8. One must pass through the putting to death of the flesh of Romans 8 before he can attain to the knowledge of the Body of Romans 12. Therefore, from the beginning we must be very severe in dealing with ourselves, especially in regard to our flesh, our self, and our natural constitution. We must mean business and be thoroughgoing until we have the experience of Romans 8. Not until we have experienced the putting to death of the flesh in Romans 8 can we realize the Body in Romans 12. When our body (flesh) has been put to death, the Body of Christ will then be manifested. This is a spiritual reality wherein is no counterfeit and which cannot be counterfeited. There may be counterfeiting in other spiritual areas, such as humility, gentleness, faith, and love. We may even pretend to be spiritual. But no pretension is possible where knowing the Body is concerned. When our experience has attained to the degree of knowing the Body, then we know it. If in our experience we have not attained to this degree, we do not know it, and listening to much preaching on the subject avails nothing.
PROOFS THAT WE KNOW THE BODY
Since knowing the Body is such a practical thing, how may we ascertain whether or not one knows the Body as yet? We can prove it in at least three ways.
Being Unable to Be Individualistic
The first proof of knowing the Body is that we cannot be individualistic. In all the seven points we have mentioned—in God’s plan, in God’s creation, in God’s redemption, in Christ, in the Holy Spirit, in life, and in fellowship—everything is one, inseparable, and nonindividualistic. If we really know the Body and realize the oneness contained in these seven matters, there can be no individualism. Before one knows the Body, he is an individualist and can be individualistic. His life, his actions, his work, and his service are all individualistic. Outwardly, he appears to be one with the brothers, but there is no real coordination or knitting together. Not until he grows deeper in life and knows the Body to a certain extent does he see that being a Christian is a corporate matter and that he cannot go on without fellowship in the Body, nor can he depart from the coordination of the members. The Body of Christ becomes a practical matter to him. In the church life he can no longer serve alone. In the innermost part of his being, he feels that he needs to be a Christian together with others. Not only in great and important actions and work does he need the brothers and sisters, but even in Bible reading and prayer as well, he cannot do without other members. He cannot work without the coordination of the brothers and sisters, and he cannot live without the support of the church. It is at this stage that he is being knit together spontaneously with all the saints to become one Body, no more to be separated. All those, therefore, who can still be individualistic do not know the Body, and all those with a true knowledge of the Body definitely cannot be individualistic.
Discerning Those Not in the Body
The second proof of our knowing the Body is the ability to discern whether others are in the Body or not. One who has come to know the Body not only lives in the Body in a very practical way but also can clearly discern whether or not others are living in the Body.
This discerning ability after one knows the Body is absolutely due to the extent of the deep degree of fellowship he has in the Lord. Our fellowship with the Lord grows in depth in proportion to our experience of life, beginning with the initial stage of our spiritual life and continuing through the fourth stage. The degree of depth of fellowship differs greatly as we progress in the experience of life. When two people in different degrees of fellowship in the Lord come together, the one having the deeper experience can go on with the one who has the shallower experience and have fellowship with him, but that fellowship is limited in proportion to the experience of the latter. Should this fellowship go beyond the limit, it will become rather incongruous and incomprehensible to the latter. The one having deeper experience, therefore, can go on with the one who has the shallower experience, but the shallower one cannot go along with the deeper one. This is a great principle in spiritual fellowship.
It is because of this principle that those who are deep in the Lord recognize those who are shallow, but those who are shallow in the Lord do not discern those who are deep. If we have been brought by the Lord to the fourth stage and are having a deep fellowship in this stage, we can by fellowship know whether others also have been brought to this stage and as yet know the Body. But if we have not reached the fourth stage and do not know the Body, we then have no way of discerning others.
Let us use a most shallow illustration. When others spoke regarding regeneration before we were born again, it sounded incongruous to us. In addition, we were unable to know whether others were born again. If we are already born again, we not only can talk with others about regeneration, but we can easily discern whether others have been born again. This proves that we have indeed been born again.
Another illustration: If we have already consecrated ourselves and have had the experience of dealing with sin, we can very readily recognize those who have not had this experience. Since their fellowship with the Lord has not reached this stage, they will have no idea what we are saying, nor will they be able to respond. Conversely, if we have not had this experience, we will also not be able to recognize whether they have been consecrated or have dealt with sin.
Not only can we through fellowship ascertain whether others know the Body, but the experience of knowing the Body is also in itself a matter of fellowship. If one is in the Body, he is in fellowship; if one is not in the Body, he is not in fellowship. Most Christians have lost the position of fellowship, the reality of fellowship. This implies that they do not see the Body and do not live in the Body. Living in fellowship, therefore, proves that we know the Body. If we really know the Body, we can ascertain whether others are in it or not. When others have not come to live in the reality of the Body, they are not in the fellowship of the Body. There is no possibility of fellowship between them and us regarding this point. We need only to contact them, and we know it. Conversely, if we never sense that others are not in the Body, we demonstrate that we are not in the Body. We have not come to know the Body. Our inner feelings when contacting others, therefore, reveal to us whether we know the Body or not.
Recognizing Authority
The third proof of our knowing the Body is the recognition of authority. Whether or not one knows the Body depends upon whether or not he recognizes authority. Those who do not recognize authority do not know the Body. Knowing the Body and recognizing authority are inseparable. Recognition of authority is related to what we have mentioned regarding individualism in the first proof. If one recognizes authority, he cannot be an individualist. If one wants to determine whether or not he recognizes authority, he simply needs to determine whether or not he is still able to be an individualist. If he is still able to live as an individualist and feels that he can serve God alone without being coordinated with others, he demonstrates that he does not recognize authority, nor has he come to know the Body. Authority can only be manifested in the Body and in the coordination. If one member is individualistic and isolated, he has no relationship with others as far as authority is concerned. But if we have seen that God wants a Body, and that we, being members of this Body, can never go on alone (for once we are alone we are disjointed), we will learn to recognize authority, keep our position in the Body, and coordinate with all the brothers and sisters.
What is authority? Authority is simply the authority of Christ the Head, which is revealed in the order of the Body. Take our physical body as an example. The head is uppermost and is the authority of the whole body; from it, order is expressed throughout the whole body. Below the head are the arms, the trunk, and the legs. All the members follow a definite order; therefore, any member, unless it is detached, falls into such an order. Any member that is attached to the Body surely comes under this order. On one hand, it is under the authority of some of the members, and on the other hand, some other members are under its authority. For example, above the palm of the hand is the elbow, and below are the fingers; the elbow has authority over the palm, and the palm has authority over the fingers. This authority is in accord with their respective order in the body and is also the authority of the head as shown forth in the order of the members. When we speak of authority, we mean the authority of Christ manifested through the order of His Body. Since we are all members of the Body of Christ, we naturally have our right position and order. If we have been taught in our spirit and have been indeed led by God to recognize the flesh, if we have had the self dealt with and the natural constitution broken, we will immediately recognize our own order when placed among brothers and sisters. We will know who is in front of us and who is behind us, who is in authority over us and over whom we are in authority. The authority of the Head in me and the authority of the Head in others makes it clear who is over me and who is under me. This is just like a family, where brothers and sisters know their own order—who should submit to whom and who is the authority of whom. This kind of authority is not assumed, nor is it by election, but it is the natural order in life, which Christ the Head has manifested in all the members of His Body. Only those living in the flesh, walking according to self-opinion and the natural constitution, are able to engage in ugly conflicts with one another in rivalry for authority. All those who have learned their lessons can recognize the authority of the Head over the Body and can rest in their own order in a very natural and satisfactory manner. This has nothing to do with either humility or pride. Coming under authority is a natural procedure, far removed from forcing oneself to submit. This kind of people recognize authority and know the Body because recognizing authority is equal to knowing the Body. Therefore, this matter of knowing the Body can also be called knowing authority.
If we do not know our order in the Body, we demonstrate that in our experience of life we have not reached the fourth stage. If in the first three stages we have passed through various kinds of dealings, being earnest and thorough, especially in dealing with the flesh, the self-opinion, and the natural constitution, then the Holy Spirit within will lead us in a very natural manner to know our respective order in the Body of Christ, causing our life and service to be full of the flavor of the coordination of the Body. Thus, the Body of Christ will gradually become manifest among us.
In conclusion, when we have come to know the Body, we can be aware of it, even though we may not know when we attained to this knowing; but if we have it, we will know it. This is similar to recovery from an illness. The exact time of recovery is difficult to discern, but we know that we have recovered, for in appearance as well as in feeling we are different. Likewise, in all true spiritual knowing, it is not easy to tell precisely at what day, hour, or minute we gained entrance, but the aftereffect is clearly discernible. Therefore, if one has a real knowing of the Body, sooner or later he will demonstrate the three proofs that we have mentioned. First, he can no longer be an individualist. Second, he can tell when others are not in the Body. Third, among brothers and sisters he knows clearly, without any special effort, his own order in the Body—who has authority over him, and over whom he has authority, that is, in whom rests the authority of the Head. These three points are proofs of our knowing the Body.