The Intrinsic and Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ – Week 3
The Intrinsic Building Up of the Church for Its Organic Function
Related Verses
1 Cor. 12:28
28 And God has placed some in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then works of power, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.
Acts 13:1
1 Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Eph. 4:1-2, 7, 13
1 I beseech you therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing one another in love,
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
13 Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
Acts 6:3, 5-7
3 But brothers, look for seven well-attested men from among you, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this need.
5 And the word pleased all the multitude; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch,
6 Whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God grew, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly; and a large number of the priests obeyed the faith.
Suggested Reading
The intrinsic building up of the church is by the Head-given gifts—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers—perfecting the saints (Eph. 4: 11-12). These are particular gifts such as Paul, Peter, Martin Luther, John Nelson Darby, and so forth. These Head-given gifts perfect the saints in the local churches (1 Cor. 12: 28; Acts 13: 1). When they are perfecting in the meetings, they are watering the members of the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 3: 6b). If we come to these meetings, we will receive much watering. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” pp. 298-299)
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Sinners need evangelists to preach the gospel so that they can be saved…. As these believers, who have been saved by evangelists, cared for and fed by shepherds and teachers, and ministered to by prophets, are growing, the apostles will begin to work on them in the way that the apostle Paul worked on Timothy to make him an apostle also. Paul was produced as an apostle by receiving revelation directly from Christ the Head, but Timothy was produced as an apostle in a different way. He was taught and trained to be an apostle.
Christ, the Head, produces only a small number as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. However, through these few persons many sinners are saved, many new believers are nourished to grow, and the prophets’ speaking in the meetings continues to nourish and edify these ones for their growth. At the same time the apostles work on some by perfecting, instructing, and educating them to make them apostles. In this way thousands more believers can function as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. This enables every member of the Body of Christ to function. Originally, only a small number could do the preaching, shepherding, teaching, speaking, and perfecting, but now there is a mass production so that thousands more can do these things.
The perfecting of the saints by the gifts may be compared to what happens at a teachers’ college that has a few professors and many students. The professors teach various subjects, such as math, history, foreign languages, and science. At first, only the few professors know their subjects, but after four years the many students should be able to do the same thing that the professors do.
In organized Christianity only a few function, while most only attend meetings, doing nothing but listening. They are never perfected to function.
Even a small fraction of their members could carry out many things if they were properly equipped and perfected. However, such perfected ones are not being produced.
In every local church all the saints should be perfected to function for the building up of the Body of Christ. We should not be selective but should bring all the members into the work of the ministry…. After a few years all the saints should be able to function as the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers do…. If we practice the new way to bring all the saints into function, we will win the victory and gain the earth. However, without the perfecting, the functioning of the members of the Body is annulled. The traditional practice of organized Christianity nullifies the functioning of most members. For this reason we need to have a turn and to change our way. All the saints need to be perfected so that they can function to build up the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 2, pp. 19-21)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1988, vol. 2, pp. 15-21, 23-31, 35-40
Corporate Reading of “Truth Messages” Chapter 4 – Sections: The Ministries In The Denominations; Not Receiving Ministries That Damage The Body