In John 8:12 the Lord said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” The fullness has another content, which is light, and it has another sign, which is brightness. Whether a person is in the fullness can be determined by whether he is full of light. Whether a local church is an expression of the Body can be determined by whether that locality is full of light. There is no darkness in the New Jerusalem. Everything is bright there. Not only so, everything in the New Jerusalem is also glorious—even the gold is transparent. Regrettably, the eyes of many in Christian groups are not bright. However, in the New Jerusalem even the gold will be transparent. Transparency is an expression of life and a sign of the fullness. This is a condition expressed through the Body.
Sometimes when we come to a local church, we may feel that it is like a bomb shelter which is dark and dismal inside. It seems that we have entered into a deep tunnel, surrounded by impenetrable walls of brass and iron. Once we walk into such a meeting, we feel as if we have entered into darkness, and everything is opaque. However, we can also be dismal and miserable within, but when we come to the Lord’s table meeting, we begin to feel bright, transparent, and refreshed. This is the church, the Body of Christ, the fullness.
Sometimes when fellowshipping with some responsible brothers, we may inwardly become dark. Prior to our fellowship, we may have sensed a gleam of light as we prayed at home. However, the more we fellowship, the more we become confused and without light. At that point we should realize that the fullness, the Body, and the expression of the Body is lacking. We can also have an experience of feeling sorrowful, of groping in the dark, and of not knowing how to proceed. Even our prayer is unclear. However, after fellowshipping with the elders, our inner being is bright and full of light. Sometimes we do not even need to speak. As soon as we sit down to fellowship, our inner being is opened and bright. After we say a few words, we feel that we are transparent and that the church, the Body, and the fullness are present. If there is the Body, there is the fullness, and in this fullness there is light.
Some saints live in the Body. They are people in the fullness. When they stand up, their whole being is transparent. When they open their mouths, they cause people to become clear and bright inwardly. However, there are others who seem to have a particular ability to confuse people. After listening to them we may lose what little light we have and not know what to do next. Do messages spoken by others cause us to touch God, or do they make us more confused? God is light. No message can cause us to touch God and yet be without light. For example, a message that causes us to feel that everything is acceptable—that entering the kingdom, for example, is about the same as going to the lake of fire—does not come from the New Jerusalem but from the abyss. In the New Jerusalem everything is bright. Only in the abyss is there darkness over the surface of the deep and darkness everywhere.
What is the fullness? The fullness is brightness. Of Christ’s fullness we have all received. The Lord said, “He who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness” (v. 12). We all know that those who have received of His fullness are in the light. Their inner being is bright. We do not need to ask others whether we have touched the fullness and are in the fullness. Everything depends on whether our inner being is bright or dark, clear or confused. This is not profound doctrine or great wisdom; it can be touched by every believer. Christ is the fullness of God, and there is something in this fullness called light. Whenever we touch the fullness, we touch light, and we are inwardly bright.
Everyone who touches the fullness of Christ is a star, a lamp, or at least a candle. A lampstand is bright, and it also illuminates others. The church is a lampstand. May the Lord have mercy on us that we may see whether we are in darkness or in the light. This determines whether we are His Body in experience. Whenever a church denies the self and touches the fullness of Christ, the church is His fullness in experience. There may not be a great number in a locality, and there may not be many who are smart or capable, but upon entering their midst, people will sense that these believers are transparent and bright, and that there is light among them because they have touched the fullness.
In John 14:5 Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how can we know the way?” Many misunderstand this as referring to the way to heaven. However, John 14 does not speak concerning the way to heaven but the way to God, the way into the Father. John 14 does not speak of how we can go to heaven but of how we can enter into the Father. Through the death and resurrection of Christ we have entered into God. Thomas inquired of the way, and the Lord Jesus answered, “I am the way” (v. 6). The Lord is the way. In this fullness there is not only life, resurrection, and light, but there is also the way.
Please remember that anyone who touches the fullness has the way. When a church touches the fullness, this church has the way. In the meetings of some localities it seems as if what was clear becomes unclear, and it is difficult to find the way. However, in the meetings of other localities we touch the way that enables us to touch the Lord. In such localities there is the fullness, and an element in the fullness called the way. Hence, when we have no way to go on, we need to touch a church which is the fullness; here we will find the way. When we have no way to go on, we need to contact a brother who has touched the fullness. After fellowshipping with him, the way will be within us. I believe that we have all had these experiences with others, and others have had these experiences with us.
Proper elders are those who enable saints, who have no way, to find a way. Such elders are often those with whom brothers and sisters can freely discuss their problems. Perhaps a person cannot get through inwardly with a particular problem, but suddenly he thinks of going and fellowshipping with the elders. After he sits with them for half an hour or an hour, the frustration within him is released, and consequently there is a way within him.
This is often the case in spiritual matters. Sometimes we cannot get through, and we do not have a way, regardless of how much we grope, pursue, and probe. But if we sit with a believer for a while, a way is often manifest within us even though we might not say anything. What is this? This is the fullness of Christ. In some saints a person can spontaneously touch the way when he comes to them because they live in the fullness. If the elders in the churches would all live in the fullness and have the way in the fullness, the church, being the fullness of Christ, will spontaneously have the way.
If we desire to know whether a locality is the Body of Christ and whether it is an expression of the Body, we need to see whether there is life, resurrection, light, and the way. These are strong proofs.