In this message we come to the very crucial matter of the fellowship among the churches.
As we consider the fellowship among the churches, we need to realize that the churches are the Body of Christ. There are many churches, yet one Body.
Just as there is the circulation of blood in the human body, so there is a kind of circulation in the Body of Christ, a circulation which the New Testament calls fellowship. The circulation of blood in the human body is the life-pulse of the body. We may say that this circulation is the fellowship of the human body. The body cannot live without this circulation, this fellowship. Likewise, fellowship is crucial in the Body of Christ.
Fellowship is a common participation, a joint participation. Therefore, to have fellowship is to have a corporate participation in something. The fellowship of the divine life is the issue and flow of the divine life. Because the divine life is organic, rich, moving, and active, it has a particular issue, a certain kind of outcome. The issue, the outcome, of the divine life is the fellowship of life.
This fellowship is first mentioned in Acts 2:42, a verse which speaks of the fellowship of the apostles. The fellowship of the apostles is the fellowship received by the apostles from the Triune God. According to 1 John 1:3, this fellowship is “with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” This fellowship is from the Father and the Son to the apostles, and then from the apostles to all those who have received eternal life, the life of the Father. This means that the apostles receive the fellowship from the Father and transmit this fellowship to the believers by dispensing the divine life into them. Therefore, three parties are involved: the Father, the apostles, and the believers. Among these three parties something is circulating. This is the circulation of the divine life among the believers through the apostles and from the Father. This circulation is the fellowship of the Body, which comprises all the local churches. All the churches on earth are one Body, and within this Body there is the circulation of the divine life. In the New Testament this circulation of the divine life in the Body is called the fellowship.
Fellowship is related to oneness. Just as the circulation of blood in the human body causes all the members of the body to be one, so the fellowship of the divine life in the Body of Christ causes the Body to be one. If any member of our physical body does not participate adequately in the circulation of blood in the body, that member will become unhealthy. The way to cure such a problem is to bring that member back into the circulation of the blood. The principle is the same with the fellowship of the Body of Christ. All those who believe in Christ Jesus, who have received Him as Redeemer, Savior, and life supply, have the divine life. This divine life has a circulation; that is, the divine life circulates within all of us. This circulation of the divine life in the Body brings all the members of the Body into oneness. This oneness is called the oneness of the Spirit; it is also the oneness of the Body. As long as we have the divine life flowing within us, we are in this oneness, the oneness of the Body, the oneness among all the saints. This oneness includes not only the believers but also the Triune God. This is the fellowship among the churches.
If we realize what the fellowship among the churches is, we shall not have the concept that a local church should be altogether independent. In its local administration a local church is independent. However, according to the nature, essence, and intrinsic element of the church, no local church can be independent. To be independent is to be in darkness. Many Christian groups are in darkness because they have cut themselves off from the one, divine fellowship of the unique, divine life, the life of the Triune God. This may become the situation even with a church in the Lord’s recovery if that church makes itself isolated and independent. No church or region should be isolated from the fellowship of the Body.
The Brethren were raised up in Great Britain a century and a half ago. They were very good, and we received much help from them. However, they made some serious mistakes. One of these mistakes was placing too much emphasis on the independence of the local assembly. It seems that the Brethren either did not see or forgot that a local church is a part of the unique Body of Christ.
It is possible that, among us in the Lord’s recovery, certain churches or regions may make themselves independent. They may isolate themselves from the Body. They do not want to keep their church or their region open to the entire Body, that is, open to all the local churches on earth. As a result, to some extent at least, they cut themselves off from the fellowship among the churches. The result is darkness, confusion, division, and death. This should be a warning to us all. Whoever has the intention, either consciously or unconsciously, to separate his area from the fellowship of the Body of Christ eventually will suffer darkness, confusion, division, and death. Just as a member of the human body cannot live if it is separated from the circulation of blood in the body, so a church cannot be in a healthy condition if it isolates itself from the fellowship of the Body of Christ. From this we see that we all need to pay careful attention to the crucial matter of the one fellowship among the churches.
Although the administration of the church is separate and equal locally, the fellowship of the church is one universally. In fellowship there is no separation. On this entire earth there is only one fellowship, and this fellowship is universally one. The fellowship of the church is one not merely in a particular nation but throughout the earth. There are separate churches in many cities, but there is only one fellowship in the entire universe.
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