Message Eleven

Working with the Lord for His Body

Scripture Reading: S. S. 6:13—7:13

1. In Song of Songs 6:13 the lover, having passed through various stages of transformation, has become the Shulammite, Solomon’s duplication:
   1. She is the same as Solomon in life, nature, expression, and function, as Eve was to Adam—Gen. 2:20-23.
   2. This signifies that in the maturity of Christ’s life the lover of Christ becomes the same as He is in life, nature, expression, and function but not in the Godhead—2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29.
   3. At this point the Shulammite becomes Solomon’s co-worker; this indicates that eventually Christ’s lovers need to share in the work of the Lord, working with Him for His Body—Eph. 4:12; 1 Cor. 15:58; 16:10; Col. 4:11.
2. To share in the Lord’s work, we need to be qualified, and our qualification depends on our being equipped with all the attributes of the divine life expressed in human virtues—S. S. 7:1-9a:
   1. The Spirit reviews the lover’s virtues, which are signs of her maturity in the divine life and qualify her to work with the Lord—vv. 1-5; cf. 2 Cor. 1:12; 2:14-17; 11:10a; 1 Thes. 2:1-12:
      1. The Spirit reviews her beauty in the gospel preaching (footsteps in sandals—Rom. 10:15) and in her standing power (thighs) produced through the skillful transforming work of God the Spirit (jewels—2 Cor. 3:18)—S. S. 7:1.
      2. Prince’s daughter (v. 1) indicates that a lover of Christ should reach the maturity in His royal life to reign as a king with Christ—Rom. 5:17.
      3. Her inward parts (navel and belly) are filled with the divine life received through the drinking of Christ’s blood (wine) and the eating of His flesh (wheat) by faith (lilies)—S. S. 7:2; John 6:53-54.
      4. In Song of Songs 7:3 the Spirit reviews her beauty in her active ability to feed others in a living way—John 21:15, 17; cf. S. S. 4:5.
      5. In 7:4 the Spirit reviews her beauty in her submissive will (neck) wrought by the Spirit’s transforming work through sufferings for the carrying out of God’s will, in the expression of her heart, which is open to the light, clean, full of rest, and accessible (eyes like pools—cf. 1:15; 4:1; 5:12), and in her spiritual sense of high and sharp discernment (nose—cf. Phil. 1:9-10; Heb. 5:14).
      6. The Spirit reviews her beauty in her thoughts and intentions (head), which are strong for God (Carmel—cf. 1 Kings 18:19-39), and in her submission and obedience for her consecration (locks of her head—cf. Num. 6:5a), which are for the glory of God (purple) and capture (fetter) her Beloved, who is the King—S. S. 7:5.
   2. In verses 6 through 9a Christ, the Beloved, offers words of praise for His lover:
      1. The Beloved praises her in her beauty and pleasantness, which delight others, and in her mature stature, in which she is like Christ (a palm tree—Eph. 4:13), and in her rich feeding of others (breasts like the clusters)—S. S. 7:6-7.
      2. The Beloved will enjoy her mature stature of Christ (palm tree) and share it with the members of His Body (branches—John 15:5a)—S. S. 7:8a.
      3. The Beloved wishes that her feeding of others would be rich (breasts like clusters of the vine), that her intuition (nose) would be fragrant for nourishing others in life (apples), and that her foretaste would be of the power of the age to come (best wine—v. 9a; John 2:10; Matt. 26:29)—S. S. 7:8b-9a.
3. Song of Songs 7:9b-13 reveals that the lover works with her Beloved for His Body:
   1. To share in the work of the Lord is not to work for the Lord but to work with the Lord—1 Cor. 3:9a; 2 Cor. 6:1a.
   2. To work with the Lord we need to be one with Him; actually, to work with Christ we must become Christ—1 Cor. 6:17; John 15:4-5; Phil. 1:21a.
   3. To work with the Lord we must teach the high truths—S. S. 4:8; 1 Tim. 2:4.
   4. To work with the Lord we need the maturity in life—Eph. 4:13-14:
      1. We need to grow and mature unto perfection in the divine life—Matt. 5:48.
      2. To enter into God’s New Testament economy requires that we grow and mature in the life of God—1 Cor. 2:6; Col. 1:28.
      3. To be transformed is to be metabolically changed in our natural life, but to be matured is to be filled with the divine life that changes us—Heb. 6:1.
      4. Maturity is a matter of having the divine life imparted into us again and again until we have the fullness of life—John 10:10b; 2 Cor. 5:4b.
   5. To work with the Lord our work must be for His Body—Eph. 4:4, 16:
      1. The Body is the governing law of the life and work of the children of God today—1:22-23; 1 Cor. 12:4-6, 12-13, 27.
      2. The work of the Triune God in us is to produce and build up the Body of Christ—Eph. 3:16-21; 4:4-6, 12, 16:
         1. Our work in the Lord’s recovery is the work of God’s economy, the work of the Body of Christ—1 Cor. 15:58; 16:10; Col. 4:11.
         2. All the co-workers should do the same one work universally for the one unique Body; the starting point of the work is the oneness of the Body—Eph. 4:4; 1 Cor. 16:10.
      3. According to Song of Songs 7:11, Christ’s lover wants to carry out with her Beloved the work that is for the entire world (fields) by sojourning from one place to another (lodging in the villages); this indicates that our work must be for the Body—Eph. 4:12.
4. In the churches (vineyards) Christ’s lover renders her love to her Beloved—S. S. 7:12:
   1. At the place of His work, she expresses her love to the Lord:
      1. In the midst of the Lord’s work, we give Him our love—Mark 12:30.
      2. This kind of fellowship with the Lord is an issue of an absolute union with the Lord in life—1 Cor. 6:17; John 14:20; 15:4-5.
   2. In her working together with her Beloved there is a mutual love (signified by mandrakes—S. S. 7:13; Gen. 30:14-16) giving forth its fragrance between them as a couple who love each other, signifying the bridal love between the lover of Christ and Christ, and in their working places there are plenty of fragrant and choice fruits (cf. Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 5:9), new and old, which she stores up for her Beloved in love.
   3. Here we see the relationship between the first love and the first works—Rev. 2:4-5:
      1. The first works are works that issue from and express the first love.
      2. Only those works that are motivated by the first love are the gold, silver, and precious stones—1 Cor. 3:12.
      3. When we are filled with the first love of the Lord, everything we do issues from and expresses our love for Him—Eph. 3:19; 4:16.