John 3:29-30 tells us that the Lord must have a bride as His increase, His Body, the church. Christ’s increase comes into being because Christ died, rose, and imparted His life into us to make us His counterpart. Christ is the unique grain of wheat, and we are now the many grains as His increase. Now the many grains need to be blended together as one loaf. We can have this oneness only by taking Christ as our life and allowing Christ to live in us. We are in Christ, Christ is in us, and we have Christ as our life; therefore, we are one. If we would simply realize this, we would be powerful Christians. There will be a real impact among us. We are one Body as the bride of Christ, His increase, His expression, just as Eve was a bride to Adam. Regrettably, this truth has been greatly damaged by the enemy. He has divided and dismembered the Body of Christ so that the one unique church as the Body of Christ has become many so-called churches in division. We need to realize the oneness of the Body.
Strictly speaking, we as individuals are not the bride. It is the corporate Body which is the bride, and we are merely parts, members, of this one Body, the bride. In order to realize the reality of this bride, we need to be in the reality of the Body. A proper and normal Christian is one who realizes that he is a member, not an individual. If we realize we are the members of the Body, we will function as members. If we do not function as members, this means we do not realize the Body.
Are we living for Christ, or are we living for ourselves? If we are living for ourselves or for something else, it is difficult to realize the reality of the Body of Christ. In order to have the reality of the Body of Christ, we must live for Christ. Even at home and in our daily life, our living needs to be unto Him. Our eating, our drinking, and even how we care for our children should all be unto Christ. Everything we do and accomplish needs to be unto Christ, because we have consecrated ourselves with all of our living to Him. Whether we are in the meetings or at home with our family, we are living unto Christ. Then whatever happens to us, whether positive or negative, is all unto Christ.
Concerning our attitude toward the believers who remain in the divisions, we cannot bear responsibility for the actions of others, but we should be responsible for our own attitude. Christianity today is vast, and the number of Christians is very great. Even within the Catholic Church I have met a good number of real believers. We should not have the attitude that there are no real ones in Christendom or that they are hopeless cases. Among them there are still many genuine believers; however, it is not easy for us to help them. Therefore, they are not our responsibility. We must bear our own responsibility before God.
Since we have been enlightened by the Lord concerning the oneness of the believers, we need to do our best to practice the oneness. If possible, we should endeavor to come together with the other real Christians. If they refuse to come together, it is beyond our control. If, for example, they choose to remain in the Catholic Church, it is impossible for us to join them. But if some are willing and open to meet together, we should welcome them as our brothers. If there is the possibility of joining with them and they are open to this, we need to take this opportunity. But if there is no possibility of this happening, it is out of our control, and we are not responsible for the result.
If we bear our own responsibility to keep the oneness, we will be the overcomers in a situation of confusion. Although the situation is one of confusion, we are walking according to the Lord’s heart. The Lord is after the oneness of His believers. For centuries the Lord has been seeking after the genuine oneness. By the Lord’s mercy we have been enlightened. Accordingly, we should humble ourselves and pray, “Lord, be merciful to me. I want to take some definite steps to join with as many believers as possible. If there is no possibility, Lord, that is not my business. It is out of my control. I can only come to You weeping, praying earnestly that You would have mercy on those dear ones and open their eyes that they may see the need of oneness. This is all that I can do. I would not insist on anything but that we all would be in Christ.” This oneness is the very desire of God’s heart.