Please remember that it is only when we coordinate together to serve, not when we merely unite together, that we are the Body. Only when we are serving together and there is neither “you” nor “I” is there the Body. When there is “you,” there is no Body, and when there is “I,” there also is no Body. If “I” is here, there is no way to have the Body, and if the life of “I” is here, the life of the Body is absent. We should use all our strength and even be willing to be martyred in order to guard the matters of the Lord’s person and the basic truths related to Him. Besides this, we are all brothers and sisters, and there is nothing worth arguing about in regard to our service.
If we are serving with a responsible brother who wants to meet at midnight, we should not argue about it, neither should we have much feeling about it. The Lord Jesus is still the Savior whether we meet at noon or midnight. We should have nothing to argue about. If we are a responsible one, we may fellowship regarding our feeling with the brothers and sisters. However, no matter what the brothers feel to do, we should not argue nor have any feeling whatsoever. This requires that our self, that is, our natural man, be dealt with. We need to receive such a serious dealing. In our coordination in the service, we should not argue. There is no need for us to argue about anything other than the person of the Lord and the basic truths. By the Lord’s mercy and His grace, there is absolutely no dispute among us today concerning the Lord’s glorious person and concerning the basic truths. If any dispute exists among us, it must be due to the presence of the flesh and the “I.” If it were not due to the presence of the flesh and the “I,” there would be no opinions for us to argue about.
In our service we desire to serve not only in oneness but also in the Body. The service in the Body comes from growth in life. In order for a locality to experience the Lord’s presence and God’s blessing, it must manifest the Body in that locality. In the Body there is no difference in rank. No one is higher, and no one is lower. No one is greater, and no one is smaller. Strictly speaking, in the church there is no high or low, and there is no great or small. The Lord Jesus said, “It shall not be so among you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave” (Matt. 20:26-27). Hence, whoever wants to be great will be a servant and will learn to serve others. In the Body there is no high nor low, and no great nor small. There is only the cross.
The entire New Testament emphasizes three major points: the cross, the church, and the kingdom. The cross produces the church, and the church ushers in the kingdom. Without the church, the kingdom of God cannot be ushered in. The Lord said, “Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens” (16:18-19). When there is the church, there can be the kingdom. The church ushers in the kingdom. However, we must remember that the church is produced entirely out of the cross. If there is no cross but only the natural man, there is no church. In contrast, if there is the cross and no natural man, there is the church. We must be dealt with by the cross.
If Christians gather together and do not receive the dealing of the cross, there cannot be the reality of the church among them. If we would have the reality of the church among us, the cross must also be among us. The cross must do a severe work within each one of us until we are all terminated one by one. In this way, although we are physically present, the “I” is no longer present. Every “I” is on the cross. Pride is “I,” arrogance is “I,” opinion is “I,” and insisting on our way of doing things is also “I.” In the church there cannot be an “I.” The “I” must be placed on the cross. If there is an “I,” there is no church; thus, “I” must be on the cross. It is through the cross that the church is produced.
Today the resurrection life is in us in the same way as the resurrection life was in Jesus the Nazarene. This resurrection life lives within us, persons of flesh. When our life in the flesh passes through the cross, the resurrection life is manifested from within us, and this results in the presence of God. In this way God’s blessing is brought in, full of God’s abundance. This is the church of God and the glory of God. In the church the extent of the manifestation of God’s glory, the extent of God’s blessing, the extent of our enjoyment of God’s riches, and the extent of our touching God’s presence depend on how much we have been broken by receiving the dealing of the cross. We should not listen to or speak about this matter as a doctrine; rather, we should experience it day by day in our living.