How can all the members grow and function that the Body of Christ might be built up? Suppose a Pentecostal revivalist comes among you. After he preaches some soul-stirring sermons, you are all aroused. You begin to speak in tongues, to roll on the floor, to shout that you have the power, and to preach from the rooftop that the people below must repent and believe in Jesus lest they go to hell. Do you believe that a movement like this can make you grow? I have seen how those in Pentecostalism behave. From my observation I must say that there is little if any growth among them. Pentecostalism is a movement, not the fine work in life that the Head exercises to touch His members one by one in detail after detail.
Please do not misunderstand me. It is not my intention to discredit any Christian work, but I believe the Lord has shown me that Pentecostalism is not the work that can build up His Body in life. It does not accomplish His fine work in life. I have received a burden from the Lord; I do know what He is after. I have the assurance that after just a few days of meeting together, all of you have been touched by the Lord in a fine way. You have gone to the Lord and praised Him for bringing you out of darkness, for touching your heart, and for enlightening you. To thus touch the Lord and be touched by Him is the fine way in life by which you grow.
The result of this growth will be the expression of your function. Function comes from growth, and growth from the fine work in life of the Head.
Notice what Ephesians 4:15-16 says: “But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, Who is the Head, Christ, out from Whom all the Body, fitted and knit together through every joint of the supply, according to the operation in measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.” We must all grow into the Head. Then, out of the Head into whom we have grown, we shall have a supply. Whatever part of the Body we are, we shall receive a supply from the Head in order that we may function to minister life to the Body. In this way the Body will be built up.
Colossians 2:19, like the passage in Ephesians, also speaks of “holding the Head, out from Whom all the Body, by means of the joints and bands being supplied and knit together, grows with the growth of God.” We may be a joint, for the supply of the Body, or a band, for the knitting together of the members.
The Body has only one Head. Consider how busy He must be to take care of each one of you. His heavenly ministry is to care for you in such a detailed way. He exercises His headship to burden me to come here to minister Him to you. He burdens the elders to get in touch with you. He stirs up some other members who are close to you to fellowship and pray with you. He constrains you to contact Him that He may deal with you and supply you with the particular riches you need. While you are being helped and are enjoying Him, you will grow. Then He may exercise His headship to have you go to Neuchatel. While you are there, you may give a testimony which helps those who are there. All this activity is part of Christ’s heavenly ministry, causing all His members to grow and function that His Body may be built up.
You will realize that what I am describing to you is an organic relationship between Christ and His Body. You are living members of this organism, not mere members in an organization. This organism has Christ as its Head, exercising His care over each one of you and over all of you mutually. You are all being cared for together under His headship. Praise the Lord that here in Europe there is this organism under Christ’s living headship! I trust you can see how different this is from the traditional Christian work. In your physical body, there is no dead arrangement as to how the various parts will function. Every nerve, every muscle, and every member are under the living control of the head. The whole body is under an organic headship.
The activity of the physical body under the direction of the head corresponds to the heavenly ministry of Christ as Head. He does not need a Christian organization to be established for His Body to be built up. He works organically, first to make apostles and then to make all the members grow and function. This work results in the Body building itself up.
My burden under Christ’s organic headship is to minister life into you, not to stir you up. I do believe Christ has been ministered into you. If so, you are continually constrained to contact Him. “Lord Jesus, I love You. You are my life. You are all I need. I am open to You. I want to be gained and occupied by You. I would have my whole being saturated with Your very Person.” You have probably already been praying like this. If you have, you are under the exercise of Christ’s headship, His heavenly ministry, receiving the life He ministers into you for the growth and functioning of His Body.