Ephesians 4:4-6 reveals a group of four persons—the one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father—mingled together as one entity to be the organic Body of Christ. This divine mingling is the reality of the church life. There is another portion of Ephesians 4 telling us that the members need to be perfected by the gifts to do the work of the New Testament ministry for the building up of the Body of Christ (vv. 11-16). When we are being mingled with the Triune God, we are so happy with the Lord. We love Him, and we want to do something for Him. We desire to be very useful and helpful in the church life. How can we do this? We need to be perfected. The Lord as the Head perfects us, not directly but indirectly through His gifts—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. Thank the Lord that in the church we do have these gifted people. These are the ones who can perfect us.
According to our experience, this perfecting takes place mainly in the group meetings. Every church needs group meetings. The Body, the Spirit, the Lord, and God the Father are a group. They are grouped together to fellowship, to have a "group meeting." The church also needs group meetings. There should not be too many saints in a group meeting. It is better if from twelve to fifteen can come together in each group meeting.
The practice of having group meetings is according to Hebrews 10:24 and 25: "Let us consider one another so as to incite one another to love and good works, not abandoning our own assembling together, as the custom with some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more as you see the day drawing near." These verses show that we should not forsake our own meeting. The group meeting is our own meeting in which we come together to incite and to exhort one another. You stir up me, and I stir up you. You adjust me, and I adjust you. This is what it means to perfect.
In the group meetings, we should not have an assigned speaker. This is the clergy-laity system of Christianity. To meet in group meetings in our homes is an intimate and mutual way of meeting together. In the group meetings, all of us can receive the perfecting from the mutual asking and answering of questions.
One new brother might say that he has a problem because he does not know whether his baptism was genuine or not. Another brother may say, "I also had the same trouble ten years ago, but I was confirmed by Mark 16:16, which says that he who believes and is baptized shall be saved. The Lord showed me that this verse does not say, `He who believes and is baptized with a definite feeling that he was genuinely baptized shall be saved.' The Lord only said, `He who is baptized,' and I have been baptized." Then he can say to the new brother who is doubting, "Were you not baptized? Did Satan baptize you? Of course not. A dear saint baptized you. That was a genuine baptism. There is no need for you to be bothered." Then another brother may testify, "I also had the same kind of trouble many years ago. I doubted about my salvation, but I got through by standing on what the Word says. The Lord is faithful. He never will deny His Word." This is an example of the content of a group meeting.
In a group meeting there is mutual fellowship, mutual intercession, mutual comfort, mutual care, mutual shepherding, mutual asking of questions, mutual answering of questions, and mutual teaching. There is no assigned leader, teacher, or speaker. Everyone is a leader, teacher, speaker, and student. All the activities in the group meeting are in mutuality. If the saints have this kind of meeting once a week throughout the year, they will all be perfected.