Our old, unscriptural way of meeting was a waste. In the old way, a brother comes to the meeting place and sits down to wait for the meeting to begin. It is 7:25 p.m. The meeting should start at 7:30 p.m., so he waits for others to come. Eventually, everyone arrives and they are all waiting for someone to start the meeting. Now it is 7:40 p.m. The meeting has still not started because the elders are not there yet. Then one elder comes in, and this elder does not know what to do. The meeting depends on him, but he does not know how to start it. He does not know what hymn to sing, and he does not have anything to pray. Eventually, another elder comes in. Then the first elder becomes happy. The elder who came in then motions to the first elder to call a hymn. After the singing of this hymn, the first elder indicates to the second one that he should pray. After he offers a prayer, though, who is going to speak? Nobody knows. Eventually, no one speaks. Then one of the elders may ask the saints to give testimonies of their past experience. This is an illustration of the old way for us to hold a group meeting.

In the organic, new way of meeting, everyone comes to the meeting with rejoicing and singing. Isaiah tells us that when Israel returned to Zion, they came back with rejoicing and with singing (51:11). We should start our group meeting from our home by singing and praising. We may declare and sing, "Praise the Lord! This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long." We should come to the meeting singing, praising, and testifying. All of us are the speakers in the group meeting. Such an organic group meeting is the way for us to be perfected.

Ephesians 4 says that the saints are perfected that they may do the work of the ministry, the New Testament ministry, and this ministry is to build up the Body of Christ (vv. 11-12). In the group meetings, everyone can speak. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14 that when the church comes together, we can all prophesy one by one (v. 31). To prophesy is to speak for the Lord, to speak the Lord forth, to minister the Lord to others by our speaking. This perfects the saints.

All the saints are perfected to do the same work as the apostles, as the prophets, as the evangelists, and as the shepherds and teachers. It is by this perfecting that the church will be developed. Then the church will be growing up to have the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:13). We will eventually be full-grown. We will no longer be little children who are tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching (v. 14). We will hold to the truth in love that we may grow in everything into the Head, our Christ (v. 15). Out of Him the whole Body will grow through the functioning members, that is, through the joints of supply and through every part that functions in its measure to build up the Body (v. 16). Then the Body will be built up not by big preachers, but by every member of the Body. This means that all the Body will cause the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

In Ephesians 4:4-6, we see the mingling of four persons as a group. Then in the next section of Ephesians 4, there is the building up with a bigger group of all the members of the Body of Christ. Mingling is the beginning; building up is the consummation. We are enjoying the mingling, and we are on the way to being fully built up. Then we will reach the consummation of the completion of the building up of the Body of Christ. Now in the universe there is a building which is the top consummation of the divine mingling of the Triune God with the uplifted humanity in the heavens. This building is the consummation of the church life. The built up Body of Christ is the goal to which we all have to attain, and this is the destination at which we all have to arrive. We have to go on and on until we arrive at this destination.

There is not such a vision in the natural field. We can only see this in the spiritual view, the spiritual field. I believe that by this fellowship, we can see a video of what is taking place in Ephesians 4. The one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father are grouped together and are being mingled together. While this mingling is going on, we all are being perfected to do our work to build up the Body of Christ. Then the Body will be built up by itself through its functioning members. This is the intrinsic view of the Body of Christ in Ephesians 4.