The second aspect of the practical condition of coordination is walking according to the Spirit (Ezek. 1:20). The living creatures follow the Spirit. Wherever the Spirit goes, there the living creatures go also. This indicates that if we, as living creatures in Christ, would be coordinated, we must walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25). We must not follow ourselves. If we deny ourselves and walk according to the spirit (Rom. 8:4), we will have genuine coordination. However, if we walk in an arbitrary way according to self-will and if we live in the flesh, we cannot coordinate together.
Another aspect of the practical condition of coordination is moving straight forward and accommodating others. When the living creatures move, they go straight forward; they do not make any turns. If one living creature takes the lead to move straight forward toward the east, the other living creatures also move in this direction. This indicates that everyone functions properly in coordination. In the church life today, every member has his own function (1 Cor. 12:14-30) and moves in a straight forward direction to fulfill his function, without turning to do something else.
As one of the four living creatures moves forward in a particular direction, the others accommodate him by moving in the same direction, walking backward, sideways to the right, or sideways to the left. Only one living creature at a time can move forward. However, in moving with him, the others do not turn; rather, they walk backward or sideways. Regardless of the direction in which the living creatures move, one moves forward, one moves backward, and the others move sideways. Thus, those who move backward and sideways accommodate the one who moves forward.
This should be the situation in the church life today. Often we need to move backward or sideways in order to accommodate the one who is moving forward. In the meetings or in the practical service, as someone is exercising his function, moving forward, we need to accommodate him by moving either backward or sideways. This is coordination.
However, if everyone goes his own way and does not accommodate others, we cannot be a corporate entity and we cannot coordinate together. The move of the living creatures is not individual—it is corporate. The living creatures move by coordinating together. If we would participate in such a coordination, we need to deny ourselves, experience God’s grace, and follow the Spirit in a corporate way.
I believe that in the Bible the clearest picture of coordination is found in chapter one of Ezekiel. A central feature of the vision of the four living creatures is their coordination. Here we see not the move of an individual living creature but the corporate move of four living creatures. This portrays the move not of believers in an individual way but of the church in a corporate way. We, the living ones who are in the grace and power of God, have become one entity. Everyone has his ministry and carries out his proper function. This means that everyone goes forward in his own direction without making any turns. Although the directions may differ, the move is the same. When someone goes toward the north, all the others follow him to move in this direction. If someone else moves south, all the others move with him toward the south. Whenever someone is moving forward, all the others accommodate him by moving either backward or sideways. If we study the clear picture of the coordination of the living creatures in Ezekiel 1, we will understand what coordination is.