Finally, let us look at the living and service of this organism. The living of this organism is the corporate and organic living of the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5). All the members live together by taking Christ as life (Col. 3:3-4a), and all care for one another (1 Cor. 12:25-27). This kind of living is also an organic living produced by the union and mingling of the Triune God with the tripartite man (Rom. 8:2-13). We are men of three parts. Through the law of the Spirit of life, we were first enlivened in our spirit by the Spirit of Christ. Next, we are enlivened in the mind of our soul by the spreading Spirit of God. Lastly, we are enlivened in our mortal body by the indwelling Spirit of God. We are first made alive in the spirit by Christ the Spirit of life, resulting in our spirit being life. This Spirit then continues to spread outward from our spirit to our mind, making our mind life also. This Spirit continues to spread outward to our bodies so that our bodies also have the life of God. For this reason, we have to set our mind on the spirit, walk according to the spirit, and put to death the practices of the body through the indwelling Spirit of God. This is the living of the tripartite man mingled with the Triune God. He is the Dweller, and we are His dwelling. He and we are mingled as one. We live together to become the organic Body of Christ.
Next we look at the service of this organism. The service of this organism is the corporate, organic service of the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:4-8). Our living is corporate, and our service is also corporate. It is like our human body—there is nothing in it that is not corporate. Whether it speaks or moves, it does so corporately. The same is true with service in the Body of Christ. Hence, in this service, every member is necessary (1 Cor. 12:14-22). Moreover, every member functions organically according to his measure (Eph. 4:16b). Since we are members in the Body of Christ, we are all necessary, and we all have our function. Once we fulfill our function in the Body, we have the corporate, organic service.
Furthermore, this service of the organism is the organic service of the New Testament priesthood of the gospel (1 Pet. 2:5, 9). This service involves the preaching of the gospel for the saving of sinners, offering them up as sacrifices to God (Rom. 15:16). Following that, there is the nourishing of the believers and helping them to grow so that they can offer themselves up as living sacrifices to God (John 21:15; 1 Pet. 2:2; Rom. 12:1). In addition, there is the perfecting of the saints that they may do the work of the ministry unto the organic building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16). In addition, we have to lead the saints to prophesy, to speak for God, for the organic building up of the church (1 Cor. 14:1, 3-5, 12, 24, 31). These are the four steps in the practice of the new way: the preaching of the gospel, the nourishing of others, the perfecting of the saints, and the prophesying for the Lord. Hence, we all have to be like the Apostle Paul, who labored and struggled in all wisdom to present every man full-grown in Christ to God (Col. 1:28-29). This is the organic service of the Body of Christ. It is for everybody, and it is in a priesthood. Everyone preaches the gospel to save sinners, esveryone nourishes the believers, everyone perfects the saints, and everyone prophesies. In this way, all of us will arrive at a full-grown stage, and the Body of Christ will be built up. By this, the great work of the organic service in the Body of Christ will be accomplished.
I hope that the brothers and sisters would see that in the organism of the Triune God, whether it be the living or the service, whether it be the growth or the building, everything is organic and must be organic. For this reason, we saw clearly that we have to change the system. Without changing the system, we would only be in an organization. The changing of the system can bring us gradually into the organic living and service of the Body of Christ. May the Lord be merciful to us.
(A message given by Brother Witness Lee in Taipei on April 20, 1990)