The subject of this chapter is the building up of the Body of Christ. Growth is one thing; building up is another. It seems that growth is mainly for the individual believer and that the building up is something corporate. However, we should not consider this to be true absolutely. Strictly speaking, growth is for the building, and growth equals the building. In the physical realm there are two kinds of building up. One is by putting pieces of material, such as wood or stone, together to form a building. This is a building by lifeless materials.

We also use the word build in reference to our physical bodies. This kind of building does not take place by putting lifeless pieces of material together. In this kind of building, the physical body is built up organically by growth. When an infant is built up to be a young boy of thirteen years of age, he is built up not by having things added to him. Rather, he is built up by growth organically. Our eyes, ears, and teeth were not built into our body by the addition of lifeless materials. They are present at birth, and they grow in a gradual way organically.

The building of the church as the Body of Christ is organic, by the growth in life. The Body of Christ is like our physical body. It is built up by its growth. Ephesians 4:15 says, "But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ." Then verse 16 says, "Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love." First, we must grow up into the Head in all things. Then from the Head something will come out to cause the growth of the Body. By this growth of the Body, the Body builds itself up in love. Growth equals building. The Body builds itself up by growing. This growth of the Body is not for any particular member. The Body grows for the entire Body.

In the recent rebellion in the Lord's recovery a teaching was promoted which said that all the local churches are autonomous. Immediately I recognized this as the wrong teaching of G. H. Lang, a teacher who was once among the Brethren. In correcting this wrong teaching I posed the question: "Can any part of our body be autonomous? Can the arm say that it is autonomous from the rest of the body?" The obvious answer is no. Any member of our body that decides to become autonomous will die. The members of the body are not autonomous.

Apparently, growth is for individual believers and building is corporate. Actually, both growth and building are corporate. The feet do not grow at one time, and the hands at a later time, as if the two were autonomous. The entire body grows together as a corporate entity. Therefore, the teaching concerning autonomy is nonsensical. Many years ago we discarded this teaching. There is no such thing as autonomy in the Body. Some in the recent rebellion taught autonomy in order to keep others away. They said, "Don't come to our place to bother us. We are a local church. We have our own jurisdiction. No one has any right to touch us." If this is true, where is the Body?

The Lord has made it clear to us that the building is the growth. Yes, growth is for the building, but building and growth are not two different things. As human beings, if we do not grow, we can never build ourselves up. In order to be built up, we need to grow every day and even every moment. It seems that this growth is so slow that we cannot tell any difference from day to day. However, after fifteen years, a small babe is built up to be a strong young man. This takes place not by addition but by growth.

Few Christians today know what the genuine building is. Therefore, it is easy to understand why, on the earth today, there is very little building among the children of God. In order to realize what building is, we must look at our physical body. Not one member of our body is separate. All the members stay together and grow together as a complete body.