We also need to perfect the saints as the prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers do. We need to prophesy to others, that is, we need to speak for the Lord, ministering the Lord into others. We also need to teach and instruct the believers to prophesy. We need to perfect the saints as the evangelists do by stirring up the believers to have a burning spirit for the gospel and by teaching and instructing the believers to preach the gospel. Finally, we need to perfect the saints as the shepherds and teachers do. The shepherds and teachers shepherd the believers by feeding and taking care of them that the believers may grow up in life (John 21:16). They also teach the believers in the knowledge of spiritual things and the things concerning God and His New Testament economy. Week after week we have to teach the new believers as Paul did. Paul did not shrink from declaring to the saints all the things which were profitable to them. He declared to them all the counsel of God. We should do the same thing. I believe that within about one year, most of the attendants of these small groups will be edified, joined together, and perfected. Then they can repeat the New Testament work to build up the Body of Christ as the gifted persons do.
We need to gather the believers into small groups and have group meetings with them regularly for fellowship, prayer, raising up, building up, and carrying out the practical church life, that they may arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:12-13). This means that in the small group meetings, the believers are on the way to arriving at a destination. This destination is firstly the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God. The faith refers to Christ’s redemptive work, and the Son of God refers to Christ’s person. We should not care for different teachings. We should only care for what Christ did for us and for what Christ is to us today. All the other teachings should be let go. Then we will not be tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching (Eph. 4:14). Even though some teachings may be good and scriptural, they can carry us away from the central lane of God’s New Testament economy concerning Christ and the church. We should only care for Christ’s redemptive work and His unique person. We need to arrive at this oneness.
We also need to arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, by holding to truth in love that we may grow up into Christ the Head in all things (Eph. 4:15). We should not care for vain talk concerning doctrines, but we should hold to truth. In the universe there are three items which are true things: God, Christ, and the church. Only these three items are real and true. All things other than God, Christ, and the church may be vain. We should only care for Christ’s redemptive work and His unique person. Then we can grow by holding to the true and real things in love. We can grow up into Christ, the Head, in all things.
Out from the Head all the Body, joined closely together through every joint of the rich supply and knit together through the operation in measure of each one part, causes the organic growth of the Body unto the organic building up of the Body itself in love (Eph. 4:16). The joints are the gifted persons, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. When the joints exercise, the whole Body is supplied. Our physical body is full of joints so that it can act and move in many ways. For the joints of the Body, there is the need of joining. For the parts of the Body, there is the need of knitting. In a physical building of stones, there is the joining and the knitting. The frames of the building need to be joined closely together. The knitting is the interweaving of the stones. The stones of the building are put together by being interwoven. In the Body of Christ, the joining together is through the joints, and the knitting together is through the operation in measure of each one part. The parts can eventually become joints by being perfected. After being perfected, the parts will be enabled to do what the gifted persons do and they can become the joints. Through the joints being joined closely together and the parts being knit together, the Body will be built up in love by the growth in life. This view should revolutionize our way of meeting, our way of serving, and our way of working. Let us abandon the old way and take the new way for the building up of the organic Body of Christ.