It is this supply that causes each member to become a useful and functioning member. For example, suppose there is a young brother who is small and skinny. Suppose that he can neither hear nor see clearly and that his nose and mouth do not function properly. We should not try to teach him, work on him, or perfect him. If we truly want to perfect him, every day we should feed him, not only three meals but even seven meals a day. If he is fed daily, he will grow daily. Then one day his ears will be able to hear, his eyes will be able to see, his nose will be able to smell, and he will be able to do things with his hands and walk with his feet. Every member of his body will function. If the church does not supply the believers with the riches of Christ, it is impossible for them to be perfected. Outward perfecting amounts to nothing. The genuine perfecting is accomplished by feeding the members.
How do we know that the perfecting in 4:12 is feeding? We know because growth is mentioned later in the chapter. What is the way to make a person’s body grow? There is no other way besides eating. Only eating can cause a person’s body to grow. When a person grows, every member of his body functions.
Many times we hope that the brothers and sisters will open their mouths and function in the meetings. Some of them, however, have not received any supply for two and a half years. Since they have not been fed and are not growing, they cannot function.
The sequence of the first four chapters of Ephesians is as follows. Chapter one is on the Body, chapter two is on the new man, and chapter three is on the supply, that is, the riches of Christ and His great power. Then in chapter four the functions of all the members become manifest. The functions are not manifested by receiving teachings or by outwardly learning certain lessons. The functions are manifested through the supply of grace within. Suppose a young brother is led to learn the lessons of daily being broken, bearing the cross, being pressed, and weeping. If you wanted him to stand up and speak after two years of this kind of learning, all he would be able to do would be to weep before you. He would have nothing to minister if he stood up. He would have nothing to minister or to say. Suppose, however, that he begins to enjoy the riches of Christ and experience the power of Christ daily. Then there would be no need to wait for two and a half years for him to function. In two and a half days he would come to the meeting jumping and speaking. If we want to function in the meetings, we must grow. I hope we can all see this secret.
Immediately after saying that grace was given to us according to the measure of the gift, Paul told us where the gifts come from. He said that Christ led a train of vanquished foes. This indicates that when Christ ascended to the heavens, He was like a victorious general returning triumphantly and leading a train of captives. When Christ ascended to the heavens, we did not see Him, but all the angels saw Him leading a train of captives. In this train of captives were the devil, the fallen angels, and human beings, including you and me. We must realize that we were formerly Christ’s enemies and were all in the same train with the devil and the rebellious angels. We had joined their company and were associated with them. They opposed Christ, and so did we. Christ, however, vanquished all these foes and made them captives.
Christ brought these captives with Him in His ascension and gave gifts to men. For many years I read this word but could not understand it. One day the Lord showed me that out of His train of captives He chose a group of people, among whom were Saul of Tarsus, you, and me. Then He made these captives gifts. Saul of Tarsus had been an opposer of the Lord. However, the Lord took him captive, worked on him, and made him a gift. Then He gave him to the Body, which is the church.
I believe that many of you were also opposers of Christ, but Christ captured you. Christ further selected you from the train of captives, worked on you, and gave you to the church as a gift. Then He worked on another one and gave him to the church as a gift. I can testify that fifty years ago He worked on me. At that time I was a wild horse who knew only to run hastily to the world. Nevertheless, He worked in me, and I became a captive in His train. Then He worked in me further and gave me to His church as one of His gifts.
Of course, it is not a simple matter for the Lord to give us sinners as gifts to the Body, His church. He does not simply look at you and, if He likes you, pick you up with His right hand and give you to the church with His left hand, thereby making you a gift. It is not so fast or simple. When He looks at you with His eyes, He infuses you with Himself as the Spirit. When He looks at you, the Spirit gets into you, and you become captivated by Him. Do you realize that all of us believers have been captivated by Him? I have been captivated, and I took the lead to be captivated by Him. Consider yourselves, have you not all been captivated by Him? Today many of the college students have some scientific knowledge. Since you have this knowledge, some may wonder why you are so involved with Jesus and why you go to the meeting hall every day. It is because you have been captivated! People who have not been captivated by the Lord are not able to understand what we are doing. They simply cannot understand why we can never stop reading the Bible. We have indeed been captivated by the Lord, because by His one look He has infused Himself into us as the Spirit. We cannot help behaving in this way because something has come into us. What came into us is not just life or just the Spirit. We have also received the riches of Christ and His great power. The Lord uses what we have received to work in us.
The church is the Body of Christ. The Body is sustained by Christ’s unsearchable riches and upheld by His resurrection power. Hence, we should be in the third heaven every day. Christ is on the throne, and we should also be on the throne. Even if there is a heavy burden on us, it should be a footstool underneath our feet. There should be no pain. There should be only Christ’s riches and power. This is what has been transfused into us and what makes us gifts. Some of us have been made apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some shepherds. These ones who have been made gifts in turn work together with the Head on others. This is their perfecting of the saints.
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