Now that we have obtained this life, we are no longer individual persons, but members of the Body of Christ. Hence, we must not be disconnected from the Body. No member must be disconnected from the Body; once disconnected, the members are finished. Today every one of us is a member, a member of the Body of Christ. This Body of Christ is the church. Why do I say the Body and not the church? Because the church is a gathering, but the Body is an organism. A congregation can be dismissed, but a body cannot be disconnected. You may stop coming to the meetings, but you must not be disconnected from the Body. It may be possible sometimes to miss the meetings, but once the Body is disconnected, it is finished. But I can tell you that those who are in the meetings may not be in the Body, but those who are in the Body are definitely in the meetings. Those who do not come to the meetings are not necessarily disconnected from the Body, but those who are disconnected from the Body will definitely not come to the meetings. Therefore, being absent from the meetings may be somewhat risky; if you are not careful, you may soon be disconnected from the Body. Not coming to the meetings is close to being disconnected.
Let me repeat that the church is a kind of congregation, but the Body is a matter of life. All of us have life, but if we say that each one of us has been joined to the church, it is not so accurate. The real significance is that we have become the members of the Body of Christ, possessing the same one life and needing one another. This is to be members one of another. Therefore, whatever we do must be in the Body, joined to the Body, and regulated by the Body, because we are one Body. This is a wonderful matter.
We, the members of the Body of Christ, have God the Father as our source, God the Spirit as the One who sanctified and regenerated us, and God the Son as our life (Col. 3:4a). While it is true that we were regenerated by the Holy Spirit, according to the truth, it is God the Son who has become our life. Of course, the Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-cannot be separated. If you have the Son, you have the Father; and if you have the Father, you have the Spirit. But according to the clear word and revelation of the Bible, when the Holy Spirit regenerated us, He brought Christ to us. This Christ becomes our life within so that we, the members of Christ, may have the uncreated, eternal life of God (1 John 1:2; 5:11-12; John 3:36a). At the same time, this life causes us to have an organic union with the Triune God so that we can enjoy all the riches of the Triune God (Matt. 28:19). This is like the union brought in by electric current. Our meeting hall and the power plant are joined together through the electric current. When the electric current comes to the meeting hall from the power plant, the meeting hall and the power plant are connected and joined together. Thus, the meeting hall receives all the benefits of the power plant, by which we enjoy air conditioning, lights, the sound system, and so on. Today’s modern living depends especially on the union between the power plant and every place that electricity is applied. If this union is cut off, our life is also finished. Just imagine what it would be like if the electric current here suddenly stopped; we would all be in darkness.
Today within each one of the members of Christ, there is something which connects and joins him or her to the Triune God; this is the organic union of the life of God. We have all been regenerated, Christ has become our life within, and this life causes us to have a union with the Triune God. Therefore, now we are in the Triune God. The Triune God and we are connected together and joined together. All the riches of the Triune God become ours.
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