In this lesson we will continue to see how we can corporately experience the dispensing of the Divine Trinity by living in the Body of Christ.
Romans 12:11 says, “Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.” This refers to the exercise of the human spirit, that is, the mingled spirit, for the Body life. If we want to practically live the Body life, our spirit must be set on fire and continually burning. For the Body life, we need a body that is presented, a mind that is renewed through the transformation of the soul, and a spirit that is burning. Our whole being—spirit, soul, and body—is necessary for the church life. For the sake of the Body life, our body needs to be presented, our soul transformed, and our mind metabolically changed. Our mind must be renewed, not by simply being taught but by being transformed, by having the element of Christ spread into it to produce a metabolic change. If we are serious about practicing the church life, we need to present our body, have our soul transformed, and be burning in our spirit. If we have a heart for the Body life but fail to present our body to the church, we are impractical. However, even if we have presented our bodies, yet our mind is filled with old concepts, thoughts, and traditions, our unrenewed mind will be a great problem to the church. Hence, after we have presented our body, our mind needs to be renewed, and our spirit needs to be burning. If by the Lord’s mercy, our body has been presented and our mind has been renewed, yet our spirit remains cold, we will not be of much benefit to the Body life. After the presenting of our body and the renewing of our mind, we need to be burning in spirit.
Paul speaks of the body, the mind, and the spirit in Romans 8, a chapter that speaks of the dispensing of the Divine Trinity into the tripartite man, and in Romans 12, a chapter that speaks of the Body life. Paul’s speaking concerning the body, the mind, and the spirit links together chapters 8 and 12. In other words, the enjoyment of the divine dispensing in chapter 8 issues in the Body life in chapter 12. This matter is very experiential. If we do not have sufficient experience of what is revealed in chapter 8 and do not enjoy the dispensing of the Divine Trinity into our tripartite being, we will not be able to practically realize the Body of Christ. As a result, the teaching concerning the Body will be only a doctrine to us, and our speaking concerning the Body will be in vain. If, however, we experience and enjoy the divine dispensing in chapter 8, that is, the dispensing into our body, soul, and spirit, this experience and enjoyment will bring us into the realization of the Body life in chapter 12. The more we enjoy the dispensing of the Divine Trinity into our tripartite being, the more we will desire to be in the Body. The enjoyment of the dispensing of the processed Triune God makes us living members of the Body of Christ in practicality.
We also practice the Body life through the exercise of the different gifts. Romans 12:6-8 enumerates several different functions, or gifts: “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or service, let us be faithful in that service; he who teaches, in that teaching; or he who exhorts, in that exhortation; he who gives, in simplicity; he who leads, in diligence; he who shows mercy, in cheerfulness.” Grace refers to God in Christ as our life and enjoyment. In other words, grace is the divine element entering into our being to be our life for our enjoyment. Grace is not something outward; rather, it is the element of the divine life entering into our being and bringing with it certain skills and abilities as gifts. Therefore, the gifts, the spiritual abilities, issue from the divine element that we have enjoyed. As we enjoy God, receiving and assimilating His divine element into our being, spontaneously a skill or an ability issues out of the divine element as a gift. These gifts differ according to the divine element that we have enjoyed and assimilated into our being. Since the gifts in verses 6 through 8 are according to the grace given to us, these gifts issue from the grace of life.
The gifts in Romans 12 are according to grace. This means that the gifts are granted according to the measure of life. If we have enjoyed the life of God to a high degree, we will receive a higher gift. However, if our enjoyment of the life of God is limited, our gift will also be limited, for the measure of our gift is limited by the extent to which we have enjoyed the divine life as grace within us. The gifts enumerated in Romans 12 are not miraculous gifts that come to us suddenly. Rather, they are similar to the abilities of the members of our physical body. The measure of the ability of the members of our body depends upon the amount of life in our body. If our body is mature, having experienced considerable growth in life and possessing a great amount of life, it will have an abundant overflow of life. The overflow of the inner life of the body produces abilities. The development of the gifts in Romans 12, like the abilities of our body, depends upon the amount of life we have. In Romans 12 the gifts of grace in life include prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and showing mercy.
The first gift Paul speaks of in Romans 12 is prophecy, that is, to prophesy according to the proportion of faith. In this verse prophecy does not mainly refer to prediction. Moreover, in the entire Bible, prediction is not the main aspect of prophecy. The main aspect of prophecy is to speak for, that is, to speak for someone, and it is to speak forth, that is, to speak forth a certain matter. The main concept of prophecy in Romans 12 is not prediction; rather, it is to speak for God and to speak forth God under God’s direct revelation.
Service in verse 7 refers to the service of the deacons and deaconesses in the local churches (16:1; 1 Tim. 3:8-13; Phil. 1:1). The deacons and deaconesses are serving ones in a local church. They must have a serving spirit and a serving attitude for the practice of the Body life.
In the Body there is not only the gift of prophecy but also the gifts of teaching and exhortation. To prophesy is to speak for the Lord based on the direct revelation a person receives from the Lord, to teach is to instruct others based on what the prophets have spoken, and to exhort is to exhort others according to prophecy and teaching. Prophecy, teaching, and exhortation are three kinds of speaking that build up the Body. They minister the life supply so that the saints may grow together by God’s word.
Moreover, the ability to give in simplicity is also a gift of grace in life. This denotes a giving that supplies and takes care of the needy ones in the church. In the Body life we need those who are able to give material possessions to help the needy ones, to speed the Lord’s work, and to care for the practical needs of the church.
He who leads in Romans 12:8 refers to the leading brothers in the church. The first quality of leadership is diligence. A leading brother, that is, an elder, needs to be diligent in everything and in every way all the time. The elders’ ability, function, and gift in taking the lead depend upon their diligence. Furthermore, the ability in life to show mercy is also a gift. To show mercy in cheerfulness is a quality that is formed in us by transformation. When we grow in the life of Christ and come to love the Lord more, a certain quality will be formed in us, and we will be burdened to take care of others and show mercy to the unworthy ones. This is not a characteristic of our natural birth but a quality developed in us by our growth in life through the process of transformation.
The gifts spoken of in verses 6 through 8 are all necessary in the practice of the Body life. In the Body life we first need to speak for God under His direct revelation. Based upon the speaking of revelation, we have teaching, and based on the prophecy and teaching, we have exhortation. In addition to these, there is the leading of the elders and the service of the deacons. Furthermore, there are some who are able to give material possessions to the church, to help the needy ones, and to care for the Lord’s work. Finally, there are those who show mercy to people. These seven gifts are fitting for the practice of the Body life.