The Burden and Blessing of Building and Blending in the Body

Since last Friday, 22 August till today, 27 August, we have been under God’s speaking and shining through an elderly and mature brother. To me, I reckon this experience of being under the Lord’s shining light as my spiritual healh checkup undergoing an MRI scan in God’s operation theater. The burden released on the first three days was on the building up of the Body of Christ and the last three days was on the blending in the Body of Christ. When I shared at the last session, I summarized the six days fellowship in one sentence, "The Burden and Blessing of Building and Blending in the Body."

The burden began with a question on whether it was easy to build up the Body of Christ. Having gone through the process of building in the local churches, none including me dared say, it was easy. We all resonated with one answer on the difficulty of building, if not impossible. However, through the two and a half days of fellowship, the Lord's speaking sent forth light from Psalms 23. We could now see the Lord’s shepherding as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, particularly with the life of Jacob being transformed to become Israel, though with much dealings. In like manner, the building work is dependent on our person being dealt with. Since the dealing takes time, and oftentimes, undergoes a lot of sufferings and trials, we find it naturally difficult to build the church, if not, impossible. But, God could transformed Jacob to Israel, so He can deal with us to build up the church. So, with God, it is possible and easy to build the church.

Personally, I could relate myself with the change of names from Jacob to Israel. 

And He said to him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. And He said, Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed. (Genesis 32:27-28, RecVer)

Jacob's name was changed in Genesis 32 at Peniel. However, Jacob was still called Jacob despite the change of name. But after Jacob had undergone more dealings by experiencing the hand of God in a deeper way after losing whom he loved so much, Rachel, and the helper of whom he loved, Deborah, and the one who loved him even blindly, his father Isaac, his name was in reality changed to Israel.

And God said to him,Your name is Jacob; / Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, / But Israel shall be your name.Thus He called his name Israel. (Genesis 35:10, RecVer)

In the same principle, the revelation of building has been shown first and then the reality of building follows. Jacob first saw the vision of God’s building in Genesis 28:12, however the actual fulfilment of this dream physically was much later on when Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem,  and today it is the building up of the church, the Body of Christ.

And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (Genesis 28:12, RecVer)

In my experience too, the revelation of truth generally comes first and later, the experience followed. This is the case with the building of the Body too. Since Joshua and Caleb could enter the good land, it is possible for us to build up the Body too. Of course, there are many fine points on the building that touches my being. I must then allow the Lord to work in me deeply day by day until I am fully built up and build up the local church in my locality. 

The burden on the blending was touched on the last two and half days of the fellowship. This blending is directly related with the building, the two goes hand in hand. The dealings and learnings of the two are similar in nature. Both entails the restorating of our souls, the gaining of our souls, the growth in life, and the transformation by the Triune God's shepherding as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Besides, our human cooperation of being open to the Lord and one another, being under the supply of the word of God, and being under the Lord’s perfecting training and speaking with His light shining dispelling all the darkness in our inward being are needed for the genuine blending in the Body. In this way, there will be the necessary purifying, sanctifying, and killing of the self, ambition, and pride. Which will result in our hearts being enlarged and our hearts being turned to the Lord, leading us to the Spirit. In this way, there will be the blending among the saints. Yes, much blending in the Body. 

The past six days have really been a merciful spiritual health checkup session. What a blessing! What a grace! 

Lord, thank you for the burden and blessing of building and blending in the Body! 

May the Lord grace me to be perfected to be blendable, to be able to blend others, and also to be blended with the brothers. And may the Lord also grace me to be builded up in the Body and build up His Body.