«　WEEK 3　DAY 2　»

　　John 15:4-5 Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.

　　It is altogether right to say that Romans is a sketch of the Christian life, but most of the teachers of the Bible did not see the focus of the Christian life. The focus of the Christian life is not justification or sanctification but the Body. If you miss the Body, you do not have the center of the Christian life; you do not have the goal; you do not have the aim; you do not have any direction. For what are you sanctified? You are sanctified so that you can practically be a member of the Body. The Body is the focus, the center, of the Christian life. (CWWL, 1980, vol. 1, "Perfecting Training," p. 259)

　　Have you ever considered what is the top item produced by God in this universe? The heavens were produced, the earth was produced, man was produced, and even thousands of items were produced. God worked in creation, and God has been working through all the generations. God is still working,...but eventually what will be the ultimate item that comes out of God's working? We have to see that it is the Body.... What will ultimately come out of God's working through all the centuries and all the generations will be a Body. Who is the Head of this Body? Christ is the Head....The Body is the ultimate item of God's continual working, so the Body is the top point of God's entire revelation. (CWWL, 1980, vol. 1, "Perfecting Training," pp. 250-251)

　　We are one Body in Christ, having an organic union with Him. The phrase in Christ always implies that we are organically united with Christ. This union makes us one in life with Him and with all the other members of His Body. The Body is not an organization or a society but is altogether an organism produced by the union in life that we have with Christ. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3105-3106)

　　To be properly organic in the Body does not mean that you simply get baptized and that you get into a so-called church, and then you become a member of the Body of Christ; rather, it means that you must be organically united with Christ. You must be a part properly planted into Christ's Body organically. Then you will have a proper organic union with the Body of Christ. Then you will become a part of the Body. (CWWL, 1980, vol. 1, "Perfecting Training," p. 252)

　　The Body of Christ is altogether a matter of life and a matter of remaining in our organic union with Christ. When we remain in this organic union, we are in the Body. When we do not remain in this organic union, we are practically and experientially out of the Body. The actuality of the Body is to remain in this organic union with Christ. In order to actually live in the Body life, we must remain in the organic union with Christ. This is simply to remain in Christ. In John 15 the Lord Jesus tells us that He is the vine, we are the branches, and we should abide in Him (vv. 4-5). To abide in Him means to remain in an organic union with Him. When we remain in this organic union with Christ, we are actually living in the Body. But if we do not remain in this organic union, for all practical purposes we have left the Body. For instance, when we speak by ourselves and apart from Christ, we have left the Body. Our gossip, our free talk, and our loose conversation are all signs that we have left the Body.

　　The Body is not merely a group of Christians coming together. The Body is something that is held together in the organic union with Christ....In order to realize the Body of Christ, we need to fully experience the organic union with Christ with a thorough realization that we are organically one with Christ in life. If we do not realize the organic union in Christ, in practicality we are outside of the Body and apart from the Body. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3106)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msgs. 63-65; CWWL, 1980, vol. 1, "Perfecting Training," chs. 23-24