«　WEEK 3　DAY 4　»

　　Eph. 4:15-16 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

　　Please remember that the church is not a matter of name, position, or stand; neither is the church a matter of belief or organization. The church is a group of people who allow God to be mingled with them and who are mingled with God. This was the situation with the early apostles....They had the appearance of Galileans, but they also had the expression of the God of heaven. The glory of the God of heaven was expressed in uneducated, common people. Uneducated, common people were still present, yet the glory of the God of heaven was also expressed. This is the church. The ignorance disappeared, and common people were broken. A glorious and great God was now mingled with common people, shining forth and being expressed through them. The church had the authority and image of God. (The Church as the Body of Christ, p. 46)

　　The principle of the Body is that our person is broken, defeated, and torn down by God and that we are giving God the opportunity to mingle with us and shine forth from within us. This is Christ being born again in the world; this is Christ being multiplied among us; this is the church, the enlargement of Christ. Whenever this is practiced, wherever this is present, there is the expression of the church on the earth—a church that is real, practical, actual, and powerful. Thus, the church with authority and image is a reality. (The Church as the Body of Christ, p. 47)

　　What is the Body of Christ practically speaking? It is the mingled spirit.... If we would see this, we would say, "Lord,... the reality of the Body is right within me. The regenerated spirit and the indwelling Spirit are now one, mingled together right within me. I do not need to pray; I do not need to wait....Everything is within me. I just walk according to this mingled spirit. I just set my mind on the spirit. Life is here, and peace is here." (CWWL, 1980, vol. 1, "Perfecting Training," p. 310)

　　We have used this term union quite much, but concerning the union of God and man, we do not have adequate knowledge. The union of God and man is altogether a matter of the union of the two spirits, the Spirit of God and the spirit of man. God is Spirit and man has a spirit; thus, these two spirits can be united together as one. But how does the union of these two spirits occur? This is the deepest mystery in the Bible, and it is difficult for man to comprehend. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 2, "The Issue of the Union of the Consummated Spirit of the Triune God and the Regenerated Spirit of the Believers," p. 198)

　　Actually, to walk according to the spirit means to walk according to both the divine Spirit and the human spirit, according to the two spirits mingled as one....This is the focus of the divine economy. Whatever God intends to do or accomplish is related to this focus. If we would have certain basic spiritual experiences, we must have a clear understanding that the focus of God's economy is the mingled spirit, the divine Spirit mingled with the human spirit. We live not only according to the conscience but according to the mingled spirit....Here, on this [highest] level, we have the Christian life and also the church life.... We should walk according to this, that is, according to the mingled spirit. We should be a person in such a spirit as was the apostle John in Revelation (1:10). (CWWL, 1978, vol. 1, "Basic Training," pp. 314-315)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 2, "The Issue of the Union of the Consummated Spirit of the Triune God and the Regenerated Spirit of the Believers," chs. 2-4; CWWL, 1963, vol. 1, "Experiencing the Mingling of God with Man for the Oneness of the Body of Christ," chs. 4-5