«　WEEK 4　DAY 4　»

　　Rom. 16:1 I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a deaconess of the church which is in Cenchrea.

　　16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

　　20 Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

　　The last three chapters of Romans show the blending and fellowship of the Body life brought forth through the apostle's receiving according to God and Christ; such an explanation was not seen by the Bible expositors throughout the generations. Romans 16 gives us an excellent pattern of the apostle in bringing all the saints into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ. It is in such a life that we can truly reign in life. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, "The Experience of God's Organic Salvation Equaling Reigning in Christ's Life," p. 515)

　　We must follow in the footsteps of the apostle. He brought us into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ by recommendations and greetings in order that the God of peace may crush Satan under our feet and we may enjoy the rich grace of Christ (Rom. 16:1-16, 21-24, 20). In Romans 16 the apostle Paul greeted the saints one by one, mentioning at least twenty-seven names, including Phoebe, a deaconess of the church in Cenchrea, and Prisca and Aquila. Moreover, he greeted the saints generally. This shows that he had a considerable amount of knowledge, understanding, and care with regard to every one of them. Such recommendations and greetings show both the mutual concern among the saints and the mutual fellowship among the churches. It is by the churches' fellowship in the Body that the God of peace will crush Satan under our feet and we will be able to enjoy the rich grace of Christ. This grace is the manifestation of the Triune God in His embodiment in three aspects—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

　　Through the fellowship in the Body, the crushing of Satan, and the enjoyment of grace, we can carry out the mystery kept in silence in the times of the ages concerning the complete salvation of God in the fulfillment of the eternal economy of God for the Gentiles to have the obedience of faith unto glory to the only wise God through Jesus Christ (vv. 25-27).

　　We must have the reality of the fellowship and blending of the Body of Christ. Otherwise, regardless of how much we pursue and how simple and humble we are, sooner or later there will be problems, even divisions, among us. Hence, we must be governed by the vision of the Body and follow in the footsteps of the apostle by bringing all the saints in all the churches into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ. This is to reign in life, and by such reigning, we give glory to God. This glory is the New Jerusalem, the universal incorporation of the union and mingling of divinity with humanity, in which God will be completely glorified and His economy will be fully accomplished.

　　In its conclusion Romans, which gives a general discussion of the Christian life, gives glory to the wise God. This unveils that all the matters discussed in this book are planned, managed, and accomplished by God's wisdom in order that He, the immeasurably rich Triune God, may be glorified, that is, that His incomparable glory may be completely and fully expressed through us who have been perfected eternally by Him and who have become His Body and have been joined to Him as one. The focus of God's wisdom is the working of His Divine Trinity into the three parts—spirit, soul, and body—of our redeemed being in order that in His redemption, sanctification, and transformation we may have a full union in the divine life with Him and His desire for the mingling of divinity and humanity, the joining of humanity to divinity...to be His consummate expression in eternity. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, "The Experience of God's Organic Salvation Equaling Reigning in Christ's Life," pp. 516-517)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, "The Experience of God's Organic Salvation Equaling Reigning in Christ's Life," ch. 6