Ⅰ
The highest peak of God's economy is the reality of the Body of Christ—Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:13, 27; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:16; Col. 1:18; 2:19.
Ⅱ
The reality of the Body of Christ is the Spirit of reality wrought into us and constituted into our being—John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6; Eph. 3:16-21; 4:4-6, 12, 16.
Ⅲ
The reality of the Body of Christ is “the reality…in Jesus” (v. 21), the actual condition of the life of Jesus, as recorded in the four Gospels, duplicated in His many members as the corporate living of the perfected God-men—John 14:6a; Eph. 4:20-24; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:8, 19-21a; 2:19-30:
Ａ
Jesus lived a life in which He did everything in God, with God, and for God; God was in His living, and He was one with God—this is the reality in Jesus—Eph. 4:21.
Ｂ
The only life that is a delight to God is the life that is a repetition of the life Christ lived on earth; we are being perfected by the Lord to be God-men, living the divine life by denying our natural life according to the model of Christ as the first God-man—Matt. 11:29a; 17:5b; 1 Pet. 2:21.
Ｃ
A living in the reality of the Body of Christ is the same as the living of Jesus; it is Jesus living again in the members of His Body—Eph. 4:21; 5:30; 1 Cor. 12:27.
Morning Nourishment
John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of reality, comes, He will guide you into all the reality…"Eph. 4:4 "One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling."
The Body of Christ is the church today, and all of its reality is the Spirit of the reality of the consummated Triune God. The reality of the processed Triune God is His consummated Spirit of reality (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6). The reality of all that the Triune God is, has, and can do is simply this Spirit of reality. The reality of the death and resurrection that the Triune God passed through is also this Spirit of reality.
Furthermore, this Spirit of reality makes everything of the processed Triune God a reality in the Body of Christ (John 16:13-15). It is this same Spirit of reality who makes all the riches of the Triune God, which are just His reality, possible and real in the Body of Christ. All that the processed Triune God is, including righteousness, holiness, life, light, power, grace, and all the divine attributes, are realized by this Spirit of reality to be the real attributes of the Body of Christ (Rom. 15:16b; 14:17; Eph. 3:16). Originally, [these] were merely God's attributes; now these attributes have been realized in the church by the Spirit in the Body of Christ. The church therefore possesses the reality of the divine attributes. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “A Thorough View of the Body of Christ, “p. 130)
Today's Reading
Furthermore, all that the Triune God experienced, including incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, are likewise realized by this Spirit of reality to be the real experiences of the Body of Christ. Originally, it was the Triune God who was incarnated, crucified, and resurrected. But when the Spirit of reality came, He made these experiences of the Triune God real in us as our real experiences. Because of this we can live a normal human life on the earth today. We can deal with the negative matters that befall us by the capacity of the death of Christ. We do not lose our temper, nor do we blame or rebuke others, because the death of Christ is realized in us through the Spirit of reality. Moreover, the Spirit with the resurrection of Christ works in us to enable us to love and forgive others. These are all examples of how the experiences of the Triune God Himself have been realized in the church by the Spirit of reality to be the real experiences of the church. This is the Spirit of the reality of the Triune God becoming the reality of the Body of Christ.Both the essence and the reality of the Body of Christ are altogether matters of the Spirit of the processed and consummated Triune God.…The Spirit is the reality of the essence as well as the essence to which the reality belongs. Essence emphasizes the inward substance, and reality emphasizes the outward realization. Because the Spirit is the inward substance of the Body of Christ, He is also its outward realization. Both the inward essence and substance and the outward reality and realization are of the Spirit. This Spirit is the secret to all that the Triune God is to the Body of Christ. For instance, the secret to God's loving the Body of Christ, sanctifying it, and strengthening it, is with the Spirit of reality. It is the Spirit of reality who makes God's love real in the Body of Christ so that it may be sanctified and strengthened.
This Spirit now dwells in our regenerated spirit and is joined to our spirit as one spirit (Rom. 8:9-11a; 1 Cor. 6:17). He is not only in us but also joined with our spirit to become one spirit with us. We must therefore exercise to turn our whole being to this joined spirit and set our mind on it (Rom. 8:6b).…We should also live and walk according to this joined spirit (v. 4). We must speak, do things, treat others, and deal with matters according to this joined spirit. We should talk to our family members in our home life according to this spirit. When we live in this joined spirit, we will be able to live out the Body of Christ and become His corporate expression (Eph. 1:23). (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “A Thorough View of the Body of Christ, “pp. 130-132)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “A Thorough View of the Body of Christ, “chs. 1-2