«　WEEK 3　DAY 5　»

　　Eph. 4:3-4 "Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling."

　　Phil. 1:5 "For your fellowship unto the furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now."

　　In Ephesians 4:4 Paul says, “One Body and one Spirit.” The Body is mentioned before the Spirit because the oneness among us is related to the Body and is for the Body. Furthermore, this verse not only reveals the uniqueness of the Body; it also shows that the one Body is determined by the one Spirit. Because there is one Spirit, there is one Body. There is not another Body because there is not another Spirit. We must keep the unique oneness of the Body because the Body and the Spirit are one.

　　Moreover, there is only one circulation, one fellowship, of life in the Body. This circulation is the fellowship of the Body of Christ. All the local churches need to be in this unique fellowship. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2185-2186)

　　Among all the churches that compose the one universal Body of Christ, there is no organization, but there is the fellowship of the Body of Christ. This means that in the proper church life there is no organization, but there is much fellowship. Just as the human body does not have organization but does have circulation, so we should not have organization, but we should have fellowship. If all the churches stay in this circulation, in the fellowship of the Body, they will be healthy. However, the natural human thought is either to have organization or to have nothing to do with others. On the one hand, we should not have any organization among the churches; on the other hand, we should be open to have fellowship with all the churches. However, the church in a certain locality or the churches in a particular region may not be willing to have fellowship with other churches. This attitude is absolutely wrong. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2186)

　　We are even very short of fellowship with the churches who are close to us geographically. There is very little circulation. If my shoulder were not participating adequately in the blood circulation of my body, it would be sick. No part of my physical body can be separate from the other parts since all the parts must participate in the one blood circulation. Some may think that they are wise to keep themselves separate. But if any part of the Body of Christ is separate, that part will eventually die. The best way to stay healthy is to “receive more blood and to give more blood, “that is, to stay in the fellowship, the circulation of life. Then we will save ourselves and promote the healing of the Body. In some places there has been no peace because of a lack of fellowship. The more fellowship we have, the more peace we have. The reason many people are weak physically is that they sit too much. They do not move. It is the same spiritually. We are sick and weak because we remain with ourselves, in ourselves, and for ourselves.…We need to get out of ourselves by fellowshipping with the other churches. If we want to get helped, the secret is to go to see some brothers in another locality. The brothers in Texas…need to go to…Cleveland and Seattle and break the boundary of Texas.

　　The local churches should fellowship with all the genuine local churches on the whole earth to keep the universal fellowship of the Body of Christ. Any local church that does not keep this universal fellowship of the Body of Christ is divisive and becomes a local sect. Some so-called local churches are not genuine and have become divisions; we do not need to fellowship with such “churches.” But we should have fellowship with all the genuine local churches on the whole earth to keep the universal fellowship of the Body of Christ. If not, we are no longer a church but a sect. A church is one that remains in the Body; a sect is a group of believers who divide themselves from the Body. When my arm remains in the body, it is a part of my living body. If it is cut off and separated from the body, it becomes a dead thing. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “A Brief Presentation of the Lord's Recovery, “pp. 418-419, 421)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 204