«　WEEK 4　DAY 1　»

　　Psa. 133:1-2 "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity! It is like the fine oil upon the head that ran down upon the beard, upon Aaron's beard, that ran down upon the hem of his garments."

　　Phil. 1:19 "For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ."

　　In Psalm 133 the believers' dwelling together in oneness is likened to the inestimable goodness of the precious ointment on the head of Aaron and to the incalculable pleasantness of the dew of Hermon on the mountains of Zion.(Psa.133:1, footnote 2)

　　The ointment is not for individuals; it is for the Body. It cannot be experienced by those who are separate and detached from the Body. According to the picture in Psalm 133, the ointment is upon the head. Then it spreads to the beard and goes down to the hem of the garment. This indicates that if we are individualistic, we cannot experience the ointment.…If we are one with the church, then we can properly contact the Lord alone at home. But if we separate ourselves from the church, our contact with the Lord will be altogether different. The reason is that the anointing oil is not for individualistic members; it is for the Head and the Body, even for the Head with the Body. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness, “p. 299)

　　[In Philippians 1:19] the phrase your petition indicates the supply of the Body. Apparently Paul was in prison; actually he was in the Body. Imprisonment did not isolate him from the Body or cut him off from the supply of the Body. Paul had the clear sense within that he was in the Body and that the members of the Body were supplying him, supporting him, and standing with him.

　　In 1:19 Paul speaks first of the saints' petition, then of the bountiful supply of the Spirit.…The reason Paul speaks of the supply of the Body before the bountiful supply of the Spirit is that the Spirit is upon the Body. Psalm 133 illustrates this: the ointment poured upon Aaron's head flowed down to the body. This portrays the fact that the ointment, the bountiful supply of the compound Spirit, is upon the Body. Paul realized that he was not the whole Body, but just a member of the Body. As a member, he needed the Body's supply. If the Body would be exercised to supply him, the bountiful supply of the Spirit would come to him through the Body.

　　We may often ask a brother to pray for us. But even if he prays for us and we pray for him, this prayer may have little effect. The reason for this lack of effectiveness is that in praying we may stand apart from the Body. Whenever we stand apart from the Body as we pray, even our prayer will be dry, and our intercession will be ineffective. The anointing is not upon us individually; it is upon the Body.

　　According to Exodus 30, the compound ointment was for the anointing of the tabernacle and the priests. It is very important to realize that the compound Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, is for the Body, God's tabernacle, and for God's service, the priesthood. Because so many Christians today are cut off from the Body and from the priestly service, it is extremely difficult for them to share the bountiful supply of the Spirit.

　　Paul lived in the Body. Although he was a wonderful apostle, he still needed the prayers and petitions of the saints. This is a clear indication that Paul had a right relationship with the Body. Furthermore, Paul also shared in the priesthood. Because he was in the Body, the tabernacle, and because he was part of the priesthood, God's service, he was in a proper position to receive the flow of the ointment which is upon the Body. If we are one with the church and stay in the priestly service, we enjoy the rich anointing of the all-inclusive Spirit. Even a little praying or calling on the name of the Lord, perhaps simply saying Amen, causes us to enjoy this anointing. (Life-study of Philippians, pp. 286-287, 291-292)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Philippians, msgs. 5, 33; CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness, “ch. 6