«　WEEK 4　DAY 6　»

　　Rom. 12:4 "For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function."

　　1 Cor. 12:18-20 "But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, even as He willed. And if all were one member, where would the body be? But now the members are many, but the body one."

　　We supply the Body with the life that we have received from Christ the Head. Yet when we function, we have to be proper and in order. Order in the Body is essential to growth and ministry.… In the meeting…you have to speak according to your measure of faith and according to the leading of the Spirit. You have to know whether there is any overstepping in your speaking, and you have to know whether your speaking is too long.…When we truly come under the authority of the Head, He sets us in our special place in the Body and appoints us to our special function. (CWWN, vol. 44, “The Mystery of Christ, “p. 822)

　　We should never boast without measure. In giving a testimony of what we have learned of the Lord, we should have a limit, a measure. The word measure in 2 Corinthians 10:13 indicates being ruled by God. God has allotted us just so much for our work and experience. Furthermore, He has given us just so much to enjoy. Therefore, when we give a testimony about our work, experience, or enjoyment of the Lord, we must testify within measure, that is, within a certain limit.

　　From verses 13, 14, and 15 we see that although we expect the Lord's work to spread, we must learn how to be under God's restriction. Do not expect a spread that is without measure. That kind of spread would certainly not be within the limit of a walk according to Spirit. From experience we can testify that if we spread the work according to the Spirit, there will always be a certain limit. Inwardly we shall have the consciousness that the Lord intends to spread the work only to a certain extent. Furthermore, outwardly, in the environment, the Lord may cause matters to restrict the spread of the work. Therefore, inwardly we do not have the peace to spread the work beyond a certain point, and outwardly the environment does not allow us to go beyond a particular boundary line.

　　The Lord is especially interested in restricting the young people. If the young ones do not have a heart to serve the Lord, He will stir them up to serve Him. But once they have been stirred up, He will limit them. Human nature does not like this kind of limitation.…God's way, however, is first to speed us up and then to slow us down, first to raise us up and then to lower us down. When we are down, He will lift us up. But when we get too far up, He will lower us down.…Many young people cannot tolerate God's ups and downs. After a few of these ups and downs, they want to quit.…God does not want us to be always up or to be always down. Even in nature the alternating of day and night testifies of this.

　　God has many ways to bring us down. Some young people have been brought down by their married life. Before a particular brother was married, he may have been like an eagle soaring in the air. He could easily talk about the wonderful, glorious church life. But not long after his wedding, it seems that the church life is no longer glorious. God is using his marriage to calm down such an excited brother. In some cases, such a brother may stay down for a long period of time after his marriage. But eventually he is up again, although not in the same excited way as before. This is a sign of improvement.

　　In the church service we need to realize that God has only measured out so much to us, and we should not overstretch ourselves. We need to know our limitation, our jurisdiction, and not go beyond it into others' territory. Like Paul, we should move and act according to our rule, that is, according to how much God has measured to us. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 447-450, 452)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 44, “The Mystery of Christ, “chs. 102-106; Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 51