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In order to be headed up in Christ, we need to grow up into Christ, the Head, in all things—in all things means in everything big or small in our daily life and in our work—Eph. 4:15; Zech. 4:10:
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The organic building up of the Body is the growth of the Body, which is the growth of God, the increase of God as life, in all the members—Eph. 2:21-22; 4:16; Col. 2:19.
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The growing members are the building members; to grow in life is to have more of God in us; our problem is that we are short of God—Eph. 4:16; cf. Job 1:1-5; 42:1-6.
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In order to grow up into the Head, we must hold to truth in the element and sphere of the divine love; truth in Ephesians 4:15 means things that are true— Rom. 3:4:
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We need to hold to God's eternal economy—1 Tim. 1:3-4:
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This is the economy of the mystery hidden in God—Eph. 3:9.
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This economy is to have the church as the organic Body of Christ to consummate in the New Jerusalem for the manifestation of Christ as God's multifarious wisdom—vv. 10-11; 1:22-23; 1 Cor. 1:30.
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We need to hold to the all-inclusive Christ— John 14:6; Eph. 1:23:
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His measure is immeasurable—3:18.
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His riches are unsearchable—v. 8.
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His love is knowledge-surpassing—v. 19.
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We need to hold to the church as the Body of Christ—1 Tim. 3:15:
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The Body of Christ is the corporate Christ—Acts 9:4; 1 Cor. 12:12.
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The Body of Christ is the fullness, the expression, of Christ and of God— Eph. 1:23; 3:19.
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 4:15 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ.John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life…
1 Tim. 3:15 But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.
Today, if we want to build up the Body of Christ, we must love God, Christ, and the church in the love with which God loves us and in the love which He put within us. By this, we can hold to the truth in this love. According to the words of Solomon, everything under the sun is vanity; there is no reality (Eccl. 1:2). But there is One who is real in the universe, God Himself. If God occupies the proper position in everything, then everything is true. Otherwise, all things are but vanity of vanities. As Romans 3:4 says, every man is a liar; only God is true. In this true God there are three things: the economy of God, the Christ of God, and the Body of Christ—the church. In the whole universe only this group of things is true. If you take them away from the universe, the universe will become vain. For this reason, when you hear some rumors in the church, you should compare them with these words…. If they do not conform to these three things, you should let these rumors go. In this way, you will be holding to truth in love. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “The Perfecting of the Saints and the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” p. 102)
Today’s Reading
Love is not just an element; it is also a sphere. Element refers to the inward constituent. The constituent in the love of God is just God Himself. This constituent of love is in us, and we hold to truth in this constituent. This love is also a sphere. In this love and by this love, we are able to hold to truth.When we hold to truth, the first item to hold to is God’s New Testament economy…. He arranged to create the heavens and the earth and to create man according to His image and likeness so that man would be like Him, be His vessel, and be prepared for the day when the Creator God would enter into man to be mingled with man, to become the many members of Christ, and to constitute the Body of Christ to express Christ, which is to express the Triune God in Christ. This is the economy of God.
Second, we have to hold to the all-inclusive Christ. This Christ is the One who fills all in all. He is not only in all but also fills all. The universe is immeasurable, and Paul compared the breadth, length, height, and depth of the universe to the measure of Christ (Eph. 3:18). This shows us that the measure and riches of Christ are unsearchable.
Third, we have to hold to the church. The church is the Body of Christ as the fullness of Christ to express Him. Hence, the church is not an organization, but an organism….The church is the Body of Christ. It is constituted by those who are regenerated, saved, and have received Christ as their life….We have to hold to this organism and not to any organized congregation.
To hold to truth is for the purpose of growing into the Head, Christ. According to our experience, the growth here is not our growth, but it is the growth of Christ within us. This is like the words of John the Baptist: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). Before we believed in Jesus, it was we who were growing. After we believed in the Lord and began to love Him, we began to decrease, and Christ began to increase within us. In the end we will be like Paul who said that “it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Moreover, when Christ grows within us, we grow in Him. Actually, our growth is just His growth. As a result, we decrease, and He comes in to gradually replace us, and we grow into Him. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “The Perfecting of the Saints and the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” pp. 102-103)
Further Reading: God’s Purpose for the Church (booklet)