林前十二18~20 但如今神照着自己的意思，把肢体俱各安置在身体上了。若都是一个肢体，身体在哪里？但如今肢体是多的，身体却是一个。

　　认识身体既是这样实际的一件事，那么我们凭什么才能知道一个人已经认识了身体？我们至少可以找出三点来验证：

　　人认识身体的头一个证明，就是不能单独。……人还未认识身体之前，他是单独的，他也能单独。他的生活、行动、工作、事奉都是单独的，外表好像和弟兄们在一起，却没有真实的配搭和联络。但等到他在生命里往前去，认识了一点身体，他就看见作基督徒不是单独的，乃是团体的。他若要一直活在主里面，就不能失去身体的交通，也不能离开肢体的配搭。到这时候，基督的身体对于他就是一个实际的东西。他在召会中，就再也不能单独事奉了。他从最深处，感觉需要别人和他一同作基督徒。……没有弟兄姊妹的配搭，就不能工作；没有召会的扶持，也不能生活。到这时候，他就很自然的，和众圣徒配搭成一个身体，而无法分离。所以，凡还能单独的，就是没有认识身体；凡真认识身体的，定规不能单独（李文集一九五三年第三册，六六四至六六五页）。

　　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.

　　Since knowing the Body is such a practical thing, how may we ascertain whether or not one knows the Body as yet? We can prove it in at least three ways.

　　The first proof of knowing the Body is that we cannot be individualistic… Before one knows the Body, he is an individualist and can be individualistic. His life, his actions, his work, and his service are all individualistic. Outwardly, he appears to be one with the brothers, but there is no real coordination or knitting together. Not until he grows deeper in life and knows the Body to a certain extent does he see that being a Christian is a corporate matter and that he cannot go on without fellowship in the Body, nor can he depart from the coordination of the members. The Body of Christ becomes a practical matter to him. In the church life he can no longer serve alone. In the innermost part of his being, he feels that he needs to be a Christian together with others… He cannot work without the coordination of the brothers and sisters, and he cannot live without the support of the church. It is at this stage that he is being knit together spontaneously with all the saints to become one Body, no more to be separated. All those, therefore, who can still be individualistic do not know the Body, and all those with a true knowledge of the Body definitely cannot be individualistic. (CWWL, 1953, vol. 3, “The Experience of Life,” pp. 489-490)

　　人认识身体的第二个证明，就是能知道别人不在身体里。一个人认识了身体，不只他自己是实实际际地活在身体里，并且别人是否活在身体里，他也能很清楚地分辨。

　　人认识身体以后，所以有这分辨的能力，完全是因为他在主里面的交通达到了那个深度而有的。我们知道，我们和主的交通，乃是随着生命的经历而加深的。虽然我们灵命在第一层时，就和主有交通，而我们灵命到了第四层时，也是和主有交通，但那个交通的深浅却大有分别。当两个交通程度不同的人在一起时，交通深的人，能迁就交通浅的人，与他有交通。不过那个交通，只能限在对方的程度以内，若是超过，就显得格格不入，对方就够不上了。因此，经历深的人，能将就经历浅的人，而经历浅的人，就不能将就经历深的人。这是属灵交通的一个大原则。

　　认识身体的第三个证明，乃是认识权柄。一个人是否认识身体，就是看他是否认识权柄。真认识身体的人，定规认识权柄；不认识权柄的人，就是没有认识身体。认识身体，和认识权柄，乃是没法分开的。

　　权柄就是元首基督的权柄，显在身体上的次序里。……我们所说的权柄，也就是指着基督在祂身体上的次序里所显出的权柄。我们都是基督身体上的一个肢体，自然也都有我们各自的地位和次序。如果我们受过属灵的教导，在神面前真受过带领，认识了肉体，对付过己，破碎了天然的生命，就我们一在弟兄姊妹中间，必能立刻知道自己的次序。……这种权柄，都不是人自居的，也不是人选举的，乃是一个自然生命的次序，就是元首基督在祂身体的各肢体上所显明的（李文集一九五三年第三册，六六六、六六八至六六九页）。

　　参读：生命的经历，第十五篇。

　　The second proof of our knowing the Body is the ability to discern whether others are in the Body or not. One who has come to know the Body not only lives in the Body in a very practical way but also can clearly discern whether or not others are living in the Body.

　　This discerning ability after one knows the Body is absolutely due to the extent of the deep degree of fellowship he has in the Lord. Our fellowship with the Lord grows in depth in proportion to our experience of life, beginning with the initial stage of our spiritual life and continuing through the fourth stage. The degree of depth of fellowship differs greatly as we progress in the experience of life. When two people in different degrees of fellowship in the Lord come together, the one having the deeper experience can go on with the one who has the shallower experience and have fellowship with him, but that fellowship is limited in proportion to the experience of the latter. Should this fellowship go beyond the limit, it will become rather incongruous and incomprehensible to the latter. The one having deeper experience, therefore, can go on with the one who has the shallower experience, but the shallower one cannot go along with the deeper one. This is a great principle in spiritual fellowship.

　　The third proof of our knowing the Body is the recognition of authority. Whether or not one knows the Body depends upon whether or not he recognizes authority. Those who do not recognize authority do not know the Body. Knowing the Body and recognizing authority are inseparable.

　　Authority is simply the authority of Christ the Head, which is revealed in the order of the Body…When we speak of authority, we mean the authority of Christ manifested through the order of His Body. Since we are all members of the Body of Christ, we naturally have our right position and order. If we have been taught in our spirit and have been indeed led by God to recognize the flesh, if we have had the self dealt with and the natural constitution broken, we will immediately recognize our own order when placed among brothers and sisters…This kind of authority is not assumed, nor is it by election, but it is the natural order in life, which Christ the Head has manifested in all the members of His Body. (CWWL, 1953, vol. 3, “The Experience of Life,” pp. 490-493)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1953, vol. 3, “The Experience of Life,” ch. 15