There is one Body in the universe, and whenever we come to the Lord’s table, we come to practice the unique fellowship of the universal Body of Christ, for as we partake of His blood and body at His table, we express and practice the unique fellowship among the churches.
Hallelujah for the one Body of Christ, the one universal Body of Christ, of whom we all the believers in Christ are members! There are many local churches, but they are all part of the one Body of Christ.
No church or region or country should isolate itself from the fellowship of the Body; rather, we need to practice the church life with a view of the Body of Christ, and we need to live in the local church for the building up of the universal Body of Christ.
There is one Body in this universe, and we all belong to it; there is one Spirit, one Body, and one unique fellowship of life in the Body of Christ.
A local church is a part of the unique Body of Christ, and all the local churches should be in the fellowship of the Body.
Just as there is only one circulation of blood in our body and all the members of the Body are kept one and are supplied in this circulation, so in the Body of Christ there is only one circulation, one fellowship, and all the local churches need to be in this fellowship.
When a local church separates itself from the fellowship, there is darkness, confusion, and division; when a church has much fellowship and visitation with other churches, anything negative and peculiar is washed away, and there’s a clear flow of life for the keeping of the oneness.
The local churches need to fellowship with all the genuine local churches on the whole earth to keep the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
We all lack in this; we all need to learn to fellowship not only in our local church or with the churches in our area or in our country, but also with churches around the globe.
We need to participate in the fellowship of the gospel by praying, giving, and going; we pray for others’ needs, we give to support before the Lord, and we go to visit and enjoy the fellowship of the Body.
However, we should not have any organisation among us; there’s need for coordination and arrangements to be made, but there’s no “head coordinator” or “head church”, but we all fellowship and are in the flow of life together. Amen, may we learn to do this and practice the fellowship of the Body of Christ!
At the Lord’s Table we practice the Unique Fellowship of the Universal Body of Christ
Whenever we come to the Lord’s Table, we come to practice the unique fellowship of the universal Body of Christ. In this universe and all around the globe there is only one Christian fellowship – the fellowship of the apostles with the Triune God, which is also the fellowship in the Body of Christ.
The apostles have seen something concerning the divine life and report it to us, so that we may have fellowship with them, and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
This fellowship is expressed at the Lord’s table; when we eat the bread, we participate in the fellowship of the Body of Christ, and when we drink the cup, we participate in the fellowship of the Lord’s blood (1 Cor. 10:16).
The Lord’s body and His blood are unique, and the fellowship of Christ’s body and blood are also unique. When we partake of the one bread, we become the mystical Body of Christ (v. 17). This is the universal fellowship of the Body of Christ, the fellowship passed on to us by the apostles.
Such a fellowship is the apostles’ fellowship, and this fellowship is with the Triune God.
When we partake of the Lord’s table, we practice the unique fellowship of the universal Body of Christ. Yes, we do meet in different localities and the administration of the local church may be local, but in fellowship we are united to be one Body universally.
The Lord Jesus gave His body for us – His body was broken for us; He shed His blood for us – His blood was shed for our redemption.
Now at the Lord’s table all genuine believers in Christ partake of the Lord’s body broken for us and we drink the cup of His blessing; He drank the cup of wrath, He shed His blood, and His blood becomes a cup of blessing.
When we participate in the Lord’s blood and body we become one with the Lord and also one with one another. We, the participants in the Lord’s table, make ourselves identified with the Lord in the fellowship of His blood and body.
The Lord’s table is a testimony that we who belong to Christ are one.
On one hand the bread signifies the body of Christ that was broken for us, and on the other, it signifies the one universal Body of Christ. By partaking of the one bread, we all become one bread, one Body in Christ. Our joint partaking of the one bread makes us all one. Hallelujah!
Our partaking of Christ make us all His one Body, for the very Christ of whom we all partake constitutes us into His one Body.
This is a basic principle in our Christian life; when we partake of Christ, we become part of Christ, part of His universal Body to be members functioning for the building up of the Body.
But if we isolate ourselves from the fellowship of the Body, we are not qualified to partake of the Lord’s body, because the loaf on the table in the Lord’s supper signifies the entire Body of Christ.
One aspect of the bread on the table is the Lord’s physical body sacrificed for us on the cross, and another aspect is the the one Body of Christ.
When we come together to partake of the Lord’s table, we need to realise that the bread, the loaf, signifies all the churches; if the church in our locality or in our region are isolate from the fellowship of the Body of Christ, we lose the ground and the right to partake of this loaf.
When we partake of the one loaf, we become the one Body; at the Lord’s table we practice the unique fellowship of the universal Body of Christ.
Lord Jesus, uplift our appreciation for the Lord’s Table so that we may realise that when we partake of the bread and the cup we practice the unique fellowship of the universal Body of Christ. Hallelujah, there is one Body in this universe, and we express it here on earth in all the localities where the Lord has placed us. Amen, Lord, as we partake of Your table we testify that we are one with You and with all those who belong to You. Our partaking of the bread and the cup testifies that we are one in Christ.
We Express and Practice the Fellowship of the Body of Christ as we enjoy Christ in Partaking of His Blood and Body at His Table
As we enjoy Christ in partaking of His blood and body at His table, we express and practice the fellowship of the Body of Christ, the unique fellowship among the churches (Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:3, 7; Phil. 1:5; 2:1). Hallelujah!
In 1 Cor. 10 we see the Lord’s Table, the Lord’s supper. The Lord’s Table is a matter of enjoyment, enjoying a feast. When we come to the Lord’s Table we need to exercise our spirit to feast on the Lord, enjoying Him in a rich way together with all the saints in the Lord’s presence.
On one hand the Lord’s Table is a feast to us, and on the other it is the Lord’s supper, something for the Lord’s satisfaction and pleasure, for His interest on the earth.
How can the Lord carry out His administration on the earth today? It is through His body.
At the Lord’s Table the bread represents not only the Lord’s body given for us on the cross, but also the Lord’s mystical Body through which He can carry out His administration and accomplish His economy.
When we eat the bread and drink the cup we not only enjoy the Lord as our rich feast together with all the saints in the Lord’s presence, but we also care for God’s hearts desire and His satisfaction.
At the Lord’s Table we enjoy the Lord and testify that eating Jesus is the way. Every Lord’s day we are reminded of the reality of our Christian life, which is that we are here to eat Jesus and drink Him, and we are one by eating and drinking Jesus.
We are reminded that we need to eat Him and drink Him so that we may be constituted with Him and become His fullness, His body to express Him corporately. We are one by eating Jesus. We can be holy by eating Jesus.
We can shine by eating Jesus. We are constituted to be part of the universal Body of Christ by eating and drinking Jesus. Hallelujah, eating Jesus is the way.
At the conclusion of the Bible, in the last verses of the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, we see that there is a promise and also a call.
To all those who wash their robes they can eat of the tree of life, and the Spirit and the bride say come to all those who are thirsty – come to drink the water of life (see Rev. 22:14, 17).
Hallelujah, our Christian life is a life of eating and drinking of Jesus, a life of enjoying the Lord, so that we may be the universal Body of Christ to express Him corporately and to carry out His interest and administration!
By eating and drinking the Lord daily and by partaking of His blood and body at the Lord’s table we express and practice the fellowship of the Body of Christ, the unique fellowship among the churches.
Our partaking of the Lord’s blood and His body at the Lord’s Table is a fellowship, a participation, in the Lord’s body; the cup, which is a cup of blessing, is the fellowship of the Lord’s blood, and the bread, a symbol of the Lord’s body, is the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
The all-inclusive Christ is presenting Himself to us to be our enjoyment – He has passed through a process to be the life-giving Spirit, and as such a One he presents His blood and body to us for our enjoyment and participation.
As we enjoy Him in partaking of His blood and body at His table, we express and practice the fellowship of the Body of Christ, the unique fellowship among the churches.
Hallelujah, we are one by eating and drinking Jesus. Praise the Lord, we are divine and made holy by eating Jesus. Hallelujah, how we shine by eating Jesus. Lord, at Your table we declare that our Christian life is a life of eating and drinking Jesus, and by enjoying Jesus we are all made one in Him. Hallelujah, eating Jesus is the way! Amen, Lord, at Your table we partake of Your blood and Your body, and by eating and drinking Jesus we practice the fellowship of the Body of Christ, the unique fellowship among the churches! Amen, praise the Lord!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by the brothers for this week, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 203 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living in the Reality of the Body of Christ by Keeping the Principles of the Body (2019 ICSC), week 3, Experiencing the Work of the Cross for the Body and Living in the Unique Fellowship of the Body.
- Hymns on this topic:
# We’re gathered here, O Lord, as Thy one Body: / Though we be many, yet we all are one. / We share Thy life and own that we are members, / And thus within, in life we all are one. / There is one Body in this universe, / And we express it here on earth; / We stand as one in each locality / For all to see, for all to see. (Hymns #1107)
# One Body universal, / One in each place expressed; / Locality of dwelling / Her only ground possessed; / Administration local, / Each answ’ring to the Lord; / Communion universal, / Upheld in one accord. (Hymns #824)
# We’re eating the bread of His body once broken / As now we’re enjoying His Body made one: / One loaf on the table—one Body, we’re able / To testify to all that the Lord’s made us one. (Hymns #1106)
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