Watchman Nee wonderfully explains the significance of the Church in his book The Body of Christ: a Reality. He begins by explaining the life that we receive when we have been converted from our old way of selfishness to the new way of Christ. When we are born again, we have a new life in Christ and a new life consciousness. Nee explains this consciousness as having two facets: consciousness of our relationship to God and consciousness of our relationship to the body of believers. Having this God consciousness, we are aware when something arises in our lives to keep us from fellowship with God. We are aware of sin and of our relationship to God. With the body consciousness, we in a sense have a pulse on the group of believers around us. We will be aware of hurt and joy in the body just as all the member of a true body are aware when the hand is blissfully typing or throbbing from the whack of a hammer. This is more than just a teaching for us. When we have truly become aware of the body, we do not need to be reminded to love or keep others in mind. It is natural for us to do so.

This consciousness of the body brings about many changes in our lives. We love the brethren, which is not a duty but a natural love, like a father loves a son. All divisions through sex, race, physical differences, and such cease. Furthermore, we do not create divisions amongst ourselves but seek unity and wholeness. We are delivered from an independent viewpoint in our work—the type of thinking that focuses on how I may be made great by my work. We live to serve each other with our work. We see the need to fellowship, realizing that we are not all sufficient. We learn to be members in the body, serving in our specific role and seeking to supply life to the body. We also submit to authority, realizing that it does not come from man, but from Christ.

The physical body is the perfect metaphor for the group of believers that comprise the Church. Just as in a real body, where the head is the most essential to its operation, so too in the Body of Christ the head is of utmost importance. In the Body of Christ, Jesus Christ is the head. Nee uses the phrase “hold fast the head” to describe how we must be in submission and recognition to the head if we are to function in the body. First, all authority comes from the head. We must see that as all our life comes from Christ, so too the authority in the body. If we have trouble with authority, we are not having trouble with a member but with the head. Our fellowship also stems from the head. We are not together because we come from common backgrounds or interests. We are united in the life shared from Christ. This must be the basis of our fellowship. It is important for us to realize that, in a similar manner to authority, if we have a problem with a brother, it stems from a problem with the head, in whom we have our fellowship. Watchman Nee writes that the key to holding fast the head is to let the cross deal with our selfish flesh and learn to walk according to the Spirit’s direction. Without holding fast the head, we cannot be the Body of Christ.

The greatest hindrance to our living in and being conscious of the body is individualism. The only remedy for this is service. Life in the body of Christ is a life of service. Many people fear that getting rid of individualism means getting rid of one’s individuality, like some sort of eastern zen. This is not the case. It is through the obliteration of our individualism that we can truly be free to live as the individuals that God intended us to be. We are free to be unique and open with each other, all the while living for others interests rather than just our own. Nee explains that all service in the body comes from the life that is in us from Christ. The real, specific experience we have with Christ manifests itself in a function in the body. It is impossible to not have a function and be a true member of the Body of Christ. Service and function are interchangeable, and if we have a true consciousness of the body we will seek to serve.

Watchman Nee points out two key points that form the law of the body from Paul’s conversion experience. First Jesus asked why Paul was persecuting Him, not his followers. Nee explains that this shows the unity between the body and Christ. Christ and the body are one. The Body of Christ is a body of unity. The second principle comes from Paul having to be taught and aided by Ananias. Nee points out how Paul, a man used greatly by God later, still needed the supply of another person to grow and work for the Lord. The point here is that none of us act alone, even a great apostle like Paul. We all act as one facet of a body and do nothing of our own ability.

As the book comes to an end, Nee sums up the body in three manners the body of Christ affects us. First, there is the covering of the body. If we do not let the body of Christ cover us, we will only know defeat in our spiritual battles. Satan’s goal is to get us to face him by ourselves, thinking we alone are sufficient. Nothing could be further from the truth. Only by seeking the covering of the body and sharing our struggles can we hope to overcome. Second, Nee explains the restraint of the body. This is the function of the body that smooths our rough edges and works out the selfish and individualistic tendencies in our personalities. By being part of the body, we are pulled along when we feel like slacking and are constrained to our own function when we feel like over-reaching. We are kept in the right place by the other members. Third, Nee talks about the supply of the body, which is the fellowship of the members. This life must flow mutually between the members. If it does not, we bring only death to the body.

In the last chapter, Nee summarizes with the three cardinal principles of living in the Body of Christ. The first is each person’s relationship to the head. We must be in subjection to Christ, giving Him full control, else the body will be dead and lifeless. Second, is each person’s relationship to the body. We must be in fellowship with one another, receiving the covering of the body and not living in individualistic independence. Lastly, there is each persons place as a member, manifested through service. It is not enough for each to receive life through fellowship. He must also bring life to the body or risk becoming a blight on the body that only drains.

By adhering to these three cardinal principles we can live as the Body of Christ. The world is full of strong individualistic men and women living for their own glory and prosperity. As the body of Christ we witness to the new Kingdom’s presence on earth and the age to come, in which Christ will rule as head, not only of the Church, but of all creation.

The uniform understanding of the Body of Christ as laid out by Watchman Nee has solidified a lot of what was only vague understanding for me. I loved his emphasis on the experiential nature of the Body of Christ. It is easy to put things into a merely academic perspective, but Watchman Nee makes sure we understand that this is more than just doctrine. It is a real life. It has real tangible manifestations in how we live and relate, keeping truth grounded in the practical instead of merely intellectual. Nowhere is this more important than in the Body of Christ, the very centerpiece of Christianity.

One principle put forth by Nee that has changed my perspective was the relationship of all things in the body to the head. I have never thought that my problems with authority or with individuals stems from an underlying problem with the Head itself. I have often focused on the obvious physical aspects of my frustration, but I see how often these struggles were rooted in un-surrendered rights. Since Christ’s life flows in all of us, inter-relational problems are in a sense a relational problem with Christ as well. It gives me much more pause and gravity when working through relationships when I truly understand Christ as the head of everything in our lives as His Body.

Another very insightful point Nee made was the covering of the body. I see how many of my problems have come when I have tried to face them alone. They stem from a desire for individualistic glory or hiddeness that will not let me share my struggles with others. As a member of the body of Christ, I am weak by myself. However, it is in this weakness that I find great strength through the covering of the body. As I continue to grow spiritually, I will continue to be more open and accepting of the body’s covering rather than facing things on my own.

Watchman Nee’s book has helped me see our fellowship here in a new way that is inspiring. Our fellowship is a beautiful thing that I intend understand more and serve in as I grow. This wonderful body is truly the work of God, and it is something I look forward to witnessing to and sharing with those who are seeking.

When the curtain goes up this time, we are all ushered on stage. We find ourselves pushed in a human crush down the narrow twisting back streets of Jerusalem.

Soldiers everywhere watch from windows and doorways. The crowd surges past us. Shouts. Raised fists. Parents carrying children. Others carrying scaffolding. Centurions push us forcefully into a doorway, almost knocking us down, blocking our view.

The unruly crowd eventually dwindles and passes. We follow. The skies darken. Huge colonnades of clouds gather on the horizon as the crowd clusters on a barren knoll just outside the city gates.

It’s difficult to see what’s happening from back here. It looks as if they are beginning a construction project on the knoll. Beams and timbers - workmen and soldiers. A small group of women, heads covered, quickly press past us, making their way to the small dark hill.

As one huge beam is lifted upright, silhouetted against the blackening sky, the chattering and movement abruptly stop. All eyes are fixed on the hilltop.

Everything is in frozen frame for what seems like forever. The only motion is that of the encroaching clouds. The biting wind whips our legs. We stand as one person, transfixed in uncomprehending silence.

Suddenly and anguished voice rises above the hilltop and throng. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Then all is dark and silent.

Godforsakenness, torturous suffering, humiliating death. He has taken the bitter cup and drunk it down to the dregs. There was no holding back. Jesus has tasted it all.

Jesus knows the overwhelming sense of abandonment that a five-year-old child is experiencing on a garbage dump in Manila. He knows the despair of a farmer in Chad watching his family slowly die of malnutrition. He knows the hopelessness of a college student in Chicogo who learns his recently discovered malignancy is terminal. Jesus has experienced it all.

And the Creator and Author of this story, through the abandonment, suffering, and death of the Son, has tasted it all too. Our God is not untouched by our infirmities; God in Christ experienced them all. And as the Creator God enters fully into our stories, God experiences anew our suffering, pain, and sense of abandonment. (Tom Sine, Live It Up)

“Jesus, You are called the Crucified Lord and the Cross-bearer.  May You never have to say to us, ‘You are not worthy of Me; you cannot be My disciple,’ because we did not want to carry our cross.  Grant us the grace to say, ‘Yes Father,’ to every cross, trusting that it has been prepared for us personally and comes from the loving hands of the Father.  It will bring us an abundance of divine blessing.  In the cross is great fruit; in the cross is glory; in the cross is victory, power, and resurrection.  The cross frees our soul from this earth and draws us to heaven.  The cross brings us gain here and above.  Teach us to love our cross as a precious gift from Your hand, which we will thank You for in eternity.  Out of love for You,  Lord Jesus, we wish to follow You.  Make us true cross-bearers.

“Bless O Lord, this food to our use, and us to Your loving service; and make us ever mindful of the needs of others.  Lord, in Your mercy…Hear our prayer.”

In my last post, I discussed Larry Crabb’s vision of the Church as a community in which it is safe to be human. 

This is one of the characteristics of “spiritual community” that Dr. Crabb sketches out in his book The Safest Place on Earth.  The other hallmark of this community is the way in which conflict is handled in relationships. 

Conflict will occur in human relationships.  It is inevitable among broken human beings that are following their own selfish agendas.  Paul warns us of the result if this egotism remains unchecked in his letter to the Galatians. (see Galatians 5:14 & 15) Conflict will also come about simply because we are unique individuals and have different ways of seeing and understanding life.  Like Dr. Crabb said, “Conflict is latent in every human relationship at every moment. It simply awaits a trigger to get it going.” (pg. 40)

The problem is not that conflict exists. Rather, the problem is our attitude regarding conflict.  In unspiritual community conflict is avoided, and consequently the life giving power of truth is suppressed in our relationships.

Dr. Crabb lists some of the ways avoiding conflict is practiced unspiritual community. We may “hide conflict behind congeniality”, or we will focus the energy of conflict “into cooperation on worthy projects where ugly drives become commendable zeal.” Others of us will “sooth the pain  we feel because of conflict, using consolation.” If the conflict is of  a severe nature we  may use counseling.  Lastly, there are those of us who will “let conforming pressures try to contain our ugliness within renewed efforts to do better.” (pp. 40-41)  In other words, we will do everything but honestly work through conflict in a way that is mutually satisfying to all involved.  When we give in to the  afore mentioned methods of avoidance, our relationships will lack intimacy and true mutuality.

In spiritual community, conflict is seen as a chance to experience a greater intimacy and sharing in our relationships.  The manifestation of conflict is our call that we now have an opportunity to trust God in a new way, and at the same time see something new about ourselves and one another.  Often what we see we will not like as our brokenness and ungodly passions are brought into the light.  If we faithfully refuse to hide in the ways Dr. Crabb mentioned, the conflict now becomes a conduit of God’s healing grace into our broken humanity.