CHRIST BEING THE HEAD TO
ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE BODY AND
ALSO BEING THE WHOLE BODY
First Corinthians 11 says that Christ is the Head of every man (v. 3a). Here Christ’s being the Head of every man refers to Christ’s being the Head of the members of His Body. On the other hand, chapter twelve says that Christ is also the entire Body (v. 12). As far as the human body is concerned, the head supplies all the riches to the body and meets the needs of the body. It is the head that leads the body, and not the body that supports the head. Christ is the Head of all the members of His Body. He is also the whole Body. He supplies His divine life and element to every member that they may have the life capacity to be the many gifts in His Body (12:4-11). These gifts in the Body of Christ are dispensed by the Spirit. The gifts dispensed by the Spirit are present in order to realize the ministries dispensed by the Lord, and the ministries dispensed by the Lord are present to perfect the operations dispensed by God in the many members.
ALL THE BELIEVERS BEING BAPTIZED
INTO ONE BODY IN THE PNEUMATIC CHRIST
Christ has baptized in Himself, the pneumatic Christ, all the believers into one Body, that the believers may be enabled to drink of Him as the all-inclusive Spirit. In this way, He becomes their life supply, and they enjoy His life dispensing (1 Cor. 12:13). Baptism ushers us into an organic union with Christ and the Triune God, making us living members of the Body of Christ. Whatever race or nationality we belong to, and whatever social status we may have, we should all be part of this Body. Christ is the life and constituent of this Body, and the Spirit is the reality of Christ. In one Spirit we have all been baptized into this living Body to express Christ.
CHRIST BECOMING THE
LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT IN RESURRECTION
First, in incarnation Christ became flesh for the accomplishing of redemption (John 1:14, 29). This is the first "becoming." Then, in resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b) for the dispensing of life (John 10:10). This is the second "becoming." Today, the Christ in whom we believe is the life-giving Spirit. He is dispensing to us the divine life of the processed Triune God that we may become one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17) and may enjoy the divine dispensing of all the riches of the Triune God in Him.
(The Economy and Dispensing of God, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee)
