THE PROPER FOOD
Today the Lord Jesus is constituting certain members of His Body into the proper gifts to the Body, and He is doing this by the way of His humanity. He has received gifts in man and in the position of man. Therefore, the fastest way for us to grow is by feeding on the humanity of Jesus. It is not by having gifts or Bible knowledge, although it is not my purpose to oppose these things. The fastest way for Christians to grow is by feeding upon Christ’s humanity. The more we masticate Jesus, the more we will grow.
There are many matured ones among Christians today, but they are not matured in life. They may be matured in knowledge, in teaching, or in gifts, but as far as life is concerned, they are babes. Regardless of what kind of gifts we have, it is exceedingly easy for us to be carried away and tossed to and fro by the winds of doctrine. Christians today have all of these things, yet they are not stable; it is so easy for them to change. This is because the proper growth in life is lacking.
Do not think that I am criticizing today’s Christians. I am simply stating the facts of today’s Christianity. In Luke 24:49, the Lord likened the baptism of the Holy Spirit to a piece of clothing. The disciples were told to wait until they were clothed with power from on high. But can anyone grow by being clothed? We all know that clothing is not for growing, but for covering. What is lacking today is the proper food for the Christians. Gifts cannot feed us, knowledge cannot feed us, and even the best capabilities cannot feed us. We may be able to do many things, but doing cannot feed us. This is why many Christians are so poor today. They have clothing, knowledge, and capabilities, but they have no food. The food can come only from the humanity of Jesus. The humanity of Jesus is the main food for the priests.
Those who bear responsibility in a local church should not demand so much from the younger ones. Instead, they must labor on the land, produce the grain, make the flour, and prepare the meal offering for the tent of meeting. Then the remainder will be for all the priests to feed upon. Thus all the infant priests will grow into useful gifts for the Body. The real need for today’s church life is not teachings but the humanity of Jesus. Ephesians 4:15 tells us to hold truth, which means the reality: “But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, Who is the Head, Christ.” The reality is mainly in the humanity of Jesus. Jesus is the reality, and we must grow up into Him in everything. We must grow up into the Head in all things in our daily walk by holding the humanity of Jesus. For Christ to receive gifts in man means that we must hold to His humanity in order to enjoy the reality and grow into useful gifts to the Body. As we grow we are able to function. This is why Ephesians 4:16 says that out from the Head the whole Body is fitted and knit together by the joints of supply according to the operation in measure of every part. This makes for the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.
This is the building up of the church. We must all look to the Lord that we may see how the standing boards and the uniting bars are produced, as well as how the gifts are constituted. The only way is by feeding on the humanity of Jesus. It is thus that we will grow in life and be constituted as the proper gifts for the building up of the Body.
(Christ as the Reality, Chapter 11, by Witness Lee)
