Experience the Multiplying Power of the Corporate Christ in the Vital Groups

Today’s Main Verses for Pray-reading

One chases a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight

Deuteronomy 32:30b

How shall one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight?

Five chase a hundred, and a hundred chase ten thousand

Leviticus 26:8

And five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand; and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

Binding, loosing, and praying in harmony

Matthew 18:18–20

Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.
For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.

Press on to maturity

Hebrews 6:1a

Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be brought on to maturity,

Today’s Prayer Burden

May we experience in the practice of the vital groups the multiplication that comes through corporate coordination and blending. Five chasing a hundred and a hundred chasing ten thousand show us that the strength of a group is more than the simple addition of individual abilities. The vital groups enable us to experience not only the Lord within us individually, but also the Lord in our midst corporately. May every vital group experience the multiplying power of the corporate Christ, surpassing what we can experience individually, so that the reality of the Body of Christ may spread, multiply, and be built up until it fills the whole earth.

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, we praise You! In the Bible You show us the fruit of corporate coordination: one chases a thousand, two put ten thousand to flight; five chase a hundred, and a hundred chase ten thousand. Lord, show us that the key is not natural gift or eloquence, but the Spirit blending with the spirit of our companions, so that we may pray, coordinate, exercise, live, and act together in oneness.

Lord, save us from isolation, independence, and caring only for ourselves. Do not let us merely say that we are members of the Body of Christ; teach us to be joined in a practical way to other members. Make us willing to hand ourselves over and speak the truth in love. Save us from being polite on the surface while hiding difficulties and allowing the work to suffer loss. Blend us together in life, so that we may receive help from other members and become a help to them.

Lord, join us definitely to some saints, and keep us from coordinating only with those we prefer or already know well. Balance us through fellowship with different members. Strengthen, support, protect, and defend us through the Body. We do not want merely to say generally that we are in the church; bring us into the reality of the Body of Christ, knowing how to be joined to others and advance together in the Body.

Lord, after we are joined to others, make us practical in caring for people. Lead us to list our relatives, neighbors, classmates, and friends, and to seek Your leading concerning each one. Give us a burden to pray consistently for two or three gospel contacts, reach them, and invite them into our homes. Make us care also for younger and weaker believers through visitation and fellowship. May our vital groups become a practical way to preach the gospel, shepherd people, and perfect one another.

Lord, lead us to advance in a balanced way in life, truth, the meetings, service, and the gospel. Keep us moving forward in the Spirit with the church, not as isolated spiritual people but as members living in the reality of the Body of Christ. May we experience in the vital groups the fruit of reviving, saving, and building people up. Spread the reality of the Body of Christ until it fills the whole earth. Amen.

Ministry Fellowship

1. Corporate coordination brings in multiplication

According to ordinary arithmetic, if one person chases a thousand, two should chase two thousand. But Deuteronomy shows that one chases a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight. Two joined together have a strength beyond that of two people acting separately. Two is the smallest corporate number. However strong an individual member may be, he is still limited and lacking; he needs the other members. May the Lord show us the riches of the Body, keeping us from boasting in individual ability and bringing us into the corporate function of the Body of Christ through coordination with other members.

(Based on The Mystery of Christ, ch. 10, “The Riches of the Body.”)

2. Blending requires that we hand ourselves over to one another

If the brothers and sisters merely maintain a courteous peace and are unwilling to speak truth, allowing one another to remain in the wrong rather than risk offense, the Lord’s work will suffer loss. If we are all willing to hand ourselves over and fellowship in love, difficulties in the work can be removed and our spirits can be blended, bringing in the fruit of corporate coordination. May the Lord save us from keeping only an outward harmony. Blend us in life through openness and fellowship, so that the service in the church will not become deadened and the Lord may have a way to move.

(Based on Serving in Coordination and Washing in Love, ch. 5.)

3. Be joined to definite members and receive the Body’s balancing

To function as a member of the Body, a Christian needs to learn to be joined to others. We should not merely say, “I am in the church; I am a member of the Body.” We also need to know which members we are definitely joined to. Being joined to only one or two people we like may not balance us. We need coordination with different members and to receive strengthening, support, protection, and defense. May the Lord show us our limitations and lack, and make us willing to be joined to the saints in serving together in the Body.

4. After being joined, care for others

Being joined to others enables us to receive help from the members; after receiving help, we should also help others. Such care includes preaching the gospel as well as visiting, fellowshipping with, and shepherding younger believers. May the Lord make us members who not only receive supply but also supply others. Through the vital groups, may we preach the gospel to unbelievers and care for new ones and weaker believers in the church life.

5. Practice the gospel and shepherding in a definite way

We can begin by listing the relatives, neighbors, classmates, and friends we know, seeking the Lord’s leading concerning each one, praying, and then taking practical steps to contact them. The source also fellowships about selecting two or three unbelievers to care for continually and inviting them into our homes, while also caring for two or three younger or weaker believers. May we not leave the gospel and shepherding as topics of meeting fellowship, but practice them continually in our daily living throughout the year.

6. Advance in a balanced way in life, truth, service, and the gospel

Life, truth, service, the meetings, and the spread of the gospel need to advance together. We should not focus on only one matter and neglect the others. Just as physical life needs supply in different aspects, our spiritual life also needs to be perfected in these matters. May the Lord lead us to exercise together in the vital groups, supply one another, and advance in the Spirit with the church, unto maturity, so that the reality of the Body of Christ may be built up.

(Based on Serving in the Meetings and in the Gospel, ch. 5, “The Ten Ways to Preach the Gospel.”)