Following Paul, he equated God’s blending of the members of our physical body with God’s blending and building of Christ’s Body (vv. 12-13), stating, “Just as our bodies have been blended by God, so also the church, the Body, has been blended by God” (CWWL, 1932–1949, vol. 4, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 6,” p. 408). Later, he further developed this notion, saying, “God has blended all the different members of Christ together into one Body. We need much transformation (Rom. 12:2), from the natural life to the spiritual, by the same Spirit, for the practical Body life” (CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity,” pp. 438-439). God has already created the one new man on the cross, yet we must put on the new man in our experience (Eph. 2:14-15; 4:24). Likewise, God has blended the members of the Body together, that is, He has already accomplished the blending of the Body, yet we can only experience this blending through transformation.

In his later ministry Brother Lee identified four factors that are necessary for blending: the cross, the Spirit, the dispensing of Christ, and the building up of the Body, which are intrinsically related to our transformation (2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:1-2).

To be blended means that you are touched by others and that you are touching others. But you should touch others in a blending way. Go through the cross, do things by the Spirit, and do everything to dispense Christ for His Body’s sake…We need to be tempered and crossed out, and we need to learn how to follow the Spirit to dispense Christ for His Body’s sake. (CWWL, 1994–1997, vol. 4, “The Divine and Mystical Realm,” p. 161)

Through the Cross

The factor of the cross is implied or explicitly mentioned in John 12:24, 1 Corinthians 10:17, Matthew 13, and Leviticus 2:1-13 in which many grains are formed into a loaf through being crushed, ground, blended together, and mingled with oil, which takes place through the working of the cross and in the practical church life.

In Matthew 13 we have seed, then wheat, and then meal. In order for seeds to become wheat, there is the need for growth, and in order for wheat to become meal, there is the need for the breaking and grinding of the wheat. In a grinding mill there is usually a stone slab beneath the wheat and a grinding stone above it. A believer cannot “grind” himself, and a believer is not “ground” alone. In the process of grinding wheat, many grains are ground at the same time. This shows that if we would be ground into fine flour, we need to be with other believers in the church…This grinding in the church is not merely for the sake of grinding but for the blending of the crushed grains into fine flour to produce one loaf, one bread (1 Cor. 10:17)…On the one hand, to be blended in the church is a suffering to our natural man. On the other hand, deep in our spirit it brings us genuine satisfaction. (CWWL, 1970, vol. 1, “The Way to Grow in Life,” pp. 402-404)

The process of blending grains into a loaf can be seen in the ingredients of the meal offering, which typify the death of Christ, the Spirit, and the resurrection of Christ.

The way to be blended is by much and thorough prayer, as fine flour of the wheat, with all the members of our group, with the Spirit as the oil, through the death of Christ as the salt, and in the resurrection of Christ as the frankincense…According to the type of the meal offering in Leviticus 2:1-13, to be blended requires the adding of oil so that the flour will not be dry…We need the Spirit as the oil to “moisten” us so that we can be blended together. (CWWL, 1991–1992, vol. 3, “Fellowship concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups,” p. 435)

By the Spirit

The second factor of blending is carried out by the exercise of our human spirit indwelt by the Spirit of God.

The blending of our spirit with the Spirit surpasses the logic of the mind. If we live in our mind and exercise our mind to debate and discuss, the differences in our feelings will grow deeper and deeper. However, if we open and release our spirit, we will have a blended spirit. (CWWL, 1961–1962, vol. 2, “The Ministry of the Priesthood,” p. 430)

Let us consider a way to practice the blending.

When we practice, we must blend from the “center to the circumference.”…We must begin with a few saints who have been blended and who are skilled in the release of the spirit, and then we can include some who have less experience…Gradually, everyone will be blended…Blending should begin with those who have a heart to blend and then gradually include others. Eventually, even those who have not been meeting for a long time will be included in this blending. In this way the whole church will be blended. (CWWL, 1961–1962, vol. 2, “The Priesthood and God’s Building,” pp. 46-47)

Blending in spirit also extends into the coordination in the work. Without blending, coordination is not genuine, and the “work will be carried out in a perfunctory manner” (CWWL, 1967, vol. 1, “Serving in Coordination and Washing in Love,” p. 262).

Dispensing Christ as Life

The third factor in blending is the dispensing of Christ as life to others, particularly the members of the Body who are less honorable or in need. We must also dispense Christ into sinners to produce new believers as fruit.

A person who is genuinely spiritual…does not measure others; he knows only to supply those who are in need. Even though he may not know that others are in need, by fellowshipping with them, he unconsciously supplies them with what he has gained…Believers often do not bear fruit, because they are individualistic and cannot blend with others. Those who are truly spiritual are normal, can blend with others, and bear fruit. (CWWL, 1965, vol. 4, “The Goal of God's Economy,” p. 285)

Dispensing Christ as life is related to “clothing” those less honorable members of the Body (1 Cor. 12:23). Such dispensing can clothe and beautify the less honorable members, such as those who are prone to arguing or losing their temper. “By being instructed how to take Christ as life and how to live by Him, we shall eventually overcome our habit of arguing or of losing our temper” (CWWL, 1977, vol. 2, “All Ages for the Lord’s Testimony,” p. 36).

Dispensing Christ is related to genuine fellowship. This requires us to open to one another, removing “any sense of alienation or separation.” If we are guarded, “cautious and afraid of hurting” or offending one another, being polite but not honest, then there is “no way to have genuine blending” (CWWL, 1967, vol. 1, “Serving in Coordination and Washing in Love,” p. 260).

For the Building Up of the Body

The experience of the Body is related to the Spirit. The reality of the Body of Christ as the expression of Christ is in the oneness of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3-4) and in the fellowship of the Spirit, the flow of the Triune God (1 John 1:3; 2 Cor. 13:14). Also “in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13); this indicates two aspects of our experience of the Spirit: baptism in the Spirit outwardly and drinking the Spirit inwardly. “If we are in the Spirit and let the Spirit blend us together, we will experience the one Body. This is real coordination, blending, and building” (CWWL, 1961–1962, vol. 3, “The Exercise of the Spirit and the Building of God,” p. 49).

Witness Lee encouraged the blending of nearby churches and the blending of the saints at the “seven feasts,” recognizing that Paul blended the churches together into one Body. Paul wrote one Epistle to all the churches in the province of Galatia (Gal. 1:2). He charged the saints in the church in Colossae to read his letter to the church in Laodicea and the saints in Laodicea to read his letter to the Colossians (Col. 4:16). Romans 16, composed mainly of greetings, also indicates blending among the churches. Paul also tried to blend the Gentile churches with the Jewish churches, especially regarding the material need of the saints in Jerusalem (Rom. 15:26). In addition, the apostle John wrote one Epistle composed of seven letters to seven churches to be read by them all (Rev. 1—3). The blending of the churches in the New Testament is typified by the gathering of the Israelites for three annual feasts (Deut. 16:16; 1 Cor. 5:8; Col. 2:16), which results in the blessing of oneness (Psa. 133).

Blending is a real blessing. The blending of the Body has been accomplished. To experience the blending, we need transformation through the cross by the Spirit to dispense Christ into one another for the building of the Body. This satisfies God and satisfies us by fulfilling His purpose in creating us, that we would live and function as members in the reality of the Body.