Section 8
for the sake of the Body of Christ, we shall not be able to sacrifice our physical life in mar tyrdom. In order for Epaphroditus to risk his physical life, he first had to be willing to risk his soul.
In a very real sense, we in the church life need to be martyrs for the Body of Christ and for all the saints. If we desire to be one with the Lord for the church life, we must be willing to sacrifice our mind, feeling, and intention. This is to risk our soul. In order to experience Christ to the uttermost, we need not only to be likesouled, but also to risk our soul by risking our mind, emotion, and will.
In Philippians 2:30 Paul said to the Philip pians that Epaphroditus risked his life that "he might fill up your lack of service toward me." Epaphroditus risked his soul in order to fill up what was lacking on the part of the Philippian believers toward Paul. This indicates that if we do not risk our soul, we shall not be able to fill up any lack there may be in the Body of Christ. Filling a lack in the Body affords us a splendid opportunity to experience Christ. We need to experience Christ to such an extent that we are able to fill up what is lacking in the Body. If we would experience Christ to this degree, we must