Section 5
not mention the bountiful supply of the Spirit first? The reason Paul speaks of the supply of the Body before the bountiful supply of the Spirit is that the Spirit is upon the Body. Psalm 133 illus trates this: the ointment poured upon Aaron's head flowed down to the body. This portrays the fact that the ointment, the bountiful supply of the compound Spirit, is upon the Body. Paul real ized that he was not the whole Body, but just a member of the Body. As a member, he needed the Body's supply. If the Body would be exer cised to supply him, the bountiful supply of the Spirit would come to him through the Body.
We may often ask a brother to pray for us. But even if he prays for us and we pray for him, this prayer may have little effect. The reason for this lack of effectiveness is that in praying we may stand apart from the Body. Whenever we stand apart from the Body as we pray, even our prayer will be dry, and our intercession will be ineffective. The anointing is not upon us indi vidually; it is upon the Body.
Paul and the believers in Philippi were in the Body. Because the Body is universal, they were all in one Body even though Paul was far away from Philippi. Through the petition of the members of the Body, the ointment which is