12 Because we have been bought with the price of the precious blood of Christ, "we are the Lord's" (v. 8), and we should continually exalt Him as Lord, giving Him the first place in our life and in our work; we are those who labor in the Lord for the work of the Lord, which is the work of the ministry to build up the organic Body of Christ—1 Cor. 6:19-20; 15:58; 16:10; Eph. 4:11-12.
2C "We do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake" (2 Cor. 4:5); among the believers, besides Christ there should be no other lord; all should be servants, even slaves (1 Pet. 5:3; Matt. 20:26-27; 23:10-11).
3叁 我们必须接受、经历并享受基督作我们的头:
3Ⅲ We must take, experience, and enjoy Christ as our Head:
4A Our being headed up in Christ rescues us from the heap of the universal collapse in death and darkness, which was caused by the rebellion of the angels and the rebellion of man; the believers participate in Christ's heading up by being willing to be headed up in the church life, by growing in life, and by living under Christ's light—Eph. 1:10; John 1:4; Rev. 21:23-25; Eph. 5:8-9.
5B To hold Christ as the Head is not only to take Him as our unique authority but also to stay intimately connected to Him so that His riches and life supply are dispensed into our being to cause us to grow with the growth of God, growing up into Him in all things and functioning out from Him so that all the Body causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love—Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:15-16.
12Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 24, 31; Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 8, 32, 35, 69; CWWL, 1980, vol. 2, “The Heavenly Ministry of Christ,” chs. 1, 5