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About Numbered Notation

Numbered Notation (also called Jianpu, 简谱) writes each melody note as a number from 1 to 7 instead of a note on a staff. The number shows the note's position in the song's scale -- not its exact pitch -- so the same tune looks identical no matter what key it's sung in.

Within one octave, the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 correspond to the familiar do re mi fa sol la ti. A dot above a number raises it an octave higher; a dot below lowers it an octave lower -- no dot means the middle, as-written octave.

A plain number lasts one beat. A dash (-) right after a number holds that same note for one more beat. A line underneath a number shortens it instead -- one line is half a beat, two lines a quarter of a beat. A 0 is a rest: silence for one beat.

The label at the top of the sheet, like "1=C" or "1=Ab", shows which pitch scale degree 1 ("do") is tuned to. A song in a minor key is labeled "6=X" instead -- scale degree 6 ("la") is the true tonic. Chord names printed above the notes (like "C" or "G7") always use their familiar letter names, never numbers.

For example, under a "1=C" heading, the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 sound as C D E F G A B. Under a "1=G" heading, those very same numbers sound as G A B C D E F# instead -- same shape, different key.

Lord, to know Thee as the Body

The Church As Christ’s Body

English1225
1
Lord, to know Thee as the Body,
Is my desperate need today,
Oh, to see Thee in Thy members,
’Tis for this I long and pray.
No more just to know Thy headship
In an individual way,
But to see Thee incarnated,
As the Body-Christ, I pray.
2
Through the years, Thy saints have sought Thee,
Longing for reality;
Gazing upward, searching inward,
Thirsting for the sight of Thee.
Now reveal that Christ in heaven,
Is the Body manifest;
And the Christ who dwells within us
As the Body is expressed.
3
Prone to be misled, I know it,
By my lofty thoughts of Thee,
Easy ’tis for self to seek Thee,
Yet not touch reality,
Oh, how much I need to find Thee,
In Thy members here below.
God eternal dwells among us,
Manifest in flesh to know.
4
Limit, Lord, my independence,
Let me to Thy Body turn;
Not just seeking light from heaven,
But the church’s sense to learn.
May we be the stones for building
Not the formless, useless clay,
Gain in us Thy heart’s desire
Corporately Thyself display.

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Jack Petrash

Irving, TX, United States

Dec 17, 2025

For the building up of the Body to be the Lord's bride it is so crucial in these days that we realize when we say "Christ" we are not referring to just Christ as the head of the Body but as all the members who compose the Body of Christ... "But to see Thee Incarnated as the Body- Christ, I pray.

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Maria L

Fremont, California, United States

Feb 14, 2025

May the Lord have mercy on us and shine on the self-life so that we may see how busy the self is, how active and how zealous the self is. Only when the Lord in His mercy shines on us and exposes the self in its independence from God and from the Body can we truly allow the cross to be applied to us and deny the self. Lord, we need You every day 🙏. We love you Lord Jesus ❤️

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L. Weni

Lagos, Nigeria

Jan 18, 2021

May the Lord grant me the clear revelation of the Body and an understanding to know the body in reality. Amen

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Becky Sanchez

Alsip, IL, United States

Aug 18, 2019

Oh, how much I need to find Thee,

In Thy members here below

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Sister Vali

Tirana, Albania

Apr 15, 2019

May we be the stones for building.

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Anonymous

Dec 16, 2018

Hallelujah!

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Brian

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

Aug 15, 2018

What a high revelation in this hymn. Lord, to know You as the Body is our desperate need today.

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BJ

Weiser, Idaho, United States

Feb 12, 2018

Perfect.....

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Mike Toney

Pyeongtaek, South Korea

Dec 10, 2017

Amen Praise the Lord!!!!!

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James Lumantas

Seoul, South Korea

Dec 4, 2017

Lord cause us to see Your Body in a clear way!

Not just in our own understanding but through Your divine wisdom and revelation.

Thank You for descending upon us and be wrought into us to be Your church.

What a great blessing to be chosen and to be Your Body.

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