In former chapters, after taking a general view of the truth concerning the Church, we considered a special aspect of it-the House of God. There is, however, another important aspect in which the Church is presented in Scripture, namely as the Body of Christ. This we may briefly consider.
In reference to this aspect of the Church, the language of Scripture is very precise. We read in Col. 1:1818And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18), that Christ "is the Head of the Body, the Church," and again in 1 Cor. 12:12,1312For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12‑13), that "as the Body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one Body, being many, are one Body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." From these Scriptures it is plain that all believers are formed into one Body by the Holy Spirit on earth with one Head in Heaven. We have seen that men were introduced by baptism with water into the Christian profession which forms the House of God on earth. It is clear, however, that no baptism by water can bring people into the Body of Christ. This can only be effected by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Thus nothing but what is real can have any part in the Body of Christ. In thinking of the Body of Christ, we must look at Christians solely in the light of God's work in them. It is true that the flesh is yet in us, but God has condemned it, and viewing us apart from it, sees us "in Christ" and "in the Spirit." That is, God ever views His people in connection with Christ and the Spirit, and we are privileged to view ourselves in the same way. Another has said, "It is in this light only that we can speak of the membership of the Body; nothing finds place in any way in the Body of Christ but what is of Christ-of God. There is no such thing imaginable in the Body of Christ as failure or flesh." Those who compose the Body, having the flesh in them, may indeed fail to walk in correspondence to the truth, but in the Body itself all is of Christ. It is His Body.
There are three portions of Scripture which, in a special way, present this great truth: Eph. 1 and 2; Col. 1 and 3; and 1 Cor. 12 and 14. In Ephesians the Body is presented in its eternal aspect according to the counsels of the Father. In Colossians it is viewed in its time aspect as the vessel for the display of Christ. In Corinthians the Body is introduced as the instrument for the manifestations of the Spirit on earth.
The manifestations of the Spirit through the Body have in view the display of Christ in the Body in time; and the display of Christ now is but the prelude to the setting forth of Christ in His fullness in the ages to come according to the counsels of the Father.
First, then, we may consider the truth of the Body according to the Father's counsels. In Eph. 1 the great subject is the Father's purpose for the glory of Christ. The chapter unfolds "the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself for the administration of the fullness of times; to head up all things in the Christ" (vs. 9, 10, JND. Tr.). Moreover, in these counsels the Church has a place of highest privilege in connection with the glory of Christ, and hence we also learn the future destiny of the Church as the Body of Christ. Here the Church is viewed, not in relation to present time, but in relation to the "fullness of times." We are permitted to look beyond the present moment, with all its failure, and see the future glory of the Church as the Body of Christ. In that day "the Church which is His Body" will be "the fullness of Him that filleth all in all" (vs. 22, 23). According to the counsel of God, the day is coming when Christ will fill all things. The whole universe will be filled with blessing through Christ, but, in that day, it will be the special privilege of the Church to express "the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." Though all will be blessed through Christ, and be to the glory of Christ, yet all will not express His fullness. This will be reserved for the Church. An individual saint may display some trait of Christ, all things in the world to come will display Christ in yet larger measure, but only in the Church as the Body of Christ will there be the perfect display of Christ in all His fullness. Fullness gives the thought of completeness. Thus not only will Christ be displayed, but He will be displayed in perfection. That is, not only every excellence of Christ will be seen, but all will be seen in right proportion. No one trait will predominate; all will be displayed in perfect proportion and relation to one another in the same way that the members of a normal human body are all in proportion and set forth the mind of the head. But what will be actually true then should be morally true now.
This leads to the truth of the Body as the vessel for the display of Christ in time. For this aspect of the Church as the Body of Christ, we must turn to the Epistle to the Colossians. The great object of this epistle is to unfold the glories of Christ as the Head. We read in chapter 1:18, "He is the Head of the Body, the Church." It is, moreover, God's desire that the moral glories of the Head in Heaven should have a present display in the Body on earth. Thus the apostle, having spoken of the ministry of the Gospel, passes on to speak of a second ministry in connection with the Body of Christ "which is the Church" (v. 24). He speaks of this truth as "the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints." Moreover, he speaks of the glory of this mystery as "Christ in you, the hope of glory."
The apostle lays special emphasis on these two great facts. First, the particular moment when the mystery is revealed, and second, the special glory of this mystery at the present time. These two great facts have a direct bearing on one another. Why, we may ask, is the mystery made known "now," and not before? Because three great events had come to pass without which the Church could not exist as a fact or be made known as a truth. Christ had been exalted as the glorious Head in Heaven, the Holy Spirit had come to earth, and lastly, Christ had been finally rejected by the Jew.
The first two events were absolutely necessary before the Church could be formed. There must be the Head in Heaven before there could be the Body on earth, and the Holy Spirit must come to dwell in the members and thus form them into one Body on earth with one Head in Heaven. But the Body existed as a fact before the truth was made known. For this the third great event was necessary. If the truth of Jew and Gentile being formed into one Body had been revealed before Christ was rejected, it would have contradicted all the express promises of God to the Jew under the first covenant. But when the Jew had finally rejected Christ, the first covenant was definitely at an end, and the way is prepared for unfolding the truth of the Church as the Body of Christ. The rejection was final and complete when Stephen was stoned. By the cross man had rejected Christ on earth, and by the martyrdom of Stephen they rejected Christ in Heaven. They stoned the man that witnessed to the fact that Christ is in Heaven. Thus the moment arrived to disclose the great secret that, though Christ Himself has been rejected, His Body is on earth. Mark, not that sinners saved by grace will be in Heaven-that is the Gospel and there is no mystery about it; the dying thief knew that-but the secret is now revealed that Christ has the Church-His Body-in the place of His rejection during the time of His rejection. The first intimation of this great truth is given in connection with the conversion of the man who was made the minister of this truth. The Lord says to Saul, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" It is not, "Why do you persecute My disciples," or "those belonging to Me," or "those who are part of Me," but "Why persecutest thou ME?" As one has said, "In that little word is conveyed the fact that Christ is here."
Moreover, if Christ is here in those that form His Body, it is that Christ may be displayed by His Body. And Christ displayed in the Church now is "the hope of glory." In glory, as we have seen from the Epistle to the Ephesians, Christ will be displayed in His fullness. But the hope of glory is to have a present fulfillment. Hence the apostle passes on to show how Christ in the saints is to work out in the display of Christ by the saints. Thus God's present thought for the Body-composed of all saints at any given moment on the earth-is that therein there should be the setting forth of Christ morally, and thus the Body on earth correspond to the Head in Heaven.
OL 2:1-23{In the second chapter of Colossians the apostle shows how God has worked to bring this to pass and warns us of the different devices by which the devil seeks to frustrate the present purpose of God in the saints. First we are warned against the delusive opinions of men, presented in the most attractive way by persuasive speech (v. 4); then philosophy, or the love of human wisdom drawn from the traditions of men and the elements of the world (v. 8); further, we are warned against religious flesh, connected with abstinence from certain food and the observance of certain days (v. 16); finally we are warned against superstition, such as worshipping angels (v. 18).
If we are to display the moral beauties of Christ, we must know Christ. We must know the One whose character we are to set forth. The opinions of men, the philosophy of man, the religion of the flesh, and the superstitions of men will neither teach us anything of the character of Christ nor enable us to set forth that character when known.
After we are warned concerning the snares of the enemy, we are instructed as to the provision that God has made in order that the moral perfections of the Head may be set forth in the Body. In this connection four great truths are stated:
1. We are "complete in Him" (v. 10).
2. We are identified "with Him" (vs. 11, 13).
3. We are of Him: "the Body is of Christ" (v. 17).
4. We derive all spiritual nourishment from Him (v. 19).
OL 2:10{1. We are "complete in Him." In Him there dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead; therefore, everything that we can possibly need in order that we may know Christ and display Christ is found in Him-we are complete in Him. We are entirely independent of man as man. His opinions, his philosophy, and his religion cannot bring us to Christ, cannot unfold His character to us, or enable us to set forth His moral beauties.
OL 2:11-13{2. We are identified "with Him." At the cross, in burial, in resurrection, and in life, God has identified the believer with Christ. At the cross-set forth by circumcision-Christ actually died to everything after the flesh; in burial He actually passed out of sight; in resurrection He actually passed forever out of the dominion of death; and as quickened He passed into a scene of glory in a life and condition that is wholly suited to the glory of God. Now what is actually true of Christ is true of the saints in the sight of God who identifies us "with Him," and faith sees with God. We know that our flesh has been put off in the death of Christ; and not only put off but put out of sight, for we are "buried with Him in baptism." Moreover, in spirit we are risen with Him, so that death has lost its power over us. And though our mortal bodies are not yet quickened, as to our souls, we live to God in that heavenly life set forth in Christ.
OL 2:17{3. We are of His order-`the Body is of Christ." The ordinances of the law were but shadows and were given to the first man who is of the earth, earthly. But the things to come, of which the ordinances were but the shadow, are of Christ, the heavenly Man. And if Christ is heavenly, the Body which is of Christ is also heavenly. "As the heavenly One, such also the heavenly ones." For the moment we are on earth, but we are of the heavenly Man, and we thus belong to Heaven.
OL 2:19{4. We derive all nourishment from the Head. If the Church is heavenly, it can only be nourished from Heaven. There is nothing of earth that can minister to the man of Heaven. There is nothing of man as such that can minister nourishment to the Body, bind the members together, or lead to spiritual increase. All must come from the Head in Heaven, ministered to the Body through the joints and bands of the Body. As the Head in Heaven is for the nourishment of the Body on earth, so the Body on earth is for the display of the Head in Heaven. Through not holding the Head, we may fail to set forth the Head, but Christ-the Head-will never fail to nourish His Body; He cares for the Body and every member of the Body.
These four great facts-that we are "complete in Him," that we are identified "with Him," are of Him, and derive all nourishment from Him-all lead to the fulfillment of God's present purpose for the Body, namely, the setting forth of the character of the Head in the Body. This is seen in a practical way in the exhortations that follow.
Based on the doctrine of the Church in the first two chapters, we are exhorted to "put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any should have a complaint against any; even as the Christ has forgiven you, so also do ye. And to all these add love, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of Christ preside in your hearts, to which also ye have been called in one Body, and be thankful" (3:12-15, JND. Tr.). This is the lovely character of Christ, marked by grace with its unlimited forgiveness, by love binding all other perfections together, and by peace ruling the heart, which the saints, in the unity of "one Body," are called to display while yet in the scene of Christ's absence and waiting for the day of His appearing.
What a beautiful setting forth of Christ there would be if the saints, as "one Body," were marked by grace, and love, and peace. Though in a day of ruin our practice falls far short of this beautiful picture, let us not lower the standard. One has truly said, "Even if practice may not come up to it, and even if it is impossible to bring saints back to the real standard, let us have the right idea. It is a great thing to get the right idea; but then if we get it, let us expect that the Lord will give grace to walk according to the right idea, in the truth of it, even though you may not expect to see things restored to what they were when first established."