Here we have the two great hindrances that are too often at work. In both cases we see clearly flesh and not the Spirit of God; for the Spirit of God, as He works in all, so He takes up each and gives each his place, and this because it is God that has put them there. Consequently, whenever the Spirit of God works thus in souls, there should be the refusal of everything that would weaken or frustrate the will of God: especially if love also is drawn out towards each member of the body of Christ, because it is a member. However we need not enter into that further now.
You will note that in the 21st verse the apostle is more peremptory than in the 15th. We have in the former, “The eye cannot say unto the hand,” whereas in the latter it is “If the foot shall say.” The one is the danger of the strong or greater gift, the other of the weak or less; and the former is of the two the most offensive to the Lord.
In ver. 21 the apostle takes in the two greatest extremes of all. “Neither again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.” He is looking here, of course, simply at the body, and bringing out the moral force of the comparison, which is, that the highest gift cannot treat the lowest as if he were needless to him. And, indeed, it is so where grace works; for I am persuaded that you will find that the greater the gift (where there is spirituality as well as power), there will be the more hearty desire for the working of the least gift that God has given for the good of the church. There will be no such thought as that, because one person has a superior gift, all others are to hold their peace while he is present. The spring of blessedness in the assembly is God Himself, and not any particular member of the body, though he may be by grace a very important channel of working for the good of the assembly. The great point is the sense that God it is who works in the church; and God may, even in the presence of the very greatest, it might be even of the apostle himself, be pleased to use, in a true way to edification, a very simple and lowly member of the body of Christ.
The main thing is that neither the lesser members are to desire a greater place than they have, nor the greater ones in any way to act as if they could do without the least. They are all precious in the assembly of God. “Nay, much more” (and this brings in what was referred to), “those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary.” It is not that they have their place only, but “they are necessary.” They may be trying enough by times, and too plainly show the feebleness of those who had not the power to rise above the circumstances and, things around; but still “they are necessary.” “And” (ver. 23) “those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need.” Take for instance the face. Care of this is not wanted, for it is of itself a comely part. But we take more care naturally of that part which has not the same comeliness, as for instance the foot. So here we find the divine aim: “But God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked: that there should be no schism in the body.” See to it then that there be no setting aside of what God has given for the good of the church, whether it be the lesser or the greater ones opposing each other. If so, the same result, in either case, is produced. It is man thwarting the government of God, nay, His richest grace, in the church: would, he even make the Spirit appear a party to the dishonor of the Lord? May we be kept and guided in the path of Christ!
The apostle goes on (ver. 26), “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.” And then, in the next verse, he brings in a statement well worthy of our mature consideration, “Ye are the body of Christ.” Not of course, that they were independent of any others throughout the world; but still they were the expression of Christ in that particular place. Strictly speaking, it is neither “a” body as if there was more than one, nor “the” body as if they alone completed it, but “Christ's body.” They had the privileges and the responsibility attaching to it. They were His body there. If you went to another place, you would find not another body but still the same. Looking at them individually, we see that “they are members in particular.”
Each member is a member of Christ, not of a but of the church, His body. In fact, there is no such thing in scripture as a member of a church. Scripture repudiates such language, which proceeds from the “individual” idea that we have been looking at. There everything is individualized, even the church itself, as well as every person that belongs to it. It is all on a false foundation, not for our relations as Christians, but for those of the church.
The truth is that the Holy Ghost, being a divine person—equally, therefore, acting in all the assemblies throughout the world—necessarily makes all one; and this is the reason why there was no such thing as “one body” until the Holy Ghost came down. In this way He it is, not faith, that unites to Christ. I quite admit that, unless there is faith, a man will never get to heaven; and therefore nothing is more important. This was true before the church existed at all; but now with it something more is found. A divine Person is come down, who never took flesh like the Lord Jesus, and never therefore was pleased, so to speak, to unfold His glory in any method so circumscribed as having a body prepared, to be incorporated with His divine nature, i.e. to be Himself a man while yet God. But now in fact the Holy Ghost, never having been pleased so to take a body or become incarnate, takes up all those who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and brings them into unity. This is the true account of the church, and no other; and the consequence is therefore that, no matter where it may be, it is always the “body of Christ.” It is so wherever one finds saints gathered to Christ's name. Wherever they are met in His name, there the Holy Ghost is left free to work for Christ's glory. Alas! how many true saints are scattered in sects, not so assembled. The state of things around us is that the two things are not found together. There are “members in particular,” but not holding to Him as the Head, or gathered on the ground of “the body of Christ.” I speak of the fact, not of intelligence. There are many real Christians, no doubt, but they are not found simply on that footing. Are there not individual saints scattered up and down the denominations? They are Christ's members; but could one say of them denominationally that they are met as “the body of Christ”?
Now, our wisdom is to own and act on this truth as on every other known to us. God has shown us the failure and the ruin of the church, and that whatever does not uphold the principle of the body of Christ will always be wrong. If I think only of the ruin of the church, there will be no confidence, nor a happy going forward according to the mind of God: the fact of the ruin will be used as an excuse for doing nothing. But, where we believe that God has His assembly, although it is at the present time in a state of confusion, we ought, if members of it, to grieve over it, and humble our souls about it; but we must see that we be not acting inconsistently ourselves. If there are ever so few meeting together who own this truth, then the Spirit of God acts as truly here now as He did of old. Is this said to encourage assumption? God forbid! for I should not myself meet with any who would arrogantly claim to be the church of God, any more than with such as meet on any other ground than that. Let us cleave to the truth, and this practically, without setting up to be more or other than we really are, not daring to meet in any other way or name but His, yet owning unfeignedly the present ruin-state. The only sound and sacred principle to meet on is the one body, and this the body of Christ.
We are next told (ver. 28) “God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” Observe, it is the same design as before—putting down to the lowest place that which the Corinthians had set first. “First apostles,” and last of all are these “diversities of tongues." None of the brethren, however, possessed all the gifts, as we find in the 29th and 30th verses: “Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?” Further, they are set in the church, not in “a” church; and it is the church on earth, not in heaven. It is real living unity in practice. Nationalism or Voluntarism is therefore excluded no less than Romanism. They all deny the one body in principle and in practice.
The chapter closes with an exhortation to “covet earnestly the best gifts;” that is, those that were for edification, though they had less of display than of power and blessing for the assembly.
Before taking up chapter 14 in detail, I may add a few words as connecting the previous part of it and the chapter before 13 with what we have already had. I showed in chapter 12, that the great principle is laid down, not merely of gifts, but of what is called “spirituals” —the word “spiritual” being much more than a question of particular “gifts.” What appertains to the Spirit is the point. Now the most important of all is this—not so much these gifts, in which is displayed His power in various forms, but, above all, the presence of God—the presence of God now made good in this especial form and energy that the Holy Spirit is here to act sovereignly in the assembly.
This, therefore, is a deeper question, and of greater moment than any display of particular gifts; and we must not forget that it is included in the doctrine of chapter xii. It shows, no doubt, that there are various forms in which He works. But who is it that works? God Himself. Nor is it only in a general way in which He may be said to do everything; but the solemn truth here brought before us, and which we must each value according to the measure of our appreciation of divine things, is this—God present in a new and intimate way, as He never was before, nor could be apart from, the accomplishment of redemption. It immensely clears the subject where the soul enters into this.
We know very well that at all times in the history of the world God intervened. Never did He fail to leave Himself a witness of His power and goodness. But it is another thing to have Himself so present as to give character to the place where He has been pleased to come and make it His dwelling. Granted that it is no question now of a visible sign. In Israel it was; and they being dull, and its being according to the character of His general dealings, Jehovah gave them a palpable proof of His presence. There was the cloud that betokened it. This gave the certainty, therefore, to an Israelite that God dwelt there in a way He had never done before. If they were redeemed out of Egypt, they had God Himself thus taking His abode in the midst of His people. But then this was only a sign—for such was the nature of it—of a God who could not be approached too near, of a God who was purposely bringing out the sinfulness of the people that stood in this comparative nearness to Him. Still there was amongst them sin, and no offering as yet which could put it away forever.
Now, on the contrary, the basis of the presence or dwelling of God with us is the glorious fact that sin is judged in the cross, and that God accordingly can be present not merely judicially, nor merely with a sign of His glory, but in the reality of His grace; not of course closing as yet the place of responsibility, nor taking us out of the path of faith, but strengthening us in it. Accordingly the grand point throughout all these chapters is this: whatever consists not with the presence of the God of all grace who is Himself in the midst of His people—actually there, whatever is not suited to Him, is unsuited to them. It is not a question merely of the people being Christians—which is all taken for granted—but of truth, love, and righteousness in dependence on God in the use of the means that He gives us to glorify the Lord Jesus by the Spirit in His assembly.
God is here in our midst: not merely dwelling in each, which is perfectly true, but God making us, when gathered together, His dwelling. This principle is laid down, not merely in chapter xii., but in chapter 3, as it is supposed throughout the Epistle. We must remember that it is a presence here, not merely one by-and-by, but now on earth. At that time they had God acting according to the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ over Satan; so that there were healings, and miraculous powers, the fruit of complete victory over what even the judgment of God had brought into the world. But, besides that, they had what is of permanent value for the testimony of God here below: as, for instance, grace edifying the members of the body of Christ by teachers and the like—the word of wisdom, and of knowledge, &c. On this without dwelling more, let US simply recall the two great facts: God's dwelling on the earth; and, again, that dwelling, while made good and true in each particular spot, as really one wherever it may be found. That is, there is a stamp of unity about all, which is bound up with the fact that the Holy Ghost is there, who by His presence is incapable of imprinting anything else than unity. Who does not see one Spirit, not only working by each gift, but unifying all the members?
Now I press this, because there is not a single religious system on the face of the earth which has not in some way let slip that unity—even those who boast most of it. Take, for instance, the Church of Rome. After all there is a vast deal, even in Romanism, of what you may call independency, as admitting not only of its separate parishes and distinct dioceses, &c. but of totally different and opposing monastic orders. The one thing that gives the appearance of unity is that there is one governor over all. They and others talk about unity of doctrine, discipline, and the like. But they do not see how utterly short this is of the “one body.” For there might be the same kind of doctrine and discipline in half-a-dozen bodies, and no unity whatever; as for instance, in the various Methodist societies, or in the Presbyterian churches, which are apart one from another, as much as from other denominations. And what is the worth of unity in a sect? This any might have. “The unity of the Spirit” is olivine; and all saints are bound to keep it.
(To be continued, D.V.)