Chapter 6: ?in Christ,? As Membership of His Body

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Another great branch of the subject is the bearing of our position as members of the body of Christ. Mr. Stuart denies that we are in heaven as such, or that the term “in Christ” refers to this membership.
It is not easy to see the ground of Mr. Stuart’s denial, in page 47, that he had taught that being in the heavenlies was condition.
Being “in Christ,” as the opposite to being ranged under Adam’s headship, is state or condition, who can gainsay it? But being in the heavenlies was never said by me to be condition, as the reader may see by a reference to page 22. So now we are there, that is, the heavenlies; but as in Him, that is, in spirit – not in person. In that region, in which the Head of the race actually is, all ranged under His headship are viewed as now being, but in Him; and the order in which this truth is expressed, “in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus,” is corrective of mistaken thoughts.
Contrast this with page 13, Christian Standing and Condition
For there are two lights in which the sinner is viewed.
This seems to state plainly enough that our being in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in Eph. 2:66And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 2:6), is condition, not position besides which, in pages 17, 18, we have the condition of the divine Persons in the Godhead brought forward to prove that in Christ Jesus cannot mean position.
Could we speak of His [the Son’s] position as in the Father?
Condition, then, or state (though we should scarcely like to use the word, state of the Father or of the Son) is the thought implied by being in Christ and this is stated without any exception in the first pamphlet.
Of course the absurdity of denying our being “seated” to be position is obvious enough, but what then becomes of the theory that being in Christ is not position, which is an essential basis of this system? Yet Mr. S. himself finds it difficult enough to make this term, as applied to divine Persons and ourselves, identical; strangely as he endeavors to force it, as an argument, upon his readers.
As members of the body, on the other hand, we are viewed as, and have a service, as such, to do upon earth. “Union” connects us with Christ in heaven, but does not now put us into heaven (pp. 48, 49).
How important is the truth in question, whether the members are so connected with the Head, as to share in His present place in consequence, personally and consciously, the body of course excepted!
It has been already noticed that we are looked upon as individually in heaven in Christ in the early verses of Eph. 1 and collectively rather than corporately there in Eph. 2:5, 6 where we are said to be “quickened together with Christ,” “raised together” with Christ, and “made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Now there is no such word as together in Eph. 1:1-6, thrice repeated in Eph. 2; nor are we there said to be “seated” in the heavenlies. We are, on the contrary, spoken of as “before him in love,” which is quite a different idea, that is, that of presentation and position before God, for which we were chosen as individuals before the world began; brought nigh to God in Christ, the risen man, and seen as accepted, or graced in His sight, in the Beloved – but when it is said that we are “seated,” it can only be in Him as members of His body, sharing in the present rest, and exalted position of the Head. This is brought out at the end of Eph. 1, where the greatness of the power which God wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him in the heavenly places, is said to be the power exerted toward every one of us. “What is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ,” when He raised and exalted Him. This power not only includes resurrection, but ascension, and ultimately, exaltation over everything, as a part of the position of the body of which Christ is the Head. Moreover the power is one and the same, beginning with its first manifestation in the grave, and carried on until its complete effect is seen in this glorious position given, whether now or in the future.
The connection of the next chapter, which further particularizes the natural condition of Jew and Gentile, and the way God came in in mercy, to meet it and give us this place in the heavenlies in Christ, even now is shown in the words, “And you hath he quickened,” &c. This quickening with Christ, or, according to the power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him, only spoken of in Ephesians and Colossians, appears to be special and distinctive of the members of the body, and commences with the point of death, where Christ, and those who are to be so linked with Him are found; Christ, through grace, coming into it, and we, through our natural state of ruin. Nowhere else is this power applied in like manner to ourselves with Christ; nor exaltation or position with Christ, whether now or in the future, so exactly described. It is all, moreover, according to the plan and purpose of God, for “the ages to come,” in which we are to be distinguished from others by this wondrous association and position in which His special “kindness” and “riches of grace” are shown {Eph. 2:77That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:7)}. It is also according to that great love which looked on us when in our natural condition of ruin and depravity, to link us in every step and for eternity, “together” with the object of His unutterable affection. The word seated implies, not only position, but conscious possession and enjoyment of all the blessings and advantages of that position, so much so, that the most exalted beings of God’s creation, principalities and powers in heavenly places, are, by this means (that is, the place of the church as the body of Christ), learning, at the present time, the admirable wisdom of God (Eph. 3:9, 109And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, (Ephesians 3:9‑10)) whilst, for the same reason, our conflict is with adverse principalities and powers, also in heavenly places {Eph. 6:1212For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)}. Were this only “Headship of race,” all this special blessing for ages to come, as well as all that angels are “now” learning, would be made void or nullified.
Shall we say we are viewed in Ephesians 2:1-61And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 2:1‑6) as the body of Christ? But the body had no existence till after the Lord had ascended. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:1313For 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 12:13)). Was the body dead in trespasses and sins? Saints were; we who are Christians were. To hold such a dogma, we must surrender distinctive teaching about the church of God. Besides, the being in Christ, as Galatians 3:2929And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29) teaches, brings us into association with Abraham – we thus become his seed. Was Abraham a member of the body? (Is it the Truth? &c. p. 57).
The argument that all this in Eph. 2 cannot apply to anything more than Headship of race, because the Holy Ghost alone unites us to Christ as members of His body, is answered by the fact, that the time when the individual members, most of whom were not even in existence when Christ was raised, are brought into this, is not in contemplation (any more than the moment of their faith or conversion, equally needful and subsequently spoken of), but the new creation-act and power of God, as a whole, towards those whom He makes members of Christ, from their death in sin, “quickening them together with him.” The entire work is God’s own; and if He quickens and seats them thus in heaven, He knows how to bring them individually, as members, into the enjoyment of it, according to what is wrought in the soul by His quickening power, and by the Holy Ghost personally. But here we have God’s view of the whole work in its completeness, for “the ages to come” must include the body also, though not so stated, any more than the place of the Holy Ghost in the accomplishment of this purpose.
Another of the miserable arguments made use of to weaken the force of scripture teaching, in this passage and elsewhere, as to the identification of the members with the Head, and the use of the term “in Christ,” here applied to them as such, is that the members of a man’s body cannot be said to be “in the Head,” nor the Head either in the members.
In Christ is not union with Him. The figures used in the word are instructive. No one ever saw a human body (for that is the figure) with its members in the head, but joined to the head (Answers to Inquiries, by C. E. S., March 3rd, 1885).
Now the word of God does speak of the members being in Christ, and it is, as Mr. S. avows, “a perilous thing” to “contradict flatly” the word of God, even if he had the consent of all the Christian writers in the world to support him in it. The Holy Ghost, writing by the apostle, states “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office; so we, being many, are one body in Christ and every one members one of another” (Rom. 12:4, 54For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. (Romans 12:4‑5)). No language can affirm more distinctly than this, that the members are looked upon as “in Christ.” Nor is it true, as Mr. S. affirms that it is commonly agreed that we have not union of the body with Christ, contemplated in Romans; but the practical effect of union among ourselves is treated of (Christian Standing and Condition, p. 30).
It has indeed been truly said, that “being in Christ and the body, though recognized as common Christian knowledge form no part of the teaching of the Epistle” ({J. N. Darby} Notes and Comments, part 6, p. 217); and the same remark has been made as to the ascension of Christ. These subjects are not “treated of” in this Epistle; but to declare they are not “contemplated” is quite another thing. Mr. S. might as well say, that “Who is even at the right hand of God,” did not mean Christ’s present position, because it is only mentioned once, and not treated of in the Romans.
But the teaching of the Holy Ghost is constantly the opposite of Mr. Stuart’s, for we have, “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 the Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (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)). Here Christ, or “the Christ,” stands for the whole, and all are included in Him, and this is seen still more distinctly in Eph. 4:1515But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: (Ephesians 4:15). “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” Now, they must be in Him as members, to grow up into Him who is the Head. Again, in Colossians, where the apostle is showing that saints are, as united to Christ, above all ordinances in the flesh, and angels, and everything in a lower region than Christ Himself, in His nearness to God and place of exaltation, he says, “Ye are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power” {Col. 2:1010And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (Colossians 2:10)}. It is not as Head of a race that He occupies this position, but as “Head over all things in heaven and earth” (Eph. 1:1019-23). Nor can we be higher, either as regards relation to God, creation, or heavenly powers; nor more blessed as to our relation to Christ Himself, the Head, for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily {Col. 2:99For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9)}. So in Col. 1, He, by whom all things were created, who is before all things, and by whom all things consist, 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,” for all the fullness of Godhead was pleased to dwell in Him. Here we have the same relation of Head towards the body in His preeminence of position over all things, and personal, divine fullness, bringing the members into a place above the reach of the vain efforts of man to raise himself in his own way, and by his own speculations which arose from “not holding the Head” {Col. 2:1919And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. (Colossians 2:19)}, in whom God has given us a place of blessing so wondrous, and who is “in us,” the hope of glory.
Being “in Christ,” therefore, does properly belong to and is descriptive, not only of that which is connected with the new man, but of the members in their connection with Christ as Head; and though the members are not spoken of as in the Head, the Head being properly the distinctive appellation of Christ, in contrast with the body, they are spoken of as “in Christ,” because the term “the Christ” stands for the whole mystic man, the Head and the members together. (1 Cor. 12:1212For 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. (1 Corinthians 12:12)). And all that the Head enjoys is necessarily partaken of by the members, though the body, in its corporate character, as has been long accepted among us is regarded as on earth; for when we speak of the body, we do so distinctively, as contrasting it with the Head, whilst the members have their existence and are certainly in the man seen as a whole, and both together make up the complete man (Eph. 1:2323Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:23)). “Thus the bubble” (as Mr. S. expresses it), “for it is one, bursts at once.”
But Gal. 3:2929And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29) is used to drag Abraham into Eph. 2:1-101And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1‑10)in order to dispose of the thought that this passage teaches union with Christ, because the apostle declares that being in Christ, “we thus become his [Abraham’s] seed.” “Was Abraham a member of the body?, it is asked. Now, it is being identified with Christ, and in Him, the new man before God, who is the true Isaac, or seed of Abraham, to whom the promises were made (Gal. 3:1616Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)), that we become the seed of Abraham. Those who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ, and thus come into His heirship, as the seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:27-2927For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:27‑29)); but this is far from measuring what we have, as in Christ, who introduces us, as associated with Himself, into those heavenly blessings, which were never promised to Abraham at all, who was only “the heir of the world,” and does not share in the other titles of Christ which we enjoy. Beyond all question, Abraham was not, and never could be, Abraham’s seed, nor was he “in Christ,” as we are, either. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” {Gal. 3:2828There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)}, is directly in contrast with distinctions, that had their commencement and foundation in Abraham’s position. Nor is “of Christ,” or belonging to Him, identical with being “in Christ,” but far more general, as may be seen by reference to 1 Cor. 1:1212Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:12)and 2 Cor. 10:77Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's. (2 Corinthians 10:7), though the two expressions may be used of the same persons and their connection with Christ. But all this is a painful illustration of Mr. Stuart’s views and way of handling scripture. First, Gal. 3:27-2927For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:27‑29) is used to lower the term “in Christ” to the Abrahamic level, and then forced into Eph. 2:1-101And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1‑10) to reduce that beautiful passage also to the same standpoint, namely, headship of race.
The ruinous effect of this system will now be apparent not only on the apprehension of our heavenly position and privileges, but on the vast amount of scripture affected by it.
For it is again and again reiterated that “in Christ” and “Christ in us,” refers to headship of race exclusively(Christian Standing and Condition, pp. 18, 30); so that wherever these terms are used – Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Corinthians, Galatians, Romans – all is brought down to the millennial level, though those Epistles which present the heavenly side of truth, are most seriously affected by it, unless indeed we except the writings of the apostle John; for even in explaining John 14:2020At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. (John 14:20) – “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” – and reasoning on it, in reference to the Persons in the Godhead, we find
This passage then throws light on what being in a person, and that one reciprocally in him, must mean.
It is a condition of Godhead, since there are plurality of Persons in the Godhead, that the Son should be in the Father, and the Father in the Son; it is a condition of saints through grace, that they are in Christ, and Christ in them. And this is made the more apparent, when we remember that in Christ is used in contrast to being in Adam – the two heads of races, under which those belonging to each are ranged” (Christian Standing and Condition, p. 18).
So that this most blessed and divine association with Christ in life, nature, and communion, in the power of the Holy Ghost – which has its analogy in the unity of the divine Persons, and even that unity itself – we have deeply deteriorated by this headship of race; and this, of course includes John 17 and the Epistle of John, where the expression “in Him” is so often made use of, for it is on the same ground as John 14:2020At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. (John 14:20), and the same truth is applicable, on which Mr. S. gives utterance to these miserable arguments about the divine Persons.
Where can Mr. Stuart have got to in his own soul? we feel constrained to ask, for his own sake, and for the sake of others. Alas! he lets us know, only too distinctly, to what extent injury may be done by allowing the human mind to work in its own way upon divine truth. Three passages from his writings will illustrate this.
It (the Bible) is a revelation from One who has not revealed all that He knows, but only all that is good for the creature to know. So in studying the written word we are brought into intercourse with the thoughts of Him whose mind is not fathomed by the revelation He has vouchsafed, though He must always speak from the height of His own knowledge and purposes (p. 3).
How different this is from the language of the apostle when speaking of the nature and extent of the revelation made to us, or the means and power of its communication and enjoyment, “The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things [or depths] of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things which are freely given to us of God” (1 Cor.2:10-12). Again, the Lord tells His disciples, “When he the Spirit of truth, is com e, he will guide you into all truth. . . All things that the Father hath are mine, therefore, said I, that he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you” (John 14:12-1412Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (John 14:12‑14)). And when, speaking of the place of confidence and intimacy into which He was introducing His disciples, and which the Holy Ghost would make known to them fully: “Henceforth, I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends: for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:1515Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. (John 15:15)). Mr. Stuart has lost the true Christian place, and has got back into the place properly belonging to “the creature,” or servant, the Jewish position as such, for the master communicates only “what is good for his servant to know.” Was this the Son’s place with the Father? This is the “creature’s” place, but it is exactly the opposite of what the Lord states and the apostle, when he quotes, “Who [that is, the creature] hath known the mind of the Lord? . . . But we”(he replies) “have the mind of Christ” {1 Cor. 2:1616For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)}, and the Holy Ghost knows the deep things of God, and reveals them, as the spirit of man the things of a man. Not, of course, that we cease to be creatures, but the place of intimacy and nearness and friendship we are taken into Mr. S. has lost. “All things that I have heard of my Father” – how different from, “All that is good for the creature to know”!
Again, Mr. S. writes
We rejoice, too, in hope of the glory of God. The day of the display of God’s glory, when the king shall come forth in power, and establish God’s authority on earth by the execution of judgments, the saint no longer fears, but on the contrary, looks forward to it as a hope” (Christian Standing and Condition, p. 8).
This is (like the last passage) exactly the hope of the Jewish remnant: “Then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:2828And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:28)). Mr. S. tells us “he did not say it was confined to this.” No, doubtless but the scripture tells us, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh”; and if Mr. S. had not brought himself down to the level of a Jewish saint, he never could have penned such a comment on the apostle’s beautiful statement of the joy flowing from a place in the divine glory, nor have added to the supremely blessed passage
We joy also, or boast, in God – knowing (too) that He will listen to no charge that may be brought against us however true such a charge might be” (Christian Standing and Condition, p. 8).
The introduction of the word “too,” now that attention has been called to the defectiveness of his apprehension of these blessings, will not suffice to conceal that all this is the natural outcome of his views, and may well serve as a warning to those whose spiritual sensibilities are awake and who have learned to “try the things that differ.”
“Surely, in vain is the snare laid in the sight of any bird.”
Well may he say, “No higher place can a saint have than a standing before the throne,” for it is evident he has nothing “higher,” and knows of nothing “higher.”