God's Purpose for the Church: October 2012
Table of Contents
God’s Purpose for the Church
The church of God, next to Christ Himself, is the center of all God’s counsels for His glory. It is very sweet, when we are in the consciousness of our relationship as sons — children of God our Father — to be assured of and instructed in our relationship to Christ as “members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” The church is that wonderful structure in which God will display, in all the ages and throughout eternity, the “exceeding riches of His grace.”
God’s purposes and counsels are not unfolded in Scripture till the cross is past. It stands morally at the end of the world’s history. In God’s dealings previous to the cross, you have the responsible man tested and exposed. The Lord Jesus came down and brought out the fact that man was irrecoverably lost. When the cross is thus passed, all God’s counsels, which were before the foundation of the world, unfold themselves to us in the Word, and that for the first time.
God took the man who so glorified Him and put Him in glory in the display of righteousness. He is there, “Head over all things” in a fourfold title — Creator, Son and Heir, Son of Man and Redeemer. There He awaits the joint-heirs (His bride for that day of glory), and when all are gathered, He will put forth His great power and, binding Satan, will possess all, and we shall be joint-heirs of it with Him.
F. G. Patterson
What Is the Church?
We may consider the church in two points of view. First, it is the formation of the children of God into one body united to Christ Jesus ascended to heaven, the glorified man, and that by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the second place, it is the house or habitation of God by the Spirit.
The Saviour gave Himself, not only to save perfectly all those who believe in Him, but also to gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. It is one thing that there are individuals saved, children of God, heirs of glory in heaven; quite another is their union with Christ, so as to be members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones; yet another it is to be the habitation of God through the Spirit. We will speak of these latter points.
There is nothing clearer in the holy Scripture of truth than that the church is the body of Christ. This doctrine is largely unfolded in Ephesians 1-3. What is clearer than this word: “He ... gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body” (Eph. 1:20-23)? This marvelous fact began as soon as Christ was glorified in the heavens, even though all that is contained in these verses is not yet accomplished. God has raised us up with Him and has seated us together in Him in the heavenly places — not yet with Him, but “in Him.” And in chapter 3, “Which [mystery] was not in other ages made known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel ... that now unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be known, by the church, the manifold wisdom of God” (Eph. 3:5-6,10).
The Church Formed
by the Holy Spirit
Here, then, is the church formed on earth by the Holy Spirit descended from heaven, after the glorification of Christ. It is united to Christ, its heavenly Head, and all true believers are His members by means of the same Spirit.
In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle speaks of the church on the earth, not of a future church which shall be made good in heaven, nor even of churches scattered over the world, but of the church as a whole, represented, however, by the church at Corinth. The totality of the church is clearly seen in the words, “God hath set some in the church: first, apostles; secondarily, prophets; thirdly, teachers; after that, miracles; then gifts of healing.” It is evident that apostles were not in a particular church and that the gifts of healing could not be exercised in heaven. It is the church universal on earth. This church is the body of Christ, and the true believers are its members. It is one by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. “As the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of this one body, though many, are one body; so also is Christ” (vs. 12). Then, after having said that all these many members work, each in its own function, in the body, he adds (vs. 27), “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” Bear in mind that this is come to pass by the baptism of the Holy Spirit come down God has given to men a number of important responsibilities. Lord willing, we will consider a few of them in the next issue.
from heaven. Consequently, this body exists on earth and embraces all Christians wherever they may be; they have received the Holy Spirit whereby they are members of Christ and members one of another. Oh, how beautiful is the unity! If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it together.
The Habitation of God
There is, as we have said, another character of the church on earth; it is the habitation of God on earth. The presence of the Holy Spirit is what characterizes true believers in Christ individually. “Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost” (1 Cor. 6:19). But Christians taken together are also the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in them collectively (1 Cor. 3:16). The church then is God’s habitation on earth by the Spirit. Most precious privilege! The presence of God Himself, the source of joy, strength and wisdom for His people! “Jesus Christ ... in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph. 2:20-22). The intention of God is to have a temple formed, made up of all that believe after that God had broken down the partition-wall that shut out the Gentiles; this building grows till all Christians are united in glory. But meanwhile the believers on earth form a tabernacle of God — His habitation through the Spirit who abides in the midst of the church.
More than this, in 1 Timothy 3 the Apostle refers to “the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” We see here that the Christian is responsible to maintain the truth in the world. The church does not teach; teachers instruct, but the Christian maintains the truth by being faithful to it. It is the witness of the truth in the world.
One Only Church
What was the state of the church when it began at Jerusalem? We find that the power of the Spirit of God was wonderfully manifested. It is true that the evil of the heart of man soon appeared, but at the same time the Holy Spirit was in the church and acted there and was sufficient for putting out evil and changing it into good. The church, however, was one, known by the world. One only church, filled with the Holy Spirit, bore testimony to the salvation of God and to His presence on earth. And to this church God added all those who were to be saved.
All Christians were known, all admitted publicly into the church, Gentiles as well as Jews. The unity was manifested. All the saints were members of one body, of Christ’s body. The unity of the body was owned, and it was a fundamental truth of Christianity. In each locality there was the manifestation of this unity of the church of God on the earth, so that an epistle of Paul, addressed to the church of God at Corinth, arrived at a single assembly. If a member of Christ’s body went from Ephesus to Corinth, he would have been equally and necessarily also a member of Christ’s body in this latter assembly. In the Word we do not find the idea of members of a church, but members of Christ.
The Gifts for Ministry
Ministry, as it is presented in the Word, is likewise a proof of this same truth. The gifts, source of ministry, given by the Holy Spirit, were in the church (1 Cor. 12:28,8-12). Those who possessed them were members of the body. Apollos was a teacher at Corinth; he was also a teacher at Ephesus. This unity and the free activity of the members are found realized in the time of the apostles. Each gift was fully owned as efficacious to accomplish the work of the Lord and was freely exercised. The more one reads the Acts of the apostles, the more one reads the epistles, the more one sees this unity and this truth. The Holy Spirit, when He governs, necessarily unites brethren together and acts in each according to the aim which He has proposed to Himself in uniting them, that is to say, according to His own aim. Thus the presence of the Holy Spirit gathers together all the saints in one body and works in each according to His will, guiding them in the Lord’s service for the glory of God and the edification of the body.
Such was the church. How is it now and where is it found now on earth? The members of Christ’s body are now dispersed — many hidden in the world, others in the midst of religious corruption; some in one sect, some in another, in rivalry one with another to gain over the saved. Many, thank God, do seek unity, but how many have found it? “That they all may be one,” says the Lord, “that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” But the unity of the body is not manifested. The testimony the church gives now is this, that the Holy Spirit with His power and grace is unable to surmount the causes of the divisions. The church — once beautiful, united, heavenly — has lost its character; it is hidden in the world; the Christians themselves are worldly, covetous, eager for riches, honor, power — like the children of the age. The greatest part of what bears the name of Christian is the seat of the enemy or infidel, and the true Christians are lost in the midst of the multitude.
The Visible Glory
In the Old Testament, the glory of God, His real visible presence, was once at Jerusalem, and His throne was over the cherubim, but ever since the Babylonish captivity His presence abandoned Jerusalem, and His glory as well as His presence were no more in the temple in the midst of the people. Such will be the issue of the Christian system, if it does not continue in the goodness of God. But it has not continued in God’s goodness.
Surely all true Christians will be preserved and caught up to heaven, yet for what concerns the testimony of the church on earth, the house of God through the Spirit, it will eventually exist no more. Peter had said already, “The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). And in Paul’s time the mystery of iniquity was already working and was to be continued till the man of sin appeared; already in the Apostle’s time all sought their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. Paul tells us further that after his departure there should enter among the Christians in the church grievous wolves, not sparing the flock, and that in the last days perilous times should come, men having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof, that evil men and seducers should wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, and that finally the apostasy should come.
It is true that we shall be caught up to heaven, but, along with that, ought we not to mourn over the ruin of the house of God? Yes, we should mourn over that which was formerly one, a beautiful testimony to the glory of its Head by the power of the Holy Spirit, united, heavenly, so that the world could recognize the effect of the power of the Holy Spirit that put the well-being of men above all human motives, and, causing distinctions and diversities among them to disappear, made believers in all countries and of all classes to be one family, one body, one church, a mighty testimony to the presence of God on earth in the midst of men.
If the house of God is still on the earth and the Holy Spirit abides in it, is He not grieved at the state of the church? And if He abides in us, should not our hearts be afflicted and humbled at the dishonor done to Christ and the destruction of the testimony that the Holy Spirit came down from heaven to bear, in the unity of the church of God? He who compares the church as it is described in the New Testament with its present state will feel his heart profoundly saddened by seeing the church’s glory dragged into the dust and the enemy triumphing in the confusion of the people of God.
Christ’s Glory
Finally, Christ has confided His glory on earth to the church. It was the depositary of that glory. Has the church preserved this deposit and maintained the glory of Christ on the earth? The Lord shed tears of grief over Jerusalem; shall we shed none over that which is still dearer to His heart? I may be apart from all the iniquity which corrupts the house of God, but nevertheless, as Christ’s servant, I ought to identify myself with the glory of Christ and with its manifestations to the world. By and by God will establish His own glory according to His counsels, but first of all, man is responsible where God has set him. We have been set in the church of God, in His house, in the habitation of His glory on the earth.
J. N. Darby, adapted
The Bride of Christ
Let us think of what the church is to Christ. “Christ ... loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Eph. 5:25). His present service is to separate the church, through the revelation of His love for it, that it might be His peculiar treasure as the espoused virgin of His choice. He, the Son of God in Manhood, is to have a bride! We the members of His body were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, to share with Him in Manhood all His given glory unto the ages of ages.
The church, as the bride, is the object of His love. This love was proved even unto death, when He, the eternal Son of God, bore the wrath and the judgment of God, exhausting all of it, that we might know nothing of those waves and billows. By this He revealed the depths of the divine bosom, while at the same time making atonement for sin according to the holiness of God. Language itself is exhausted in telling the suffering of those three hours of darkness when the wrath of God fell upon Him. He suffered all this so that we might know the divine bosom in all its blessedness, as the source from which we have received grace and been made heirs together with Him. Christ in resurrection is the beginning of new creation. The church, His bride, shares His headship over all things.
While we rejoice in the truth that “the Son of God ... loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20) as an individual, let us never forget what the church is to Christ, collectively. Every one that is indwelt of the Spirit now forms part of the body of Christ. How rich the revelation of this blessedness! Paul received it by revelation from Christ in glory (Eph. 3:1-10). He tells us of the precious expression of it in the breaking of bread, when the unbroken loaf on the table speaks to our hearts of our place as members of His body, while the broken loaf tells us of His death, for “Christ ... loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Eph. 5:25).
The Glory of His Inheritance
The church, united to Christ in glory, is absolutely heavenly in calling and hope. We are now gathered to a rejected Christ (John 12:32); at His coming we shall be gathered to a glorified Christ (Eph. 1:10). The life we have received is heavenly in its source (1 John 1:1-3). The Object of that life is Christ in glory (Phil. 3). The hope of that life is our being “glorified together” with Him (Rom. 8:17). The church will be the Eve in His paradise, the queen on His throne, the richest and brightest glory of the inheritance He has won. In calling any out of the world, He affiances them to His Son, to be one with Him in thought, desire and hope now and eventually to be glorified together with Him in His glory! Oh, let us not lose in our souls the preciousness of what the church is to Him!
The Vision of Coming Glory
The truth of the church as the bride of Christ in glory was “hid in God” and given to the Apostle Paul by revelation (Eph. 3). It is that “better thing” of which we read in Hebrews 11:40. Should we not value this precious revelation and burst into praise as we discover the revealed secret of such infinite grace that has made us heirs with Him of the whole vast scene of new creation?
In the Epistle to the Ephesians we are seen as already seated with Christ in heavenly places, while we await the time when He will “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him” (Eph. 1:10). Oh! beloved saints of God, think of that blessed Man in the glory waiting to take His inheritance until He has His bride with Him! His saints, now united to Him as members of His body, are to be presented to Him “a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing” (Eph. 5:27)! “Quickened together,” we have life in a risen Christ, “raised together” by the Spirit united to Christ in glory, soon to be “glorified together.” Paul then looks on and sees Christ in headship over all the new creation scene of glory. He, who is the Bridegroom of the church, will have His bride, as the espoused queen of His marvelous grace, to sit with Him on His throne and share all the glory of that new creation with Him unto the ages of ages. Then He shall be crowned with many crowns, while eternal praise will rise from the whole redeemed throng. Heaven and earth will burst forth in His praise.
H. E. Hayhoe, adapted
The True Church
Ephesians 1 presents God’s counsels in regard to Christ and the church. We are carried back before the foundation of the world to trace the source of all our blessings in God’s eternal purpose; we are transported to the fullness of times, there to see the inheritance of glory when all God’s counsels will be fulfilled. In Ephesians 2:1-10 we have God’s work in us, in view of His counsels for us, whereby He quickens dead souls, raises them up together with Christ, and seats them in Christ in the heavenlies.
In Ephesians 2:11-22 we have God’s ways with us in time to bring about His counsels for us in eternity. There is what God has purposed for us, what God works in us, and what God does with us. He works in us that we might be quickened together with Christ; He works with us that we might be brought together in one body, fitly framed together into a holy temple in the Lord, and built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.
We can readily understand that the epistle must of necessity commence with unfolding the purposes of God, for unless we know His purposes for eternity, we shall not understand His ways in time. Confining then our thoughts to the early part of the epistle (Eph. 2:1-10), we see the church presented in connection with the counsels and work of God. Man’s work and man’s responsibilities have no place in this passage. All is counseled by God, and all is carried out by God, and, being of God, all is perfect.
Verses 3-7 unfold the counsels of God for His saints individually — those who compose the church. In this great passage we see the character of our blessings, the source of our blessings, the end God has in view, and the means by which that end is reached.
The Character of Our Blessings
As to the character of our blessings, it is important to remember that they are spiritual and heavenly and in Christ. The realization of the true character of our blessings would have an immense effect upon our testimony, for God forms our testimony by instructing us in the true character of our blessings and leading us into the enjoyment of them.
As to the source of all our blessings we read, “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ... hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world.” All our blessings have their source in the counsels of the Father’s heart. We discover that His heart was set upon us before the foundation of the world. He set His love upon us in view of our eternal blessing when the world shall be no more. How this steadies the soul in its journey through the world, for nothing that takes place in the ways of God in time can touch the counsels of love that were settled in a past eternity.
We are also carried on in spirit to view the end of all God’s counsels in glory. Thus we learn that God had purposed to have the saints before Him in a condition that is suited to Him — “holy and without blame before Him in love”: holy in character, without blame in conduct, and in love as to nature. Nothing less would suit the heart of God, and what will be accomplished in its fullness then is wrought in our souls by the Spirit now, if, in the power of the Spirit, we seek to answer down here to what we shall be in perfection up there.
Suited to God
Furthermore, not only are we chosen to be in a condition suited to God, but we are predestined to enjoy the relationship of sons before the Father. Angels, doubtless, will be before God in a condition suited to God, but they are there in the position of servants. We are predestined according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace.
Moreover, in view of the accomplishment of God’s purpose, we must be redeemed and have the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ, according to the riches of His grace. The Apostle has connected predestination with “the glory of His grace”; now he connects redemption with “the riches of His grace.” Our great need is met by the riches of His grace, but the glory of His grace does more; it takes us into favor and gives us the place of sons. In Ephesians the Apostle passes beyond our responsibilities to unfold our privileges; hence we have not only the riches of His grace, but the glory of His grace.
The Mystery of His Will
Having, then, in the first seven verses, unfolded the counsels of the Father’s heart concerning His people, the Apostle passes on to fresh wonders. God would have us to know the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself for the administration of the fullness of times. In Scripture a mystery is a secret that cannot possibly be known until revealed by God, and when revealed it can only be known by the initiated. Here the mystery has reference to the “fullness of times” when God will have everything administered according to His mind — when everything that God has instituted at other times and which has so utterly failed in the hands of men will be administered in all its fullness under Christ. Government and priesthood and royalty were instituted by God in other days, only to break down because committed to man’s responsibility. But the time is coming when they will all be seen in perfection and fullness. This will be brought about by heading up all things in Christ, both the things which are in heaven and which are on earth. At present Christ is hidden, but when He sets up His throne — when He reigns — all will be administered to the good pleasure of God.
The Old Testament abundantly foretells “the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow,” which glories, though they reach to the utmost bounds of earth, are still earthly and not heavenly. This is no secret or mystery; on the contrary, the prophets are full of glowing descriptions of the earthly kingdom. When, however, we come to the New Testament, God unfolds to us the great secret that Christ’s dominion will stretch immeasurably beyond the limits of earth; that as a Man, Christ will have dominion not only “from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth,” but over the whole vast universe of God to the utmost bounds of creation; that He should be set far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And there is more: that all things in heaven and earth will be united under Christ as Head. God has abounded to us in all wisdom and intelligence in thus making known to us not only His purpose for His people, but the secrets of His heart for Christ; not only His purpose for earth, but His secrets concerning the whole universe.
This is the mystery of His will, but even so it is not the whole mystery, for the mystery concerns “Christ and the church” (Eph. 5:32). This leads us on to the most amazing part of the mystery — that in the day of His universal dominion, Christ will have a vast company of people, made like Himself as the result of His own work, united to Him by the Holy Spirit, to share with Him in all the glory of His universal sway, as His body and His bride.
Head Over All Things
to the Church
The remaining portion of this chapter brings before us this further truth. The Apostle continues: “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance.” Christ will reign over Israel, over the Gentiles, over the whole universe, but never is it said that He will reign over the church. Christ, indeed, will ever be supreme, but to the praise of His glory the church will reign with Him.
This is made more abundantly plain by the Apostle’s prayer which closes the chapter. Having unfolded the hope of the calling in verses 3-7 and the inheritance in verses 8-14, the Apostle now prays that we may know these things and, moreover, that we may know the greatness of the power to us that will bring these glorious truths to fruition. This power has been set forth in raising Christ from the dead and setting Him “above all” and putting “all things under His feet.” But while it is given to Christ as Man to be Head over all things, He is Head over all things to the church which is His body, the fullness of Him that fills all things.
So the church, by association with Christ, will share in His universal dominion over all creation. And just as Eve was said to be a helpmeet for Adam, so the church is said to be the fullness of Him that fills all in all. Apart from the church, Christ would lack His fullness. As one has said, “As Son of God, He, of course, requires nothing to complete His glory, but as Man He does. He would no more be complete in His resurrection glory without the church than Adam would have been without Eve.”
H. Smith, adapted
The Lamb’s Wife
I wish to present to you a little about “the bride, the Lamb’s wife,” as displayed in the millennial glory. God acts upon our souls by His truth in this way. He brings the future glory before us as a present, practical reality in its sanctifying power; He unfolds to us the glory prepared for us from everlasting, a boundless field of endless joy; He points us to One who has gone on high, the center of it all, One who can fill our heart’s affections as the only worthy object of them — Christ, whom we have known below in weakness and sorrow, the center of that scene of light and blessedness. He takes of the things of Christ’s glory and puts them before us now that we may live in them — live in the Father’s love and in the love of Christ which passes knowledge. Thus He unfolds the glory, that our hearts may be carried into it and that it may have its own sanctifying effect upon us.
The Bride’s Personal Glory
Revelation 21:9-27 gives us the description of the millennial display of the bride to the world. The bride, the Lamb’s wife, is seen in her personal glory. And what is so noteworthy and a blessing to our souls is that all the sanctifying work which Christ is now accomplishing in His saints will come out, and the result will be seen in the glory as here pictured. We read that He “loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” What a motive, then, to yield ourselves to Him that His grace may not be hindered! He sanctifies by the action of the Word; He discloses all that hinders fellowship with Himself in that bright scene; He reveals and unfolds Himself to the hearts of His saints — to wean them away from this scene and fill their hearts with Himself. Then, He will present His church to Himself glorious, without a spot of defilement or wrinkle of old age — not a trace of the scene through which she has passed — the heavenly Eve of the last Adam for the paradise of God!
In this display of glory, what Christ was personally and what the glorified church will be as displaying the glories of the Lamb — all these come out in this scene.
The Display of the Glory of God
“Having the glory of God” (vs. 11). One thing must strike us forcibly: It is how much the glory of God is interwoven with the description of the heavenly city. You have it both in literal words and in figures. You find it in the foundations of the city, in its walls, in its light within and appearance without: All is glory. It underlies, surrounds, enfolds and lights up the whole scene. The glory of God has enwrapped the saints, and they dwell in the glory of God. No doubt, it is her millennial display; still it gives character to the church, that even now is set in this world to display the moral traits of that glory to it. “The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”
Here it is seen, in the perfection of the given glory of Christ, as answering to its full character. She is the display of the glory to the millennial earth. She does not come down to earth herself, but sheds the light of that glory upon Jerusalem below. As the heavenly Jerusalem, the church still keeps her character as the display of grace, as Jerusalem below will be the center of earthly government in that day.
A mountain, great and high, is the platform from which to behold this heavenly Jerusalem, the bride, “descending out of heaven from God.” She is let down so that the earth may see her glory, the glory of God displayed in her.
The Perfect Display of Christ
In John 17 He says, “The glory which Thou hast given Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me.” It is Christ in them as perfectly displayed, as the Father was in Him. The Lord Jesus turns to the day of glory that is before us. Thus He can speak of our being “made perfect in one” and “that the world may know.” Now, we should have walked so that the world might have believed, but, alas, we have failed to display Christ to the world. In what infinite grace He carries us on to the day when there will be no more failure, but He will be perfectly displayed in us, “that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me” when it sees you, my brethren, and all His saints in the same glory as the Son of God — “and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”
This city has the glory of God: “Having the glory of God, and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” This is a symbol used for the glory of God (ch. 4:3). She has the glory “of God,” and yet it is called “her light” (vs. 11). God has produced the graces of Christ in the saints here — by pure grace has done so — yet He has counted it to them. You long that the graces and mind of Christ may be reproduced in you. Well, those that are are counted as yours, though His grace has wrought them, as, in chapter 19:8, to His wife “was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen clean and white” and this linen is said to be “the righteousnesses of the saints,” though all be absolutely the production of His own grace in her. What He was upon earth, what He produces in His people, and what He displays in glory are all seen.
You may remember that in Ephesians 2:7 it is said that by the church God will display “in the ages to come ... the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” You cannot measure by human measurement that by which God unfolds and displays to eternity the full extent of His riches of grace, in His kindness towards us.
The glory of God is the foundation, the security, the stability, and the light of the heavenly city. Oh, how the heart worships as it contemplates such a scene! His glory enfolds His people on every side.
“The city was of pure gold, like unto clear glass.” Gold is divine righteousness, and clear glass represents the fixed, transparent purity of truth. Thus, the city itself presents in this wondrous symbol what Christ was Himself and what the “new man” is, which after God is created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
His Pearl of Great Price
“The twelve gates were twelve pearls.” Here a lovely thought finds its expression. In it is seen that moral beauty and comeliness which attracted the heart of Christ in the church and for which He “sold all that He had.” Internally, we find the city is “pure gold like unto clear glass”; externally, the moral beauty of the pearl. Each gate showed this out. So it is with the Lord Himself personally, and so it is with the Christian relatively who has “put on the new man” where “Christ is all,” and outwardly, the effect is that the lowly traits of His grace are produced, and thus with the church collectively, that Christ might be fully displayed according to God’s thought, and what will be seen in full display when He comes “to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.”
So the description goes on: “I saw no temple therein.” Why is this? Because worship is all that is here; it characterizes the scene. “I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” The whole city is the sanctuary of His presence.
“The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it [no need of borrowed light]: for the glory of God did lighten it.” It is the light of it. Even now if there is light in our hearts, it is the light of that glory shining on the face of Jesus. All the glory of God shines concentrated on that face, and we gaze on it without a veil and at peace; nay, the fact that it shines on the face of Him who gave Himself for me engages me to be occupied with the glory thus revealed. So it will be forever.
“The nations ... shall walk in the light of it.” There Christ is seen in the saints, who are the radiance of His glory to the nations below.
God reveals to us this scene where the Lamb’s glories dwell, to cheer and fill our hearts with its present sanctifying power and to give us a truer estimate of what the height of our calling is, as we see all that it now made good to faith and, in the power of the Holy Spirit, carried out to its full result in glory then.
F. G. Patterson, adapted
The Church in the Ways of God
In the first part of the Epistle to the Ephesians, chapters 1 and 2:1-10, the church is presented in relation to Christ in glory, according to the counsels of God. This prepares the way for a very different view of the church — its formation and testimony on earth according to the ways of God.
There is a vast difference between the counsels of God for glory and the ways of God on earth. Comprehending this distinction, we shall see that not only has the church a glorious destiny as united to Christ in heaven, according to the eternal purpose of God, but that it also has an existence on earth and a great place in the ways of God here below. It is this aspect of the church that comes before us in Ephesians 2:11-22.
Jews and Gentiles
In order that we may understand this very important aspect of the church, the Apostle reminds us of the distinct position held by Israel in the times before the cross. At that time they enjoyed a place of privilege to which the Gentile was an entire stranger. In the ways of God upon earth, He separated Israel from the Gentiles and gave them a place of special outward privilege. The Gentiles had no such position in the world, and the very ordinances that regulated the life of the Jew sternly kept Jew and Gentile apart.
But Israel entirely failed to answer to their privileges, and as a result they have, for the time being, lost their special place of privilege on the earth. This setting aside of Israel prepares the way for the marvelous change that has taken place in the ways of God on earth. Following upon the rejection of Israel, God has brought to light the church and thus set up an entirely new circle of blessing, wholly outside the Jewish and Gentile circles. This new departure becomes the occasion of the grace of God flowing out in a very special way to the Gentile. The call goes out to the Gentile; not that the Jew is excluded from the new circle of blessing, for the church is composed of believers from among both Jews and Gentiles.
But if the Gentile is to have part in the church, it must be on a righteous ground. Hence the cross is at once brought in (vs. 13). By the blood of Christ sinners of the Gentiles are made nigh to God, being brought from the place of distance in which sin had put them, into a place of nearness — not a mere outward nearness, by means of ordinances and ceremonies, but a vital nearness that is only fully expressed in Christ Himself, risen from the dead and appearing before the face of God for us. Thus it is said, “In Christ Jesus ye ... are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Our sins put us afar off, but not only does the precious blood wash away our sins; it makes us nigh. The blood of Christ declares the enormity of the sin which demanded such a price, proclaims the holiness of God that could be satisfied with no less a price, and reveals the infinite love that could pay the price.
The Body of Christ
But the church is not simply a number of individuals “made nigh,” for this will be true of every blood-bought saint of every age. There is more needed; Jewish and Gentile believers must be “made both one” (vs. 14). This, too, the cross of Christ has accomplished. The enmity between Jew and Gentile was caused by the ordinances by which the Jew could approach God in an outward way, while the Gentile could not. But in the cross Christ has entirely abolished the law of ordinances as a means of approach to God and made a new way of approach by His blood. Both Jew and Gentile are brought onto an entirely new ground on an immeasurably higher plane.
But even this does not express the full truth of the church. The Apostle further tells us that we are not only “made nigh” and not only “made both one,” but that we are made “one new man” (vs. 15), “one body” (vs. 16), indwelt by “one Spirit,” by whom we have access to the Father (vs. 18). This, indeed, presents the full truth of the church — the body of Christ that, in the ways of God, is being formed on earth.
God is not only saving souls from Jews and Gentiles on the basis of the blood, not only is He gathering such together in unity, but He is forming them into one new man of which Christ is the glorious Head, believers are the members of the body, and the Holy Spirit the uniting power. This is far more than unity; it is union. The church is not simply a company of believers in happy unity, but a company of people who are members of Christ and of one another in intimate union. And the new man is not merely new in point of time, but is of an entirely new order. Before the cross there were two men, Jew and Gentile, hating one another and at enmity with God. Now in the marvelous ways of God “one new man” has come into being — a new man which embraces every saint on earth united by one Spirit to Christ, the risen and exalted Head.
Three Great Truths
Connected with the formation of the church of God on earth are three great truths to which the Apostle refers: reconciliation to God, the preaching of peace to sinners, and access to the Father on the part of saints.
First, both Jew and Gentile are reconciled to God in one body (vs. 16). In the cross He has so wondrously worked that both have been brought nigh to Him, and both have been brought nigh to one another. Nothing could more perfectly express the entire removal of the enmity than the fact of the Jewish and Gentile believers being formed into “one body.”
The second great truth is that the gospel of peace is preached to the Gentiles who were far off and to the Jews who were dispensationally near. Without the cross there could be no preaching, and without the preaching there would be no church. Christ is looked at as the Preacher, though the gospel He preaches is proclaimed instrumentally through others. We read of the disciples that “they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them” (Mark 16:20).
There is a third truth of great blessedness. By one Spirit we both (Jew and Gentile) have access to the Father. The distance is not only removed on God’s side, but it is also removed on our side. By the work of Christ on the cross God can draw nigh to us, preaching peace, and by the work of the Spirit in us we can draw nigh to the Father. The cross gives us our title to draw nigh; the Spirit enables us to use our title and practically draw nigh to the Father. It is by the Spirit, but more, it is by “one Spirit,” and therefore in the Father’s presence all is of one accord.
A Holy Temple — a Progressive Building
Thus far we have viewed the church as the body of Christ, but in the ways of God on earth the church is viewed in other aspects, two of which are brought before us in the closing verses of the chapter (vss. 19-22). First, the church is viewed as growing unto “an holy temple in the Lord”; second, as “an habitation of God.”
In the first aspect the church is likened to a progressive building growing unto a holy temple in the Lord. The apostles and prophets form the foundation, Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. Throughout the Christian dispensation believers are being added stone by stone until the last believer is built in and the completed building displayed in glory. This is the building of which the Lord says in Matthew 16, “I will build My church; and the gates of [hades] shall not prevail against it.” Christ is the builder, not man; therefore all is perfect, and none but living stones form part of this holy structure. Peter gives us the spiritual significance of this building when he tells us that the living stones are built up a spiritual house “to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God,” on the one hand, and to “show forth the excellencies” of God, on the other (1 Peter 2:5,9). In Revelation 21, John sees a vision of the completed building descending out of heaven from God and radiant with the glory of God. Then, indeed, from that glorious building unceasing sacrifices of praise will rise up to God, and a perfect testimony to the excellencies of God will flow forth to man.
A House Completed
Then the Apostle, still using the figure of a building, presents another aspect of the church (vs. 22). He views the saints as no longer being built into a growing temple, but as forming a house already complete for “a habitation of God through the Spirit.” All believers on earth at any given moment are looked at as forming the habitation of God. But the Apostle does not merely say, “Ye are a habitation,” but, “Ye are builded together for a habitation.” That is, the habitation is formed of Jewish and Gentile believers “builded together.” The dwelling-place of God is marked by light and love; therefore, when the Apostle comes to the practical part of the epistle, he exhorts us as dear children to “walk in love” and to “walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:2,8). The house of God is thus a place of blessing and testimony, a place where the saints are blessed with the favor and love of God, and, thus blessed, they become a testimony to the world around. In Ephesians the habitation of God is presented according to the mind of God, and therefore only what is real is contemplated. Other Scriptures will show how, unfortunately, in our hand, the habitation has become corrupted until at last we read that judgment must begin at the house of God.
Thus in this chapter we have a threefold presentation of the church. The church is viewed as the body of Christ, composed of Jewish and Gentile believers united to Christ in glory, thus forming one new man for the display of all that Christ is as the risen Man, Head over all things.
Then the church is a growing temple composed of all the saints of the whole Christian period, wherein sacrifices of praise ascend to God and the excellencies of God are displayed to men.
Lastly, the church is viewed as a complete building on earth, composed of all the saints at any given moment, forming the habitation of God for blessing to His people and testimony to the world.
H. Smith, adapted
Title, Privileges and Duties
The church is in heaven as to title and its privileges, and on earth as to fact and its duties. On the earth, the church ought to be the manifestation of the activity of God’s love and of His holiness, according to the power of the Holy Spirit. As we have seen, the church by resurrection in Christ is in heaven, but in fact it is also on the earth. If we had ascended to heaven to receive the Holy Spirit, the unity would be only for heaven, but the Holy Spirit having descended to the earth to form the unity, that unity is here below.
J. N. Darby
A Christ so Glorious
The Christ of the church is a Christ so glorious that He can be both in heaven and in my heart.
J. N. Darby
Chosen
Chosen in Christ ere time began,
Or earth’s foundation laid,
That we, God’s children, now might be
Holy and blameless made.
Chosen in Christ, what depth of grace,
To sinners such as we —
Redemption through that precious blood
Poured forth on Calvary!
Chosen in Christ, accepted too,
In God’s eternal Son,
The Object of His heart’s delight,
The heaven’s beloved One.
Chosen in Christ, how blest to know
All spiritual blessings stored
In “heavenly places” for His own,
For those in Christ the Lord.
Chosen in Christ, to be the praise
And glory of His grace,
In Him, God’s well-beloved Son,
Before the Father’s face.
Chosen in Christ, that we might be
To His eternal praise,
And to the glory of His grace,
Through heaven’s eternal days.
E. B. Hartt (author of “There Is
a Saviour on High in the Glory”)