The Church Seen Under Twelve Figures In The New Testament
Stanley Bruce Anstey
Table of Contents
The Church Seen Under 12 Figures in the New Testament
1) A Body—Union & Unity.
The Church as "the body," refers to the oneness that exists among the many members (Christians) as being linked together to the Head (Christ) in heaven by the indwelling Spirit. The many Christians spread over the whole world (regardless of what denominational fellowship they may be attached to) are part of that body. It is a mystical union (for it cannot be seen with the eye), being bound together by the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God (Rom. 12:4-5; Eph. 4:1-16).
The Formation of the Body of Christ Was By the Baptism of the Spirit
The body of Christ did not exist in Old Testament times. In fact, it formed no part of Old Testament revelation. The Lord Jesus Christ had to first die, rise again, and ascend into heaven as a glorified Man before the Church could be formed. Two things were absolutely necessary before it could be brought into existence—Christ had to be glorified, and the Holy Spirit had to be sent down from heaven. One of the great works of the Holy Spirit in coming was to form the Church, the body of Christ on earth. This work is called the baptism of the Spirit. It was an action of the Spirit that happened only once (1 Cor. 12:12-13). It was a corporate action of the Spirit that took place on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, and was extended to take in the Gentiles in Acts 10. Thereafter, the baptism of the Spirit was complete for all time.
The fact that the baptism of the Spirit is a historical thing that formed the body of Christ can be seen by looking at the seven references to the baptism of the Spirit in the Scriptures. Five of these references look forward from the time they were uttered to some coming action of the Spirit, without specifying when (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5). Then the sixth and seventh references point back in time to some action of the Spirit that could only be what happened at Pentecost, when the Spirit of God came to form and reside in the church. (The sixth, Acts 11:16, clearly links the baptism of the Spirit with Pentecost. The seventh, 1 Corinthians 12:13, which says, “We have all been baptized into one body ... ” also looks back in time.)
Baptism—Two Common Errors
Two common errors having to do with the baptism of the Spirit are:
Firstly, the Pentecostal or Charismatic view—that it is an experience a Christian should have sometime after he is saved, whereby he is filled with the Spirit, and thereafter is enabled to speak with tongues or do miracles.
Secondly, there is the mainline evangelical non-charismatic view—that believers are baptized with the Spirit the moment they are saved, and there is no need for any further experience. This second idea has probably been invented by well-meaning Christians to combat the first. Both, however, are erroneous.
Contrary to what is commonly thought by many Christians today, believers do not get into the body by the baptism of the Spirit since that work of the Spirit in baptism is complete and happened once for all time at the beginning of the church’s history. First Corinthians 12:13, does not say, as some imagine, “We have been baptized into the one body,” (adding the article “the,” which is not in the text). If it did say that, then it might indicate that individuals today do get into the body by the baptism of the Spirit. Adding the article “the,” changes the meaning considerably, and supposes that the body is in existence before the baptism takes place. However, the verse does not say that; it says, “ ... baptized into one body,” meaning the baptism is what formed the one body. The Spirit of God took all the individual believers in the upper room and linked them together by His indwelling presence to Christ, the ascended Head in heaven (Acts 2:1-4).
Moreover, J. N. Darby notes that the action of the Spirit in baptizing, in 1 Corinthians 12:13, is in the aorist tense in the Greek, meaning it was a once-for-all act. This shows that the Spirit, thereafter, has not been performing this action, because the work of forming the body has already been done. We can confidently say that the Spirit is not baptizing today; if He were, it would mean that He is forming more and more bodies (which is the function of His baptizing). This, of course, could not be so, because Scripture tells us empathically, “there is one body” (Eph. 4:4).
Some might wonder that if that were so, why did Paul speak of himself and the Corinthians as being baptized by the Spirit? Because they were not even saved when the Spirit came and formed the church at Pentecost! The answer is that Paul was speaking representatively. He said, “We”—the Christian company as a whole—“have been baptized into one body,” referring back to the action of the Spirit at Pentecost. If he were speaking of himself and the Corinthians when he said “we,” then he meant that only they (he and the Corinthians) were baptized into that body, which certainly isn’t true; for what then of the Ephesian or the Philippian saints? Were they not in the body, too? The only logical meaning to Paul’s statement is that he was speaking representatively of all the members of the body.
It is something like the incorporation of a company. It is incorporated once—and it may have been a hundred years ago. Since the inception of the company, each new employee that the company takes on does not require that it be incorporated again. Nor is there any such thing as every new employee in the company being incorporated. The new employee is merely added to an already incorporated company. Likewise, when someone gets saved today, he is added by the indwelling presence of the Spirit to an already baptized body. There is no new baptism for the Christian company, or for the new believer.
To take our illustration a little further, suppose we listened in on one of that company’s board meetings and heard one of the directors say, “We were incorporated 100 years ago.” We would have no trouble understanding what he meant. Someone who didn’t understand the English language very well might say, “What does that person mean? None of these people in this meeting are over 60 years of age, and how can they say, ‘We ... ? a hundred years ago ... ?’” Well, it’s because the director was speaking representatively of the company. Similarly, in 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul was speaking of what is true of the body of Christ, and of which he and the Corinthians were a part. As the Christian company, Paul and the Corinthians, and we too, are all embraced in the baptism that took place at Pentecost, when we were saved and brought into the one body upon believing the gospel.
Union with Christ & Unity in the Body
As a result of the formation of the body of Christ by the baptism of the Spirit, there exists both union and unity. There is a difference between these two things:
Union is what exists as a result of the Spirit of God having come down from heaven linking the members of the body on earth to Christ the Head in heaven (1 Cor. 12:12-13). Scripture does not speak of union with Christ in His pre-incarnate deity. Nor does it speak of union with Him in His Manhood before He went to the cross. Nor does Scripture speak of union with Christ in His death. There could be no union until Christ rose from the dead and ascended on high, and sent the Spirit of God into this world to form the church. There could not be the body without first having the Head in heaven. This necessitated Christ dying, rising, and ascending on high. Upon rising from the dead the Lord breathed on the disciples, saying, “Receive ye [the] Holy Ghost” (John 20:22). In doing this, the Lord linked His own with Himself in resurrection by communicating to them resurrection life—eternal life. But it was not until He ascended on high and sent the Spirit that they were brought into union with Him. Nor should we think that this union with Christ exists merely in our faith; it is by the actual indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, in fact, has descended to bring that company of believers into union with the Man Christ Jesus in the glory.
Unity, on the other hand, is what exists among the members by the presence of the indwelling Spirit. We are not exactly called to make “the unity of the Spirit,” but to “keep the unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3). As the saints seek to “keep the unity of the Spirit,” in a practical sense, a wonderful harmony will exist among the members that will be evidenced to the world (John 13:35, 17:21). We see this practical unity expressed in the early church (Acts 2:44, 4:32).
There Should Be a Visible Unity Expressed by the Body
We know from the Word of God that the Lord’s desire is that “He should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad” so that there would be “one flock and one Shepherd” (John 11:51-52, 10:16). Before going to the cross He prayed to that end saying, “Holy Father, keep through Thine own Name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are.” And again, “ ... that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me” (John 17:11, 21). While these verses in John’s gospel do not directly speak of the truth of the oneness of the body of Christ, but rather of the oneness in the family, they clearly show the Lord’s desire for His people is that they would be found together in a visible unity on earth.
The Lord first revealed His thoughts of a manifested practical unity among His people in Matthew 18:20, when He said, “For where two or three are gathered together unto My Name, there am I in the midst of them.” Notice that He did not want His people to be merely “gathered” to where He was in the midst, but “gathered together.” When the Lord said “together,” He was alluding to something that was very precious to His heart—that the practical fellowship among the saints would be one. He desired that all those whom the Spirit of God would gather unto His Name, wherever they may be on earth, would be “together.” He could not have meant that they should all be gathered together in one place geographically (as it was in Judaism—at Jerusalem), but that they would act together in the various localities where the Spirit has gathered them, so as to give a universal expression to the fact that they are one. While He would say no more about it at that time, His desire for the assembly, from the very outset, was that there would be one universal fellowship of the saints.
Now, some might think that we are seeing more in this word “together” than what is intended, and it’s true that if we had only this verse (Matt. 18:20) on the subject of gathering, one might have grounds in thinking that. But when we turn to the book of the Acts and to the epistles, and we interpret this Scripture in the light of the whole tenor of the Christian revelation, we can see that the Lord was indicating the truth of the church’s oneness. It is only hinted at here, in Matthew 18, because the disciples did not have the Spirit yet and wouldn’t be able to take it in (John 14:25-26, 16:12). The Lord did this on many occasions in His ministry, giving but the seed of a truth and leaving it to be developed through the apostles when the Spirit came.
Moreover, we learn from John 10:16 that He did not want His people to be found in a number of independent flocks, but that there would be “one flock,” regardless of where the saints might be found spread over the earth. There would be many gatherings, but only one flock. Again, this points to the fact that there should only be one universal fellowship of saints on earth. It was not God’s thought that fellowship would be merely a local thing, confined to a single company of believers in a city or town. As the gospel reached many lands and many were converted, there would naturally be many gatherings spread over the earth, but the Lord intended that they would still be one in fellowship and testimony.
Turning to the epistles, we find what the Lord alluded to in the Gospels developed. The epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians, especially, open out the truth of the “great mystery” of Christ and the church, which is His body. The church’s first great collective responsibility is to “walk worthy of the vocation” wherewith it has been called (Eph. 4:1). And how, we may ask, are the members of the body to “walk worthy?” Some might say that they are to do it by living uprightly as good citizens in the community. But that is not the point of this passage of Scripture. Christians, of course, should be concerned about walking uprightly before the world, but the context of the passage indicates that the exhortation to “walk worthy” of our calling is in view of the revelation of the mystery of Christ and His church – the body.
While enjoining the saints to “walk worthy” of their calling, the apostle adds, “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love; using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. There is one body” (Eph. 4:2-4). It is clear, therefore, that the church is to walk worthy of its calling by putting into practice the truth that it is “one body.” We learn from this that the Lord does not intend that the truth of the “one body” should be a mere theory in the minds of His people. The saints are to exercise lowliness, meekness, etc., in view of keeping “the unity of the Spirit,” by which they would express the truth that “there is one body.”
We might ask, “What exactly is ‘the unity of the Spirit?’” (Eph. 4:3) It is the oneness into which the Spirit of God leads believers, according to the truth of the one body. We are not called to keep the unity of the body, but rather, to keep the unity of the Spirit. The unity of the body is that which the Spirit of God has formed at Pentecost by uniting the members of Christ’s body together to Christ, the Head in heaven. Its maintenance needs no human help, for God Himself keeps it. No power or enemy can break that unity. The unity of the Spirit, however, is a practical unity among believers that we are responsible to keep, and it is our privilege to do so. F. G. Patterson said, “Keeping ‘the unity of the Spirit’ is to endeavor to keep in practice that which exists in fact.” And what exists in fact? The “one body,” as the passage goes on to say (Eph. 4:4). Another has said, “the unity of the Spirit” is “that which the Spirit is forming to give true expression to the truth of the one body.” This means that Christians are to walk worthy of their calling by putting into practice the truth that they are “one body.” It is the church’s first great collective responsibility. And it is the mind of God that this unity should be expressed universally—wherever the body is on the earth. This unity is not merely a local thing because the body is not local.
To aid the saints in walking together and arriving at God’s objective for them practically, Christ the ascended Head of the body has made full provision for the Church to reach that end. He has given “gifts” to the church for the purpose of helping the saints understand their privileges and responsibilities in the body so that they would walk worthy of their calling (Eph. 4:7-16). If the ministry of the gifts is received (assuming that the gifts are operating with intelligence and dependence upon God) the body will be edified and brought to “the unity of the faith” and “the knowledge of the Son of God.” With every “joint of supply” (the various members) also helping, the body will edify itself in love. The practical consequence will be a visible unity seen among the many members of the body.
2) A House—Public Witness & Testimony.
The Church, seen as the house of God, denotes the place where God dwells by the Spirit on earth. As the house of God, the Church is God’s vessel of testimony on earth. As forming the house of God, the Christian’s business in this world is to set forth the character of God as a Creator-God and a Saviour-God. Hence the true character of God is known by looking at His house.
Since holiness becomes God's house (Psa. 93:5), there is a responsibility on the part of all in the house to maintain personal holiness in their lives. If any kind of proper public witness is to be rendered for God, there must not only be holiness, but also right conduct and order. The grand purpose of God’s house is to “show forth the excellencies of Him Who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:5-9). Since the Christian is always in the house of God (not just when assembled together in meetings), he is responsible to represent God at all times. He does this not just by preaching, but by his conduct and appearance. Hence, the world should be able to look at the Church and know the character of God.
As the gifts have to do with the edification of the body; office and government [elders/overseers/guides and deacons] have to do with order in the house of God. Those in that place of local church government are especially responsible to maintain God's order and holiness in each locality (city or town) where they reside (1 Tim. 3:5). If order and holiness are not maintained, those who compose the church will come under God's hand in judgment—both administratively (1 Cor. 5:12-13) and/or governmentally (1 Peter 4:17), but not eternally (John 5:24; Rom. 8:1).
Two Aspects of the House of God
There are two aspects in which the house of God is seen in the New Testament:
a) It is viewed as being in the process of being built by Christ, and will not be complete until His coming (the Rapture). Each believer is a living stone in the structure (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:20-21; 1 Peter 2:5; Heb. 3:6; 1 Cor. 3:9a).
b) It is viewed as being the habitation of God by the Spirit. (Eph. 2:22; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Cor. 3:9b) In this case, man is seen as having a part in the building of the house. Consequently, bad material has been built into the house, so that it has become "a great house" embracing all professing Christians, both real and false. (1 Cor. 3:9-17; 2 Tim. 2:20; 1 Peter 4:17) Just as every man's house has a particular order; God's house has an order too. It would be out of place for someone to come into another person's house and try to change the order of things. Yet man has come into God's house and has changed the order there. In doing so, he has introduced his own order, which is mere disorder (i.e. denominationalism). The house of God, in this aspect (in the hands of man), is a place of confusion now.
In the first aspect the house of God is viewed from the side of God's sovereignty; in the second aspect it is viewed from the side of man's responsibility.
In the first aspect Christ is the Builder (Matt. 16:18); in the second aspect man is viewed as having a part in the building (1 Cor. 3:11-15).
In the first aspect believers "are" the house (Heb. 3:6; 1 Peter 2:5); in the second aspect believers (and false professing believers) are "in" the house (1 Tim. 3:15; 2 Tim. 2:20).
In the first aspect people become part of the house by believing the gospel; in the second aspect people come into the house by making a profession of faith in Christ (2 Tim. 2:19), or by being baptised (which is the formal means of entering it).
The first aspect is sometimes called "the house of reality;" whereas, the second aspect is sometimes called "the house of profession."
In the first aspect of the house, the Spirit of God dwells "in" believers (John 14:17; Acts 2:4); in the second aspect the Spirit of God dwells both "in" and "with" [or among] believers (John 14:17; Acts 2:2; 1 Cor. 3:16-17).
Since the Holy Spirit dwells in the house, false professing Christians who are also there become "partakers of the Holy Spirit," without actually being indwelt by the Spirit (Heb. 6:4). Compare also Exodus 30:25-29 with Exodus 30:30.
3) A Temple—Holiness.
The Church, as a temple, is closely connected to the Church being the house of God. It perhaps could be regarded as part of the house aspect of things. There is this difference, however—the Church as the house of God is responsible to maintain God's order; whereas, the Church as the temple of God is more connected with maintaining God's holiness (1 Cor. 3:16-17; Eph. 2:21; 2 Cor. 6:16-18; 1 Peter 1:14-16). "The temple of God is holy" (1 Cor. 3:17).
4) A Flock—The Gathering Centre.
The Church, viewed as a flock, refers to it as being a company of Christians who gather around Christ their Centre [the Shepherd] for worship and ministry. (John 10:16—J. N. Darby Translation, John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28-30; 1 Peter 5:2; Matt. 18:20)
5) A Bride—Love and Affection.
The Church, as a bride, is viewed as being the object of Christ's love and affection. He has proved His love for the Church by giving Himself for it (Eph. 5:26-31; 2 Cor. 11:2-3; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9).
6) A Wife—Heirship.
The Church is the “joint-heir” with Christ of the inheritance (Rev. 19:7-9 21:9; Rom. 8:17; Eph. 1:14; Compare 1 Peter 3:7).
7) A Treasure—Individual Preciousness.
The Church, is viewed in this way as consisting of redeemed individuals, each with a history different from the others, but all equally precious to the Lord Who has bought them (Matt. 13:44).
8) A Pearl—Value & Beauty.
The Church, as a pearl, is viewed as an object of great value and beauty to Christ; formed through the operations of the Spirit in the trials and tribulations of life (Matt. 13:45-46).
9) A Husbandry—Service.
The Church viewed as God's husbandry, is a place where His servants are "labourers together with God" (1 Cor. 3:5-9).
10) An Inn—Care.
The Church viewed as an “inn,” is a place where practical care is exercised toward the needy (Luke 10:30-37).
11) A Candlestick—Local Assembly Privileges.
The Church, viewed as a candlestick, is seen as having been endowed with many local assembly privileges. This makes the Church responsible to the Lord to maintain what He has vouchsafed to it (Rev. 1:12, 20; 3:22). If it should become lax concerning these things, the candlestick could be taken away (Rev. 2:5).
12) A City—Administration.
The Church, as a city, is viewed in its administrative capacity during the coming reign of Christ (Millennium). The Church will be associated with Christ in the place of governing the world (Rev. 21:10–22:5). It will also transmit the glories of Christ to the millennial world.
B. Anstey