THAT the Holy Spirit has formed the church in its double character as the house of God (1 Cor. 3:9-179For we are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 10According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 16Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1 Corinthians 3:9‑17)), and -the body of Christ (2 Cor. 12:13-27), no intelligent reader of the word of God can refuse to acknowledge. It is not left for inference, nor is it one of those nice shades of truth which are to be gathered only by the spiritual mind, but it is a direct and explicit revelation from God, and stated in so many words in the passages referred to, and many others in the Epistles of Paul.
The Lord Jesus having accomplished the work of atonement upon the cross, and having glorified God fully as to the question of sin, by bearing its judgment on His own blessed Person, the Holy Spirit was free to come, and make that which was thus sanctified by blood, the habitation of God in Spirit.
The body of Christ and the house of God were at first co-extensive, but soon the latter, under the care of man as a builder, became enlarged beyond its proper dimensions, by the building in of wood, hay and stubble, as in 1 Cor. 3 Now, it has become like a great house as in 2 Tim. 2:2020But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. (2 Timothy 2:20) (compare 1 Tim. 3:1414These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: (1 Timothy 3:14), -_ 15), and embraces all the parties of Christendom that in profession have not absolutely denied the foundations of Christianity, and each and all are responsible to search out in the word, the order of that house, and maintain it in the fear of God. Faith ever gets at the mind of God, and the discord and confusion that exist in the house is no excuse for the neglect of divine order. Jude, who pictures to us the corruption of Christendom and traces the beginning of the evil to the end, does not speak in any terms of discouragement, but the reverse, and whilst assuring of God's care, unfailingly watching over and keeping those who are jealous for His honor and His authority, exhorts us to be building up ourselves on our most holy faith, even if all is in appearance, going from bad to worse, without remedy as to the thing in general. For faith, not the restoration of divine order and holiness is looked for, but the coming of the Lord, whilst if there is faith it will chew itself not by extravagant expressions of love to Christ, but by seeking out the path in which He leads, and for which the Holy Ghost is the power, of obedience to the word and will of God.
Although the house of God on earth has thus become enlarged and corrupted by bad building, and is a different thought to the body of Christ, which can never become greater or less than it ought to be, for it is His work and not man's, yet if I. would maintain the order of the house, or walk in a -way answerable to His mind, I must apprehend the teaching of the word as to the body, as it is that which gives more or less character to the whole.
That " there is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called," is the inspired statement of Eph. 4:44There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; (Ephesians 4:4). Jew or Gentile made alive together with Christ, out of death, have become one new 'man in Him, in the bond which the Spirit forms, and of which He is the power, as of everything else that is Christian. Thus the church is spoken of in scripture as the mystical Christ (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 is presented to us constantly as a body, of which the risen and glorified man Christ Jesus is the Head, and all true believers are the members, and therefore members one of another. As the unity of a man is essentially due to his having one spirit, so the oneness of the head and the members of the body by the Holy Ghost. This is " the Christ" of the verse quoted above.
Participating in a nearness to Him, which no other company of redeemed ones can share, in a relationship as fixed and unalterable as the counsels of God on which all is based, and the perfect work of Christ which gives effect to those counsels, the church is now that to which God has been pleased to reveal the whole of His purposes as to the future for His own glory, and that of His well-beloved Son, in which, as His Eve, the church is called eternally to share. How infinite the present grace which has bestowed such a relationship, on those least deserving of it, and the future joy and glory which in its fullness in the new creation awaits us! Surely we should cherish in our souls a sense of these things, and make the better understanding of our portion and hopes our constant desire and prayer; and this is what the apostle prays for in Eph. 1 as a faithful servant and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and his request there is, that the eyes of the heart might be enlightened in the knowledge of Him. Only as we learn Him do we gain anything truly. If the objects presented to faith are not before the soul, no occupation with one's state will avail, except as discerning that which needs to be judged, which is of all-importance in its place undoubtedly. But take away Christ from before the heart, and the most perfect system of doctrine and order is like a watch without a mainspring; however perfect its mechanism and finish and embellishment, it will not go.
The exhortation founded upon the truth taught in the previous part of the epistle which is given us in Eph. 4 comes from the prisoner of the Lord-one who is in all the circumstances of rejection and hatred by the world, which his peculiar and faithful testimony involved. And who is the only one who so fully answered to the mind of his Master that he could say " follow me," whilst others in their small degree and measure have been and are the exponents of the truth, but all stand put to shame by this faithful servant's path and spirit.
His exhortation to us is to " give diligence to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." In connection with this there are two or three points of importance for us to notice. First in importance is the question, Am I holding the head? (See 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).) It—is of little importance to say, I am holding the truth of the " one body," if I am not " holding the head;" and there is a danger of making the maintenance of ecclesiastical order of more importance than Christ. Whilst he who holds the head will not be negligent of church order and responsibilities; the member, be it hand or foot, or what it may, cannot act in harmony with the rest of the body if its connection with the head is interfered with. Thus are we incapacitated for acting truly according to His mind. Let that be our first aim then, and constant prayer, that He may not be lost sight of in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in whom we are complete-filled full.
Secondly, If I am truly holding the Head, I shall not forget there is that without which, in this aspect at least, the Head would be incomplete-the body. I find then that I am related to all the members of Christ on earth, that they with myself are the objects of His unalterable love and care. For them-for His church, He gave Himself, and upon it He bestows unceasing care, nourishing and cherishing it as His own body. Not despising the lowest member, nor wounding it, but nourishing and cherishing it as Himself, sanctifying and cleansing it with the washing of water by the word, and finally presenting it to Himself without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
This does not argue any indifference to the ways of those who are thus loved. His is a holy love, as His cross and present care and discipline make manifest, and if I turn to the church in another aspect, as the house, I see responsibility maintained to the fullest extent, and His judgment expressed as to all that is unsuited to Him. And whilst it is our privilege to walk with Him, and discern, as having His mind as to what He would have refused, as well as what He approves, yet, because the present exercise is so imperfect, we are taught that we all must give account of ourselves to Him in that day which shall declare every man's work of what sort it is; and then shall each have his praise from God. The pretentious claims of many will be exposed, and the lowly in heart approved, and not great gifts, but the measure in which grace has been the spring of each one's service and activities, will be the thing that He will reward. The lowliest place is open to the humblest of His saints, though they may pass unnoticed and despised among
men. Love and holiness, then, are the two things that are to be what characterize us, answering to the character of the One who has brought us into the place of privilege and responsibility. His love, the spring; the holiness of that love, the character. Anything that is contrary to holiness, or love, will be a hindrance to maintaining the unity of the Spirit.
How suitable then the apostle's words! Not alone the recognition of the one body as a doctrine, as a rallying-point, as a party-cry will suffice. I may not say, " I am of Paul," &c.; but if I say "I am of Christ," it may be in the spirit of the worst sectarianism. If we deny in our hearts to others the privileges of the whole body, by appropriating them exclusively to ourselves, it is the worst spirit of sect. How beautifully the apostle to the Corinthians meets the conflict that grew out of the rival parties they were forming! How he shames them in the faithful love of one who, though an apostle, was not their Lord, but their servant, and who, though as a steward of the mysteries of God, was found faithful, and who " was gentle among them, even as a nurse cherisheth her children." How, accepting no leadership of a party, he shames them with the loving yet faithful words, "Therefore let no man glory in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's;" and he waited patiently for the word of God, which he brought to bear upon them to take effect, before he came with a rod, as he could do, ready to avenge all disobedience, when " your obedience " is come to the full.
This was what the power of God in the apostle brought in for their edification, and not for their destruction.
We are to maintain at all cost the holiness that suits His presence in His house, but we are to do it in love, otherwise no maintenance of the truth of " one body," as we are exhorted here to remember, will save from the spirit of party and sect; " with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, giving diligence to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." In other words, practical grace in our ways, a heart that is kept in the sense of divine love can afford to forbear and forgive all personal wrongs, and seek to overcome thus evil with good, whilst all that concerns the honor of Christ is fully and constantly maintained.
We must remember that the unity of the body is not in our keeping, we neither formed it nor can it be broken by man. The unity of the Spirit can only be maintained by walking in the recognition of the unity so formed, and so conducting ourselves that in us lies no hindrance to its practical maintenance and exhibition. The heart taking in, however feebly, nothing less than the whole church of God, the maintenance of the truth in grace, with patience and forbearance towards those who differ from us, and forgiveness of all personal wrongs, whilst surely the avowal of that forgiveness may await the evidence of repentance. But it is in this unity the Spirit has formed we are to act as integral parts of a great whole, each seeking to fill the place as a member of the body of Christ in which He has set us. For this we surely need much grace and exercise of heart, that we put no stumbling-block in the way of others, nor help to turn over into the enemy's hands those who are the objects of His love; and where we may have done so, the way is open for self judgment and confession to Him and those, whoever they may be, we have wronged.
R. T. G.
The Holy Ghost can reveal nothing to me that is not mine, because it all belongs to me in Christ. We might always walk through the world in the present consciousness that we are the Father's children, loved as Christ is loved.
One of the greatest living sorrows of Jesus was, that there was not a single thing that He said to the disciples that they understood.