Now we go on to Ephesians. Ephesians 1:22-23 tells us that the church is the Body of Christ, who is the Head. In 2:21-22 we see that the church is also the temple, the dwelling place, of God. Then in 5:24-25 we are told that the church is the bride, the wife, the counterpart, of Christ. In 5:32 the apostle tells us, “This mystery is great, but I speak with regard to Christ and the church.”
We are also told that we have to be very careful. If we are still childish, if we remain as little children, we will be tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching (4:14). Today in Christianity there are many different winds of teaching blowing all the time to carry people away from Christ the Head and from the truth. Therefore, we must hold to truth (4:15). Truth is God Himself in Christ. To hold to truth is to hold to God, to hold to Christ, and to forget about all the different teachings and doctrines that blow all the time to carry people away from the experience of Christ the Head. Therefore, we have to grow to become a full-grown man and to have the full knowledge of the Son of God. Then we will be one, not in doctrines but in the faith (v. 13). This faith is the faith that saves us. Doctrines, such as the different doctrines concerning rapture, have nothing to do with our salvation. Whether you believe in pre-tribulation, post-tribulation, or partial rapture does not matter for your salvation. As long as you believe that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God incarnated to be a man who died on the cross, resurrected on the third day, and is now the living Lord, you are saved.
Today some people insist on foot-washing, some insist on head covering, and some insist on greeting one another with a holy kiss. All these things become winds of teachings among Christians, blowing them away from Christ. Regardless of whether or not you wash others’ feet, as long as you hold to truth, to Christ as the Head, the supply, the center, and the fountain, and as long as you experience Christ in a living way, all other things can be dropped. Do not forget that the church is the Body of Christ, and we are the members of the Body. We need to hold to Christ to keep ourselves in contact with Christ day by day in living fellowship with Him. This will make us the living, functioning, and growing members of the Body. Then we will be the Body to express Christ in a corporate way. We will be the habitation, the dwelling place, of God for His satisfaction and rest, and we will be the bride, the counterpart, of Christ.
Next we have the Epistle to the Philippians. Philippians is a book dealing with the experience of Christ in different circumstances-in sufferings, in hardships, and in all kinds of persecutions. We can experience Christ in any environment, and if we do, we will keep the oneness of the church. Christ experienced by us is the oneness of the church. We are one in Christ, not in opinions, thoughts, or teachings. If we love the Lord and give up all other things, even the best gifts and teachings, and if we simply contact the Lord and experience Him as everything, we will realize the real oneness among the children of God. The real church life depends only upon the experience of Christ. Among the Philippian believers there were differences of opinions and thinking, so the apostle told them that they needed to experience Christ, to have Christ as their pattern (2:5-11), and to pursue Christ as their goal and gain Him as their prize (3:12-14). If we experience Christ, seek Christ, and follow Christ, we will be one with others. Christ Himself experienced by us is the oneness among the believers.
Following Philippians, we have the Epistle to the Colossians. Colossians is a short yet wonderful book, a book full of Christ, revealing Christ as everything. Christ is the image of God (1:15a). Christ is the embodiment of God, the One in whom God’s fullness dwells (1:19; 2:9). Christ is the Firstborn of all creation, the Head of the church, and the Firstborn from the dead. As such, He must have the first place, that is, the preeminence, in all things (1:15b, 18). Christ is the mystery of God (2:2). Furthermore, Christ is our food, our drink, and our feast, and Christ is the new moon and the Sabbath (2:16). Christ is the reality of all positive things as shadows (v. 17). Christ is all and in all in the church, the Body, the new man (3:10-11). Christ is our life (v. 4), and Christ in us is the hope of glory (1:27). Hence, Christ is everything to us.
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