Without the ministry of the Apostle Paul we would lack a clear vision not only of Christ but also of the church.
In the four Gospels the church is mentioned only twice, both times in Matthew. In chapter sixteen the Lord says that He will build His church and that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (v. 18). In chapter eighteen He mentions the local church (v. 17).
Acts describes the beginnings of the church and how churches were established here and there. As for a definition of the church, it is hard to come up with one based upon what we are told in the book of Acts. Our understanding of what the church is would be quite hazy if we had only the book of Acts to draw on.
The Greek word for church, ecclesia, means a called-out assembly or congregation. In olden times when the Greeks in a city gathered together to discuss the affairs of state, that body of citizens was called an ecclesia. God has called out His chosen people and gathered them together: this is the church. Just by understanding the meaning of the word, however, we do not know much about the church.
Paul’s writings are where we find the church presented in the clearest, most thorough way. In this message we shall cover six ways in which Paul describes the church; then in the next message we shall go over another six. All twelve are profound and rich in meaning.
In Ephesians 3:4 the church is called the mystery of Christ.
We saw in our previous message that Christ is the mystery of God (Col. 2:2). No human mentality can understand God, yet Christ fully defines Him. Christ is also His embodiment and expression. We may say that Christ is the story of God. The story of God is the same as the mystery of God.
Just as Christ is the mystery of God, so the church is the mystery of Christ. Christ Himself is a mystery. Through all these twenty centuries no one has come on the scene who can compare with Him. His name has spread throughout the earth. Surely He must be powerful and wise. Yet who can understand Him? He is a mystery. All these years very few have realized who He is. Paul was among these few. Nonetheless, this mystery has a definition, and this definition is the church. The church is the story of Christ. It is His embodiment. To see Christ we must come to the church. Where is God? He is in Christ. Where is Christ? He is in the church. Whoever wants to see God must contact Christ. Whoever would see Christ must come to the church.
Even as we meet here for this training, we are the mystery of Christ! Apparently we are a gathering of people from many different countries. We have here Germans, French, Italians, Spaniards, Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, Dutch, British, Americans, and Orientals. In actuality, however, we are not gathered here as an assortment of different nationalities. We are all part of Christ. We are not like the United Nations! The church is Christ. We are here as Christ. Our nationality is buried. What we are is buried. All that is left in the church is Christ.
As Ephesians 3:2-11 makes clear, the mystery of Christ implies His unsearchable riches. All these riches are found in the church. The church is not the place for American philosophy, Chinese ethics, or German scientific research. There is room only for Christ and His unsearchable riches. Thus, through the church the multifarious wisdom of God is being made known to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies. All this is according to God’s eternal purpose, which He purposed in Christ.
What we are touching here is profoundly great. It is outside the realm of philosophy, religion, or science. This mystery is nothing less than Christ with all His unsearchable riches. I hope you will go over these verses and pray-read them. You need to realize what they say not by your mental ability but by revelation. This revelation comes to your spirit, not to your mind. If you exercise your spirit and pray over these verses, you will see this mystery: the mystery of Christ, which is the church, containing His unsearchable riches and making known God’s wisdom according to His eternal purpose.
The church is also His Body (Eph. 1:22-23). Only in Paul’s writings do we find the church described as the Body of Christ. This term is not found in the Gospels nor in Acts.
The human body is a marvel. Medical students spend years learning how it is put together. After such a comprehensive study, they surely must admit that some mighty Being is behind this universe. There can be no other reasonable explanation for all its intricacies.
The church is even more wonderful. It is a Body for Christ. Christ has a Body. Some Bible teachers think that the Body of Christ is a metaphor, a figure of speech, to help us understand what the church is. I used to teach that myself. The more I studied the Bible, however, the more I realized that the Body of Christ is not a mere figure of speech. It is a fact and a reality.
A body is a living organism. It is not like this stand, which was made of pieces of wood put together in a certain way. A body is not made by attaching bones together; that result would be a lifeless skeleton. Every part of the human body is organic; it has life. Our teeth are organic; only false teeth have no life. Our ears are organic. I knew a brother who had a false ear; he could take it off. His own ear had been removed because of cancer. That prosthetic ear was not organic. My glasses are not organic. They are replacing the lenses that were removed from my eyes when I had surgery for cataracts. Those original lenses in my eyes were organic; these that I wear now have no life whatever.
There is deep significance in the church as the organic Body of Christ. In Christianity today there are many false teeth, false limbs, and mechanical motions! The impression is that of a robot, made of wood or steel. When a living person stands, or raises his arm, or bends, all his actions stem from life. He is not a mechanical device put together to seem human. He is living! So is the church! It is Christ’s Body to express Him in a living way. There is no need to perform. This organism is the way it is because of life. The way the brothers and sisters are should be the result of life, not of a performance. The Body of Christ is His expression.
Notice from these verses (Eph. 1:22-23) that Christ has been made “Head over all things to the church, which is His Body.” The church is one with Christ, sharing and enjoying His headship. He has been made Head over all, and as His Body we are one with Him, enjoying His headship.