In this message we shall present a general view of the church as the Body of Christ, paying special attention to the formation of the Body by Christ, the embodiment of the processed Triune God. Then in the following two messages we shall cover the details regarding the Body.
Ephesians 1:22 and 23 reveal that the church is the Body of Christ. “He subjected all things under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.” The church is not an organization but an organic Body constituted of all the believers, who have been regenerated and have God’s life, for the expression of the Head. The Body is the fullness of the Head, and the fullness is the expression of the Head. Christ, as the One who fills all in all, needs the Body to be His fullness. This Body is His church to be His expression.
The church is the Body of Christ, and Christ is the Head of the church (Col. 1:18). Hence, the church and Christ are one Body, the mysterious, universal great man, having the same life and nature. Christ is the life and content of the Body, and the Body is the organism and expression of Christ. As the Body, the church receives everything from Christ; everything of Christ, therefore, is expressed through the church. The two, Christ and the church, are mingled and joined as one, with Christ being the inward content and the church, the outward expression.
Because Christ and the church, the Head and the Body, are one, the formation of the Body is intimately related to Christ in His person as the embodiment of the processed Triune God. Of course, in the New Testament the revelation of Christ’s person is a great matter. Certain aspects of His person are revealed in the words of John the Baptist. First, John declared concerning the Lord, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The term “the Lamb of God” is significant and rather complicated. Because God loves the world, He wanted to do something to take away the corrupting sin from the world so that He could call His chosen people out of the world to be born of Him that He may have a household. All this is related to Christ’s person.
John also told us that the Lord Jesus is not only the Lamb of God but also the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:11). This indicates that the Lord’s baptism is either for eternal life in the Holy Spirit, or for eternal perdition in fire. Those who truly repent and believe in the Lord will be baptized by Him in the Holy Spirit that they may have eternal life. Those who do not repent and believe in Him will be baptized in fire and thereby be cast into the lake of fire for eternal punishment.
In addition to speaking of Christ as the Lamb of God and as the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit and fire, John also referred to Him as the bridegroom. “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice” (John 3:29). The very One who is the Lamb of God and the Baptizer is also the Bridegroom. As the Bridegroom, Christ will have the bride, who is the totality of God’s people ultimately consummating in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2, 9).
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