Concerning the church as the counterpart of Christ, we have seen that Christ and the church are a great mystery, that the church is the bride and that Christ is the Bridegroom, that Christ and His counterpart will be married at His coming back, that the counterpart of Christ will be consummated in the New Jerusalem, and that Christ and His counterpart will be a couple in eternity. We have also seen that, as the counterpart of Christ, the church is typified by Eve as the counterpart of Adam, being a part of Adam, having come out of Adam, having returned to Adam, being one with Adam, possessing the life and nature of Adam, having the image and form of Adam, and becoming Adam’s counterpart as his complement. In this message we shall cover further aspects of the church as Christ’s counterpart.
In Ephesians 5:25b Paul says that Christ “loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” This reveals that Christ is a church-loving Christ. Galatians 2:20 says that Christ loved me and gave Himself for me. Although we may pay attention to this verse, we may not also pay attention to Ephesians 5:25, where we are told that Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for the church. Christ gave Himself on the cross not just for the believers individually but for the church. When we think about Christ’s death, we often consider ourselves individually. Yes, Christ loved us and died on the cross for each one of us. However, His death was mainly for the church.
Christ’s loving the church and giving Himself up for her was for redemption and for the impartation of life. According to John 19:34, blood and water came out of the Lord’s pierced side. The blood was for redemption, and the water was for the impartation of life so that the church might come into existence. In Ephesians 5:25 we have the church, the counterpart of Christ, coming into existence through Christ’s loving her and giving Himself up for her.
The purpose of Christ in giving Himself up for the church and in giving Himself to the church is to sanctify her (Eph. 5:26a). To be sanctified is not only to be separated from what is common but also to be saturated with the element of Christ. Hence, one aspect of sanctification is to be separated positionally, to undergo a change of position. Another aspect of sanctification is to become holy dispositionally by having Christ dispensed into us. Therefore, as Christ sanctifies the church, He not only separates her to Himself from anything common but also saturates her with Himself that she may be His counterpart. This is accomplished by His cleansing her with the washing of the water in the Word (v. 26b).
Ephesians 5:25-27 is actually one long sentence. In these verses Paul is saying that husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. He did this that He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of water in the Word, in order that He might present the church to Himself glorious, without spot, wrinkle, or any such things. Christ’s purpose in loving the church and in giving Himself up for the church was to sanctify her by the washing of the water in the Word. Sanctifying is by cleansing, cleansing is by washing, washing is by water, and water is in the Word.
Having given Himself up for the church and to the church, Christ is now sanctifying the church, not only separating the church to Himself but also saturating the church with Himself.
After the church has come into existence, the church needs Christ’s sanctifying. The process of sanctification includes saturation, transformation, growth, and building up. Although sanctification includes separation, the main aspect of sanctification is saturation. The church needs to be saturated with all that Christ is. Saturation is accompanied by transformation, growth, and building. Through such a process of sanctification with all these aspects, the church becomes complete and perfect, the reality of what is typified by Eve in Genesis 2.
Without separation, saturation, transformation, growth, and building, the church cannot be perfected and grow into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). Only through an all-inclusive process of sanctification can the church become complete and attain to the measure of the stature of Christ’s fullness so that Christ can present a perfect church to Himself as His counterpart.
God’s intention in His economy is not to correct us or to improve us. Neither is it His intention to have good people in place of bad people. In the sight of God, it does not matter whether we are good or bad, for the only thing of value in His economy is Christ Himself. Therefore, God’s desire is to work Christ into us. Whether we are good or bad, we need the element of Christ added into us. This involves Christ’s work in sanctifying us, a work that involves the addition of the element of Christ to us. We need to be impressed that sanctification is not a matter of outward behavior or improvement. God desires daily to dispense the element of Christ into our being. It is this element alone that causes us to be sanctified so that we may be the counterpart of Christ for His satisfaction.
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