Christ is the peace, love with faith, and grace in our experience in order that we may love Him in incorruptibility, that is, in all that the church is. For the proper church life we need to love the Lord in incorruptibility, that is, in and according to all the crucial things revealed and taught in the six chapters of this book, such as the church as the Body of Christ, the new man, the economy of God’s mystery, the oneness of the Spirit, reality and grace, light and love, and the items of God’s armor. All these things are incorruptible because they are true, genuine, and real. For the sake of the church, our love toward the Lord must be in these incorruptible things.
In 1 Timothy 1:17 Paul says that God is incorruptible, and in 2 Timothy 1:10 he says that the Lord “nullified death and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel.” First Corinthians 15 tells us that in resurrection the corruptible things will become incorruptible (vv. 50-53). To love the Lord in incorruptibility means to love Him in the new creation. All the things of the old creation are corruptible. This is proved by Romans 8 where we see that the whole creation is groaning under the slavery of corruption (vv. 21-22). Everything of the old creation is corruptible, whereas the new creation is not. We must love the Lord in the new creation, not in the old creation.
Ephesians 6:24 is the conclusion of the entire book. In the six chapters of Ephesians Paul reveals to us the incorruptible things: Christ, the church, and all the positive items related to Christ and the church. We must love the Lord in these incorruptible things. We should love the Lord according to the Father’s choosing and predestinating us unto sonship; we should love the Lord according to the Son’s redemption; we should love the Lord according to the sealing and pledging of the Spirit; we should love the Lord according to the hope of God’s calling, according to the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and according to the surpassing greatness of His power which made Christ the Head over all things to the church; and we should love the Lord according to Christ’s resurrection which made us alive, resurrected us, and seated us in the heavenlies.
One of the incorruptible things revealed in Ephesians is the Body of Christ as the embodiment and expression of the processed Triune God (4:4-6). If we would love the Lord Jesus in incorruptibility, we must love Him according to the reality of the Body of Christ as the embodiment and expression of the Triune God. This means that our being should be mingled with the Triune God; otherwise, our love for the Lord is corruptible.
We should not love the Lord in the way of corruption; that is, we should not love the lord in a natural way, in the way of the old creation. Rather, we should love the Lord in the way of the new creation. For example, if we would love the Lord in incorruptibility in the matter of financial giving, we should not let our right hand know what our left hand is doing (Matt. 6:3). To give in the way of making a show is in the old creation. Since we are the kingdom people, our righteous deeds should be kept secret as much as possible (vv. 4, 6, 18). Whatever we do in our spirit under the heavenly rule solely in order to please our Father must not be interfered with by our flesh in its lusting for man’s glory. We as the kingdom people should live by the Father’s divine life and walk according to our spirit. To love the Lord in incorruptibility is to love Him in our mingled spirit, our spirit regenerated, renewed, and indwelt by the Spirit of God. If we do anything in our flesh, it is done in corruption.
To do things in the way of not making a display or a show of oneself is in the new creation. When we give a testimony in a meeting, we should try our best not to make a show. If we testify in order to make a show or a display, we will function in the old creation, that is, function in corruption. The Lord Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for desiring to make a show; whatever they did, they did so to be seen by men (23:5a). In Matthew 6:16-18 the Lord also said, “When you fast, do not be like the sullen-faced hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so that they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, They have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” This indicates that we should not make a show in anything we do; otherwise, we will be serving in corruption.
Regrettably, many Christians love the Lord concerning the church in corruption. Both the organization and the practices of the denominations are corruptible things, for they are of the old creation. If anyone loves the Lord yet serves Him according to the ways of the denominations, this is in corruption.
In Ephesians 1:22-23 Paul speaks of the church as the Body of Christ, “the fullness of the One who fills all in all.” To be sure, the church in these verses does not refer to any religious organization. The church as the Body of Christ is incorruptible, but religious organizations are corruptible. To stand on the genuine ground of oneness, the oneness of the Body of Christ, is incorruptible. In contrast, to take any ground other than that of the unique oneness of the Body of Christ kept and expressed in the local churches (Rev. 1:11) is to take the ground of corruption. Instead of loving the Lord in corruptibility, we should love Him in incorruptibility, that is, in a pure way that can stand forever.
Paul concludes his Epistle according to its contents, because whatever is revealed in this Epistle is incorruptible. The Triune God, His dispensing, and the issue of His dispensing—the church, the Body of Christ, the new man, and the bride—are all incorruptible, whereas all other things in the universe will be corrupted. Paul does not conclude his Epistle by simply saying, “Grace be with everyone.” Rather, he declares, “Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruptibility.” The reason for this is that the condition for receiving grace is that we love the Lord in incorruptibility. If we would receive grace and practice the proper church life, we need to love the Lord in incorruptibility. For the church our love toward the Lord must be incorruptible, immortal, and imperishable. Such a love is genuine and sincere.
Ephesians presents profound matters that are based upon divine, heavenly, and spiritual facts, all of which have been designed by the Father, accomplished by Christ the Son, and applied to us by the Spirit. Although our present experience of Christ may fall short of these deep and marvelous aspects of Christ as revealed in Ephesians, we should all endeavor to experience and enjoy Him in all these aspects.