In this chapter I am burdened that we would see the truth of what the church is. We may know that the church is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23a), the fullness of the One who fills all in all (v. 23b), the mystery of Christ (3:4-6), the household of God (2:19), the one new man (v. 15), the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 1:2), and the kingdom of God (Matt. 16:18-19; Rom. 14:17). These are all wonderful definitions of the church, but we need to see that the basic factor of the church is simply Christ. The church is Christ. If the church were not Christ, the church could not be the Body of Christ. Neither could it be the fullness of the One who fills all in all, the mystery of Christ, the household of God, the new man, the testimony of Jesus, or the kingdom of God. All the items of what the church is depend on one basic factor, that is, that the church is Christ Himself.
The head and the body of a human being constitute one person. It is illogical to say that a person consists of only his head and not his body. A complete person includes both the head and the body. However, although many Christians know that the church is the Body of Christ, they do not realize that the church is Christ. They hold the illogical concept that the church is the Body of Christ but that it is not Christ. We would never say that our body is not us. It would be ridiculous to point to someone’s body and say, “This is not So-and-so; this is only his body.” Nevertheless, many Christians unconsciously hold this kind of concept concerning the church as the Body of Christ, thinking that the Body is different from Christ Himself. Perhaps even some of us have thought, “To say that the church is the Body of Christ is right, but to say that the church is Christ may be heretical.” However, this thought is illogical because the fact that the church is the Body of Christ inherently implies that the church is Christ.
The church is Christ because the church is one with Christ. In the preceding chapter we saw that Christ is the vine and that we are the branches. The vine and the branches are one, for the vine includes the branches. Unlike a pine tree, which has a great trunk that shoots up and relatively short branches, a vine does not shoot up but spreads out, having a small trunk and many long branches. A complete vine includes not only the trunk but also all the branches. To say that the church is not Christ is like saying that the branches are not the vine. Therefore, we should not say, “We are merely the branches of the vine, but we are not the vine.” Although we may not say this, this erroneous concept may still be deep within us.
As we pointed out in the preceding chapter, we are one spirit with the Lord. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” The spirit mentioned in this verse is a mingled spirit, a compound spirit, including not only the divine Spirit but also our human spirit. This spirit is not an individual spirit but a corporate spirit, including Christ and all of us. Because we and Christ are one spirit, it is not wrong to say that we are Christ.
The apostle Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). If we were to compose this word today, we would probably say, “For to me, to live is a branch of Christ.” We would compose this very carefully because if we wrote what Paul wrote, we might be condemned for being too bold or even for blaspheming. Paul could say this because he was a branch of Christ, and a branch of a vine is a part of the vine. It is not something other than the vine itself. We too are branches of Christ, the true vine, and as branches of Christ we too are Christ.
Some may argue with me, saying, “Brother Lee, you are too frank. You should not say that you are Christ. You must speak more carefully. You should say only that you are a part of Christ.” My answer to such persons is that a part of Christ is Christ; thus, anyone who is a part of Christ is Christ. Every part of my physical body is me. If my finger could speak, it would not need to be careful and cautious, saying, “I am not Witness Lee; I am only a part of Witness Lee.” If my finger and every other part of my body said this, there would be no Witness Lee but only parts of Witness Lee. Even my head would not be me but would be only a part of me. This again shows that we may not accurately know the truth concerning the church. We need to see that the church is simply Christ.