From Ephesians chapters one, two, and three, we have seen one vision after another. These visions conclude with all the riches of God, which can be considered as the peak. However, this is only the first half of the book. After these chapters, there are still chapters four, five, and six. Now, from chapter four, we will consider the divine dispensing in the divine economy from another angle. This angle is very high, particular, and practical. It shows us that the divine dispensing begins with the Triune God and ends with us, the believers. This is very meaningful.
In Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul first refers to the one Body, the one Spirit, and the one hope of our calling. Then he refers to the one Lord, the one faith, and the one baptism. Finally, he refers to the one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. This is the Triune God. Verse 4 concerns God the Spirit, verse 5 concerns God the Son, and verse 6 speaks of God the Father. Moreover, each Person is mentioned with some qualifications. With the Spirit, there are three points: one Body, one Spirit, and one hope. With the Son, there are also three points: one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. With the Father, there are also three points: over all, through all, and in us all.
In Matthew 28:19 the Lord Jesus commissioned the disciples to go and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In this verse the Father is mentioned first, then the Son, and the Spirit last. But in Ephesians 4:4-6, the order is reversed-the Spirit is mentioned first, then the Son, and the Father last. At the beginning, when we baptize people into the Triune God, the Father is first, because the Father is the source. Through baptism, people are baptized into the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ does not begin with the Father, but with the Spirit. When we are baptized, we are baptized into the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Now in the Body of Christ, we are experiencing the Spirit, the Son, and the Father. In one case the order runs from top to bottom unto the result. In the other case the order runs from bottom to top unto the source. Today, the church as the Body of Christ is in the Holy Spirit. If we are not in the Holy Spirit, there is no church. The church is in the Holy Spirit. Only when we are in the Holy Spirit can we be free from the flesh, and only then is there the church.
Ephesians 4:4 says, “One Body and one Spirit.” This Spirit is the essence of the Body of Christ. An essence is more intrinsic than an element. The Spirit is not the element of the Body, but the essence of the Body. If we do not have the Spirit within us, we are not the church. We are the church because we have the Spirit within us. The totality of the Spirit in you, in me, and in all the believers is the church.
The divine dispensing of the Spirit as the essence of the Body of Christ produces a glorious hope in all the members of the Body of Christ, and this hope is that our bodies will be redeemed, that is, glorified (Rom. 8:23-25). Our whole being will enter into the divine glory. At present, our bodies have not yet entered into glory. But we have the hope that one day, when the Lord comes, our body of the old creation will be brought into the glory of the new creation. In other words, the Spirit within us is constantly sealing us, nourishing us, and saturating us. When He has fully saturated us, we will be glorified. At that time our hope will become a reality. Our body will no longer be a body of flesh; it will be a spiritual body that is permeated with the Spirit.
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