Ephesians 4:5 says, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” This reveals that the divine dispensing of the Lord as the element of His Body causes all His members to have a life-union with Him in His divine element through faith, and to have a separating transfer out of Adam and the Adamic world through baptism.
The Lord Jesus is the element that constitutes us to be the Body of Christ. This constituting is carried out first by faith. At one time we had nothing to do with Christ. But one day we heard the gospel, and faith was produced in us. By this faith we believed in the Lord and entered into a life-union with Him. This faith caused us to be joined to the Lord and to His Body, the church. Furthermore, before we believed in the Lord, we were in Adam. By faith, we were transferred from Adam into Christ, but our relationship with Adam was not yet completely severed. Therefore, we needed baptism. Faith brings us into a life-union with the Lord, and baptism terminates our relationship with Adam.
Through one faith and one baptism, we have been joined to Christ and to His Body, the church. In this way, Christ becomes our life, and the church becomes our living. Before we believed in the Lord, we were in the world. By faith, and through baptism, we are joined to Christ and His Body. Through this, our relationship with Adam is terminated, and we are separated from the world. After being joined to the Body, the church life becomes our “world.” If we are not free from Adam, we cannot be free from the world. Adam is the head of the world, just as Christ is the Head of the church. But now, we have believed and are baptized into Christ, and have entered into the church life because the church is the Body of Christ. At the same time, we are separated from Adam and the world of Adam.
Hence, Christ is the element of the church. With Him there is faith and baptism. Through faith, we are joined to Him and to His Body, and today His Body has become our spiritual world. Through baptism we are transferred out of Adam and are separated from Adam and also from Adam’s world. Now the church is in Christ, being in union with Him and with His element, and being transferred out of Adam and Adam’s world.
After we have seen the divine dispensing of the Spirit and the Son to the Body of Christ, we come to the divine dispensing of God the Father. Ephesians 4:6 shows us that the divine dispensing of God the Father to the Body of Christ in His being over all, as the Father’s overshadowing, in His being through all, as the Son’s care and concern, and in His being in all, as the Spirit’s presence, enables all the members of the Body of Christ to experience the Triune God and enjoy His rich presence.
The Father is both our God and our Father. His being our Father means that we are born of Him. His being our God means that we were created by Him. If we were only created by God but not begotten of Him, we are not in the church. By being born of God we enter into a life relationship and an organic union with Him. First, God created us, and then He begot us. Since we are created by God and born of God, our relationship with Him is twofold. First, we are God’s creatures, and He is our Creator. Then, we are God’s children, and He is our Father. If there were no children of God, there would be no church. We in the church have been both created by God and born of God. Thus, we are created as proper human beings and born as children of God. This is the church.
Hence, the essence of the church is the Spirit, the element of the church is Christ, and the source of the church is the Father. The Father who begot us is above us, as the Father’s overshadowing. This is like an eagle overshadowing its young ones, and like a mother covering her children when danger comes. God the Father is also through us, as the Son’s care and concern, and He is in us, as the Spirit’s presence within us. Thus, the Father who is over us, through us, and in us is Himself the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-the Triune God.
What is the church? The church is one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all-this is the church. In the universe there is nothing like the church. How wonderful it is! Ultimately, the church is a group of people who are in union with the Triune God and are mingled with the Triune God. The Triune God and the church are four-in-one. Because the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all one with the Body of Christ, we may say that the Triune God is now the “four-in-one God.” These four are the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and the Body. The Three of the Divine Trinity cannot be confused or separated, and the four-in-one also cannot be separated or confused. This mysterious union and mingling of the Triune God with the Body of Christ is for the purpose of dispensing. The Spirit as the essence of the Body of Christ continually dispenses Himself into us. At the same time, the Lord is constantly dispensing His element into us. Likewise, while the Father is over us, overshadowing us, while He is passing through us, caring for us, and while He is in us, remaining with us, He continually dispenses Himself into us. Thus, the church is the result of the dispensing of the Triune God.
When the Triune God dispenses Himself into His believers, the church as an organism is produced in the universe. Furthermore, the Triune God is continually, little by little, dispensing Himself into all the members as their element, their essence, and their enjoyment.
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