3)We are the Body of Christ. In Ephesians 1:23 we read that the Church is the Body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:27 we read: “Ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof”; in 1 Corinthians 10:17, “We, who are many, are...one body.” These verses state that we are the Body of Christ, not that each one of us individually forms the Body of Christ. We are joined together to become the mystical Body of Christ, and we as individuals are members of this Body. The Body, therefore, can best express our corporate unity.
The point to be stressed in what we have said regarding ourselves as the Bride of Christ is that the Church came out from Christ. When we refer to ourselves as the Body of Christ, the point to be emphasized is that the Church and Christ are one. Just as Eve came out from Adam and was presented to Adam to become one flesh with Adam, so also the Church came out from Christ and is presented to Christ to become one with Him. Christ is the Head; the Church is the Body. The two cannot be separated. The Church itself is one; the Church and Christ are also one. This demonstrates even more clearly that what God desired for His Son was a corporate body, not a number of separate individuals.
In summary, we see five points in God’s plan: a) God desired to work Himself into man and unite Himself with man so that man would resemble Him. b) God is in His Son. Therefore, when He wanted to work Himself into man, He wanted to work His Son into man; when He wanted man to be united with Himself, He wanted man to be united with His Son. c) The people whom God wanted to be united with His Son are the brethren of His Son, those who share the sonship with His Son and together with His Son express Him. d) This group of people is the Bride of His Son, a part of His Son, taken out from His Son. e) This Bride not only comes out from His Son, but is presented to His Son to become the Body of His Son. When this Body appears, the plan of God has been fulfilled. To put it quite simply, the plan of God is to have a Body for His Son, and this Body is the Church. The Church is the Body of Christ; it is the sole object of God’s plan. God’s creation is for this; His redemption is for this; His work throughout all generations is for this. When this purpose has been accomplished, the Body of Christ will appear, the Bride will appear, and the brethren will appear. It is then that God’s desire will be satisfied. His goal reached, and His plan fulfilled. Thus if we want to know the Body, we must know the plan of God.
Secondly, we shall consider the creation of God. We have already said that God’s heart desire is to get a group of people who will have His life and express Him. For this purpose He brought His creation into being. But when God created man, He did not create many men, but only one- Adam. If God could create one man, He could have also created thousands of men. Why then did He not at the same time create thousands of men, instead of creating only Adam and letting thousands of men come out from him? The reason is that the thought of God is only one.
Since the beginning of history, the number of human beings is countless, but since they have all come out from Adam, in God’s sight there is only one man. To God there is but one man in the universe, not millions or billions of men. We can prove this by 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47. In this passage the Apostle speaks of Adam and Christ as “the first man” and “the second man.” This second man is also “the last” one. Therefore, from the creation till now, in God’s eyes there is only one other man besides Christ. In order to complete His purpose and fulfill His plan, God created only one man. It was not in God’s thought to impart Himself to many individuals. His desire was to impart Himself to one corporate man and to express Himself through this one corporate man.
This same principle also holds true in the creation of woman. In the creation, God made only one woman, that is Eve. We know that Eve represents the Church. He made only one man, which means that He desires only one corporate man to become His image. He created only one woman, which means that God desires only one corporate man, which is the Church, to become the Bride of Christ. In conclusion, in God’s creation His thought is one, and this oneness is the Body which we speak about.
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