Through the baptism in the Spirit, by being baptized into the Triune God, the believers were put together to form the Body of Christ, joined to Him as the Head. Christ is the Head and we are His Body, joined together to be the great universal man. The New Testament tells us that the exalted Christ has been given to be the Head over all things (Eph. 1:22). He is the Head over the entire universe. He is the Head over the earth, over the earthly governments, and over all the rulers. Hence, He is the King of kings, the Ruler of the rulers, and the Lord of lords (Rev. 1:5; 17:14; 19:16). He is not only the Head over all things, but He is also the Head over all things “to the church.” His government is to the church that it may be carried out through the church. The Head executes His government to the church and through the church to reach every part of the earth. In God’s government, His exalted Christ is the Head, and the church is the Body of this Head. The Head cannot do anything without the church because the Head executes everything through the Body. Christ as the exalted Head rules over and governs the entire world through the church.
Do not misunderstand my word to mean that the church must get involved in politics. Once the church gets involved in politics, the church loses its nature as the Body of Christ and becomes no church. History tells us that when the church became involved with politics it turned into the Roman Catholic Church, which is no church in reality. When the Bible tells us that the exalted Christ as the Head is executing His governmental administration through the church which is His Body, it means that the church stands with Him. He is executing the divine administration on the throne in the heavens, and His Body is standing on this earth as a universal man, cooperating with Him, executing the divine administration throughout the entire world. This is above all the politics. This is to rule over the earth with the Head in the heavenlies with the divine power.
The history of the world throughout the past twenty centuries shows us that actually there was an invisible ruler above the scene. (See The World Situation and God’s Move published by Living Stream Ministry.) This invisible Ruler above the scene actually is ruling over the entire earth. Who was ruling over the earth during the period of the Roman Empire? Jesus Christ. This ascended Christ was ruling over all the Caesars, and later over Napoleon, and over all the rulers of the earth. Today He still is the Ruler of the kings of the earth. All the presidents, kings, and prime ministers are under this unique Ruler. He is executing His government through the church, His Body. His ruling is not merely behind the scene, but above the scene. The worldly people and even the worldly historians do not realize this. Their eyes are only on the world rulers and the world political situation. They do not have the spiritual view to see that the world situation is under the Head with His Body. The church should not be involved with any politics, but the church as the Body of the Head is used by the Head to carry out His heavenly ministry on this earth. The direction of the situation of the world today depends upon how the genuine church, the proper church, is proceeding on this earth.
In Revelation, the all-inclusive and consummated Spirit, who was likened to the breath for life and to the wind for power, becomes the seven Spirits (Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6), which are the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne of God (Rev. 4:5) to carry out God’s administration. These seven Spirits are the lamps on the seven lampstands. The seven lampstands are the seven churches holding the lamps, which are the seven Spirits as the lamps of fire burning before the throne to carry out God’s administration. Such a picture shows us that the exalted Christ on the throne as the Head is executing God’s government through the church by the seven Spirits. When Christ ascended to the heavens, He was authorized to be the Ruler of this universe. In Revelation He is revealed as the One Who has the authority to open the seals so that God’s administration in its entirety can be carried out on this earth (5:2-5, 9; 6:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12; 8:1). The ascended, exalted Christ carries out His administration by the seven Spirits as the lamps of fire through the churches as the lampstands.
Whenever the saints on this earth, representing the Body of Christ, pray about the situation of this earth, the throne in the heavens immediately takes action to perform the things on this earth to carry out God’s administration (Rev. 8:3-5). Christ as the Head sitting on the throne is executing, and the churches are standing on this earth holding the seven Spirits to carry out God’s administration. In the Gospels the Spirit is likened to breath, in Acts the same Spirit is likened to wind, and in Revelation the same Spirit is likened to fire. On this earth today nearly everything is carried out by fire. Electricity is for burning and gas is for burning. Airplanes and automobiles cannot move if they do not burn some type of fuel. Even atomic power involves a type of burning. If there were no burning, the moving on this earth would be severely limited. The all-inclusive Spirit is breath to us for life, wind to us for power, and He is also the fire for us to carry out God’s administration in God’s move.