On the day of Pentecost, the ascended Christ on the throne poured Himself out as the Spirit of power upon these one hundred twenty believers. Thus, the one hundred twenty disciples passed through three stages: first, they were brought back to God and baptized into Him; second, the resurrected Christ as the Spirit of life was breathed into them; and third, the ascended Christ as the Spirit of power was poured out upon them. Within, they had the resurrected Christ as life; and without, they had the ascended Christ as power. They had the resurrected Christ as their inward content, and they had the ascended Christ as their outward equipment. When they reached that point, they became the church. This is the pattern of the producing of the church. The church is a group of believers who have been brought back to God and baptized into Him, who have had the resurrected Christ as the Spirit of life breathed into them to be their content, and who also have the ascended Christ poured out upon them as their power and equipment. Within, such a group of believers has Christ as life; and without, they have Christ as power. Therefore, they are the church. The principle is still the same today. Wherever there is the church, there is certainly a group of believers who have been brought back to the Triune God and baptized into Him, who have Christ within them as their life, and who have Christ upon them as their equipment.
We must apply all these matters to our situation. Perhaps you are meeting in your locality with a group of Christians. Have you all been brought back to God and baptized into Him? Do you have the resurrected Christ within you as the Spirit of life to be your life and content? Do you have the ascended Christ, the Christ enthroned in the heavens, the One who is Lord of all, poured out upon you to be your power and equipment? If you have all this, then you can proclaim to the universe that you are the church.
The church is not a group of Christians meeting together in a ritualistic way. Neither is it a group of believers sighing and groaning about their condition and trying to make themselves holy and righteous. What kind of Christian are you? Are you one who does not pray, sing, or shout, but who constantly sighs, groans, and tries to become holy, clean, and pure? The church is not composed of this kind of Christian. The church is made up of Christians who are praising, singing, and declaring that they are in the Triune God, that they have the resurrected Christ within them, and that they have the ascended Christ upon them. We have no time for sighing and groaning. Rather, our time is for singing and praising the Lord. This is the church against which the gates of Hades cannot prevail. Some may say that we are too proud in saying that we are such a church. I do not care for this criticism. I only care for such a praising, shouting, declaring church. Where are we today? We are in the Triune God! What do we have within us? We have the resurrected Christ within us as our life and content! What do we have upon us? We have the ascended Christ upon us as our power and equipment! Therefore, we are the church.
The Bible reveals that the church is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; 1 Cor. 12:12-13). The church can be the Body of Christ only by being constituted with those who are in the Triune God, who have Christ in them as their content, and who have Christ upon them as their equipment. Consider your physical body. Anything that does not have your blood, your life, and your nature cannot be part of your body. A sculptor may fashion a replica of your body out of wood and then paint it to match your coloring. Would you admit that this replica is actually your body? Of course not. Rather, you would say, “This is not my body. Cast it into the fire and burn it. To say that such a thing is my body is an insult to me. My body is just part of me. It has my blood, my nature, and my life.” Just as our body is part of us, so Christ’s Body, the church, is part of Him. First Corinthians 12:12 says, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is the Christ” (Gk.). Christ is not only the Head, but also the Body. Because we are members of the Body, we are part of Christ.