Concerning the matter of life, I believe the Spirit of God has shown us some light in the preceding chapters to see the life in us and what it wants to produce in us. In this chapter we will look at the matter of the church. Today, regardless of who they are, everyone feels that the church is a great thing. Consequently, the matter of the church is a great subject.
We must know the church, which is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). I believe that when many saints first read about the Body of Christ, they feel uncertain about the meaning of the church being the Body of Christ.
There are many different thoughts about the church. Some people say that a chapel where Christians meet is the church, some people say that any organization or group in Christianity is the church, and some people even think that an evangelical group or a missionary organization is the church. According to man’s natural thought, the church refers to either a building, chapel, organization, group, or denomination. These interpretations come from man’s concept, not from the Bible. The Bible never speaks of these things. The church is spiritual, high, and even mysterious (5:32; 1 Tim. 3:15-16); therefore, the church is not merely a building, a chapel, or a Christian organization, group, or denomination.
The Bible clearly speaks of the church as the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). This word may be difficult for us to understand, but if we apply it to a human body and consider it from the perspective of the human body, we will see something. For example, when we look at a brother, we see his body and his head, and by looking at him, we can understand a little more about the church as the Body of Christ.
When we look at the brother, we see his body and his head. This reveals two significant things. First, the body is the brother’s person; it is he himself. Second, his head and his body have the same life; the two are just one. No one would ever think that he has one life and that his body has a different life. Everyone can clearly see that the body and the person have one life. Truly speaking, his body is a part of him. He has two parts—the head and the body. These two parts together, that is, his head with his body, make him a complete person. Sometimes when we take pictures, we accidentally capture only the head or half of the body. Typically we do not like such photographs. In a normal condition, there is one complete life when the head and the body are joined together.
We are clear that a person has only one life. The life in the body is the life in the head, and also the life in the head is the life in the body. The two are one. This is also true of the mysterious relationship between Christ and the church; Christ is the Head of the church, and the church is the Body of Christ. The two are complete in one life. The life in the Head is also the life in the Body. The life in the Body is also the life in the Head; in fact, it is the life of the Head. Please remember that the church as the Body of Christ means that the life of Christ is the life of the church. Christ and the church have not only the same life but one life. The two lives are not only the same, but they are one as well. Christ’s life is in the church, and the life of the church is Christ’s life. The two have one life, which is Christ Himself.
The body and head of a person are joined together; nevertheless, they are not two but one. Similarly, the church as the Body of Christ means that the church and Christ are joined together; the two are one. Ephesians 5:31-32 speaks of a husband and wife becoming one flesh, signifying that Christ and the church are one body. The church is “bone of Christ’s bones” and “flesh of Christ’s flesh” (cf. Gen. 2:23); the church and Christ are one. We need to keep these references firmly in mind, because from them we know where the church comes from, what the church is, what the church should be called, and what the church should do.
Hence, we can boldly declare that the church is not only the Body of Christ but that the church is Christ (1 Cor. 12:12). When we see a brother and touch his body, we say, “This is Brother So-and-so”; we do not say, “This is Brother So-and-so’s body.” His body is not merely his body; the body is the brother himself because his body is a part of him. In the same way, the church as the Body of Christ means that the church is a part of Christ. The church is Christ because the church and Christ have one life; thus, the church is Christ.
The church comes from Christ; it is out of Christ. When Peter realized that Christ is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus immediately spoke of the building up of the church (Matt. 16:15-18). This means that as soon as we know Christ, the church is produced. Once we know the living Christ and have His life, the church is produced in us, and the element of the church is in us. This is possible because the church is Christ. When we believe into Christ, His life comes into us, and we have Christ within. When we have Christ, we have the church.
When God first created man, He formed Adam out of clay. God did not create two persons in the beginning; He created only one person. God did not create two persons, a male and a female, and then put them together. God created only one man. This man was perfect and lacked nothing. The man whom God created was called Adam. God opened Adam’s side and took out a rib from which He built a woman, Eve. God brought Eve to Adam, and the two became one (Gen. 2:21-24). This is a type of Christ and the church in the Bible.
God took clay from the earth and molded it into a man, and He called the man Adam, who was a complete person. Nevertheless, this man was only Adam, a male; there was no female. When God made the woman, He did not create her apart from Adam; instead, God took a rib out of Adam, and this rib became Eve. Then God brought Eve to Adam, and the two became one.
When God became flesh, He became a man. Adam typified Jesus the Nazarene (Rom. 5:14). When the Lord Jesus went to the cross, His side was opened, and blood and water flowed from His side (John 19:34). His redeeming blood and eternal life flowed from Him and entered into us and millions of others, making us the church. The church comes out of Christ and becomes one with Christ. God’s life, which was in Jesus the Nazarene, passed through death and resurrection and entered into us. Those of us who are saved are called the church.
God’s life came into Jesus, and He was called Christ; God’s life also entered into everyone who is saved, and we are called the church. The content of the church and the content of Christ are the same; there is no difference. The life in Jesus the Nazarene is also the life in the church; these two are really one life. The church is out of Christ, produced from Christ, and unto Christ. The church and Christ are one. Hence, the church is out of Christ, unto Christ, and in Christ. The church and Christ are one.