The consummation of the believers’ experience of the grace of God in His economy is the church as the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:6-8, 22-23). How is the Body of Christ produced? We were fallen sinners, but Christ came and shed His blood to redeem us back into Himself. Christ is the sphere and element of our salvation. The precious blood of Christ redeemed us back into Himself as the sphere and element. In Christ we enjoy His element, and with His element we have been made God’s precious possession. Ephesians 1:22-23 shows us that the power that God caused to operate in Christ raised Him from the dead that He might transcend the world and ascend to the heavenlies, being seated on the right hand of God, crushing the enemy, having all things subjected under His feet, and thus being given to be the Head over all things. Such power is “to the church,” that is, transmitted to the church. The church as His Body receives the transmission of this power. Since the Head has this power, the Body also receives the transmission of this power. It is in this way that the Body of Christ is produced.
The church is the organism which God in His economy intends to obtain for the Divine Trinity. If today the glory of the bride, the holy city, is manifested, that is the appearing of the divine organism.
The Body of Christ is the ultimate goal of God’s creation of man in His image and His intention for man to take Him as life. This was the ultimate goal in Genesis 2. Genesis 2 shows us that after man was created in the image of God, God put man in front of the tree of life that man might take in God’s life, signified by the tree of life. Thus, man would have God’s image and God’s life to live out God and become His organism. However, six thousand years have gone by, and to this day God has not obtained His ultimate goal.
The Body of Christ is the final purpose of the law of God in His economy in guarding God’s chosen people and bringing them to Christ. Even the law of God in His economy was in expectation of the final purpose—the Body of Christ. Although God used the law to expose people, it was with the expectation that the law would give way to grace and attain the final purpose through grace. Otherwise, why would the law keep God’s chosen people under its custody and serve as their conductor to bring them to Christ as grace? The law has a positive function before God, and that is to bring us to Christ, to grace. This was David’s experience. When we read Psalm 51, a psalm of his confession of sin, we can see that he knew grace and was clear concerning grace to a considerable extent. Who brought him to grace? It was the law. Originally, he appreciated the law, delighted in the law, and was confident that he could keep the law. At that time he did not know himself, but the law came and exposed his sinful nature and evil deeds. After being rebuked by God, he repented and was brought to grace.