Just as the members of our body are for the body, not for the members themselves, so we have become Christians fort he church. Without the body, the members have no meaning. In the same principle, without the church, we Christians have no purpose. Therefore, as Christians we must be for the church.
In Galatians 3:27 and 28 Paul says that as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ and that we are all one in Christ Jesus. This oneness is the church. The church is the oneness in the Triune God of all those who are mingled with God.
The oneness in the Triune God is revealed in a full way in John 17. In John 17:21 the Lord Jesus prayed, “That they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us.” Here in this oneness there is no place for the flesh, sin, naturalness, or worldliness. In this oneness there is room only for the proper humanity mingled with the Triune God.
Some may say that we do not have the proper humanity because of the fall. I agree. But through the redemption of Christ God has recovered us and uplifted our fallen humanity. In Christ’s resurrection our humanity has been uplifted. This resurrected and uplifted humanity is now mingled with the Triune God. This mingling is the very element of the church. In the proper church life there is no culture, religion, or worldliness. The church, on the contrary, is composed of the proper humanity, the humanity created by God and uplifted by Christ, mingled with the Triune God. This is the entity God planned to have in eternity past for eternity future.
The book of Ephesians, which deals especially with the church, is a miniature of the whole Bible. This is proved by what this book includes. Firstly, as we have seen, this book speaks of the purpose of the ages, the eternal purpose of God. Secondly, it mentions God’s creation. Ephesians 3:9 speaks of the “dispensation of the mystery, which from the ages has been hidden in God, Who created all things.” There is a relationship between creation and the church, for God created all things for the church.
God’s intention in His creation of all things, including man, was that man would be mingled with God to produce the church. Zechariah 12:1 says that the Lord stretched forth the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him. This indicates that the heavens are for the earth, that the earth is for man, and that man with the human spirit is for God. God’s marvelous creation, focused on man, is for the purpose of producing the church. Therefore, Ephesians speaks of the creation of all things.
This book also refers a number of times to the human spirit. In 1:17, Paul prays that the Father of glory would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him. What is needed for the church life is not a mind that is naturally keen, but a spirit of wisdom and revelation.
In 2:22 Paul speaks of the human spirit again: “In Whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” This verse indicates that God’s dwelling place is in our spirit. This dwelling place is God’s building, the Body of Christ. Hence, the spirit is the very place to have the church life. If we would be in the church as God’s building, we must be in our spirit.
In 3:5 Paul points out that the mystery of Christ “has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit.” The hidden mystery is revealed to the apostles and prophets, not in the mind, but in their spirit, which has been regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. The inner man in verse 16 refers to this spirit. Our inner man, our spirit regenerated by the Spirit of God and indwelt by Him, needs to be strengthened with power through the Spirit so that Christ may make His home in our hearts.
In 4:23 Paul goes on to speak further about the human spirit: “And are renewed in the spirit of your mind.” The spirit here is the human spirit mingled with the Holy Spirit. When this mingled spirit spreads into our mind, it becomes the spirit of our mind. Then our mind is under the control of our spirit. This renewing spirit is necessary for us to put off the old man and to put on the new man, which is the church life.
In 5:18 Paul gives the exhortation, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled in spirit.” In our regenerated spirit we need to be filled with Christ unto all the fullness of God (3:19).
Finally, in 6:18 Paul speaks of “praying at every time in spirit.” Whenever we pray, we need to pray in our spirit.
In every chapter of Ephesians there is mention of the human spirit. This indicates that the human spirit is needed for the church life. The reason there is virtually no church life in Christianity today is that most Christians do not know the human spirit. Rather, most of today’s Christian teachings are concerned with the mind. The book of Ephesians, however, is not focused on the mind, but on the spirit. Our spirit must be a spirit of wisdom and revelation, the place of God’s building, the organ in which God reveals His mystery to us, and the inner man strengthened by the Spirit of God. Furthermore, we need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind and to pray in spirit. Through proper exercise, our spirit will eventually be filled unto all the fullness of God. This is the mingling of God and man that produces the church life.