We have seen that the church is the expression of Christ. In Ephesians 1 we are told that the church is the Body and that this Body is the fullness of the One who fills all in all. The church is the Body of Christ, and this Body is the fullness of the Person who fills all in all.
The words “all in all” in 1:23 refer to the universe. Christ fills the entire universe. This is proved by 4:10 which says, “He Who descended is the same Who also ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.” For Christ to fill all things is for Him to fill the universe. Christ is so universally vast that He fills all things. This vast Christ needs a Body to be His fullness.
The fullness of Christ is the overflow of Christ. Christ is so unsearchably rich that He has an overflow, a fullness, a surplus. As His Body, the church is Christ’s fullness, His surplus. This is a matter of great significance.
The Lord’s recovery is not concerned mainly with the recovery of outward things. In God’s economy outward things have relatively little value. God’s economy is Christ with the church. The church comes into existence as we inwardly experience the riches of Christ and thus become His fullness.
There is a big difference between the church and a social organization. The church may seem to be a social group composed of different kinds of people. Worldly people view the church in such a way, as just another social organization. We need to see the difference between the church and a social club. Social clubs may have high requirements for their members. They may insist on superior standards of dress, behavior, and character. Outwardly, the members of such clubs may be better than the saints in the churches. However, no matter how good a club may be, it is merely a human organization. In contrast to the church, it has nothing of Christ. But the church is the overflow, the surplus, of Christ.
The members of a club may be regulated outwardly according to certain requirements. Those who fulfill these requirements may have a very good appearance in the eyes of man. In certain respects, they may seem better than those in the churches. However, in the eyes of God the best of human standards and behavior is nothing but dung. In the church we do not need outward improvement or correction. On the contrary, we need Christ to swallow up all our shortcomings with Himself. If the members of the church are short in certain respects, this indicates that they need more of Christ. We must resist the temptation to change the church into a social club with standards and regulations. This has nothing to do with the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is constituted solely of Christ wrought into the saints.
I am fully aware that in Ephesians, a book concerned with the church, Paul speaks about such things as wives submitting to their husbands, husbands loving their wives, children obeying their parents, and slaves obeying their masters. These things, however, are not the focal point of God’s eternal economy. God’s economy is not to have a good family life; it is to have a Body for Christ. If we are in the Body of Christ in a proper and practical way, we shall no doubt have a proper family life. However, we may have an outstanding family life and yet have nothing to do with the Body of Christ. I have known unbelievers whose family life was better than that of many Christians. Although the family life of these unbelievers was good, it had nothing to do with Christ or with God’s economy. It is crucial for us to see that the focal point of God’s economy is not a standard of character or behavior; it is Christ with the church.
In his subtlety, Satan, the enemy of God, has used such things as Bible knowledge, spiritual gifts, and evangelism to keep believers from seeing God’s economy. During the time of the Lord Jesus on the earth and of the Apostle Paul, Satan utilized the Old Testament to veil the Jewish people. When the Lord Jesus appeared to them as the very incarnation of God, they were not able to recognize Him. On the contrary, with the Scriptures in their hands, they sentenced the Lord Jesus to death. According to their concept, they were serving God in so doing.
Christians today should not regard themselves as superior to those Jewish religionists. It is entirely possible for Christians today to be deceived just as the Jews were. The enemy still uses the knowledge of the Bible to keep people from seeing Christ. Furthermore, he will use almost anything as a substitute for Christ and to keep people from seeing the revelation of God’s economy concerning Christ and the church.