Genesis 2 shows us that God took a rib from Adam and made Eve out of it. This typifies the relationship between Christ and the church. Just as Eve came out of Adam, the church comes out of Christ. God made Eve out of Adam. Likewise, He created the church out of Christ. God gave us not only the grace, power, and nature of Christ, but He also gave us the Body of Christ. God has given us His bones, His flesh, and Himself, even as He gave Adam's rib to Eve. What then is the church? The church comes out of Christ. The Bible shows us that Christ is the Head of the church and the church is the Body of Christ. Individually speaking, every Christian is a member of the Body of Christ and comes out of Christ.
There is one thing we must take note of: The Body of Christ is on earth, but it is not earthly. It is heavenly, yet it is on earth. When Saul was persecuting the church, on his way to Damascus, the Lord Jesus asked him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9:4). The Lord's word was quite strange. He did not say, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting My disciples," but "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" He did not say, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting My church," but "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" This showed Paul that the church and Christ are one. The church is one with Christ, so much so that when a man persecutes the church he is persecuting Christ. This shows us also that the Body of Christ is on earth, because no one could persecute it if it were in heaven. The Body of Christ is on earth. Therefore, Paul could persecute it. Because the Body of Christ is the church on earth, Paul's persecuting of the church was his persecuting of the Lord Himself. Many people say that the manifestation of the Body of Christ is something that will occur in heaven. They say that one has to wait until he is in heaven before he can see the manifestation of the Body. If this were the case, Paul's persecution of the church could not have been considered as his persecution of the Lord. The Lord said that Saul persecuted Him when he persecuted the church. Therefore, the Body of Christ is manifested on earth, not in heaven. The church as the Body of Christ is on earth. We have to express this Body while we are on earth. Although the Head is in heaven, the Body and the Head are one. The Body on earth and the Head in heaven are one. To persecute the Body is to persecute the Head. To persecute the church is to persecute the Lord. The two are one, and there is no way to separate them.
Some may ask, "How could the Body of Christ be expressed on earth during Paul's time? From the time Paul was on earth until now, one thousand nine hundred years have passed. Every year countless numbers of people throughout the world are saved and added to the Body of Christ. Many more will be added in the coming days and years. How could the church at Paul's time be called the Body of Christ?" One brother in the last century gave a good answer. He said that the church is like a bird. When it first hatched, the feathers were not well developed. Yet we can say that it was a bird. When it becomes full grown, we still say that it is a bird. Feathers from elsewhere are not added to the bird; they grow from the bird itself. The growth and maturity of the bird are the result of the inward activities of the bird's life. This is how the church grows on earth today. Although Paul persecuted the church in its infancy, it was nevertheless the Body of Christ. From that time on until today, nothing has been added to it; it has only become more full grown.
Although the church on earth today is still very small in size, it is nevertheless perfect within. The growth of the church issues from within itself. It grows out of Christ. The church on earth today is the Body of Christ. Apparently, saved ones are being added to the church. But as far as its spiritual reality is concerned, no one has ever joined the church. The Body of Christ grows by itself from within. It grows continually out of the Head. The church is simply the extension of the Body of Christ on earth. The church dwells on earth but comes out of the heavenly Head. At the same time, it is a Body in oneness with the Head.
We must be clear about what the church is in the eyes of God. The church is the Body of Christ. Therefore, anything smaller than the Body cannot be the basis for the formation of a church. We cannot establish a church based on doctrines, systems, or rituals. Neither can we establish a church based on the name of a founder or a place of origin. All these are smaller than the Body of Christ. If we want to start a church in a locality, we must learn to stand on the ground of the Body. We must welcome and accept all the members who have fellowship in the Body of Christ. Whoever is in the Body and of the Body is a brother or sister in the church. If we stand in the position of the Body of Christ, our number may be small, but we will still have a proper basis for forming the church. However, if we do not stand on the position of the Body of Christ, we will have no basis to form any church, even though our number may be very great.
Once a church which takes the Body of Christ as its basis is established in a locality, no one should separate himself to set up another church under the pretense of differences in doctrines, views, or opinions. The basis of the church is the Body of Christ. The desire to uphold a certain doctrine is not a justifiable basis for forming a church. If the basis of the first "church" is not the Body of Christ, one can, of course, set up a church that is based on the Body of Christ. But if the basis of the first church is indeed the Body of Christ, we must fellowship with it. We cannot walk away and form another "church" of our own.
A local church should include all the children of God in that locality. The church takes the Body of Christ as its basic unit. If other brothers and sisters will not come, that is their own concern. But the church should not impose any condition upon anyone other than the need to acknowledge the Body. The Body is the only condition for forming a church. A church cannot be smaller than the Body of Christ. In other words, whoever is of Christ should be in the church; whoever is in the Body of Christ may not be rejected.
However, to accept anyone who is not in the Body of Christ or to embrace unbelievers is to go beyond the Body of Christ. That would no longer be the church of Christ; it would be an organization of confusion. In conclusion, whatever falls short of the Body of Christ or goes beyond the Body of Christ is not the church.