In this message we will speak directly about the Body. We must first ask, “What is the Body?” We may say that there is only one verse in the entire New Testament that tells us what the Body is, and that is Ephesians 1:23: “Which [the church] is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.” The phrase the fullness of the One who fills all in all is very difficult to understand and explain. Of course, we all know that the One who fills all in all refers to the unlimited Christ. Here all is used twice, successively, once referring to Christ’s filling all and another time referring to Christ’s being in all. All comprises all persons, all matters, and all things and includes every person, every matter, and every thing. In Greek, the word for all is pan, encompassing persons, matters, and things. It is not wrong to translate that Christ is “the One who fills all in all,” but the meaning is very broad. After studying this phrase for many, many years, I still do not understand it. According to its meaning, all is the correct translation, but according to its usage, it is very difficult to understand.
Some people have translated this verse as “the fullness of the One who fills all people in all people.” This translation is also correct, and it is easy to explain and apply. Christ truly is the One who fills all people and is in all people. All people does not refer to the unsaved; instead, it refers to all those who belong to Him. This is similar to Colossians 3:11: “Where there cannot be Greek and Jew...but Christ is all and in all.” All here is the same as all in Ephesians 1:23. Hence, the translation of this word requires a great deal of consideration. At this time I do not want to use the broad explanation of all because it is too difficult to define accurately. I want to use the narrow definition of this word and thus explain it as referring to all men, to all of us.
The church is the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all men in all men. All of us saved ones, as the members of Christ, are the “all men” mentioned here. Christ is in all of us, and He fills every one of us. Therefore, what is the church? The church is the Body of Christ. What is the Body? The Body is the fullness that issues from Christ’s filling us within. Simply stated, the Body is the fullness of Christ. The church is the Body of Christ, and this Body is His fullness. To say that the Body is the fullness is very meaningful.
Suppose we have a strong, husky brother here who does not have a body but who only has a head hanging in the air. Even though his head is very big, he is without a body. Would you consider him full or not? He is not full; rather, he is poor and empty. We must know that the fullness of a person is not in his head but in his body. A person’s body is his fullness. The Body of Christ is the fullness of Christ. Do not forget that Ephesians 1:23 says, “[The church] is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.” In brief, the Body of Christ is the fullness of Christ. Where is this Christ? This Christ is the One who fills all the saints in all the saints. His Body is the issue of such a filling.
Now we must go one step further to see where the fullness comes from. When a brother is born, he is just a little baby who is not so full. How then does he become so full? It is by eating. He eats chicken, beef, bread, and other things for many months and many years. Then all the food as the riches are assimilated and constituted into his organic body to become his fullness.
In the past seventeen or eighteen years I have stated several times the fact that Ephesians chapter one and chapter four both mention fullness, while chapter three mentions the riches of Christ. What is the difference between the riches of Christ and the fullness of Christ? Please remember that if you put a big pile of food here, it would not be called fullness; it would be called riches. However, once you have eaten these riches item by item and have digested them, they become your cells and the elements of your body. Consequently, your body is constituted with what you have eaten and digested. This constituted body is a fullness. After the riches have been digested and constituted into a body, they become the fullness of the body. The riches of Christ are boundless, immeasurable, and unsearchable, but you still need to eat and assimilate these riches of Christ. The more Christ you eat and the more Christ is assimilated into you, the more element of the fullness you will gain. I believe that you all are clear what the fullness of Christ is. It is Christ experienced by you, assimilated by you, and constituted into your being to become your element; this is the fullness, which is the Body of Christ.
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