My burden in these messages is to share with you something regarding the practical expression of the church. Regarding Christ we need living experience, and concerning the church we must have a practical expression.
Ephesians 3:10-11 unveils the fact that the existence of the church is according to the eternal purpose of God which He purposed in Christ. The church is something of God’s eternal purpose. It did not come into existence by accident, but was planned in eternity. Before time began, in eternity, God purposed to have the church.
The word “purpose” here in the Scriptures is equivalent to the word “plan.” God’s eternal purpose is God’s eternal plan. God has a plan which He planned in eternity-He is not purposeless; He is a God of purpose.
What did God plan? He planned to have a church composed of a group of human beings coordinated together as a corporate Body with which He may mingle Himself in His divine nature. In other words, this corporate Body would be a corporate vessel, into which He would put Himself. This is the very thing God planned and this is the very center of His purpose. God planned to have a corporate Body, a corporate vessel, with which He could mingle Himself and all that He is. This vessel is called the church.
The church, therefore, is the center of God’s eternal plan. Why is the church so dear, so lovable, and so precious to God? It is because the church is the desire of God’s heart, which He purposed before time began. God in eternity planned to have the church.
The full revelation of the Scripture reveals to us that all things in the universe are for the church. Even the three Persons of the Godhead are for the divine purpose of having a church to fulfill God’s eternal plan.
We are all familiar with the three Persons of the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. These three Persons of the Godhead do not exist that we may have a doctrine of the trinity, but are for the accomplishment of God’s plan to produce the church. They are for the dispensing of God Himself into humanity that the church may come into existence.
Some men have little purpose; therefore, their appearance is continually the same. But a man full of purpose may have several appearances. If you could visit him at his home in the early hours of the day, you would see that He is a father or a husband. After breakfast, he may go to a university to be a professor. Then at the hospital in the afternoon, you may see him in a white uniform as a doctor. At home he is a father, in the university he is a professor, and in the hospital he is a doctor. Why is he these three kinds of persons? Because he is a man of great purpose.
Do not think that because there are three Persons in the Godhead, there are three separate Gods. No, they are absolutely one. Matthew 28:19 says that we are to baptize people in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Spirit. There are three Persons, but only one name. It is not in the names of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, but in the name. The father in the home, the professor in the university, and the doctor in the hospital are also three persons with one name.
Consider electricity. The same electricity stored in the generator is also installed in many buildings. How can the electricity in the generator be installed in buildings miles away? It is by the current of electricity. But is the current of electricity other than the electricity itself? No, the current of electricity is simply the electricity in motion. When we apply electricity to the lights, the heater, the cooler, or to many other appliances, it is still electricity, but it has come in three stages-the electricity stored in the generator, the electricity transmitted into the building by its current, and the electricity applied to various appliances. Are these three kinds of electricity? No, they are simply one electricity in three stages. And the purpose of these stages is that the electricity might be dispensed and applied.
Why is there one God in three Persons? Simply for the purpose of dispensing and applying God to us. God the Father is the electricity stored in the generator; God the Son is the current of the heavenly electricity; and God the Spirit is the application, the function of the heavenly electricity. The purpose of this is that God Himself may be dispensed into us and applied so that the church may be produced and exist. For the producing and existence of the church God must be in three Persons. The dispensing of the Godhead is much more important than the teaching of the trinity.
In order that the church may exist in this universe to express God, the heavens, the earth, space, and a multitude of other items are required. Without these things, God could never have a church in the universe to express Himself. Why must God be in three Persons? Because of the church. Why must God create billions of creatures? Because of the church. Everything is for the church and everything is because of the church.
For the producing of the church, there is also the need of a tripartite man, a man with three parts-spirit, soul, and body. It is indeed interesting. Not only is there the need of man, but of man in three parts, with a body, a soul, and a spirit. Why must man be in three parts? Because one part must be for the creation, one part for himself, and the third part for God. Thus, there could be a church composed of man in the universe.
Without God in three Persons, without the creation of so many things, and without man in three parts, it is impossible for the church to come into existence. For the purpose of having the church all these are necessary. God, creation, and man are all for the church; so eventually we see that the church is the center, the kernel of God’s eternal plan.
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