We have already been baptized, have come out of Adam and believed into Christ, and have been joined to Christ; hence, Christ is our life, our element; He is our Lord. Our Lord is our life. Therefore, these verses speak of one Body, one Spirit, and also one Lord. Finally, in addition, there is the one God and Father of all. Everything has its source. The source of the Body of Christ is the Father. Ephesians 4 does not only say one God, but one God and Father. This Father is the source, the source of the Body of Christ. The Lord is the element of the Body of Christ; the Spirit is the essence and reality of the Body of Christ; and the Father is the source of the Body of Christ. This Father is not only over all, through all, but also in all. He is one, yet He can be in three places at the same time-above, in the midst, and within. This is mingling. He is not only above us, but also through us, and even within us. This is the Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Now we need to see the living in the Body of Christ. This living has four aspects in its relationship. The first aspect is the relationship with Christ. The living in the Body of Christ has Christ as the Head, life, content, principal object, center, and goal, because Christ is the element of this Body. The second aspect is the relationship with the Spirit. The living in the Body of Christ has the Spirit as the essence, reality, secret, and effectiveness, because the Spirit is the inward essence and the expressed reality of this Body. The third aspect is the relationship with the death and resurrection of Christ. The living in the Body of Christ takes the death and resurrection of Christ as the regulation. Every organism has its regulation, which cannot be violated. If we would live the life of the Body of Christ, we need to be in resurrection by the Spirit and through the cross. The fourth aspect is the relationship with life and the Body. Life and the Body are taken as the principle. The principle of the living in the Body of Christ is life, not behavior; and it is corporate, not individualistic. The combination of all these four aspects of relationship is the living in the Body of Christ, the Christian life, and also the church life.
Therefore, we see here that the living in the Body of Christ has four aspects to its relationship: Christ as the element, the Spirit as the essence, the death and resurrection as the regulation, and life and the Body as the principle. I can testify to you that I am alive until today because of the grace of God and also because I kept the regulation and principle of the body; hence, my body is still healthy. There is a lot to this matter. The living in the Body of Christ has its basic element, intrinsic essence, extrinsic reality, and also its regulation and principle. We live not only by the element, essence, and reality in this Body, but also within the regulation and principle of this living, being ruled and controlled by it.
The first aspect in the relationship of the Body of Christ is its relationship with Christ. Christ is the center of the Triune God. Among the persons of the Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-He is also the center. The Body of this Christ, who is the center of the Triune God, surely takes Him as its Head. We are all under the authority of Christ as the Head; He is our Head, our life. The living of the Body of Christ takes Christ as the Head, life, and content (Eph. 5:23; Col. 3:4a, 11b); this concerns Christ as the source and element of His Body and refers to the origin and being of the Body of Christ. Moreover, this living takes Christ as the principal object, the center, and the goal (1 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 1:23; Phil. 3:14). This concerns Christ as the meaning and expression of His Body and refers to the capacity and function of the Body of Christ. This shows that the Body of Christ is meaningful and active.
If an endeavoring person takes himself as the principal object and center, eventually he will hurt others. But if one is endeavoring yet does not center on himself, but on the goal of his endeavoring, he will benefit society and the country. All of us were made for God. If we, after getting saved, are not for God, but for ourselves, we are really pitiful and without hope. Therefore, for us Christians, our Head is Christ, our content is Christ, our principal object and center are also Christ, and even our goal is Christ. Because the nature of the Body of Christ is Christ, this causes its capacity also to be Christ. Today in the church, all of us are members of the Body of Christ. This Body of Christ has a principal object, a center, and a goal, which is Christ Himself. Because Christ is the principal object, the center, and the goal of the Body of Christ, we the members should also take Christ as our principal object, our center, and our goal. In this way we can give Him the opportunity to manifest the capacity and function within His nature. This is the church life that we have.
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