In this message we come to six crucial points in the book of Ephesians, which is a book on the church, the Body of Christ. We have seen that the building up of the Body of Christ is the foundation of all genuine Christian service, and we have been emphasizing our deep need to see the Body. May the Lord be merciful to all of us that we may see the Body in order that we may serve Him in a proper way.
The Body of Christ is not a small thing, and the Christian service is a matter in the Body. Eventually we shall see that Christ and the church, the Head and the Body, are the administration of the whole universe. Our service to the Lord is based upon this fact.
First of all, we need to see that the Body is a matter absolutely in the spirit, in our human spirit. Our regenerated spirit is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but the emphasis with the Body of Christ today is on our human spirit rather than on the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in every chapter of the book of Ephesians there is something mentioned about our regenerated human spirit. Ephesians is a book on the Body, and every chapter contains a verse concerning the human spirit. We need to pray-read these verses again and again.
In Ephesians 1:17 Paul spoke of God as “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.” Such a title is different from all the titles the Jewish people used for God. Paul referred to God not as the God of the Hebrews, but as the God of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father of glory. Such a word is meaningful and profound. In incarnation the Lord Jesus Christ, God Himself (Phil. 2:6), became a man. As a man He is related to God’s creation; therefore, God the Creator is His God. His incarnation brought God the Creator into man, God’s creature. He is a man with God incarnated in Him. Moreover, because glory is God expressed, the Father of glory is God expressed through His many sons.
Paul prayed that the Father of glory “may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Eph. 1:17). The spirit here is our regenerated spirit indwelt by the Spirit of God. It is necessary for you to see the Body, but you could never see the Body unless you are in the spirit. If you do not have the vision in your spirit, if you do not have a spirit of revelation, a seeing spirit, you could not see the Body. If your eyes do not have sight, you could not distinguish one color from another, and you could not view the scenery. The Body of Christ is something different from all the scenes we could see, something different from all the colors we could see naturally. It is a heavenly vision. Therefore, we need a spirit of revelation, a spirit of seeing, a seeing spirit, to see the Body. I do not mean that we need a clever mind to understand. What we need is a spirit transparent to see, a spirit of revelation, a seeing spirit to see the Body. The spirit of revelation to see the Body is the first point concerning our spirit in this book on the church.
Many expositions of the book of Ephesians have been written by different Christian teachers. However, I have not been able to find any that stress this one point, that the Body is something in our spirit. Although you may talk about certain sights or certain views, if you do not have eyes to see, how could you see? The church is something too profound, too high, too mysterious, far, far beyond our human understanding!
In the following verses Paul speaks of the surpassing greatness of the power that God wrought in Christ in raising Him up and in seating Him at the right hand of God, in subjecting all things under His feet, and in giving Him to be Head over all things to the church (Eph. 1:19-22). You need to pay special attention to the word “to” in the phrase “to the church” in verse 22. It is not an insignificant word here, but one of the most important words in the whole chapter. Paul did not say “for the church,” but he said “to the church.” The church is the Body of this One (vv. 22-23). This is the Body! The Body is the Body of such a One who has been enthroned and made the Head over all things to the church. This matter is profound and mysterious, and it cannot be seen by our physical eyes or understood by our natural understanding. To see this mysterious thing we need another organ; we need a spirit of revelation. Our spirit must be a spirit of revelation.