Following Ephesians, Philippians shows us the practical living of those who are being built together in the church. Because these ones know the resurrected Christ and His resurrection power, they live in His resurrection life, and by His resurrection power they fellowship in His sufferings and die with Him, being conformed to His death.
Following this, the book of Colossians tells us that when this kind of practical living is manifested in the church, then Christ immediately has the preeminence in everything in the believers in the church, and He fully manifests the authority and the riches of the Head. Then we are able to experience in the church all the riches in Christ.
At this point, we may say that there are no more problems with the church. She is nearly perfect. The only thing she needs to do is to wait for Christ’s return, at which time she will be raptured, transfigured, and fully conformed to the glorious image of the Lord. This is recorded in 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
Logically, the Bible could have ended with 2 Thessalonians. However, there is still another aspect of the church revealed in the Bible, and that aspect is the practice of the church. The church is the house of God, and a house involves many practical matters. For instance, how should the affairs of a church be administered locally? How should the church be taught? How should a church be led? How should one serve in a church? What are the qualifications for those who would administer and serve the church? These are all practical matters in the house of God. Therefore, the three books of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are needed to deal particularly with the practice of the church. If the church is under the proper administration, then the church will become the pillar and base of the truth, that is, the mystery of godliness—God manifested in the flesh. Such a practical church is the house and resting place of the living God.
After the three books of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus is the book of Philemon, the shortest book in the Bible. I used to think, “Why was this book included in the Bible? What kind of position does it occupy in the Bible?” Then one day the Holy Spirit pointed out to me that the reason for including Philemon in the Bible was to show us that in the practical church, the relationship between two brothers must be based on a fundamental principle illustrated by the love of Philemon toward Onesimus. In the practical church the unique relationship among the saints is love, and this love is directed not only toward the lovable ones but also toward the unlovable ones. It is a matter of loving not only those who are your equal but also those who are not on an equal standing with you. Philemon was a master, and Onesimus was a slave, even a runaway slave. One day Onesimus was saved in a prison through Paul, and when he was released, Paul wrote this letter for him to bring to Philemon. In his letter Paul asked Philemon to receive Onesimus in love and to treat him as a brother. If today’s church lacks this kind of love, then there will be a great problem when we talk about the practical church. Moreover, there will be no hope for the church in Philadelphia to be built up today.
Up to this point the New Testament has spoken very thoroughly concerning the building of the church, both in its spiritual aspect and in its practical aspect. However, there are still five more books in the New Testament: the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of James, the two Epistles of Peter, the three Epistles of John, and the Epistle of Jude. These five books may be considered as supplementary books.