"For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery:but I speak concerning Christ and the church". Ephesians 5:30-32.
THE apostle here refers to what took place in the garden of Eden. The fullest expression of God's care for man is the fullest type of Christ and the church. There is no type that I know of at all commensurate with it. It is one of peculiar significance, hence it is brought in here; "This is a great mystery:but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Mark how it arrests our attention. At the very start, when everything was according to God's pleasure on this earth, when there was nothing discordant, when God saw everything that He had made, "Behold, it was very good." It is important to apprehend the order of things at the moment. As it is expressed in Genesis, a rib was taken from Adam whereof He builded a woman, and when God brought her to Adam, he said (I quote the original), "She shall be called Isha, because she was taken out of Ish." (The great point of the quotation in Ephesians is to show that Eve was taken out of man.) This was, when everything was beautiful and in order upon earth. A much greater thing is now on the earth, when everything in it is in the greatest possible disorganisation. It is not that everything is not very good, but everything is spoiled and corrupted. As we read in the Revelation, though it has not yet come out in its full deadly character, the sea and the rivers (the springs that furnish society), all the sources are corrupted. You are not surprised in that moment of beautiful perfection in the garden of Eden to see Adam and Eve in this consummation of happiness. But our hearts ought to be sensible that we have a much greater happiness now upon the earth than was in the garden of Eden. I need hardly say, immensely greater. What was typified then is set forth (Ephesians) in divine fulness. This One, who is greater than Adam, and sitting at God's right hand, can call the saints, "members of his body." The Lord lead us to apprehend it. To think that here on this earth, amid all the misrule and alienation from God, we can say, Christ has the joy of His heart, He has His helpmeet here! The church is not yet in heaven; it is here on the earth, in the midst of this terrible confusion and moral degradation. This in itself is a wonderful thing. Hereafter, when the church comes to the earth in its fulness, as the bride, it will be fully in its administrative character as the holy city coming down out of heaven from God.
The first thing I call your attention to is the origin of this beautiful thing, the church -- it is a great thing to understand its origin. I have on a former occasion dwelt upon the origin of the house, which was connected with our Lord's rejection on the earth. When John the baptist was beheaded, then He educated His disciples, as you find in Matthew 14-16, for that new structure which, He said, I will build, and which all the powers of hell cannot prevail against; as you get in the last verse of the second chapter of Ephesians "Ye also are builded together for an habitation of God [by or] through the Spirit."
In order to see the origin of the body of Christ (for at first it was a secret hid in the heart of God, and never divulged until the appointed time, therefore the occasion on which it was divulged characterises its origin), see Matthew 22:44: "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool." Here it is stated that the Lord is called away from the earth to sit in the highest place. It is not simply that He has been rejected by His own -- that I have already alluded to, the house comes out then -- but now He has left the earth, that is the point. There is nothing about His going to heaven in Matthew 16, except that He is about to die; the point there is that He is rejected by His own people on the earth, and where He is rejected He will have a structure built by Himself, "My assembly," which all the powers of hell cannot prevail against -- that is the origin of the house.
I am conducting you now to the other aspect of the assembly. I tried to explain on a former occasion that the body is the organisation in the house. A stranger walks into the house and, after the meeting, says, You have had everything nicely arranged, of course you settled it all beforehand. I say, No, we did not settle anything beforehand. You have a good organisation. Yes, we have; but it is an invisible one, unknown except to faith. It is the body, as described in 1 Corinthians 12. But you must not confound the body with the house. A stranger walks into the house. And we know one may be in the house though not in the body. The vital thing in the house is the body.
I want to confine your attention this evening to the assembly as we get it in Ephesians, that is, "the Christ." I turn to Matthew 22:44 to show that Christ has left the earth, and I address myself to every conscientious believer, and say, How are you on the earth, then, if He is not here? You see, I propose a question which to any true-hearted soul would be a very serious one. And I have no doubt that the answer to it is a crisis in every believer's history. The answer is, I belong to Him where He is. Well, then, where is He? That is answered in Colossians 3:1; "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth." This is not so much a matter of the conscience. The conscience wants rest and freedom from judgment. This relates to the heart. My heart seeks the company of Him who saved me. You may say, Oh, we are saved and we are happy.
Quite true; but your heart is lacking in true affection to Christ (it is a great lack) unless you really know where He is. It is touchingly expressed by Mary Magdalene, "They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him." John went home, though he did not know where He was. One with the light of the truth can go home, not knowing where the Lord is. It is a crisis in the history of the Christian when he desires to know where the Lord is. Where is He? It is answered, as I have said, in Colossians 3:1.
I turn to two passages more, one in Acts 7: 55. Here I get a remarkable thing:though union with Christ was not yet disclosed, yet you get here the energy of the Holy Spirit, and that, although we are upon earth, we are not disconnected from Christ who is in heaven; "He, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus." And he says, "I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." I adduce this passage in order to show you that the Holy Spirit has come down from the rejected Christ now exalted to the highest place in heaven, to maintain for Him here. A power equal to Himself is upon the earth, though invisible. He who was the Light is rejected, and now He sends from the Father the Holy Spirit to testify of Him. The Holy Spirit is invisible to the world, He is only known to faith; He connects me with Christ where He is.
"And see, the Spirit's power Has ope'd the heavenly door, Has brought me to that favour'd hour When toil shall all be o'er."
That is the action of the Spirit. He has come down to where I am, and therefore He can lift me up to where Christ is; as the hymn puts it
"In spirit there already."
Stephen, being filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, the place where my Saviour is. The heavens are opened. It was the first time heaven ever was opened to a man (I do not speak of our Lord). That is the way the Holy Spirit leads now. I put it simply to every believer, What do you do when you are praying? When you are in any wise walking in the Spirit of God, do you not look up?
Another thing I want to establish is, that we are the body of Christ on the earth. Acts 9:4:"And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? "Now for the first time was divulged the secret that the saints on earth are "the Christ." That is the word all through the Ephesians, as well as I remember; "the Christ "means Himself. It is not a question of two parts, it is one great whole; you do not add anything to Him. Some say, There are a great many Christians not born yet. Well, as in a bird, the feathers have not come out yet; but they are all in the bird, and when they do come out, they come out from the bird, it is not that they are added to it, but they grow out of the bird. We are quickened together with Him. All comes from Him, just as the rib was taken out of Adam, and the type is but a shadow of the reality. The great lack in those who profess to understand the mystery of the body is, they do not see that it is a part of Christ Himself; "We are members of his body." It is not something I add to Him, but something I derive from Him. I derive my membership from Him.
This fourth verse is the first time it is divulged. It is divulged to Saul of Tarsus, and to him this great truth was committed. He was persecuting the saints to the death, and now is disclosed for the first time that the saints whom he was persecuting were Christ Himself. "Why persecutest thou ME? "It does not say 'mine,' but "ME." Hence the apostle says (1.Cor. 12:12), "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body:so also is Christ." This is the only allusion I know of in Corinthians to the mystery.
Now we see that nothing else could answer the question; if Christ has been rejected from this place where I am, how could I be in this place? I do not belong to the place where He has been rejected, thank God (I am sure I thank God with all my heart for that), but I belong to the place where He is exalted. But, you say, how are we here then? You will never be able to solve this problem, why it is that we are in the place where He is rejected, until you understand this truth, that you are a member of the exalted Man in heaven, and that you are down on this earth to do His pleasure. So that it is not simply that you are in the place from which He was rejected, but you are in it to fulfil by divine power His pleasure here. That solves the problem. I know how Christendom solves it -- by saying that the Gentile did not reject Christ. I say he did, he was the active agent in it. The Roman soldiers crucified Him, they parted His raiment among them; but I need not go into that, I trust, to any of you. What I am explaining now is, that while we are in the place from which Christ has been rejected, we belong to Him in the place where He is exalted, and are doing His pleasure here by His own power given to us. We have not the power of this world that rejected Him, but we are here to stand for Him in the power sent by Himself. You could not apprehend this unless you were a member of His body. And then you can see how consistent it is, that when His rejection was completed, that He was not only rejected in humiliation but rejected from glory, as you find in Acts 7, then should be divulged the secret that His body is here. And if you do not believe that Christ's body is on the earth (and, alas! how little it is believed in the church), you are unintentionally playing into the hands of Satan, who crucified Christ here; but God's counsel, which had been hid from the foundation of the world, is that His body should be here. You may say you do not see it; you may say it is greatly demoralised. It is disorganised if you like, but it is here; there is not a member of it wanting, though the expression of it is not maintained. But His body is on this earth where He has been rejected; "By one Spirit are we all baptised into one body." How indifferently each member acts in relation to that fact is but too true! I need not say, beloved friends, how thoroughly we have all failed. But still, the failure is not on God's side, the failure is on man's side, and all I insist upon is that the body is here.
Now I take a little view of the epistle to the Ephesians, and I give you a summary of it, to establish distinctly what I have already asserted.
The first section goes down to the end of the fourteenth verse of the first chapter. It comprises a very important point, and that is, that we are brought by divine grace into similarity with our Lord Jesus Christ as to relationship and inheritance; no union yet. I am anxious you should understand that these first fourteen verses are all individual. It is all to show what we are brought to. For instance, this one verse gives you an idea of it, "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." That is individual. You may understand it better if I state it in another way, and as I get it in Hebrews -- I am fit to be His companion. That is a very important truth for the soul to be clear about. You do not get a word about union in Hebrews that I know of; you get the church spoken of once; but what you get is, that He is anointed with the oil of gladness above His companions (that is the meaning also of the word 'partaker'). "Both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one"; but that is not union. If I am not fit to be His companion, how could I be happy with Him, or He with me? How could there be for ever and ever a bond which never could be broken? You see it must be so. Hence the first fourteen verses of this epistle in which "the Christ "is described, carefully set forth and group together the wonderful position we hold individually. Just as I might describe how Sarah was as to rank similar to Abraham; before marriage took place she was quite qualified to be his companion, her lineage was the same as his; but by marriage her position only was advanced. That is the first section.
Now look at the next section, from the fifteenth verse to the end of the chapter; that is counsel, that is what we are called to. The apostle prays that the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him may be given, that the eyes of our hearts might be enlightened, that we might understand what God's calling is. And not only the calling, because in one sense that is future, and it is all future as to its completion; but the nineteenth verse is that you should know now "what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ." We are all members of Christ's body. As I said before about the bird, every feather in that bird comes from the bird, it is in the bird. And that explains a great deal that happens now, because in that sense the plumage is here. And would to God it was more practically so of us; that is, that each of us set forth here the beauty of the exalted Christ in the very scene of His rejection! What a wonderful sight it would be, beloved friends! And we may indeed hang down our heads and be depressed in heart that it is not so. If in Israel they mourned that the temple was not according to what it was, how much more should we mourn that the exalted Christ is not better described here. This is our testimony on whom the ends of the ages are come; and therefore it is now the fullest expression of what Christ is. You are not united to Him in humiliation, but in exaltation. A person may say, Why don't I know the power if I have got the Spirit of God? Well, that is a question I am quite ready to meet. I believe if you had the same affection for the Lord as Peter had when he said, "If it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water," you would know that you had it. Peter had not the power then, but he had the affection. I believe we have the power, but we lack the affection. I do not judge any one, but I judge myself. Peter could say, "Bid me come unto thee on the water," a place no human mind could accept; it was impossible to man. And everything of faith is impossible to the human mind. It was the most perilous position a man could enter on. Peter, in his affection for the Lord, would encounter all to get near Him. And this is what I call the second stage in the Christian, affection for the Lord. Many a one loves the Lord for saving him, and like Jonathan he would give to Him; a great sign of grace; but that is not all. Next, you follow Him. Peter left all and followed Him. Following is greater than giving. It is then His company is greater than property; for you will never value union until His company is your greatest satisfaction.
The second chapter is a section in itself, as I understand. It is the vocation. There are seven parts in it. You begin with heaven, you are seated in heaven, you are a new creation. I must turn to the fifteenth verse, because it explains a great deal of what is defective in Christendom; "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained . in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace." Our brethren in Christendom do not know how Jew and Gentile could worship together. There is a great deal of confusion and darkness abroad on this point:that is, how Jews and Gentiles were to be put upon common ground before God. If a man walks into a parish church, facing him as he goes up the aisle he will see the ten commandments. Well, then, we are all Jews; every Gentile is on Jewish ground. And I have no doubt that is what is alluded to in Philadelphia (Rev. 3), "Which say they are Jews, and are not"; they have taken the ground of Jews. How will you meet the mistake? By this verse. Hence whether the Jew, or whether the Gentile, making in Himself of the two one new man, so making peace; and now the new man comes out distinctly for the first 'time. It is not a question of whether you are a Jew or Gentile, He has done with both; "one new man, so making peace"; I do not look upon you as a Jew or as a Gentile, but as in Christ, and therefore of the new man. Every man in Christ is a new creation. I come on to new ground. As someone has said, God is bringing out a wonderful thing on earth, and that thing is outside everything. This section ends with the house, the habitation of God, the last verse of the chapter.
Of the third chapter I cannot say much, but I cannot pass it by. It is a parenthesis, but it seems to me to be a most amazing chapter, and I feel I have very little to say on it, though there is a great deal to think about. This chapter sets forth the object of the body of Christ on the earth, and also the wonderful power that is in this body; not only what its object is, but what it possesses. Let me read a verse, and leave it not only to your meditation but to your prayer, for I think if one really prayed more to understand the word of God, it would have more marked effect. "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the administration. of the mystery." You belong to the church, but do you take to heart the way we have failed? "To make all men see what is the administration of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ." That is the first thing; there ought to be a manifestation of it here on the earth.
But that is not all; but as has been said by someone, it is a lesson -- book to the angels; "to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God." Have you an idea, have I an idea, of what that structure was to be on this earth? You read Christian books, but do you find anywhere a conception of what that is? Do you feel charged with it? You say the apostle is gone; yes, but that is the very reason why you should be more zealous. The first thing I press on the youngest here is, Are you weighed down with the grand responsibility which attaches to you as a member of the body of Christ? As a feather, so to speak, of the most beautiful One that ever was seen upon this earth, to set forth the colour and beauty of Him in His exaltation, in the spot where He was rejected? Is this your paramount object as you walk about this world? or is it only that you may be useful and happy? Are you losing sight of the greatness of your calling? The devil is always most opposed to God's chief purpose and interest at any given time. Hence, as the apostle says, "All ... in Asia be turned away from me."
Read now the end of the chapter (v. 20), "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." You must not say that you have not ability; you may not have used your ability. When the parent birds want the young ones to fly, they go two or three feet above them, in order that they may find out the use of their wings. Affection makes them move their wings, and then they discover that they have the power; that is the way now for you. There is no lack of power; the lack is in the affection. It is plain that there is the power. "Unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power" -- that is in Himself? Not at all, but "according to the power that worketh in us," feeble in ourselves. Yes, the Spirit of God is in you, you are members of the body of Christ. The power is towards you in the first chapter, it is in you now. "Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." Thank God, it will ever be. This wonderful centrepiece of God's counsel shall be for ever and for ever, "throughout all ages, world without end."
The next section, the practice, goes down to the tenth verse of the sixth chapter. It begins above, as divine practice always begins. It begins with the circle nearest to the heart of Christ -- "keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." It affects every one of us. The first thing in your life as a heavenly man is "to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." But everyone knows very well, even in his own family circle, how little he does it; some selfish thing or other stops it. Now this is very solemn, for if you fail in the first, the top circle. you fail in every one of them, down to the lowest. A man may think that he is the most amiable man in his own family, but I say, If you have failed in the highest circle, the circle nearest to the heart of Christ, the flaw that is there has travelled down and characterised you in every circle of practice.
I must add a word here. You must begin at the top. Even Romans 12 starts you from the body. I apprehend that many servants of God are really hindered because they do not begin there: "That which is crooked cannot be made straight." They did not begin with the body of Christ. In fact, I remark that when a young servant is led of God he begins at the prayer-meeting, not so much at works of service. He is first interested in the interests of Christ on earth. Evidently Timothy received his gift in the assembly "with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery"; and Paul and Barnabas got their directions in the assembly, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." All I press is -- as you get in Romans 12, and in every place that I know of -- that the assembly which is first with Christ must be first with you. And then you descend, as in the sixth chapter, to the conduct of masters and servants.
But it is not simply practice which is presented to you. I must now bring before you a grievous thing. On this earth, where we are appointed to set forth the beauty of the exalted Christ, you will meet with the most unrelenting opposition. "Finally, my brethren, be strong iq the Lord, and in the power of his might." It is not now power to enable me to act like a heavenly man. Ah! no, beloved friends, it is very solemnthere is a power here to withstand you and baffle you at every turn. I do not know anything more lamentable, I say it sorrowfully in my own history, I never accepted a step for the Lord that I, know of, that the devil did not throw something in my way, and I found afterwards it was a snare to draw me aside. If you want a quiet time, do not seek to be true to your calling, just settle down, avoiding any truth which would distress your conscience. Then you will have an easy time here, I will not say a good time. But if you say, No, I must stand for my Lord; I am a member of His body, and I must be true to my heavenly Lord, though I am the weakest in myself; my heart, through the Spirit, is so set on Him that nothing can satisfy me but to be a true transcript, according to my measure, of Him, the exalted One, in the very spot where He has been rejected -- this is fidelity. Such is a virtuous woman; "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her."
Nothing will preserve you from the enemy but the whole armour of God; you must put on the whole armour of God. You must stand; like the Israelites going round Jericho, you must be in armour. Not "the armour of light," that is Romans. This is "the whole armour of God"; it is all to secure you from the power of the enemy. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood" (it is not that you are fighting a crowd in the street), "but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." He is in heavenly places, for if he can circumvent you there, he can stop you everywhere. His great aim is to stop you there. Do not think he does not know us. It is wonderful how we find out that he does know us. As a great politician has said, "Every man has his price " -- and the enemy knows well what it is. Then what are you to do? "Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Well, beloved friends, we have to confront a deadly enemy, and if there is a point of the armour wanting, he conquers. Supposing your feet are not shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, suppose you argue with a man and you lose your temper; he conquers. But then, you have the power of God to be here a beautiful description, according to your measure, of the exalted Christ, and that measure should be continually increasing; "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."
But what do you do now that you are in armour and able to face the enemy? You pray. And mark the fulness of the prayer, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints"; I cannot leave out anybody. I often say, If you do not pray for those whom you do know, you can hardly pray for those whom you do not know. You are to pray for all saints, and then for the testimony:"And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel." You may say the apostle is not now here. Well, if the general of an army is cut down, every valiant man tries to make up for his loss, instead of running away as if panicstricken. No; we must all seek to fill up the blank, and do what we can; each contributing his quota, in order to make up for the loss.
The Lord grant, beloved friends, that our hearts may be bowed before Him, and that we may delight to contemplate before Him, and in the secret of our hearts to have the comfort and the strength of it -- that we are members of His body; that, though we are down here, yet we are united to Him in heaven. We were not united to Him on earth, but in heaven, and hence, while in the gospel we have our home in heaven, in the church we have our place in heaven:that is, we are there as members of the body of Christ.
