THE Word of God presents to us a Church formed on earth by the power of the Holy Ghost come down from heaven when the Son of God sat down there in glory, having accomplished the work of redemption. This Church is one with its Head; it is the body whereof Christ, ascended on high and seated at the right hand of God, is the Head. (Eph. 1:20-23; 2:14-22; 3:5, 6; 4:4-1620Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:20‑23)
14For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15Having 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; 16And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:14‑22)
5Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: (Ephesians 3:5‑6)
4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13Till 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: 14That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:4‑16). 1 Cor. 12:12, 1312For 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. 13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12‑13). John 12:39; 11:5239Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, (John 12:39)
52And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. (John 11:52).)
This precious redemption gave occasion to the establishment of man in this glory in heaven, to the manifestation of this glory such as it is in Jesus, and to the, participation of poor sinners in the same glory. Ephes. 2. is a full development of the doctrine, connecting it with the great principles of eternal truth, the Jew being a sinner and child of wrath as well as the Gentile; and both, previously near or afar off, as it might be as to earthly administration, were brought nigh in the true sense, and made one new man in one body, both being reconciled to God in one body by the cross. That is, not that Gentiles were brought into a company of Jews, but that Jews and Gentiles were alike brought out of the position they were previously in, into a new body in Christ, where there was neither Jew nor Greek.
In the name of Him who has accomplished the redemption and is seated in the glory, the Spirit, come down as witness of these things, has called believing sinners to come out from the world which had rejected Him, and to enjoy the boundless grace which, according to the counsels of God, has thus called and has washed them in the blood of Him whom the world has crucified. This same Spirit who, by the means of those whom God chose, had thus called sinners and communicated life to them, has also united them in one body, whose Head is the glorified Christ, and of which the Spirit Himself is the bond with Christ, and in which He serves as the bond between the members one with another. But this is a living and powerful bond, and it acts by a divine operation in the members.
The Church, then, is a body subsisting in unity here below, formed by the power of God, who gathers His children in union with Christ its Head; a body which derives its existence and unity from the work and presence of the Holy Ghost come down from heaven as the consequence of the ascension of Jesus, the Son of God, and of His session at the right hand of the Father, after having accomplished redemption.
United by the Spirit, as the body to the head, to Jesus seated at God's right hand, the Church will be manifested without doubt in its totality when Christ is displayed in glory; but meanwhile, inasmuch as it is formed by the presence of the Holy Ghost come down from heaven, it is essentially viewed in God's Word as subsisting in its unity on earth. It is the habitation of God through the Spirit, characteristically heavenly in its relations, but having an earthly pilgrimage as regards the scene where it is found at present, and where it should manifest the nature of Christ's glory, as His epistle of commendation to the world, for it represents Him and takes His place. It is the Bride of Christ in its privileges and calling. It is presented as a chaste virgin to Christ for the day of the marriage-supper of the Lamb. Evidently, this last thought will have its accomplishment in the resurrection; but what characterizes the Church, as quickened according to the power which has raised Christ from the dead and set Him at God's right hand, is the realizing and display of the glory of its Head by the power of the Holy Spirit, before Jesus, its Head, is revealed in person.
What is described in Ephesians and defined as the Church, is a state of things impossible to exist before the deaths and resurrection of Christ as its basis, and the presence of the Holy Ghost as its formative and maintaining power. Any definition we could give of it, according to Ephesians, supposes these two things. The Spirit of God, there, treats Jews and Gentiles as alike children of wrath, speaks of the middle wall of partition as broken down by the cross of Jesus, the actual exaltation of Jesus above all principality and power, and us raised and exalted with Him, and both Jew and Gentile reconciled in one new man, in one body by the cross, and builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit; so that there is one body and one Spirit. It is declared, consequently, that "now unto principalities and powers in heavenly places is made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God." Moreover, while heavenly, by its union with its Head as the heavenly ascended man, it exists now upon earth, and increases with the increase of God by that which every joint supplieth. It is where, as we learn in the Galatians, there is neither Jew nor Greek, but all are one in Christ Jesus. The Holy Ghost, come down from heaven, unites it to its glorified Head there, and thus it exists on earth, while it is heavenly, belonging to, and witnessing, the character of that place where it will be displayed in glory, and where its Head, whence it derives its being and power by the Holy Ghost, actually is.
There are two great truths dependant on this doctrine: the Church united to Christ in glory accomplished hereafter; and meanwhile, as far as existing or developed on earth, the habitation of God through the Spirit. This is its calling, of which it is to walk worthy; a calling clearly impossible in its very nature, till the descent of the Holy Ghost made it such a habitation.
That the saints will all be gathered into everlasting blessedness as partaking of Christ as their life, and redeemed by His blood, according to the counsels of God, and conformed to the image of His Son, is owned. They are all redeemed by blood, and all quickened by divine life. But the doctrine insisted on is this: that Christ, having broken down the middle wall of partition by His death, and ascended upon high, and sat down on the right hand of God, and thus presented the full efficacy of His work in the presence of God, the Holy Ghost has come down and united together believers in one body, thus united to Christ as one body; which body is in Scripture designated the Church, or assembly of God, and is His habitation through the Spirit. In this, as founded on the risen: and exalted Savior, and united to Him, as seen on high, by the Holy Ghost, there is neither Jew nor Greek. Christ, so exalted, is entirely above these distinctions; Jew or Greek are alike brought nigh, as having been children of wrath, by the blood of that cross by which the middle wall of partition has been broken down. Hitherto God had saved souls. At Pentecost, He gathered His children into the assembly on earth; He added daily to the Church such as should be saved. It is no longer salvation merely, nor even the kingdom. God begins to form His Church here below. (Acts 2.)
To make the Church a company of believing Jews, with Gentiles added to them, and Abraham's seed their proper definition, entirely shuts out this divine teaching; because the position given to the Church in Ephesians entirely precludes their being looked at as Jews; and the character of " Abraham's seed" comes in merely to show they are true heirs of promise, because they are Christ's, who is the Seed of Abraham and Heir of the promises. But, most clearly, this is altogether the lower ground on which to speak of Christ, in comparison with His glorious exaltation at the right hand of God, on which the Church as such is founded. Indeed, the being Abraham's seed is only a consequence to us of our being in the Church. This is plainly shown from Gal. 3. where the apostle presses that Christ is the only Seed of Abraham, "and to thy seed, which is Christ." His, therefore, are the promises. If, therefore, we be Christ's, then are we Abraham's seed. That is, Christ having taken up alone in His own person all the promises, we, if united to him, come into the inheritance 'of them. We are Abraham's seed, because we belong to the Church; that is, are united to Christ as our Head. But the union of the Church with Christ is much more than this.
No one can read the Ephesians attentively without seeing that the Church, as one body existing on earth, though heavenly in privilege and character, takes its place consequent on the work of the cross, the exaltation of Jesus to the right hand of God, and the coming down of the Holy Ghost. Hence to give any definition of the Church, which implies its existence, (other than in the counsels of God,) which speaks of its existence on earth, (e.g. during the life of Christ on earth, or previous to his exaltation and the descent of the Holy Ghost,) denies its nature and sets aside its character. If this doctrine of the Word be rejected, the saints are deprived of their proper and blessed privileges, and the view of their present condition, as compared with their calling, will be equally enfeebled and set aside. Abraham's seed we are individually, whatever the condition of the Church; and believing Jews or added Gentiles, whether we walk in unity or have the power of the Spirit or not.
Those who compose the Church have other relationships beside. They are children of Abraham. They are the house of God over which Christ, as Son, is chief. But these latter characters do not weaken what has been stated: much less do they annul it.
At the beginning, the truth of the Church, powerfully put forward by the apostle Paul, was, as it were, the center of the spiritual movement; and those who were not perfect (i.e. in knowledge) were attached all the same to this center, though at a greater distance. The Church was rather the nearest circle to the only true center, Christ Himself. It was His body, His bride. This truth is lost now to the greater part of Christians, and their want of faith has a sad consequence. They take up relations belonging it is true to those composing the Church, but inferior to those of the Church itself, and out of them form a system which they oppose to the most precious of all the Church's relations with God. It is true that we are children of Abraham; but why set us on this level in order to deny the position of Christ's Bride? The Gentiles are graffed into the olive tree, in place of the broken Jewish branches; but why use this, to reduce us to the level of the blessings and principles of the Old Testament? and this to avoid the responsibility of the position God has set us in, and so to get rid of the necessity of confessing our failure? Again, it is true that, in a general sense, we are God's house, a house in which are vessels to dishonor; and this truth is employed to justify a state of things which lays aside all that can appeal to the affections and heart of a bride. Let Christians weigh it!
Thence the putting off Christ's return to epochs connected with the judgment He will execute on an unfaithful house, and on a rebellious world. Thence, too, the loss of the desire of His coming—a desire special to the Bride, and inspired by the Spirit who dwells in her and animates her.
1 Co. 12. describes the Church, wherein gifts were exercised; describes it as one body on earth. So Ephes. 1.-4. Col. 1. Paul wrote to Timothy that he might know how he should behave in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (1 Tim. 3:14, 1514These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: 15But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:14‑15).) There was then one Church, the pillar and ground of the truth, a body manifested on earth, a Bride who longed for the coning of the Bridegroom to complete her happiness; who meanwhile sought to glorify the Bridegroom, manifesting, by the Spirit's power in her, the glory in which the Head was at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. If Jesus was in heaven invisible to the eyes of the flesh, His Bride was visible on earth for the purpose of manifesting the glory of Christ; she was on earth the epistle of Christ, known and read of all men. (2 Cor. 3.)
That God secures to the Church, viewed in His eternal counsels of grace, an indefeasible portion of glory in heaven, is certain. That, consequently, the gates of Hades cannot prevail against that which Christ has founded on the confession of the Son of the living God, is most clear. But to use such precious truths to nullify the Church's responsibility to be here below a testimony to the glory of Jesus, is to employ the certainty of grace to destroy the necessity of a life which answers to it.
While, then, one would sympathize with the godly dread some May feel at anything which seems to affect the salvation of all saints from the beginning, and the electing love of God in respect of them, it is well, on the other hand, to call things by their right, i.e. scriptural, names. The Spirit of God is infinitely wiser than man, and our business is to see, follow, and admire His wisdom, as in other matters, so here. He has restricted the title "Church of God," in a New Testament sense, to those who are baptized with the Holy Ghost. Let us also bear in mind that what is abstractedly true, may be used by the enemy to oppose the progress of truth given by God; so, the Jews urge the unity of God against Christianity. It is thus Satan still acts, using previous truth, or that which is subordinate in importance, to hinder the special present testimony of God. A faithful Israelite could not have walked rightly before God, save as he intelligently recognized the place and responsibility of the nation to which he belonged. He could not overlook without loss the position in which God had put him. So with the Church: it is a body brought into equally distinct relief, though in a different way, having a given relationship with God, as much as Israel had. Saints were invisible before the Church was formed. The visible unity then was God's elect nation, the mass of whom were not converted. But the Church was called to manifest the glory of Christ hid in God: in short, it was the light of the world. To say that it is "invisible" implies no testimony for Christ here below. For what is the meaning of an invisible light? It is the denial of the title of Christ to unite His own, to gather in one the children of God who were scattered abroad, and, thus gathered, to display in them His power and glory. That the Church, alas! is invisible is too true. If so, it is fallen; it is unfaithful to the glory of its Head; it has failed as to the object of its establishment on earth. To recognize this truth—to confess the sin as fearful, a sin perhaps unpardonable as regards integral restoration—to confess, in this respect, our sin and iniquity—is what places us in our true position on this point. To justify such a state of things, to present it as regular and providential, as that which ought to be, is to skew obduracy in sin: it is to want the heart and affections which seek the glory of Christ, and which prove that we have the consciousness of our relationship with Him as His bride.
Let those who would justify such a state of things say openly that the Church never ought, by its fidelity on earth, to have manifested the glory of Christ; if not, let them own that we are in a ruin-state. I appeal to all the New Testament, to all the principles of God's Word, to the history of the Acts, to the testimony of the Epistles, and to the conscience of the saints, to judge if the Church has maintained the testimony to the glory, the holiness, the love of the Bridegroom, and if she has maintained it as a faithful spouse, who ought to be engaged in it during the absence of the Bridegroom, knowing Him only, watching for His glory, and abiding faithful to Him so much the more as He is away. J. N. D.