From "Words of Faith," Vol. 2, 1883.
"When the day of Pentecost was fully come," the baptism of the Spirit took place. And it may be well to remark here that this baptism never has to do with an individual saint, but with a number of persons, as a corporate action; also that once it took place it never was repeated. These remarks will be found to have great importance in our true apprehension of the church of God or body of Christ.
The number of disciples together in prayer on the day of Pentecost were thus acted upon-they were baptized into one body at that moment. Previously quickened and drawn after Christ, this fresh action changes their status from being mere individual believers to that of a body united to its Head in heaven. Christ had gone up there after redemption was accomplished, and He has entered into a new state for man by resurrection, and a new place for man, as ascended and seated in heavenly places. And in connection with this new state and new place, the Holy Ghost acts as such down from heaven, forming this "one body" in union with Christ and with each other, as "members of Christ." This is the only "membership" known in the Word of God.
Now, here I would remark that, when this body was formed at Pentecost no one knew anything about it; because it was needful that a fresh offer be made, that Christ would return to Israel as a nation and bring in the times of the restitution of all things spoken of by the prophets, and bless His people on earth. The early chapters of Acts (2-7,) are taken up with this tentative action towards that people; and it closed in the martyrdom of Stephen, and the message was sent after Christ, "We will not have this man to reign over us." The ground was now cleared to bring out fully the "eternal purpose" of God; and Saul of Tarsus was converted by a heavenly Christ, and "separated from the people (Israel) and from the Gentiles, unto whom (said the Lord) I now send thee."
He was heavenly in his origin and destiny and ministry, to bring out that body, formed by the Spirit's baptism on earth, while Christ hid His face from the house of Israel; those "unsearchable riches" never before made known to the sons of men; that valley between the mountain tops hitherto undiscovered and undisclosed. Saul of Tarsus hears from the Lord Himself that the saints on earth whom he was persecuting were Himself. "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise (said he) and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of those things which thou hast seen (that is, Christ in glory) and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee." (Acts 26:15, 1615And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. 16But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; (Acts 26:15‑16).) Here he receives an intimation that further revelations would be given at some convenient time not then arrived.
Now all this happened after the whole assembly was scattered, at the persecution which arose about the death of Stephen. in Jerusalem. Outwardly, what was gathered together and formed in Jerusalem was destroyed; but Paul receives (he only of all the Apostles ever speaks of the church of God) the revelation of that which has been formed at Pentecost into a divine unity, as one body. which never could be destroyed; nor could its unity ever be broken; God holds the unity of the body in His own hands.
The special revelations given to Paul (with that of his ministry generally), are noticed by his drawing marked attention to them in connection with this great subject. They are four in number: 1st. The unity of the body, "How, that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery (as I wrote afore in few words) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men." (Eph. 3) He then proceeds to unfold this body, composed of Jew and Gentile, yet being neither when thus united into one. 2nd. He received a revelation of the Lord's Supper in connection with these truths committed to him, "I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you," etc., and he gives the details of the Supper (1 Cor. 11:2323For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: (1 Corinthians 11:23), etc.), adding to it several new features not before given by the Lord in His institution of it on earth; but as now freshly instituted from heaven, as the Head of His body, which He was not until He went there. One marked feature is, that it becomes, when observed in its truth, the symbol of the unity of the body of Christ on earth. "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The loaf which we break, is it not the communion of the Body of Christ? For we, being many, are one loaf, one body; for we are all partakers of that one loaf." (1 Cor. 10:16, 1716The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. (1 Corinthians 10:16‑17).)
A third marked revelation we find in 1 Cor. 15, in connection with the resurrection of the saints who have fallen asleep, and the being changed of those who do not fall asleep before Christ comes. "Behold," he says, "1 show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
The fourth we find in 1 Thess. 4, "For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not go before them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with voice of the Archangel and the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever he with the Lord."
Thus we have in these four revelations: the unity of the body of Christ; the symbol of its unity on earth in the Supper; the first resurrection of the sleeping saints, and change of the living; and then the rapture of all to the glory of God. These embrace the constitution, employment, resurrection, and catching up, or rapture from this scene of the church of God or body of Christ; and form a complete and comprehensive summary of its whole truth.
Now, I must still endeavor to present more distinctly the present actuality of this body as here on earth, where as to personal place the Holy Ghost is. It is here that all its members are seen at one given time-as, for instance, while I speak these words. It is true that when there is a general abstract statement of this body as the fullness of Christ, "the church which is his body, the fullness (or, complement) of him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:22, 2322And 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 1:22‑23)), there is no time contemplated; and then the body is seen in union with Christ in heavenly places, as a matter of counsel, in connection with His exaltation as Man. But in all other places in Scripture when this body is mentioned, it only includes those members of Christ who are alive on earth at any given moment of its existence as you hear these words! For there as to personal place the Holy Ghost is, who constitutes its unity. as dwelling in each member, and baptizing all into one body.
Let us put a figure as to this. The -th regiment of the British army fought in the battle of Waterloo. It is now in the roll of the army of England, having its identity. and the same number and name as then. Yet all its members have died off, not one man being in it now that was then in its strength. Others have come in, and filled up the ranks, and though the members are changed, the regiment is the same. So with the body of Christ; those who composed it in Paul's day have died off, and others have come in, and filled up the ranks. Those who sleep, their bodies are in the dust, and their spirits with the Lord. As to personal place, they have lost their connection with the body for the present. They are of it, though not in it, now. They will all take their place in it when it is removed from this scene. Here, "If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it," etc. Suffering is not the part of those who have passed away from present connection with it.
Formed by the baptism of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, it has been carried along those eighteen centuries past in unbroken unity, souls passing away, and others coming in; and it is here today on earth for God and for faith, as truly as when Paul wrote, "There is one body and one spirit." The baptism never was repeated, but individual souls have been quickened and sealed, and thus united individually to that which the Holy Ghost formed by His baptism at Pentecost; and all its members can now, therefore, say, "by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body," because we belong to that which was then definitely and permanently formed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
There is one further important truth in connection with this doctrine, or the body, to which I would now refer before closing this paper. It is this-that wherever locally the members of this body were seen together "in assembly," they were always treated as the body: this, of course, not separating them from the whole body on earth, but treated of God, as acting on the ground and principle of the body, and in unity with the whole body on earth. This is found in 1 Cor. 12:2727Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (1 Corinthians 12:27): "Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular." Here the principle is applied. The apostle had been teaching the great doctrine of the body (vers. 12-26): first, its unity, and then the diversity of its members, each having (whether comely or uncomely members) their place in the whole; and he applies this practically to the local assembly at Corinth, in the verse (27) above quoted.
This, then, is the body of Christ; this the corporate place of every member of Christ on earth; this the only membership known in Scripture. The divine, positive fact and truth of that which no ruin of its outward unity, no corruption of Christendom, can ever mar or destroy. Grasping this in our soul's consciousness, and by faith, we have something stable, amidst the ruins of the professing church, on which to act; on which to rest in the last days. Of the practical use of the truth we shall hope to treat in the concluding paper.