Search
In this chapter we will fellowship concerning the building of the church from two aspects—the riches of Christ and the fullness of Christ. The church is built with the riches of Christ to produce the fullness of Christ, and this fullness is the church. What is the difference between the riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8) and the fullness of Christ (1:23; 4:13)? Even those who are accustomed to hearing many spiritual terms often cannot differentiate between these terms, but the Bible differentiates between the riches of Christ and the fullness of Christ.
Concerning the riches of Christ, Ephesians 3:8 says, “To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given to announce to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel.” Unsearchable in this verse also means “inexhaustible” and “boundless.” The apostle Paul said that he was particularly graced by the Lord to announce to the Gentiles the unsearchable, inexhaustible, and boundless riches of Christ. He did not preach doctrine or teachings. He preached the unsearchable and boundless riches of Christ.
The fullness of Christ is spoken of twice in Ephesians. The first time is in 1:22-23, which says, “The church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.” These verses clearly say that the church is the Body of Christ and also the fullness of Christ. The Lord Christ is the One who fills all in all. Since He is so vast and rich, He needs a Body to be His fullness, and that Body is the church.
The fullness of Christ is spoken of a second time in 4:13, which says, “Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Verses 11 through 12 say that the Lord “gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.” A gift perfects the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ, which is the building up of the church, until the Body arrives at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. When we compare these verses with 1:22-23, we see that the church as the fullness of Christ should have a measure of full stature.
Another verse concerning the fullness of Christ is John 1:16: “Of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” Fullness is used three times in relation to Christ. John 1:16 says that we have all received of His fullness, Ephesians 1:22-23 says that the church as the Body of Christ is the fullness of Christ, and 4:13 says that we must arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
The Bible also speaks of the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:19 says, “To know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.” In verse 18 Paul says that the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ are unlimited, and in verse 19 he says that the love of Christ surpasses what the human mind can apprehend. We need to be filled with the unsearchably rich Christ unto the fullness of God.
There are two verses in Colossians that speak of the fullness of God. Verse 19 of chapter 1 says, “In Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,” and verse 9 of chapter 2 says, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Fullness in these two verses refers to the fullness of God dwelling in Christ. The following verse, 2:10, says, “You have been made full in Him.” The Greek word translated as “made full” is not the same word as the word translated “fullness” in 1:19 and 2:9. The Greek word for made full implies completeness through fullness. Hence, we are made complete through Christ as the fullness. Because all the fullness dwells in Christ, after we have been put into Him, we are complete, made full, in Him.
In the New Testament the word fullness is used three times in relation to Christ (John 1:16; Eph. 1:23; 4:13) and three times in relation to God (3:19; Col. 1:19; 2:9). The Greek word for riches in Ephesians 3:8 is different from the word for fullness.
The contents of the tabernacle can be used to illustrate the difference between riches and fullness. The Ark is inside the tabernacle, and the Ten Commandments given by God are inside the Ark. The Ark typifies Christ, and the Ten Commandments are the explanation and expression of God. According to typology, the Ten Commandments’ being inside the Ark indicates that everything God is, is in Christ, and this is the riches of Christ. God has put all that He is and has into Christ, and all that God is and has are the unlimited, boundless, and inexhaustible riches of Christ.
Moreover, the tabernacle is the enlargement of the Ark. The tabernacle is the fullness of the Ark. If we exchange the word Ark with Christ, then the tabernacle is the fullness of Christ. The Ten Commandments, which are hidden inside the Ark, are the riches of the Ark, and the tabernacle as the enlargement of the Ark is the fullness of the Ark. When the Ark arrived at the house of Obed-edom (2 Sam. 6:11), there was no problem with the riches of the Ark because the Ten Commandments were inside the Ark. However, there was a problem with the fullness of the Ark because there was no tabernacle. The Ark is made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, and the tabernacle is also made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Therefore, the enlargement of the Ark is the tabernacle, and the tabernacle is the fullness of the Ark. This picture shows that the riches of the Ark are the Ten Commandments within the Ark. However, if the Ark has merely the Ten Commandments but no tabernacle, it would merely have the riches but no fullness. The issue of the Ark is the tabernacle, just as the issue of Adam is Eve. Eve is not the riches of Adam but the fullness of Adam. This means that Eve is the enlargement of Adam. From this picture we can say that what is within Christ is the riches of Christ and that by entering into us, Christ has been expanded, making us His one Body, His tabernacle, and His counterpart, as His fullness.
In Ephesians Paul says that he announced the riches of Christ (3:8) so that those who receive the riches of Christ would become the fullness of Christ (1:23). The fullness of Christ is the church. There have never been any problems with the riches of Christ, but there can be problems with the fullness of Christ. If the church has problems, the fullness of Christ has problems. In the Old Testament, when the tabernacle had problems, lost its position, or was damaged, the fullness of the Ark had problems. When the tabernacle had problems, the Ark possessed only riches; it lost its fullness. In order for Christ to have a fullness, the church must be built up. This is a great matter. We need to see that we announce the riches of Christ. What we announce as the gospel is the riches of Christ, and the issue of our announcing the riches of Christ is the fullness of Christ.
In Ephesians 4 Paul says that the gifts are for the perfecting of the saints unto the building up of the Body of Christ so that we all may arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ emphasizes the church becoming a full-grown man. Verse 13 says, “Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” In this verse the word at occurs three times, but it refers to the same thing. When we arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, we arrive at a full-grown man, which also is our arriving at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We must note that Ephesians does not speak of individuals but of a corporate entity. The new man in 2:15 and the dwelling place of God in verse 22 are corporate, not individual, and the warfare in chapter 6 is by a corporate entity, not an individual. The work of the apostles is to perfect the saints unto the building up of the Body of Christ so that the church can mature until it is full-grown. Then the church will have the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Chapter 1 says that the fullness of Christ is the Body of Christ (v. 23). By the time we come to chapter 4, the fullness of Christ refers not merely to the Body of Christ but to the Body of Christ having a full stature. Our work is to announce the riches of Christ to men and to perfect them with the riches of Christ so that they become the fullness of Christ; that is, they become the church. This means that we are bringing out the riches of the Ark to build the tabernacle.
The Ark in the Old Testament was not empty; it was rich in its contents. Inside the Ark are the riches, and when the Ark is enlarged into the tabernacle, the tabernacle becomes the fullness of the Ark. This is a type of Christ. The Ark typifies Christ, and the tabernacle typifies the fullness of Christ. All that God is, is in Christ (John 14:10). When the riches of Christ are ministered, Christ expands into us, and we become His Body, the church. Hence, the church is the fullness of Christ. Christ is the embodiment of God, and the church is the expression of Christ. Within Christ are the riches, and the enlargement of Christ is the fullness. This is the blueprint, and our work is to build according to this blueprint. We announce and minister the riches of Christ. As a result, we use the riches of Christ to make men the fullness of Christ, that is, the church as the Body of Christ.
Ephesians 1 says that the church is the Body of Christ and that the Body is the fullness of Christ (vv. 22-23). If a brother stands up and I cover his body so that people can see only his head, his fullness will not be expressed, because his body is his fullness. Once his body is covered, his fullness is not expressed. The church is the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. The church is the Body of Christ and also His fullness. When we touch the riches of Christ, there is an issue, and that issue is the producing of the church. Without the church, Christ has no fullness; and without the church, Christ has only a head but no body. Without the church, Christ has no counterpart. He is like an Adam without an Eve.
In Genesis 2:18 God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart.” In verses 21 and 22 God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and He took one of his ribs and built the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman. God did not create another human being apart from Adam. Rather, God built the rib that He had taken from Adam into Eve. Hence, Eve is the enlargement of Adam to be his counterpart and to become his fullness. Likewise, although the Ark is complete in itself, without the tabernacle the fullness of the Ark is not seen; without the tabernacle the Ark has no expression. Christ is complete in Himself and has God as His rich content, but without the church, without His counterpart, He does not have an expression of fullness. God is doing one work in the universe, which is to gain an organic entity to match His Son. This work is to produce the fullness of His Son so that the riches of His Son may be expressed. Just as the tabernacle matches the Ark, and Eve matches Adam, so the church must match Christ. There must be a Body that matches the Head. Only in this way can the fullness of Christ be expressed.
God wants to build the church, the Body of Christ, and this Body is the enlargement of Christ. We need to understand these two points: our work is to dispense the riches of Christ into the saints, and we allow these riches to build the Body in order for Christ to have an enlarged expression. The riches become the enlargement of Christ. When He is enlarged, we are built together with others to be His one Body, the fullness of Christ. The measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, as the Body of Christ, is not produced instantaneously; it comes through growth over a period of time. When a child grows gradually into a full-grown man, he obtains the measure of the stature of a full-grown man. Likewise, we must let Christ grow in us until we arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. This is the measure of the stature that the church should possess. We are building a living temple, not a dead house. Hence, Ephesians 2:21 says, “In whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.” Growing here indicates that the church as the dwelling place of God is living and able to grow.
The more we touch the riches of Christ, the more we should be for the church. The more we know the fullness of Christ, the more we will see that this fullness is not for an individual, because an individual cannot become the fullness of Christ. Only the church is the fullness of Christ. If only one of my hands could move, work, and walk, I would look very clumsy, and I would not have an expression of fullness. The fullness of Christ depends on the measure of the full-grown stature. In order to be one Body with the fullness of Christ, we need to be members one of another. If we see this, we will not be able to do an individual work, and we will fully know God’s will. According to His will, God was incarnated in the Son to express His riches, and the Son passed through death, resurrection, and ascension to become the life-giving Spirit. Now as the Spirit, He gives gifts who announce His riches to men. The receivers of the riches are perfected and built up with the riches into a Body, a dwelling place, a tabernacle, and a temple to be the glorious fullness of God in this universe.
If the church were not divided and had no problems and the believers lived in the riches of the Son of God as His Body, then the fullness of the Son of God would be expressed on the earth today. If this normal situation were expressed, the whole earth would express the glorious fullness of Christ. There is no problem with Christ the Head, but there are many problems with the Body: it is divided and scattered. There can never be any problems with the riches of Christ, but the fullness of Christ is continually being attacked. Some who enjoy the riches of Christ annul the fullness of Christ. Others possess the riches of Christ but destroy the fullness of Christ. This is the desolate condition of the church. The Lord has had mercy on us, and by His sovereignty we are in His recovery. What we are doing today is recovering the fullness and recovering the building of the church.
Some brothers may ask why John 1:16 says, “Of His fullness we have all received” and not “Of His riches we have all received.” This is not a contradiction; the riches and the fullness are actually one thing. Within Christ are the riches, but once the riches are received by us, they become the fullness of Christ. The riches in Christ are hidden, but when the riches are expressed in us, they become the fullness. The riches are in Christ, but when the riches are expressed in us, they are the fullness. Similarly, the riches in God are expressed in Christ as the fullness. Hence, Colossians 2:9 says that in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. What is in Christ is His riches, but when we receive the riches of Christ, they become the fullness to us.
God is the source of the riches. When the riches of God are in Christ, Christ becomes the fullness of God. All the riches of God are in Christ. In Christ they are the riches; when the riches are received by us, we become the fullness of Christ. Therefore, Christ is the fullness of God, and the church is the fullness of Christ. God is doing one work in the universe. He is working Himself in His Son into us so that we become a corporate entity, His dwelling place, in which He has a full expression.
This is the significance of the Ark and the tabernacle in the Old Testament. The Ten Commandments are in the Ark, and the Ark is in the tabernacle. This is also portrayed by the New Jerusalem in Revelation—God as light is in the Lamb as the lamp, and the lamp is in the holy city (21:23). The lamp is the fullness of the light, the holy city is the fullness of the lamp, and the light that is expressed and shined forth is God. God is glorified in His Son, and the Son is glorified through the built-up church. We are building the church with the riches of Christ to produce the fullness of Christ.
