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Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:4, 7, 22-23; 2:8, 15; 3:16-17, 19; 4:2-3, 22-24; 5:22, 25, 32
Ephesians is regarded and treasured by every Christian who loves the Lord. Yet some have a rather basic knowledge of Ephesians, while others have a deeper understanding. For example, in chapter 1 most Christians focus on God’s selection in verse 4 and Christ’s redemption in verse 7, but few focus on the church as the Body of Christ in verses 22 and 23. This shows that it is possible to have two kinds of knowledge related to Ephesians, one that is basic and one that is deeper.
In chapter 2 many orthodox and spiritual believers like to quote the phrase by grace you have been saved in verses 5 and 8, and they speak also of Christ’s death dealing with sins and the old man on the cross. But very few speak of Christ abolishing in His flesh on the cross the law of the commandments in ordinances in order to create the Jews and the Gentiles in Himself into one new man (v. 15).
In chapter 3 many treasure the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ in verse 19, but few speak of being strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man in verse 16. The inner man is our regenerated spirit, which contains the Lord Jesus as our life. When our spirit is strengthened, the Lord has an outlet to spread in us and possess every part of our being. Thus, He can make His home in our heart to the point that we are filled unto all the fullness of God (vv. 17, 19).
In chapter 4 people like to speak of the virtues of lowliness, meekness, long-suffering, bearing one another in love, and the uniting bond of peace in verses 2 and 3, but few speak of the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new man in verses 22 and 24. The new man is the church, the Body of Christ, which is the corporate new man that Christ created in Himself on the cross (2:15). In order to put on the new man, we need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind (4:23). The spirit in verse 23 is the believers’ regenerated spirit that has been mingled with the indwelling Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit mingled with our human spirit as one spirit. This spirit needs to spread into our mind and saturate our mind to become the spirit of our mind. Being renewed in the spirit of our mind changes our view of people, affairs, and things. This renewing enables us to put off the old man and put on the new man to live the church life. These deeper teachings are neglected by much of Christianity.
In chapter 5 most people pay attention to wives being subject to their own husbands and husbands loving their wives in verses 22 and 25, but many miss the point that this chapter is focused on a great mystery, the mystery of Christ and the church in verse 32. Husbands loving their wives and wives being subject to their husbands are the more superficial aspects of chapter 5. The deeper aspect related to married life is that it is a type of Christ and the church. However, many Christians do not see this aspect.
We need both types of knowledge of Ephesians. We need both a basic and a deeper knowledge of Ephesians. We need to know God’s selection and redemption; however, we also need to see that God selected and redeemed us so that in one Spirit we would become one Body, which is the fullness of the One who fills all in all (1:23). Christ is the One who fills all in all; He is the great One who needs the church as His fullness, His expression. We have been chosen and redeemed by God to become the fullness of Christ corporately.
If we truly see this vision, we will be beside ourselves, because each one of us is a part of the expression of Christ. In order to be a part of this fullness, we must be those who have been chosen, redeemed, and forgiven of our offenses. However, if we see only that we have been redeemed and forgiven of our offenses, we may not experience the Body as the fullness of Christ in reality. Many Christians have experienced Christ’s redemption, but they have not experienced the Body as the fullness of Christ. This indicates that many have only a basic experience of Christ. The Lord’s recovery is not a recovery of the teachings of selection, redemption, and the forgiveness of offenses. These truths have been recovered. What the Lord wants to recover today is the truth and experience of the Body of Christ as the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians speaks of a beginning and a consummation. The beginning is the salvation of God, and the consummation is the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. This fullness is expressed practically in the church life. The church life is the fullness of Christ; this is the recovery that God desires today.
We have the best way to preach the gospel today. When the American brothers and sisters preach the gospel, they do not begin with the matters of sin and the world. Instead, they speak to people directly about the church, saying, “Your life has no meaning if you do not have the church, which is the fullness of Christ. If you would turn and enter into the practical church life, you would gain Christ as your all.” Many have been brought into the church in this way. Once people touch the church, they spontaneously experience the Lord’s forgiveness and the cleansing of His precious blood, and there is no doubt as to their being chosen and redeemed. However, when our speaking is focused only on salvation, people are saved but are not brought into the church life to become a part of the fullness of Christ in reality. This was our situation in the past. Today we need to recover the matter of bringing the chosen and redeemed into the church life to express the fullness of Christ.
I would like to say something regarding the matter of ordinances. We all have many ordinances, which compose our former manner of life in the old man (4:22). Only by putting off these ordinances, that is, the old man, can we put on the new man. In the church, the new man, there are no ordinances; there is only the Spirit in our spirit. The church is the Body of Christ, the expression of Christ, and the enlargement of Christ. Today Christ is the Spirit dwelling in our spirit, and He wants to be expressed from our spirit. This is the church. The enemy fears and hates the manifestation of the church in the universe.
Satan not only defiles and usurps man through sins and the world; he promotes religious rituals and doctrines as ordinances among the believers so that the Body of Christ, the new man that God desires, would be annulled and not come into being. Satan’s stratagem is to bind people with ordinances; he even uses biblical knowledge to bind people. It is very sad to see someone come to a meeting merely to observe, criticize, and debate doctrines. A person who can only criticize a message as being unscriptural or a teaching as being incorrect is most pitiful. Merely having correct doctrines is of little value; the Lord wants vitality. We need to be vitalized to the uttermost in order to bring people to salvation; we need to be so vitalized that all Taipei and even the entire island of Taiwan are evangelized. Furthermore, we need to bring people into the church life in order to express the fullness of Christ. Then this country will be greatly blessed.
