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Scripture Reading: Eph. 4:2-6, 11-16
I. The God-men:
А. The God-men as the children of God are the members of the Body of Christ — Rom. 12:5.
B. The God-men as the new man are for the building up of the Body of Christ — Eph. 4:12.
C. The God-men as the stewards (Luke 12:42; Col. 1:25) struggle for the growth and maturity of the Body of Christ — vv. 28-29:
1. Until it becomes a full-grown man with the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ — Eph. 4:13.
2. That no longer any of its members remain as little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of divisive teaching — v. 14.
D. The God-men as the myriads of the multiplied reproduction of the Triune God consummate the Body of Christ as His increase (John 3:30) and fullness (Eph. 1:23) to be the corporate enlargement and fullness as the expression of the processed and consummated Triune God (3:19).
II. The Body of Christ:
А. The church of God (1 Cor. 10:32) as the manifestation of God in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:15-16) is organically the Body of Christ — Eph. 1:22-23.
B. A divine and human constitution constituted with:
1. The regenerated and transformed believers as its outward, visible frame — its members — 5:30.
2. The processed and consummated Triune God as its inward, invisible content:
а. God the Father, who is over all, through all, and in all, triune in Himself, as the source of all.
b. God the Son, who is the Lord, as its element.
c. God the Spirit as its essence — 4:4-6.
C. A mystical and spiritual Body built up by:
1. Its particularly gifted members as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers, the joints of the rich supply — vv. 11-12, 16.
2. Its each one part operating according to its measure — v. 16.
D. The organism of the Triune God consummated by:
1. The growing in the divine life of all the members of the Body of Christ into Christ, the Head — v. 15.
2. Its building up of itself in love — v. 16.
E. The keeping of the oneness of such a Body — vv. 2-3:
1. The unique oneness of the Spirit.
2. Kept diligently:
а. With all lowliness, meekness, and long-suffering.
b. Bearing one another in love.
c. In the uniting bond of peace.
In this chapter we will consider the God-men and the Body of Christ.
The God-men as the children of God are the members of the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5). For the God-men to be the members of the Body of Christ means that they are the constituents of the Body.
The God-men as the new man are for the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12). They are not only the members of the Body of Christ but also the builders of the Body. The Body is built up by its members; that is, it is built up by itself (v. 16).
The God-men as the stewards (Luke 12:42; Col. 1:25) struggle for the growth and maturity of the Body of Christ (vv. 28-29). It is not sufficient for the God-men to be the builders of the Body. There is the need for some of the God-men to be stewards, like Paul, to struggle and strive for the growth of the Body of Christ. As members of the Body of Christ, we need to grow, and as the builders of the Body of Christ, we need not only growth but also maturity. It is not adequate merely to grow — we need to mature. For us to grow means not only that the members of the Body of Christ are growing; it also means that the Body itself is growing. The Body needs members, the Body needs the builders, and the Body needs some stewards to promote the growth and maturity of the Body itself.
These stewards struggle for the growth and maturity of the Body of Christ until the Body becomes a full-grown man, a corporate Christ, with the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). Christ has a fullness, the fullness has a stature, and the stature has a measure. The fullness of Christ is the Body of Christ (1:23), which has a stature with a measure. As Christ’s fullness, the Body is Christ’s expression. Christ’s fullness, the Body, has a stature, and with this stature there is a certain measure. To arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is to arrive at the full building up of the Body of Christ. It is to arrive at the full completion of the building up of the Body. This is our goal, and we must diligently press toward it until we all reach it together.
The stewards struggle for the growth and maturity of the Body of Christ so that no longer any of its members remain as little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of divisive teaching (4:14). Any teaching, even a scriptural one, that distracts believers from Christ and the church is a wind that carries believers away from God’s central purpose. The waves stirred up by the winds of different teachings (1 Tim. 1:3-4), doctrines, concepts, and opinions are sent by Satan to entice the believers in order to carry them away from Christ and the church. It is difficult for infants in Christ to discern these. The only way to escape from the waves that are stirred up by the winds is to grow in life, and the safe way to grow in life is to stay in the proper church life with Christ and the church as the safeguard.
Unfortunately, millions of Christians remain in childhood. They are little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of divisive teaching. This is the situation of today’s Christianity. On a smaller scale it is also the situation among us, and some, who are still little children, have been carried away into divisions by the winds of dissenting teachings.
The God-men as the myriads of the multiplied reproduction of the Triune God consummate the Body of Christ as His increase (John 3:30) and fullness (Eph. 1:23) to be the corporate enlargement and fullness as the expression of the processed and consummated Triune God (3:19). In relation to the Body of Christ, the God-men are not only the members, the builders, and the stewards but are also the reproduction of the Triune God. As such, they consummate the Body of Christ as His increase and fullness. Eventually, this increase and fullness will become enlarged and will become the enlargement of the processed and consummated Triune God for His eternal expression.
The church of God (1 Cor. 10:32) as the manifestation of God in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:15-16) is organically the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). The church of the living God is the house of God, which is the manifestation of God in the flesh. The living God, who lives in the church, is subjective to the church. Because He is living, the church too is living in Him, by Him, and with Him. A living God and a living church live, move, and work together. The living church is the house and household of the living God. Hence, it becomes the manifestation of God in the flesh.
In 1 Timothy 3:16 Paul says, “Great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh.” The mystery of godliness is God becoming man that man may become God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. This mystery of godliness is the manifestation of God in the flesh. The word He refers to Christ, who was God manifested in the flesh. As the organic Body of Christ, the church of God is the continuation of Christ as the manifestation of God in the flesh.
The Body of Christ is a divine and human constitution.
The Body of Christ is constituted with the regenerated and transformed believers as its outward, visible frame — its members (Eph. 5:30).
As a divine and human constitution, the Body of Christ is also constituted with the processed and consummated Triune God as its inward, invisible content (4:4-6). Whereas the frame is outward and visible, the content is inward and invisible. The outward, visible frame is the believers, and the inward, invisible content is the Triune God.
God the Father, who is over all, through all, and in all, triune in Himself, is the source of all. As the source of the Body of Christ, God the Father is the Originator, the Initiator.
God the Son, who is the Lord, is the element of the Body of Christ. Every substance has its element, its nature. Christ is the element for the constituting of the Body of Christ; He is the element with which the Body of Christ is constituted.
God the Spirit is the essence of the Body. The essence of a certain thing is within the element of that thing. To get the essence it is necessary to extract the essence from the element. Let us use an orange as an illustration. The element of an orange is simply the orange itself. The essence of the orange is the juice. If you extract the juice from the orange, then you will have the essence of the element of the orange. From this illustration we can see the difference between element and essence. Regarding the Body of Christ, the Son is the element, and the Spirit is the essence of the element for the constituting of the Body of Christ as a divine and human constitution.
Have you seen what the Body of Christ is? The Body of Christ is a constitution, constituted with the believers as the outward frame and with the Triune God as the inward content. This content has a source, an element, and an essence. The source is God the Father, the element is God the Son, and the essence is God the Spirit.
Whereas many of the teachings in Christianity are the “orange peel,” the teaching in the Lord’s recovery concerning the Body of Christ is a teaching of the element with the essence. For many of today’s Christians the Body of Christ is merely a term, but by the Lord’s mercy, we have seen that the Body of Christ is a divine and human constitution constituted with the regenerated and transformed believers and the processed and consummated Triune God.
The Body of Christ is also a mystical and spiritual Body.
This mystical and spiritual Body is built up by its particularly gifted members as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers, the joints of the rich supply (vv. 11-12, 16). They are builders of the Body.
Those who are the particularly gifted members of the Body should not regard themselves as different from all the other members. For example, in our physical body the nose and the eyes are particularly gifted members, but they are still members of the body, not something else. The principle is the same with the members of the Body of Christ. The particularly gifted members are still nothing more than members of the Body. However, many of today’s ministers and pastors do not regard themselves as members but as “lords.” By the Lord’s grace I can testify that no matter how much I speak for God, I always consider myself a brother in the Lord and a member of the Body. I do not want others to give me any kind of title, for I am just a member and a brother.
The mystical and spiritual Body is built up also by its each one part operating according to its measure (v. 16). Instead of being a particularly gifted member of the Body, you may be a common, general member. It is wonderful to be such a member. The common members are also the builders of the Body. As a common member of the Body, you should function according to your measure. By these two kinds of members, the particularly gifted members as the joints of the rich supply and the common members with their measure, the Body is built up.
The Body of Christ is also the organism of the Triune God. An illustration of this organism is found in John 15 — the vine with all its branches. The vine is developed and enlarged through its branches. This organism grows with the riches of the Triune God and expresses the divine life. This is a picture of the Body of Christ as the organism of the Triune God.
As the organism of the Triune God, the Body of Christ is consummated by the growing in the divine life of all the members of the Body into Christ, the Head (Eph. 4:15). Paul speaks of growing up into the Head, Christ, in all things. To grow in this way is to have Christ increase in us in all things until we attain to a full-grown man. The word Head in verse 15 indicates that our growth in life by the increase of Christ should be the growth of the members of the Body under the Head. We all need to grow into the Head, Christ, so that the Body of Christ as the organism of the Triune God may be consummated.
The organism of the Triune God is consummated also by its building up of itself in love (v. 16). Love is the inner substance of God. Thus, the love in which the Body of Christ builds itself up is not our own love but the love of God in Christ, which becomes the love of Christ in us. By this love we love Christ and the fellow members of His Body.
The building up of the Body of Christ is consummated by our growing into Christ and by the Body building up itself in love. This indicates that our growing into Christ is a kind of self-building, for our growing into Christ is part of the building up of the Body. Therefore, the Body is built up consummately by the growing of all the members into Christ. This is the Body building up itself in love.
We need to keep the oneness of the Body of Christ (vv. 2-3).
The oneness of the Body of Christ is the unique oneness of the Spirit. This oneness is in all of us. We all have the oneness, which is the Spirit who is the essence of the Body. The Spirit is both the essence of the Body and the oneness of the Body. This means that the essence of the Body is the oneness of the Body.
Those who are divisive know essentially that they are divisive. They will not admit this or confess it, but deep within them there is an essential factor which tells them that they are divisive. On the contrary, we may have the full assurance that we are not divisive but are keeping the unique oneness of the Spirit. There is an essential factor within us which testifies that we are keeping the oneness of the Body. Regarding the unique oneness of the Spirit as the oneness of the Body, there is an essential judgment within the believers.
The oneness of the Body must be kept diligently. According to Paul’s word in Ephesians 4:2-3, we keep the oneness of the Spirit with all lowliness, meekness, and long-suffering and by bearing one another in love. Furthermore, we keep the unique oneness of the Body of Christ in the uniting bond of peace.
