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Concerning the testimony of the church, we must start with God’s eternal desire. What is God’s desire in eternity? What is the goal of His desire? If we carefully read the entire Bible, we will come to a conclusion: God’s desire, God’s purpose, from eternity to eternity is to express Himself in His Son.
Those who know God all realize that there is something mysterious about God; that is, He is always hidden. This is why atheists often ask, “You say that God exists, but where is He? Is He visible?” I often refute them by using an illustration, asking, “Is there such a thing as electricity? If you say that there is, can you see it? Where is it? What does it look like? Can you say that something is nonexistent simply because you cannot see it? Is this logical?” In the same way, God surely exists, but He is invisible. He is invisible, yet He surely exists. This really is a mystery. This is a characteristic of God; He likes to hide Himself.
However, God also likes to manifest Himself. This is even more amazing. The most hidden thing in this meeting hall is electricity, but electricity is also the most manifested thing. The electricity is invisible, but the meeting hall is full of electric light. This is a perfect illustration. The most hidden One in the universe is God, but at the same time, God also is the most manifested One. Although God is invisible, when we observe the phenomena in the universe, we can see proof of God’s existence everywhere.
Here is an amazing thing. In the beginning of the Bible we see only God’s speaking: “He spoke, and it was; / He commanded, and it stood” (Psa. 33:9). God spoke, but He did not manifest Himself. At the end of the Bible, however, a city is manifested; this city is the New Jerusalem. At the end God will not need to speak. God will be the light in the city, His Son will be the lamp, and the city will be His shining forth. God as the light in His Son as the lamp will shine forth through the city. Therefore, the glory of the city is the glory of God, and the shining of the city is the shining of God, just as the shining of the light bulb is the shining of electricity. At that time, since there will be God’s shining, God’s expression, there will not be a need for Him to speak.
This shows us a principle that when there is a need for God’s work, there is more of God’s speaking; and when more of God’s work is manifested, there is more of God’s expression. God’s speaking can be seen in the beginning of Genesis, but not His expression. God’s expression, however, can be seen at the end of Revelation because He has gained a vessel to express Himself. In the beginning, however, God did not have such a vessel. From eternity to eternity the desire of God is to express Himself so that He, as the hidden God, may be completely expressed through a vessel. This vessel fully depends upon His Son. God intends to express Himself in His Son and through His Son.
We need to see that God’s desire is to have sons. God’s work in the universe is a story of gaining many sons. In John 1 and 3 we can see God’s Son, His only begotten Son. But in Romans 8 the only begotten Son has become the firstborn Son. Since Christ is the firstborn Son of God, then there must be more sons than just the Son; there must be other sons. Hebrews 2:10 speaks of God leading many sons into glory. These many sons are a corporate son, a corporate body composed of many sons.
John 12:24 speaks of a grain of wheat which denotes the only begotten Son of God. This grain of wheat was sown into the ground, and it grew to become many grains, that is, many sons. Originally, it was a grain of wheat, which was the only begotten Son, but it becomes many grains, that is, many sons. Originally, there was just the Son; now this Son has become many sons, a corporate body composed of many sons. Therefore, in John 20:17, the Lord said, “My Father and your Father.” Just as He is the Son of God, we also are sons of God. This is God’s intention in the universe.
In the Bible a son expresses or declares the father. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” This shows that the Lord Jesus, as the Son of God, expresses God. All of us, including sisters, are sons of God. Therefore, we all should express God. We can illustrate what it means to express God as sons of God by looking at Brother Huang. Let me ask, “Is Brother Huang’s father a black man?” Even if none of us have seen Brother Huang’s father, I think we all would say that his father is definitely not black. We can know this simply by looking at Brother Huang’s face. The son always expresses the father. When we see the son, it is not hard to imagine what the father looks like. In the same way, we express God as sons of God.
The Son manifests the Father because the Son is the image of the Father. The Chinese refer to a person who does not honor his father as being “non-alike,” that is, a person who is not like his father. This implies that anyone who is not like his father dishonors his father. A man honors his father by being like his father; only a man who is like his father can be considered a dutiful son. A son should look like his father and behave like his father because a son is the expression of the father.
The Son is the image of the Father (Col. 1:15); this is true not only with the only begotten Son but also with the many sons. Romans 8 tells us that God chose us and predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son. God did this so that we would express Him with His Son. I hope that God’s children would see the New Testament concept that a son is the expression of the father because a son is the image of the father.
The Son expresses God not only because He is the image of God but also because He is the effulgence of God’s glory and the impress of His substance (Heb. 1:3). From eternity to eternity God’s desire is to express Himself. God expresses Himself through His nature which is in His Son. This enables His Son to express Him. Originally, His Son was the only begotten Son, but now His Son is identified with many sons, a corporate body composed of sons. He has put His very nature into these sons (2 Pet. 1:4), and these sons have become His expression. When there was merely the only begotten Son, there was not such a thing as the church, but when many sons were produced, the church was also produced. Furthermore, these many sons are not scattered but joined together; they are not individual sons but a corporate son. This corporate son is the church. Therefore, the church is His expression—the effulgence of His glory and the impress of His substance. May the Lord have mercy on us so that we may fully see that God’s eternal purpose is to gain a corporate Body composed of many sons for His expression, which is the church.
Since God’s eternal purpose is to be expressed, all of the work that He has been doing throughout the ages has been for the fulfillment of His purpose; they are the steps in His expression of Himself in men and among men. This line is recorded from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation. The stories from Adam to the New Jerusalem all show how God manifests Himself. We can only briefly look at this line of God’s expression throughout the ages.
The first step of God’s expression is seen in Adam. Whenever we read the story of Adam, we must remember that his story reveals God’s desire to be expressed through him.
Why did God make man? Why did He make Adam? The record in Genesis 1 clearly reveals that God’s intention in making man was for man to be in His image. God made man in His own image and in His likeness; the man He made was His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-27). In the universe the man on earth is in the image of God.
We have previously said that the making of man according to God’s image is like a person being photographed. If Brother Huang’s photograph is taken, the photograph will surely be an image of him. He could print thousands and thousands of copies, distribute them to cities all over the globe, and publish them in many newspapers and magazines; consequently, his image would be seen all over the earth. Similarly, when God made man, He made man in His own image. Therefore, we can say that man was a photograph of God. God also wanted man to be fruitful and multiply to fill all the earth; in this way the image of God, His photograph, would fill the earth.
God’s action clearly implies that He wanted to be expressed through man. Although Adam had only the image and likeness of God outwardly, in principle he expressed God. Although man did not have the life and nature of God, he still expressed God and manifested the story of God in part. Look at Adam. He was so thoughtful, wise, loving, and capable in his decisions. All of these characteristics showed forth something concerning God and expressed God in part.
In His making of Adam, God did not put His own life and nature into him, but He formed a spirit in Adam so that Adam would be able not only to contact God but also to receive God (Gen. 2:7; Job 33:4; Zech. 12:1). Contacting God may involve merely communicating with God, but receiving God involves God coming into man. Not only does God want man to contact Him; He also wants man to receive Him.
The Bible is clear in its revelation concerning this matter. After God made Adam, He placed Adam in front of the tree of life. This clearly indicates that He wanted Adam to eat the fruit of the tree of life. This is a symbolic picture. Gradually, the Bible shows that the source of life is God (Psa. 36:9). Therefore, we may also say that life is God. Moreover, to eat is to receive. We all have eaten some food and received it into us. Therefore, symbolically, when God put Adam in front of the tree of life, He wanted Adam to eat Him as food, that is, to receive Him as life. If Adam had received God, he would have received God’s life and nature. Thus, he would not only have been like God outwardly, in outward form; he would also have been like God inwardly, in content, in nature. Even though Adam did not receive the life of God at that time, this was God’s desire. God wanted Adam to receive Him so that he could be like God both outwardly and inwardly in order to express Him. In our reading of the Word, we need to see God’s thought. When God made man, His thought from the very beginning was to express Himself in man.
After Adam, the Bible shows the generations of the patriarchs, including Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in whom the expression of God can also be seen. We do not have the time to look at them in much detail, but two matters concerning them are important.
The faith and actions of the patriarchs, or rather, their actions due to their faith, all expressed God (Heb. 11:4-21; 12:1). They were people who trusted in God. Through their faith they were brought into a relationship with God. Furthermore, their actions were affected and changed due to their faith. The effects and changes in their actions were expressions of God. While the people around them walked according to the manner of the world and expressed the world, the walk and living of the patriarchs through their faith in God manifested a different condition and manner. Their condition and manner enabled others to know God more and understand God more, that is, to see God to a certain extent. Their actions of faith can be considered as an expression of God.
Each of the patriarchs bore some characteristics that expressed God. For example, Abel characteristically testified to the people that God condemns sin and cannot accept sinful men without redemption, because He is holy and righteous (Gen. 4:4). In the garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword guarded the way to the tree of life (3:24) to prevent sinful man from contacting God in a loose and casual manner, like Cain. Man also cannot please God by his own works, like Cain. A sinner can draw near to God only through the way of redemption established by God. According to His holiness and righteousness, God requires sinners to have a sense of guilt and to look to a sacrifice as a substitute in order to be accepted by Him. In this special matter, Abel declared God to us. Through Abel’s characteristic living, God was able to express Himself.
Enoch lived in an age in which people lived by themselves, completely without God. At the end of Genesis 4 men had already put God completely aside. They were able to invent culture by themselves and to create a godless living for themselves; thus, they were able to live without trusting in God. However, the result of a culture and living without God is death. Therefore, Genesis 5 is a record full of death. It speaks of many men who lived a number of years and then died. The Chinese language uses four words to describe the events in the course of a human life: birth, age, disease, and death. But when Genesis speaks of a man’s life, it uses only three words: lived, begot, and died. It only says that someone lived for a number of years, begot children, and died, because they all lived a life without God. These men, who lived by themselves without God in a self-made, godless culture, all ended in death. But at this time, Enoch, who lived by God, walked with God, and needed God moment by moment, did not live a life in this self-made, godless culture (5:22). Therefore, he was able to escape death and was taken by God without seeing death (v. 24). In this manner he manifested God, enabling us to see God.
When we look at Noah, we can see that during his time the people on the earth were worldly and living a godless life; the earth was filled with evil, violence, and unrighteousness. Therefore, God condemned that generation; He was not pleased with that evil generation. He determined to judge and destroy the age. But during this time, Noah lived in the presence of God and walked according to the will of God (6:8-9). Noah was an upright man, a righteous man, and he bore an anti-testimony in that age. He preached to the people, in effect, saying, “God is righteous, and He will surely judge wickedness and destroy this world. Therefore, I cannot live according to this evil world; I want to walk with God by living and acting according to the righteousness of God.” Noah’s testimony declared that God is One who judges evil. Therefore, Noah was also an expression of God.
Let us look at Abraham next. At the time of Abraham, the earth was filled with idols and human rebellion. Men wanted to exercise authority for themselves, and they wanted to exalt themselves and put God aside. Therefore, they built the tower of Babel to make a name for themselves. At the tower of Babel, that is, at Babylon, men rejected God, choosing demons and idols instead; men rejected God and cared for themselves by exalting themselves. But then Abraham was called by God, and he left that place (15:6). Coming to the land of Canaan and standing on the heavenly position, he testified for God, indicating, “This world of idols and this situation at Babel cannot be tolerated by God. God and idols cannot coexist. God will judge Babel. This is the reason I came out of Babel to stand in the land of Canaan, which is heavenly and separated. I stand on God’s side, I trust God, and I take God as everything.” By doing this he expressed the nature of God and manifested God to a great extent (17:1).
Now let us look at Isaac. The characteristic of Isaac is very simple. He showed forth only one thing: Anyone who is a son of God does not need to labor or strive for himself (Gen. 26:2-3). Everything has been prepared and accomplished by God the Father, everything is inherited, and everything is of grace. This makes known another aspect of God, and it manifests God to us.
Finally, let us look at Jacob next. Jacob’s characteristic reveals that the self-struggling and natural ability of a person who belongs to God are against God. God wants to work Himself into those who belong to Him. God wanted to turn Jacob into Israel, to turn a crafty person, a supplanter, into a prince of God so that he would be filled with the element of God to become an expression of God (Gen. 32:28; 47:31). This is the story of Jacob.
If we consider the stories of the patriarchs and look at them collectively, we can see a very meaningful line. In the beginning of Genesis, there is a sinner who needed a sacrifice as his substitute, and at the end of Genesis, there is a natural person who has been completely transformed into Israel, a prince of God. The first expression of God in a person who belongs to Him is that God has judged sin and provided a sacrifice for sinners to draw near to Him. The final expression of God in a person who belongs to Him is that God has wrought Himself into him until he, like Jacob, becomes Israel, that is, he is no longer a crooked and crafty person but one who is filled with God. The ultimate goal of God in all those who belong to Him is to make every one of us a person who is filled with God to be His expression. The sum total of the stories of the patriarchs is a picture, a photograph, that manifests and expresses God so that we may know the characteristics of God. Everything that the Spirit of God wrought into them is for the expression of God.
After the patriarchs, God manifested Himself in man among the people of Israel. This was a great step in God’s manifestation, and it contains numerous types and stories that express God. This step of manifestation occupies a great place in the Bible. Among the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament, thirty-eight speak concerning this step in God’s manifestation, showing the God who is among the people of Israel. We can only briefly mention the important points.
God first manifested Himself among the people of Israel through the law He gave with all of its supplementary ordinances, rituals, and regulations (Lev. 11:44-45). If we look at every article, every item, of these laws, ordinances, rituals, and regulations according to the letter, they are merely the letter (2 Cor. 3:6). However, if we have the revelation of the Holy Spirit, we can see God in them. We can see God’s appearance in the law, and we can see God’s likeness in the ordinances. Even the rituals and regulations explain God and express God; therefore, they are revelations of God.
It is not hard to understand that the laws and ordinances that God gave to the Israelites expressed God to them. For example, in our homes we have rules and regulations, such as when to get out of bed, when to turn off the lights, when to eat meals, when to pray, when to clean, and when to take care of personal matters. When we look at a rule, we know something concerning the person who makes the rule. If eight o’clock is our time to get out of bed and ten o’clock is our time to eat breakfast, then we are a group of lazy people who love to sleep. The laws and regulations that a person makes always reflect upon the one who makes the law. The laws and regulations enacted by a person are a revelation of the person. In like manner, if we carefully read each law and ordinance enacted by God in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua, we definitely would bow our head and worship, saying, “I have seen a God who is holy, righteous, upright, and full of light. I have seen a God who is great yet detailed and fine, a God who takes care of great things but who also does not neglect small matters. He is forbearing, patient, fair, and loving.” O dear brothers and sisters, we should not merely read the laws and regulations; we need to see God in them because they are expressions of God.
Among the people of Israel the tabernacle was a mysterious thing. When the tabernacle was raised up at the end of Exodus, a cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of God filled the tabernacle (Exo. 40:34-35). When people saw the tabernacle, they saw the glory of God. The glory of God is the expression of God. God Himself was expressed in the tabernacle. The tabernacle not only typifies the church but also signified the people of Israel. At that time, the whole congregation of the people of Israel was a tabernacle of God. God dwelt among them to express Himself. In addition to the tabernacle, there also was the Ark, which denotes Christ, and the altar, which denotes the cross. Through the cross and in Christ, God was able to dwell among the people of Israel. These are all types. But this is a principle: The tabernacle was a place where God was expressed. We do not have the time to read all the stories of the tabernacle, but readers of the Bible know that there are many items related to the tabernacle, and every item reveals the nature or character of God and expresses God.
The temple came after the tabernacle. The temple is an enlarged tabernacle, a fixed and stable tabernacle. In principle the two are the same. When the building of the temple was completed, the glory of God also filled the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11). Like the tabernacle, the temple not only typifies the church but also signified the people of Israel. In God’s view, all of the people of Israel were God’s dwelling place on earth at that time. This dwelling, however, was still through the altar and by the Ark; that is, God’s expression among His people is through the cross and in Christ. Therefore, the temple was also an expression of God. It was an expression of God on a great scale.
Among the people of Israel, there were some with offices. First, there were priests, later there were judges, still later there were kings, and finally there were prophets (Deut. 33:8-10; Judg. 6:12; 1 Sam. 13:14; 1 Kings 17:18, 24; 2 Kings 4:9, 22). We do not have the time to speak concerning them in detail; however, there is a principle: In all of these offices, whether priests, judges, kings, or prophets, we can see the likeness of God to a certain extent. In the priests we see God’s holiness, in the judges we see God’s might, in the kings we see God’s authority, and in the prophets we see God’s wisdom and prudence. After we read the stories of these persons, we can see the manifestation of God to a certain degree. They expressed God. Some of them expressed God to such an extent that even when people saw them, they perceived that they were “men of God.” When people saw them, it was as if they saw God.
Among the people of Israel, there were also some godly men who lived in the presence of God. In the Bible they were called men of God. For example, in the title of Psalm 90 Moses is called “the man of God.” They were not only men but also men of God. They were not only men who belonged to God but also men who expressed God. God was seen in them and in their situations. When people saw them, they saw the appearance of God in them. Consider the three friends of Daniel. They were thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar, yet the words they spoke and the attitude they expressed all conveyed the flavor of God. It is no wonder, therefore, that when they were in the fiery furnace, someone whose appearance was like the Son of God was with them; they really had the semblance of God (Dan. 3:25). The elderly Simeon in Luke 2:25 is another example. In him we can sense God, that is, he was in an atmosphere of God and had a certain flavor of God. Therefore, these men of God were men who expressed God.
The three steps in God’s manifestations mentioned above are in the Old Testament. There are two great steps in God’s manifestation in the New Testament. The first step is seen in Christ. We all know that Christ is the manifestation of God; He came to earth for the expression of God. This is a great event recorded in the New Testament, and we need to speak more concerning it.
The Bible tells us that Christ is the mystery of God (Col. 2:2). What is a mystery? It is something that exists yet cannot be understood, touched, seen, or searched out. If something really exists but is either not clear or understandable to man, it is called a mystery. In the universe God is a mystery. Does God exist? Yes, He exists, but what do we know about God? This matter is quite puzzling to man; hence, God is a mystery. Suppose I stood and did not speak anything. You would know that I have something to speak, but if I did not say anything, everyone would be puzzled and consider me a mystery. Having words but not speaking them makes me a mystery. However, once I speak all of these words, I am no longer a mystery. My words reveal the stories that are within me. Therefore, words are the revelation of a mystery. In the same way, the Word who was in the beginning with God revealed the stories of God (John 1:1). Therefore, this Word is the revelation of the mystery of God. Who is this Word? This Word is Christ. Christ is the mystery of God. Do you want to know the story of God? Do you want to know about God? Do you want to know what kind of God He is? All you need to do is look at Christ, because the story of God, that is, everything concerning God, is hidden in Christ. Christ declared all of the things of God. Therefore, we can know God only through Christ.
When he was preaching the gospel, a brother once said, “Many people think that God is a very strict God who resembles one of the fierce-looking idols in the temples. People do not know the real story concerning God. But then Christ came; He was so compassionate that even lepers could approach and touch Him and even a sinning woman could avoid His condemnation (8:11). Through Christ people know the things concerning God, especially His great love.”
Here, I am using a shallow illustration. The story of God is too complex, too mysterious. If we read through the four Gospels, we would see many intricate matters concerning God. The records concerning Christ, the footsteps in His life, including His words, deeds, and manners, are all expressions of God. No one has ever seen God, but Christ has declared Him (1:18). The four Gospels are not merely a record concerning Christ; they are a detailed portrait of God. From the record in the Gospels concerning Christ, we know about God. Christ is the mystery of God, the story of God. Christ is not only our Savior but also God’s expression. As God’s expression, Christ has become our Savior. We need to know Christ thoroughly in order to understand the stories of God. Everything in the Gospels is nothing less than a portrait of God, an expression of God.
Christ could express God because all the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him (Col. 1:19; 2:9). All the content of God, all the fullness of the Godhead, all of God’s substance is in Christ. Therefore, in order to know the content of God and to touch the fullness of the Godhead, we need to know Christ and gain Christ.
Christ is the only begotten Son of God (John 1:18). As the only begotten Son, the life of God the Father is given to Him alone, and all that God is can be found in Him. As the only begotten Son of God, Christ is the unique expression of God. Let us not forget the meaning of being a son. A son is the expression of the father. All that God is can be seen in the Son. The Father and the Son are one (10:30). The substance of the Son is God, and the Son is God’s expression (Heb. 1:3). Therefore, the Son was the temple of God on earth (John 2:19-21). In the Son and through the Son, God was expressed before men.
Even though all the fullness of the Godhead was hidden in Christ when He was on the earth, He did not show forth the full measure of the glory of God. He completely entered into God’s glory only after His death and resurrection. Before His resurrection, He briefly showed forth the glory of God during His transfiguration on the mountain (Luke 24:26). When He was transfigured, He entered into God’s glory; in other words, God was glorified and shined out of Him. This may be likened to the shining of electricity. When a light switch is off, electricity is hidden, and there is no shining. However, when the switch is turned on, electricity shines out. When electricity is “glorified,” the entire meeting hall enters into “glory.” When people looked at Christ before His transfiguration, they saw only a Nazarene whose visage, whose form, was marred and who had no attractive form nor majesty (Isa. 52:14; 53:2). He was only thirty years old, but He may have appeared to be fifty years old. When He was on the Mount of Transfiguration, His appearance was briefly changed, and God was glorified and shined out from within Him. But this was only for a brief moment; He immediately appeared again as a man with a marred visage. Later He passed through death and resurrection and fully entered into God’s glory. God was completely glorified and manifested through Him. The glory of God, which had been concealed within Him, was released, shined out, and manifested through His death and resurrection. In His resurrection He entered into the glory of God, and this glory was God’s manifestation, just as electric light is the shining of the electricity, the manifestation of the electricity.
The resurrected Christ who entered into God’s glory is a complete expression of God. Furthermore, in His resurrection He became the firstborn Son of God and was no longer merely the only begotten Son of God (Rom. 1:4; Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:4-5). When He was resurrected, He dispensed the life of God within Him into thousands and millions of those who believe into Him. As the one grain of wheat, He became many grains. The life of God within Him, as the one grain, was dispensed into many grains. In this way, the only begotten Son of God became the Firstborn among many brothers, the many sons of God, thus enabling God to have an enlarged expression (Rom. 8:29). This enlarged expression is the church.
There are two great steps in the manifestation of God in the New Testament: The first step is seen in Christ, and the second step is seen in the church. Christ is the expression of God, but the church also is an expression of God. This does not mean that the church expresses God more than Christ; rather, the church is an enlarged expression of God. Just as Christ expresses God, the church also expresses God. The principle of expression is the same, but the scope of the expression has been enlarged.
In addition to saying that Christ is the mystery of God, the Bible also says that the church is the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:4-6). Whereas Christ is the only begotten Son of God, the church is the many sons of God as the enlargement of Christ. The only begotten Son of God who has been enlarged is the church composed of the sons of God. In brief, the enlarged Christ is the church. All that is of Christ is in the church. Therefore, the church is the mystery of Christ.
Christ also is a mystery. For two thousand years people have talked and preached concerning Christ everywhere, but no one has seen Christ for nearly two thousand years. Christ is a mystery! Some may say that Christ does not exist, because we cannot see Him; however, this is not logical. There are many invisible things that exist. Electricity is one of them. We cannot see electricity, but we can see manifestations of electricity, such as light and heat. In the same way, Christians and the church are expressions of Christ. For nearly two thousand years no one has seen Christ, but people have seen the church. The mystery of Christ, the intricate matters of Christ, the story of Christ, is seen through the church. If we want to know Christ, we must look at the church. The church is the mystery of Christ and the expression of Christ, just as Christ is the mystery of God and the expression of God. Just as all that is of God is in Christ, all that is of Christ is in the church. For nearly four thousand years no one had ever seen God, but Christ revealed Him. In like manner, for nearly two thousand years no one has seen Christ, but the church has revealed Him. First Corinthians 14 says that whenever we meet together and people come among us, they can declare, “Indeed God is among you” (vv. 23-25). We have seen this situation often in our meetings. When God is sensed among us, it is Christ who is being sensed among us. Only the church can manifest the mystery of Christ and express the story of Christ.
Just as Christ is the expression of God, the church is the expression of Christ. The church is the Body of Christ, the fullness of Christ, the surplus of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). Christ is so full and so rich that He overflows with a surplus—the church. Someone told me that every male is missing a rib bone, because God took a rib out of Adam to build Eve. Although I have not studied medicine, I do not believe this. I do not believe that Adam had one less rib when a rib was taken from him to build Eve. If this were the case, Eve would have been Adam’s depletion rather than his surplus. After a part of Adam was built into Eve, he remained whole without lacking a rib. In the same manner, after Christ overflowed with the church, He did not become something less. As the fullness of Christ, the church is the overflow of Christ. The church is His Body, His expression. Our body is also our expression. If we were disembodied souls, would people still be able to recognize us? Could they tell us apart? Could they see us? We appear before others through our body. Our body is our manifestation. Sometimes we see someone’s shadow or see someone walking at a distance, but by his manner, we know who is coming. A person’s body is his best manifestation. Similarly, as the Body of Christ, the church is the best manifestation of Christ. Christ expresses Himself in, by, and through the church.
The church is the Body of Christ, and it is also the many sons of God joined to God to be one (Heb. 2:10-11). God in Christ is the substance of the church, and the church in the Holy Spirit is the expression of God. Thus, the church is a dwelling place of God (Eph. 2:20-21).
On the one hand, the church is the Body to Christ, and on the other hand, the church is the dwelling place to God. On the one hand, we are the many members of Christ, and on the other hand, we are the many sons of God. As the many members of Christ, we express Christ; as the many sons of God, we express God. Of course, these two matters—being the many members of Christ and being the many sons of God—are inseparable; they are the two sides of one matter. In regard to expressing Christ, the emphasis is on being the many members of Christ to be His one Body, and in regard to expressing God, the emphasis is on being the many sons of God to be His house. This house is the dwelling place of God, a place where God is expressed. Both a body and a dwelling are places in which one can rest and express himself. Therefore, both as the Body of Christ and as the house of God, the church is the place in which Christ and God can rest and find expression.
The church, which is composed of the many sons of God (Heb. 2:10), will enter into the glory of God in the future, just as Christ the firstborn Son of God entered into glory. This will be the time of our rapture and transfiguration. When all of God’s sons enter into God’s glory and are completely transformed, God will gain a complete and full expression. This will be the manifestation of the New Jerusalem. At that time, God will be completely in Christ, and Christ will be completely in the New Jerusalem, that is, in the church. Thus, the church will completely express God in Christ. Revelation 21 says that God will be the light shining in the New Jerusalem while Christ will be the lamp of the light (vv. 11, 22-23). Moreover, the New Jerusalem with its surrounding, transparent wall will be like a great transparent lampshade. God as the light dwelling in Christ as the lamp will shine forth through Christ, and Christ in the New Jerusalem will shine forth through the New Jerusalem. Therefore the glory, the splendor, of the New Jerusalem is God who is being expressed. God in Christ is completely mingled with the church as one, and the church in Christ is completely transformed to be like God; at the same time, God in Christ completely shines out of the church and is expressed through the church. This is God’s ultimate goal.
Therefore, from Adam to the New Jerusalem there is a line in the Bible showing that God wants to be mingled with man so that He may express Himself in man and through man. The final step of this line is with the church. The church is the ultimate, full expression of God, which is the goal of God’s eternal desire.
