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In relation to God, the church is first the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15) and then the kingdom of God (Rom. 14:17). In relation to Christ, the church is first the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22b-23) and then the bride of Christ (5:24-25). The church as the Body of Christ is for His expression, and the church as the bride of Christ is for His satisfaction. These two items concerning what the church is to Christ are typified in Eve. On the one hand, Eve was built from Adam’s rib and became one flesh with him. On the other hand, she was Adam’s wife. In Ephesians 2, 4, and 6, we see that the church is also the new man and the warrior, both of which are for the accomplishment of God’s purpose. The church as the new man is for living out God’s purpose. The church as the warrior is for defeating God’s enemy and bringing in His kingdom.
A house is a dwelling place. A house can also refer to a household or a family and speaks of a life relationship. The Greek word translated “house” denotes not only a dwelling place but also a family. Hence, when we use the word house, we are referring to both meanings: a household and a dwelling place.
The house of God is related to life, to living, and to expression and function. The first matter in any family is life. An American family has the American life, and a Chinese family has the Chinese life. Life is the source. Once there is life, there will be a living, and a living produces an expression, which is also a function. The church is the house of God. Every person in this house is born of God and is a child of God. Only when we have the life of God can we be the house of God.
The house of God is related to living. God lives in us, and we live out the living God. The living of the church should be the living out of the living God. The house of God is related to expression. Once we live out the living God, we will have an expression, a function. Such an expression is the truth, the reality. The central truth in the Bible is God manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16). This is the church as the pillar and base of the truth (v. 15). The church is born of God, and the church lives out God. Therefore, the church is the pillar and base of the truth, the supporting pillar and holding base of the truth. The truth is not centered on baptism or love but on the great mystery of godliness—God manifested in the flesh. In other words, the central truth in the Bible is God being joined with man in order to dispense Himself into His people so that they, as His children, may become His house to express Him as the great mystery. This means that God entering into man and being lived out from within man is the great mystery of godliness. The church as the pillar and base of the truth holds the truth concerning God manifested in the flesh. The church does not teach concerning morality and ethics or religious rituals or ceremonies, such as baptism and bread-breaking. As the house of God, the church lives out and upholds the truth concerning God being manifested in the flesh, God being mingled with and dispensing Himself into men so that they may become His dwelling place and His household in order to live Him out and express Him. When speaking concerning the church being God’s house, we must point out these three items: life, living, and expression.
The church is God’s kingdom. In Matthew 16 the Lord first spoke of the church and then of the kingdom, showing that the church is God’s kingdom. The church and God’s kingdom are not two separate things; they are two aspects of one thing. The church is on the aspect of life, and the kingdom of God is on the aspect of living. Chapter 16 shows that the church is a matter of life, and then it shows that the kingdom is a matter of living. When we speak of living, the church is the kingdom.
Romans 14:17 proves that the church is the kingdom. Chapter 14 is on the church life. Verse 17 says, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” This verse is related to our living and shows that the kingdom of God is the church life. The relationship between the kingdom of God and the church is a matter of life and a matter of living. When the church is not merely in the realm of life but also of living, it is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the church life, which is not eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We must lead new believers to see that the church life is the kingdom.
Furthermore, we must help new believers to see that the kingdom of God is the enlargement of the life of God. In Mark 4:26-29 the kingdom of God is a seed that is sown and grows. The seed is Christ who is sown into us. Then He grows in us and is enlarged in us. The enlarged Christ is the kingdom of God. This enlarged Christ becomes the sphere, the realm, of the kingdom of God.
In 1972 I released a series of messages concerning the kingdom of God in a conference in Los Angeles. These messages were later published in a book entitled The Kingdom. Afterward, I released the Life-study of Mark and again stressed the kingdom of God. We should read these messages when we speak concerning the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is Christ as a seed sown into God’s chosen people to grow and expand within them into a sphere, a realm. Christ is the content of this realm. This enlarged Christ is the kingdom of God. When the Lord Jesus is sown into us, He is life. When He grows and expands in us, He is a realm, which is the kingdom of God.
There are other verses in the New Testament concerning the kingdom. For example, in Acts 14:22 Paul says that in order to enter into the kingdom of God we must go through many tribulations. In Revelation 1:9 John says, “I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus.” This verse indicates that the elderly John lived in the kingdom of God. He was not only in the house of God but also in the kingdom of God. Finally, Ephesians 2:19 says, “You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
To Christ the church is the Body and the bride, and to God the church is His house and His kingdom. The Body expresses Christ, whereas the bride satisfies Christ. The house makes it possible for us to enjoy God and for God to enjoy us, whereas the kingdom is a realm established by God where Christ can be enlarged and can reign for the accomplishing of God’s purpose. In addition, Ephesians presents the church as the new man and the warrior. The new man is for the living that can fulfill God’s will, and the warrior is for dealing with God’s enemy and bringing in God’s kingdom.
The church as the new man lives according to God’s image in order to accomplish God’s will. In Genesis 1 man was created according to God’s image with the purpose of expressing God and representing God for the carrying out of His administration in order to accomplish God’s will. In chapter 3 the created man became fallen and corrupted to become the old man and therefore departed from God. By chapter 11 man was divided and scattered. This was the situation of the old man when the Lord came. After His incarnation, He died, resurrected, and entered into us. As God’s chosen ones, we are regenerated with a new life. Hence, collectively we are the new man. The old man is the fallen created man who has not been regenerated with God’s life. The new man is the redeemed old man who has been regenerated with God’s life. It is through the new man, who lives out God’s image, that God’s will can be accomplished. The life within the new man is God, and this life is Christ. Christ as the divine life is within us to be our content. As He becomes our content, there are no more distinctions or divisions among us, because on the cross Christ abolished all divisions, including the division between Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:14-15). Hence, there is no distinction among us in the church. This is not achieved through the teaching of the law of ordinances but through Christ, who abolished the ordinances on the cross and has entered into us to be our life. When we live in His life, all distinctions are gone.
Christ is the constituent and the content of the new man. Hence, the new man lives a life that is not only like God but even is God. This life is the righteousness and holiness of the reality (4:24). As we live out this righteousness and holiness, we live out God. In this way we express God on earth and accomplish His will on earth for the fulfilling of His original purpose in creating man. This is a brief summary of the new man.
The stress of the church as the warrior is on its armor. A warrior needs to put on armor. Ephesians 6:10-18 speaks of the whole armor of God, and verses 14 through 18 show the various aspects of the whole armor of God: “Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace; besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith...And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition.” In this portion of the Scriptures there are six items of the armor of God that need to be put on, and every item is Christ. The first item is the girdle of truth. Truth is Christ, the reality (John 14:6). The second item is the breastplate of righteousness, and righteousness is Christ (1 Cor. 1:30). When Satan attacks us and accuses us, we should say, “Christ is my righteousness; His precious blood cleanses me from all my sins.” The third item is the firm foundation of peace; this peace is also Christ. Ephesians 2:14 says, “He Himself is our peace.” The fourth item is the shield of faith, which is also Christ. He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2). The fifth item is the helmet of salvation, and salvation is Christ (Luke 2:30). God’s salvation covers our mind against the negative thoughts that the evil one injects into us. Salvation is the saving Christ whom we experience in our daily lives (John 16:33). The sixth item is the sword of the Spirit, and the Spirit is the word of God. Both the Spirit and the word are Christ (2 Cor. 3:17; Rev. 19:13). The church as the warrior needs the whole armor of God, and the element and essence of the various items of the armor are Christ as our everything. To put on the armor is to put on Christ, that is, to apply what Christ is in our living. In Ephesians 6:18 there is an additional point—prayer. Prayer is the means through which we apply the various items of the armor. If we want to put on Christ as our armor, we need to pray.
In leading new believers to know the church, we need to help them see that the church is the Body of Christ and His bride, the house of God, the kingdom of God, the new man, and the warrior.
