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In this chapter and in the chapters following, we turn to the matter of the reality and practicality of the church. We are not concerned with the church in doctrine or merely with the church in revelation but with the church in reality and practicality. However, in order to see the reality and practicality of the church, we must have a clear revelation concerning the church. We need to see what the church is. I am especially burdened to help those who have recently come into the church life to see what the church is and to know the church’s reality and practicality in the Lord’s recovery today. Everyone in the church life should be familiar with these matters.
The term church has been damaged, polluted, and spoiled by its usage in Christianity. When many people hear the word church, they think of a cathedral or of a bungalow with a high tower and a bell. What a shame to understand the church in this way! The church is not a material building. Some have been helped, especially by the teaching of the Brethren, to know that the church, according to the Greek word ekklesia, means the called ones meeting together. This is correct, for the church is a gathering of God’s called ones. However, this understanding of the church is much too superficial. The church revealed in the New Testament is far more profound than this. Hence, we must turn to the holy Word to see the revelation concerning the church.
Before we do this, we need to have some fellowship regarding the fact that the church is according to the desire of God’s heart. I realize that the phrase the desire of God’s heart is not found in the Bible. But in Ephesians 1:5 and 9 we have the terms the good pleasure of His will and His good pleasure. When I was young, I was very troubled by this phrase. I asked myself, “What is the good pleasure of God’s will?” Now I would address this question to you: Do you know what the good pleasure of God’s will is? Ephesians 1:5 not only speaks of God’s will but also of the good pleasure of His will. Today, especially in this country, everyone desires pleasure. Holidays are days of pleasure. People attend sporting events in the pursuit of pleasure. If we desire pleasure, then certainly God does also. Only something dead or nonliving has no such need. A wooden table, for example, has no need of pleasure because it is not living. But every living thing desires pleasure. In fact, the more living you are, the more pleasure you need. A child of seven requires more pleasure than an old man who can hardly breathe. Often a child is naughty simply because he is seeking pleasure. The degree of our livingness determines how much pleasure we need. Because God is certainly the most living One, He surely needs the most pleasure. If we, as fallen sinners, require pleasure, then how much more does God, the living One, have a deep need for it? When I was in Christianity, I heard over and over again that we were saved because God loves us. Frequently, the preachers quoted John 3:16. I was merely told that God loves sinners and that He desires to bring them into His heavenly mansion. But I was never told that God has a pleasure.
Unlike the book of Romans, which begins from the perspective of man’s fallen condition, the book of Ephesians does not begin from man’s side but from God’s side. The book of Ephesians reveals what God needs. God needs pleasure, and this pleasure is according to His will. Do not understand this word will in your way. Here it does not mean that God has a strong will; rather, the meaning here is somewhat similar to a wish. God has a good wish, a desire. He longs, desires, to taste something. God’s desire is a good desire, a good will, and His pleasure is of such a good desire. This is exactly what is meant by the words heart’s desire. The biblical term for heart’s desire is the good pleasure of His will. The good pleasure of God’s will is simply the desire of God’s heart.
What does God desire? The heart’s desire of God is to have the church. It is not to have a group of saved sinners but to obtain one entity—the church. All students of the Bible agree that the entire book of Ephesians is on the church. In the book of Ephesians the church is described in at least seven or eight aspects. In this chapter we need to cover all these aspects. I wish to impress you all, especially the young people, with the fact that the desire of God’s heart is to have the church. The church that is in His heart is too wonderful. It is so wonderful and profound that not even the apostle Paul in writing the Epistle to the Ephesians had the adequate utterance to describe and define it. No human language can adequately portray the wonderful entity in God’s heart.
In the past we received the help to be saved, and afterwards we were taught to improve our behavior. All this is good, and I do not find fault with it. But is this all? Some Christians are known as “deeper life” Christians. I do not know whether they are actually deep or not, but they at least try to help others to know the deeper life. However, there are different applications of the term deeper life. The holiness people consider their holiness as the deeper life, and the tongue-speaking people consider their speaking in tongues as the deeper life. Others refer to the deeper life as the “second blessing.” Still others understand the deeper life as something mysterious and mystical. However, I have never heard anyone apply the term deeper life to the church life. Although there are many schools of doctrine in Christianity, there is no school called “church life.” Today’s Christians have missed the mark and are still missing it. God’s goal is not simply to save sinners and then to improve their behavior and deepen their life. God’s goal is to have the church. If, after you have been saved, you have only improved your behavior and become deep in life, you are just useful for some kind of exhibition. But God does not want such an exhibition. He does not desire individual Christians—He wants the church. When we built our meeting hall in Anaheim, we purchased a vast quantity of materials. Our intention was not to have a huge pile of materials—it was to build a meeting hall. Likewise, the desire of God’s heart is to have the church. Oh, we all must see this! We have been saved for the church, not for any other purpose. We were not only saved for the church but saved to be the church.
I am concerned that many of you are still not clear concerning the purpose of your salvation. You must clearly see that you have been saved for the church. This vision must direct, control, and guide your whole life. You have been saved to be part of the church. Now let me ask you this question: Do you daily live as a part of the church? Doctrinally you recognize that you are a part of the church and that you have been saved to be in the church, but practically do you live as a part of the church? When you go shopping, do you shop as a part of the church? In our daily living we may not live as a part of the church. Doctrine is one thing, and practicality is another.
How pitiful is the situation among Christians today! Since the Lord has brought His recovery to this country, Christians have been talking about the church. Many say, “Why do you say that you are the church and that we are not the church?” Perhaps after discussing the church, some pastors may go out to play tennis. On the one hand, they argue that we teach wrong doctrine with respect to the church, and, on the other hand, they forget about it all and go to play golf or tennis. Today who cares for the reality and practicality of the church? Practically speaking, who are the ones in the local churches? We need to apply this question to ourselves. In your home life do you live as a part of the church? Once again I say that we have been saved to be the church.
Years ago I was taught that we were saved that we might be holy, and I read a number of books about holiness and about how to be holy. However, I never read a book on how to be the church. I ask you to read your New Testament again. If you do so, you will see what a strong emphasis there is in God’s divine revelation on this matter of the church.
Although many Bible teachers say that the book of Ephesians is on the church, to them this is merely theology. If you examine their practical living, you will see that they do not care for the church at all. But how about us? We must be impressed that the Lord’s recovery today is ultimately the recovery of the church life. What Christianity has missed, the Lord is recovering. This is not a doctrine. Today the Lord is recovering the church life. As long as there is no practical church life, the Lord does not yet have His recovery. Although so many positive things are holy, scriptural, and spiritual, none of them is the goal. Again I declare that the goal is the church.
In Acts 2 we have the record of the first local church, the church in Jerusalem. Verses 41 through 47 reveal that those Christians were the church. Although they did not have the doctrine of the church and perhaps did not even have the word church, they were the church in their living. Day and night they lived the church life. They may not have talked about the church or taught about it—they simply were the church. During the time of Acts 2, the Lord had gained what He had been seeking. But not too long afterwards, this goal was gradually blurred and lost. Now, at the end of this age, the Lord has come to recover this lost goal. Thus, we are not here for holiness, spirituality, evangelical work, or for any kind of movement. We are here for the church. This is God’s desire. God wants a real, actual, and practical church, not a group of people talking about the doctrine of the church. Since I have been enlightened concerning this, no one has been able to deceive me.
If you have ever seen the church in a transparent, crystal-clear vision, no one will be able to cheat you. Young people, as you go to the campuses, you must go with the vision of the real and practical church. Then, no matter what others say to you, you will be clear. You will have x-ray vision; you will be able to see through things, and no one will be able to rob you. But if you do not have this clear vision, you may be influenced by the enticing words of certain Christians. However, once you have seen the vision of the church, no one will be able to seduce you. The more they talk, the clearer you will become, and you will say, “Oh, I see the little serpent under this person’s tongue!” Only by seeing the vision of the church can we overcome this enticing, serpentine talk.
Let us now consider the various aspects of the church unfolded in the book of Ephesians. First, the church is revealed as the sonship. Ephesians 1:5 says, “Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” This sonship is the church, or the church life. The sonship to which we, the chosen ones of God, have been predestinated is a blessing in the divine life that we might enjoy the church. This sonship came into being at the time of the Lord’s resurrection. In His resurrection the Lord Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, was born to be the firstborn Son of God. Acts 13:33, containing a quotation of Psalm 2:7, says, “That God has fully fulfilled this promise to us their children in raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; this day have I begotten You.’” The words this day refer to the day of resurrection. On the day of resurrection the only begotten Son of God in the flesh was begotten by the Father to be the firstborn Son of God. Prior to this time, the Son of God was the only begotten Son of God, but in resurrection He became the firstborn Son of God.
We are told clearly in the Bible that in the Lord’s resurrection not only He Himself was begotten, but all God’s chosen ones were born (1 Pet. 1:3). The only begotten Son was uniquely one. Besides Him, there was no other. But the only begotten Son was, in resurrection, born to be the firstborn Son. This implies that there are other sons. Hallelujah, we are the other sons! I am certain that I am included among the many sons of God. The words many sons are found in Hebrews 2:10, which says that the Father is “leading many sons into glory.” God the Father has many sons, and God the Son has many brothers. The “many brothers” are mentioned in Romans 8:29, which says, “Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers.” On the day of resurrection the Lord Jesus brought us all into sonship. According to Hebrews 2:11 and 12, Christ’s many brothers are the church: “Both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, ‘I will declare Your name to My brothers; in the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise to You.’” The many brothers of Christ, who are the many sons of God in the divine sonship, are the church. This concept is very deep.
The church is the corporate sonship, the totality of God’s divine sonship. This implies that the church must be a corporate entity which has the very nature of God. Sonship implies both nature and source, for sonship indicates the source and nature of the church. The source and nature of the church are God the Father. In the Bible the name Father always denotes the source and nature. In a family the father is the source with the nature. All children come out of the source of their father and have their father’s nature. The church is a corporate entity issuing out of the source of God the Father and having the nature of God the Father. We in the church have the nature of God the Father. Our nature is divine because we have come out of that unique source, which is God the Father Himself.
Since I came to this country, I have often asked the brothers what their national origin is. There were some who have told me that their origin is British, others Danish, and still others Spanish. Now we must ask what the church’s origin is. The origin of the church is God the Father. A person’s origin is expressed in his face. But does the church have the appearance of God the Father? Do we truly bear His expression? We have not only the origin, the source, of the Father as our appearance but also His nature as our content. The divine nature, which is God Himself, is the very nature of the church.
Today many talk and argue concerning who is the church. Look at yourself: Do you look like a part of the church? Instead of this, you may resemble a turtle. Your way of going out to play tennis gives you the appearance of a turtle. How can we call a turtle part of the church? Even if you would label a turtle as part of the church, the turtle would still not be part of the church. Many times I have said to myself, “So many of the poor people on earth walk, work, and live like turtles, yet they claim to be the church.” Who are the church? The Christians who have come out of the origin of God the Father, who bear the appearance of God the Father, and who are filled and constituted with the divine nature of God the Father—these are the church.
Again I say, if you have seen this vision, no one will be able to deceive you. If others attempt to cheat you, simply smile at them and say, “Dear one, you simply don’t know what you are talking about. You resemble a turtle who labels himself as part of the church. You are trying to sell me the wrong cargo. I want to buy that which has its origin in God, not something on the low level of a turtle. I have seen the vision of the church. Don’t try to cheat me with your cheap cargo. Now let me tell you what the church is.” By speaking this way in the past, I received a bad name because all those who approached me about this matter were exposed. However, do not apply this word to others—apply it to yourself. You say that you are in the church, but what kind of a person are you? Do you live like a turtle, or like someone whose origin is God the Father? Are we being constituted with the divine nature, or are we still in our Chinese, Japanese, or American nature? The church is not a composition of Chinese, Spanish, and Americans. It is a corporate entity filled and constituted with the divine nature of God the Father.
When you hear that the sonship of the divine nature is the church, you may reply, “How can we be such a being?” First, we need to be regenerated, and then we need to be transformed. We were born of a national origin, such as Chinese, Japanese, American, Spanish, or British. But this is no longer our origin. Today our origin is God the Father. We have been born of His nature, and now His nature is doing a transforming work within us. His nature is not only the begetting nature but also the transforming nature.
The book of Ephesians also reveals that the church is the family of God (2:19). The sonship and the family are closely related. If you are not in the sonship, you do not belong to the family, because the family is based upon the sonship. While sonship indicates source and implies nature, family denotes our household life. Our life should not be an individual life but a family life. Although I do not like to see the brothers and sisters get married when they are still teenagers, I like to see them get married at a proper age and then become parents of two or more children. This is family life.
Family life kills your individualism. I am concerned for some among us. Although they are good brothers and sisters, their individualism has never been killed. Do you know what can kill your individualism? First, your husband or wife, and then your children. When you get married, you gain someone who kills your individualism. Day by day in the family life of the church we are suffering the killing of our individualism. Have you ever sensed that, in the church life, you are under someone’s killing? Some of my children have said, “Daddy, you have too many children. I wish I were just by myself and didn’t have so many brothers and sisters, because they all bother me.” Praise the Lord that the church life is a family life!
God the Father has no intention of having individual sons. His intention is to have a family, and we are His family. Although we all belong to the family, some naughty ones do not like to remain with the family. Instead, they prefer to be off somewhere by themselves. Some of you may still hold to your preference of being away from your brothers and sisters. You enjoy being isolated. But if you consider the human situation, you will see that mankind does not depend upon individuals but upon the family. The church is God’s family. God’s unit is corporate; it is not the individual. He does not want you to be an only son. You cannot be His only son, for He already has His only begotten Son. You must be a member of His family.
In Greek, the word for family or household is the same as the word for house, or dwelling place. Thus, the church is God’s dwelling place, God’s house and home (1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 3:6). Today the family is different from the house, but in the New Testament the house and the family are one. In some cases it is difficult to determine whether to translate the Greek word as “house” or as “household.” Both are correct. In God’s eyes, the house is the family, and the family is the house. Individually, you and I could never be God’s house. God’s house is a corporate matter, not an individual one. If we say that we are the church, then we must examine ourselves to see whether we are God’s house, God’s dwelling. If we say that we are the church of God, then we must be God’s dwelling place. Many talk about the church, but they do not have the reality of the church.
The reality of the church is that it is God’s residence. God dwells there. Do we have the residence of God among us? If we do not, then we are not qualified to say that we are the church. We are a so-called church, but we lack the divine residence.
In relation to the Father, the church is the sonship and the household. Now we must see what the church is in relation to Christ. All Christians know that the church is the Body of Christ (1:22-23; 5:30). Christ’s Body is the church. This term, however, has been used in a very loose way. After coming to this country, I heard a lot of talk about “Body ministry” and the “Body life.” What was described as “Body ministry” eventually turned out to be something absolutely different. Others said that they had the “Body life.” But I wondered where the Head was. The New Testament clearly says that the Body is one with the Head. If we do not have the Head, we cannot have the Body. Without the Head, you would have something similar to the Body, but it would not be the Body—it would be a corpse. If we claim to be the Body, then we must ask where the Head is. In our church life do we have the Head? The Head certainly must be Christ. In our church life do we truly realize that Christ is here as the Head? Many who claim to be the Body, but who do not have the Head, are like a corpse that is somehow still active—a body without a head still acting as if it were alive. This is a monstrosity. If someone were walking around in the meeting without a head, we would all be terrified. But the situation in today’s Christianity is that of many active bodies without the Head. Are we truly under the headship of Christ? We do have the awareness and the application of the headship of Christ among us. Many times the brothers are unable to do certain things because of their awareness of Christ’s headship. They realize that only Christ, not any of them, is the Head. We dare not make certain decisions because we realize that only He is the Head. We must honor Christ’s headship and apply it to the practicality of today’s church life. If the Head is removed, the Body is finished. But when we have the Head, we have the Body also.
The church as the Body implies life and function. The Body is a living organism. If it does not have life in it, it can no longer be the Body. Without life it would either be a corpse or an organization. A body must have life. A body also implies function. Hence, the Body of Christ has three things—the Head, the life, and the function. My body functions even when I am sleeping. A dead body, however, does not function at all. If we say that we are the church, then we must realize three things concerning the Body: headship, life, and function. I hope that you all will take in this word.
Although we may have the life of the Body, we may not live by that life. The human body has a life, and it certainly lives by this life. If the body does not live by the life in the body, then it must be sick. For the body to be sick means that a part of the body does not live by the life of the body. Many Christians are talking about the church as the Body, but they are sick, not living by the life of the Body. To say that we are the church, the Body of Christ, means that we live by the life of the Body, which is Christ Himself. Suppose you go to a brother to have some fellowship with him or to deal with him. As you do so, you must realize that you are in the Body and that you must live by the life in the Body. You should not fellowship with that brother or deal with him by your own natural life but by the life in the Body. Perhaps not many among us have the full realization of this. We need to realize that we must live and act by the life within the Body. This is not for us to be holy, victorious, or spiritual; it is for us to be a part of the church, a part of the Body.
Whenever we consider the matter of the functions in the Body, our heart aches. So many have been drugged and damaged by the tradition, background, and environment of Christianity. When they come to the meetings, they sit there under the influence of Christianity, expecting some hired ones to function for them. Although this is the practice in Christianity, it is not the church in function. In the church every member functions. As I am speaking, my whole body is functioning. If my diaphragm did not function, I would not be able to project my voice very far. If my legs did not function, my whole body would sense it and suffer because of it. But many members sit in the meetings without functioning and even without any inner sense regarding this. This proves that they have been drugged by Christianity. In our meetings, everyone must function. No matter how many come together, even if it be more than a thousand, everyone must function. Even if you do not bear a large responsibility in the Body, you still must function. If we are sincere in saying that we are the church, then we all must function as members of the Body.
The church is also Christ’s counterpart, His wife (5:25-27, 32). The church as the counterpart of Christ implies satisfaction and rest in love. Every husband needs satisfaction and rest, which are found in love. The brothers who are husbands can testify that our satisfaction and rest can only be in our wives. If we say that we are the church, then we must ask if Christ has His rest among us. This is serious. Do not be so quick to claim that you are the church. To be the church is to render to Christ the adequate satisfaction and rest in love. Christ needs such a wife. The church is not merely a gathering of God’s called ones. It is a satisfaction and rest to Christ in love.
To God the Spirit, the church is the temple. First Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” The believers as a corporate unit in a certain locality are the temple indwelt by the Spirit of God. Hence, to God the Spirit we are the temple filled with Himself. It is not simply a matter of having the manifestations of certain gifts, such as healing and speaking in tongues. It is a matter of having the corporate indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is the reality of the church life.
To the enemy, Satan, the church is an army (Eph. 6:11-13). Being the army is not an individualistic matter. At most, you and I can only be soldiers. But all the soldiers must be formed and constituted into an army. Whenever we are detached from the army, we are in a very dangerous situation. We must have the protection of being in the army. Because many Christians today are not in the army, they are constantly under the attack of the enemy. The church is absolutely a corporate entity. All the aspects of the church that we have covered—sonship, family, Body, counterpart, temple, and army—are corporate entities.
In addition to all these aspects, the church is also the new man (2:15-16). The church as the new man is for our living. Hallelujah, on earth there is such a new man living here! To the Father, the church is the sonship and the family; to the Son, the church is the Body and the counterpart; to the Spirit, the church is the temple; to Satan, the church is the army; and for our living, the church is the new man. Praise the Lord that we are the new man! Individualistically, we are not the new man. God has one corporate new man—the church.
After seeing all these aspects of the church, can we still be individualistic? I can testify that after I saw all this, my individualism was killed. I have seen that the church is absolutely a corporate entity. With respect to the Father, to the Son, to the Spirit, to the enemy, and for our living, the church is a corporate entity. Hallelujah, the church is the sonship, the family, the Body, the counterpart, the temple, the army, and the one new man!
