Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:23; Eph. 3:8b, Eph. 3:17a, Eph. 3:19b; Eph. 3:4:13; 5:18b
The church is the expression of Christ. It is not the expression of such things as doctrine, gifts, or power. Nevertheless, subconsciously or unconsciously, many think that the church should be characterized by the manifestation of spiritual gifts. Some believe that whenever Christians meet together there should be the exercise and demonstration of the so-called charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit. However, the book of Ephesians, a book on the church, does not mention this kind of gift. There is not a word in this Epistle about speaking in tongues or healing. When Paul speaks of gifts in Ephesians 4, he is referring to persons who are made gifts to the Body. For example, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers are gifts. As we have pointed out elsewhere, every member of the Body is a gift to the church. Hence, in Ephesians a gift is not what we have or what we do; it is what we are. To be such a gift is to be constituted with Christ as life. This causes our very being to become a gift to the Body.
We thank the Lord for the many Christians who have been helped through the experience of charismatic gifts. However, we cannot agree with the claim that all Christians will become one if they have certain charismatic experiences. According to my experience and observation, those who emphasize the Pentecostal or charismatic experiences are the most divisive. The more certain believers exercise their spiritual gifts, the more individualistic and divisive they become. This is the reason that there have been so many divisions among those who stress spiritual gifts. In Christian meetings they may not care much for the edification of others, but care primarily for the manifestation of their own gifts. Some excuse their individualism by saying that they take heed only to God, not to man, and claiming that everything they do is of the Spirit’s inspiration.
In Eph. 1:22-23 Paul indicates that the church is the Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. The church is the fullness of Christ. In 3:8 Paul says that he preached the unsearchable riches of Christ. (Paul does not say here that he preached doctrine or gifts.) We need to know the difference between the riches of Christ and the fullness of Christ. Most Christians confuse these terms, thinking that the riches of Christ are the same as the fullness of Christ.
In chapter three Paul goes on to speak of Christ making His home in our heart, with the result that we are filled unto all the fullness of God. Furthermore, in 4:13 he says that we need to arrive “at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” In 5:18 he says that we should be filled in our spirit. Surely this is related to being filled unto all the fullness of God. Such a filling takes place in our spirit, not in the mind. In 5:18 Paul is not saying that we are filled with the Holy Spirit; he is emphasizing the fact that we need to be filled in our spirit, even filled unto all the fullness of God.
In 5:18 Paul presents a contrast between being drunk with wine and being filled in spirit. To be drunk with wine is to be filled in the body, whereas to be filled in our regenerated spirit is to be filled with Christ unto all the fullness of God. To be drunk with wine in the body causes us to be dissipated, but to be filled with Christ, the fullness of God, causes us to overflow with Him in speaking, singing, psalming, and giving thanks to God (vv. 19-20) and to subject ourselves one to another (v. 21). How important it is for us to be filled in spirit unto all the fullness of God!
Let us now consider the difference between the riches of Christ and the fullness of Christ. The riches of Christ are what Christ is to us in all His divine attributes and human virtues. These riches are unsearchable. The fullness of Christ, the Body, issues from the enjoyment of the riches of Christ. Through the enjoyment of Christ’s riches, we become His fullness to express Him. Christ, who is the infinite God without limitation of any kind, is so great that He fills all things in all things. Such a Christ needs the church to be His fullness for His complete expression.
We have pointed out that the riches of Christ are unsearchable. Included in these riches is Christ’s divinity. He is the very God. Since Christ is the Son of God, another aspect of His riches is sonship. Furthermore, according to Isaiah 9:6, the Son is even called the eternal Father. This indicates that He has not only the sonship, but also the fatherhood. Second Corinthians 3:17 says that Christ the Lord is the Spirit. This is another item of Christ’s unsearchable riches. Other items include Christ as light, life, love, righteousness, holiness, humility, patience, and submission. How long the list would be if anyone could enumerate all the aspects of the riches of Christ!
Christ’s riches need an expression. When these riches come forth to be expressed, that expression is the fullness of Christ. When Christ was incarnated, God’s riches were expressed. However, the incarnation by no means exhausted these riches. Rather, it was the overflow, the fullness, of the riches of God. Christ came forth from the bosom of the Father (John 1:18). But His coming forth did not at all exhaust the divine riches in the Father’s bosom. On the contrary, the more that came forth, the more there was to come forth. Therefore, with Christ there were not only the riches, but also the fullness. For this reason, John 1:16 says, “For of His fullness we all received, and grace upon grace.” Christ is the fullness of the Godhead. When He came to earth, He was the overflow of the riches of God. Hence, He became the fullness of God. Not only were the riches within Him, but the very fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him bodily (Col. 2:9).
Christ is the fullness of God, and the church is the fullness of Christ. Christ’s riches are so extensive that not only is Christ Himself filled with them, but these riches also fill up the members of His Body, the church. As we are filled with Christ’s riches, we become His fullness. In this way the church becomes the fullness of Christ.
The fullness of Christ comes out of the enjoyment of the riches of Christ. For the church to have the riches of Christ and not the fullness of Christ would be an indication that Christ is limited. But the fact that the church not only has Christ’s riches but also is His fullness indicates that the Christ experienced and enjoyed by the church is unlimited. Limited riches cannot produce fullness. Only unlimited riches are capable of producing the fullness. As the expression of the unsearchably rich Christ, the church is the unlimited expression of the unlimited Christ. This means that the church is the fullness of Christ who is Himself the embodiment of the fullness of God. My burden in this message is simply to point out that the church must be such an expression of Christ.
The church is not the expression of anything other than Christ. We have seen that many Christians are occupied with spiritual gifts. These gifts, however, are not Christ Himself. In like manner, doctrine and power are not Christ. Not even the Bible itself is Christ. Christ, a living and wonderful Person, is the embodiment of God. We should not allow anything to take the place of Christ. Spiritual gifts may be a means to partake of Christ, power may help us to realize Christ, and doctrines may be instruments used to impart Christ. However, many Christians allow gifts, power, teachings, and even the Bible to become substitutes for Christ. Instead of taking Christ and experiencing Christ directly, many devote their attention to gifts, power, and doctrine. This indicates that the means and the instruments that God intends to be used to gain Christ are actually used to replace Christ. The situation must be altogether different in the Lord’s recovery. In the recovery, the Lord intends to bring us back to Himself, not to the various means or instruments. We thank the Lord for the gifts, the power, the teachings, and, in particular, for the holy Word. But most of all, we thank God for His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s intention is to bring us back to Christ, back from everything that has become a substitute for Him or has distracted us from Him. Therefore, when we Christians meet together, we should pay our attention not to the manifestation of gifts or even to the teaching of the Word, but to the expression of the living Christ. In the meetings we should not be concerned about the way of meeting, but with the expression of the living Christ.
In the Lord’s recovery we are fighting a battle. Primarily we must fight against the use of good things as substitutes for Christ. In his subtlety, the enemy, Satan, uses many things to attract people away from Christ. Some are distracted from Christ by teachings or by their concept of what is correct Bible doctrine. For this reason, some condemn the practice of calling on the name of the Lord. They claim that this is not according to Scripture. Some have accused us of inventing new ways of worship. Others have asked us why we cannot go along with the methods of worship that have been practiced by Christians for centuries. What is wrong with calling on the name of the Lord? It is not my intention to cause other Christians trouble. But the Lord has charged me to tell His people of the need to call on Him. This is not a new teaching. Such a practice is first spoken of in Genesis 4:26. This verse says, “Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” This verse and dozens of other verses as well indicate that to call on the name of the Lord is certainly a scriptural teaching and practice. Verse after verse in both the Old Testament and in the New Testament encourages us to call on the name of the Lord.
Others are offended by pray-reading and criticize us for this practice. According to them, this is our invention. It is not my desire to argue with anyone about things such as this. However, I wish to point out that Ephesians 6:17 and 18 speak of taking the word of God by means of all prayer. Hence, if we are truly scriptural, we will take the Word not only by reading, studying, and searching, but also by praying. With verses such as Ephesians 6:17 and 18 before us, who can say that to pray-read the Word is not according to the Bible? How much we need to turn from the traditional understanding and come back to Christ Himself and to the pure Word of God! This is the Lord’s recovery.
As Christians who live by Christ, whenever we come together we should follow the indwelling Spirit to express Christ. There is no need to have a set way in the meetings. The Spirit knows how to express Christ. In each meeting we should simply open to Him and follow Him. It is not always necessary to open the meeting with a hymn. Perhaps someone will stand and offer living praises to God. We should not come to the meeting according to our concept, for it is too much under the influence of religious tradition. However, if we would express Christ in the meeting, we need to experience Him in our daily life. Some have very little of Christ with which to function and to minister because they have little experience of Him. Hence, they are “pew members.” In the meetings of the recovered church life, the saints who live by Christ need to express Christ in a living way. Only the Spirit knows the way to do this.
In some of the coming messages we shall consider the matter of speaking Christ to one another. Ephesians 5:18 and 19 exhort us to be filled in spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. We need to stand up to declare what Christ is to us and how we have experienced Him. In this way we shall speak Christ to one another, and Christ will be richly expressed in the meetings. Then in a very practical way the church will be filled unto all the fullness of God, with the overflow of all that God is. The church life will be not the expression of gifts, knowledge, or power, but the expression of the living Christ.
