We do thank the Lord for gathering us together again this evening.
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 12:12-13.
For even as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is the Christ.
For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Also turn to Acts 1:1-2.
The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach,
until the day in which He was received up, after that He had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom He had chosen.
And Ephesians 1:22-23:
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
May we look to the Lord in prayer.
Heavenly Father, we do want to praise and thank Thee that we can gather together unto the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee because we know that where His name is, there is His presence.
We thank Thee that we are in Thy presence, and we do look to Thee to speak to each one of us. We ask Thee to open our understanding, open our eyes, open our ears, and open our hearts, that Thy word may fall into good ground and bear fruit a hundredfold unto Thyself.
We commit this time into Thy hands, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
This is the second session of three sessions. We feel that it is of the Lord that during these three sessions we should share together on this matter of the church.
Last time, we shared on the birth of the church. This evening, we would like to share on the meaning of the church. And, Lord willing, tomorrow morning we would like to share on the expression of the church.
As I mentioned last time, when we approach this subject of the church, there is something that each one of us must do: we have to lay aside all that we have known of the church.
We have to lay aside all that we have seen and heard about the church, that we may return to the word of God and see what the church really is.
Because the church that we see and hear today is so different from the church of the word of God.
We mentioned last time that the church was conceived in the heart of God even before the foundation of the world. The church is not a product of history. It is not something moulded and fashioned by time. It has its beginning in God Himself.
It is eternal. It is a mystery that has been hidden in God throughout the ages. But now we do thank God that it has been revealed to us.
In other words, we do not know what the church is until it is revealed. What we have seen and heard of the church—has it come as a result of revelation? Or do we know the church without a need for revelation from above?
If we know the church without revelation, that knowledge of the church must be false. Because the only way to know the church is by revelation: revealed in the word of God and revealed to each one of us by the Holy Spirit. Then the church becomes a reality.
So, brothers and sisters, I will make the same request this evening. Let us start from the very beginning, because the will of God is revealed to children, and it is hidden from the wise and prudent.
We need to humble ourselves as little children, acknowledging that we know nothing about the church. Then we are able to return to the word of God and, by the Holy Spirit, to know what the church really is.
Now this evening we would like to share together on the meaning of the church.
The very word church in the Greek original is ekklesia. It comes from ek, meaning “out of,” and klesis, meaning “a calling.” So the very word means those who are called out and gathered together.
During the old days among the Greeks, they used this word, ekklesia, for the assembly of the citizens of a city.
There would be a call to all the citizens of that city to assemble together, to discuss and decide some definite matter. This was called the ekklesia.
You find this usage in Acts 19:39. There was a turmoil in the city of Ephesus, and people gathered together in great confusion. Yet it says:
But if ye seek anything about other matters, it shall be settled in the regular assembly.
The regular assembly is the regular ekklesia. It was the time when citizens assembled to discuss a certain matter.
You also find in the Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible—that this word is used for the summoning of the children of Israel together.
In Acts 7:38, the children of Israel are called the assembly, the ekklesia, in the wilderness.
When this word is applied to the church, ekklesia means the gathering together of God’s people. It includes all God’s people throughout the centuries, from the first century to our time: all those who are called out and gathered together.
Sometimes it is used in a local way. When God’s people in a certain locality are assembled together, that is the local ekklesia.
By the very word ekklesia, we know that it refers to a people; it does not refer to a building.
Today we say, “We go to church.” What do we mean by going to church? Usually, it means that we are going to a building set apart for religious activities. But that is a human concept.
The divine concept of the church refers to the people—not just any people, of course, but a people who have been called out.
Out of every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation, God has called a people unto Himself. Therefore, in Acts 15:14, we find that God visits the nations “to take out of them a people for His name.”
These people who are called out assemble together, and that is ekklesia. This is the meaning of the word.
Now, in 1 Corinthians 12:12, we find:
For even as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is the Christ.
This is a very strange verse. When you read it, you find one body made up of many members. Even though there are many members, there is only one body.
We know what this refers to. It refers to the church, because that is what the church is. The church is the body of Christ, composed of many members.
On the day of Pentecost, there were one hundred and twenty believers gathered together in the upper room. They were there praying and waiting for ten days.
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and in one Spirit they were baptized into one body. That is what happened on the day of Pentecost.
Before the day of Pentecost, you find one hundred and twenty believers. Yes, they gathered together, but they were a congregation of one hundred and twenty believers. When they were together, there was a congregation; but after they scattered, each was on his own. There was no organic relationship.
But on the day of Pentecost, a tremendous and marvellous thing happened. One hundred and twenty believers became one hundred and twenty members of one body.
This is very different from a congregation of one hundred and twenty members. A congregation of one hundred and twenty members is an organisation, but a body with one hundred and twenty members is an organism.
There are many members, but one body. If we were writing the Scripture, we might say, “So also is the church.” But strangely, the Holy Spirit uses different words. He says, “So also is the Christ.”
Those who know Greek tell us that there is a difference between “Christ” and “the Christ.” When Scripture uses “Christ,” it refers to the personal Christ. But when Scripture uses “the Christ,” it refers to the body of Christ with Christ as the Head.
Now, brothers and sisters, what is the church? The church is the Christ. The church is Christ in His corporate expression.
We know that Christ came into this world. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among men, full of grace and truth. The Son of God came into this world and took upon Himself the form of a man. He is Jesus Christ.
But after He ascended, the Holy Spirit came. Then the Christ took upon Himself another body—not the body which He received from Mary, but the body formed by the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
He took upon Himself a corporate body, and that corporate body is the church. That corporate body is the Christ.
Why do we call the church the Christ? Because, actually, it is Christ Himself.
When you look at the church, you see many members. You see this brother, that sister, this believer, and that believer. These believers gather together in the name of the Lord Jesus.
But it is not merely this brother or that sister. It is Christ in that brother and Christ in that sister. It is Christ dispersed among His people and gathered together into one.
So it is Christ in His corporate expression.
Let us use an illustration. We gather together to break bread.
Before we break it, that one loaf represents the personal body of Christ. He took upon Himself a body, and in that body He accomplished the work of redemption. That body was broken for us—His body was broken for you and for me.
That is what the bread represents before it is broken.
Now, after each of us has taken a part of that loaf, when we finish the breaking of bread, we do not see the bread on the plate anymore. It has been scattered into all of us. There is a bit in you and there is a bit in me.
But do you know, when God looks down from heaven, He still sees one loaf. Because He says, “One loaf, one body.” That is 1 Corinthians 10.
Even though we are many, yet we are one loaf, one body. After we have broken the bread, where is the loaf? The loaf is still there; it is in us.
God looks down from heaven and sees Christ. It is Christ in all of us.
Let me use another illustration. I try to make it very simple so that we can understand.
Suppose today there are only three believers: Peter, John, and James. If you look at each one of them, you may consider them the best of all the believers.
Suppose you have only Peter, John, and James, and these three come together. Do you call this the church? You have Peter, you have John, you have James, and you put them together. Do you say, “Now we have the church”?
If that is the church, you will have lots of problems. Among the disciples, they were always struggling and disputing about who was the greatest.
Peter always wanted to be first. Whenever there was an opportunity, he was the spokesman. He wanted to be the head of the three.
Yet John and James were brothers. When they joined hands together against Peter, Peter was in the minority.
You remember that when our Lord Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, John and James asked their mother to come to the Lord Jesus. Their mother was the Lord’s aunt.
The disciples had been contending all this time about who was greatest, but they could not settle the question. So John and James tried to take hold of the last opportunity, because they thought the Lord was going to Jerusalem to be crowned as King.
They thought, “Who will sit on His right hand and on His left?” So they asked their mother to come and plead for them.
Now, if the church is these three people, you will find constant quarrelling, because everyone wants to be greatest.
Peter was very impetuous, a quick-tempered person, very outspoken. John and James were called by our Lord Jesus “sons of thunder.”
At one time, when the Samaritans did not receive the Lord Jesus, they came to Him and asked, “Lord, dost Thou want us to command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?”
If you have these three together, you will have lots of thunder and lots of lightning. There will be no peace.
But that is not the church. The church is Christ in Peter, plus Christ in John, plus Christ in James. That is the church.
No—the church is Christ in Peter minus Peter; Christ in John minus John; Christ in James minus James. That equals the church.
This is the Christ. The problem with the church today is that there are Peters, Jameses, and Johns. No matter how spiritual they are, there is still the flesh there.
They may bring Christ in, but at the same time they bring themselves in. Because they bring themselves in, they spoil the church.
So the cross has to work in each one of us. It is true: it is Christ in me. But the cross has to work in my life so that what remains is Christ Himself.
The church is called the Christ. Brothers and sisters, how often we think that the church is merely the assembly of God’s people.
Why is it that we have so many problems and difficulties? We have one Christ. The Christ in me is the same Christ in you. Why are we divided? It is you and me that divide.
We have to be under the cross. Only when we come under the cross, and then are assembled together, will Christ be manifested. There will be no division, and there will be no problem.
Let us reinforce this. Luke wrote two books. The first discourse is the Gospel according to Luke, and the second discourse is the book of Acts.
In the first chapter of the book of Acts, Luke says, “I composed the first discourse, O Theophilus, concerning all things which Jesus began both to do and to teach.”
The first discourse refers to the Gospel according to Luke. We do not know who Theophilus was, but we know that the name means “lover of God.”
The Gospel of Luke is given to the lover of God. It is the first discourse, recording all that Jesus began both to do and to teach.
The Gospel of Luke records the teaching and doing of our Lord Jesus. When our Lord was on earth for thirty-three years, what He did and what He taught were recorded in the first discourse.
He did and taught in the body that He received from Mary. But notice that Luke said, “All things which Jesus began both to do and to teach.” The Gospel of Luke refers only to the beginning of what the Lord does and teaches.
Then he wrote the second discourse. Outwardly, we call it the Acts of the Apostles. But even to refer to the book of Acts as the Acts of the Apostles is not very correct.
The first part of the book of Acts is mainly the acts of the apostle Peter, and the latter part is the acts of the apostle Paul. In the original, there is no such title.
What is the book of Acts? The book of Acts records approximately thirty-three years of the history of the early church, from the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem until Paul was in Rome for two years as a prisoner.
It is the history of the early church. But what is the meaning of this history? It is what the risen Lord continued to do and to teach in His corporate body.
The Lord is still doing and still teaching. But instead of doing and teaching in His personal body, He is now, as the risen Head, doing and teaching in a corporate body through the Holy Spirit.
That is the book of Acts. All the books in the Bible have endings, but the book of Acts has no end.
Paul was in Rome in his own hired dwelling, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. What happened next? There was no ending.
The Acts continue. Our Lord Jesus, the Head in heaven, is still teaching and doing in His corporate body by the Holy Spirit.
A new chapter is being written today. It will continue until the second coming of our Lord Jesus.
So, brothers and sisters, what is the church? The church is the Christ. The church is the body of Christ, and in that body the risen Lord continues to do and to teach until His work is done.
Finally, we turn to the Epistle to the Ephesians. This is the letter that reveals the mystery of the Christ, and that mystery is the church.
In the letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul uses various figures to describe the church. We need something more tangible—something that we already know—so that by it we may understand what the church really is.
These figures are not the reality itself, but they help us understand. Paul uses them to describe what the church is.
God has made Christ “head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.”
First of all, Paul uses the word body. We all have a body, so we understand what a body is.
What is my body? My body contains all the riches of my head, and my body expresses all the thoughts and all the will of my head. That is the body.
Now, brothers and sisters, what is the church? The church is the body of Christ. It is the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
In Colossians, we are told that all the fulness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily, and we are complete in Him. Why? Because we are His body.
All the fulness of the Godhead is beyond comprehension: holiness, righteousness, purity, power—all the fulness of the Godhead dwells in Christ.
And all the fulness of Christ dwells in His body, the church. Brothers and sisters, all the fulness of Christ, which is the fulness of the Godhead, is now in His body.
You see how rich the church is. The church is a body that contains the unsearchable riches of Christ.
The church that we know today is so poor—so spiritually poor. Yet the church, according to the word of God, is tremendously rich because it is the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
The church is not only the fulness of Christ; it is also to express the glory of Christ. Just as my body is filled with the fulness of my head, it is the expression of the glory of my head.
That is what the church is. This physical body of mine is temporal; it will disappear very soon. But the body of Christ is eternal. It will not pass away.
Which is more real—your body or the body of Christ? The body of Christ is the true body.
Our Lord said, “I am the true vine.” The vine that we see today is only a figure. In reality, the true vine is our Lord Jesus.
So the church as the body of Christ is not a figurative way of speaking. It is not said that the church is like a body. We say that the church is the body, because that is the reality.
Then, if you read on in Ephesians 2:15, it says:
Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that He might create in Himself of the two one new man, so making peace.
In this old creation, there are many divisions, distinctions, and differences. There are differences in race, culture, social status, age, education, and upbringing.
Of all the distinctions, two are the most severe: the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews considered the Gentiles unclean, and there was such a division and wall of partition between them.
The Jews considered themselves the chosen people of God, and they considered the Gentiles outcasts. God was for them, they thought, not for the Gentiles.
In the old temple, the Gentiles could only go to the court of the Gentiles. Beyond that was another court, with signs warning that a Gentile must not cross the line. If one crossed the line, his life was in danger.
The Jews considered the Gentiles outcasts. They would not eat with the Gentiles. They were completely separated, and that partition was so strong that it could not be broken.
Thank God, on the cross of our Lord Jesus, He broke down the wall of partition. He brought the Jews and the Gentiles together into one new man.
The Scripture says that there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, neither bond nor free. Christ is all, and in all.
All the natural distinctions in the old creation were eliminated by the cross of our Lord Jesus.
We are now a new creation. Not only individually are we a new creation, but corporately we become one new man. All the old distinctions have vanished. We are one new man.
This is the church. Therefore, there is not a Chinese church, nor a Canadian church. There is only one church.
In the world you have Chinese and Canadians, but in the church there is neither Chinese nor Canadian. You have only Christ.
We know what the old man is, but God has delivered us from the old man. We are now one new man.
In Ephesians 2:19, we read:
So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.
As far as the world is concerned, after you believe in the Lord Jesus, you become a stranger and a foreigner, because God has delivered you out of this world.
In this world, we are strangers and foreigners. But in the church, we are no longer strangers and foreigners. We are fellow citizens with the saints.
Christ has delivered us out of the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
So, brothers and sisters, what is our city? You remember that Philippians 3 says our citizenship is in heaven.
We belong to that heavenly kingdom. We are under the rule of our King, Jesus. We are a holy nation—one nation.
Is that true of us? In this world, there are all kinds of nations. Some are citizens, and some are strangers and foreigners.
Especially for people who migrate to this great nation: before you receive citizenship, you are an alien. You cannot enjoy the privileges of citizenship, and you long to have it.
But thank God, you have your citizenship in heaven. By believing in the Lord Jesus, you become a citizen of heaven. Now you should live under the rule of heaven.
When you meet another believer, we are fellow citizens. We have the same rights and the same responsibilities. That is what the church is.
In the same verse, Paul says that we are “of the household of God.” We belong to one family: the household of God.
In the world, you have your household and I have mine. But thank God, He has delivered us and brought us together, making us one great household.
Our family is the largest family in the world. Our Father is God, our elder Brother is our Lord Jesus, and we are all brothers and sisters. We belong to the same family.
In a family, the thing that impresses people is love. God loved us and gave us His only begotten Son, making us members of His family.
Christ loved us and gave Himself for us. Therefore, we need to love one another. As He has loved us, so we ought to love one another.
He loved us and gave Himself for us, and we need to love our brethren and give ourselves for our brethren. That is the church.
Unfortunately, today we find that the church has become institutionalised. When you go to an institution, you find law everywhere, and not love. But when you go to a family, you find love.
So let us learn to love one another as He has loved us.
There is another thing. In Ephesians 2:22, we read:
In whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
What is the church? The church is a habitation of God in the Spirit. God wants to dwell among His people. We are His dwelling place.
Because God is holy, we must be holy. The holy God cannot dwell in an unholy habitation. We need to be holy because He is holy.
This habitation is built with living stones. We are living stones, and the Spirit of God builds us together. Then we become the habitation.
One living stone is not a habitation. Many living stones merely placed together are not a habitation. But all these living stones must be organically built together.
There is your place in that house, and there is my place in that house. We are all related together and built together in love. Then God can dwell.
The church is the resting place of God.
If you read on to Ephesians 5, the church is the wife of Christ.
Today the church is the body of Christ. When that body is fully grown, Christ will come back and claim this body as His bride.
There will be an eternal union. We will be united with Him for eternity. This is what the church is.
That is why we have to grow. If we do not grow, if we are not mature, how can we be the bride of the Lamb?
He is waiting for us to be mature. Then He will come and claim us as His bride.
Finally, in Ephesians 6, you find that the church is a spiritual army.
God has a work to be done. There is an enemy resisting God. Christ has overcome on Calvary’s cross.
Now He calls His church to be an army, to execute His will upon this earth in spite of opposition.
The church is to stand, withstand, and stand. God’s purpose is to be fulfilled through Christ in His church.
The mission of the church is tremendous. Are we fulfilling it?
That is what the church is according to the word of God. As Christ is victorious, so the church is the church triumphant.
The church that we know today may seem defeated. But if you see the church according to God’s will, you will find that it is the church triumphant.
The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. On the contrary, the church is to execute the will of God, fulfil God’s purpose, and bring in the kingdom.
Dear brothers and sisters, may we really be stirred in our hearts that we may know this church.
May we be an active part of that church—the true church of God. By His grace, may He bring us into the truth of the church.