Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

by H. J. Vine.

“The Head of the Body, the Assembly” (1)

Colossians 1:18

There is much laudation of the church and its activities in Christendom, but where is heard the praise of its Head? Many voices and pens proclaim the worth and works of the churches, but where is to be discovered the Holy Spirit’s grace which glorifies Him who is the Head of the body, the assembly? To exalt the church with ecclesiastical pride at the expense of our glorious Head must greatly grieve Him. “By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13), “and the Spirit of Truth glorifies Him who is the Head of the body” (John 16:14).

Believers on our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, are saved by grace and justified by faith. They are sealed by the Spirit and Christ is their righteousness. In Him too they stand in divine favour. In “the Beloved” their acceptance is eternal and changeless, but the righteousness of God, and not their own, is their glory and joy. Rest and peace are theirs also, through faith in the finished work of the Saviour of sinners. Blessed now within the impregnable bulwark of God’s righteousness, they are at leisure to behold the beauty and perfectness of the Lord; at liberty to rejoice in the exalted Head of the assembly; to praise the One who is rejected and slighted on earth, but highly honoured in heaven—“Heaven’s beloved One.”

THE HEAD OF THE BODY is definitely named for us in Colossians 1:13. There “His dear Son” should read “THE SON of His love.” The connecting passage says, “Give thanks to THE FATHER, who has made us fit for sharing the portion of the saints in light, who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of THE SON of His love: IN WHOM we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (New Translation). This One, “THE SON,” is “THE HEAD of the body, the assembly” (verse 18). In the intervening verses great and glorious things are said concerning Him,—reaching from eternity down into time, then up into glory, and on again to eternity; but it is THE SON—so beautifully named the Son of the Father’s love—who is the Head of the body. This is of immense importance.

Other names, titles, offices and distinctions are elsewhere given by the Spirit. Here, where the personal glory of the Christ is pre-eminent, THE SON, by whom and for whom all things were created, is named as the assembly’s Head. He is the Head and Centre of all. Because He is Creator, He is the Firstborn in the Creation, i.e., the pre-eminent One; He is the image of Him who is invisible, because He is the Son of the Father’s love, the One by whom the invisible God is made known; thanks now to the Father, because we have been set in the kingdom of the Son of His love, and He has given us fitness to share in light and love as liberated from the authority of darkness; because the Son is to hold pre-eminence in all things, He is the glorious Head of the assembly—the first place thus is His consequent upon His resurrection; because full reconciliation is to be brought to pass by the Son, all the fullness was pleased to dwell in Him.

The Son is the One in whom, through whom and for (unto) whom “all things were created” (verse 16), and the holding of all things together in counselled order and blessing is by the Son, who the Spirit tells us is “BEFORE ALL” (verse 17). Now in resurrection He holds pre-eminence in all things as the Head of the body, the assembly, having brought us already into reconciliation “in the body of His flesh through death” (verse 22). The Son is the Head in the creation because He created; the Son is Head in the reconciliation because He is both Creator and Reconciler. And He is the Head of the body, the assembly, thus.

“GROW UP TO HIM in all things, who is the Head,” are the words of Ephesians 4:15. And we are to speak the truth in love in view of this. That the body may be edified He has given gifts from above, till “we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of THE SON OF GOD” (verse 13). This is of great importance, for the danger is that babes in Christ become ensnared in “systematized error.” The sleight and cunning of unprincipled men scheme to this end (verse 14). Colossians 2:8 shows too that danger lies in “philosophy and vain deceit”—in what is “not after Christ.” The fact is, the One who is the Head of the body is also “the Head of all principality and power.” “In Him dwells all the FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD bodily, and in Him ye are FILLED FULL” (verse 9). Our completeness is there! What folly then to turn elsewhere! to cease “holding fast the Head, from whom all the body, ministered to and united together by joints and bands, increases with the increase of God” (verse 19, New Translation). Mark, “the increase of God.” Through one and another the vital supplies which are complete and perfect in Him reach us to this end. May we never be diverted from Himself! The recent revival was through saints being recovered to the truth of the Head! Declension is from that. Pompous ecclesiasticalism boasts of “one body,” but the Holy Spirit glorifies the Head; and faith leads to “holding fast the Head.” It is thus that the vital organism, His body, is nourished. All that diverts from Him in whom all fullness resides is hurtful. To depart from the exercise of faith is not good. Organizations soon take the place of the living organism when faith is forsaken. Committees, traditions, councils, funds, unions, officials, man-made fellowships and regulations from some earthly headquarters multiply, and displace faith in the living all-sufficient Head of the body, the assembly. Things and men present to sight loom largely, and the hidden Head in heaven is forgotten. Like the school boy, who begins well when his eye is on the copy-head; but becoming pleased with his own writing, and copying that, he loses light of the headline and copies his own copy with increasingly bad results; so, with the eyes closed to the perfection and all-sufficiency of the living Head of the assembly, many are copying church copies, studying church histories for guidance, instead of progressing diligently in “the faith once delivered to the saints,” “holding fast the Head.” There is no need to turn elsewhere, but to speak the truth in love, as we are told, and to “GROW UP TO HIM IN ALL THINGS,” not merely in some things.

“COMPLETE IN HIM” (Colossians 2:10). In Ephesians the assembly according to God’s gracious purpose is seen; but be it specially noticed, in Colossians the true Head of the assembly Himself is named. The infinite greatness of His personal glories are stated. The One who is the assembly’s Head is made known. It is here where the eternal Spirit speaks so beautifully of Him as THE SON of the Father’s love (1:13, New Translation), “by whom and for whom all things were created,” and states His various distinctions both from before and in Creation; in revelation, in resurrection, and in the reconciliation; showing us how He brings all into blessing, order and glory; for all fullness was pleased to dwell in Him in view of this. “Before all” and the Creator of all, He is the Reconciler of all, and the Head of the body, the assembly; holding the pre-eminence in all this, and holding all things together, as we have said. All this because of the glorious grace and greatness of the Son Himself. All is brought into reconciliation to the fullness in Him, though the irreconcilably wicked find their assigned lot in the place prepared for the devil and his angels.

It is because of the Son’s personal grace and greatness that reconciliation takes place for the divine pleasure. How equitable and satisfying to see the Creator Son bringing His creation into reconciliation! What joy and praise arise as we see that the Son who does this is our glorious Head! How infinite is the fullness which is in Him. How immense are the blessed results! Glory, glory to His wondrous Name!

“Joyful shall the wide creation

Rest in undisturbed repose,”

The fullness was pleased to dwell in Him in view of this. But we also are filled full (so “complete,” should read) in Him, in whom “the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,” More than satisfying to the spiritual heart and mind, this causes glad worship and blessing to flow forth.

It was Jesus who said, “No man knows the Son but the Father.” He also said, “Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” What a mighty contrast to a harsh world of boastfulness and pride! In Him dwells the fullness! He is the Head of the body, the assembly! We are reconciled, as we have said, to the Fullness “in the body of His flesh through death!” Soon He will come again! Then we shall be glorified together with Him! Then all things will be reconciled by Him! He has laid the righteous foundation in the blood of His cross! He is over all to the assembly the glorified Head already! Soon His body will be glorified also! But the unmeasured fullness in Him is for His body now! We repeat, in Him is the fullness.

Growing up to Him, we better know how to appreciate that fullness. Complete in Him—filled full in Him, its all-sufficiency and blessedness are ours. To know Him, to know Himself, preserves from broken cisterns, and causes the revived heart to worship and adore, and the revived spirit to glorify His holy Name. REVIVED, the Father and the Son are honoured and magnified! The Unction from the Holy One fills the gladdened soul! Rivers of living water flow out to the thirsty! Our glorious Head fails not to sustain the vital supplies which flow forth! Our exalted Head, the Son, is all-sufficient. Exceedingly significant is God’s last invitation in the inspired Volume: “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the WATER OF LIFE freely.”

“While rejoicing with joy unspeakable in the Personal greatness and eternal glory of the Son as revealed by the Spirit, let our glad hearts however not neglect to behold the lowly grace which brought Him down so near to us; let our opened eyes feast upon the beauteous perfections which shone in Him here; for we are to “arrive at the unity of the faith and of THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON or GOD; and the four precious Gospels are given which show Him thus to us.

TO “KNOW HIM.” Backslidden Israel might boast in her own distinctions, yet be insensible to her own true condition, while the Lord through Amos calls to Israel again and again,—“Ye have not returned unto Me” (4:6); “Ye have not returned unto ME” (4:8); “Ye have not returned unto ME, SAITH THE LORD” (4:10-11). Seek not your most venerated places, He says; but “Seek ye ME, and ye shall live” (5:5-6). “Seek Him that maketh the seven stars and Orion … The Lord is His Name” (5:8). They had actually forgotten that Israel’s true Sovereign Head and Lord was the Creator. Is it forgotten now that the living Head of the body, the assembly, is the Creator Son? And may we know Him? Is not true ministry given that we might “arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God”? It is true, “No man knows THE SON but THE FATHER” (Matthew 11:27). The Father only fully comprehends the Son in the infinitude of His glorious Person; but Matthew 16:16-17 shows that the Father revealed Him to Peter as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” To “know Him” is our proper objective.

Israel has not yet sought and found Him; but He has been found, as He says: “I was found of them that sought Me not; I was made manifest to them that asked not for Me” (Romans 10:20). Far off sinners of the Gentiles have found Him! He sought them! He came into the world to save sinners! Reconciled to God by the death of His Son, they are now baptized into one body by the Spirit; and the glorious Head of that body is the Son of the Father’s love. He came from above that “Everyone who sees the Son, and believes on Him, should have life eternal” (John 6:40, New Translation). John the Baptist did not know Him unt New Translation il the Father’s voice and the Spirit’s coming pointed Him out. Then he bore witness that “this is the Son of God” (John 1:33). Later he said, “He who comes from above is above all” (3:31), and “He who comes out of heaven is above all” (New Translation). Then in verse 36 we read, “He that believes on the Son has life eternal” (New Translation). That which is eternal was brought here by the Son, who is Himself eternal. He is “ABOVE ALL,” said John; but when revealed to be the Son of the Father’s love—the Head Of the body, the assembly, as we have seen—He is said to be “BEFORE ALL” also. Moreover, “all the fullness” was pleased to dwell in Him, to bring about a reconciliation pleasurable to the Father’s holy nature, and for our blessing.

Son of His bosom, come from heaven above,

We see in Thee incarnate God is love.

“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” It is this glorious Person, who is “the Image of the invisible God,” the Revealer of the Father, who is now the assembly’s living Head on high. We have good reason to rejoice that He who is “before all,” who came down “out of heaven,” and who has reconciled us to the Fullness, “in the body of His flesh through death,” is now our exalted Head in heaven.

While joy unspeakable may well be ours, we need to know Him as He was seen here on earth. Also to know the Father as seen in Him. To know Himself as the Spirit of Truth shows Him to us in the Gospels. The Spirit of Truth gives power for this. Our faith rejoices in the glorified Head of the assembly. The Spirit given produces the desires we have to know Himself and His love increasingly. The Son of the Father’s love came right down to where we were for this. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by Me. If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him and have seen Him.” Then it is to be remembered, “He that descended is THE SAME also that ascended up above all heavens, that He might fill all things.” Praise His Name.

The Son is the Holy One, and the Holy One is the Son. “Thus says the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is HOLY. I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to REVIVE the spirit of the humble, and to REVIVE the heart of the contrite ones”—a revival from Him whose Name is Holy!—a revival of the spirit and heart of the humble and contrite!—A revival immediately from Him who inhabits eternity!—from Him who is said to be “before all” (Colossians 1:17). Who shall tell the results of such a revival?

The Head of the Body, the Assembly (2)

What can be more important today, for those who truly belong to the church—to the assembly which is Christ’s body, than the right understanding of their relationship to the One who is Head of that assembly? For this, the place that our Lord Jesus Christ has, as our living, exalted Head, must be known; otherwise, we shall be in danger of falling under the influence of worldly, religious bodies, which have no place for the Head of the assembly.

When the truth was first given in all its purity, at the beginning, there was not the same difficulty as exists now. Christ had quite recently ascended as Man to heaven. The disciples had seen Him go up. He sent the Spirit to them, on the ground of the eternal redemption He had secured for us by His death and resurrection. They were united to Him and to each other by that same Spirit; and, to them, Christ was “the Beginning, Firstborn from among the dead.” Since that time, religious systems have grown up, bearing the name of Christian, which in practice displace Christ’s headship—even if they do not deny it in words—whilst, at the same time, they speak of the one body, the one church. These systems create difficulties which were not present when “the faith” was given to the saints.

In the midst of them, the true believer is necessarily deeply exercised to be loyal to Christ, in every relationship in which he stands to Him; and he is not left without definite instruction in the Scriptures. He is forewarned that he might be forearmed for the fight of faith. Indeed, he is distinctly told in 2 Timothy 3:1, “In the last days difficult times shall come,” and the truth is given to guide him rightly through them, so that he might not be overcome by them; and, on the other hand, that he might overcome, as he keeps the faith, and remains faithful to Christ amidst that which is indifferent to His name; finding his delight in what that name means, along with others who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

1. The Assemblies

The downgrade of the assemblies is shown in the prophecy and symbols of Revelation 2-3; where, we are told, the seven lamps represent the assemblies. Christ is not spoken of as Head of the assemblies. He is seen in their midst as the Son of man judging them, for failure had come in. We do not read of failure in the assembly, the body of which Christ is Head; we do of the assemblies. Therefore it is said, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.” This formula is used seven times in the two chapters, and denotes a very serious and important breach, as similar expressions do in the Gospels. Those who have been the subjects of a real work of God’s Spirit in them, and who consequently have ears to hear, are to heed now what is said to the assemblies. Truly converted souls have the ability to do this, and it is often indicated in the Word. They are contrasted with mere formalists who have ears but hear not (see Acts 28:26-27; Romans 11:8; Matthew 13:9, 15-16, etc). They have the Spirit, for they have heard the gospel of God in faith, and have trusted in Christ.

They are not instructed to “hear the church,” as ecclesiastics say; nor are they told to denominate themselves by the name of this assembly or that. They are to hear what the Spirit says to all the assemblies. Doubtless, those who are loyal to Christ will be found where His Name and His Word are honoured, until He comes again. Then it must not be overlooked, there are overcomers supposed in all the assemblies; and in both Thyatira and Sardis (representing ROMANISM and PROTESTANTISM) a remnant of real souls is seen; whilst all Philadelphia (meaning “LOVE OF THE BRETHREN”) remains faithful, even if feeble, till the Lord returns. Those, however, who are addressed as having ears to hear must be viewed in a distinct way, that is, as to their attitude. A true soul in any of these assemblies would be capable of taking in what is said to the particular assembly in which he is. He that has an ear to hear, however, is viewed as capable of taking in what is said to all—in communion with God as to the state of all the assemblies. He is not only living by the Spirit, but also walking by the Spirit; for the attentive ear and obedience go together. Such see that the declension which began at Ephesus, when first love was left, goes on till such a sunken state is reached at last in Laodicea, that it will be entirely cast away by the Lord; nevertheless, those who hear are maintained by the Spirit in spite of the failure of the assemblies; and He enables them to enter into their proper portion in Christ, which He has made known in other scriptures. Abraham and others illustrate how God makes known His mind to such.

Having seen the divinely marked out attitude of the individual hearer to the assemblies of Christendom, we may now turn to the other side, and see his corporate relationship to Christ and the members of His body, the assembly. As to the first, he is given by the Spirit God’s mind; and as to the second, having the Spirit, he is set in the body in relation to Christ as Head, and to others as fellow members of the same body. In the first it is individual, but in the second corporate. Ruin in the assemblies is abundantly shown in Scripture, but not in the body. To speak of the ruin of the assembly as the body would be dishonouring to the Head; just as it would dishonour the Builder, the Son of Man, to say so of His assembly spoken of in Matthew 16. We need to be established in what is vital and abiding.

2. We are Members of His Body

It is not written, We ought to be members of Christ’s body, but that “we are members.” All those who have heard the gospel, and believed of Christ, have been sealed by the Spirit, and are fellow members of the one body. We are not told that such ought to have Christ as their Head, but that “He is the Head of the body, the assembly.” In resurrection and ascension, having secured redemption by His blood, He is our one Head. Nor are we told that we ought to be in relation to Him as Head, for we are in that relationship, as members of His body. Neither are we told that we ought to be members of the same body as other true believers, for “all the members of that one body, being many, are one body … for by one Spirit are we all baptised into one body.” “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free,” said our Lord Jesus Christ; and it is as the truth is made good to us by the Spirit, we are freed from that which is contrary to it. The truth sanctifies.

Nearly every religious organization in Christendom speaks freely of the church; and the Papists especially contend zealously for the one body—the true church, as they say—or, the holy catholic church. When, however, you look for that which is absolutely essential to the existence of the body—when you look for the Head—for Christ the living, exalted Head of the assembly, you discover that these systems are so organized as to give no place to Him. If this discovery be correct—and who can deny it?—then it is quite evident that none of them are the body of which Christ is the Head; and if the Spirit has taught us the truth that we are members of His body, is it not grave inconsistency for us to be members of another body?

The Holy Spirit is here to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, and any true revival or recovery is to Him; not to a better religious system than was known before, but to Christ; and even when real recovery is known and enjoyed, the same danger as existed in apostolic days is still present—the danger of “not holding fast the Head,” of whose body we are members, because of subtle influences which are always at work to turn our hearts and minds away from Him—influences that are “not after Christ,” as we are told.

The truth of which we speak was given by the Spirit through Paul. All who received the Spirit at Pentecost were baptized into one body then, but the truth was revealed after. Peter, the apostle to the Jews, does not speak of it either in the Acts or in his epistles; Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, unfolds it fully. Indeed, the administration of the truth of the mystery, which is so closely allied to it, we are told, was given to him “to complete the Word of God” (Colossians 1:24-27). Previous to this ministry, those who had received the glad tidings were looked upon as a sect in the religious system of the Jews. It was at Ephesus, where Paul laboured so much, that we find the definite breach made. After reasoning for about three months in the Jewish synagogue, he “separated the disciples,” and carried on in the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:8-9). His epistle to them gives the truth of Christ and the assembly, and it is there we are told, “We are members of His body” (5:30).

This truth is always used in an inclusive sense, not exclusive. No member can say of another, “I have not need of you,” for every member is necessary; and, if, in the completeness of it, Christ’s body be His fullness (Ephesians 1:23), each member is also necessary to Him. How great is the grace that has made this true! How it bows our hearts in humility before Him! and yet fills them with thanksgiving and praise. What honour! What dignity! Members of His body, which is “the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” God grant that we may understand and appreciate this better. To this end we need to be edified. Gifts are given for “the edifying of the body of Christ”; and we are also to seek to build one another up in Christ as fellow-members, even if there be no distinct gift; as it is said of the body, “working in the measure of each one part, works for itself the increase of the body to its self-building up in love” (Ephesians 4:16, New Translation). The ministry of the gifts is needed, we are told, “till we arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God”; and then, as members of the body, we are to hold the truth in love, and grow up to Christ, the Head, in all things.” There is one body, and one Spirit, and one Head; and though there are many members, they are all members of the same body.

3. The Headship of Christ

We have before us our Lord Jesus Christ as the Head of the body, the assembly; but for the proper elucidation of this, it is necessary to briefly point out His headship in other relations also; for we need not only “the knowledge of God’s will,” but also to be filled with it “in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so as to walk worthily of the Lord unto all well-pleasing.”

As the One who is to reign, and thus represent God in supreme authority, our Lord Jesus Christ is KING. He will be above all kings, as well as over all nations, when He comes to reign, for He is “the PRINCE of the kings of the earth.” He is never spoken of as the King of the assembly. He who is the “KING of kings” is its Head. He is also LORD as well as King. As such all dominion is His, as well as the kingdom. He is “LORD of all”; and when the time comes for Him to reign and rule in splendour and glory, we are told He will be manifested in this twofold character; for “the blessed and only Potentate shall show the KING of kings and LORD of lords.”

Now when we speak of His headship we have quite another line of thought before us. As King and Lord, Jesus represents God in authority; as Head He represents that of which He is the Head. Some seven times Scripture speaks of Him as Head of a building, and this explains what we have just said. As the “rejected stone” He has become “the Head of the corner”; and those who come to Him during the period of His rejection are spoken of as “a building,” “Jesus Christ Himself being the corner-stone” (Ephesians 2:20, New Translation). The chief place is His; though, in grace, He takes it as belonging to the building, as Head, and that representatively, as we have said. What a precious building it must be in God’s sight to be adorned and honoured by such a Head!

Again, when the Apostle would regulate the behaviour of saints according to the divine order, he reminds them that “Christ is the Head of every man” (1 Corinthians 11:3). It is not that all men hold Christ as Head: we know they do not. There are those, however, who do; and they are set in relation to Him in this way—every one of them! That is the thought, and it is to affect each individual in his behaviour in the house of God. The Head of Christ is God. He alone could be in such an intimate and immediate relation to Him. So the woman’s head is the man. One is not without the other in the Lord, but the man is the head; and Christ is the Head of every man.

Then there are high intelligences of great dignity both in the unseen and the seen—powers and rulers of great honour and estate in the heavens and upon the earth. They too are set in very definite relation to our Lord Jesus Christ, for we read, He is “the Head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:10). Exalted and glorious is the place which belongs to our Saviour and Lord in this connection; but, in Ephesians 1:22, we are told of greater glory still, in which He is supreme, as the representative Head; and yet, wonderful to relate, divine grace delights to associate the assembly with Him in that illustrious exaltation. It is thus stated, “And gave Him to be Head over all things to the assembly, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” This does not speak of His being Head of the body, but of His being over “all things” as Head. It will enable us, however, to appreciate with more intelligence the great honour which belongs to the assembly, as having such an One for its Head. He who is Head of the corner, Head of every man, Head of all principality and power, Head over all things, is, in an unique and more blessed sense, the Head of the body, the assembly.

Before speaking of Him in this last relation, it should be pointed out, though the body is spoken of in Romans 12 and in 1 Corinthians 10 and 12, yet Christ, as Head of the body, is not so spoken of in those chapters. In the first it is the “one body in Christ” (verse 5). In the second it is what the “one loaf” represents as to those who partake of it at the Lord’s table—“Because we, being many, are one loaf, one body; for we all partake of that one loaf” (verse 16, New Translation). In the third the necessity of every member is emphasized (verses 21-22), for by “one Spirit we have all been baptized into one body”; therefore it is simply said to the saints at Corinth, “Ye are Christ’s body, and members in particular” (verse 27). They were not the body, though they were truly of it; but, as we have said, the whole body is set in vital relation to Christ as its Head. We may now proceed to consider this.

4. Our Glorious Head

Our Lord Jesus Christ was not the Head of the assembly before He became a man. That ought to be clear to every believer. Nor could He be so until He had secured eternal redemption for us by His death, and risen in triumph over the grave. Having done this, He ascended on high; where, as Man, “He is the Head of the body, the assembly, who is the Beginning, Firstborn from among the dead, that He might have the first place in all things.” The assembly has its “beginning” in the risen Head.

There are four scriptures which speak of Him in this way—Ephesians 4:15; Colossians 2:1; Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18. We will follow them in this order, for the first two are intimately connected, although each has its own setting and special teaching. In the first growth up to the Head is spoken of; in the second ministry from the Head; whilst both speak of all the body being united or connected together from Him; and also of its increase. The third scripture speaks of His being Head of the assembly as a husband is of the wife; and the last of the pre-eminent dignity of our glorious Head.

First, we see Him exalted above all heavens, in view of filling all things; from thence He gave gifts for the edifying of the body; then, from Himself, the whole body is fitted together. In the most complete sense all things are to be filled by Christ, and the body is being formed for Him who is to do it; increasing meanwhile and building itself up in love, until it reaches “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” How important then is the ministry of Himself to this end. The more we learn of His grace and glory, as those who belong to the assembly, the more will our growth “up to Him” be furthered.

To hold fast the Head (Colossians 2:19) is of the utmost importance. There is no failure with Him; and it is as true now as it was in the apostle’s day—from Him “all the body” is ministered to. The natural mind may try to reason this away, and say it ought to be ministered to; but that shows unbelief, and it is the outcome of walking by sight. God says all the body IS ministered to from Him, and united together by joints and bands, and increases with the increase of God. His word is enough for faith. Moreover, no one who truly knows the Lord would question His faithfulness, or raise a question as to the perfection of His present work. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and our completeness is in Him. So great is He, the fullness resides in Him in all its infinite plentitude. This being so, we are not surprised (when we know this) to read, “And ye are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and authority.” God’s fullness—plērōma—is in Christ: we are become full—peplērōmenoi—in Him, in the same glorious Person, our blessed Saviour and Lord! He is enough for God, and He is enough for us.

“Thou, O Christ, art all we want;

More than all in Thee we find.”

In Ephesians 5, where our relations to Him are given under the figures of the body and the bride, where both unity and union are so intimately connected, we learn that Christ is Head of the assembly as “a husband is head of the wife” (verse 23). How beautiful and intimate is this relationship. He loved the assembly and gave Himself for it. The assembly is not told to love Him. He loves!! It is this all-sacrificing love of His which wins her love. He loves! He has proved it by giving Himself for us! It is for us to rejoice in, and to adore Him for it. The more unworthy we feel ourselves to be, the more wonderful to us is that love; and now He is our Head as a husband. What surpassing grace! The right appreciation of this produces the lovely “subjection” to Him, which is due to the glorious Head of the assembly, to Him who is our Lord. He undertakes all direction and supply; and it is the assembly’s happy and honoured place to respond in a suitable way. She belongs to Him, and He “nourishes and cherishes” the assembly, as His own body; and will present her to Himself all glorious in a coming day; having no spot or wrinkle, but holy and blameless; and His love for her will know no change and no end.

Finally, Colossians 1:15-18 tells us of His unparalleled glory, of the grace and majesty of Him who is the assembly’s glorious Head. As we have seen, He took that place consequent upon His death and resurrection; but we are told who He is, that came in such deep love to make us His own—He is THE SON OF THE FATHER’S LOVE, the delight and the object of His heart; and, coming as a Man into the Creation, He has in it the chief place—first in all dignity and honour—“THE FIRSTBORN OF ALL CREATION”; for who could take a place before Him? He must have the first place, “because by Him all things were created.” No creature could come before the Creator, however great his dignity. All the thrones, the lordships, the principalities, and the authorities, whether invisible or visible, in the heavens or upon the earth—all are “BY HIM AND FOR HIM.” He is before all and they all subsist together by Him. In glory, pre-eminence is His; in time, precedence is His; in dependence, all things subsist together by Him. Seen here on earth as the heavenly Man, He has made the invisible God Himself fully known, for He is “THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD.” He could thus perfectly represent Him, for He is God. No one else but God could do so. And now as the risen Man, alive for evermore, such an one as He, and no one less, is THE GLORIOUS HEAD of the body, the assembly. We may well be found rejoicing in Him, holding fast the Head.

Our Lord Jesus Christ has many glories and dignities, as this passage shows; but immediately after the Spirit has spoken of Him as the Beginning in resurrection, the Head of the body, the assembly, just as though it were the top-stone of all He takes as man—the masterpiece of divine wisdom, grace, and power, He adds, “that He might have

THE FIRST PLACE IN ALL THINGS” (New Translation).

How divinely suitable is the Spirit’s use of the word “first” as to the Lord in these verses. In the wide creation—“Firstborn”; in the new creation also—“Firstborn”; and in all things the “First place.” How worthily He adorns every sphere in which pre-eminence is His. Eternal glory to His holy Name.

The Hearing Ear

When there is a drift from anything which was set up by God, the appeal is to the individual and the words, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear,” are often employed. This is very noticeable in the Gospel by Matthew, and it is an important word for us today. We are to “hear what the Spirit says TO THE CHURCHES!” if we have an ear to hear (Revelation 2:3). Unregenerate ecclesiastics formulate rules and principles, and call upon us to hear them! Degenerate churches tell us that we must listen to them! God says we are to hear what is said “to the churches” by the Holy Spirit! Let us obey God rather than man. In the assemblies the testimony of Jesus is maintained, to turn the hearts of the real to Himself (Revelation 22:16-17). The presentation of His glory and His love set their affections towards Himself in motion; and the Spirit of Truth is here to keep Him before us. The mere ecclesiastic speaks much of church dignity and order; but not of the glory and love of the Son; nor of His new commandment to His disciples, “Love one another.”

The Highway for the Saints of God

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him” (Colossians 2:6).

Prayer and the Word of God go together; we cannot dispense with either if we are to grow in the truth. As we read the Word prayerfully, the Spirit of God will unfold to us the meaning of the words, and we cannot understand them by any other means (1 Corinthians 2:1-14). Now the Word of God calls all Christians on earth SAINTS, we should shrink from that name if God had not given it to us, but since Ha has called us by it, let us rejoice in it. It means that He has separated us to Himself, and we are not of the world, and further it means for this present time that we are “not of the earth,” but ours is a heavenly calling. Our Head, Christ, is in heaven, He is the heavenly Man, the Spirit that indwells us is from heaven. Our hopes are heavenly and not earthly, and OUR WALK in the world most be consistent with our calling and destiny. To benefit by the reading of such papers as the following, we need prayerfully to consider what the Word of God means by the words “saints” and “walk” and “faith”—Editor (J.T.M.)

The present normal walk of the heavenly saints is given to us in the Colossian epistle, while the character of this walk is stated in 1 John 2:6, to “walk even as He walked.” The standard for the walk of all God’s children is as Christ walked here, and such a Father as God is could not have given to His family any less a standard. But our subject is the highway in which we are to walk rather than the standard. “An highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness … the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads” (Isaiah 35). In such beautiful language the prophet describes the highway in which Israel will yet walk when they see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of their God. It will be sight with them, but in our case, who have not yet seen the Lord whom we love, it is by faith, for we walk not by sight but by faith, and without faith we cannot take one step on the saints’ highway, without faith we cannot “walk in Him.”

We would call attention first to Malachi 4:2, where our Lord Jesus Christ is designated “the Sun of righteousness,” in regard to His shining forth in His glory, healing and blessing by His beneficent rays the remnant of Israel—the earthly people of God. His rule will secure for them all the abundant blessings promised in the Old Testament; meanwhile we are brought into the faith of Christ, while He is rejected on earth and exalted to God’s right hand in the heavens. To walk in Him, therefore, at the present time calls for the constant exercise of faith.

Let us keep in our minds the divinely given illustration of the sun: for, as in the natural sphere, the better the many benefits of the supreme light-bearer are known, the more gladly are they appropriated; so likewise in the spiritual sphere, in regard to the Christ our Lord, the more we apprehend the richness of the blessings which beam forth from Him—the rays of righteousness, love and grace which pour out their unsearchable bounties—the more intelligently and happily shall we be encouraged to steadily and unwaveringly walk in Him, and we shall become also increasingly edified by the true knowledge of God revealed in Him.

Referring again to Israel, it is foretold in Isaiah 60:1, that it shall yet be said to them, “Arise, shine, for thy Light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” The Lord will be their Light then. The glory of the Sun of righteousness will be seen shining upon them; and the kings, the nations and the peoples of the earth will welcome their rising, saying, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Then He will give them rule and guidance, and their instruments of cruelty and strife shall yield to implements of health and peace, for Israel shall then “walk in the light of the Lord.” That day has not yet come for this sin-stricken world; it awaits the coming of the Lord; but before it dawns the word of Isaiah 60 is spiritually applied to those who belong to Christ (during this period of His rejection from earth and His exaltation in the heavens), so we read in Ephesians 5:14, New Translation, “Wherefore He says, Wake up, thou that sleepest, and arise up from among the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee.” In this sense, therefore, we can WALK IN HIM NOW, for living and conscious faith knows the rays of Christ’s shining even before He publicly takes up the government of the world through Israel. The sleepy believer needs to be awakened in regard to Christ’s glory, as we are told; and the worldly believer needs to be freed from fellowship with those who are still dead in trespasses and sins; for often true saints of God are overtaken by slumber and slothfulness as to our Lord Jesus Christ and His interests, and they may be ensnared by the friendship of a world that can only dull every spiritual sense that they have. To walk in the highway of God spiritual energy must take the place of sleep—HE MUST WAKE UP!—HE MUST ARISE!

When the sun shines in the heavens, no one needs to tell it to shine—it shines! And we may rejoice in the brightness, warmth and energy which flow forth upon us from it—we may walk in it! So also may the believer walk in Him—in Christ Jesus the Lord. The stars of the night do not compete when the glory of the sun shines forth, and when the glory of the Son of God is declared by the Spirit through JOHN so fully to the family of God, apostleship and gifts are not found in evidence; for it is “until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” these and other gifts are given (Ephesians 4:11-13).

Many things may hinder the rays of the sun from reaching us. It is said that the glass of our windows prevents the ultra-violet rays, which are said to possess health-giving virtues, from entering our houses; the polluted and smoky atmosphere of our cities intrudes between us and the brightness of the sun, and clouds may obscure it from us. It is because of the dangers which threaten to rob the true believers of the full good of the assembled rays that shine in the Christ that the exhortations and warnings of Colossians 2 are given. Something of man’s manufacture, like the glass of a window—his ritual and ordinances and philosophy—may exclude from the believer much of His wondrous grace; or the city’s world-influences, like the murky atmosphere, may rob us of a great deal, and earth-born clouds may be allowed to dim our sight. But, on God’s side, there is neither cloud nor veil to hide the glory of Christ from us. He knew the deepest darkness when He suffered upon the cross to secure eternal redemption for us, but He is now exalted to God’s right hand, where there is nothing to hide Him from faith, and believers rejoicingly say, “We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour” (Hebrews 2:9).

It is said, we repeat, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,

SO WALK YE IN HIM!”

This word, like another often repeated in the inspired instruction given to us,

“ABIDE IN HIM!”

carries with it the divinely given authority so to do, and the sense that our true well-being is connected with it, and that it gives God pleasure to see us walking in His highway.

He shines as the Light of the world, and those who walk in Him “walk in wisdom toward them that are without.” “The love of God is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” and those who walk in Him “walk in love.” We know “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” and those who walk in Him take character from Him, and their speech is to be “always with grace.” Psalm 19 speaks significantly of the sun “as a bridegroom going forth from his chamber; he rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heavens, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” The energies of the sun ale usually known as light, heat and actinic or healing rays; but the One, of whom the sun is but a symbol, shines for faith with beams of unmeasured wealth, by which we may be richly benefited and in which the saved of the Lord may walk. As we do this we walk in Him. HE IS THE WORD—the embodiment and also the expression of the mind of God. He became flesh and tabernacled among us, as the sun finds its tabernacle in the heavens (Psalm 19:4). HE IS THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD—the visible representation to us of the otherwise invisible. HE IS THE EFFULGENCE OF GOD’S GLORY and the exact expression of His substance. He sits now on the right hand of the throne of the greatness on high, having first put away sins by His sacrifice on the cross. How great He is Himself! How great the love which fills His heart for us!

When He uses His power to translate us to His glory in the twinkling of an eye, in glorified bodies like His own, we shall see Him actually as He is—not simply by faith as now.

“Then we shall behold all His glory and grace,

And heaven be found in the light of his face.”

The fact, however, remains for us to benefit by and rejoice in TODAY—Christ is shining! and we may do as we are instructed and strengthened by the Spirit to WALK IN HIM! Let us be free from what hinders. Let our souls accept without question His own Word given in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” for while He is the Highway for the saints of God, He is likewise the Life without whom risen life would be unknown to us; and He is the Truth, expressing all that is true, both as to God and man. To see Him is to see the Father (verse 9); and to behold Him in glory, and favour is to behold man as predestinated by God (Romans 8:29); and did He not say in resurrection, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God”? When we are with Him, according to the purpose of eternal love, will not He Himself fill with worship the enraptured hearts of all His loved ones?

“For ever on His face they gaze,

And meet the full assembled rays,

While all His beauty He displays,

To the redeemed in glory!”

Yes, unhinderedly and eternally shall the saints worship and adore Him then! No cloud, no veil, no temple—nothing shall hide Him from our rejoicing eyes then! We shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance for ever!

“The Holy Spirit of Promise”

The work of the Holy Spirit of God finds a large place in the Epistle to the Ephesians. This might be expected where the mystery concerning Christ and the assembly is so prominent, for the Spirit’s special mission in the world during the present period is immediately connected therewith.

He is designated “that Holy Spirit of promise” in chapter 1:13; and twelve times is He spoken of in this epistle. His present service in securing the assembly, the body and bride of Christ, for her living Head in heaven is shown, and that in accord with God’s eternal purpose in Christ.

That purpose concerning His beloved Son filled His heart and mind before the ages of time; and, though to the natural eye it appears otherwise, He works all things in regard to it: “according to the counsel of His own will” everything is resolved in relation to that unalterable purpose, for the deep joy of His own heart, and for the glory and satisfaction of His Son.

The Holy Spirit has come. Eternal redemption having been obtained in Christ through His blood, He seals those who believe in connection with the exalted Object of divine counsel, and gives them a foretaste of the glory to which they are going, while He comforts, cheers, and strengthens them on their way, ministering the unsearchable riches of our Lord Jesus Christ and His surpassing love to their expectant hearts. Christ is the glorious Object in view in all the Spirit’s work, just as He is also of the purpose and counsel of God, and He becomes the one pre-eminent Object of our hearts too, as the Spirit is unhindered and ungrieved within us.

Neither ourselves nor the Spirit are to be objects for us. It is His pleasure to show us the things of the Father and the Son. The Lord Jesus said, when speaking of His coming, “He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine, and shall announce it to you”; adding, “all things that the Father has are Mine”.

When Abraham counselled concerning his son, his eldest servant undertook the journey to a distant land to obtain a wife for Isaac. His whole mission and work had the son in view, and that according to Abraham’s purpose. The rich gifts of “jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment” would impress the fair damsel: the golden earrings, and the golden bracelets with the other precious things, would tell her of the wealth to which Abraham’s son was heir. The words of the unnamed servant, too, would extol the object of his service, and one whom she had never seen would become endeared to her as she journeyed to join him where he was.

The Spirit has also brought to us the jewels of divine grace, the silver riches of redemption—the golden treasures of righteousness—and the precious things of the excellencies of Christ. He tells us, too, of Himself, of His glory and His love, and so wins our hearts for the Son of the Father, that it can be said of us—before we see Him face to face—“Whom having not seen ye love; in Whom though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye exult with joy unspeakable and filled with the glory”.

As we have previously seen, the mystery in the first place speaks of Christ’s co-heirs; secondly, of the fellow members of His body; and thirdly, of the joint partakers of life in Christ. When Rebekah came to Isaac he dwelt at “Lahairoi”, at the well of “the living one”. There she shared in all that was Isaac’s. As one with himself she partook of the same inheritance and of the same life. At the end of the Bible the Spirit shows us the bride of Christ—one with Him in glory—one with The Living One. Everything is seen to be marked by life in the energy of the Spirit. The Book of Life is there. The Fountain of life is there. The Tree of life flourishes there. The pure River of water of life flows there; and meanwhile, before the Bridegroom calls her, the Spirit and the bride say to Him, Come! She longs to see Him! Then, turning earnestly to those still “dead in trespasses and sins”, she says, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely”!

Life and the Spirit are found together in the Word, and both are the portion of those who belong to Christ. Indeed, it is said in Romans 8:10, “The Spirit is life on account of righteousness”. This is ours to know in divine power now, before the glorious day to which we are hastening onward. Therefore we may well allow our glad notes of praise to resound along the heavenward road

“Now by grace the Spirit’s given,

Here to us these themes belong;

Let us sing the song of heaven;

’Tis our everlasting song!

Endless life in Christ possessing,

Let us praise His glorious Name,

Glory, honour, power and blessing,

Be for ever to the Lamb!”

The Spirit and Christ’s Co-Heirs

The first mention of the Holy Spirit in Ephesians speaks of His sealing the co-heirs (Chapter 1:13-14). This sealing is individual, but it is in view of what is collective. Each one who hears the Word of truth, the glad tidings of salvation, and believes in Christ, is immediately sealed with the Spirit of promise. It should not read, “After ye believed”, but “having believed ye have been sealed”.

The Spirit is here designated “The Spirit of promise” because the heirs and the inheritance are before the mind. His coming was often foretold. He is yet to be poured out on “all flesh” (Joel 2:28). We have an example of it in Acts 2; but only one hundred and twenty were then baptized by Him. This was extended necessarily to Gentiles who believed (see Acts 11:15); nevertheless, there is no repetition of this baptism now as some seem to seek after.

By the gift and baptism of the Spirit at the beginning both Jews and Gentiles who received Him were made one. That was according to the truth of the mystery—fellow-members of the same body. Since that time He seals individuals (thus, too, they are vitally brought into the one body), and He gives them a foretaste of what is to come, when He will pervade all, for He is “the Earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession”. In God’s own time the inheritance will be actually possessed by Christ and His co-heirs. They have the firstfruits of the Spirit now, as being indwelt by the Spirit of promise; and these co-heirs are the sons of God, the brethren of Christ; therefore, because they are sons, the Spirit of God’s Son has been sent out into their hearts, crying, Abba, Father (Galatians 4:6). In Ephesians 2:18, their liberty of approach to the Father is said to be by “one Spirit”, for though He graciously seals us individually as the sons and heirs of God, yet, what is collective is in view as we have said. Christ presents them with Himself before the Father. They are one with Him, and He is not ashamed to call them brethren. His own Spirit—the Spirit of God’s Son—is in their hearts. All this subsists vitally.

Now, though the sealing of the co-heirs comes first in Ephesians, because the marking off of those who are to form the assembly is in view; yet, it is well that we should notice other things in connection with the work of the Spirit.

The preaching, which calls sinners out of darkness into this marvellous association, is by “the Holy Ghost sent from heaven”; and those who believe are “born of water and the Spirit”. Scripture tells us that the water is the Word, and this is made operative in those who hear in faith by the Holy Spirit. A new nature is the consequence, and this delights in what is of God, in contrast to the old nature which finds pleasure in fleshly lusts. The love of God, too, is shed abroad in the heart, the love which was manifested when Christ died for us, “the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”, the love which God commends to us.

Moreover, the Spirit abidingly indwells those who believe. He is the power by which they enter into, and do, those things in which the new nature delights. The truths of Scripture become living and real to them, for the same Spirit who inspired the one indwells the other. This explains the fact that such understand what the most educated students of Scripture, if unconverted, fail to grasp. Those who have the Spirit may be guided into all truth, but those who are in the flesh, still unsaved, cannot know these things. The normal way of the Spirit is to teach us through the inspired writings. He brings them home to us by ministry or by private reading of the Word of God.

We have said, the Object in view in all His service is the Son of God, for He is here to glorify Him before our hearts. Even in the ministry of the truth of Scripture, He leads our thoughts to the One who is Himself the Truth personally. He may bring many things before us; and, when grieved, give us a sense of what we have done to so grieve Him; but, normally, His gracious work is ever to lead us to the Son of God, giving us to know His personal glory and love, and the portion which is ours with Him as His co-heirs.

The mystery itself was revealed at the first by the Spirit to the apostles and prophets. He is the Unction of 1 John 2:20, by whom we know all things. It is He also by whose power we are strengthened in the inner man so that Christ, the Centre and Sun of the coming glory, might dwell in our hearts through faith; so that the surpassing love of Christ may be our present portion. He it is who enables us to wield His sword—“the sword of the Spirit”—in the conflict with the powers of darkness, who would rob us of the enjoyment of our part with Christ. It is by Him we are maintained in the spirit of prayer and supplication; and in Him the kingdom of God is known—its righteousness, peace, and joy. How needful, therefore, is it for us to heed the exhortation, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption”.

He would ever keep the Object of His mission, and the true Object of our hearts, before us; but the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. Those who are the sons of God are led by the Spirit, and the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in them as they walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. It is the Spirit who witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God; and “if children, heirs also: heirs of God and Christ’s joint heirs: if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17). He is already glorified at God’s right hand as Head of the assembly, and

“The Spirit doth unite

Our souls to Him our Head,

And forms us to His image bright,

While in His steps we tread”.

The One Spirit and the One Body

We learn in Ephesians 3:6, that the unifying of all believers into one body is the second part of the mystery: called out from amongst Jews and Gentiles they are made one. Chapter 4:4 teaches us, “There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling”. The “one Spirit” is named again in chapter 2:18, in regard to our access to the Father; also in 1 Corinthians 12:13, in reference to the fact that “by one Spirit we have all been baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bondmen or freemen, and have all been given to drink of one Spirit”. This emphasizes the vital unity of all true believers, and the power by which this unity subsists.

Throughout all the present period the Spirit maintains this vital organism, whatever failure may come into the professing assemblies of Christ: during the time of Christ’s rejection, of His bodily absence from the world, of His exaltation at the right hand of God as the Head of the assembly, the Spirit never fails in His gracious work.

When Christ ascended to the Father, the Spirit came down at Pentecost upon about one hundred and twenty believers who were gathered together in one accord at Jerusalem. That was the beginning of the body, the assembly. It was the baptism of the Spirit. From that moment it could be said, “There is one body and one Spirit”. It could not have been said previously, for redemption had not been secured, and risen life in and for man was unknown. Moreover, the Head of the assembly, the body, was not exalted, nor the Spirit given. Both were necessary for the forming of the one body and the uniting of it vitally to its glorious Head. It is said of our Lord Jesus Christ in resurrection, “He is the Head of the body, the assembly, who is the Beginning, Firstborn from among the dead”. The assembly could not have been in being before this.

The truth of the one body was not unfolded till long after Pentecost, though the body was itself there. The truth was given to the apostle of the Gentiles to minister. There had been national dealings with Israel, and individual dealings with Abraham and others, but nothing of a corporate nature before Pentecost. Such a thing as the members of one body being vitally united together by the Spirit to a living Man in heaven was not and could not be previously known. The very gifts which are peculiar to the present dispensation are for “the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). They had no existence till Christ was ascended to God’s right hand. Those, too, which are in the assembly itself derive their diverse abilities and operations from the Spirit given at Pentecost.

The importance of the peculiar and special constitution of the assembly needs to be better understood, and the functions of the members of the body in the Spirit’s power also. “All these things operates the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each in particular according as He pleases. For even as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ. For also in the power of one Spirit we have all been baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:11-13). This aspect of the truth not only preserves from clericalism, but also from independency; for all the members of the one body are necessary; and where the Spirit is unquenched collectively He manifests His activities through the members for the profit of all. If all the gifts in the assembly were thus happily in function there would be oneness and yet diversity in ministry, and the distinct operations of the Spirit therewith would be for the comfort, cheer, and blessing of the whole.

The apostle Paul often refers to himself as the persecutor of the assembly. He, above all the others, became its devoted servant for Christ’s glory after his conversion. Then, we are told in Acts 9 the assemblies had peace; being edified and walking in the fear of the Lord, they increased through the comfort of the Holy Ghost. Where the Spirit is unhindered in His gracious and encouraging work, prosperity in the assemblies is sure to be present. He is called the Comforter, also the Spirit of Truth. He leads, He guides, He teaches, and He glorifies Christ. He is in us and with us, nor does He leave us even when we grieve Him, for we are sealed by Him unto the day of redemption. May we therefore have grace and solicitude to see that no hindrance exists on our side. May we be self-judged, and free in heart and mind to be led and guided by Him.

In speaking of the gifts named in Ephesians 4 we said they had the edification of the assembly in view. The first two named had to do with the foundation; the second two (for they are not three) with the continuation of the work. We are distinctly told that “the apostles and prophets” laid “the foundation” (Ephesians 2:20). These were given from Christ ascended, and have no connection with Old Testament prophets. The “evangelists” and “shepherd-teachers” are the two gifts remaining today, and will remain till the work is complete. There is also, as we have indicated, the functions of the body for its self-building up, through the working in its measure of each member and part, and thus it makes “the increase of the body to its self-building up in love”.

There is still one body and one Spirit today: one living organism energized by the Holy Ghost: every member is livingly joined to the exalted Man, the Head of the assembly; and it is to Him we are to grow up in all things, as we await His coming again, for

“’Tis thence—now Christ is gone on high,

Redemption’s work complete—

The Spirit brings His glory nigh,

To those who for Him wait”.

The Spirit and the Life

We have spoken of the Spirit of promise and the co-heirs also of the one Spirit and the one body; and it now remains for us to consider the Spirit and the life.

We saw that, primarily, the truth connected with the co-heirs was individual, but that the collective was in view, according to the first part of the mystery of Christ and the assembly. Likewise that the corporate aspect of the truth was contained in the second. In that which is now before us we have the vital side, according to the last part of the mystery.

The assembly could have no being at all apart from life in Christ Jesus. This is a fundamental matter, as Ephesians 4:17-25 shows. Either we are altogether “alienated from the life of God”, or we are of “the new man” and “members one of another”, partaking together of divine life. The Spirit is the power of this new life; therefore progress in every grace is to be expected; nevertheless, we either have life or we have not.

The Holy Spirit is so completely identified with this life, that in the first part of Romans 8, where the truth of freedom from the law of sin and death is prominent, He is Himself said to be life. Not only is the mind of the Spirit “life and peace” in contrast to the mind of the flesh which is “death”; but, we are distinctly told, “The Spirit is life on account of righteousness”. A new principle of life in Christ Jesus, the risen Man, which makes free from the old principle of bondage, is ours. This new principle is called, “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus”. Eventually, at the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ, the very bodies of the saints will be “quickened”, made alive, raised or changed (for quickening covers both) “on account of His Spirit” which dwells in us. Freedom from sin and death will be actually and altogether enjoyed then. Spirit, soul, and body will be blameless, and glorious too, for we shall be like Christ in scenes of incorruptibility, immortality, and glory, where the Holy Spirit pervades all in heavenly perfection.

Even now, those who partake together of life in Christ Jesus, are variously spoken of as having “eternal life”, “passed out of death into life”, “quickened with Christ”, “alive from the dead”, “living stones,” etc. At the present time such are built together in the Lord, we are told, “for a habitation of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). What cannot be found in a house of lifeless material God finds in this living structure. There He receives heart response to the “great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins” (Chapter 2:5); “worship in Spirit and in truth” rises to Him in that habitation of divine life and love.

In this connection the Spirit is spoken of as being in us, and as “springing up into everlasting life”, like water rising to its source’s level. In the death of our Lord Jesus Christ the “great love” of God has been fully told out: its manifestation is seen at Calvary’s cross; and those who appropriate the death of Christ in faith have eternal life (John 6:54). The love and the life go together; and worship flows from the knowledge of God’s love, and of the One whose love it is. The Spirit sheds abroad that love in the heart, therefore worship rises responsively to God in life and love by the Spirit in His habitation, in the house of God. He dwells in the praises of His own. These are grateful and melodious to Him, for all subsists in vitality and love.

It is there also that His glory is known. All within speaks of it, for all is in Christ. The tabernacle is the type. Every board of it was covered with gold, speaking of Christ being our righteousness. The blue, the purple, the scarlet, and the fine twined linen tell of His heavenly, royal, and human glories. It was set up on sockets of silver, speaking of the redemption ground on which God’s living habitation now rests in Christ, through the blood of the cross. The oil, too, as well as the blood, had its place in relation to the tabernacle. The anointing oil indicates the Spirit of God. He it is whose gracious ministry brings the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ, before us. He glorifies Him and shows His things to us. These things are seen by those who dwell in God’s habitation in the power of the Spirit. The natural eye sees them not. Creation and Horeb show God’s glory in a measure—His power, His divinity, and His holiness, but

“ALL His glory shines resplendent

In the person of the Son,

Jesus Christ His well-beloved,

Who redemption’s glory won”.

Moreover, we are told, “The Anointing which ye have received of Him abides in you, and ye need not that any man teach you” (there was no natural light in the Tabernacle, it was provided by the oil). “The same Anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, ye shall abide in Him”. There is no need to turn elsewhere. Eternal life is here. The Father is known, because the Son has declared Him, and the Spirit leads us into the deep reality of it all. The Anointing teaches us. God is known in His sanctuary. This could hardly be said of creation simply, in the same way and measure.

The Spirit is often associated in Scripture with “living water”, “springing water”, “rivers of water”, “running water”, “breath”, “wind” and “oil” or “unction”. Movement is characteristic of the Spirit. He is called “the eternal Spirit”. We do not get the names “eternal Father” or “eternal Son” in the Bible. The truth of the eternal Father and the eternal Son is abundant in Scripture, though not the designations. Figures of love, grace, and strength and glory are associated with these. The flow of the Spirit carries into the current of eternal realities. Fruit, too, is produced in living grace amongst those who are the subjects of His work. Mere religionists and others may try to imitate this today, but there is an entire lack of the heavenly and pious character of the other, even though austere rules are observed to produce it. The fruit of the Spirit which is “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, self-control”, against which there is no law—is borne with becoming grace and for the honour of God. Love is necessarily first, and it is striking that joy should be the second named. “Full of joy” and “full of the Holy Ghost” go together.

We are exhorted to be “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). If we are filled thus the right condition and the right Person will be characteristic of us. To be full of the Spirit is the very opposite of being full of ourselves, our joyful feelings, or anything else. Our joy will be full indeed, but the Son of God will be before us, for the Spirit glorifies Him when He is unhindered. He will direct our gladdened gaze to Him and His things. Nor are we filled like a lake, or like the dead sea which has no outlet. The living grace of the Eternal Spirit flows into our rejoicing hearts that it may flow out as “rivers of living water”: to all around the refreshing and vivifying waters are to flow: “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and chanting with your heart to the Lord; giving thanks at all times”; and to “whosoever will” the water of life is to be free: to the weary and the fainting, to the heavy laden and burdened; to the lost and the sinful, to the “dead in trespasses and offences” the fresh, living, bountiful rivers are to flow out: the word of life is to be gladly proclaimed in the gracious energy of the Spirit.

This ends our reading for this session. Until next time, have a great day, and God bless.