God Loves… Himself

Eph 1:22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

Ephesians 3:10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 3:21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Eph 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

In thinking through the issue of the Church, the focus must remain on the essence of the Church as being the body of Christ and the temple of Christ. When this point is out of focus or simply not taken into account as the essence of what the Church is, the concept and practice of being the Church will be taken in a man-centered direction. It simply is inevitable. The purpose of the Church cannot be anything different than the chief end of man, yet the Great Commission seems to be what people think of as the Great Commandment of men. Evangelism must be done out of love for God and be done out of love for His glory or it is not biblical evangelism. I would even submit that it may not be possible to practice biblical evangelism apart from an understanding of the essence of the Church as set out in the New Testament.

The Church is not the building that men build, but it is the spiritual body that Christ purchased and God builds. It is God that adds to the number of the Church and not how many people are talked into saying a prayer. There must be new hearts for men to become members of the body of Christ and not just a new commitment. A fleshly human being who is born dead in sin cannot simply become a member of the body of Christ when s/he decides to do so. This is something that God must do. A fleshly person cannot become a spiritual person by a mere decision. A dead person cannot become a person with life by a mere decision. God has to do the work and that work is making a person a new creation. The true Church is supernatural and is not simply a matter of natural people making natural decisions out of selfish concerns.

The Church must be seen as a body that consists of true believers or it will degenerate and be seen as some form of organization operating in the natural realm. The Church is the tabernacle of the glory of God because it is the very body and dwelling place of Christ who is the shining forth of the glory of God (Heb 1:3). When the true Church evangelizes, it must consider Christ who is its life and how He is to shine forth as the very glory of God shining forth in and through His people. It is not that evangelism is to be done for humanistic reasons primarily, but it is to be done because the body is full of His glory and it wants to spill over and shine out. True evangelism is done when the people that the Church consists of as the body of Christ want the glory that dwells among them to shine forth in other places as well.

The Church, as the body of Christ, must be seen as the place where the glory of God (Christ) dwells. One cannot do anything for the glory of God apart from Christ since Christ is the shining forth of the glory of God. As the physical body of Christ was the very tabernacle of the glory of God on earth then (John 1:14-16), so the spiritual body of Christ (the Church) is the very dwelling place of the glory of God on earth now. The Church glorifies God by being the Church and shining forth Christ in His strength by grace alone. The Church does not glorify God by its own methods and plans, but only in being the Church by the plan and grace of God.

This is utterly vital to take to heart, even into the depths of the heart. We do not glorify God by what we do, but He glorifies Himself by what He does in and through His people (His body, the Church). This is why (one reason) the Church must learn what it really is and how it exists to glorify God. The Church is first and foremost for the glory and pleasure of God Himself. The Church must realize that it is the dwelling place of God and it must be and do all for His pleasure. The body is to be at the disposal and pleasure of the head, so the Church is to be at the disposal and pleasure of its Head. The Church is not its own because it has been bought with a price. God is absolutely and utterly sovereign and that means His glory is sovereign. The Church cannot glorify God as such, but God glorifies Himself through the Church and beholds His own manifested glory in beholding His Son in the Church.

Eph 1:22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

Ephesians 3:10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 3:21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Eph 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

In thinking of the Church, the idea is not dealing with buildings or committees. The essence of the Church is not a denomination and it is not a legal entity. The very heart of what it means to be a church is to be the body of Christ. Fundamentally, in terms of Scripture, a local church is not a place to attend and it is not a series of duties that defines a church, but what distinguishes a true church from the false ones is Christ Himself. It is Christ Himself (not just a theoretical Christ and not just a doctrinal Christ) who is the Head of His body, the Church.

It is true that this point has already been made several times and most likely will be made several times more, but this is an essential point and needs to be hammered home over and over. We have lived in a culture that has pressured us until we conformed to ideas about “church” that are simply far from the biblical concept. Many conservative churches would agree with the idea that Christ Himself is the essence of the Church but in practice they deny that in several ways.

We can take the idea of church membership and examine it in light of Christ Himself being the essence of the Church. Becoming a member of a local church is now thought of in terms of saying a prayer or exercising the will and then saying you want to join. Others want people to know things and be doing certain things before the people are allowed to join. Still others want people to agree to certain confessional statements before they are allowed to join. But what does the essence of the Church teach us about this? A true believer is the church in one sense. A person does not join the church, but we have to at least recognize that when the Spirit regenerates the soul and the person is joined to Christ that person is the church. In terms of pure Scripture, a person does not join a church; the person is joined to the church by God. A person that is in Christ and Christ in that person means that the person is part of the Church.

In one sense this may not make a lot of difference in that people must know things in order to be considered a part of Christ. In other ways, however, the difference is huge. It is a complete change in thinking and how we are to view the Church. We do not grace a church by our joining it, but it is by free-grace that we become a new creation and as an aspect of the new creation we are created in Christ and are His body. Christ is the Head of the Church in all ways. He is “head over all things to the church, which is His body” (Eph 1:22-23). We see some of the meaning of that in Matthew 25 where what we do or don’t do for believers is what we do and don’t do for Christ. When Saul (later Paul) persecuted the Church as recorded in Acts 9, he was asked by Jesus why he (Saul) was persecuting Him (Jesus).

One great difference between a church that thinks of itself as biblical and a church that is biblical is how people are viewed and treated. One church might view people as those they are commanded to love and as such they are nice to the people. The biblical church views people as the church and as such they know that they are to treat the people as Christ in that sense. Even the conservative professing churches can become simply nice people doing things that churches are supposed to do without really being the body of Christ in the world. Churches without the understanding that they are the body of Christ think that they glorify God by being good and following the rules. Churches with a deep understanding that they are the body of Christ know that they glorify Christ when Christ manifests Himself through them. They are to seek Christ who is their hope of glory.

Eph 1:22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

Ephesians 3:10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 3:21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Eph 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

It is easy to speak of how the Church is the body of Christ and never really deal with the ramifications of that for the meetings of the church, of worship, of prayer, and of preaching. However, if the most essential thing of the Church (and, therefore, of each local church) is that it is the body of Christ, then these things must be prayerfully understood and practiced. It is a far different thing to think of the Church in an external way than it is to think of it as being the very body of Christ who dwells in His people. It is one thing for people to meet in a building that has the name “church” on the sign or door, it is another thing altogether for the people themselves who meet in that building to be the temple of the living God.

When the people who are indwelt by Christ and the Spirit of Christ meet together, the most important thing is not going to be a discussion of sports and they will not be satisfied with a simple study of words in the Bible. The people who are indwelt by Christ and the Spirit of Christ may indeed come together and study Scripture, but they will want Christ Himself to open their eyes that they may behold His glory. They will seek the face of the living God and they will want to behold Him in His glory that they may worship and adore.

When people who love Christ come together, they come together to fellowship with each other. When people who love Christ come together as a corporate body, they should seek to fellowship with Christ Himself. While it is true that when those who truly love Christ fellowship with each other there is a true sense in which they fellowship with Christ, the corporate meetings of the people of God are different. It should not be simply going to church; it should be a meeting to seek God and fellowship with Christ. This is of course true of each individual believer, but when the saints come together it should be heightened.

If the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, then this teaches us about each Christian and about the Church as well. The Lord Jesus came to glorify the Father and to purchase a people that glorify the Father, yet they can only do this when Christ lives in them and through them. God saves sinners to the praise of the glory of His grace, so men are to glorify God by praising and enjoying the glory of His grace. It is not just a doctrinal formulation of grace that they are to praise and enjoy; they are to praise and enjoy the glory of His grace. But again, they are to do this and can only do this by the indwelling Christ who is their life. What happens when the true life (Christ) of several believers begins to show them His glory? His people manifest and express that life by praising and enjoying Christ.

The meetings of Christ’s people (those who have Christ as their life) should not always be like funerals and be filled with grim-faces. It is true that the people of Christ do mourn, but they are also commanded to rejoice. How sad should our praise be or how joyful should true praise be? Congregations should come together and the living and resurrected Christ should be evident among them. If He truly is the life of each believer, then it is the life of Christ that should be manifested in the local churches. The Lord Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him, so we should know that we have a joyful Mediator and a joyful Savior who dwells in us. Not only that, but the Spirit of Christ bears fruit of love, joy, peace, and so on. Does the Spirit bear His fruit in His people when they come together? Surely it should be so.

Eph 1:22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

Ephesians 3:10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 3:21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Eph 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

The Church is such a vast subject that writers have each spent multiple volumes writing on it. Could it be, however, that so much ink has been spilled over the idea of the Church that the real issues of the Church have been neglected? Have people in the past and some today become so concerned about swallowing gnats about the Church that they have ignored the fact that they have swallowed camels? In a different way, could it be said that people have become so concerned about the order of the Church that they have forgotten the true nature of the Church? Have people become more concerned about “joining” the local church that they have forgotten the nature of the true Church?

While we look at a lot of complicated rules and documents on church order, it does not seem like anything like that was ever set out in the New Testament. It seems as if the concerns of men started early on and then took over the concept of what the Church really is fairly early as well. It has been said many times, and used wrongly many times as well, but still there is something true about the statement that “the church is not an organization, but it is an organism.” Again, that can be used in a wrong way, yet there is something very true about it. If we read the passages of Scripture above (all but one taken from Ephesians), it should be clearly seen that the essence of the Church is that it is the body of Christ. This changes things quite fundamentally.

The Church is not only headed by Christ and ruled over by Him, it is His very body. This is an essential and yet a most basic point. If we think of Christ as Head of the Church as a man is head of a company, then we have missed the biblical point. Christ is Head of the Church in the sense that we all have a head on our shoulders and the body is supposed to follow the head and in one sense receive all from the head. It is not just that Christ gives the Church its marching orders, but He gives it life and the Church is His body. The New Testament is quite clear that in salvation Christ dwells in each of His people and as such He is the very life of that person and the Church as a whole. Those who belong to Christ are also said to dwell in Him, which points to the unity of the believer with Christ. But again, these are things which should never be set aside in thinking about the Church. These things are the very essence and heart of the Church.

The Church is not just an organization sent out to do things written about in the Bible, but the Church is the Body of Christ in the world. The Church is to worship Christ in the strength, joy, and love that it receives from Christ as the Head. The Church is not on earth just to carry out a mission; it is here to be the Body of Christ. Before the Church can do anything biblical, it must realize who it is and what it is. The local church is not just to get together once a week and sing a few songs, say a few words of prayer and either give or listen to a sermon, but the local church is the very Body of Christ and it comes together because the Body is to be together. The local church gathers as the Body of Christ and it is to seek Him in His glory because that is the very life of the church. The Lord Jesus is the hope of glory to us because He is the very shining forth of the glory of God (Heb 1:3). In history the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Christ happens when the local church is together seeking His face.

It is in beholding the glory of God in the face of Christ (II Cor 3:18) is when we are transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another. When churches and preachers give learned messages and moral messages to the people and that apart from the glory of Christ in the Gospel, they are doing the devil’s work. Yes, that sounds harsh, but the devil works to hinder people from seeing “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (II Cor 4:4). When the church gathers, in order to pursue the Gospel they must pursue the glory of Christ and not just true words about Him. When the church gathers, if they are not seeking the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, what are they seeking? The devil works to hinder and blind people from seeing the glory of Christ, so those who do not seek His glory seem to be working hand in hand with the devil. The local church is either seeking the glory of the Christ who indwells His people or it is not. The devil does not seem to mind it when people speak of the facts of the Gospel, but he works to hide the glory of it. Do we really see the glory of Christ in the churches?