The Persistent Purpose of God # 48

Christ Is the Great Spiritual Order (continued)

And then going with that is "the Church, which is His Body." The Church is called "the one new man." Paul said, "You have put on the new man." And so the Church is measured according to Christ. Christ is the measure of everything in the Church. Indeed, that is the only Church that is known in heaven! The only Church that heaven recognizes is that Church which is the Body of Christ, that Church which is measured according to Christ. Everything in that Church has to do with one thing only, it is the measure of Christ. That is what we have in Colossians and Ephesians, and in Philippians also. But Colossians and Ephesians are particularly the letters concerning the Church. In those letters measurement is mentioned, "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ"; "the breadth and length and height and depth." You see, measurement is very much there in these letters. But this measurement is in the Church, and everything with the Spirit is just a matter of how much of Christ there is.

Let us try to get free of our technical idea of the Church. We know that the Church is not a thing. It is not an institution. It is not here or there as to geography. The Church is just where it is as the measure of Christ. If there is more of the measure of Christ in one place than another, then there is more of the Church there. It is just the measure of Christ that determines how much of the Church is there. Do try to remember that it is spiritual measure, which is the measure of Christ, that defines the Church. If you ask the question, "What is the Church and where is the Church?" - the answer is, "Where Christ is"; and where Christ is most fully, there is the Church more fully. We must recognize that the Church is entirely measured according to this Man and can only be seen by revelation of the Holy Spirit.

Now, if we have not received "the spirit of wisdom and revelation," then we may talk about the Church, but we shall just see the Church in some way that is not the Spirit's way of seeing the Church. It requires the Holy Spirit to enable us to see the Church. And when the Holy Spirit shows us the Church, what shall we see? Shall we see something that is called the Church? Shall we see a lot of people who hold a certain doctrine about the Church? Shall we see something in which a certain interpretation of Bible teaching about the Church is held? Shall we see a congregation of people who call themselves the Church? Shall we see any of that? No! when the Holy Spirit opens our eyes, we shall not see that. We shall see Christ!To see Christ is to see the Church! and to have seen the Church means that you have seen Christ. You see, Christ is the Great Spiritual Order as well as the Great Spiritual Person.

There is a great heavenly system. Christ is the embodiment of that Heavenly and Spiritual system. It is all a matter of what Christ is. It is a matter of the Mind of Christ; that is, what Christ thinks and how He views things. It is exactly how Christ does things. You see, the Church is an expression of a very comprehensive Person. That is how we should consider the Life of Christ, as here to reveal these great spiritual truths of heaven. It is a vast heavenly system brought to us in the Person of God's Son.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 49)