“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free – and have been made to drink into one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13
The body of Christ, the “church,” and every living member of it, is a miracle and marvel of God. Though the knowledge of this “mystery,” including every born-again believer indwelt by the Spirit of God, and every group of believers, and the entire spiritual body of Christ, was hidden from the foundation of the world, it has now been revealed since Pentecost and manifested to the world. Why? Though imperfect in her faith, the body of Christ, the bride of the Heavenly Bridegroom, is by the design and power of God, His new creation for the purpose of revealing to the world that Jesus Christ has indeed come in the flesh. His life would be revealed in every believer with whom He had communion, or fellowship. Not only would the Spirit of Christ be working upon, and in the believer, and the entirety of this body of believers, but He would indwell them, filling them with Himself, stirring them up to seek Him, showing forth the fruits of Christ’s life in the darkness of a lost and dying world. That which Jesus called the “church,” which speaks of the assembling of believers, was not ever intended to be a man-made organization, built upon the precepts, commandments, and teachings of men. On the day of Pentecost, just after the ascension of Christ into heaven, this “church” was created as a living, spiritual body, with a oneness created by the Spirit of God, each member being united with Christ. Though each member was so very different from every other member, with different gifts and capacities that God had supplied, the whole of the body, and the assembly of that body, whether locally or throughout the world, was unified by the Eternal Life of the Son of God communicated and revealed by the Spirit of God. The great unifying truth that revealed the bond and the connection one member and another, was that of union with Christ, each member having been placed into Jesus Christ by the Father. This work by the Spirit, would enable each to live by the Spirit for the glory of God.
One of the marvelous aspects of this body, and every member of it, is that, when there is the unity of the Spirit, and the abiding in Christ of its members, there is the revelation of God’s glory, and blessing. That glory is the life of Christ shed abroad in the heart and manifested in the life. Those believers who have been called to go forth to the ends of the earth bearing the precious news of the Gospel have carried with them also the proof of God’s existence, and His worthiness to be trusted for salvation. In and through their lives of these believers has been revealed, in circumstances and cultures as diverse as the individual believers themselves, the very saving life of Christ by His Spirit. As Christ would fill the heart of the believer first, and then two or three gathered in the name of Jesus, and the countless assemblies of believers, there would be revealed the blessed aroma of Christ’s presence, the unveiling of the love and goodness of God. Indeed, there would be the fulfillment of the angel’s words to the shepherds so very long ago in the fields that surrounded Bethlehem: “I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day… a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10,11)
How then is this knowledge of the church, God’s gracious dealing with mankind, to have its full effect in our lives? First and foremost, it is the act of coming humbly to the One who is the Head of the church, Christ, the One who places every member in His living body by the new birth, by the Spirit. He will give the believer His life to be known and proclaimed abroad.
Dear Father, Fill us with Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.