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

This is an excerpt of an article that I recently came across. I found it very helpful. The full article can be found on our web site.

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THE BODY

G Davison

There are three portions of Scripture which, in a special way, present this great truth: Ephesians 1 and 2; Colossians 1 and 3; and 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. In Ephesians the Body is presented in its eternal aspect according to the counsels of the Father. In Colossians it is viewed in its time aspect as the vessel for the display of Christ. In Corinthians the Body is introduced as the instrument for the manifestations of the Spirit on earth.

The manifestations of the Spirit through the Body have in view the display of Christ in the Body in time; and the display of Christ now is but the prelude to the setting forth of Christ in His fullness in the ages to come according to the counsels of the Father.

First, then, we may consider the truth of the Body according to the Father's counsels. In Ephesians 1 the great subject is the Father's purpose for the glory of Christ. The chapter unfolds "the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself for the administration of the fullness of times; to head up all things in the Christ" (vv. 9, 10, N. Tr.). Moreover, in these counsels the Church has a place of highest privilege in connection with the glory of Christ, and hence we also learn the future destiny of the Church as the Body of Christ. Here the Church is viewed, not in relation to present time, but in relation to the "fullness of times." We are permitted to look beyond the present moment, with all its failure, and see the future glory of the Church as the Body of Christ. In that day "the Church which is His Body" will be "the fullness of Him that fills all in all" (vv. 22, 23). According to the counsel of God, the day is coming when Christ will fill all things. The whole universe will be filled with blessing through Christ, but, in that day, it will be the special privilege of the Church to express "the fulness of Him that fills all in all." Though all will be blessed through Christ, and be to the glory of Christ, yet all will not express His fullness. This will be reserved for the Church. An individual saint may display some trait of Christ, all things in the world to come will display Christ in yet larger measure, but only in the Church as the Body of Christ will there be the perfect display of Christ in all His fullness. Fullness gives the thought of completeness. Thus not only will Christ be displayed, but He will be displayed in perfection. That is, not only every excellence of Christ will be seen, but all will be seen in right proportion. No one trait will predominate; all will be displayed in perfect proportion and relation to one another in the same way that the members of a normal human body are all in proportion and set forth the mind of the head. But what will be actually true then should be morally true now.

This leads to the truth of the Body as the vessel for the display of Christ in time. For this aspect of the Church as the Body of Christ, we must turn to the Epistle to the Colossians. The great object of this epistle is to unfold the glories of Christ as the Head. We read in Col. 1:18, "He is the Head of the Body, the Church." It is, moreover, God's desire that the moral glories of the Head in Heaven should have a present display in the Body on earth. Thus the apostle, having spoken of the ministry of the Gospel, passes on to speak of a second ministry in connection with the Body of Christ "which is the Church" (v. 24). He speaks of this truth as "the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints." Moreover, he speaks of the glory of this mystery as "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

The apostle lays special emphasis on these two great facts. First, the particular moment when the mystery is revealed, and second, the special glory of this mystery at the present time.

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We hope you found this article interesting. We send out our material to the Lord's people, not in any party spirit but, in the spirit of the one body, seeking that it might be a blessing to all.

To view the full article please visit our web site WeSeeJesus.com.

May the Lord bless and encourage you to go on in the pathway of faith for His glory.

Yours in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Don Lewis