THE BODY
[p. 146] THE BODY
This chapter gives the thought of the manifestations of the Spirit as leading up to the truth of the body. The truth of the body is that no one can claim pre-eminence; all the members are dependent one upon the other. It completely excludes the whole idea of the clergy and ministers.
The body exists so that Christ may be here. He is rejected here, and yet His body is here. The house is God’s house, and the body is Christ’s body. In Corinthians the apostle challenges them: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?” and here it is, “Ye are the body of Christ”.
Every member has its place. The human body is taken up as a figure, and every member has its function, but no member claims pre-eminence; every member serves every other one.
Ques “So also is the Christ”?
FER The next verse explains it: “For by one Spirit are we all baptised into one body”, etc. In this epistle Christ is not brought in as Head in this connection. The apostle is speaking of the body, not of the Head. It is the body. Christ puts His own name on the body. “The Christ” is the anointed body in this passage. It is characteristic in that way.
What is the name by which Israel is called? “The Lord our righteousness”, and the same expression is applied to Christ Himself, Jehovah our righteousness; so Christ has put His name upon the church just as Jehovah puts His name on Israel. “I will put my name upon the children of Israel” — that is what Christ has done, He has put His name upon the church. The church is the anointed company. Christ Himself was anointed with the Holy Spirit, and [p. 147] consequent upon redemption being accomplished the church is anointed, and hence bears the name of Christ characteristically, so we get “so also is the Christ”. Then the next verse is explanatory: “For by one Spirit are we all baptised into one body”.
On the day of Pentecost that did not take place, for there was no Gentile there. You cannot say any moment when it took place; here it is merely stated as having taken place. The church is complete and there is no member lacking. We may find it difficult to apprehend that the church is complete, but there is no deficiency before God.
The object of this chapter is to meet the tendency on the part of some in Corinth who claimed pre-eminence. This chapter is brought in to regulate what is in assembly. There is to be no pre-eminence. In Colossians and Ephesians you get the body, but there the Head is brought in, and here He is not brought in as Head, save as “Head of every man”. Every member has to find out its own proper function, and not to claim pre-eminence. A minister claiming pre-eminence is inadmissible. “The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee”.
The section beginning with chapter 11 and ending with chapter 14 is brought in to regulate the saints when in assembly. In the beginning of the chapter we get the relative places of divine Persons, but the object is to maintain unity. Gifts come out in the body, but the administration is by one Lord.
The body here is a positive, real body. It is a body the reality of which may be known. The truth of it is brought in to correct the saints at Corinth. A great deal that we get in the epistles is corrective.
All spiritual manifestations are traced back to the same Spirit; there are not different spirits. There can be no unity so long as any one claims any kind of pre-eminence.
Ques Please explain [p. 148] verse 3.
FER He brings up a test of spirits. No one could call Jesus accursed if speaking by the Spirit of God, and no one can say Lord Jesus but by the Holy Spirit. With the mouth confession is made unto salvation, and confession is by the Holy Spirit. The common bond of fellowship is the confession of Christ as Lord. The body is not quite a witness to the world. If the church were regulated according to what we get in this chapter there would be a great deal of profit in the body. The idea of the body is that every member of the body works for the benefit of the whole. The foot moves for the benefit of the whole. We want every member of the body. The ordinary arrangements in Christendom forbid our getting the good of all that is amongst us. A great many people come into our fellowship just as they would go into a church or chapel. They do not feel responsible to fulfil their own proper function. You cannot hinder people coming into fellowship, but there is great weakness through those who do come not fulfilling their part. We suffer from brothers not praying in the prayer meeting. Praying in the meeting is a question of liberty, not of being led to pray. I would like people to be burdened with the things of Christ in coming to the prayer meeting. It is a great thing to be free to take part. It is liberty that is wanted. My disposition is not to criticise the young who pray. The way of liberty is beholding the Lord’s glory. People want a spiritual constitution — they want to be fed. Those who come into fellowship come into responsibility. If young people come into fellowship they come into responsibility. They have to bear the burdens there. If you were to bring souls into attachment to Christ you would put everything right. In bringing up children the great thing is to build up their constitutions, and so it is spiritually. When people come into fellowship they have to bear the burden of the Lord’s things.
People want “living bread” and “living bread” is within their reach, it is there for people to appropriate. The truth of this chapter (1 Corinthians 12) would bring in order according to God. In the assembly everything is to be the result of exercise; a hymn should not be given out without exercise.
We are Christ’s body, Christ is in you; but then comes another thing, you want to be built up in Christ. The great need with all of us is to be built up in Christ, and I cannot see any way for that save by “living bread”, and that is put within our reach so that all the good of heaven may be available to us. If children have not appetite the likelihood is they have had something to vitiate their appetite.
Living water is the Spirit. Living bread is Christ. The tendency of the Corinthians was to show off; but the point is that all the manifestations of the Spirit are given to profit.
The manifestations at the beginning of the chapter in the main are permanent. We may get the word of wisdom or the word of knowledge. The gifts mentioned at the end may not be permanent. Prophecy is a gift which tends to profit. “He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort”. We have gifts which continue. Evangelists and pastors and teachers. We do not need healing and tongues as they once were needed. We do not get the evangelist brought in here, because what is brought in here is what is needed to regulate the saints when in assembly. In Ephesians the church is looked at from a different point of view. The gifts are given for the building up the assembly, and the evangelist is needed to build up the assembly (not in the meeting), but as in the sense of bringing material in. The work of the evangelist is to preach, but all in view of the body. In early days when the church was in order, the evangelist was to occupy himself in preaching, but when things lapsed into disorder, then you get [p. 150] Timothy exhorted to do all kinds of things — preach the word, be instant in season, etc.
The evangelist must have his own proper place in the assembly. He cannot forfeit his own place in the assembly for the sake of preaching. The assembly is the witness, the assembly is to be at his back, but he has regard to the well-being of the assembly, and also to go on with his work. If the assembly is not the witness there is no witness to the truth. You are telling people to believe what there is no witness to. If the evangelist is not identified with the assembly he has no witness.
If you go and tell people something about astronomy, they want no witness because the facts are patent and you can prove things. But when you come to speak of Christ in heaven you want a witness, because no man can verify it. No one can go into heaven. You have the word by the Holy Spirit, but you want the witness of it, and the saints are the witness to it, and the Spirit in them. In early days the apostle said that the Jesus whom they had crucified was at the right hand of God, but the witness was the Spirit. We want a man built up in a Man (Christ) and that is what we call spiritual constitution. What builds up a man is the knowledge of love. It is the soul coming under the influence of God. The teacher may enlighten and unfold the mind of God, but the Spirit of God alone can form us spiritually. God Himself is witnessing. “If we love one another God abides in us”, and then it goes on to say, “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Saviour of the world”.
The evangelist goes out and he must not expect any support from the world, and therefore he needs the support of the assembly as witness. The evangelist himself, too, has his own part in the witness. An evangelist is not worth much if he has not constitution.
Chapter 13 is the building up of constitution.