"JOINED TO THE LORD"
“JOINED TO THE LORD”
“Joined to the Lord” is a very striking expression — “He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit”. Paul had spoken of the body as being “for the Lord” (verse 13); He has an exclusive right to it as over against any unclean association. Our bodies are members of Christ, which is a wonderful exaltation of the body; the mortal bodies of the saints are members of the anointed and exalted Man, and this is brought in to correct the debased filthiness of those who had recently come out of the corruption of the heathen world. And in this same connection Paul speaks of the individual believer as “joined to the Lord”. It is evident that the marriage bond is in his mind; he would have each believer to know that he is in this bond with the Lord. As members of Christ the “body” conception is before us; our bodies are for the expression of Christ; but being joined to the Lord is the way by which we are brought into vital oneness, one Spirit with Him. I do not remember that the thought of being joined to the Lord is found in any other scripture, and it is presented as an individual matter. The people at Lydda and the Saron “turned to the Lord”; at Joppa “many believed on the Lord”; at Antioch “a great number believed and turned to the Lord”. Barnabas exhorted all “with purpose of heart to abide with the Lord”.
We read that “a large crowd of people were added to the Lord”. But something more intimate is suggested in being “joined to the Lord”; it is a personal bond entered into which is comparable to the marriage relation, and which results in spiritual oneness — the individual is “one Spirit” with the One to whom he is joined. It is truly a wonderful thought.