WHAT CHRIST FINDS IN THE ASSEMBLY
Genesis 2:20-23; Ephesians 5:29-32;
We have in this passage in Genesis 2 that man and woman were a primary thought with God, that there should be “a helpmate, his like” (v.18), secured for the man, for Adam. In Ephesians 5, we find that, through the work of the Lord Jesus, having loved the assembly and given Himself for it, He actually has it: “He that has the bride is the bridegroom”, John 3:29. It is very wonderful for us to see how this matter has been brought about, that Christ should have for Himself the assembly, and that it should be that which is of Himself: “we are of his flesh, and of his bones”. That is a definite statement by the apostle to these saints, that they were such. How that has come about, of course, is given to us in other passages of Scripture. 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that those who have put their faith in Christ and have received the Spirit are baptised by one Spirit into one body (v.13). That is, that we become members of His body; we are members in particular, members of His body (v.27). That is, that we derive from Him, from Christ. It is a very wonderful and blessed thought, which impressed itself on us here on Lord’s day morning: that Adam recognises what is of himself in this person who is brought to him. It is significant that she is brought to him – she is brought to Adam in his place of headship and intelligence. He names every thing: what a matter that there should be such a creation here in Adam, the top-stone of God’s acts in creation. Adam is unique, of course; he was formed out of the dust of the earth and God breathed into him.
Now he has a counterpart, and the way she is brought about is unique, too. Thereafter in the human race, persons were born; there was conception and birth. That is how things proceed in the race, but in Adam and his helpmate two outstanding persons are brought before us to indicate the divine intent. And the intent is that the man, as having this primary place in the creation, and exhibiting his headship and intelligence, should have “his like” – that there should be a counterpart that is perfectly suited to him. That is a wonderful thing in itself, but the matter is far greater than that. It is not only that she is like, and suitable to, him, but she is of the man. Eve could say, as no other could say, that ‘Every bit of me is Adam’.
That is a tremendous thought, is it not, to transfer this now in our minds to what there is in the assembly? What a vessel she is, that she is entirely of Christ. That should lay hold of our souls, dear brethren, and cause us to be worshipful, and to understand the affection that Christ has for His assembly: He loved it and delivered Himself up for it (Eph.5:25). And the other thing is, as we learn from this section, which is very instructive, that Adam names what she is: he identifies what there is in this person that has been built by God, that it is himself. He recognises that.
That is why I read in John 20, because that is what we see there. The Lord has been into death, He has come out of it in resurrection power, He is the ascending Man, and He comes into this company where He recognises what is of Himself. We are currently reading in John’s gospel and we noticed in John 2 that the Lord disowns the natural relation; He disowned it: “What have I to do with thee, woman?” (v.4). And then as we proceed in the gospel of John, we find that the Lord is bringing to light what is spiritual. John 3 speaks of what is of water and of spirit (v.5), so what is spiritual is coming on to view. In chapter 11, it says, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus” (v.5). He is loving what is spiritual, and He finds it then in this company in chapter 20, a company that had gathered together. The Lord had said to Mary, “go to my brethren” (v.17). It is a heavenly company; you could not say anything else as the Lord came in and made Himself known to them; they must be a heavenly company like Himself.
I would like to reflect on these things more, that the Lord Jesus has gone into death to secure the assembly, and the Spirit has come to form persons and to bring them into the body, and that the Lord Jesus can come in and say, as it were, ‘Yes, it is woman; everything that I can see in this vessel is of Myself’. She is wholly for Him.
I also read the passage, “as the Father sent me forth, I also send you”. You can see from this that such a company is trustworthy. It is a trustworthy company and the Lord can entrust things to them. Having identified and then named what He finds in them, “my brethren”, He can then trust them to be here for His name.
May these thoughts encourage us, dear brethren, to be more in the way of being here for Christ, for His name’s sake.
Word in a meeting for ministry, Glasgow
7 August 2025
Walter Patterson