THE INTRINSIC VIEW OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
IN EPHESIANS 4
The Constituents of the Divine Mingling
with the Believers
We need a trance to see the intrinsic view of the Body of Christ in Ephesians 4. This chapter says that we need to be diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit (v. 3). Then it continues by saying, "One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (vv. 4-6). Who understands this? No one can understand this with their natural understanding. There are four persons in these verses—one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father. These four persons have been grouped together; the first one is human and the last three are divine. The Body is human, the Spirit is divine, the Lord is divine, and God the Father is divine.
Why are these four persons grouped together here in Ephesians 4:4-6? Have you ever seen such a vision, such a scene? We have seen many groups of people, but have we seen this small group of four persons—one human and three divine? We may have read Ephesians 4 many times without seeing this group of four persons. To see this group of persons is a great light. This is a vision, a video. Four persons are here, and they are all very active. The Body, the Spirit, the Lord, and God the Father are all actively being mingled together.
We may have seen something from Ephesians 4, but the scenery we have seen is imperfect. We have a broken video. We have not seen a complete, perfect view. The Spirit, the Lord, and the Father, are doing one work. They are working to mingle Themselves with the Body. Ephesians 4 presents the real scenery of the Body of Christ. This group comprising four persons—the Body, the Spirit, the Lord, and God the Father—forms a unit, and this unit, this entity, is the Body of Christ, the church. The Father is embodied in the Son, the Son is realized as the Spirit, and the Spirit is mingled with the believers. This mingling is the constitution of the Body of Christ. We all have to see this. If we see this, all the problems among the saints and among the churches will be gone. All the problems can only be resolved by such a vision.
Today among some in the Lord’s recovery, there is still competition and ambition for position and for a name. This is a shameful thing to say, but it is a fact. Why are these things still going on? This is because we do not have the heavenly vision. We are short of the spiritual, heavenly, divine video. If we see this video, this video will solve all the problems. The mingling of the Body with the Spirit, the Lord, and God the Father in Ephesians 4:4-6 is invisible. Such a scene is not visible to the human eyes or realized by the human senses. This is why we need to be in a trance.
We have said that the Body of Christ, the church, is human, but it is not naturally human. The church is heavenly human. The natural humanity has been crucified, resurrected, uplifted, and mingled with the three of the Divine Trinity. We are mingled with the Spirit, possessing one hope, mingled with the Son, possessing faith joining us to Him and baptism separating us from Adam, and also mingled with the Father as the One who is over us, through us, and within us. The Body of Christ is such a mingling of humanity with divinity.
God the Father, who is over all, through all, and in all, is the origin, the source, of the entire view of the Body of Christ. He is the origin of the Body. God the Son, who is the Lord and the embodiment of the Father, is the element. The Son is mingling Himself with us by faith and baptism. God the Spirit, who is the realization of God the Son, is the essence. The Spirit is being mingled with us with a hope that one day we all will be thoroughly transformed, conformed to the image of the Son, and glorified in Him. This is the working Divine Trinity mingling Himself in a thorough way with His chosen people as the Body.
This mingling has started, but it is not yet finished. It is still going on. We have ministry meetings and church meetings to be gathered together into Christ so that we can be thoroughly mingled with Him. We are not merely attending meetings in an outward sense. Behind these meetings, there is something unseen. That unseen thing is the mingling. While we are attending the meetings, we are being mingled with the Triune God. On the one hand, we are mingling with one another. But the top mingling is the mingling of the Triune God Himself with all of us.
We surely can testify that we have more of God mingled with us in the meetings, but when we leave the meetings, we have to remain in this mingling. We need to be those who are being mingled with the Triune God all the time. This mingling solves all the problems. Two sisters may quarrel with each other because they are out of this mingling. But when they get back into this mingling, it causes them to forgive each other. Some husbands and wives may be having problems with each other. After being mingled with the Triune God in the meetings, however, their problems are resolved. The divine mingling solves all of our problems.
(The Intrinsic View of the Body of Christ, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee)
