TRANSMITTED TO THE CHURCH
The last three words of verse 22, "to the church," are crucial. This indicates that whatever Christ has undergone, whatever He has obtained and attained, has all been transmitted to the church. The word "to" here indicates a type of transmission. Again I say that whatever Christ has gained and obtained has been transmitted to the church. Christ is above all, but His being above all has been transmitted to the church. Hence, the church also is above all.
TRANSMISSION BEING THE SOURCE OF THE BODY
Verse 23 says that the church is Christ’s Body. This means that whatever Christ has passed through, obtained, and attained has been transmitted to the Body. Whatever has happened to the Head has happened to the Body. What the Head has gained now belongs to the Body. This transmission is the source of the Body. The Body comes from the transmission of the Head. This transmission took place on the day of Pentecost. On the day of Pentecost everything belonging to the Head was transmitted to the Body. We need to have a vision of this. Neither our belief nor our unbelief alters the fact that all the Head has obtained and attained has been transmitted to the Body. Such an event has taken place in this universe. On the day of Pentecost the ascended Christ transmitted to the Body all His experiences. Out of this transmission the Body came into existence. All that Christ has accomplished, obtained, and attained is not only for the Body, but also to the Body.
THE CASE OF PETER
Consider the case of Peter. On the day of Pentecost Peter, a Galilean fisherman, became another person. I appreciate the Peter we see in the four Gospels because he was frank and honest, although he was selfishly honest. In the Gospels Peter was very natural and fully in the flesh. However, he made no pretense. He was what he was, and he was exposed. It seemed that he never did anything right. Only on one occasion did he speak a clear word, and that was in Caesarea Philippi when he said that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. What Peter said on that occasion was wonderful, but it came not from Peter, but from the Father’s revelation. On other occasions Peter spoke nonsense and was rebuked for it. According to Matthew 16, immediately after he confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, Peter told Him to pity Himself and not go to the cross. That forced the Lord to rebuke him and say, "Get behind Me, Satan." Peter also spoke nonsense when he was on the mount of transfiguration. He seemed to say, "Lord, how good it is to be here. I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." What nonsense! Furthermore, when the collector of the half shekel asked Peter if his Master paid the tax, Peter immediately answered that He did. He was also rebuked for this. But on the day of Pentecost Peter was another person. Prior to that, he was bold in a fleshly way, but actually very timid in following Christ, for he denied the Lord three times. But on the day of Pentecost Peter was more mighty than all the powerful people on earth. What happened to him, and what made him different? It was the fact that all that Christ had passed through and experienced had been transmitted into Peter. On that day Peter received a heavenly, divine transmission. To repeat, on the day of Pentecost all that Christ had passed through, obtained, and attained was transmitted from the third heaven to the church. Out of this transmission the Body came into existence.
If we would experience the Body today, we must have a personal experience of the transmission that transpired on the day of Pentecost. There are many genuine Christians who do not have the experience of the Body. Although they are truly saved, they do not have the sense that they are in the Body. The reason for this is that they do not have the vision of the transmission that has taken place from the Head to the Body. They have not seen that whatever Christ is, whatever Christ has accomplished, whatever place Christ occupies, and whatever Christ possesses have been transmitted to the Body. In order to share in this transmission, you need to be part of the Body. My first burden in this message is to point out that the existence of the Body depends on the transmission that took place on the day of Pentecost. Ephesians 1 declares this fact.
Ephesians 1:23 says that the Body is the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Apart from the Body, the Head has no fullness. Because Christ is universally great, He needs a great body to be His fullness and to express Him. This Body comes out of the transmission of Christ. All that Christ has obtained and attained and all that He is have been transmitted into the Body.
(The Spirit and the Body, Chapter 12, by Witness Lee)
