According to how God sees us, the church is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ – the church is in the Triune God; today we want to see what does it mean that, the church is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is so easy to read the Bible, in particular 1 Thes. 1:1, and just continue reading, not being impressed by the Lord concerning this wonderful reality.
Nothing in the Bible is random or by accident; rather, all the words, all the verbs, and all the particular names used are very important.
The Bible is a book of life, and when we come to the Bible with the exercise of our spirit and having the glasses of God’s economy on, we will receive a proper revelation and a good supply of life.
When the Bible speaks about the church, it mentions quite a few aspects, and two of the main aspects mentioned are the fact that the church is universal and also local.
On one hand, the church is universal, for the church is the Body of Christ, transcending space and time; on the other hand, the church is local, for the local churches are expressions of the one universal church.
The emphasis, however, when we come to the matter of the church, is not the local aspect but the universal; when Paul speaks about the church in Ephesians, he mainly speaks about the universal aspect of the church.
We could even say that there is no doctrine or teaching in the New Testament concerning the local aspect of the church, but there’s a clear indication and revelation concerning it; the Bible simply mentions that there is a church in this city or that city, without any explanation.
But when it comes to the universal church, the church as the Body of Christ, there are many details in many books of the New Testament concerning the church.
In 1 Thes. 1:1, for example, we are told that the church is of the Thessalonians in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah, the church is of the saints who live in a certain locality, but at the same time, it is in the Triune God!
The fact that the church is in God the Father implies that He is the originator, the initiator, and the source; we are not the source, we don’t plan and initiate things, but we take God as the unique source.
The church is composed of human beings, but at the same time, the church is in God. When we see this, our daily living will be revolutionised, for we will see the saints being in the Triune God, and we will no longer look at their condition but see them as God sees them! Hallelujah!
And when we want to do anything in the church or for the Lord, we simply come to Him in prayer and take Him as the source.
When we want to do anything in the church life, we need to learn to fellowship with the Lord and with the saints so that we may be one with the Lord, for we cannot initiate things – only God can.
May we all learn to drop our purpose, intention, and desire to do this and that, and simply come to the Lord in prayer and fellowship to take Him as the unique source, only initiator, and the Originator of all things.
The Church is in the Lord Jesus Christ means that we are Buried with Him and Raised to be Enthroned with Christ
What does it mean that the church is in the Lord Jesus Christ? This expression implies a great deal, for it is a great matter to be in Christ.
For the church to be in the Lord Jesus Chris means that there’s no sin, flesh, self, natural life, old creation, death, or Satan; everything is in Christ and of Christ, and everything is raised with Him to be enthroned with Him. Hallelujah!
For us to be in the Lord Jesus Christ means that sin has been terminated, and death, the self, the flesh, Satan, and the old creation all have been terminated. Hallelujah!
Rom. 6:3 says that we have been baptized into Christ and therefore we have been baptized into His death; we have been buried with Christ, and everything negative was terminated in His death.
Whether we like to hear this or not, it is the truth: for us to be in Christ means that we have been terminated.
Everything of the old creation has been terminated, and all the negative things related to us have been put to death.
In the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the termination of everything of the old creation, for to be in Christ is to be in His death, the death that terminates all negative things (Rom. 6:4).
Furthermore, to be in the Lord Jesus Christ means that we have been raised with Him; on one hand, we have been put to death and buried with Christ, and all negative things have been terminated, and on the other hand, we were raised with Christ.
It is of God that we are in Christ Jesus; He put us here, and by being in Christ, we have been buried with Him and raised to be enthroned with Him. Hallelujah!
The name “Jesus” implies that everything we are in the old creation and in the fall has been terminated.
The title “Christ” implies that we are no longer in ourselves, in the old creation, in sin and death, in the world, and in Satan; rather, we are in resurrection, in the Spirit, in righteousness, holiness, power, strength, and might.
In Jesus, we have been terminated and buried, and all the negative things have been put to death; in Christ we have been raised and enthroned to be on the throne with Him! Hallelujah!
May we realize that the church is in the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, the church is no longer in the old creation, in the self, sin, the flesh, or the old man; the church is in Christ, in resurrection, and on the throne.
When we see one another in the church, we need to realize that Christ has removed everything negative and has made us one in Him in resurrection, and now we live in newness of life and serve in newness of spirit.
The Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, and so the One who raised Christ from the dead gives life even to our mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells us (Rom. 8:11).
We believers in Christ are part of the church, and we are no longer in the self, the flesh, the old man, the old creation, sin, death, and Satan; we are now in power, might, strength, and authority, and in Christ, we have been brought to the throne!
Just as Christ passed through death and resurrection and was then ascended to be enthroned, we as His many members are one with Him, and we have been terminated, buried, raised, ascended, and enthroned with Him.
This is not just a fact: this is for us to experience day by day as we remain in the organic union with Him.
We may even remind Satan that we are on the throne, in Christ, and the church is in the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who is the Head, the Ruler, and the Savior, even the Lord over all things!
Hallelujah, the church is in the Lord Jesus Christ! Thank You, Lord, it is a fact that we have been crucified with Christ and buried with Him. It is an accomplished fact that our old man, our self, our flesh, and anything of the old creation has been terminated and buried. We acknowledge this fact, Lord, for through baptism we were baptized into Your death so that we may live in resurection and walk in newness of life! Hallelujah, we have been raised with Christ and now we are in resurrection, in the Spirit, and even on the throne with Christ! Amen, Lord, we declare that the church is in the Lord Jesus Christ! Hallelujah, everything that is negative has been terminated and we are in resurrection, in the Spirit, in power, in strength, and in authority with Christ, the One who has been enthroned over all things!
To be in the Lord Jesus Christ is to be United with Christ Organically in All that He is and has Done
It is wonderful to see the facts revealed in the word of God concerning the church being in the Lord Jesus Christ; however, we need to apply these to our experience, to our daily church life and practical Christian life.
It is one thing to realize the fact that in Christ we have been terminated, buried, raised, and enthroned, and it is something else for us to enter into this experience in a daily way.
How can we apply the divine facts in the Bible to our Christian life and church life? It is by means of our organic union with the Lord.
When we are baptized, we are buried with Christ through baptism into His death; we are cut off from the old man and Satan, and we are grafted into Christ spiritually to be joined to Him, even one spirit with Him (Rom. 6:4; 1 Cor. 6:17).
For us to be in the Lord Jesus Christ is for us to be united with Christ organically in all that He is and has done (1 Thes. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:30).
We are not just spectators watching an amazing history being played in front of us; we are part of the intrinsic divine history within human history, for through faith and baptism we are cut off from the old man and from Satan, and we are grafted into Christ to be organically joined to Him.
We are branches in Christ, the vine; we are buried with Him in His death and we grow together with Him in the likeness of His death and resurrection.
When we realize that we are organically joined to Christ, our whole Christian experience will change, for all that He has gone through, all He has done, and all He has attained and obtained is ours in spirit.
The church is in the Lord Jesus Christ not merely by us declaring that, as the local church, we are in the Lord Jesus Christ; rather, we need to remain in the organic union with the Lord, allowing His death to terminate everything of the self, the old man, the culture, and disposition, and being one with Him in His resurrection.
We need to pray all these matters back to the Lord so that He would make them real to us and bring us into the reality of all that He has accomplished.
It has all been done by Him – He has done everything, He has accomplished all things, and He has achieved it all, now we simply need to be one spirit with Him organically so that He as the Spirit of reality would guide us into all the reality of what He is, has, and has done.
For example, when we practice the church life, we should realize that our disposition and our culture, which are so intrinsically wrought into us that we don’t even realize how much they are part of us, need to be put to death in the organic union with the Lord.
We shouldn’t expect that the saints would sympathize with us, accept our disposition, and accommodate our culture; rather, we need to allow the Spirit to apply the cross of Christ to everything that is of our culture and disposition so that we may live in newness of life and serve in newness of spirit.
When we come together with other saints for blending conferences or trainings, we may have an inner feeling that the church in our locality is the best, and we may compare ourselves with others, thinking we’re doing quite well, not as bad as others.
Our “localism” is shown when we blend with other saints.
For us, to experience the church being in the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is to allow the Lord to put everything of the natural man to death so that we may live in resurrection of Christ by means of the organic union with Him.
Hallelujah, the church is in the processed Triune God – in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit, the One who has become the life-giving Spirit with the Father and the Son (1 Cor. 15:45; John 14:17, 23).
Thank You, Lord, for bringing us into this organic union with You in spirit. Hallelujah, we as believers in Christ are joined to the Lord as one spirit, for we are grafted in Him as the vine. We open to You, dear Lord, so that we may experience You in Your death, resurrection, ascension, and enthronement as we live the Christian life and the church life. Save us from continuing to live in our culture and disposition; give us the experiences we need in the organic union with You to be the church in the Lord Jesus Christ. Save us from thinking we are better than others; deliver us from the thought that the church in our locality is better. Oh Lord! Keep us in the organic union with You to organically enjoy and experience what You are, what You have, what You have done, and what You have accomplished! Guide us as the Spirit into all the reality of what You are and have done, and make us in reality the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Mark Raabe for this week, and portions from, Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 65-77, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Vital Factors for the Lord’s Recovery of the Church Life (2021 ITERO), week 3, The Factor of the Church Being in the Triune God, the Local Churches Being Expressions of the Body of Christ, and the Believers Practicing the Church Life in the Consciousness of the Body.
- Hymns on this topic:
– One with Thee in crucifixion, / On the cross I died in Thee; / I am dead unto the world, Lord, /And the world is dead to me. / One with Thee in resurrection, / Risen now to live in Thee, / With that life which is Thyself, Lord, / Now in me, Lord, even me. (Hymns #474)
– From the Glorified in heaven / The inclusive Spirit came; / All of Jesus’ work and Person / Doth this Spirit here proclaim. / With the Glorified in heaven / Is the Church identified; / By the Spirit of this Jesus / Are His members edified. (Hymns #132)
– In the flesh by incarnation, / Into man He God hath brought; / By His death and resurrection, / Into God He man hath brought; / God and man together mingled, / In Himself is fully wrought. / Now in heaven by ascension / He is seated on the throne; /All the lordship, all the headship, / He Himself doth fully own. (Hymns #277)
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