(tm) The Father dwells in Christ in totality

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9)

The Father loves the Son and dwells in Him completely. All that the Father is and possesses He has given to the Son. The Father is in the Son in His fullness and the Son is in the Father in His fullness. If we can understand the relationship of the Son to the Father we can gain some understanding of the relationship of the Body of Christ to the Son.

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe thou hast sent me. (John 17:21)

Jesus prayed for the filling of the saints with the fullness of the Father and the Son. The prayer is recorded in John, Chapter 17. "That they all may be one; "

Although various denominations have come into being over the last several hundred years, the Body of Christ, the Temple of God, is one. Its division into sects is superficial. When the Lord gives the Word the members of the Body of Christ will flow together in perfect unity.

"as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,"

The unity of the Body of Christ is a spiritual unity that comes through the impartation of the Substance of God.

The Christian Church is much more than groups of saved people. The Church is born from above; "not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). The Body of Christ, the Temple of God, is, in fact, the Substance of Christ that has been imparted to people by the Holy Spirit.

Eve was Adam in another form, having been fashioned from Adam’s rib. She was not created from the dust of the ground but from a piece of Adam. In like manner the true and only Christian Church is not made from flesh and blood. It is the Substance of Christ that is taken Him and formed into people. The true Church, which is Christ in another form, always and forever abides in absolute unity because it is all created from the one Christ of God. The Body of Christ is one with the unity that exists only in the Godhead.

"that they also may be one in us:"

It is not that the Church is one that is so significant. It is that the Church is one in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Being one in the Godhead makes the crucial difference. If the Christian Church became one apart from the Godhead it would be the greatest enemy of Christ in the universe. It would be the worst antichrist of all time.

"that the world may believe thou hast sent me."

The churches are attempting in their own strength to influence the world for good; and certainly there are many worthy works of all kinds being performed. But God’s revival is yet ahead of us. As soon as the Body of Christ, the Temple of God, has been brought to perfection by the ministries of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians, Chapter Four), then the Body will be filled with all the fullness of the Godhead.

When the Church becomes one with the Father and the Son, the world will believe the Father indeed has sent the Son. The world will never believe God has sent Christ until the Church becomes one in the Godhead.

"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them;"

The Father imparted to the Son the fullness of His own Glory. Christ has passed on to us the fullness of the Glory of God. We do not as yet have the fullness of the Glory of God because we are not able to receive it. But the Holy Spirit is making us ready to receive the Glory of God, if we are moving along under His direction.

If we are not following the Holy Spirit but are idly standing by without seeking to grasp more of Christ, then we are not being made ready to receive the Glory of God. There are no limits placed on the Glory of God given to the Son by the Father. There are no limits placed on the Glory of God given to the Church by the Son.

"that they may be one, even as we are one:"

The Body of Christ will be perfect in unity. It is "one tabernacle" (Exodus 26:6). There will not be a shadow of disunity in the mature Body. The unity of the Body of Christ is being created by the Lord God. The Body will be one in the Glory and the love of God. The perfected unity of the finished Body of Christ can be compared only to the unity that exists in the Father and the Son.

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