Trumpet Ministries Christ, Head and Body
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The Book of Isaiah tells us of the Servant of the Lord, the Anointed Deliverer who is to come and establish justice on the earth. The Servant of the Lord is Christ—Head and Body.
The purpose of the Church Age is to call out from the nations of the earth an elect. Each of the elect is to be ministered to by the gifts and ministries given by the Holy Spirit until he or she comes to maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ.
It seems there are some truths of the Scripture that were given to the Apostle Paul alone. It is clear that the transition from Moses to Christ was explained only by Paul. This may be true also of the concept that the Church is the Body of Christ.
I capitalize "body" on occasion, although realizing we are human and not Divine, because of our relationship to Jesus Christ. We are not God; that is certain. But because we are being made an integral part of Christ, as close to Him as our body is to our head, it seems reasonable to once in a while point out that the Church is more than merely human. It is the lampstand of God, that is, it partakes of the Divine Nature through the Lord Jesus Christ.
We need to think much about the idea that the Word of God is being enlarged. He who was with the Father from the beginning is being added to. Branches are growing out from the Vine.
The holy city, the new Jerusalem, is the Church. It also is the very Body of Christ. This signifies in turn that the city is a living entity which, although being installed for eternity on a high mountain of the new earth, nevertheless has the power of multiple presence, as is true of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps we need a more exalted vision of the Church. We are so accustomed to thinking of the churches primarily as social groups which are endeavoring to do the will of God in the earth.
But the Church—the Bride of the Lamb—the Body of Christ—the eternal Tabernacle of God—is the revelation of God; the incarnation of God. How could it be otherwise in that it is the Body of Christ?
The name of God, the name of the city of God, the new name of Jesus Christ—all will be inscribed on us. Whoever of the saved nations sees us will understand this is the seed whom Lord has blessed; these are the priests, the ministers of our God. The peoples of the earth will come to our light, which actually will be the light of Christ and of God in Him. Then we shall inherit nations of people whom God has determined to save from destruction.
Truly the Church Age might be termed "the Age of Presumption." We have taken matters into our own hands. Instead of waiting for our directions from the Head we have gone forth in our own wisdom, strength, and talents to do the work of the Kingdom of God. We are as an individual afflicted and handicapped by a severe motor dysfunction. On the one hand we are paralyzed. On the other hand our movements are uncontrollable. This is not too harsh an indictment on us. It is the truth!
Hopefully in our day there will be some members of the Body of Christ who absolutely will refuse to put their hand on the ark of God’s Glory. They will look to Jesus instead of to themselves. They will hear the end-time call of the Spirit of God: "Not by might nor by My Spirit says the Lord." They will wait for the Lord to tell them what to do.
Will you and I be among those who cease from our own works and enter God’s rest, into the place where we are so joined to the Head that we respond to His every desire, just as in a healthy body the members are instantly responsive to the brain?
I think the churches have somewhat misunderstood the purpose of the Church Age. We are attempting to save the nations. If one will study the Scriptures it can be noticed that the worldwide revival we are looking for will take place at the time of the Lord's return. We have the cart in front of the horse. We are focusing our attention on the needs of the world. God is focusing on the spiritual needs of His Church; for it is only through a mature Church that God can govern the saved nations.
When the Apostle Paul sets forth the various gifts and ministries of the Body of Christ he stipulates that their purpose is to bring each of us to the stature of the fullness of Christ. For some reason, perhaps because of a humanistic desire to "save souls," to "win people to Christ," we speak of the God-given talents of the members of the churches as being for the purpose of evangelizing. But this is not what the Scripture states. If we do not go by the Bible how can we expect God to bless us and make our way successful?
This is not to say the churches are not to go into all the world and make disciples, commanding them to keep the Words of Jesus Christ. We are to do this. We are to preach the Gospel to every creature because we do not know whom the Lord has chosen for His Church.
But if you will look carefully at the Book of Acts you will find expressions similar to "as many as were appointed to eternal life believed."
I do not know whether it is due to democratic ideals, or to a reaction against Calvinism, or to some other factor, but we of today in America simply will not accept the fact that God makes some vessels for honor and some for dishonor. We will not accept that God would harden Pharaoh's heart. We may say we believe in the full verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, but when we come to predestination and foreknowledge we draw the line.
The truth is, we Christians of America are so filled with humanism we will not permit God to be God. He has to work by our ideas of fairness or we won’t cooperate. Yet we are dust, and God does as He will with the dust, even though His actions are not democratic. Salvation is of the Lord. It is God who works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Can we accept this, or will we seek to somehow mix the sovereignty of God with a human sense of what is "fair"?
There are things God must do and then actions we must take if the plan of salvation is to operate. However, it is as I have stated: we are dust, and in the final, ultimate sense, God does as He will with the dust. It all is of God even though our decisions and actions are critical.
One may exclaim, "I do not understand how you can say that God does as He will with people on the earth, appointing some to honor and some to dishonor, and yet maintain that our decisions and actions are genuinely critical." Even though we may not at first be able to reconcile this seeming contradiction, it remains true that both aspects are perfectly, totally, true. Perhaps we are going to have to permit God to be God until we come to a more mature understanding of His Word.
One of the major problems of theological thinking is the affinity we have for deductive reasoning. We take a pleasing verse, use it as an axiom, and deduce truth from it. Even though it renders numerous passages invalid, we proudly announce that we subscribe to the plenary verbal inspiration of the Scriptures.
Truth can be gleaned from the Scriptures only by inductive reasoning. We are to take every passage and shout "Amen!" We let God be God. Then we can truly claim to subscribe to the plenary verbal inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.
God is God and He does as He will with the peoples of the earth. He made the nation of Egypt expendable in order that He might show His glory through Israel.
When God has brought the full number of members of Christ's Body to sufficient maturity, then, and only then, will Christ return. He will return with His Body and establish justice on the earth.
We first must come to the unity of the faith. This does not mean to the unity of doctrine but to the oneness that exists among people when each person is looking only to the Lord Jesus for life and behavior. The reason Christians are in such conflict today is that they are living and acting according to their own will. As long as this is true they cannot possibly be one in Christ in God.
Only when we all are looking to Jesus for our decisions will we be in the unity of the faith. Then the world will believe that the Father has sent the Lord Jesus. So the emphasis today should be on building up the saints to the stature of the fullness of Christ, while not neglecting the work of evangelism.
The nations are in turmoil and will continue to destroy each other until the Prince of Peace returns. The Prince of Peace indeed shall return, but only when His Body is ready to work with Him in the task of installing the Kingdom of God on the earth.
It can be seen that God has called out from the ranks of mankind an elect, an Israel, a Wife for the Lamb, a body for Christ. According to the Scripture, this has been accomplished by the foreknowledge of God. It is not a democratic procedure. It is an arbitrary, sovereign work on the part of Almighty God.
God is the Potter. We are the clay. In fact, we are less than clay. We are dust. How dare we challenge the Creator in our own presumption? He can do whatever He wishes.
Yet, let no man question the love of God for us. Calvary answers for eternity the question of God’s love and good intentions toward us.
We must keep in mind also that everyone who has been predestined to be a brother of Christ must respond appropriately and diligently. It is entirely possible for someone to take our crown; for our talents to be removed and given to another. We continually must press toward a full grasp on that for which we have been grasped. To neglect so great salvation is to bring wrath upon us—elect or not!
We understand, therefore, that the purpose of the two thousand years of the Church Age has been to create a body for the great Head, Jesus Christ. As the human body is subject to the head, so the Body of Christ is to be subject to Christ.
It is to this fullness that you have been called. Do not become impatient as God works with you night and day to prepare you to be bread for the multitudes whom God will save when you are able to bring Christ instead of yourself to them.
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)
I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:23)
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. (I Corinthians 12:12)
Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13)
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