God’s Will: Christ vs. the Church — the Body of Christ (According to the
Bible)
Overview
of the Theme
God has only one
will—centered on Christ and
for Christ; and this will is to gain the church as the Body of Christ,
to be His fullness and expression.(Col. 1:9; Eph. 1:9, 22–23; Rom.
12:2, 5)
Colossians 2:2 — The full
knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ.
Colossians 2:19 — Holding the
Head, from whom all the Body… grows with the growth of God.
Ephesians 4:15–16 — Out from
Him, all the Body… causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself
in love.
|
Aspect |
Christ — the Center of God’s Will |
The
Church — the Body of
Christ |
|
Meaning |
God’s will
is Christ Himself; in God’s will, Christ is everything. (Col. 1:9; 2:2, 9,
16–17) |
God’s will
is to obtain the church as the Body of Christ, His fullness and expression. (Eph. 1:22–23; Rom. 12:5) |
|
Reason |
Christ is
the mystery of God, the all-inclusive and unlimited One, having
the first place in all things. (Col. 1:18) |
Christ needs
a Body to express Him, testify of Him, and fulfill God’s economy.
(Eph. 1:9, 11) |
|
Distinction |
Emphasis on being and content: Christ is all and the reality of all. (Col. 3:10–11) |
Emphasis on expression and
practice: the Body lives out and manifests
Christ. (Eph. 4:16) |
|
Purpose |
To work Christ into people as their life, person, and everything. (Col. 1:27; 3:4, 11) |
To
produce a corporate expression so that Christ
has a Body and fullness on earth.
(Eph. 1:23) |
|
Mutual Relationship |
Christ is
the Head, the life, the center, and the content. (Col. 1:18a) |
The church
is the Body, the fullness, the expression, and the practical living.
(Col. 1:18b; 2:19) |
|
Examples |
Colossians reveals Christ as the mystery of God and the content of God’s will. (Col. 2:2) |
Romans 12 reveals that offering the body and living the Body life proves God’s will. (Rom.
12:1–5) |
|
Application |
To know, experience, enjoy, and live
Christ in all things. (Col. 3:4, 11) |
To coordinate, function, and live in
the Body in church life. (Eph. 4:15–16) |
|
Burden |
Not outward regulations,
asceticism, or philosophy, but being saturated
with Christ. (Col. 2:20–23) |
Not individual
spirituality, but a corporate Body life and
testimony. (Rom. 12:5) |
|
Proclaiming Guidance |
Declare: God’s will is not a matter, but Christ Himself; God wants only Christ.
(Matt. 17:5) |
Declare: God’s unique will is to gain the Body; outside
the church, one is not in God’s will. |
|
Conclusion |
To
know God’s will equals to fully know Christ. (Col. 1:9; 2:2) |
To live in God’s will equals to live in the Body and the church life. (Rom. 12:2, 5) |
|
Key Scriptures |
A. God’s Will Is Centered on
Christ • Colossians 1:9 — That you may
be filled with the full knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding. • Colossians 1:18 — He is the
Head of the Body, the church… that He Himself might have the first place in
all things. • Colossians 1:27 — Christ in you,
the hope of glory. • Colossians 3:4, 11 — Christ is
our life; Christ is all and in all. |
B. God’s Will Is to Gain the
Church as the Body of Christ • Ephesians 1:9, 22–23 — According
to His good pleasure… He gave Him to be Head over all things to the church,
which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. • Romans 12:2, 5 — Be transformed
by the renewing of the mind, that you may prove what the will of God is… we
who are many are one Body in Christ. |
Core Summary:
l God does
not have two wills; He has only one will—Christ and the Body of
Christ.
l Christ is the content and center of God’s
will; the church is the goal and outcome of God’s will.
l Knowing Christ without living in
the Body is still not fully walking in God’s
will.
l The genuine way to prove God’s will
is not individual
spirituality, but living the Body life.
l Eternal value exists only in the
Body; what God desires is not good
individuals, but a Body.
Conclusion:
God’s will = Christ as everything → producing the church as the Body → becoming the corporate expression of the Triune God.
