The Church vs. the Body of Christ vs. the New Man (Ephesians)

 

The Church vs. the Body of Christ vs. the New Man (Ephesians)

According to the revelation in Ephesians, the church, the body of Christ, and the new man are not three separate spiritual entities, but rather different aspects revealing the identity, life, function, and purpose of the church. The church is the community called by God in Christ; the body of Christ emphasizes Christ as head, the church as His body, and the union and manifestation of life; the new man emphasizes Christ as the life and person of the new man, enabling Jews and Gentiles to become a unified new community in Him, fulfilling God's purpose. 

Item	The Church	The Body of Christ	The New Man
Main verses	1:22; 3:10, 21; 5:23-27, 29, 32	1:23; 2:16; 3:6; 4:4, 12, 16; 5:23, 30	2:15; 4:22-24; (4:13, full-grown man)
Meaning of the name	The assembly called out by God, separated from the world and from natural persons and things, belonging to God	A living organism in which all the members are organically joined, with Christ as the Head	A newly created, corporate man; the old man has been terminated
Emphasis	God’s corporate entity (people, household, temple)	Christ’s organic aspect  (life, supply, function)	The newly created humanity (a corporate person)
Relationship to Christ	Christ is the Head, and the church is His beloved bride (5:23-32)	Christ is the Head, and the Body is His fullness  (1:22-23)	Christ created the two into one new man in Himself (2:15) and is the all in the new man (Col. 3:10-11)
How it came into being	Through God’s eternal choosing and predestination (1:4-5) and Christ’s redemption (1:7)	Through the cross, Christ reconciled both in one Body to God (2:16)	Christ abolished the law of commandments in ordinances and created the Jew and the Gentile in Himself into one new man (2:15)
Constituents	Redeemed, called believers	All believers, each a member of Christ	Believers in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile
What it deals with	Separation from the world and the natural life	Division, independence, individualism (4:3-6, 16)	The old man, enmity, the middle wall of partition (2:14-16; 4:22)
Purpose toward God	To be God’s household and dwelling place (2:19-22), that God’s manifold wisdom may be made known (3:10)	To be the fullness of Christ, expressing Christ (1:23)	To express and represent God, that His heart’s desire may be fulfilled
Practical living	Keep the oneness of the Spirit and be built together in the church (4:1-3; 2:21-22)	Each member functions by the Head’s supply, so the Body builds itself up in love (4:15-16)	Put off the old man and put on the new man, being renewed in the spirit of the mind (4:22-24), and live the new man’s life (4:25-32)
Ultimate consummation	The glorious church, without blemish (5:27)	The Body built up to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (4:12-13)	A full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (4:13)

Integrated Summary

The three are three aspects of one entity, not three different things:

• The church speaks of this entity as the group of people called out by God, belonging to God and for God.
• The Body of Christ speaks of it as the organism of Christ’s life. Christ is the Head, and the members belong to one another and supply one another in life, with the ultimate goal being the fullness of Christ.
• The new man speaks of it as the corporate person created by Christ. The division and enmity of the old man have been terminated, and Christ is everything in this new man, with the ultimate goal being one full-grown man.

In short: the church is the corporate entity God desires, the Body is the expression of Christ’s organic life, and the new man is the new humanity created in Christ. All three point to God’s eternal economy, which is to gain a corporate expression in Christ.

This summary is based on my understanding of Ephesians and the Life-study of Ephesians, and it is not a verbatim quotation. For deeper study of any cell, I recommend comparing it with the Life-study messages on 2:15-16, 4:13-16, and 1:22-23.

If you like, I can prepare an expanded version that adds other metaphors such as God’s household, the temple, the bride, and the warrior, or turn this table into a downloadable document.

 

*Please refer to the Life-Study of Ephesians

From "Life-Study of Ephesians, Chapter 90" : "Faith vs. Belief vs. Doctrinalism"

 

From "Life-Study of Ephesians, Chapter 90" : "Faith vs. Belief vs. Doctrinalism" 

Ephesians 3:17 That Christ might make his home in you through faith, that you might be rooted and established in love,

Ephesians 4:13 until we all attain oneness in faith and in the full knowledge of the Son of God, until we all reach the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ,

Ephesians 4:14 so that we might no longer be little children, drifting to and fro by the waves, tossed about by the winds of teaching, which is deceitful and cunning in leading people into a system of error; 

Item	Faith  (subjective believing)	The Faith  (objective believing)	Doctrines / Teachings
Meaning	Our act and attitude of believing and trusting	What we believe: Christ Himself and the divine reality	Various explanations, views, and discussions about the truth
Nature	Subjective, within us	Objective, outside of us	Emphasizes knowledge and mental understanding
Focus	The "action" of believing: committing, relying, receiving	The "object" of believing: the One we believe in and the truth	The "way of speaking" about what is believed
Number	Varies with each person and increases or decreases with our exercise of it	Only "one faith" (Eph. 4:5)	Can be many, differing from group to group
Relationship to life	The result of Christ living in us	The reality of life, which must be received in our spirit and lived out	May be mere knowledge without life
Function and effect	Taken up as a shield to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one	Brings all the saints into oneness and together to maturity	Causes division and factions; people are tossed by the wind of teaching and carried about
Mutual relationship	The receiving of and response to the faith; without the faith as its object, faith is empty	Becomes a reality in people only through faith	If it replaces the faith, it departs from Christ as the center
Attitude to take	Exercise it and be joined to Christ	Hold it, stand firm, and grow in it	Not be shaken by it, and not let doctrines replace Christ
Biblical basis	Eph. 6:16 (the shield of faith) Eph. 3:17 (Christ making His home in our hearts through faith) Gal. 2:20 (living in the faith of the Son of God) Heb. 11:1 (faith is the substantiation of things hoped for)	Eph. 4:5 (one Lord, one faith, one baptism) Eph. 4:13 (the oneness of the faith) 1 Tim. 3:9 (the mystery of the faith) Jude 3 (contend for the faith)	Eph. 4:14 (the wind of teaching) 1 Tim. 1:3–4 (not to teach different things) 1 Tim. 6:3 (different teaching) Heb. 13:9 (not carried away by various strange teachings)
Biblical examples	Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness  (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3) The Roman centurion believed that the Lord's word alone could heal (Matt. 8:5–10) David confronted Goliath by faith (1 Sam. 17:45–47) Peter walked on the water by faith (Matt. 14:28–31)	Paul preached the faith he once tried to destroy (Gal. 1:23) A great many priests became obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7) Paul at the end of his life: "I have kept the faith"  (2 Tim. 4:7)	If the Ephesian believers remained babes, they would be tossed by the wind of teaching (Eph. 4:14) The Galatians were bewitched by "a different gospel" and the teaching of the law (Gal. 1:6–9; 3:1) Some taught that unless one was circumcised he could not be saved, causing dissension (Acts 15:1–2) The erroneous words of Hymenaeus and Philetus overthrew the faith of some (2 Tim. 2:17–18)

Summary:

• The faith is Christ and the reality we believe in; faith is our exercise of trusting in Him; doctrines are various ways of speaking about Him.
• We stand in the faith, take up faith to receive Christ and resist the enemy, and are not carried away by the wind of various doctrines.

*Please refer to Life-Study of Ephesians, Chapter 90: Letting Go of Confucianism Through Life-Growth.

The Building of the Universe vs. the Building of the Locality

 

The Building of the Universe vs. the Building of the Locality 

Based on a summary (not a quotation) of *Life-Study of Ephesians* and its related burdens. The universal church is God's eternal goal, but it must be practically manifested through the local churches. They are not two separate building processes, but different levels of the same building. The building of the universe is the overall blueprint, while the building of the locality is its concrete implementation. Ephesians focuses on the universal aspect (the body of Christ, the house of God, the temple), while 1 Corinthians and Revelation discuss it more from a local perspective. 

Item	The Universal Building	The Local Building	Analogy	Example
Scope	All believers of all ages, the one Body of Christ	The believers in one city, the expression of the universal church in that locality	The universal church is like the whole ocean; the local church is like a cup of water drawn from it. The substance is the same, but the cup is something people can see and drink.	1 Cor. 1:2 speaks of "the church of God which is in Corinth." The believers in Corinth were the whole church expressed in one city.
Nature	A divine, spiritual, mysterious, and universal reality	The practice of the same reality, visible and tangible	Like a building blueprint and the house built according to it: the blueprint is the whole picture, the house is its realization.	Eph. 2:19-22 describes the whole picture of God's household and temple; Revelation 2 and 3 show the actual condition of the churches in particular cities.
Main Scriptures	Eph. 2:19-22; 4:12, 16; Matt. 16:18	1 Cor. 3:9-17; Rev. 1:11, 20; Eph. 2:22 ("you also")	The former is like an overview map; the latter is like street views of individual cities.	The phrase "you also" in Eph. 2:22 brings the universal description down to the actual believers who received the letter.
Foundation and Cornerstone	The apostles and prophets as the foundation, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone	The same foundation; Paul, as a wise master builder, laid the foundation locally, and others built upon it	Like a building whose foundation plan is uniform, while each construction site has its own foreman.	1 Cor. 3:10: Paul laid the foundation in Corinth, and others built upon it.
Way of Building	Christ builds up the members through the gifts given to the Body	Local saints are built together through the supply of life and mutual coordination	Like the human body: the head issues commands (universal), while the hands and feet coordinate in daily life (local).	Acts 13:1: in the church in Antioch there were prophets and teachers who coordinated and ministered, and then sent others out.
Material	The constituting of the divine nature into man: gold, silver, precious stones	The same materials; wood, grass, and stubble will be burned up	Like constructing a house: reinforced concrete lasts, while cardboard and thatch vanish in one fire.	1 Cor. 3:12-15: the work is tested by fire; some remains, some is burned.
Administration and Standing	Christ as the Head; comprehensive in scope	A local standing and administration, with one church in one locality	Like a nation and its city governments: the nation is the whole, but the business is carried out in each city.	Acts 14:23: Paul appointed elders in every church; Gal. 1:2 speaks of "the churches of Galatia," each city having its own church.
Why Needed: Practice	Without a place of realization, it easily stays at the level of doctrine and concept	Believers truly meet and coordinate in specific persons, times, and places	Like having a "concept of family" but no real home: nowhere to eat, talk, or support one another.	A believer who only says "I belong to the universal church" but has no real contact with saints in any locality has no place to practice.
Why Needed: Testimony	The full scope of God's eternal purpose	Christ shows His testimony to the people of each city through the local churches	Like lampstands: lamps are lit one by one and cannot exist only as a concept of "light."	The seven golden lampstands in Revelation, one in each city, with Christ walking among them (Rev. 1:12-13, 20).
Why Needed: Oneness and Governance	Christ is the Head of the Body	The locality is the boundary, avoiding denominations and division, so that believers are led and cared for on the same ground	Like a city with one municipal government rather than several competing ones.	1 Cor. 1:10-13: the Corinthian believers divided into factions, and Paul rebuked this division.
Why Needed: Growth in Life	The goal is the fullness of the Body of Christ	Believers actually experience the supply and growth of life through daily coordination in a locality	Like a plant: it needs the whole environment of soil, water, and sunlight, but also a specific field to take root in.	Imagine a new believer: with a group of believers in the same city who accompany, care for, and supply him, his growth will be more real than if he were alone.
Relationship to the Other	The ultimate goal that the local building aims to reach	The reality and expression of the universal building, and a component of it	Like a diamond and its facets: the whole is one, and each facet reflects the same light.	The seven lampstands in Revelation, taken together, fully show Christ's move in the church.

  

Simply put, the building of the universe is the goal and the overall picture, while the building of the locality is the actual path and concrete manifestation towards that goal.

 

*Please refer to *Life-Study of Ephesians*, Chapter 88, "The Building of the Universe and the Building of the Locality"