The Unity of the Spirit
Part 4
In the last page on the Unity of the Spirit we noted the significance of the One
Body truth at the time of its revelation. For at the time of the revelation of the Mystery
great numbers of Jews were believers on Christ. A very high percentage of the Christians
were in fact Jewish. When the dispensation changed at Acts 28:28 and the Mystery was
brought to light, there was indeed a radical change in God's administration. Paul informs the saints that every vestige of Jewish
ascendancy has been done away with. In fact, he carries everyone back to the Cross and
shows that more happened on the Cross than Christ just dying“for our sins”.
The truth embodied in the Mystery shows that on the cross the work of Christ was so
sufficient that:
1. The Gentiles were made nigh by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2)
2. He made both (Jew and Gentile believers) one (Eph. 2)
3. The middle wall of partition was broken down (Eph. 2)
4. The enmity was abolished in His flesh (Eph. 2)
5. Both parties were reconciled unto God in one body, by the Cross (Eph. 2)
6. The handwriting of ordinances which were contrary to the Gentiles were
blotted out and nailed to the Cross (Col. 2)
7. Believers circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by the
circumcision of Christ (Col. 2)
8. Believers baptized in Christ's death baptism (Col. 2)
9. Raised with Him through the faith of the operation of God (Col. 2)
These nine features are truths contained in the testimony of the
Lord's prisoner. This marked a
radical departure from Pentecostal truth. Salvation had been of the Jews (Jn. 4:22) but at
Acts 28:28 it was sent to the Gentiles. Consequently, Christ was now among the Gentiles
and was their hope of glory (Col.1 :27).
From that point onward, Jewish Christians began to have lesser
influence among believers. The farther away from 61 A.D. (Acts 28:28) you get, the fewer
Jews you find who are members of the One Body.
So by the time you get to the Twentieth Century you find very
few Jews who have embraced Christianity. All of this was said to say this-believers today are not confronted
with the problem of Jewish privilege and ascendancy that believers experienced shortly
after the announcement of present truth. On the other hand believers are confronted with
another situation as it relates to the One Body.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ONE BODY TODAY,
1900 YEARS LATER
Today believers confuse the Church of
God with the Church over which Christ Jesus is the Head. The Church of God was composed of
two bodies of believers, the Jew and the Gentile, which the present calling is one body
with Christ being its Head. The Church of God was the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27) and it
was the Body that was to be edified (Eph. 4:12) by the Apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors and teachers which the Lord raised up at the beginning of this dispensation. The
Body of Christ came out of the Acts period and was to be directed into the truth of the
Mystery by the gifts of the Ascended Christ. Some of the Body of Christ embraced present
truth, many did not.
The Body of Christ did not have Christ Jesus as its Head. A
basic fundamental mistake made today, over 1900 years after the revelation of the Mystery,
is to refer to the Church of this dispensation as the Body of Christ. To do so gives
grounds for enemies of "right division" to accuse us of believing in "two
bodies", which they do.
Some years ago as the writer was coming into the knowledge of
right division, the pastor of a local "Bible Church" learned that our position
of when the Church began had shifted from Acts 9 to Acts 28:28. In order to prevent us
from having any influence over any members of his congregation he delivered a very heated
sermon against "Acts 28 Brethren". He said he knew of no Acts 28 brethren who
had ever graduated from an accredited Bible School or Seminary. Assuming the Acts 28:28
position, he said, leads to "soul sleep", "no hell", "universal
reconciliation", and "two bodies". These scare tactics worked to a great
degree. Thus we were labeled no-hellers, soul-sleepers, and two-body people before we ever
really knew what they meant.
The charge of "two body people" could not be farther
from the truth. For we are Bible believers and as such we insist that there is but
"One Body". But if this One Body is the Body of Christ then there is a basis for
the charge of being "two body people" (for more information on the Body of
Christ, see the study, "The Body of Christ" on
this web site. Paul states very plainly in 1 Corinthians 12:27 that the Church of God is
the Body of Christ.
“
Now ye
are the
body of Christ, and members in particular."
The Body of Christ was endowed with spiritual gifts. Also, "God bath set some in the church (i.e.
the Body of Christ), first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that
miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues”(1 Cor. 12:28).
The One Body is void of these offices. Note carefully that the Body of Christ was endowed with miracle workers as well as
diversities of tongues. These went along with the Pentecostal program.
Failure to distinguish between the Body of Christ and the One Body with Christ
as the Head leads to confusion. If Paul's two ministries were recognized much of this
confusion would vanish.
Simple arithmetic is one plus one equals two. Not one plus one equals one. The
Body during the Acts period is different from the Body after Acts 28:28. To insist that
the two are the same is to say that one plus one equals one.
Our sacred responsibility is to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is ONE
BODY". To confuse
the Body of Christ with the Body over which Christ Jesus is the Head is to manifest an
unworthy walk.
2. ONE SPIRIT
In James 2:26 we read that the body without the spirit
is dead. Therefore it is certainly correct in the Unity of the Spirit that which follows
the One Body is the One Spirit.
In Ephesians 2 we notice how closely connected the One Spirit is with the One
Body.
“And that He might reconcile both unto God in
one
body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby;” (v. 16)
“For through Him we both have access by
one
Spirit unto the Father.”
(v.
18)
We can look closer at the One Spirit and notice there are two references to the
sealing by the One Spirit.
“ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”(Eph. 1:13)
"
And grieve not
the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”(Eph. 4:30)
It should be pointed out that the members of the One Body form a habitation
for God to dwell in by means of the Spirit.
“
In
whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22)
The One Spirit strengthens the believer's inner man.
"
That He would
grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His
Spirit in the inner rnan”(Eph.3:16)
The One Spirit's
office work in the present dispensation is to minister Christ to the believer. This is not
along Pentecostal lines, however.
Between Acts 2 and Acts 28:28 the Spirit ministered the Pentecostal "spiritual gifts" to believers. These were in harmony
with the Pentecostal economy. 1 Corinthians 12 informs the student that every believer in
the Church of God received a gift from the Spirit.
But the manifestation
of the Spirit is given to
every man (i.e. believer)to profit
withal. “(v. 7)
“
But all these
(i.e. spiritual gifts) worketh
that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man (i.e.
believer) severally as He will.” (v. 11)
The Holy Spirit imparted one or more spiritual gifts to every believer during
the Acts economy. That is not the case in the economy of the Mystery. The contrast is
found in Ephesians 4:7, where we note that:
"...unto every one of us is given
GRACE (not
spiritual gifts) according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”
On the other side of Acts 28:28 the Spirit ministered spiritual gifts to "every man",, on this side of Acts 28:28 the Spirit ministers grace
"unto every one of us".
During the Acts period the Spirit of God identified the believer with the
body of believers by imparting to them spiritual gifts, which were nine in number. This
identification and impartation of the gifts of the Spirit is referred to in 1 Corinthians
12:13.
“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one
body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made
to drink into one Spirit.”
The occurrence of
"one Spirit”and
"one body”in the preceeding verse has led many
to believe it refers to the "One Body”and "One Spirit”in Ephesians 4:4. We must try the things that differ, for being baptized into
one body by the Spirit is not the work of the Holy Spirit in this dispensation. The "one baptism”for this economy is found in Colossians 2:12 and is entirely apart from
spiritual gifts. More will be said about the One Baptism when we
come to that feature in the seven-fold Unity of the Spirit.
The expression of the "one Spirit”in
1 Corinthians 12:13 is intimately associated with the supernatural gifts of the Spirit. To
say that the "One Spirit" in the Unity of the Spirit refers
back to the Corinthian Epistle is to treat lightly the charge to
"keep the unity of the Spirit".
