Christ’s Church and the Lord’s People

Christ’s Church and the Lord’s People

“Take heed to Me, My people; and give ear to Me, O My church: for law will proceed from Me, and I will make My justice rest as a light of the peoples.” Is. 51:4. (Norw. trans.).

The Lord’s people must heed Him, but the church must give ear to Him. Notice the difference. Law will go out from Him, out to His people, but in the church He will manifest His justice, and this will be a light for the peoples. The church is His body, a part of Himself, while the Lord’s people who live by the law that goes out from Him are not members of His body, but they are His possession. “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” “For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” Rom. 11:27.

The church has not been given a covenant merely for the removal of the sin that is outside the body—a covenant for the purifying of the flesh. She has also been given a covenant for the removal of sin in the flesh—a covenant for the removal of, and salvation from, the body of sin; i.e., the root of sin. Rom. 6:6. The Lord’s people are saved from the defilement and impurity of the flesh, while the church is saved even from the defilement and impurity of the spirit. The Lord’s people are saved by the death of Jesus; the church is saved by His life. Rom. 5:10. The Lord’s people have received forgiveness of sins; the church is baptized by one Spirit into one body. The Lord’s people are saved from Egypt and Pharaoh; the church is saved from the desert and bondage. She has crossed the Jordan and entered the land.

The Lord’s people look up to Jesus on the cross as Israel looked up to the bronze serpent; the church is crucified with Him. The church is able to hear, and is led by what she hears; the Lord’s people are led by external laws. The church has the law within; she is flesh of His flesh and bone of His bones. This is the bride. Eph. 5:30.

Each one of us chooses the relationship we have with Christ. We determine whether we belong to His people or to the church. Just as a man can be the father of one, the brother of many, the friend of a third, the master of a fourth and so on, this is also true of Christ. Is He your husband, or is He your friend? Is He your Lord, and are you His law-abiding slave or are you His freedman, so that His law is your delight?

It is difficult to speak and write clearly about this relationship; consequently, there are countless opportunities to twist what is written about these things. There is definitely a difference—if only the difference could be made clear.

The church has before her a way—a new and living way through the veil, which is His flesh. The Lord’s people have Jesus as a sin offering before them. The church has had her body washed with pure water and continues to be cleansed on the inner ways—within the body—from inherited sin in the flesh. The Lord’s people serve the tabernacle and are cleansed from the fruits of indwelling sin, but that does not destroy the body of sin.

To assume that you will be in the bride is one thing, but actually to be of the bride is something totally different. The bride follows the Lamb wherever He goes—through fire and water, through sufferings and tribulations. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a true joy, but who and how many can bear the baptism of fire? The Spirit gives grace to bear the fire. The baptism of fire is the baptism of righteousness, whereas the baptism of the Spirit can be called a baptism of grace. That is why a person can experience the baptism of the Spirit in a moment, whereas the fire is a process. The fire produces fellowship in His sufferings and consumes the body of sin—the sin in the flesh that we have inherited.

The bride’s preparation takes place within the body, and thus is hidden. No one can point her out and say, “Look here,” or “Look there.” It is a matter of personal obedience and hidden sacrifices. It is impossible to fashion the bride into a visible church so that people can say, “Look, here it is!” You can find people in many places who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. If you tried to gather them around the right form of doctrine, it would become apparent that even then you would have all types of people. Only a very few follow their Bridegroom. It will be evident on that Day that many will have deceived themselves by believing they had the right doctrine and were members of the right church. The only thing that will matter on that Day will be life—how you and I have lived. Life is the light of men, not the doctrines we have been taught. The form of doctrine can give us valuable guidelines, but the value of the life that fills the form is something else entirely. The form will not matter on that Day, but rather the life within the form.

“Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” 1 Pet. 1:10-11.

Note that it says, “of this salvation.” This was not the forgiveness of sins, because that was available in the old covenant. It was a salvation that required grace, a salvation that had not yet been revealed. Grace reigns through righteousness. Rom. 5:21. Christ had not yet consecrated a way through His flesh. He could not send grace for others to walk on a way on which He Himself had not yet walked. However, as soon as Christ had gone the way, the Father sent the promised Holy Spirit. Then we received grace and power to follow the Lamb on the inner ways, grace to endure the fellowship with Him in His sufferings and grace to endure the fellowship with Him through the death of the body of His flesh. Col. 1:22. The goal of all this is that we can be presented holy, blameless and irreproachable in His sight.

The church is saved by His life after a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant. Jesus has become the Mediator and High Priest of this new covenant. Our inheritance—the inheritance of the saints in the light—is behind this veil. The bride is behind the veil, which is why she is hidden. If you look for her, all you will see is a veil.