5. We Are the Body of Christ
Audio OnlyFor just as the body is one, but has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. Indeed, we also inside of one Spirit were immersed into one body, whether Judeans or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many (2 Corinthians 12:12-14).
Are you not aware that your bodies are members and part of Christ? …For it says, “The two will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). For the one joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:15–17).
One Body. The Church is His Body, the fulness of Christ who fills all inside of all (Ephesians 1:23). There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called inside of one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and inside of all (Ephesians 4:4-6).
For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. “Because of this, a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined with his wife and into one flesh the two will be” (Genesis 2:24). This is a great mystery, but I speak of Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:30-31).
Jesus’ Actual Body. Jesus has only one body, and that body is all who believe into Him alive now upon this earth. Those who are in the heavens continue to share Spirit with Jesus, but they cannot share flesh with Him, for they are waiting for its return.
I will not take the time to position the absurd ludicrousness of a “Jesus” having His own separate tiny human body nor the death awfulness of a Jesus on the outside of us. We are NOT the “mystical” body of Christ and “body of Christ” is NOT a metaphor. We together alive on this earth are the physic/spirit literal body of Jesus. Jesus is inside of us and we are inside of Him.
The Physic Is the DNA. We know that the physical/earthly aspect of our human body cannot exist except it be always fused together with the spiritual/heavenly aspect of the same body.
I do want to point out this fact of science. The physic is NOT the atoms and molecules. The physic is the DNA. Every single atom and molecule that was your physic eight years ago has vanished utterly from you, and every atom and molecule that is your body today was somewhere else, in some other thing before it became part of you now. Yet the physic remains the same! Why? Because the physic is the DNA – which is word.
Flesh of His Flesh. Thus I assert that the resurrected body of Jesus seen by the disciples, that specific flesh, BECOMES my physical body NOW, by the same DNA/Word. And yours as well. Is that not what Paul said? Flesh of His flesh, one flesh together? I assert that God is telling us the truth.
Jesus lives as His Church. Jesus lives as us. This is literal, actual, and true. There is no other Jesus except the Jesus whose heaven/earth body we together are. Again – We Are the Body of Christ. And so, every reference to any aspect of Jesus’ body in John’s vision must only be us together as the Church – if the gospel rules.
The Statements of Faith. Except we are writing the Jesus Secret Page, so our focus must now go into a different direction. We begin with the statements of faith.
Inside of the Spirit and inside the celebration of His resurrection, I see the Church, and inside the Church, His body, I see the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are the body of Christ. We together are clothed with His just innocence and our hearts are bound with the Father’s love. The anointing resting upon us is utterly pure. We see all things through eyes of fire; we see all things through God and His intentions.
We are the body of Christ, the revelation of God. Our walk together is the proving of Jesus, faithful and true. Our voice together is the speaking of Christ, the life of our testimony. Jesus holds us inside His authority, even as we speak forth His Word. With unveiled face, we together reflect the light of Jesus to one another in power.
I was crucified with Christ, but now I live into the unfolding of the ages. I possess the keys of death; I possess the keys of hades. Death vanishes before us as we boldly enter into hades, setting the captives free.
Our Page. Our primary focus on this page will be a box titled “Aspects of Us Together.” Then, we’ll have a smaller box titled “The Keys of Death and of Hades,” with a smaller Jesus Secret box finishing the page. “Aspects of Us Together” is a very large topic, even if we confine it to this first chapter of Revelation. Since this is a vision, however, the elements of what John saw reference verse after verse in the gospel.
Remember this absolute. Paul’s gospel, confirmed by John, RULES over every tiny part of this vision. We watch over the word to keep LIFE upon and within it.
A List of Aspects. Let’s list the aspects of Jesus’ body being described.
1. Enclothed to the feet.
2. Chest girded with a golden sash.
3. Head and hairs white as wool and as snow.
4. Eyes a flame of fire.
5. Feet like fine bronze refined in fire.
6. Voice as the voice of many waters.
7. Right hand holding seven stars.
8. An eager sword spoken forth from His mouth
9. His face like the sun, shining in its power.
A “List” of Metaphors. Now, I have a “list” written deeply in my knowing from sitting under much word over years, of the many metaphors of the Bible with their meanings. This “list” is filtered; that is, things I have heard that have little backing in Scripture are not in my list. But for certain simple metaphors that we find in Revelation, I will draw from my “list” to set out their meaning. You could see these meanings in the statements of faith, and I trust that the Spirit will confirm what is true. And, of course, Jesus tells John the meaning of two of these things, the stars and the lampstands.
Enclothed to the Feet. Let us assume that these are aspects of us as Jesus’ Body that are essential to the Unveiling of Jesus Christ and thus are included in the vision for that purpose. The “feet” refer directly to those Christians alive on the earth and to their daily walk.
Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, sink into Him as into a garment, and give no thought to (any dirt you have picked up on your feet – for you are clean). The enclothing is always first the just innocence of God. – “What God has cleansed, let no one call, ‘unclean.’” This is the purity of Jesus that comes through faith alone.
Chest Girded. The purity of Christ through faith always comes first, but then the Spirit adds another aspect of garment that is essential to the Unveiling and wondrous. Girded about at the chest with a golden sash. – Gold is a metaphor of the Father Himself, and the chest is where the heart is found. To be “girded” is to be held TIGHT.
Two things in our list signify the Father’s Heart in ours, this golden sash and the eyes of fire. The Heart comes first and the eyes come second. The only thing of importance happening in human life on this earth is the shaping of the human heart to contain and to reveal the Father’s Heart.
Head and Hairs White. The Head of the body is always Jesus, but the hair signifies the anointing and is the same thing as the metaphor of the oil flowing down upon Aaron’s beard, down upon his garments. First, this confirms that Word and Spirit, Jesus and the Devoted Spirit, are always together.
The white, then, white as wool, white as snow, speaks of that pure Living Spirit Word flowing out from God, flowing upon and through the revelation of Jesus Christ. Yet this “head” also then speaks of our minds, the mind of Christ, thinking like God by speaking His Word as ourselves.
Eyes a Flame of Fire. We speak what we do not yet see, because God says. When God has a people who think like He thinks without any need for outward appearance, then Christ is revealed. Having the Heart of the Father now shared with us and the thoughts that are Christ now the only way we think, only now can we see all things as God sees them.
Seeing through eyes of fire is seeing as God sees out from a Hheart shared with God. Seeing in this way means that everything looks very, very different. Fire is judgment. – As I hear, so I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek my own desire, but the desire [heart] of the One who sent Me.
Feet Refined as Bronze. We return to the feet walking upon the earth. “Refined as bronze” is also speaking of judgment, but with a very specific focus. This is the proving of Jesus Christ, Faithful and True.
– So that the proving of your faith… being refined through fire, that your faith might be found into praise, glory, and honor inside the unveiling of Jesus Christ. We have one faith only, the faith of the Son of God; thus the proving of our faith is Jesus establishing once and for all that God speaks the Truth. In actuality, this is what the entire completion is about.
Voice as Many Waters. Now we come to the mouth, to the voice behind and to the spoken words going forth. The voice of many waters is a background hum, one might say, a continual speaking of Christ our life, the word of the testimony of many.
This is a shared Spirit Word, a shared self-story, that is, Jesus’ own Soul intermingled with the soul of each member of His body. We hear the same Jesus in one another, but we value the distinction of each one’s person added to His. This quiet hum of many speaking Christ together must come first before the sword spoken forth has all power.
Stars in Right Hand. Then, in-between the shared speaking of Christ our life and the going forth of Word in power is the authority given to us. By signing the Unveiling and sending it through His angel, Jesus is demonstrating the authority given to us to be the Unveiling of Jesus Christ.
Then, right hand signifies the place of authority and stars are the emblem of authority, the messengers of the seven churches, that is, the direction of God inside His House. We do not speak on a whim or of ourselves, but when the Word of God goes out from us, it goes in all authority.
Sword Spoken out of the Mouth. The Greek verb does signify something being spoken, and so there is no need to paint a picture of a man with a literal sword in his mouth and call our drawing, “Jesus.”
Here is the true sword. – “Father, forgive them.” And the one who speaks that sword, having the Father’s authority, humbles him or herself in the speaking. Yet this is a Word of power. We might say that Jesus sustaining all by the Word of His power is a general reality. This eager sword is specific Words of power that shape the reality of Jesus sustaining all into the outward visible expression of the kingdom of God now come.
Face as the Shining Sun. This final metaphor is the open, visible revelation of Jesus Christ, yet it is clearly our faces, by the gospel. For the God who said, “Out of darkness light shall shine,” this same God shines inside our hearts towards the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God inside of the face and presence of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4). And again – that the life of Jesus also might be made visible in our mortal flesh. – pre-resurrection Resurrection Life. Jesus finds faith in the earth.
Our box will now include a careful expansion of the statements of faith, showing God’s progression of meaning.
From Source to Completion. I had no idea, when I began this lesson, of the beauty and the flow that we would find in this strange description of the One in the midst of the Church. Nothing is forced; everything fits. The Spirit of God is saying, “This is how you are to know your togetherness, Jesus inside His Church, as you move, now, as the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
We begin with purity and purpose – the Father’s Heart, and we end with a Word of power spoken forth that changes the face of the Church, from Source to Completion. We speak the visible appearing of the Kingdom.
Aspects of the Body. As believers in Jesus, we together are the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, His spiritual/physical form in all heaven/earth. We together are clothed with Jesus, His just innocence and His devotion to God covers us even down to our feet now walking upon the earth. We are utterly clean.
Our hearts together are bound with and held tightly inside of the Father’s love. We share heart with God. The Lord Jesus is the Head of His body; His mind and thoughts belong to each one of us. A pure and anointed Spirit Word rests upon our thinking together, as the very wisdom of God. We see all things through the Father’s eyes, we judge all things by His desire alone. Because we think like God thinks, we speak that which does not yet appear.
The Lord Jesus proves God faithful and true through our faith refined in fire. Jesus proves His revelation through us now walking upon the earth. We speak Christ our only life together, even as each one of us shares the same Soul of the Lord Jesus. We hear His voice in one another’s voices even as we value each other’s person.
Out from the authority of God given to us, we speak Christ together into our world. Our words pierce the darkness; our words set the captives free. As we speak Christ with authority, so our faces together shine forth His glory even as we see Him in the face of His entire Church.
We have just described the very Unveiling of Jesus Christ.
What Is a Key? I am the living One, and, although I was dead, look and see, I am living into the unfolding of the ages, and I possess the keys of death and of hades. – I have been crucified with Christ. I live, however, but no longer I. Christ lives inside of all that is me. More than that, the life I now live inside this sphere of flesh, I live entirely inside the sphere of the faith of the Son of God…
What is a key? A key locks or unlocks a door. I have set before you an open door which no one is able to shut. – On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16).
Blowing Things Up. What is the meaning? Here is the picture. – That through death, He might destroy the one holding the power of death, that is, the devil and accuser and might release those who through fear of death were of slavery all their lives (Hebrews 2).
Jesus opens up the door of death, goes into the prison cell behind that door, and blows the whole thing apart in one moment of Resurrection. The picture of hades is the same. The Church opens the gates of hades, goes into the prison cell behind those gates, and blows the whole thing apart in the Resurrection.
The Heart of Each One. Nonetheless, we also understand that death and hades are both personal to each individual human. And so the keys have meaning only as that which unlocks the heart of this one human lost and alone. This is where we place the rest of Galatians 2:20. – This One having loved me, this One having traded Himself for me. – And we also.
Do you see how it is that when we enter the book of Revelation through Paul’s gospel confirmed by John, everything we find becomes simple and true. And so it is with the victory of LIFE swallowing up death.
Keys of Death and Hades. I am crucified with Christ, nonetheless I live, yet it is Christ living as me. Jesus, having defeated death and blown it to pieces by His resurrection, now fills me with His life. I possess the keys of death and of hades. Just as Jesus loved me and traded Himself for me, for my sake, so I do the same towards this one person, frightened and lost inside of an unnecessary hades. I open the door to their hearts and death flees from them. Their gates of refusal give way to the love of God through me towards them. They receive the Lord Jesus and give Him thanks. I possess Victory over death. Death is swallowed up by Life.
Our Only Source. We do not want to rush by a picture of Jesus in His Church, Jesus speaking to John, without also hearing the same Jesus inside of us now speaking to us. The continuous Source of everything for us is our intimate and personal fellowship with Jesus, first, and then through Jesus, with the Father. Regardless of what mighty things might yet come through us into our world, this Fellowship always remains, meek and lowly of Heart, Jesus inside of us.
According to John’s gospel, the Spirit, in speaking to the Churches, is always speaking Jesus into us.
The Jesus Secret. My Beloved, Hi. It’s always Me inside of you and you inside of Me. Let’s do this thing together, and with all our brethren. Let’s blow things up. I have conquered death and given you My victory. Let’s bust through the gates of hades together and eliminate all unnecessary lostness in the lives of all who belong to Me. We’re in this together, you and Me, always.
The Oil of Gladness. Yes, Jesus is meek and lowly of Heart, yet He also said through David, “You have anointed Me with gladness above all My fellows.” The One who fills us with His glory sings His victory through us in all gladness and joy. Gladness and travail are always together, we never let one cause us to forget the other. We laugh with those who laugh even as we weep with those who weep.
The Unveiling of Jesus Christ does not take us into “BIG” things as people define them, but into the simple and joyous truths of the gospel, which are the BIGGEST things to God.
Reading for Next Time. The next lesson is titled “I Eat of the Tree of Life.” We return to confessions of faith as individuals, but only as members in particular of Christ. For the next session read Revelation 2:1-11 in the JSV a couple of times. This is two of the “overcomings,” but for this passage, we have three JSV pages. The second page is “The Gospel of Life” and the third page is “The ‘Gospel’ of Death.”
To the one presently and actively overcoming, I will give him to eat, immediately and ongoing, out from the Tree of Life which is inside the paradise of God.
Let’s Pray Together. “Oh God, You are so wonderful to us, for You have filled us with the Oil of Gladness, that is, with the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we know that the Revelation of Your Son through us Your Church is the biggest and most important thing in the universe to You. Father, we give ourselves to You with all joy, that the bright-shining strength of the Lord Jesus might be upon our faces, now seen and known by all.
“God, our Father, we speak Your Word with authority into Your Church, our dear brethren all across the world who yet remain in an oh-so-unnecessary lostness in their minds.
“God, our Father, move through our words by Your Spirit and blow hades all to pieces with Your love. Thank you, Father, that we get to blow false things up, just like Jesus. God, we speak the purity of Jesus upon our brethren, down to their feet upon this earth. – You are clean; never ever call yourself unclean, for God is True.
“We speak the love of God already poured out from the heart of every believer in Jesus upon this planet. We are humbled by Your love given to us through each one, small or great. God, our Father, let a pure living Spirit Word flow through us upon all who belong to You, that they together would know the anointing of Your wisdom, that the mind and thinking of Jesus belongs to each.
“Father, even as we speak the same words of Christ as our only life, so we speak with the authority you have given to Jesus now into our brethren in every place. – Be the revelation of Jesus Christ, for you are His body.
“God, our Father, we see Your Church, millions of Christians alive today, through Your eyes alone, through eyes of fire. We see her pure; we see her clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ. We see her clothed with Your fire, the proving of Christ Jesus faithful and true through her.
“God, death cannot stand before us; hades is burst wide open. The captives are set free. Your people RUN into Life, into the Lord Jesus, into Christ Community. God, Your glory shines forth to all upon her face.”