Message Two The Church as the House of the Living God

THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Epistles of Paul to Timothy and Titus

Message Two
The Church as the House of the Living God

Scripture Reading: 1 Tim. 3:15; John 14:2; Eph. 2:19, 21-22; 1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Tim. 3:15; 2:4; 2 Tim. 2:15, 25; Titus 1:1, 14; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; John 1:1, 14; Col. 2:9; Rev. 21:2, 10-11

I. As saved ones and members of the church, we need to know the church—Matt. 16:18; 18:17; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:15, 19-22; 3:4, 10-11; 4:16; 5:32; 6:11.

II. The church of God is the house of the living God—1 Tim. 3:15:

A. To Christ, the church is the Body; to God, the church is the house—Eph. 1:22-23; John 14:2.

B. The house of God is the household of God—Eph. 2:19:

1. The dwelling place—the house—and the family—the household—are one entity—a group of called, regenerated ones indwelt by God Himself—1 Pet. 1:3; 2:5; 1 Cor. 3:16.

2. The household of God is composed of the many sons of God as the many brothers of Christ, the firstborn Son of God—Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10-12; John 1:12-13.

3. Just as Christ is not separate from the members of His Body but dwells in them, the Father is not a separate member of His household but is in all the children—Rom. 8:10; 12:4-5; 2 Cor. 6:16.

4. The house of God is organic in the divine life, organic in the divine nature, and organic in the Triune God; because the church is organic, the church grows—Eph. 2:21.

C. In speaking of the church as the house of God, Paul refers to God as the living God—1 Tim. 3:15:

1. The living God, who lives in the church, must be subjective to the church and not merely objective—1 Cor. 3:16.

2. Because God is living, the church as the house of God is also living in Him, by Him, and with Him; a living God and a living church live, move, and work together—v. 16.

3. The house of the living God is living in the Father’s name and in the Father’s life, that is, living in the Father’s reality—John 14:6; 17:2-3, 11-12.

III. The church is the supporting pillar and the holding base of the truth—1 Tim. 3:15; 2 Tim. 2:19:

A. The truth is the Triune God, having Christ as the embodiment, center, and expression, to produce the church as the Body of Christ, the house of God, and the kingdom of God—Col. 2:9; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:16; 1 Tim. 3:15; John 3:3, 5.

B. Truth in 1 Timothy 3:15 refers to the real things revealed in the New Testament concerning Christ and the church according to God’s New Testament economy—Matt. 16:16, 18; Eph. 5:32:

1. The church is the supporting pillar and holding base of these realities—2 Tim. 2:19.

2. A local church should be such a building that holds, bears, and testifies the truth, the reality, of Christ and the church—1 Tim. 3:15.

C. The church bears Christ as the reality; the church testifies to the whole universe that Christ, and Christ alone, is the reality—John 1:14, 17; 14:6.

D. God’s New Testament economy is composed of two mysteries: Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ—Col. 2:2; Eph. 3:4:

1. Christ and the church, the Head and the Body, are the contents of the reality of God’s New Testament economy—Col. 1:18; 2:19.

2. As the pillar which bears the truth and the base which upholds the pillar, the church testifies the reality, the truth, of Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ—1 Tim. 3:15.

IV. In the church life, we all need to arrive at the full knowledge of the truth—2:4; 4:3; 2 Tim. 2:25; 3:7; Titus 1:1:

A. Every saved person should have a full knowledge, a complete realization, of the real things revealed in God’s Word—1 John 2:21.

B. The full knowledge of the truth is a thorough apprehension of the truth, a full acknowledgement and appreciation of the reality of all the spiritual and divine things that we have received through faith—1 Tim. 2:4; 4:3; 2 Tim. 2:25.

C. The present truth is the truth that is present with the believers, which they have already received and now possess—2 Pet. 1:12.

D. To cut straight the word of the truth is to unfold without bias or distortion the reality of God’s economy revealed in the New Testament—2 Tim. 2:15.

E. For God’s purpose, we must stand firm for the full knowledge of the truth and fight the good fight against the powers of darkness—1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7.

F. The kind of church we build up depends on the kind of truth we teach; thus, there is the desperate need of the living truth to produce the church, to help the church to exist, and to build up the church—1 Tim. 3:15.

V. First Timothy 3:15-16 indicates that not only Christ Himself as the Head is the manifestation of God in the flesh but also that the church as the Body of Christ and the house of God is the manifestation of God in the flesh—the mystery of godliness:

A. Godliness in verse 16 refers not only to piety but to the living of God in the church, that is, God as life lived out in the church to be expressed:

1. Both Christ and the church are the mystery of godliness, expressing God in the flesh—v. 16.

2. The church life is the expression of God; therefore, the mystery of godliness is the living of a proper church—1 Cor. 14:24-25.

B. God is manifested in the church—the house of God and the Body of Christ—as the enlarged corporate expression in the flesh—Eph. 2:19; 1:22-23:

1. The manifestation of God in the flesh began with Christ when He was on earth—John 14:9.

2. The manifestation of God in the flesh continues with the church, which is the increase, enlargement, and multiplication of the manifestation of God in the flesh—1 Tim. 3:15-16.

C. When a church is taken care of according to what is written in 1 Timothy 1-3, the church will function as the house of the living God for His move on earth and as the pillar and base of the truth, bearing the reality of Christ and His Body—v. 15; Eph. 5:32:

1. Such a church becomes the continuation of Christ’s manifestation of God in the flesh—Christ lived out of the church as the manifestation of God—1 Tim. 3:15.

2. This is God manifested in the flesh in a wider way according to the New Testament principle of incarnation—1 Cor. 7:40; Gal. 2:20:

D. The great mystery of godliness is that God has become man so that man may become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead to produce a corporate God-man for the manifestation of God in the flesh—Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4; Eph. 4:24.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

KNOWING THE CHURCH

It is wonderful to see that the Lord is the Christ and the Son of the living God. Peter may have been content to see only this, but the Lord went on to reveal something further. He said, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). To know Christ is not sufficient—we also need to know the church. We may know Christ but miss the church. Most problems among Christians today are not concerning Christ but concerning the church. Just as we need both a head and a body, so also we need both Christ and the church. (CWWL, 1971, vol. 3, “Experiencing Christ as the Spirit for the Recovery of the Church as the Body of Christ and the House of God”, ch. 1)

THE CHURCH BEING THE HOUSE OF GOD

Three verses which reveal that the church is the house of God are 1 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 3:6; and 1 Peter 4:17. In 1 Timothy 3:15 Paul says, “If I delay, that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.” As God’s dwelling place, the church is both God’s house and His household, His family. In the Old Testament the temple and God’s people were two separate things, but in the fulfillment in the New Testament the dwelling place and the family are one. According to God’s New Testament economy, God’s house is His family.

Another verse that speaks of the church as the house of God is Hebrews 3:6. This verse refers to “Christ, as a Son over His house, whose house we are.” In Old Testament times, the house of God was the house of Israel (Lev. 22:18; Num. 12:7), symbolized by the tabernacle or the temple among them (Exo. 25:8; Ezek. 37:26-27). Today the house of God is the church. The children of Israel, as people of God, are a type of us, the New Testament believers (1 Cor. 9:24— 10:11). Their history is a prefigure of the church.

The Church Being the Body to Christ and the House to God

The church has a twofold function. To Christ, the church is the Body; to God, the church is the house. Christ is the Head, and the church is the Body of the Head. This is one function of the church. God is the Father, and the church is His house. This is another function of the church. Just as Christ is the Head and the church is His Body, so God is the Father and the church is His house. The church as the Body of Christ is an organism. In like manner, the church as the house of God is a living entity, a living house.

First Peter 4:17, another verse that refers to the church as the house of God, says, “Because it is time for the judgment to begin from the house of God.” Here we see that disciplinary judgment begins from God’s own house. God’s house, or household, is the church composed of the believers. From this house, as His own house, God begins His governmental administration by His disciplinary judgment over His own children, that He may have strong ground to judge, in His universal kingdom, those who are disobedient to His gospel and rebellious to His government.

The Household of God

The church is a composition of the believers, and the believers are children of God, born of Him and having His life and nature. Thus, they become members of the household of God.

In Ephesians 2:19 Paul says, “So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God.” Both the Jewish and the Gentile believers are members of God’s household. God’s household is a matter of life and enjoyment; all believers were born of God into His household to enjoy His riches. The members of God’s family added together become the household of God, which is the house, the dwelling place, of God. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 208)

God the Father Having a Great Family of Many Sons

The Body of Christ is the household of God (v. 19b). This is the household of the faith—the universal family of God (Gal. 6:10), composed of God as the Father and the believers in Christ, the many sons of God. God the Father has a great family of many sons. The Father is God, and the sons are “small gods” in life and nature but not in the Godhead. If a father is a man, are not his sons men? Since the father is a man, the sons all must be men. In the divine family the Father is God, so all the sons are gods, the many God-men, in life and nature but not in the Godhead. First Timothy 3:15-16 reveals that the church is the manifestation of God in the flesh. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 2, “The Practical Way to Live a Life according to the High Peak of the Divine Revelation in the Holy Scriptures”, msg. 6)

God’s dwelling place is His household, His family, and His family comes into being by God’s begetting. If we had not been begotten of God, God could not have a family. But God does have a great family, the largest family in the universe, composed of those who have been born of Him to be His children. Eventually, God’s children will grow up to be His mature sons, and then they will become heirs.

The Father Being Not a Separate Member of the Household,
but Being in All the Children

The church, the house of the living God, is living in the Father’s name and in the Father’s life. This means that the church is living in the Father’s reality. God’s house is a living composition of His many children in the Father’s life and reality. This means that where the house of God is, there is God the Father with His life and reality. This is similar to the church being the Body of Christ. Christ is not separate from the members of the Body, for, as the Head of the Body, Christ dwells in all the members. For this reason, Christ should not be counted as a separate member of the Body, because He is in all the members of the Body. The principle is the same with the church as God’s house. The Father is not a separate member of the household, the house, but is in all the children.

The first characteristic of the status of the church is that it is an assembly called out of the world. The second characteristic is that the church is God’s house composed of those who have been born of God. This second characteristic is a matter not merely of separation but of a spiritual, divine birth. In order to be the assembly, we need to be sanctified, that is, separated from the world. But to be a component of the house of God, we need to be born of God. Anyone who has not been born of God cannot be part of His house, part of His family.

The Living God Living, Moving, and Working Together with the Living Church

In speaking of the church as the house of God, Paul specifically refers to God as the living God. The living God who lives in the church must be subjective to the church and not merely objective. The God who not only lives but also acts, moves, and works in His house, the church, is living. Because God is living, the church is also living in Him, by Him, and with Him. A living God and a living church live, move, and work together. The living church is the house of the living God. Therefore, in our meetings, service, and ministry we should give people the impression that the living God is living, moving, speaking, and acting among us.

God’s Dwelling Place Being in the Believers’ Spirit

Ephesians 2:22 tells us that God’s dwelling place is in the believers’ spirit. Here Paul says that we are “being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” This refers to the believers’ regenerated human spirit indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is the Dweller, not the dwelling place. The dwelling place is in the believers’ spirit. God’s Spirit dwells in our regenerated spirit. Therefore, the dwelling place of God is in our spirit. Our spirit is the place of God’s habitation.

We all need to see clearly that God’s dwelling place is in our spirit, not in our heart or in our mind. Realizing that we have a spirit and that God dwells in our regenerated spirit is crucial. If we do not know how to exercise our spirit, it will be impossible for us to understand anything concerning God’s house, because this house, the dwelling place of God, is in the believers’ spirit.

Because the church is God’s dwelling place, the church is where God expresses Himself. A house is always the best place for a person to express himself. The kind of person you are is expressed by your house. Hence, if you look at a person’s house, you will be able to tell what kind of person he is, because a person’s house is his expression. The principle is the same with the church as the dwelling place of God. In His house, His dwelling place, God expresses Himself on earth. This is the reason 1 Timothy 3:16 reveals that the church is God’s manifestation in the flesh. God not only desires to make home in the church and to have a resting place there; He also wants to express Himself in the church. He wants to practice His New Testament economy, speak forth His desire, and manifest His glory in the church. All that He is, all that He is doing, and all that He wants to obtain are to be manifested, expressed, in the church as His dwelling place.

Growing and Being Transformed for the Building Up of God’s Spiritual House

First Peter 2:5a says, “You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house.” The word “spiritual” here denotes the qualification of the divine life that lives and grows (v. 2). The house of God subsists mainly by the divine life; hence, it is a spiritual house.

As believers in Christ, we need to grow and be transformed for the building up of God’s spiritual house. God’s goal in the believers is to have a house built up with spiritual stones, not separated and scattered stones, not even a pile of stones merely gathered together, but stones built up with one another. Hence, feeding on Christ by the nourishing milk in the word of God (vv. 2-3) is not only for growing in life but also for building up. Growing is for building up. Although the nourishing milk of the word is for the soul through the mind, it eventually nourishes our spirit, making us not soulish but spiritual, suitable for building up a spiritual house for God.

THE CHURCH BEING THE SUPPORTING PILLAR AND HOLDING BASE OF THE TRUTH

In 1 Timothy 3:15 Paul tells us that the church as the house of the living God is “the pillar and base of the truth.” The church is the supporting pillar and holding base of the truth. Here truth refers to the real things revealed in the New Testament concerning Christ and the church according to God’s New Testament economy. The church is the supporting pillar and holding base of these realities. A local church should be such a building that holds, bears, and testifies the truth, the reality, of Christ and the church. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 208)

The Truth Being the Triune God

The truth borne by the church is the Triune God, having Christ as the embodiment, center, and expression, to produce the church as the Body of Christ, the house of God, and the kingdom of God (Col. 2:9; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:16; 1 Tim. 3:15; John 3:3, 5). The truth, the reality, is Christ, and Christ is the embodiment of God. The church bears Christ as the reality. The church testifies to the whole universe that Christ, and Christ alone, is the reality (1:14, 17; 14:6). As the pillar and base of the truth, the church bears the reality of the Triune God. The church stands not for doctrine but for the truth, the reality of the Triune God. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 363)

Christ Being the Mystery of God, and the Church Being the Mystery of Christ

God’s New Testament economy is composed of two mysteries: Christ as the mystery of God (Col. 2:2) and the church as the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:4). Christ and the church, the Head and the Body, are the contents of the reality of God’s New Testament economy. As the pillar which bears the truth and the base which upholds the pillar, the church testifies the reality, the truth, of Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 208)

Being Solid, Strong, Clear, and Rich in the Truth

In 1 Timothy 3:15 the apostle Paul says that the church is not only the pillar of the truth but also the base of the truth. A pillar, which is a standing column, needs a solid base. The Greek word for base in this verse actually means a bulwark, a solid structure that upholds the pillar. As the pillar of the truth, the church must also have a solid base, a strong bulwark. A bulwark affords protection and defense, especially during a time of war. The church must be so solid in the truth that it will be a bulwark of the truth during times of fighting. This bulwark should be so solid that nothing, not even the “bombs” of the enemy, can shake it. The pillar rests upon such a bulwark. In order to be the pillar and base of the truth, we all must be solid, strong, clear, and rich in the truth. Every local church must be a solid bulwark and a high pillar. In every locality the pillar must be built up higher and higher to testify the truth to the whole universe. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Truth Messages”, ch. 2)

BEING IN THE FULL KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH

From God’s economy in faith we come to 1 Timothy 2:4, which says that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth. No other verse besides 1 Timothy 2:4 in the entire New Testament tells us that God wants all men to enter into two things: His salvation and His truth. God desires all men not only to be saved but also to have the full knowledge of the truth. Truth means reality, denoting all the real things revealed in the New Testament, which are mainly Christ as the embodiment of God and the church as the Body of Christ. Every saved person should have a full knowledge, a complete realization, of these things. By such a verse we can realize where we should be. We should be in the full knowledge of the truth. We should realize that God from the beginning has wanted all men to be saved and for all these saved ones to come to the full knowledge of the truth. We should endeavor—spend our energy, our mind, and our time—to get into the full knowledge of the truth. This is the word to all the believers, not just to the leading ones. All the believers should come to the full knowledge of the truth. No doubt there is a terrible shortage of those who have come to the full knowledge of the truth. We all should endeavor to be in the full knowledge of the truth. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 3, “Elders’ Training, Book 6: The Crucial Points of the Truth in Paul’s Epistles”, ch. 9)

Thorough Apprehension of the Truth

Paul was an apostle not only according to the faith of God’s chosen ones, but also according to the full knowledge of the truth. Faith is to receive all God has planned for us, all God has done for us, and all God has given to us. Full knowledge of the truth is a thorough apprehension of the truth, a full acknowledgment and appreciation of the reality of all the spiritual and divine things which we have received through faith. Apostleship is according to such an apprehension and appreciation of the reality of God’s eternal economy. (Life-study of Titus, msg. 1)

“The Present Truth” Being the Truth Which the Believers Have Already Received and Now Possess

By “the present truth” Peter means the truth which is present with the believers and which they have already received and now possess. In the first section of this chapter (vv. 1-11), Peter uses the provision of the divine life for the proper Christian life to inoculate against apostasy. In the second section (vv. 12-21), he uses the revelation of the divine truth, as the second antidote, to inoculate against the heresy in the apostasy, a heresy similar to today’s Modernism. (Life-study of 2 Peter, msg. 8)

Cutting Straight the Word of the Truth

In verse 15 Paul says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman, cutting straight the word of the truth.” Here Paul indicates that the inoculator is to be a workman. As a carpenter, this workman must cut straight the word of the truth. This means to unfold the word of God in its various parts rightly and straightly without distortion. Just as a carpenter has the skill to cut wood in a straight way, so the Lord’s workman needs the skill to cut straight the word of truth. This is necessary because in the decline of the church so many truths are twisted and presented in a warped, biased form.

“Contentions of words” (2:14), “profane babblings” (v. 16), the eating word of gangrene (v. 17), and “foolish and ignorant questionings” (v. 23) are often very much used by the Devil (v. 26) in the down current among the churches to produce contentions (v. 23), to ruin the hearers (v. 14), to promote ungodliness (v. 16), and to overthrow people’s faith (v. 18). Hence, there is the need of the word of the truth rightly unfolded to enlighten the darkened ones, inoculate against the poison, swallow up the death, and bring the distracted back to the right track.

Among Christians today, only the superficial aspects of the truth are not twisted. Virtually all the deeper things of the truth have been distorted. Concerning these things, many have not cut the word of truth straightly, but cut it in a way that is curved and biased. Therefore, we should be not only teachers, soldiers, contenders, and farmers, but also workmen, carpenters, cutting straight the word of the truth. The truth here does not merely denote biblical doctrine; it refers to the contents and the reality of God’s New Testament economy. The main elements of this truth are Christ as the mystery of God and the embodiment of God and the church as the mystery of Christ and the Body of Christ. We all need to learn to cut straight the word of truth with respect to Christ and the church. (Life-study of 2 Timothy, msg. 3)

Having Full Knowledge of God’s Truth and Fighting the Good Fight

Our burden is not simply to oppose superficiality, hypocrisy, and superstition. It is to minister Christ and the church for the fulfillment of God’s economy. God our Father certainly has an eternal purpose to fulfill. But Satan has come in with many distractions and falsehoods. Our burden must be to minister the all-inclusive Christ and the church as the Body of Christ to those who love God and seek Christ. We need to help all those who pursue the Lord to come to the full knowledge of the truth. We need to sound the trumpet that those who seek the Lord Jesus may come together as a living Body of Christ to fulfill God’s purpose and to hasten the coming of the Lord. Concerning this, we all must be desperate and give ourselves to prayer. On the one hand, we like to maintain a peaceful situation with others. On the other hand, for the sake of God’s purpose, we must stand firm for the full knowledge of God’s truth and fight the good fight against the evil powers of darkness. (Life-study of Titus, msg. 2)

What Kind of Church We Build up Depending Upon What Kind of Truth We Teach

I say this to show you that even in the past I occasionally indicated strongly that the so-called “Spirit” cannot build up the church, but the solid truth or the solid doctrines can. Certainly, what kind of church you will build up depends upon what kind of truth you teach. Since 1962 here in the United States, we have stressed greatly that the churches are built up not by mere doctrines but by Christ, by the Spirit, and by life. Since this time a great many messages have been put out on the truth. If we had not put out any messages on the truth since the recovery came to this country, and we had merely learned to pray and to exercise the gifts such as tongues and healings, today’s situation would be very poor. In the past we practiced in this way for a short time, and we found out that the issue was poor. Through the years, however, we have stressed Christ, the Spirit, and life. In all the messages what we condemned was the empty, dead doctrines of dead letters. However, we fully realized that to produce the church, to have the church exist, and to build up the church we needed to put out the solid, living truths full of Christ, full of the Spirit, and full of life. God’s way to carry out His economy is to use His holy Word.

Suppose that on this earth among the human race there had never been such a book as the Bible. If we had not had a Bible in our hands during the past two thousand years since the Lord Jesus resurrected and ascended to the heavens, everything would be in the air, and nothing could be solid. Even the things concerning the Spirit could not be solid. The Spirit depends upon the Word. This is why the Lord said that the words that He has spoken to us are spirit (John 6:63). The words that the Lord speaks are the solid spirit. Without the Word the Spirit is not so solid. Without the Word the Spirit might be just “a phantom.” Today, however, we have the Bible. In innumerable instances we have seen that whenever people contact the holy Word, many times they get the Spirit, but it is hard to give an instance where people touch the Spirit and then get the Word. There are a great many instances, however, that show us that when you touch the Word, you get the Spirit. This is history. A principle has been set up through history that there is the desperate need of the living truth to produce the church, to help the church exist, and to build up the church. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 3: The Way to Carry Out the Vision”, ch. 10)

THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS BEING THE LIVING OF A PROPER CHURCH

First Timothy 3:15 and 16 indicate that God is manifested in the church—the Body of Christ—as the enlarged corporate expression in the flesh: “The house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth. And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness, who was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” In Greek the antecedent of “who” is omitted but easily recognized, that is, Christ who was God manifested in the flesh as the mystery of godliness. The transition from “the mystery…” to “who” implies that Christ as the manifestation of God in the flesh is the mystery of godliness (Col. 1:27; Gal. 2:20). This mystery of godliness is the living of a proper church, and such a living is also the manifestation of God in the flesh.

These verses imply that not only Christ Himself as the Head but also the church as the Body is the manifestation of God in the flesh. When a church grows in Christ with the growth of God (Col. 2:19), it will function as the house and household of the living God for His move on the earth and as the supporting pillar and holding base of the truth, bearing the divine reality of Christ and His Body as a testimony to the world. Then the church becomes the continuation of Christ’s manifestation of God in the flesh. This is the great mystery of godliness—Christ lived out of the church as the manifestation of God in the flesh.

Such a church is the continuation, the enlargement and expansion of God manifested in the flesh. This manifestation of God is the church as the house of God and the pillar and base of the truth. The church is, then, the increase, the enlargement, of the manifestation of God in the flesh. This is God manifested in the flesh in a wider way. This is according to the New Testament principle of incarnation, which is God manifested in the flesh.

First Timothy 3:16 begins with the words, “And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness.” The conjunction “and” here indicates that the speaking about the church in verse 15 is not finished yet, and that the church is something even more than the house of the living God and the pillar and base of the truth. The church is also the mystery of godliness. According to the context, godliness refers to the living of God in the church, that is, God as life lived out in the church to be expressed. The church life is the expression of God. Both Christ and the church, the Head and the Body, are the mystery of godliness, expressing God in the flesh. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 13)

Expressing God in the Church Life

The church as the house of the living God and as the pillar and base of the truth is not so mysterious. But the church as the manifestation of God in the flesh certainly is a mystery. A mystery always goes beyond our understanding. It refers to something which cannot be explained. If we are able to explain a certain matter, it is not a mystery.

The church is not only the house of the living God and the pillar and base of the truth, but also the mystery of godliness. Godliness refers to God expressed. What are we doing in the church life? We are expressing God. Human beings may not realize this adequately, but the angels recognize it and appreciate it. On the one hand, the good angels rejoice when they behold the expression of God in the church. On the other hand, the evil angels and the demons tremble in fear. They realize that eventually those in the church life will condemn them to the lake of fire.

Both the Head and the Body Being the Mystery of Godliness

It may come as a surprise that in verse 16 Paul suddenly uses the relative pronoun “who,” when he says, “Who was manifested in the flesh.” In Greek the antecedent of this relative pronoun is omitted, but easily recognized, that is, Christ who was God manifested in the flesh as the mystery of godliness. The transition from “the mystery…” to “Who” implies that Christ as the manifestation of God in the flesh is the mystery of godliness (Col. 1:27; Gal. 2:20). This mystery of godliness is the living of a proper church, and such a living is also the manifestation of God in the flesh. The portion of verse 16 from “Who was manifested” to “taken up in glory” may have been a church song in the early days.

The first part of verse 16 speaks of a matter — the mystery of godliness. Hence, we would expect Paul to use the relative pronoun “which” to refer to the mystery of godliness as a matter. However, the fact that he uses the relative pronoun “Who” implies that the mystery of godliness is a person and not merely a matter. As we shall see, this person is Christ as the Head with His Body.

Through incarnation and human living (John 1:1, 14), God was manifested in the flesh. “In the flesh” means in the likeness, in the fashion, of man (Rom. 8:3; Phil. 2:7-8). In the form of man Christ appeared to people (2 Cor. 5:16), yet He was God manifested in a man.

I wish to emphasize the fact that although Christ was taken up in glory (Acts 1) before the preaching of Him began in Acts 2, Paul mentions this last, not only after the preaching, but even after being believed on in the world. This indicates that “taken up in glory” may include not only the ascension of Christ, but also the rapture of the church. The Head, Christ, was taken up before the preaching of Him began; however, the Body, the church, will be taken up only after Christ has been preached and believed on in the world. Therefore, in verse 16 there is a definite indication that this verse refers not only to the Head as the manifestation of God in the flesh, but also to the Body as the continuation of this manifestation. This is indeed logical, for how can a person’s head function in isolation from his body? The Head, Christ, has been taken up in glory, and the Body, the church, will also be taken up in glory. Both the Head and the Body are the mystery of godliness. This is the manifestation of God in the flesh. (Life-study of 1 Timothy, msg. 6)

God Being Manifested in the Church—
His Enlarged Corporate Expression in the Flesh

First Timothy 3:15-16 indicates that not only Christ Himself as the Head is the manifestation of God in the flesh but also that the church as the Body of Christ and the house of God is the manifestation of God in the flesh—the mystery of godliness. According to the context, godliness in verse 16 refers not only to piety but also to the living of God in the church, that is, to God as life lived out in the church. Both Christ and the church are the mystery of godliness, expressing God in the flesh. The church life is the expression of God; therefore, the mystery of godliness is the living of a proper church (1 Cor. 14:24-25). God is manifested in the church—the house of God and the Body of Christ—as His enlarged corporate expression in the flesh (Eph. 2:19; 1:22-23). (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 363)

The Church Functioning When It Is Well Taken Care of

When a church is well taken care of according to the instructions given in the first two chapters, with the oversight of the elders and the service of the deacons fully established, as revealed in chapter three, the church will function as the house and household of the living God for His move on the earth and as the supporting pillar and holding base of the truth, bearing the divine reality of Christ and His Body as a testimony to the world. Then the church becomes the continuation of Christ’s manifestation of God in the flesh. This is the great mystery of godliness — Christ lived out of the church as the manifestation of God in the flesh! (Life-study of 1 Timothy, msg. 6)

The Church Becoming the Continuation of Christ’s Manifestation of God in the Flesh

The manifestation of God in the flesh began with Christ when He was on earth (John 14:9). The manifestation of God in the flesh continues with the church, which is the increase, enlargement, and multiplication of the manifestation of God in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:15-16). Such a church becomes the continuation of Christ’s manifestation of God in the flesh—Christ lived out of the church as the manifestation of God.

God Being Manifested in the Flesh in a Wider Way

This is God manifested in the flesh in a wider way according to the New Testament principle of incarnation (1 Cor. 7:40; Gal. 2:20). The principle of incarnation is that God enters into man and mingles Himself with man to make man one with Himself (John 15:4-5). The principle of incarnation means that divinity is brought into humanity and works within humanity (1 Cor. 6:17; 7:40; 1 Tim. 4:1). The great mystery of godliness is that God has become man so that man may become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead to produce a corporate God-man for the manifestation of God in the flesh (Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4; Eph. 4:24). (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 363)

The Church Bearing the Testimony and the Reality

In the church God dwells, because the church is the house of God. God lives, God moves, and God works out His life in the church, and the testimony and the reality stand upon the church. We must consider these two aspects: inwardly, God dwelling in the church, and outwardly, the church bearing the testimony and the reality. These two aspects show the real mingling of God with man. Within the church—this group of redeemed, regenerated, and transformed people—God dwells; and upon this group of people, there is the reality of the universe. All the reality of the universe is centered in this group. If anyone wants to know what life is, he must come to the church and see. If some would like to know what love is, they too must come and see. If the reality of humility and kindness is to be known, the church is the place to see it. Upon this group of people is seen the reality of the all-inclusive Christ. The testimony of the church is not in doctrine but in bearing Christ as the reality. The more we exclaim “Christ” yet do not have the inner reality, the more Christ is gone. We have Christ only in shouting, in talking, and in teaching. We do not have Him in our inner life, nor do we experience Him in our outer living, our daily walk. The church must be the pillar and base, bearing Christ as the only reality of everything. If we do not know the real meaning of life, we must be able to come to the church to find it.

Bearing the Testimony of Jesus

God’s intention is to impart Christ into us and make Christ everything within us. God uses the teachings to help some, He uses the gifts to help others, but these are not the main thing. Inner revelation is needed to see the goal of the living Christ dwelling within us. Then wherever we are meeting together, we are the living house of the living God. The living God dwells, lives, and works in us, and we bear the testimony of Jesus, who is the reality of this whole universe. Then we will have a real manifestation of the living God in the flesh. This is the way of God’s recovery today. Let us look to the Lord for the inner grace so that we may have the reality of the church. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 3, “The Economy of God”, msg. 23)