The reality of the body of christ
Message One
The Spirit of Reality Being the Reality of the Body of Christ
Scripture Reading: John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13-14; 1 John 5:6; Eph. 4:12, 16, 20-21
I. The writings of John reveal that the Spirit is the Spirit of reality-John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6, 20:
A. In the whole universe only One is real-the Triune God; only the Triune God is the reality-John 14:6; 1 John 5:20.
B. In God's New Testament economy the Spirit has the attribute of reality-John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13:
1. Reality is the all-inclusive attribute of the Spirit of God, for it includes the Father, Christ the Son, and all the divine items and entities-1:17.
2. The Spirit is the all-inclusive reality; reality, therefore, is one of the most marvelous attributes of the Spirit-1 John 5:6.
3. According to the context, the reality in John 16:13 refers to all that the Triune God is and has.
C. The Spirit of reality is the reality of the Triune God; that is, He is the reality of all that the Triune God is, all that He has accomplished, and all that He has attained and obtained-14:17; 15:26.
D. Apart from the Spirit of reality, in our experience we cannot have the Triune God or any of the divine attributes; the reality of the Triune God and of all His attributes is the Spirit of reality-16:13.
II. The Spirit of reality guides us into all the reality-vv. 13-14:
A. Only that which is in the Spirit of reality is spiritual reality-14:17; 15:26:
1. All spiritual things must be in the Spirit of reality before they can be real, living, and organic-1 John 5:6.
2. The Spirit of reality is the Executor of all spiritual things-John 16:13-14.
B. The Spirit of reality guides the believers into all the reality of the Triune God and of all divine matters-2 Cor. 13:14.
C. In John 16:13 the reality refers to what the Father has, what the Son has, and what the Spirit receives of the Son and of what the Father has:
1. What the Father has is reality, what the Son has is reality, and what the Spirit receives is also reality-14:6, 17.
2. What the Father has becomes the Son's, what the Son has is received by the Spirit, and what the Spirit receives is disclosed to us-15:26.
3. The Father is embodied in the Son, the Son is transfigured to be the Spirit, and the Spirit is the reaching of the Divine Trinity to us-2 Cor. 13:14.
D. Through the Spirit, the reality of the Triune God is transmitted into us; thus, the reality into which the Spirit guides us is the reality of the Triune God-1 John 4:13-14; 5:6.
E. As the Spirit of reality guides us into the divine reality by transmitting this reality into us, the divine reality-the processed and consummated Triune God-becomes the constituent of our being-Eph. 3:14-17a.
F. The Spirit of reality-the full realization of the Son-guides us into all the reality of Christ, including all that He is and has and all that He has attained and obtained-John 16:13-14.
G. The Spirit of reality guides us into the reality of the Body of Christ-Eph. 4:4.
III. The Spirit as the reality of the Triune God is also the reality of the Body of Christ-John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6; 1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 4:4:
A. The Body of Christ is the church, and all its reality is the Spirit of the reality of the processed and consummated Triune God; if there were no Spirit of reality, there would be no Body of Christ, no church-John 16:13.
B. The reality of the Body of Christ is the Spirit whom we have received, experienced, and enjoyed in many aspects-7:37-39; 20:22.
C. The Spirit of reality makes everything of the processed and consummated Triune God a reality in the Body of Christ-2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Cor. 12:12-13, 27.
D. The All-sufficient God (Gen. 17:1; Phil. 1:19), as the Spirit of reality dwelling in our spirit to be joined as one mingled spirit (Rom. 8:10; 1 Cor. 6:17), is the secret to all that the processed and consummated Triune God is to the Body of Christ.
E. All that the processed and consummated Triune God experienced, including incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, is realized by the Spirit of reality to be the attributes and experiences of the Body of Christ in reality-Eph. 4:4-6.
F. Only when we touch reality through the Spirit of reality can we live out the Body life-1?John 5:6; John 16:13-14; Eph. 4:4, 12, 15-16.
IV. If we would be in the reality of the Body of Christ, we need to have the Spirit of reality constituted into our being-John 14:16-20:
A. The Spirit of reality has come into the believers to be the reality of Christ within them-15:26; 16:13-14.
B. The all-inclusive Christ, who is the embodiment of the Triune God, is fully realized as the Spirit of reality who dwells within us; the indwelling Spirit of reality is the reality of Christ-14:10-11, 16-20.
C. To be in the reality of the Body of Christ is to have the Spirit of reality wrought into us and constituted into our being-Eph. 3:16-21; 4:4-6, 12, 16.
V. The reality of the Body of Christ is "the reality...in Jesus"-v. 21:
A. The reality in Jesus is the actual condition of the life of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels-v.?21.
B. The essence of the life of Jesus is reality-John 1:14, 17;14:6.
C. "The reality" in Ephesians 4:24 is the personification of God:
1. This reality was exhibited in the life of Jesus.
2. The human living of Jesus was according to the reality, that is, according to God Himself.
3. God was with Him, and He was one with God and expressed God; this is the meaning of the reality is in Jesus.
D. The way that the Lord Jesus lived on earth is the way that the members of the Body of Christ should live today-vv. 17, 20-21; 5:1-2, 8:
1. Our standard of living must be according to the reality in Jesus, the reality lived out by the Lord Jesus when He was on earth-4:20-21.
2. We need to learn Christ and be taught in Him to live a life of reality-vv. 20-21; 2 John 1; John 4:23-24.
3. As members of the Body of Christ, we should live a life of reality, as the reality is in Jesus-a life of expressing God-Eph. 5:30; 4:20-21.
4. The reality in Jesus should be duplicated in His many members so that they may live corporately in the reality of the Body of Christ-John 14:19.