"THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH"
Whispers of the Mysteries
by Ray and Doris Prinzing
"This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and
the church!" [Ephesians 5:32].
The Greek word for "church" is
"euclose" from EK, meaning OUT OF; and KLETOS, meaning
CALLED, thus put together it literally means THE CALLED OUT.
Jude begins his epistle,
"to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ,
and CALLED." [Jude 1]. God has apprehended and called to Himself a
people, and we would do well to "give diligence to make our calling and election
sure." [2 Peter 1:10].
In
this calling, it means more than just to have "a call of God" upon your life,
directing you into some particular ministry or service, though this is all good
in its place. But the full word ekklesia specifically speaks of being called
OUT OF-- there are realms left behind, and new realms to enter into, as we
go "from strength to strength" and "from glory to glory."
We realize that the word
"church" has come to mean something far less in modern usage, for many it is
almost the same as the word "denomination." Ask them to gather with you in a
Bible Class, and their first question is, "To what church do you belong?"
meaning, "What is your denomination?"
Suppose you had asked this
of Peter, on the day of Pentecost, after being so mightily anointed of the
Spirit, preaching to a vast crowd, and having the joy of seeing 3,000 believe in
the message-- "Peter, tell us, what denomination is this?" What would have
been his answer?
You might
"join" or "un-join" some man-made group, but THE CHURCH is not something that
can be joined. "The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
[Acts 2:47]. THE CALLED OUT ONES ARE GOD'S. He gives the calling, and He works
it out experientially in each one.
The first time the word
"church" is used in the New Testament, is found in Matthew 16:18, when Jesus
said, "-- and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it." The context reveals that it is upon the solid,
divine revelation that HE is "the Christ, the Son of the living God,''
[Matthew 16:16], that the church is founded. We observe that the mystery
of the church is both revealed and concealed in this very passage. Because of
his tremendous confession, there are those who believe that Peter was the rock
upon which the church was built, rather than his confession, or rather,
CHRIST Himself, the subject of that confession, HE is the Rock of
both the church and of every individual believer in that body. "For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." [1 Cor. 3
:11]. And the title "Rock" is indeed an evidence of our Lord's divinity;
for "Who is a rock, save our God?" Jehovah was the Rock of Israel. [Deuteronomy
32:30-31]. And lastly, Paul reaffirms this, stating "that spiritual Rock
that followed them: that Rock was Christ." [1 Corinthians 10:4]. (Might also
point out, if Peter had been that rock, when he fell, by denying his Lord
[Matthew 26:69-72], then whatever was built on him must have fallen also.)
With Himself as the Rock
for its foundation, Jesus also clearly stated that HE was the One who
would build the church. "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain
that build it." [Psalm 127:1]. The entire work of building is HIS,
and if we are in some small way allowed to be "workers together" with God in
this operation, yet HE REMAINS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS BUILDING. There
is no need to criticize what God is doing, nor to condemn one another. If we see
any present imperfections and lacks, commit them to God, for He knows His work
far better than we do, and how dare "the clay say to him that fashioneth
it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?" [Isaiah 45:9]. Truly
He is building His called out ones.
There is a specific
revelation of HIS HEADSHIP, His position to the church, that even in this
day remains a mystery to the vast majority, as men would usurp that place, and
become "lords over God's heritage." [1 Peter 5:3]. But for all the
deceptions of man, HE IS building His church, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it, nor against the foundation upon which the church stands.
"Gates of hell . . . " some hold
that this means, refers to the violence and power of the devil, and of all the
fierce adversaries of Christ, which would war against the church. But we note
that the word "hell" is from the Greek "Hades', and bespeaks of the unseen state
of the dead. Once man felt terror and dread of this UNSEEN REALM, but now
that we know that Christ is Victor over all, even Hades, we can be at peace,
knowing that HIS PRESENCE PERVADES EVERY REALM, and He is Lord both of
the dead and the living. Considering death as the gate to the invisible world;
we regard this statement of Christ to mean that the church will never die, nor
become extinct, for it is founded upon HIM who is truly LIFE
ETERNAL. Death cannot destroy the hope of the believer, nor can
Satan, with all his host, either in the way of heresy or infidelity. No force of
any type can prevail against the church, so as to overturn it. God's true
church has always remained triumphant!
Nor is His church without a
continuous flow of divine revelation. Manmade systems dwell in the past, and
when they have milked out the last drop of glory from former days, they just
carry on with their own zeal and program. But in God's called out ones there
abides the Eternal Flame of divine revelation, and He leads them "from faith to
faith." [Romans 1:17]. He is "bringing many sons unto glory," and He is
"sanctifying" them until they are "ALL OF ONE: for which cause He is not
ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare Thy name unto My brethren,
in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee." [Hebrews
2:10-12].
For reasons of
illustration and pondering, we find that the ekklesla can be said to be
threefold in its dimension, corresponding to body, soul, and spirit, or; the
body of Jesus, the body of Christ, and the Lord's body.
While the word "church" is
a New Testament term, we find it applied to that "CALLING OUT" which
began long ago, when Israel was called out of Egypt, thus becoming God's "called
out ones" passing through the wilderness. "When Israel was a child, then I loved
him, and CALLED My son OUT of Egypt." [Hosea 11:1]. And so Acts 7:38
refers to them as "the church in the wilderness." And this beautiful type,
calling Israel out of Egypt, was also fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ, who
was taken into Egypt, "and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have
I called My Son." [Matthew 2:15].
Egypt has long been
recognized as the type of the world, and we surely have been CALLED OUT
of the world through the inner voice of the Spirit. "Love not the world, neither
the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof but he that doeth the
will of God abideth for ever." [1 John 2:15-17].
The first dimension of our
call deals with the realm of the flesh, as God calls us OUT OF, or, out
from among those who serve the world in all the lust of the flesh. Jesus also
prayed "I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because
they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that
Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them
from the evil." [John 17:14-15].
To be CALLED OUT, and
yet not "taken out" makes for a real testing process. Being yet somewhat
held in bondage by the world, we groan for release, and this works for our
purification. Of Israel it is written, "To whom (Moses) our fathers would not
obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into
Egypt." [Acts 7:39]. Yes, God calls us out of the world, yet for a while leaving
us in the midst of this world's system, to see whether our heart will cling to
and retain a lust for the things of the world, or if we will forsake it, and
truly follow Him with all our heart.
One thing is certain, as
soon as you declare that the world cannot satisfy the desire of the heart, you
alienate its sympathy and affection, and receive its condemnation. "If ye were
of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world,
BUT I HAVE CHOSEN YOU OUT OF THE WORLD, therefore the world hateth you."
[John 15:19].
How well
spoken are the words of one who wrote:
"O world, with all thy smiles and loves -
With all thy song and wine,
What
mockery of human hearts -
What treachery is thine!
O World, there's fever in thy touch -
And frenzy in thine eye;
To lose
and shun thee is to live -
To win thee is to
die! Most of Christendom's
preaching has been to this dimension of the church, calling them out of the
world, to serve Christ. It has also immediately brought them into a wilderness,
where they wander-- far too often in a maze of confusion, with law after law
laid upon them, not divine law, but the laws of tradition and creed, and various
standards of men. So there is another depth we would perceive in this being
called out of Egypt. Revelation 11:8 speaks of a realm "which spiritually is
called ,Sodom and EGYPT, where also our Lord was crucified." While
Jerusalem was the city where our Lord was crucified, it is not the geographical
location, but all that the city represented, that we are interested in, and so
consider:
Paul drew a clear
line of distinction, which clarifies the point, when he said that there was a
realm which gendered to bondage, "and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and
is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is
the mother of us all." [Galatians 4:25-26]. "Jerusalem, which killeth the
prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee." [Luke 13: 34]. The whole
religious system of this world is spiritually called EGYPT. They have
forms and ceremonies, the laws and bylaws, creed and dogma, yet they fain would
kill all the prophets, rejecting the message of truth that is brought to them,
for such threatens the very foundation of their system. THE ROCK is not
their foundation, man, with his own kingdom-building, is their foundation.
OUT OF this "spiritually called Egypt" God is calling a people, and
adding thereto day by day.
Whatever dimension of our being CALLED OUT, however, it is all based upon
divine revelation. When God says, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy
kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee."
[Genesis 12:1]. Until God quickens this call within, and causes us to hear
His voice, we have no basis for our action. Any effort of trying to leave Egypt
on our own will fail, and we'll fall back into her ways, fulfilling the desires
there of, because HE has not yet begun His work within.
And even when He does call,
and we are led forth into the new way, that doesn't mean we are ready to enter
right into the promised land-- to be filled with His fullness, instantly mature
saints. Hence the wilderness processings, so we become "the church in the
wilderness," while He purges all the ways of Egypt out of us. "The Lord thy God
led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, to prove thee, to
know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or
no. And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna,
which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee
know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out
of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." [Deuteronomy 8:2-3].
But it is not God's purpose to keep
His church in the wilderness, He has another land before her-- new dimensions of
relationship. Once processed and humbled by her wilderness experiences, she
is to be so purified that He joins her to Himself, into new realms of His glory,
as expressed in the term of marriage. It is with a view toward this new
UNION, that He brought us into the wilderness and all the processing which
is so essential for our development and change, that He might lead us out of the
realm of the flesh, and out of our own soulishness and self-nature, to where our
will becomes one in His will. These things have been a great mystery, yet they
are being unfolded as He becomes our Head. In His headship alone we find the
complete victory over our own nature and desires, and that which speaks of the
very selfishness of our own way. Therefore, God hath given Him, Christ, to be
"the head over all to the church, which is His body." [Ephesians 1:22].
The "body of Jesus"
bespeaks of those who have come to know Him as Saviour, and are being dealt with
on the sins of the body -- natural realm. These also know Him more as "the man
Christ Jesus," than they do on any deeper spiritual level. So they see Him as a
Babe in the manger every Christmas, and the Man who rose out of the tomb every
Easter, etc. It is no concern of theirs of the paganism mixed into these
holidays, or that the whole realm is part of Babylon's confusion. They respond
according to their natural senses and feelings. They also perceive Him to be "in
heaven" and they wait until that day when they shall see Him to be "in heaven"
and they wait until that day when they shall see Him in literal form again. We
rejoice in this truth, HE IS THE SAVIOUR OF THE BODY, even of our
physical body. He has called us out of the flesh, to be partaker of His divine
nature, and however by degrees this is fulfilled, we praise God for those who
have been CALLED OUT, even on this level.
Paul goes on to write,
however, "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." [1
Corinthians 12:27]. There is a calling to COME OUT of just this natural,
carnal realm, where we live in a sense-conscious state, to receive of the
anointing-- to be a part of the Christed ( anointed ) body. Brought out of Egypt
and into the wilderness is a specific working which prepares us for this next
dimension.
There is also
that revelation of leaving behind all the usurped headship of denominationalism,
etc. giving allegiance to the religious systems, that we might now give total
allegiance and obedience to Christ, to be led by His Spirit. "For the husband is
the head of the wife, even as The Christ is the head of the church; and He is
the Saviour of the body." [Ephesians 5:23].
Do keep in mind, in being
called ever onward, one does not leave the blessings of each realm behind,
rather the lesser is always swallowed up into the greater. Paul uses the
marriage union to symbolize a certain aspect of His headship. Not only is He the
Supreme Potentate, to exercise His will over all, but He is that LOVING
AUTHORITY as portrayed in the matrimonial headship, unto whom the church
learns submission. This leads unto the renewal of the mind, the soul realm. For
a wife has her own mind, thoughts, emotions, intellect, and yet there is a
learning to yield and merge into one with her husband. The renewing of our mind,
into the "Mind of Christ" is not an easy process, but there is a "casting down
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of
God, and bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ." [2 Corinthians
10:5].
"We are members of
His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." [Ephesians 5:30]. There is something
mysteriously captivating in the becoming "bone of His bone, and flesh of His
flesh." It bespeaks of a oneness which stirs deep within. It means being brought
past the servitude of the flesh, to now give complete obedience to Him who is
our Head. Thus this call goes beyond the natural, flesh realm, into the realm of
the soul. "And they that are of The Christ have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
[Galatians 5:24-25].
The
mystery-- that which is known only to the initiated, deepens when we begin to
MIND THE SPIRIT, going beyond the subjection to the laws which govern the body,
to be subject to the INWARD laws which govern the soul, even the law of the
Spirit, i.e. the law of the anointing. For we are "not without law to God, but
under law to Christ.'' [1 Corinthians 9:21]. And we would be careful lest
"ye sin against Christ." [1 Corinthians 8:12]. There is an insistence upon our
own will and way, after we have committed ourselves to be led by His Spirit,
which is literally a sin against the anointing. And we learn the hard way what
it means for Him to withdraw the consciousness of the anointing, so that we
struggle on in our own efforts, and fall flat on our face. Then we seek to be
totally overshadowed by Him, and we learn to cherish that oneness with the
anointing of His Spirit, walking in harmony with His will and way. There are
many called out of the world, who know little of this deeper aspect of our
calling.
But there is more,
for 1 Corinthians 11:29-30, tells us that there are many who are weak and sickly
among us, and many sleep (premature death) "not discerning the Lord's body."
This is more than the "church in the wilderness" and more than just being as the
"church which is His body" of Christ, it is going on to where He is TOTALLY
LORD of all in us, and we then "grow up INTO HIM in all things, which is
the Head, Christ." [Ephesians 4:15].
That there is a body within
a body is shown in Revelation 12:5, where we read of the woman "being with child
. . . and she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations . . . "
This MAN CHILD is a firstfruit company that come forth out of the whole body,
and are become ONE IN THE LAMB. There is a "headship company," those who
have grown up into the Head, to become so one in Him, that they share His
throne, and with Him rule the nations. "He that is JOINED TO THE LORD is one
Spirit." [1 Corinthians 6:17]. These are known as "the church of the
Firstborn." [Hebrews 12:23].
There are many who know Him
as Jesus, Saviour; and there are those who know Him as the Christ, The Anointer,
and they have received of this anointing; but there are also those who are
coming to know Him as Lord-- both in the sense that HE has total control
over all within them, and then in the sense that they enter into His lordship--
to know the authority and dominion of that deeper realm.
Jude writes of these
"Lo, comes the Lord in holy myriads of Himself." [Jude 14, Literal ]. They are
the HIMSELF COMPANY, the Lord's body. That have heard and responded to that
calling out, calling out, calling out-- to leave behind the lesser realms, that
they might indeed "go on to perfection. "
The church in the
wilderness knows Him as Saviour, for He saves them out of the bondage of Egypt,
calls them out of the servitude of the flesh.
The church which is the
body of Christ knows Him as the Anointed One who anoints them with His own
Spirit, to guide them onward into all truth.
The church of the Firstborn
know Him as LORD, in His sovereignty. They become members of Himself, and
He will "glorify them with His own self . . ." [John 17:5]. They are indeed, "a
glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it
should be holy and without blemish." [Ephesians 5:27].
The church in the
wilderness is not "perfect," that is why they are in the wilderness, for their
processings and purifications. The church which has been anointed does not
necessarily signify perfection either, for we receive the Spirit to work in us
to guide us on to that goal. But when we are totally joined TO THE LORD
in one spirit, He will "present us faultless before the presence of His glory
with exceeding joy." [Jude 24].
Yes, He is able to "present
you holy and unblamable and unreproveable in His sight: if ye continue in the
faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel."
[Colossians 1:22-23].
To
speak of the "church" is indeed a mystery that is known only to the degree we
have been CALLED OUT and lead onward-- what we experience, what is worked into
us, we begin to understand. What is on the horizon to yet be fulfilled, ah, that
remains a mystery till He quickens it. But suffice it for now, to reaffirm, HE
HAS BEEN STEADILY BUILDING HIS CHURCH, He has never turned it over to man, nor
given it to denominations; nor has it ever gone into apostasy. What He has been
building through each generation is a called out firstfruits, a remnant that He
receives to Himself, and through whom He shall reveal His grace and glory at the
appointed time.
I do not know the measure of this, the call, I hear,
The many shades of meaning, the scope It shall entail.
The
heights to which it leadeth, beyond my gaze to rise,
Though for the present turning, the path more
downward goes.
But this one thing is certain, to me becoming clear,
That whether it be sunshine, or storms of fiercest gale,
To follow, Him is vital, I can't do otherwise,
He sealed me to His
purpose, when my poor heart He chose.
Called out of worldly pleasure,
with all its pride of life,
Called out of kingdom building which
centerized in man,
Called out of all co-joining the spirit of the
world,
To leave behind the passions which
fleshly thoughts enflame.
That He might lead up higher, above all
present strife,
And work in me His purpose which ages past began.
The building of His kingdom, and truth to be unfurled,
Conformed unto His image, to bear His glorious name.
I cannot tell
the process whereby I shall become
A transformed state of being,
fulfillment of the call,
The discipline and testing are given by His
hand,
According to the pattern of purest love's design.
But when He has completed and rounded out the sum,
There shall be no
part lacking - remembrance of the fall,
As in His holy presence I
clearly understand
The glory of His calling upon this heart of mine.
Prinzing, Ray and
Doris, Boise, Idaho 83705, P.O. Box
5822
Namaste - Sirius 8 -
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