who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him", so with regard to the filling

and the fulness. The words of Eph. 4: 13 speaks of the progress of faith toward the

high goal:--

The Church which is His body is to be perfect man, even as it has already been created

"one new man", its measure is a lofty one, it cannot aspire of itself to the fulness of God,

it must needs have a Mediator; Christ is its measure, and His image its goal and glory.

This glorious position of the Church in Christ would be like unto Lucifer's daring

blasphemy were it conceived out of Christ.

Whether the Church will be His body in the future life we do not know. We incline to

the thought that the body aspect is now, in time, while as a future glory is reserved for the

Church the "fulness". In Eph. 1: 23 the fulness is not spoken of as the fulness of God,

but the fulness of Him that filleth all in all. Chapter 4: 9, 10 speaks of the Lord's

descent into the lower parts of the earth, and His ascent far above all heavens, that He

might fill all things; this the Church at present cannot reflect, except by faith. When,

however, it is actually raised and seated far above all principality in the super-heavenlies,

then will be seen, in a degree now impossible of comprehension, the high glory and

wondrous grace that constituted the outcasts of the Gentiles the very fulness of Him that

filleth all in all.

As a practical outcome, those who realize and appropriate this truth will surely above

all others find Christ their all in all now, His grace will be their sufficiency, His strength

their stay, His glory their goal. May it increasingly be so.

The structure of the epistle as a whole places chapter 2: in correspondence with

4: 7 - 6: 9. This may be seen in Volume II & III, page 93. Chapter 2: gives us the

doctrine of which 4: 7 - 6: 9 specify the outworkings; let us note the theme of the