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no "perfecting" could change a Bride into a Bridegroom. The idea is intolerable: a
mixture that Scripture repudiates.
We believe, therefore, that the titles "The Bride" and "The Body" belong to
two distinct companies. "The Bride" is made up of faithful Israel, together with
those believing Gentiles who, by the promise made to Abraham, and by their
similar faith, are associated with that "city which hath foundations". But "The
Body" pertains to the dispensation of the grace of God to the Gentiles. It is the
subject of a mystery never revealed in O.T. Scripture, and is removed from all
connection with Abraham and Israel. The spiritual evolutionist may talk of the
development of the Corinthian position in Eph. 2:, but the statement is:
"For to CREATE (not perfect or develop) in himself of the twain one new
man" (Eph. 2: 15).
which prevents us from seeing in this anything parallel with the olive tree of
Rom. 11:, even though it should be taught that Gentiles now, equally with Jews,
are reckoned "true olives". It is a "new creation" that we see in Eph. 2:, and as
such it cannot merge the Bride and the Body together.
Articles dealing with the above subject will be found in earlier Volumes, as under:
The Bride and The Body . . . . .
Vol.
11: 9.
The Feminine words used of the Church . . . . . .
Vol.
11: 9.
The Bride and The Wife . . . . .
Vol.
15: 74.
The Body in Ephesians . . . . .
Vol.
8: 145; 15: 106.
#10.
The Body of
I Cor. 12: and Spiritual Gifts.
pp. 117, 118
While the "church which is His Body" is the peculiar theme of the dispensation of the
mystery, the figurative use of the "body" is found elsewhere, particularly in I Cor. 12:
That passage is often confused with the subject of the One Body of Ephesians, and to
avoid this, needs to be studied in its context. The subject of I Cor. 12: is defined for us
in the opening verse where the Apostle says "Now concerning spiritual gifts brethren".
After disposing of false gifts in verses 1-3, the Apostle, in conformity with the opening
verse, devotes the whole of the chapter, to spiritual gifts, diverse, yet all from the one
source, and uses this complexity, yet unity, of the various members of the human body in
illustration of his subjects. We ask, then, with reason, What has this to do with the
church of the present dispensation?
Closer examination of I Cor. 12: 4-30 but confirms the oneness of its theme. Let us
see this for ourselves, and first, by the structure of the passage.