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As by God's grace He gives us some glimpses of His manifold (infinitely diversified)
wisdom in the unfolding of His purposes of grace, we learn in Eph. 3: 10 that God is
also making known "His manifold wisdom" to principalities and powers in heavenly
places by the assembly which is His Body, forming part of a "joint-body" (Eph. 3: 6).
The statement of Eph. 3: 6 that "His Body" of Eph. 1: 22, 23, composed mainly of
Gentiles "should be joint-heirs, joint-body, joint-partakers of the promise of Christ by the
gospel" clearly shows that the One Body of Eph. 4: 4 is the fulfillment of Eph. 2: 16,
and that the names or titles of assemblies, such as "The assembly which is His Body",
cannot mean exactly the same as "One Body" in Eph. 4: 4. The Holy Spirit does not
call "His Body" "The assembly which is One Body", and although most of us have used
the expression "The One Body", for "His Body" (knowing what we each referred to) yet
as we now look carefully at all God says concerning "His Body", a "Joint-Body", and
"One Body", we cannot believe the Holy Spirit intends us to use all as meaning "His
Body" only, for by so doing we must confuse ourselves. We have the same unity brought
before us in the "two folds" of John 10: 16, or rather, as the Scripture expresses it:
"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they
shall hear My voice; and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."
In case any who read these notes should at first sight hastily conclude that by
suggesting that Scripture teaches the forming of a "joint-body", to be created in Him into
"One Body", or "One New Man", we are detracting from the glorious calling and hope,
or position of "The assembly which is His Body", as set forth in Ephesians, we would ask
them to first consider whether Adam lost anything of what God had given him, or of his
position, by his becoming "one flesh" with Eve, and whether being made one flesh in any
way deprived either from fulfilling the purposes for which each was created, or from
entering into all that God had provided for them both individually and collectively.
Phil. 2: 4 tells us to "look on the things of others", and in this connection it will do
no harm for us to read again our Lord's words in John 17: concerning those whom
we believe are members of that "other" assembly, or our "join-body, joint-heirs,
joint-partakers" with us "of the promise in Christ by the gospel":
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through
their word, that they all may be ONE, as Thou, FATHER, art in ME, and I in THEE,
THAT they also may be one in us, and the glory which Thou gavest ME I have given
them, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, EVEN AS WE ARE ONE: I IN THEM AND
THOU IN ME, THAT THEY MAY BE MADE PERFECT IN ONE . . . . . FATHER, I
WILL THAT THEY ALSO, WHOM THOU HAST GIVEN ME, BE WITH ME
WHERE I AM" (John 17: 20-24).
Where can we find greater oneness than here expressed. It passes our understanding,
yet such are the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us through Christ
Jesus (Eph. 2: 7) that we (Gentiles) "chosen in Him before the overthrow of the world" as
members of "His Body" should be formed into a "joint-body" with those for whom He
was specially praying in John 17:, to be created with them in Him into "One Body",