For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:31-32.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Before Christ came in the flesh as one like you, there were just two groups in the earth, those who believed in Me and had My Word and those who did not believe in Me and did not have My Word. And those who believed in Me by My Word entered into Covenant with Me whereby we united as one and they received My protection, direction, wisdom, and power. After being rejected out of the earth I had made for you by Adam the only way I again had authority to act upon the earth was through those who joined with Me in Covenant and spoke My Words into the earth.
The Church, the called out and consecrated ones. The word in Greek for church is “Ekklésia (ἐκκλησία),” which is from a compound of ek and a derivative of kaleo; a calling out, I have called you out of darkness into My own marvelous light and made you members of the body of My Son to do His work upon the earth.
But it is more than that, the Church is His bride. And just as in the natural the bride was pulled out of Adam’s side to be one in flesh and bone, so the Church was pierced out of Christ’s side as He died upon the Cross and in the blood and water the Church was born. And the two became One Body with many members but Christ as the head.
You see the shadow and sign of this in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Essau.
When I taught Abraham the gospel ahead of time with no written but only the spoken Word, I had him walk out what I would do with My beloved Son. Isaac rode on the donkey with two attendants leading and carried the wood for the sacrifice on his shoulders up Mt. Moriah (later Temple Mount) and just as Abraham was ready to go through with the death of his son as a sacrificial offering, I stopped him and told him that his line would carry the seed and that He would take down the gate of the enemy. And then in the final paragraph after this event, I took you on what seemed to be a digression that Rebekah was born, Genesis 22:23, but that was exactly the point. The bride of Isaac was born from that sacrifice, just as the bride of Christ, the Church, was born from the sacrifice of My beloved Son.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:25-32.
And Rebekah had two sons, the twins Jacob and Esau, and she favored the younger over the older, so to obtain the blessing of Abraham and the first born blessing upon the younger rather than the older she dressed him in the clothes of the elder and put fleeces on his arms so he felt hairy. Then Isaac, who could not see well at that time, was fooled by the fragrance.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:27-29.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 5:1-2.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:13-14.
When I made Covenant with the Israelites and Moses when they came out of Egypt, they broke My Covenant though I was a husband to them and left Me for other gods. But in the New Covenant that will not happen, for you have made Covenant with Christ and He has made Covenant with Me, so in Him you have been brought into Covenant with Me and He will never break My Covenant, and in Him neither will you. Baptized into the body of Christ you are clothed in Christ.
But let Me now explain more about what it means to you to be a member of the body of Christ in His Church.
If you have taken Jesus as your LORD and believed in your heart I raised Him from the dead you are a member of the Body of Christ. The Church. The mystery hidden from the foundation of the world and revealed to Paul by My Risen Son.
Jesus is the Head of His body, the Church, and you are all members of the body. And just as no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, and just so does Christ for the Church, which is each one of you who believe, because you are members of His body. Ephesians 5:29. Yes, Christ loves the Church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the Church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. And so you are in My sight in Him. Ephesians 1:4; Ephesians 5:25-27. Do you remember what said about a husband and wife in the very beginning? The husband joins to the wife and the two become as one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the Church. Ephesians 5:31-32.
Now, may I ask you a question? It is really very simple to answer. Can the body go anywhere without the head? Can the head go anywhere without the body? That may sound like a nonsensical question when you think about it. Your head never goes anywhere without your body and your body never goes anywhere without your head.
Are you beginning to see something? I use the idea of a body and its head to represent your relationship to My Son. I also use a branch on a vine. You are One. Whoever joins himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 1:17. Do you realize that I see you in Him? When you are baptized into Christ you are clothed with Him. Do you understand that you are “in Christ?”
The two of you become One. He lives in you, you live in Him, and He lives in Me. We are One. John 17:21.
Have you never read what Jesus said? “If anyone serves Me (the word here in Greek is not the word “doulos” (slave) but “diakonos,” which means to minister in a practical way—that is, caring for the needs of others as I guide you), let him follow (accompany on the road) Me, where I am there My servant will be also, if anyone serves Me, him the Father will honor.” John 12:26. If the head is honored the whole body is. No one ever just honored someone’s head at an awards banquet!
Do you understand this? If you are a member of His body where He goes, you go, and wherever He is, that is where you are. You are One with Him. You are identified together, just as a branch with a vine. Neither can actually operate without the other. You do not think of them as separate but as a whole. Wherever your head is there is the rest of you. And wherever your head goes, there goes the rest of you. And just as your head directs all of your body where to go and what to do, so too it is with Christ and you. That is why the Church submits to Christ its head. The only way the body does anything fruitful or productive is in response to the command coming from the head, the brain. You can do nothing useful without that, but as am member of the body, you have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16.
And My Son came to serve (same Greek word, “diakoneo”) not to be served. He cares for His body and then He goes to care for those who are not part of His body. And guess what? You go with Him or He cannot reach out His hand in signs, wonders and miracles except through His body. And all the members of the body care for one another and accommodate one another. If one member is in the pain then the other members bear the load to relieve that member. And so it should be among members of the Church. And when I talk about the Church it includes all who have received (lambano) My Son as Lord. I do not see denominations of Christians. To Me all believers are one in Christ. There is only one body. Not several. There is only one Christ Jesus. Only one head of all the members.
You who believe the good news are all in Him.
And when He died to sin once for all, you died with Him, and when He rose justified and all your sins put away, you rose with Him, and when He went up to Heaven and sat down at My right hand, I took you and seated you there with Him.
As He is so are you in this world. And where He is, I see you there too. For you are His body, the Church.
When you believed the Gospel (the good news of grace), I took you and sealed you in Christ. Ephesians 1:13. You were translated out of darkness into the Kingdom of My beloved Son and you became one spirit with Him. You became part of the body of Christ, the Church. And I have commanded Him to lose nothing of what I give Him but to raise you up on the last day to a new and glorious immortal resurrected body just like His.
And as a member of His body all that is in Him flows to and belongs to you, just as it also does with a branch on the vine.
For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit you were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, men or women, and you were all made to drink of one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13.
Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27.
Have you even begun to realize who you are in Christ before Me and how One you are with Him? You are not far away from Me! You are in My Son and He is in Me. You live, move and have your being in Me. I am right there with you at every moment. I never leave you or forsake you. I cannot. You are forever sealed in My Son and He is in Me. You are NEVER alone. You are NEVER without healing, finances, comfort, wisdom, direction, correction, care, peace, joy, and love. It all flows to the body from the Head. For in Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
So where He is, that is where you are. And He is in Heaven. So are you, seated at My right hand, but now you are the arm that reaches to earth and you are the heart that I pour My love into so you can minister it to the world and to your other members. Your head is in Heaven but the body reaches down to the earth. Therefore since you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at My right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in Me and when Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4. Now you live through Him. And you have His righteousness before Me. When the Head is righteous, so is the body.
Are you beginning to see how united you are to My Son? It is a wonderful thing and you should make use of it. Stop living the mediocre and come up higher to the reality of who you are. Do not stay an ugly duckling when you are in the Swan. Do not stay a chicken when you are in the Eagle. Do not stay in your darkness when I have translated you to the Kingdom of My Beloved Son. Stop acting like a coward when you are a member of the body of El Gibbor (God Hero). In Him you are more than a conqueror. Stop believing you are sick and broke and know that healing is flowing into you from the Head every day. Like the anointing on the head of the High Priest that runs down over his entire body to his feet. But it all starts at the Head. But I have given you the mind of Christ (the anointed). Keep your thoughts up there. And speak My Words. The Body speaks the Words of the Head.
I love you. We are united in Christ so closely that we can never be separated.
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. Revelation 22:17.