Which Is His Body

¢’ The Church, which is His body.’’ — Epu. i. 22, 23.

Ir is a deeply solemn thought, and one quick with inspiration and hope, that the Spirit of the living Christ seeks reincarnation in the fellowship of those who believe in Him. In vital reality He would be embodied in the corporate life of our own day. His Spirit would be the breath and motive of all our movements, “‘the very pulse of the machine.” The scriptural metaphor is no remote figure of speech, dimly hinting at the wonderful possibilities of the children of men. It is literally and scrupulously true. The Word is even now seeking to become flesh. The divine Spirit is seeking and claiming human forms in which to manifest His truth and grace. And this mystic embodiment is to begin with His Church. The Church is to be to the living Christ what the human form of Jesus was two thousand years ago. The Church is to live Christ, to express Christ, to give Christ’s Spirit visibility in human life and service. The features of its face are to be the lineaments of His countenance. Every line is to be a sign, and the sign is to be rich and weighty in divine significance. The Church is to be His body, and in the Church the world is to realise the presence of the Lord, and to feel the power of His virtue and grace.

It is an overwhelming claim, and even to whisper it seems a grim presumption. But nevertheless it is true, and the truth can make us free. The embodiment may be only partial, and this because the human surrender is mean. The Lord’s consecration may be full while ours is only fragmentary and broken. There may be little or no room for Him in the inn. But however incomplete is the embodiment it is nevertheless most real. The grace of the Lord Jesus can be seen in His Church. His holiness may be seen in many a stalwart virtue. His love may be seen in countless campaigns of chivalry and eagerly accepted sacrifice. Christ’s pity can be felt in its compassion. His Spirit, going out after that which is lost, can be seen in countless midnight quests, and in prolonged search upon the mountains. The Church has her failings, she has her reluctances, she has her petty meannesses, she is often wayward and indolent, and she has many sins, but whosoever will look frankly into her life will find the Presence and the goings of the Son of God. He is embodied in countless fair and strong lines of character, and every virtuous feature is the shining of His face. But our risen Lord is in His body, the Church, in order that through the Church He might become embodied in everything. That is the vast and majestic purpose of the Incarnation. He embodied Himself in humanity in order that humanity might embody Him in every human interest. In the completed work of His passion everything is to be His body. Every form of human intercourse is to be His body; His will is to be its pulse, its kindling love is to be its inspiration. Common labour is to be His body just as all His own earthly labour was His Father’s business. Daily work is to be directed by His Spirit, and all its counsels and purposes are to be drawn from His wisdom. Yes, the lines of labour are to reveal the countenance of the Lord. An Act of Parliament is to be His body; it is to be Christ’s act as well as ours, and it is to do His will on earth even as it is done in heaven. Such is the process and progress of the Incarnation. It is the filling of earth’s water-pots with heavenly wine. It is the seizure of all the forms and fashions of human activity, and so charging them with His Spirit that they vibrate with His life and pe the aie His truth and

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