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The Church is Christ’s own Body, The Father’s dwelling-place, The gathering of the called ones, God blended with man’s race; Elect before creation, Redeemed by Calv’ry’s death, Her character and standing Of heaven, not of earth. |
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New man of new creation, Born through her risen Lord, Baptized in God the Spirit, Made holy by His Word; Christ is her life and content, Himself her glorious Head; She has ascended with Him O’er all her foes to tread. |
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Christ is her one foundation, None other man may lay; All that she has, as Christ, is Divine in every way; Her members through the Spirit Their death on Calv’ry own; They’re built in resurrection— Gold, silver, precious stone. |
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One God, one Lord, one Spirit— Her elements all one— One faith, one hope, one baptism, One Body in the Son; The triune God is in her, One Body members own, By faith they are united, In hope of glory shown. |
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From every tribe and nation Do all the members come, Regardless of their classes United to be one. No high there is, nor lowly, No Jew, nor Gentile clan, No free, nor slave, nor master, But Christ, the “one new man.” |
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One Body universal, One in each place expressed; Locality of dwelling Her only ground possessed; Administration local, Each answ’ring to the Lord; Communion universal, Upheld in one accord. |
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Her local gatherings model The New Jerusalem; Its aspects and its details Must show in all of them. Christ is the Lamp that shineth, With God within, the Light; They are the lampstands bearing His glorious Image bright. |
Copyright Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.
Hymns, #824 is quite a special hymn. It contains a very deep mystery, but the saints do not sing it very often.
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Furthermore, the emphasis in every stanza is very clear. The first stanza is on the Body and the dwelling place; the second stanza is on the new man; the third stanza is on the foundation and its emphasis on building. All buildings require a foundation, and Christ being the head of the corner in God's building is the foundation (Matt. 21:42). Although stanza 3 does not have the term transformation, transformation is truly included in it: "Christ is her one foundation, / None other man may lay; / All that she has, as Christ, is / Divine in every way; / Her members through the Spirit / Their death on Calv'ry own; / They're built in resurrection— / Gold, silver, precious stone." Natural things must go through the killing of the cross and then be built up in resurrection. Wood, grass, and stubble can be transformed and built up as gold, silver, and precious stone. The Body and the new man need to grow, whereas the building needs transformation.
The second half of stanza 4 says, "The triune God is in her, / One Body members own, / By faith they are united, / In hope of glory shown." [Editor's note: The last two lines of stanza 4 in Chinese literally say, "By faith united, by baptism cut off, / In hope awaiting the Lord's coming."] Through baptism we have been cut off from the world and the old creation. Furthermore, we have been cut off from the flesh, the self, and everything natural. If we have been cut off from the world, the old creation, the self, and everything natural, we surely have been cut off from sinfulness and Satan. This cutting off results in a separation from every negative thing. We lack nothing because we are joined to everything positive and cut off from everything negative. Thus, we are waiting to be raptured; we are in hope awaiting the Lord's coming.
We need to sing this hymn and read this hymn, and we also need to learn this hymn. The last stanza says, "Her local gatherings model / The New Jerusalem; / Its aspects and its details / Must show in all of them. / Christ is the Lamp that shineth, / With God within, the Light; / They are the lampstands bearing / His glorious Image bright." If we become familiar with these words and speak these words, our speaking will eventually become like the hymn. I hope that we would sing this hymn one hundred times, once every day, singing slowly, reading slowly, speaking slowly, and digesting slowly so that these words can enter into our thoughts and into our entire being. After one hundred days this will become our possession.
In the table of contents of our hymnal there is a category called "The Church." It covers the church as the mystery of Christ, the increase of Christ, the fullness of Christ, the vessel of Christ, and the lampstand of Christ. It also covers the church's general definition, course, faith, unity, foundation, building, attraction, coordination, and fellowship. Hymns, #824 is on the general definition of the church, whereas #852 is on the attraction of the church. Perhaps many of us have been in the church life for a number of years, yet we are still not clear about the definition of the church, nor do we know what kind of price we need to pay when we are attracted by the church. These two hymns reveal to us these two aspects of the truth. I hope that we all can earnestly study the truths contained in our hymns.
Piano Hymns
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Irvine, CA, United States
Praise the Lord for the Body!!
Anaheim, California, United States
Spiritual warfare is not an individual matter but a matter of the Body.
May we see the Body and be the Body intrinsically...
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
What a rich blessing this hymn is. Our Friday evening program to conclude a Week of Prayer at our Adventist church in Brisbane, will be richly blessed by its use to emphasise that the church is a living organism, with Jesus Christ as its living head. It is a community that is the result of a living connection with Jesus. Through this connection we find our identity in Him. The church per se is a place where believers should find new meaning in life, a sense of belonging like no other, and a place to grow.
May God richly bless your lyric writing.
Atlanta, GA, United States
I first remember this hymn as we sang it at the first Lord's table meeting in Athens, GA I think in 2005. There were several thousand saints gathered on the UGA campus. As the Bread and Wine were passed around and we sang this hymn, I saw the Body of Christ as a reality. This is one of if not the greatest hymn on the church every written.
North Little Rock, AR, United States
I LOVE this hymn. It has refreshed me many times!! It describes the church which is God's great enterprise! May every true believer partake of its richness!!
Mississauga, ON, Canada
This hymn describes what the "church" is, not a physical location where the saints meet, but "Christ's own Body" which are the saints. In verse one, it says, "The gathering of the called ones, God blended with man's race". What a revelation that we are one with God, in one spirit with the saints.
Praise the Lord! That also through the process He has undergone, we have inherited the Spirit of God, the life of God and the position of God, as His sons. Thank you, Lord!