(This lengthy blog is adapted from a passage in book 3 of the 'Back to the Future; Rebuilding the Tabernacle of David' series of books, 'Rebuilding the Tabernacle', taken from Chapter 1 A Place for The Presence, available as a free download from this website, simply go to the My Writings section. It has been written as a prequel to a previous blog post,' Having therefore these Promises, dearly Beloved')

The apostle Paul makes an amazing statement at the end of a truly wonderful passage where he  lays out clearly the spiritual reality of what we have in Christ , both as individuals initially before then outlining the glorious potential calling of the whole body. The passage we are talking about here is Ephesians 1. The statement is this,

                   And [God} hath put all things under his[Christ] feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,                                                                                        Which is his body, the fulness of him [Holy Spirit] that filleth all in all. Ephesians 1:22,23

Our starting point is Christ's resurrection. To understand what this 'fulness of him that filleth all in all' might be we need to read the verses that have preceded this. What I noticed as I was reading these verses today was verse 19 in particular. 

                  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power

There are two uses of the term power in this verse, and on closer study I saw that they were derived from two different Greek words. The first is 'dynamis' where get a range of English words that are to do with things of power and energy, however. the second use of the word 'power' is a translation of a word the root of which means to be perfected or completed. I believe this a key to our understanding of what essentially Paul is describing here.  A fulness of him is to be perfected in Christ. This is our journey, both as individuals and then as a gathered body. And this is the body that has a head, who is Jesus. As my daughters would ask in unison on another type of journey, are we there yet? 

This journey, this wilderness walk, requires shelters, places to sit with the Lord as we make our way towards this perfection. And there are two. Just as when we come into our own closet ‘sukkah’[i] to meet with the Father on a one to one basis, the gathered body, the church, is intended to be a corporate expression of the same dynamic. A ‘sukkah’ under which we all are called to gather as the  chosen and as those who have been adopted into the beloved his body, the body of his son and our saviour Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 1:4,5). This is how Father sees us in Christ and this the affection he feels for us and his beloved the body of his son Jesus on earth. Some calling. For as we need to realise and be expectant for, in the gathering as with the closet the reward comes from the Father. 

              …pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:4b

When we gather together we carry the presence, his presence in us, into the midst of his body, wherever and whenever this might be. In twos, in twenties or even in the two hundreds, when we meet with the Lord in the midst, in the Spirit let us look out in faith for the Father. Yes, the same Father we have been communing with in our own individual closet, he is there waiting, he has gone before us by the Holy Spirit. He has done this so that he is ready, willing and able to respond actively to the spiritual exchanges that have occurred in the closet in the midst of the gathering, if we would only give him the opportunity. It may be that we have a need or that we have a word that might be the solution to a need. He want us to truly meet each other and to truly meet him in each other.

           And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his pur            pose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be            the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8: 28, 29

To be in the Body of Christ is to be in RELATIONSHIP

To be in the Body of Christ is to be in RELATIONSHIPs plural, many horizontal and one vertical. And he is working out all things for good in these horizontal relationships through the wonderful reality that each of us share the same vertical relationship. We are all sustained and held together by this relational reality with the Lord God in his three parts. 

These are His purposes that are being worked out in the lives of those He loves. His purpose being that we become like Him. This is the gathered body, his body. His body is the one and only body that really needs to sort out its body image. And we do need to have a better understanding in what way we have been called to walk together with others as we follow the Lord.

            A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.                  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:34,35

We do need to discover in reality how to be true friends with one another. To actually find LOVE one for one another. Too often in my experience church based relationships have a weird church filter which often means that these relationships have a strange limiter. I recently hired a car on the continent to visit my daughter and her husband in France, this car had a built in speed limiter which when activated meant that it would automatically adhere to the given speed limit. Good idea. Why aren’t all cars fitted with this, I thought. Until something went wrong and I found myself stuck at 30kph on a motorway. 

We need to released to truly love one another. The only I was able to do this in the hire car was to pull over to the side of the road, switch off the engine and hope that by restarting the car it would have rebooted and now would drive normally, which it did. Perhaps we need a relational reboot in the Lord? To turbo charge the cords that bind us?

                But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:                                                     From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the ef                 fectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.                                    Ephesians 4:15,16

Let us reflect on what it means to gathered together with others and what the challenges might be from these relationships and let us use a passage from the apostle Paul’s second letter to the gathering of believers in Corinth. And perhaps we might find our reboot here? Although Paul’s teaching here does have a negative focus, we can use his terminology for our own ends. Paul is describing here the various layers of relationships within the body and the different levels of active engagement one to another that we will be exposed to in body life, 

                 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:                                                                                                                        for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?                                                                                                            and what communion hath light with darkness?                                                                                                                                  And what concord hath Christ with Belial?                                                                                                                                          or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?                                                                                                                              And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?                                                                                                                    2 Corinthians 6: 14-16a

The key terms for us here are those highlighted. We will spend some time exploring each in turn in order that we can understand more clearly the relational bonds that tie us together in the body, bonds which lie in the spirit and not in the flesh.

• Yoked

We first of all need to understand that we have been yoked together with our brothers and sisters in the body. When someone is saved, as described in Acts 2, they are added to the body,

             Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thou                 sand souls. Acts 2: 41

The Greek word translated ‘added’ here is the same word that we encountered in 1 Corinthians 12: 18. 

             But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him?

This wonderful adoption into the eternal family of God is also described by Paul in two passages within his letters,

            ...ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.                                                                                       The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.                                                                                  Romans 8: 15b-16

And

            …that we might receive the adoption of sons.                                                                                                                                 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.                                       Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Galatians 4:5b-7

Paul is also describing this spiritual adoption into the body at salvation when he writes,

             According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame be-              fore him in love:                                                                                                                                                                                    Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure                of his will,                                                                                                                                                                                              To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Ephesians 1:5,6

We are accepted into the beloved, the Greek word is literally describing us coming into grace, to be endued with special honour or to be highly favoured as we are set in our place in the body of the beloved, who is Christ. However, what is our place? Jesus describes this process by utilising the image of a yoke,

              Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.                         For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:29,30

The yoke in farming practise is and was a means by which one or more animals, such as oxen, could be harnessed so that the farmer could utilise their joint weight and strength to complete a task, such as ploughing the ground. Therefore, why does Jesus use this particular metaphor to describe our relational connection with Himself? 

Does it mean that we are yoked to Him and he will take a lead as we walk together within him across the field of our lives?  This is unlikely as He describes Himself as the provider of the yoke. It is His easy yoke that we are being encouraged to wear.  Therefore, the actual expectation here within the internal logic of this metaphor is that the outworking of us coming to him is that we will be yoked with others. So that we will share the burden of the Lord with others and our weight and strength will be combined with that of others to complete the task the Lord, the yoke provider, has set for us. Therefore, this yoke is a picture of our bonding with others in the purposes of God within the body, having come into the body through coming to Jesus. Therefore, our walk in and with Jesus is characterised here as a walk that we need to actively share we others. This is body life and potentially here in the body our walk with Jesus finds a deeper purpose and reality as we walk yoked with others. 

Did you noticed the word ‘potentially’ in the last sentence? Are we walking with others? Is the yoke a good fit? If it isn’t, what do we do? Take it off  and walk away? Or work things out with the person or people we are yoked to in his service? The fit is all about the dynamics of the relationships involved. And there will always be lessons that need to be learnt and hearts that need softening.  

For it is here, within the spiritual relationships forged in the body that we find the quality of relationships that will enable us to develop our individual capacity to be fruitful and to become a fair representation of Him. We will be equally yoked, to turn Paul’s original phrase around, as we are yoked with the believers with whom Jesus has brought us together under His yoke, the real yoke. For the Greek word used by Paul actually means another yoke, i.e. not the yoke of the Lord. And any other yoke than the Lord’s easy and light one will be a yoke of bondage and control. So beware, who are we yoked to, the world or the body and who are we yoked by Satan or the Lord?

• Fellowship

Another crucial outworking of the effective working of the body of Christ is the simple truth that it is the God given capsule within which we are to find the love of Christ actively demonstrated through the word, deed and actions of others within which and with whom we are bound together. This is fellowship. The Lord calls each one of us into the midst, to immerse ourselves into the heart of this gathering. This is figuratively expressed in the verse we have explored in a previous blog*, 2 Samuel 6:17

                  And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle

We are to actively bring His presence that is within us and to be present and in the midst of the others there gathered. For the simple reason it is here that we can be loved and supported and it is here that we can love and support others. 

As the Lord leads us, He has provided for us through the provision of others and has provided us to be the provision for others.

There is to be a wonderful flow of love and life between everyone so gathered. This was the body life experienced in the early days of the life of the ekklesia and it is what the Lord desires to build again, His dwelling place for His body. As we see stated so clearly end of this chapter, this is Paul at his most prophetic,

…as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.                             Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,                                                                                                                                                                                                 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:16b-18

Read Paul’s letters afresh and see this quality of body life, with its challenges, that is being actually experienced by real people in the real ups and downs of their real lives, such as in Ephesians 4 where we read the following,

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:                                             From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4: 15, 16

 The Greek word translated as ‘fellowship’ in 2 Corinthians 6 is used in uniquely here, and it carries the meaning of sharing, which is an essential element of real and true body life. How can we be in relationship if we are not willing to share our lives with each other? Some might find this challenging, however, we do need to work through such challenges in order that we can come through to a new freedom in Christ as we find the strength of His grace to sustain us. Indeed, a freedom where we can trust others with our deepest issues, to be truly humble before each other and even to be vulnerable and accountable. The ultimate expression of this will be people walking together in transparency, because there is nothing hidden.[ii] This would be truly bringing ourselves, and His presence within us, into the midst of His tabernacle.

The term also comes from a root word which means to actively partake of something. So that we are to not to sit passively on the side lines, or in the pew exploring the back of someone’s head for any sign of dandruff. The Lord would want to call us into the midst. To come in from the cold and to enjoy the warmth at the heart of His body. In His letter to the church at Laodicea the Lord challenges the body there to be hot for God and not lukewarm.[iii] Therefore, let the friction of body life do its work and bring us to a warmer place in Him. For it is as we fully immerse ourselves into body life and work out the relationships within it, with fear and trembling, that we are actually being given wonderful opportunities to work out our own salvation. We will have to learn to walk through painful and difficult situations whilst at the same time keeping our hearts pure before God. Even maintaining our love for those who might seem for a time to be our enemies. It would be here that we will learn so much about ourselves and how far we still have to go. It is here that truth will be forged in our inward parts and it is here that Father will help us to know wisdom in the hidden place our hearts[iv].

…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.                                                                                                                  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.                                                                                 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:                                                                                                                           That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; (and in the body)                                                                                                           Holding forth the word of life… Philippians 2: 12b-16a

With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;                                                                 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4: 2, 3

• Communion

Communion is the translation of the Greek word koinonia. This Greek term consistently carries the idea of being in partnership with others. A partnership such that we will need to learn to work together to get the work of the Lord done. A partnership which demonstrates true charity, which is love in action. 

At the heart of the Greek word koinonia is a root word which means a singularity and, therefore, it carries the concept of working in unity. We are therefore working together with a singularity or common purpose. 

                  …they were all with one accord in one place. Acts 2: 1b

                     God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship (koinonia) of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.                                          Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there                      be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.                           1 Corinthians 1:9,10

Indeed, our fellowship with one another has a starting place with and through our fellowship with Jesus. If our fellowship with Him is sweet so will be our fellowship with one another. The apostle John has much to say about this in his first epistle. There will be no true fellowship with one another unless and until we have fellowship with the Lord.

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.                                                                                                                                  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:                                                    But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another… John 1:3,6-7

• Concord

Concord is the translation given to the Greek term, symphonesis, which is also used uniquely here. It is the term from which we get the word ‘symphony’, which is the harmonious combination of a multitude of different musical instruments to produce a wonderful sound. However, for the instruments to come together to produce the music with all its melodies, cadences and to be given its changes in tempo it requires two other crucial elements. A symphony produced by an orchestra requires both a musical score and the presence of a conductor. Likewise, the gathered body will also require its own written manuscript and its own conductor to make sense of the words within the ever changing dynamic that is body life. We need to be people of the word and people in and of the Spirit for the body to function to its true potential (there is that word again) and to produce something which in its own way is wonderfully harmonious.

.                      ..but be filled with the Spirit;..Ephesians 5:18c

                         But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as                           the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall                             abide in him. 1 John 2:27

                        Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and                                hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Ephesians 5:26

• Part

Part is the translation of the Greek term, meris, from which we get the word ‘merit’, and it carries the concept of an individual’s allotment or portion. It is the same word that is used in Ephesians 4:16,

                    From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to                         the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in                             love. 

This term is a reflection of our God given unique place in the body of Christ.  The apostle Paul also makes it very clear that church building is a function of the Godhead,

                   But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 1Corinthians 12:18

God desires to place everyone where He wants them to be in His Church, because there is a place that is just right for them.

                  God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12: 3e

God has provided us with enough faith to be fruitful in the place He has chosen and for the task He has chosen us to do.

                   Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us Romans 12:6a

God has provided us with grace we need to fruitful in our spiritual gifting in the place or places he has chosen for us in His body. Have you ever asked him, ‘where do YOU want me?’

• Agreement

Agreement is the translation of the third Greek term which is used uniquely in this passage. The word is sunkatathesis and it carries the concept of something being laid next to something else There are echoes here of the building work described in 1Peter: 2. 4-5 of living stones being laid together, particularly as Paul describes the church as a temple of the living God when writing to the church in Corinth[v]. Each of us is a brick in the hands of the master brick layer.

                  Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,                                                         You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices accept                   able to God through Jesus Christ.  1Peter 2:4,5 NKJV                             

This is a very redolent idea for us here as we are reflecting upon the building purposes of the Lord. We need to recognise that we are the very building materials with which the Lord is intending to build this spiritual structure that we call church. And being part of the body will enable us to become a living stone that will find the place in which we are a perfect fit. As Father is able to knock off our rough edges. As the Father works on us and as we do what we can to work on ourselves we will end up potentially even as part of the walls and foundations of the New Jerusalem, the bride of Christ,

                 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;                                                            Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it. 1 Corinthians 3:12,13

                       And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for                    her husband.  Revelation 21:2

                And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.                                                       And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was                   jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;                                                                                   The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chryso                   prasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. Revelation 21:18-20

               But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.  1 Corinthians 3: 10c

 The walls of the New Jerusalem are built with the hearts of true disciples

[i] A ‘sukkah’ is the commemorative ephemeral structure that Jewish people create and spend time in during the feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. See my series of books Back to the Future: the Rebuilding of the Tabernacle of David, for a full study on this concept and its prophetic application for today. Available free to download as a PDF or Epub file from my website: richard-flint.com.

[ii] See Hebrews 4:12,13

[iii] See Revelation 3:15,16

[iv] See Psalm 51:6

[v] See 1 Corinthians 3:16,17

*See ‘Carrying the Presence’, available as a blog post June 2026: richard-flin