In Genesis 2 we see a picture of Christ and the church in the types of Adam and Eve; God wants not only Christ (as typified by Adam) but also the church – God wants Christ and the church.
Christ is the mystery of God, He is the explanation and expression of God, and He lived a wonderful human life to define and express the Father. In Christ God is satisfied, and in Him He found all His pleasure and delight.
However, this Christ came to gain the church, so that He may have a duplication, a complement, a counterpart. Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.
He wants to gain the church as His counterpart and complement, for, as we see in the type of Adam and Eve, just as it was not good for Adam to be alone, so it is not good for Christ to be alone.
He came as the Redeemer to give Himself up for us and bring us back to God, so that we may be gained and courted by Him, respond to Him in love, and be the church that He desires. Then, He became a life-giving Spirit to sanctify and beautify us, the church, so that we may match Him in every possible way.
He is now the life-giving Spirit speaking to us in His word, giving us an instant, fresh, living, sanctifying word, so that any wrinkles and spots would be removed and we would be produced as His beautiful bride, His counterpart.
Through His judicial redemption He brought us into the church, the bride, and through His organic salvation He is perfecting us and sanctifying us to be His beautiful bride.
At the end of this process of producing the bride, Christ will be the Bridegroom to present the church as His bride to Himself glorious and spotless, without any spots or wrinkles, a beautiful bride for Him to marry.
Today Christ wants to work Himself into us and be lived out of us as our beauty, the beauty of the bride. When the Christ who is wrought into us is also lived out of us, He is expressed through us, and that is the church as the counterpart of Christ.
We are sanctified by the Lord by getting into His word, in particular by praying over God’s word with an exercised spirit and open heart, so that we may enjoy not only the logos – the written constant word of God, but the rhema – the instant, direct, present word or God, the word of God with our name on it, God’s sanctifying word.
As we read the word, muse over it, mix it with out prayer and speaking to the Lord and to ourselves, the Lord has a way to mingle Himself with us, renew us, cleanse us, wash us, and sanctify us; this word becomes in us a source of supply and the Lord’s inward speaking to guide us and prepare us to be His bride, His counterpart.
The Lord wants to gain His counterpart, the church, by sanctifying all the saints and building them up together to be His bride.
What God wants is not just Christ in and by Himself; God wants Christ and the church, the reality of the type of Adam and Eve, so that He may be corporately expressed and represented on earth. Christ and the church expresses God and deals with His enemy for the bringing in of the kingdom of God.
It is not Good for Christ to be Alone: Christ Needs the Church to be His Counterpart!
In Genesis chapter 2 we see how God created Adam in His image and according to His likeness; Adam was created according to God to be the same as God, and Adam was a type of Christ. However, later in v. 18 God said, It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart.
Adam typifies God in Christ as the real, universal Husband, who is seeking a wife for Himself (see Rom. 5:14; cf. Isa. 54:5; John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:31-32; Rev. 21:9).
The fact that Adam needed a wife to complement him and complete him so that he would fulfill God’s purpose in creating him, shows that Christ needs a wife, the church as His complement, for Him to accomplish God’s purpose in full.
Adam’s need for a wife typifies and portrays God’s need in His economy to have a wife as His complement. In Himself in His essence, God is perfect, complete, and with no need; He can do whatever He wants, and He can accomplish what He desires.
But in His economy He needs man – God in Christ needs man, the church, to fulfill His purpose. God needs to have a parallel for Christ, a counterpart for Christ; God wants not only Christ but Christ and the church.
![The third step of God’s procedure in fulfilling His purpose was to work Himself into man to make man His complement. Adam here [in Genesis 2:18] typifies God in Christ as the real, universal Husband, who is seeking a wife for Himself (Rom. 5:14; cf. Isa. 54:5; John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:31-32; Rev. 19:7; 21:9). Adam’s need for a wife typifies and portrays God’s need, in His economy, to have a wife as His complement. Gen. 2:18, footnote 1, RcV Bible](https://i0.wp.com/agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/The-third-step-of-God%E2%80%99s-procedure-in-fulfilling-His-purpose-was-to-work-Himself-into-man1.jpg?resize=450%2C679&ssl=1 "The third step of God’s procedure in fulfilling His purpose was to work Himself into man to make man His complement. Adam here [in Genesis 2:18] typifies God in Christ as the real, universal Husband, who is seeking a wife for Himself (Rom. 5:14; cf. Isa. 54:5; John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:31-32; Rev. 19:7; 21:9). Adam’s need for a wife typifies and portrays God’s need, in His economy, to have a wife as His complement. Gen. 2:18, footnote 1, RcV Bible")
Although God, Christ, is absolutely and eternally perfect, He is not complete without the church as His wife. This is not a heretical thought but a principle clearly seen in the Bible; God and Christ are perfect and almighty, but without the church He cannot accomplish His purpose in His economy.
If we see this, we will worship the Lord and open to Him as never before, for God in Christ needs us to be His counterpart for the fulfillment of His purpose.
When we were created, we were not made like the other creatures, according to our kind; we were made according to God’s kind – we were made in the image and likeness of God, so that we may receive God as life, be filled with God, live God, express God, and be one with God for the fulfillment of His purpose on earth.
For God to fulfill His purpose in His economy, He is working Himself into us, His chosen people, to make us His complement, His counterpart. God in Christ is the real and universal Husband, and the church is the universal wife, the universal bride for God, who has to match Him and be one with Him.
God’s need in His economy is for Him to have the church as His helper, His counterpart; in a real sense, just as it was not good for man to be alone, so it is not good for Christ to be alone: Christ needs the church to be His counterpart!
Lord, open our eyes to realize that God in Christ is the real, universal Husband, who is seeking a wife for Himself. Thank You for creating us in Your image and according to Your likeness so that we may receive You as life and everything to express You and be one with You as Your counterpart for the fulfillment of Your purpose. Lord, we need You, and You need us; You are our Husband, and we are Your wife. Make us the same as You are, Lord, by working Yourself into us and by working in us to produce us as the church, Your bride, Your counterpart!
God Desires to have Christ and the Church for His Expression and Dominion on Earth
![The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” [v. 18]. In other words, God desired to have both Adam and Eve. His purpose is to have a victorious Christ plus a victorious church, a Christ who has overcome the work of the devil plus a church which has overthrown the work of the devil. His purpose is to have a ruling Christ and a ruling church. This is what God planned for His own pleasure, and He has performed it for His own satisfaction. It has been done because God desired to do it. God desired to have Christ, and God also desired to have a church which is exactly like Christ. God not only desired that Christ would have dominion; He also wants the church to have dominion. God allows the devil on earth because He said, “Let them,” Christ and the church, “have dominion” [Gen. 1:26]. God purposed that the church, as Christ’s counterpart, should take part in dealing with Satan. Watchman Nee, The Glorious Church, ch. 2](https://i0.wp.com/agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/The-Lord-God-said-%E2%80%9CIt-is-not-good-for-the-man-to-be-alone%E2%80%9D1.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” [v. 18]. In other words, God desired to have both Adam and Eve. His purpose is to have a victorious Christ plus a victorious church, a Christ who has overcome the work of the devil plus a church which has overthrown the work of the devil. His purpose is to have a ruling Christ and a ruling church. This is what God planned for His own pleasure, and He has performed it for His own satisfaction. It has been done because God desired to do it. God desired to have Christ, and God also desired to have a church which is exactly like Christ. God not only desired that Christ would have dominion; He also wants the church to have dominion. God allows the devil on earth because He said, “Let them,” Christ and the church, “have dominion” [Gen. 1:26]. God purposed that the church, as Christ’s counterpart, should take part in dealing with Satan. Watchman Nee, The Glorious Church, ch. 2")
The record of God’s creation of man and the building of the woman out of man is very clear in Gen. 1-2, for what God desires is not just Adam but Adam and Eve – God desires to have Christ and the church for His expression and dominion on earth.
The couple in Gen. 2:18-24 (Adam and Eve) are a type of the couple in Eph. 5:22-23 (Christ and the church). The woman in Gen. 2 is a type, a sign of the church, and the church in Eph. 5 is the real woman, the real wife.
Before the foundation of the world God planned to have a woman to match Him, and this was revealed in type in Gen. 2 and in fulfillment in Eph. 5.
When God purpose to create man, He said, Let Us make man in Our image and according to Our likeness, and let THEM have dominion… (Gen. 1:26, with emphasis added). Just as Adam fulfills God’s purpose, so does Eve; just as Christ fulfills God’s purpose, so does the church.
Adam fulfills God’s purpose not by himself but together with his wife Eve; Christ fulfills God’s purpose not by Himself but together with His wife, the church. Adam was not complete without Eve, and he needed a counterpart; similarly, Christ is not complete without the church – He needs the church as His counterpart.
Adam alone is not enough to satisfy God’s heart; Christ alone is not enough to satisfy God’s heart – He needs the church. God desires to have Christ and the church to express Him and represent Him on earth.
God wants to have both Adam and Eve; He wants to have both a victorious Christ and a victorious church; God desires to have a Christ who has overcome the work of the devil plus a church that has overthrown the work of the devil.
God’s purpose is to have a ruling Christ and a ruling church; this is what He planned for His own pleasure, and He has performed it for His own satisfaction. This is God’s good pleasure, His purpose, and His heart’s desire.
God desires to have Christ and the church to express Him in His image and represent Him with His authority over the enemy. God desires to have the church to be exactly like Christ to complement Him and complete Him, so that together they would express God corporately and rule over Satan.
God wants not only Christ to have dominion over all the earth – He wants the church to also have dominion. The reason God still allows the devil on earth is because He knows that Christ and the church will deal with him and completely crush him.
If the church doesn’t match Christ, God’s purpose is not fulfilled; God needs the church to match Christ in every possible way and be the same as Christ in every respect, so that Christ and the church would fulfill God’s purpose on earth.
Thank You Lord for Your desire to have Christ and the church to fulfill Your purpose of being expressed and represented in this universe. It is Your heart’s desire to have both Christ and the church to express You and exercise Your dominion over the enemy. Lord, gain the church as Your counterpart, a church that would match You in every way to be Your complement and counterpart, so that Christ and the church would exercise dominion over Satan and express God in this universe. Hallelujah for Christ and the church!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 34, “The Glorious Church,” ch. 2, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Recovery of the Church (2017 fall ITERO), week 9, The Status of the Church – the Counterpart of Christ.
- Hymns on this topic:
# It was for her the church—His bride / It was for her, willingly He died / She is the joy deep in His heart / His masterpiece— / His counterpart. / The Lord chose you to be a part / Of His great plan, His work of art. / What wonder! What a privilege! (Song on the church)
# Christ is our coming Bridegroom; / We are the Church, His Bride, / Redeemed, regenerated, / The issue of His side, / In source, in life, in nature / And person fully one, / His counterpart forever, / The New Jerusalem. (Song on, The Bible is a romance)
# Dear Lord, throughout these years / You have been working to gain me for / Your church, Your expression, Your counterpart, / And at times I was stubborn, / I refuse to turn to You but / You have drawn me so we run after You. (Song on, Dear Lord, Throughout These Years)
When we read Genesis 2:18-24 and Ephesians 5:22-32 we find that a woman is mentioned in both places. In Genesis 2 there is a woman, and in Ephesians 5 there is also a woman. The first woman is a sign typifying the church; the second woman is the first woman. The first woman was planned by God before the foundation of the world and appeared before the fall. The second woman was also planned before the foundation of the world, but was revealed after the fall. Although one appeared before the fall and the other after, there is no difference in God’s sight: the church is the Eve of Genesis 2. God created Adam to typify Christ; God also created Eve to typify the church. God’s purpose is not only accomplished by Christ but is also accomplished by the church. In Genesis 2:18, Jehovah God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart.” God’s purpose in creating the church is that she may be the counterpart of Christ. Christ alone is only half; there must be another half, which is the church. God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” This means that in God’s sight Christ alone is not good enough. Genesis 2:18-24 reiterates the events of the sixth day of creation. On the sixth day God created Adam, but afterward it seems that He considered a little and said, “No, it is not good that the man should be alone.” Therefore, He created Eve for Adam. By then, everything was completed, and we find that Genesis 1 ends with this record: “And God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good” (v. 31). From this we realize that having Adam alone, or we may say, having Christ alone, is not enough to satisfy God’s heart. With God there must also be Eve, that is, there must also be the church. Then His heart will be satisfied.
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” [v. 18]. In other words, God desired to have both Adam and Eve. His purpose is to have a victorious Christ plus a victorious church, a Christ who has overcome the work of the devil plus a church which has overthrown the work of the devil. His purpose is to have a ruling Christ and a ruling church. This is what God planned for His own pleasure, and He has performed it for His own satisfaction. It has been done because God desired to do it. God desired to have Christ, and God also desired to have a church which is exactly like Christ. God not only desired that Christ would have dominion; He also wants the church to have dominion. God allows the devil on earth because He said, “Let them,” Christ and the church, “have dominion” [Gen. 1:26]. God purposed that the church, as Christ’s counterpart, should take part in dealing with Satan. If the church does not match Christ, God’s purpose will not be fulfilled. In warfare Christ needs a counterpart, and even in glory He also needs a counterpart. God requires the church to be the same as Christ in every respect. It is God’s desire that Christ should have a counterpart. (Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 34, “The Glorious Church,” pp. 25-26)
Praise the Lord! Without church Christ’s intention can not be expressed. Christ and Church exist in pair for God’s purpose. Amen
Salamat sa iyong katwiran Panginoon, Amen.
[Thank you for your righteousness Lord, Amen.]
Amen! For His economy, God need Christ and the Church!
Amen !!!
Rev 14:3 And they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been purchased from the earth.
Footnote on ‘no one’: No one can learn the new song sung by these first overcomers, a song that must be in accord with their experiences of the Lamb, because no one else has their specific and particular experiences of Christ.
We need to be encouraged as we go through life’s trials and tribulations because the Christ we experience during these times are actually the composition of our new song which we’ll sing when we meet with our Lord. Let’s not murmur but turn, take Him, gain Him and experience Him during these times that we may compose our personal new song and qualify to become the first overcomers that gain the kingdom reward. Amen
Amen the trials and welcome tribulations, the kingdom’s ours through these afflictions sore.
Amen come Lord Jesus, come.
I was enlightened and not seen before the “let them” have dominion in Gen 1:26 is a type of Christ and the church. Thank You Lord You are the real man, the church is the real wife, Your helper, we praise You. Gain the church as Your counterpart, the desire of Your heart.
Amen por Cristo y la Iglesia. Cristo como el nuevo hombre en nosotros..Cristo como cabeza de la Iglesia! !
[Amen to Christ and the church. Christ like the new man in us.. Christ as the head of the church! !]
Amen. Christ and the church expresses God and deals with His enemy for the bringing in of the kingdom of God.
Hallelujah…Praise the Lord Amen.
Lord today strengthen our individual and corporate living of You that together we as members of Your church may rule and have dominion over the universe as Your counterpart,Your bride.Amen.
Praise the Lord
Amen!
Working yourself in to us!to produce us
As the Church your bride your counterpart !