1 The Church the vessel is to Christ,
Him to contain and Him express,
Just as the human body doth
Man's life show forth, his life possess.
2 As was the temple to the ark,
Receptacle and resting-place;
So Christ the Church's content is,
And in the Church, Christ's dwelling-place.
3 As Christ is God's true mystery,
God to explain and God express;
So is the Church Christ's mystery,
Christ to explain and manifest.
4 The members of the Church of Christ
Are all primarily of clay;
They need to be transformed and made
Transparent, precious day by day.
5 By transformation they are built,
A vessel they to Christ afford;
His all-inclusiveness they hold;
Transparent, they express the Lord.
6 Thru all the transformation work
The triune God performs in them,
The Church a corporate vessel is
And like the new Jerusalem.
7 How precious she in each respect,
Transparent too in every phase;
Christ with God's fulness she contains,
Christ with God's glory she displays.
8 With Christ as life, with God as light,
And with the Spirit's living flow,
The triune God she manifests
For all the universe to know.