Search
Scripture Reading: Eph. 3:2, 8, 16-19; Phil. 1:19b-21a; 4:13; Col. 1:12; 2:6; 3:4; Rev. 2:6-7, 17a; 21:6b; 22:1-2, 14, 17
In this chapter we will fellowship concerning the way to receive, experience, and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit — the aggregate of the all-embracing blessing of the full gospel of God — in Ephesians through Revelation.
The way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ as the all-inclusive life supply is by the dispensing of the riches of Christ through the ministers’ stewardship (Eph. 3:2, 8). Ephesians is a book on the church as the counterpart of Christ, which receives, experiences, and enjoys the rich supply of Christ through the stewardship of the apostles. The word stewardship in Greek is oikonomia. This word in Ephesians 3:9 is translated “economy” in reference to the preaching of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Such a preaching of the riches of Christ is a dispensing according to God’s economy. The same word in verse 2 is translated “stewardship,” referring to the stewardship of the apostles as the ministers. God has a plan to dispense Himself in His Divine Trinity into man, and this dispensing is carried out by the stewardship of the apostles as the ministers.
The stewardship of the ministers is necessary for us to understand the Bible. Paul does not teach us to read the Bible without interpretation. Rather, the book of Hebrews is his exposition of Leviticus. Without Hebrews no one can understand Leviticus. In the same way, we need the exposition of the New Testament. It is not easy to understand the pure word of the New Testament. In Hebrews Paul speaks of the word of righteousness, which is the solid food, and the good word of God, which is the milk (5:12-14; 6:5). Without the proper exposition we cannot understand what these two kinds of words are. Our understanding of the Word today is built on the stewardship of the ministers, beginning from the church fathers in the second century and consummating in this century with Watchman Nee. These ministers include Martin Luther; the mystics, such as Madame Guyon, Father Fenelon, and Brother Lawrence; and the inner-life believers, such as William Law, Andrew Murray, and the speakers at the Keswick conventions. They also include G. H. Pember, D. M. Panton, and Robert Govett, as well as A. B. Simpson, Mary E. McDonough, and Ruth Paxson. All of these were ministers of the word, from whom we have received much help.
As the ministers who speak the word of God, we all need to learn how to make our stewardship a dispensing ministry. In our ministry we must dispense Christ, the Spirit, life, and the church. Paul did this very much in his dispensing ministry. He spoke concerning Christ and concerning the church as the Body of Christ, His counterpart.
The way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is also by the strengthening of the Spirit, that Christ may make His home in our hearts, that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:16-19). The indwelling Spirit is always within us to strengthen us, that Christ may make His home in our hearts, that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God. Many Christians know nothing concerning Christ’s making His home in our hearts, but I am confident that most of the saints in the Lord’s recovery do know something concerning this matter. Therefore, we should take the opportunity to speak to others concerning this truth.
We receive, experience, and enjoy Christ also by holding the Head that we may grow into Him in everything for the building up of His Body (4:15-16). To understand any portion of the Bible we must take care of its context. The meaning of holding the Head in Ephesians 4:15 is found in verses 13 through 16. We need to read these verses again and again. One item mentioned in these verses is the winds of teaching (v. 14). While we are in the recovery growing in Christ, the winds of teaching often come. In the past several years the winds came a number of times, and some of the weaker ones have been blown away; that is, they have left the Head. To hold the Head is to hold on to Christ as our centrality, universality, and everything and not listen to the heretical, distracting teachings.
The way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is also by being renewed in the spirit of the mind for the putting on of the new man (vv. 23-24). As a faculty of our being, our mind can be empty, or it can be filled with the spirit. If our spirit is strong, it will invade and occupy our mind, causing our mind to be full of our spirit. Our mind must be under the control of our spirit, and our spirit must be in our mind. The spirit that is in our mind renews us. This is one of the ways to experience Christ as revealed in Ephesians.
Being renewed in the spirit of the mind is for the putting on of the new man. We are in the process of putting off the old man as our old “garment” and putting on the new man, the church life. Many Christians today are “naked” because they do not have the church life. For many saints, talking too long on the telephone is the old garment, the old man. We must put off the old garment, the old daily habits, and endeavor to put on more of the new man every day. By being renewed in this way, we enjoy Christ.
To be nourished and cherished as a member of the Body of Christ by Christ as the Head (5:29) is also a way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ. To be nourished is to be fed, whereas to be cherished is to be made happy. Being cherished includes being warmed up. As ministers who serve the Lord, we all need to learn how to make people happy. Those whom we go to visit need our cherishing. Our coming to someone with a cold face may cause him to feel threatened. When we go to visit people, our face, especially our eyes, must be pleasant. To visit people in this way is to cherish them. Mothers know how to nourish and cherish their children. If a mother spanks a naughty child who does not want to eat, the child will become more naughty. However, if the mother picks up and embraces the child, the child will be warmed up. Then he will behave properly and will pleasantly receive his mother’s feeding. The elders must learn how to cherish the saints. A stern face may frustrate the elders’ ministering to the saints.
Very often Christ not only nourishes us but also cherishes us. Throughout the years I have been cherished many times by the Lord. He did not come to rebuke, condemn, or reprove me. Rather, He said, “I love you.” This touched me and caused me to confess and repent of my mistakes, sometimes with tears. One experience of such cherishing builds us up more than hearing ten messages. By being nourished and cherished in this way by our Head, we enjoy Him.
The way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is also by being empowered in the Lord to put on the whole armor of God (6:10-11). To be empowered in the Lord is to arm ourselves for fighting. In Ephesians 5 the church as the bride of Christ is a female; as such, she should not be too bold. But in Ephesians 6 the church is a corporate warrior to fight for God; as such, the church must be bold. We should not be timid or afraid; we should be bold. God’s grace makes us His horses of majesty in battle (Zech. 10:3). We are fighters, not against the churches or against our fellow believers but against the unique enemy, Satan, who is the ruler of the authority of the air (Eph. 2:2). Toward him we must be bold and show no mercy. If we fight for Christ, we will enjoy Him.
Another way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is by enjoying the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ to magnify Christ by living Him (Phil. 1:19b-21a). Today the Spirit is no longer merely the Spirit of God; He is also the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He is the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7), who lived a lowly, humble, and sorrowful life on the earth and who grew up like a tender plant, like a root out of dry ground (Isa. 53:2). The Spirit is the Spirit of such a One. He is also the Spirit of Christ in His glory, resurrection, and ascension (Rom. 8:9). Jesus Christ today is a Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17), and this Spirit is called the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Jesus Christ is the bountiful supply. The Greek word for bountiful supply refers to the supplying of all the needs of the chorus by the choragus, the leader of the chorus. This bountiful supply of the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus Christ is for us to magnify Jesus Christ by living Him. We live Him so that He may be magnified. First, we live Christ; then we magnify Him. Paul magnified Christ in this way. While he was in the Roman prison, he did not shame Christ but magnified Christ by his living of Him every day.
To pursue Christ that we may gain Him as the excellent Christ (Phil. 3:8-14) is another way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ. Christ is not only the all-inclusive Christ but also the excellent Christ. Sometimes our living and behavior are good but not excellent. We must be excellent by enjoying the excellent Christ. The way to have the excellent Christ and live the excellent Christ is to pursue Him. Paul says that he pursued Christ (v. 12). The Greek word for pursue is the same word as for persecute. When he was Saul, Paul persecuted Christ, but after being saved, Paul pursued Christ.
We need to “persecute” Christ, to force Him to do something and not let Him go. Jacob wrestled with God (Gen. 32:24-30). He forced God to bless him, so God did it, and Jacob became Israel, the prince of God. It is true that we must always be submissive, believing that everything is under God’s sovereignty and that all things work together for our good. In this sense we do not need to force God to do anything for us. However, every truth has more than one side. This is illustrated by the four Gospels. The four biographies of Christ present Him in four different ways — as the King (Matthew), the Slave (Mark), the man (Luke), and God (John). On the one hand, we need to learn how to be submissive, suffering whatever happens to us and worshipping the sovereign Lord. On the other hand, we must exercise our spirit to command the Lord. We may say, “Lord, we are too barren. We command You to produce some fruit for us.” This is one of many ways to experience and enjoy Christ.
The way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is also by being empowered in Christ that we may be able to do all things. In Philippians 4:12-13 Paul says, “I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack. I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me.” All things in verse 13 refers to the six items in verse 8 — the things that are true, the things that are dignified, the things that are righteous, the things that are pure, the things that are lovely, and the things that are well spoken of. Paul could carry out the high virtues in human life not merely by the One who empowered him but in the One who empowered him. To do all things in Christ is to enjoy Christ and experience the dispensing of Christ into us.
To partake of Christ as the God-allotted portion of the saints (Col. 1:12) is a rich way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ. Colossians tells us that Christ is our God-allotted portion. When the Israelites entered the good land, each family was allotted a portion of the land. We, the New Testament Israelites, have all received the all-inclusive Christ as an allotted portion from God. This portion is the image of God, the Firstborn of all creation, the One in whom, through whom, and unto whom all things were created, and the One in whom all things cohere (vv. 15-17). He is also the Head of the Body, the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, and the One in whom all the fullness was pleased to dwell (vv. 18-19). Such a One is our portion. Like the Colossian believers, we must learn to forget about the angels and all the “isms,” such as Judaism, Gnosticism, and asceticism, and partake of the central and universal Christ as our portion.
To receive Christ and walk in Him as those living in the God-given good land (2:6) should also be considered as a way to experience and enjoy Christ. First, we receive Christ as a portion of the good land, and then we walk in Him. We live, move, act, and have our being in Him as those living in the God-given good land. The children of Israel enjoyed the good land by tilling, sowing, watering, and harvesting the land. This is a type of the way to enjoy Christ.
To partake of Christ as the body of all the shadows of our necessities (vv. 16-17) is also a way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ. Our necessities include eating, drinking, a weekly rest, a monthly new beginning with light in the darkness, and yearly feasts. The Jews had a daily enjoyment in eating and drinking, a weekly enjoyment (the Sabbath) in being completed and resting, a monthly enjoyment (the new moon) with a new beginning with light in the darkness, and a yearly enjoyment with the annual feasts. Today Christ is our daily supply, our weekly rest, our monthly new beginning, and our yearly satisfaction. Christ is every kind of enjoyment to us. The enjoyments in the Jewish religion are merely shadows, but Christ is the body of all the shadows.
Another way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is by taking Christ as our life and living by Him that we may be glorified at His manifestation (3:4). Today we have Christ within us, and in the future we will be manifested with Christ in His glorification. We receive Him as our life and live by Him. While we are living by Him as our life, this life is saturating our being. This saturation will continue until our body is redeemed and glorified. That will be our manifestation with Christ in glory. Every day, especially every morning, we need to pray, “Lord, today is another day for me to take You as my life and to live by You.” This is one of the ways for us to enjoy and experience Christ.
Another practical way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is to rejoice always, pray unceasingly, give thanks to God in everything, not quench the Spirit, and not despise prophecies, that we may be wholly sanctified and saturated with the element of God’s holy nature in our spirit, soul, and body (1 Thes. 5:16-20, 23).
Such a practical way to enjoy Christ includes not despising prophecies. Every Lord’s Day morning we practice prophesying. Some of the prophecies may seem not to be very high. However, we must be careful not to despise them. If we despise them, we will suffer the loss of enjoying Christ’s dispensing. We must not despise any prophecy. To prophesy in 1 Thessalonians 5:20 refers not mainly to predicting but to speaking for the Lord. It is good for the new ones to speak a word for the Lord, even if their speaking is broken or very brief. It is very pleasant for them simply to say, “I love the Lord because He is good.” If we despise such a prophecy, we will offend the Lord. Even such a short speaking is out of the Spirit’s inspiration. Before the new ones were saved, they never said this, but now they can speak in this way with joy. We must regard such speakings and not despise them.
The practice of rejoicing always, praying unceasingly, giving thanks to God in everything, not quenching the Spirit, and not despising prophecies results in our being wholly sanctified and saturated with the element of God’s holy nature in our spirit, soul, and body. If we despise the prophesying of the new ones and criticize the prophesying meetings, we will miss the mark of sanctification and even suffer the loss of the dispensing for our constitution with the holy nature of God. However, if we say, “Praise the Lord! So many are speaking for the Lord,” we will receive Christ as our supply.
To call on the Lord out of a pure heart for the pursuing of His virtues (2 Tim. 2:22b) is also a way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ. We need to call continually, “O Lord Jesus!” out of a pure heart. This is for the pursuing of righteousness, faith, love, peace, and all the virtues of Christ.
Another way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is by the renewing of the Spirit, whom God pours out upon us richly (Titus 3:5-6). God’s pouring out of His Spirit is not once for all; it is continuous. Every day and every hour God’s pouring out of His Spirit continues. This outpoured Spirit renews us. We need to contact the Lord in order to keep receiving the outpouring of the Spirit, who renews us every moment and every day for our enjoyment of Christ.
To eat the word of righteousness as the solid food (Heb. 5:13-14) is a strong way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ. The word of righteousness is the solid food. Hebrews is divided into five sections, and each section ends with a warning concerning the coming kingdom (2:1-4; 3:7—4:13; 5:11—6:20; 10:19-39; 12:1-29). If we do not heed the warnings, we will suffer punishment and lose the kingdom in the millennium. Many in today’s Christianity not only do not understand this word but even oppose it. Some say that since the redemption accomplished by the blood of Jesus is perfect and complete and we have been washed by Him, we cannot be punished when Christ comes again. They say that if Christ can punish His redeemed ones, then His redemption is not complete. It is true that Christ’s redemption is complete, but Hebrews tells us that God disciplines those whom He receives (12:6). God’s discipline is not against Christ’s redemption. Moreover, there is no word in the New Testament that says that God disciplines His people only in this age and not in the next. In nearly every book of the New Testament we are warned concerning the possibility of being disciplined by God in the coming age. We must live a life of the highest righteousness. If we do, we will enter into the kingdom of the heavens and enjoy it as a reward (Matt. 5:20). Otherwise, according to the Lord’s word in the Gospels, we will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth, as a kind of discipline (25:30).
Many Christians will lose the kingdom as a reward, but they will still enjoy eternal redemption. The word concerning the kingdom is not “the good word of God” (Heb. 6:5); it is the word of righteousness. The good word of God is like milk. It is easy to receive, but it does not sustain long. Paul told the Hebrews that they had tasted of the heavenly gift, had become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and had tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come (vv. 4-5). However, he also told them that he had deeper things to say to them that they were not able to understand (5:10-12). The word of righteousness, on the other hand, is solid food (vv. 13-14). It is difficult to take, but it is solid and it sustains long.
Another way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is by taking the milk of the word as newborn babes for the growth in life unto salvation (1 Pet. 2:2). Experiencing Christ in this way is proper while we are still babes. After a certain period of time, however, we should not remain babes. We need to advance beyond 1 Peter 2:2 and proceed to Hebrews 5:13-14 to eat the word of righteousness.
Another wonderful way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is by abiding in the Lord according to the teaching of the divine anointing (1 John 2:27). There is a teaching within us that is not by man’s speaking but by the inward anointing. The Spirit who indwells us today is moving, acting, working, and operating in us as an anointing. The anointing is the action of the Spirit’s operation. In Philippians 2:13 Paul says that God operates in us both the willing and the working for His good pleasure. This operating within us is an anointing, and this anointing is a teaching. While we are combing our hair, the inner moving may teach us how to do it. This is the inner teaching that is not by a spoken word but by the operation of the anointing. In order to enjoy Christ, we must abide in Him according to the inward teaching of the anointing.
Another way, which is the overcoming way, to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is by overcoming the things that the Lord hates through the hearing of the speaking of the Spirit and the enjoyment of Christ as the tree of life and the hidden manna (Rev. 2—3). In Revelation 2:6 the Lord said, “This you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” The Lord hates the clergy-laity system, including the system of one man speaking, which annuls the functions of the other members of the Body of Christ. The things that the Lord hates also include even the Jewish and Christian religions. Both Judaism and organized Christianity are hateful in the eyes of Christ, and we must overcome them through the hearing of the speaking of the Spirit and the enjoyment of Christ as the tree of life and as the hidden manna. Seven times in Revelation 2—3 (2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21) the speaking One, the Lord Jesus, called for His overcomers to overcome all the negative things mentioned there, especially these two kinds of religions.
It is difficult for the members of a denomination to leave their denomination. It requires all their strength to overcome in this way. Even after leaving the denominations, to overcome the denominational things is still difficult. Some among us may still desire to keep the Lord’s Day morning meetings with one speaker. They may prefer this to a meeting where many prophesy. This desire is the tendency to go back to one item of today’s organized Christianity. If our eyes are opened, we will see that this is a hateful and abominable thing. It rejects the Head, kills the Body, and annuls all the functioning members. This is not a small matter.
We must overcome every item of every “ism” and every “anity.” If we do, we will be qualified to eat Christ as the tree of life and the hidden manna. Christ as both the tree of life and the hidden manna is the top portion for God’s elect to eat. However, many among God’s elect are not overcoming. The small remnant who do overcome will enjoy this particular portion given by God.
The ever-sustaining and satisfying way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is by drinking the Spirit as the flowing living water and eating Christ as the supplying tree of life (21:6b; 22:1-2, 14, 17). At the end of the Bible there is a river flowing out of the Triune God, and in this river the tree of life grows. The river signifies the Spirit of God, and the tree of life signifies Christ growing along the flow of the Spirit. These are two items of God’s supply. The river is to satisfy us and quench our thirst, and the tree of life is to fill us and strengthen us constantly. The river of life is the drink, and the tree of life is the food. This is our eternal enjoyment. For eternity we will be drinking of the living water and eating of the tree of life for our eternal enjoyment of Christ.
