Scripture Reading: Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:26-27, 31; 1 Cor. 15:55; Rev. 1:18; 20:13-14; Isa. 38:9-11, 18; Eph. 1:23; Col. 2:9; Rom. 8:10; 1 Cor. 2:14
When Christ was living on earth, He was a vessel for the life of God. He was God's expression and image. Colossians 2:9 says that in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. God is invisible, and He dwells in unapproachable light. However, He has deposited all His riches into Christ and has made Christ a visible man. Christ dwelt among men and manifested God's riches. Then one day Christ put all His riches into the church. His intention is for the church to express His riches and be His expression. Today, the church in turn becomes the vessel of Christ. All the riches of God are in Christ, and today all the riches of Christ are in the church. According to Ephesians 1:23, the church is "the fullness of the One who fills all in all." The church is not a refugee camp filled with poor and pitiful people. The church is filled with people who have the riches of Christ and who are the vessels of Christ. Why does the church exist on the earth today? The church exists to be a testimony of the riches of God.
The riches of God are in Christ, and the riches of Christ are manifested through the church. How does the church express Christ? Since the church is the testimony of the riches of God, its characteristics must be the characteristics of Christ. Then what are the characteristics of Christ? We can put it in a simple way: The characteristics of Christ are encapsulated in the words He said when He raised Lazarus from the dead, "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). Christ is the resurrection and the life. Since the church is the vessel of Christ on earth, it should express this life and resurrection. God intends for the church to manifest the life of Christ. Hence, the church must be full of life. In the church everything that issues from God is life, and everything that issues from Satan is death.
The main goal of the Lord coming to earth is for man to have life (John 10:10), that is, for man to receive God's life. The Gospel of John is a book on life; it is not on sin or other things. Almost every chapter concerns life and resurrection. God's Christ is life, and God's Christ is resurrection, and the church is the vessel of this life and resurrection. We know that a vessel is used to contain things. You cannot give water to others with your hands; you have to have a vessel to contain the water before others can receive it. Through the church — the vessel of Christ — God dispenses His life and riches to men.
Satan is God's rival. He attacks everything that God wants to do. Since God's goal today is the church, Satan's attacks are directed specifically against the church. Satan does not necessarily stumble Christians or the church with the enticement of sin or the world, because these things are too obvious. While we may be free from sin and not love the world, we can still be under Satan's attacks. A bottle with a five-inch mouth cannot be stopped with a one-inch cork. Dealing with sin and the world alone is not enough to stop the attacks of Satan. The ultimate weapon Satan uses to attack the church is death. Death is not easily identifiable; it can creep secretly into the church. This does not mean that Satan will not use the world and sin to attack the church. It means that Satan can use refined and moral things, not just filthy and treacherous sins to attack Christians. Many refined and moral things are filled with death, and Satan can easily utilize these deadly things to attack the church.
Matthew 16:18 says that the foundation of the Lord's church is Christ the Rock, and the gates of Hades cannot prevail against this church. Hades is death. If the church has its roots in heaven, it will be impossible to cut it off from heaven, because like a great heavenly banyan tree, its roots are entrenched and death cannot prevail against it. The only reason that death cannot prevail over the church is that the church is built upon Christ the Rock. Isaiah 38 mentions Hezekiah's illness and his recovery. It shows us that Satan is most afraid when a godly man defies death. Many Christians can tell the difference between hot and cold; they know whether or not a sermon is well-delivered. But it is hard for them to distinguish between death and resurrection. But if the church is built on Christ the Rock, it will distinguish between death and life, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
Romans 8:10 corresponds with John 12:25. Romans 8:10 is on the body and the spirit, while John 12 is on the soul, both the preserving and the losing of the soul. In both cases the end result is related to death and resurrection. Everything that issues from the body or from the soul results in death, which is Hades, whereas everything that issues from the spirit results in life. A man may be very talkative; he may be very wordy and may love to speak vain and improper words. A man also may be clear in logic and excellent in eloquence. All these things are but the products of the flesh, the soul, and the natural life. None of them is of the spirit or of Christ. Hence, there is no life; there is only death. A Christian should not ask whether a thing is good or evil but should ask from where a thing originates. Does it originate from the natural life, the flesh, the soul, or does it originate from the spirit? Of all the things that a Christian possesses, only those that originate from the spirit are of life, and only they can give others life. Nothing else — no matter how good, profitable, or nice — gives life.
Soon after I was saved, I became very interested in Bible exposition. I studied the different ways to outline the Scriptures. I studied the different ways to quote Scriptures and use parables. When I listened to others' messages, I would criticize them and label them good or bad, right or wrong. I tried to collect more material from others so that I could be as good as they were. Even in listening to Miss Barber, I held the same attitude. Many times I did not appreciate the messages of others. At that time I could not tell the difference between life and death. I thought that the most important thing was logic and teaching. After listening to Miss Barber for two years, I was invited once by her to speak. She wanted to see how well I spoke. I did my best to prepare for it; I felt good about my own speaking. The ideas were clear, the logic lucid, the explanations thorough, and the examples appropriate. After I delivered my message, I thought she would surely commend me a little. But she did not say a word and acted as if nothing had happened. I said in my heart, "Even if the message was not good, you should say something about it." But she simply did not mention it at all. One day, as I was walking with her in the courtyard, she turned to me and said, "If you realize someday that ideas alone are not good enough, it will be a wonderful day." I was puzzled by what she said, and I did not appreciate it. I said in my heart, "Didn't you use illustrations and quote Scriptures in your sermons? What is the difference?" At that time I did not understand what she meant, but today I do. There was life in her messages, but there were only ideas without life in my messages. Her words caused others to touch life, while my words only caused others to touch knowledge.
Once I invited a doctor of theology to Miss Barber's meeting and asked that he be given the opportunity to speak, and I translated for him. After the message I asked Miss Barber, "How was it?" She said, "It was sad!" I asked her why, and she pointed to a door that was chained shut and said, "Something good, but not moving." I was again upset by her remark. I told another brother, "This man has spoken only once. Can she possibly know all about him?" But today I know what she was talking about. Everything depends on life. If there is no life, all we have is death.
The church does not need good doctrines, good theology, or wonderful expositions. The church needs life, the resurrection life of Christ. No doctrine, idea, theology, or exposition can replace the life of Christ. Only the life of Christ and that which issues from it will prevail against the gates of Hades. Everything else is just disguised forms of death and cannot withstand the attacks of Satan. May the Lord be merciful to us, and may He keep us from touching death or bringing death into the church. May God fill the church with life, and may Satan find no opening to attack the church.
