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Having considered Christ’s person in the Godhead, we shall go on in this message to see Christ’s person in the divine economy. The aspects of Christ’s person in the Godhead are deep, but the aspects of Christ’s person in the divine economy are even deeper.
What is the divine economy? The divine economy is God’s household management, God’s household administrative arrangement, the divine dispensation. In 1 Timothy 1:4 we see God’s household administration, which is to dispense Himself into His children so that He may have a household, the church, to express Himself.
The English word “economy” is an anglicized form of the Greek word oikonomia, which is composed of two words: oikos, meaning house, and nomos, meaning law. Hence, oikonomia refers to the house arrangement, household management or administration. The word denotes the management and distribution of the wealth of a rich household. Joseph in the Old Testament, for example, was the administrator of Pharaoh’s house, which was so rich that it could supply other nations. There was the need of some management and administration in order to distribute the riches of Pharaoh’s house. This illustration helps us to see that oikonomia is a household management to distribute and dispense the riches of the house.
Our Father has a great house with a vast store of the unsearchable riches of Christ. This great house needs some administration, some management, to dispense all these riches into God’s people for the producing of the church as the corporate expression of the Triune God. God’s economy, therefore, is His household administration to dispense Himself in Christ into His chosen people so that He may have a house, a household, to express Himself, which household is the church, the Body of Christ. In this message we need to see Christ in this divine economy.
In the divine economy Christ is God’s Anointed, the Messiah. Concerning this, John 1:41 says, “He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah (which translated means Christ).” Messiah is Hebrew; Christ is Greek. Both mean “the anointed.” Christ is God’s Anointed, the One appointed by God to accomplish God’s purpose, His eternal plan.
In John 20:31 we see that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: “These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” The Christ is the title of the Lord according to His office, His mission. The Son of God is His title according to His person. He is the Son of God to be the Christ of God.
In Matthew 16 Peter received a revelation from the Father concerning Jesus being the Christ. Prior to this chapter, the Lord had been with His disciples for a period of time. During this time, they came to know Him rather well. Nevertheless, one day He took these disciples far away from the holy city and the holy temple to Caesarea Philippi, and there He asked them a question: “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” (Matt. 16:13). They replied, “Some, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets” (v. 14). All these answers were according to the natural, religious mentality. The Lord then directed the question to them: “But you, who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). Then Peter declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). Here the definite article before the word “Christ” is very important. Its importance is explained as follows. Christ is the anglicized form of the Greek word Christos, which is equivalent to the Hebrew Messiah. As we have indicated, both Messiah in Hebrew and Christos in Greek mean the anointed One. The term Messiah, the anointed One, is used in Daniel 9:26, which says, “After threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself.” This refers to Jesus Christ, who is the anointed One.
According to the Old Testament principle, anyone used by God to carry out His administration had to be anointed. Thus, the kings, priests, and prophets were all anointed when they came into function. This indicates that the anointing is for the carrying out of God’s administration. For the carrying out of God’s administration, His economy, Christ is God’s Anointed.
The title Christ refers to the Lord’s commission. His commission is to accomplish God’s eternal purpose through His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and second advent. When this anointed One was crucified, He was carrying out His function as the Christ. Not only His death but also His resurrection and ascension were part of His function. Therefore, Christ, the anointed One, carried out His function through crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension so that God may dispense Himself into us for the producing of the church. From this we see that the Lord is the anointed One to accomplish God’s purpose to dispense Himself into us. Through the function of Christ, the anointed One, the Triune God is dispensed into us for the producing of the church.
As the One anointed by God Christ is the appointed One. His appointment is related to His commission. Christ has been appointed to carry out the intention of God, the Appointer. Therefore, as God’s anointed One, the Messiah, Christ has been commissioned by God to carry out the desire of His heart.
In the divine economy Christ is the One having the preeminence in all things. The book of Colossians reveals that Christ is preeminent, that He has the first place in everything. Colossians 1:18 says, “And He is the Head of the Body, the church; who is the beginning, Firstborn from among the dead, that He might have the first place in all things.” Both in the first creation and in the new creation Christ occupies the first place. In Colossians 1:15 we are told that Christ is the Firstborn of all creation, and in verse 18, that He is the Firstborn from among the dead. The new creation of God is by resurrection. For Christ to be preeminent in the new creation means that He is the first in resurrection. That Christ is the first both in creation and in resurrection means that He is the first both in the old creation, the universe, and in the new creation, the church. The universe is the environment in which the church exists as the Body of Christ to express Christ. Christ is first not only in the church, the Body, but also first in the environment, the universe. This means that He is first, preeminent, in everything.
We need to see that in the divine economy Christ occupies the first place, the place of preeminence, in both the old creation and the new creation. Both in the universe and in the church Christ is the preeminent One. If we see this as a vision, not as a mere doctrine, our living and our church life will be revolutionized. We shall realize that in all things Christ must be the first. He must be the first in our married life, family life, business life, and school life. He must have the preeminence in the universe, in the church, and in every aspect of our daily living.
In Colossians 1:18 Paul says concerning Christ, “That He might have the first place in all things.” In the Bible to be the first is to be all. Because Christ is the first both in the universe and in the church, He must be all things in the universe and in the church. As the first, He is all. God’s way of reckoning in this matter is different from ours. According to our estimation, if Christ is the first, then something else should be the second, third, and others in sequence. However, from God’s point of view, for Christ to be the first means that He is all.
The first Adam included not only Adam as an individual but all of mankind. In the same principle, in the sight of God the firstborn of the Egyptians included all the Egyptians. The firstborn includes all. Therefore, for Christ to be the Firstborn in the universe means that He is everything in the universe. In like manner, for Christ to be the Firstborn in resurrection means that He is everything in resurrection. For Christ to be the Firstborn both of the old creation and of the new creation means that He is everything both in the old creation and the new creation. This corresponds to Paul’s word in Colossians 3:11, where he says that in the new man, in the new creation, “there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all and in all.” In the new man Christ is everyone and in everyone. In the new creation there is room only for Christ.
In the divine economy Christ is the Head and center of all things. Ephesians 1:22 says, “And He subjected all things under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church.” God has seated Christ at His right hand in the heavenlies, subjected all things under His feet, and made Him Head over all things to the church. The headship over all things has been given to Christ as a gift from God. This does not mean that God gave Christ to the church as a gift; it means that God gave Christ a gift — the headship over all things. According to this understanding, a great gift was given to Christ by God, and this great gift was the headship over all things. The little word “to” in Ephesians 1:22 signifies the identification and oneness of the church with Christ, Christ is the Head over all things to the church, which is His Body.
Ephesians 1:10 says, “Unto a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.” We have seen that God has made Christ the Head over all things. Through all the dispensations of God in all the ages, all things will be headed up in Christ in the new heaven and the new earth. This will be God’s eternal administration and economy. The Greek word rendered “dispensation” in this verse may also be translated “economy.” The economy, or dispensation, which God purposed in Himself is to head up all things in Christ at the fullness of the times.
The entire universe is under Christ’s heading up. However, many things are still in a state of collapse because the process of the heading up of all things in Christ has not yet been completed. At the economy of the fullness of times everything will be headed up in Christ. Nothing will continue to be in a state of collapse, and nothing will fall. In Christ God will head up all things. The following stanzas from Hymns 981 speak of this:
In His Christ to head up all things
Is our God’s economy;
Taking Christ as Head and Center,
All is one in harmony.
Christ as Head will be the Center;
God within will be the Light;
Christ enthroned, with God, His substance,
Will fulfill His heart’s delight.
Ephesians 1:10 indicates that in the divine economy Christ is not only the Head of all things but also the center of all things. Christ is the center for the heading up of all things in Himself. We may use the hub of a wheel as an illustration. The hub is the center of a wheel in which all the spokes subsist. If the hub were removed, the spokes would collapse. The hub is the center for the subsistence of the spokes. We may say that as the center of all things Christ is the “hub” of all things; in Him all things subsist (Col. 1:17).
According to Ephesians 1:23, the church, Christ’s Body, is “the fullness of the One who fills all in all.” The Body of Christ is His fullness. The fullness of Christ issues from the enjoyment of the riches of Christ. Through the enjoyment of Christ’s riches we become His fullness to express Him. This is the fullness of Christ as the One who fills all in all. Christ, who is the infinite God without limitation, is so great that He fills all things in all things. Such a great Christ needs the church to be His fullness for His complete expression.
It is in the transmission from the ascended Christ to the church that the Body of Christ is the fullness of the One who fills all in all, because the Christ who fills all in all is in the transmission. The transmission connects us to the all-filling Christ. In this way the church becomes the fullness of the all-filling Christ.
Ephesians 4:10 says, “He who descended is the same who also ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.” First Christ descended from heaven to earth in His incarnation. Then He descended further, from earth to Hades, in His death. Eventually, He ascended from Hades to the earth in His resurrection and from the earth to heaven in His ascension. Through such a journey Christ cut the way so that He might fill all things.
The thought in Ephesians 4:10 is profound. Christ was in the heavens. Through incarnation He came down to earth as a man and lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years. Then He died on the cross, descended into Hades, ascended in resurrection from Hades to earth, and then ascended to the third heaven. By means of such a traffic of descending and ascending He fills all things. Now Christ is everywhere, on the earth as well as in the heavens.
Christ is the First and Last (Rev. 2:8; 1:17; 22:13). For Christ to be the First means that none is before Him, and for Him to be the Last means that none is after Him. The Lord told the suffering church in Smyrna that He is the First and the Last. This indicates that no matter how great were the sufferings through which He passed, those sufferings could not terminate or damage Him. He was the First, and eventually He was also the Last. In suffering the church needs to know that Christ is the First and the Last, the ever-existing, unchanging One. Whatever the environment may be He remains the same. Nothing can precede Him, and nothing can exist after Him. All things are within the limit of His control.
When the Lord told the church in Smyrna that He was the First and the Last, He was indicating that the church should be victorious, not defeated by any kind of suffering. The church should pass through all suffering and come to the end, because the Lord, who is the life and Head of the church, is the First and the Last.
Christ is not only the First and the Last but also the beginning and the end (Rev. 22:13c). Christ is not only the First but also the beginning, not only the Last but also the end. The First indicates that nothing is before Him, whereas the beginning means that He is the origination of all things. The Last indicates that none is after Him, whereas the end means that He is the consummation of all things. Hence, not only is there nothing before or after the Lord Jesus, but also there is no origination or consummation without Him.
In addition to being the First and the Last, and the beginning and the end, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 22:13a). We may be troubled by these terms and think that they are repetitious and that the beginning, the First, and the Alpha are the same and that the end, the Last, and the Omega are the same. But this is not a matter of repetition but of different aspects. Being the first does not necessarily mean that one is the beginning. Being the first simply means that one is the first and that prior to that one there was nothing. However, to be the beginning does not mean only that one is the first but that also one has begun something. What, then, is the difference between the Alpha and the beginning? A certain thing may be the beginning, but it may have neither the content nor the continuation. For Christ to be the Alpha and the Omega means that He is the complete content and continuation. As the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, Christ is also every other letter in the alphabet. This means that Christ is the content and continuation of God’s operation, for He is not only the beginning and the ending but also the Alpha and the Omega.
In order for Christ to be the beginning and the ending, it was necessary for Him to take certain actions. Christ is not only the First but also the beginning, the beginning of God’s economy and God’s operation. God’s operation began with Christ, and it will end with Christ. Actually, in the divine economy Christ is all-inclusive. He is the First and the Last, the beginning and the ending, of God’s operation, and He is the content and continuation of whatever God is doing. Because the Greek letters from Alpha to Omega comprise all the letters of the Greek alphabet, we may say that in God’s economy Christ is every letter for the composing of words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, and books. He is the element for composing the story of our life.
The very Lord whom we serve is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the first letter, the last letter, and all the letters in between. This means that He is able to accomplish everything in the divine economy. Christ is the all-inclusive One, the One who is the First and the Last, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. Through Him we enjoy the dispensing of the Triune God.
Colossians 1:12 says, “Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the portion of the saints in the light.” The portion of the saints here is the all-inclusive Christ for our enjoyment. The Father has qualified us not to inherit some heavenly mansion, but to have a share in Christ as the all-inclusive portion of the saints. We can boldly declare that Christ is now our all-inclusive portion.
The Greek word rendered “portion” in Colossians 1:12 may also be translated “allotment.” The Greek word here corresponds to the Hebrew word used for the allotment of the good land. After the children of Israel entered into the land of Canaan, the land became their lot, their portion. Each of the tribes was given an allotment of the land. Of course, our portion, our allotment, today is not a physical land in Palestine; it is the all-inclusive Christ. The good land flowing with milk and honey is an all-inclusive type of Christ. As our good land, Christ is our portion, the portion of the saints. How we must thank the Father for giving us Christ as our divine allotment!
Each of the tribes had an allotment of the good land, and the members of each tribe had a share of this allotment. In the same principle, we have a share of the portion of the saints. This means that we all have a share in Christ as the all-inclusive One for our enjoyment.
God’s promise to Abraham with respect to the good land is of great significance (Gen. 12:1). When Paul was writing the Epistle to the Colossians and was speaking of the portion of the saints, he no doubt had in mind the picture of the allotting of the good land to the children of Israel in the Old Testament. Paul used the word “portion” with the Old Testament record concerning the land as the background. God gave His chosen people, the children of Israel, the good land for their inheritance and enjoyment. The land meant everything to them. Today Christ is our portion, our allotment, our everything, just as the land was all things to the children of Israel. The land provided whatever the children of Israel needed: milk, honey, water, cattle, grain, minerals. In writing to the Colossians Paul employed the concept of the all-inclusive land to help us see that today Christ alone is our all-inclusive portion.
As our portion, Christ includes all the other aspects of His person in the divine economy: God’s Anointed, the One having the preeminence in all things, the Head and center of all things, the One who fills all in all, the First and the Last, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. Such a Christ is our portion, and we are enjoying Him. All the aspects of Christ in the divine economy are meaningful in and applicable to our daily life, and they all should become our subjective experience and enjoyment.
In God’s economy Christ is not only the portion of the saints; He is also the glory of Israel, God’s chosen people (Luke 2:32). When He was presented to God as a child in the temple at Jerusalem, the old, righteous and devout man, Simeon, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, extolled Him, not only as the light of the Gentiles but also as the glory of God’s people, Israel. In the Old Testament Jehovah God considered Himself the glory of Israel (Jer. 2:11). In His incarnation He was extolled by a Spirit-inspired man as the same One. This indicates that the newborn Christ, as the very Jehovah God, should have been recognized and honored as God expressed among them to be their glory.
Luke 2:25 tells us that the old, righteous and devout Simeon was looking for the consolation of Israel. Christ is not only the glory of Israel outwardly; He is also the consolation of Israel inwardly. Without Him even God’s chosen people do not have the outward glory or the inward consolation. The incarnated Christ is both their glory that uplifts them and their consolation that comforts them. This is all under God’s arrangement in His economy.
