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Scripture Reading: Eph. 3:16-21; 1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17
In the second half of Ephesians 3 Paul prays that the believers would have a deep, spiritual experience. This experience is not something ordinary or superficial; it is not an experience of so-called blessings related to joy, peace, material profit, or even spiritual profit. Paul’s prayer is for us to practically experience the riches of Christ in our regenerated spirit. This is the deepest part of our being, the place where the Lord Jesus indwells us as life.
Many Christians, however, are influenced by their cultural background and religious environment, including the rituals and methods of traditional Christianity. Consequently, they fall into superficial and specious experiences, and it is not easy to enter into the experience that is spoken of in the second half of Ephesians 3. Over the past four thousand years of human history, many cultural concepts have developed. Among the Chinese, these concepts include self-cultivation, self-discipline, self-restraint, and the development of the bright virtue. Although these ideas are noble, they do not reflect God’s economy. God’s economy is not about developing a bright virtue that expresses our innate knowledge of good and our innate ability to do good; God’s economy involves God working Himself in Christ into us.
Religion with its teachings and beliefs can also be a distraction from God’s economy. Religion talks about the existence of God, so man restricts himself according to his religious beliefs of God, particularly in regard to keeping regulations and commandments related to doing good and avoiding evil. This is religion, but it is not God’s economy. God’s economy does not involve us merely worshipping God or teaching others about God; it involves Christ being worked into us. Although traditional Christianity speaks to people about the true God and presents the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, this gospel is still superficial and short of God’s economy. God’s economy is not focused on redemption but on Christ being worked into us.
Even in the church we may still adhere to rituals and methods without truly entering into God’s economy. For example, we need to practice the release of our spirit, but this does not mean merely being loud in a meeting. Being loud can simply be a new method that frustrates and replaces God’s economy.
We must be cautious and not be distracted by human culture, religion, Christianity, or even our own methods so that we do not deviate from God’s economy. God’s economy is to work the Lord Himself into us; He is a real and living Spirit. First Corinthians 15:45 says, “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit,” and 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” Praise the Lord, as the Spirit He can enter into our spirit and make His home in our hearts.
It is quite interesting that the Chinese words for spirit and electricity are composed with the same radical root. Some of the spirit’s functions are similar to that of electricity. Electricity can generate light and heat, produce power, and be used in communication. Likewise, the Lord is the Spirit today, and He is in us to generate light and heat so that we may be empowered. Moreover, as the Spirit He enables us to have fellowship with Him. God’s economy is to work the Lord, who is the Spirit, into us.
Our words, thoughts, and deeds should not be according to ourselves but according to the Spirit within us. When we make a telephone call, we need to pick up the handset, wait for the sound of a connection, and then dial a number before we talk on the telephone. Similarly, before we speak to others, we should contact the Spirit, wait for a connection, and then speak according to Him. If we are not connected to the Spirit, our speaking will be according to ourselves, not the Spirit. When we exercise our spirit in this way, the Spirit will gradually enter into our mind, emotion, and will. A person who walks according to the Spirit in his spirit has a will that is both strong yet not hard and that is pliable yet not soft, and when he is in the midst of a particular situation, his thoughts and considerations are according to the spirit. He speaks according to the spirit and reacts according to the spirit. This is what the Lord desires to see worked out in our experience today. God’s economy is not about speaking in tongues or calling loudly. Neither is it a matter of merely studying the Scriptures to understand doctrines; God’s economy is for us to turn to our spirit and to give the Spirit room in our being so that Christ can make His home in our hearts. We need to do all things in the spirit and according to the spirit. Even in trivial matters, such as reading the newspaper, going to department stores, and putting on shoes, we need to be according to the spirit. If we have such a living, our meetings will be rich, and the church will be spiritual.
The Lord is the living Spirit who is living in us. If we give Him room in our being, He will occupy our mind, emotion, and will little by little and gradually make His home in our hearts. Even though the Lord may have been living in us for a long period of time, has He made His home in us? Or are we still making all the decisions? We can yield to Him in every matter because He is the living Spirit. If we cooperate with Him and walk according to the Spirit, our troubles will be His troubles, and His joy will be our joy. He will bear our burden and even bear us. Furthermore, all our outward actions and expressions will originate from the shining of the Spirit within. Just as a light bulb shines with the expression of light when electricity passes through it, we will shine forth Christ and express Him when we walk according to our spirit.
Then our move will be His expression because we will be one with Him and He will be one with us. Then we will be able to say, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). We also will be able to say, “To me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). Furthermore, we will live according to our spirit and even minister life to others so that their spirit is enlivened by Christ, the living Spirit.
When we experience Christ in this way, the sharing in the meetings will be rich, and we will be filled unto all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19). The riches of Christ will fill us within so that we become the fullness of God, which is the expression of God. This is God’s economy. Although this sounds difficult, God is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power which operates in us (v. 20). When we experience the riches of Christ and express and shine forth Christ from within, God will be glorified and expressed in the church and in Christ Jesus.
