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Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in those who are perishing, in whom the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers that the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. Because the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us. (2 Cor. 4:3-7)
These verses tell us that Satan, the god of this age, blinds the minds of the unbelievers, lest “the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ” should shine on them. The enemy is afraid of the shining of the gospel of the glory of such a Christ. The gospel of the glory of Christ in verse 4 corresponds to the knowledge of the glory of God in verse 6. The treasure is the very God in Christ who has shined Himself into us, the earthen vessels.
We have seen the economy of God and the mark of His economy. We have pointed out that the main thing in the economy of God is that God intends to work Himself into us. He works Himself into our different parts through His different persons. If we read the Scriptures carefully, we will realize that this is the main thing. I have such a burden that I could say this to the Lord’s children hundreds of times, yes, thousands of times: in the whole universe God’s intention is nothing other than to work Himself into man.
For what purpose did God create man? It is only that man might be His container. I like to use this word container because it is clearer than the word vessel. It is clearly seen in Romans 9:21 and 23 and 2 Corinthians 4:7 that God created us to be His containers in order to contain Himself. We are only empty containers, and God intends to be our only content. To illustrate, bottles are necessary to contain beverages, and light bulbs are necessary to contain electricity. If we look at the bottles made for beverages or the light bulbs made for electricity, we will realize that these “peculiar” containers are quite specific articles; they were made for a particular use. We people are also “peculiar” containers, for we too were made for a specific purpose. The bulbs once made must now contain electricity; otherwise, they would be meaningless and good for nothing. Likewise, if the bottles never contain a beverage, they also would become meaningless. Man was made purposely to contain God. If we do not contain God and know God as our content, we are a senseless contradiction.
Regardless of how much education we may obtain, what kind of position we may have, or how much wealth we may possess, we are still meaningless, since we were purposely made as a container to contain God as our sole content. As containers, we must receive God into our being. Although this word may seem simple, it is the exact word needed to point out the main thought of the whole Scripture. The basic teaching of the whole Scripture is simply this: God is the very content, and we are the containers made to receive this content. We must contain God and be filled with God.
In order that God may put Himself into us as our content, He must exist in three persons. We can never adequately understand the mystery of God’s three persons. We are told clearly in several places in the Scriptures that God is only one God. First Corinthians 8:4 and 6 and 1 Timothy 2:5 declare this. But in the first chapter of Genesis the pronoun used for God is not the singular I but the plural Us.
Let us read Genesis 1:26 and 27: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...God created man in His own image.” In verse 26 it says, “In Our image,” whereas in the following verse it says, “In His own image.” Please tell me, is God singular or plural? Who can explain this? God Himself used the plural pronoun for Himself: “Let Us make man in Our image.” But if you say God is more than one, you are a heretic, because the Bible tells us God is only one. In the whole universe there is not more than one God. Why, then, if God is only one, is the plural pronoun used?
Everyone who is familiar with Hebrew can tell us that the word God in Genesis 1 is in the plural number. The Hebrew word for God in the first verse, “in the beginning God created,” is Elohim, which is in the plural number. However, the word created in Hebrew is a predicate in the singular number. This is very strange. The grammatical composition of this verse is a subject in the plural number but a verb in the singular number. No one can argue with this; it is proven by the Hebrew. Then, I ask, is God one or three?
Now let us read Isaiah 9:6: “A child is born to us, / A son is given to us;... / And His name will be called... / Mighty God, / Eternal Father.” It does not say “mighty man” but “Mighty God.” A little child is called Mighty God. All Christians agree with the prophecy of this verse. The child mentioned here refers to the child born in the manger at Bethlehem, who is not only named Mighty God but also Eternal Father. As a child born to us, He is called Mighty God, and as a Son given to us, He is called Eternal Father (or the Father of Eternity). This is very strange. When the child is called Mighty God, is He a child or God? And when the Son is called Eternal Father, is He the Son or the Father? If you try to figure it out, you cannot do it. You must take it as a fact, unless, of course, you do not believe the Scriptures. If you believe the authority of the Scriptures, you must accept the fact that since the child is called Mighty God, it means the child is the Mighty God, and since the Son is called the Father, it means the Son is the Father. If the child is not the Mighty God, how could the child be called Mighty God? And if the Son is not the Father, how could the Son be called Eternal Father? Then, how many Gods do we have? We have only one God, because the child Jesus is the Mighty God, and the Son is the Eternal Father.
Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” According to our understanding, who is the Lord? We all agree that the Lord is Jesus Christ. But it says the Lord is the Spirit. Who is the Spirit? We have to admit that the Spirit must be the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Son is called the Father, and the Son, who is the very Lord, is also the Spirit. This means the Father, Son, and Spirit are one. We emphasize this matter because it is by His different persons that God works out His economy. Without these different persons — the person of the Father, the person of the Son, and the person of the Spirit — God could never bring Himself into us.
Matthew 28:19 says, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” It does not say, “Baptizing them into the name of any one divine person,” nor does it say, “Into the names,” but “into the name [singular] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Why do we need to be baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Spirit? Furthermore, if we check the original Greek, we will discover that the preposition in, used in the King James Version, is the preposition into or unto (eis). Hence, it reads, “Baptized into the name,” not “in the name.” The same word is used in Romans 6:3, “baptized into Christ Jesus,” which is the proper translation. What does all this mean?
Let me illustrate it in this way: If you buy a watermelon, your intention is to eat and digest this melon. In other words, your intention is to work this melon into you. How can this be done? First, you buy the whole melon; second, you cut it into slices; then, thirdly, before this melon enters your stomach, you chew it until it becomes juice. The sequence is melon, slices, and finally juice. Are these three different things or just one? I believe this is the best illustration of the Trinity. Most melons are larger than your stomach. How can you swallow a large melon when your mouth is so small and your throat is so slender? Before a melon can become the proper size for you to eat, it must be cut into slices. Then, once it is eaten, it becomes juice. Are the slices not the melon? And is the juice not the melon? If we say that they are not, we must be most ignorant.
The Father is illustrated by the whole melon, the Son by the slices, and finally, the Spirit by the juice. Now we see the point: The Father is not only the Father but is also the Son. And the Son is not only the Son but is also the Spirit. In other words, this melon is also the slices to eat and the juice within us. The melon disappears after it is eaten. Originally, the melon was on the table, but after being eaten, the melon is in the whole family.
In the Gospel of John the Father is in the first chapters, the Son as the expression of the Father is in the succeeding chapters, and eventually, the Spirit as the breath of the Son is in 20:22. This one Gospel reveals the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Read the entire twenty-one chapters in this book. First, it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us” (1:1, 14). This very Word, who is God Himself, one day became a man and dwelt among us — not within us but among us. Then He lived on the earth for thirty-three and a half years. He eventually died and was raised again. This is mysterious, miraculous, wonderful; we can never fathom it. The evening after His resurrection He came to His disciples in His resurrected body. All the doors were shut, yet He entered in bodily and showed to the disciples His hands and His side. We cannot comprehend this. He came in a very miraculous and mysterious way. Finally, He breathed into the disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. That very breath was the Holy Spirit, like the juice of the melon.
From that time, I would ask you, where was Jesus in the Gospel of John? After He came to the disciples, this Gospel never mentions the ascension of Jesus to the heavens. Then where was this Wonderful One at the end of this Gospel? Like the watermelon in the stomach, He was within the disciples through the Spirit as the breath.
God’s economy is to work Himself into us by means of His three persons. There is need of the three persons of the Godhead, for without these three persons, God could never be wrought into us. It is just like the illustration of the melon. Without being cut into slices and received as juice, the watermelon could never be wrought into us. God could be wrought into us only by His three different persons.
Let us now turn to ourselves and consider what we are as containers. Do not think that we are so simple. I believe the medical doctors could tell us that the human body is very delicate and complicated. A human being is not a simple container, like a bottle containing a beverage; on the contrary, man has many different parts. This is why we must know the different parts of man as well as the three persons of God in order to hit the mark of God’s economy. God’s economy involves His three persons, and the mark of His economy involves our different parts.
Many of us drive a car, but it is impossible to drive a car unless we know some of its parts. We must learn at least the essential parts for its operation. For example, we need to identify and locate such parts as the brake, the gear shift, the ignition, etc. If we do not know the parts of the car, we do not know how to operate it. Likewise, in order for us to realize how we can contain God, we must know the different parts of our being.
Consider how many parts are found in a short passage in 2 Corinthians 4. In verse 4 there are the thoughts, and in verse 6 there is the heart. At least two parts, the mind and the heart, are found in this passage. Perhaps you have been a Christian for many years, and up to this very time you do not know the difference between the mind and the heart. We read that the mind could be blinded by the enemy, and the heart could be enlightened by the light of God. The god of this age blinds the minds of the unbelievers, but God shines His light into the hearts of the believers. Perhaps you thought that you understood this part of the Word but never considered that here are two parts of the human being.
Before defining the mind and the heart from the Scriptures, let us use a camera as an illustration. A camera is made to take something in. To take a picture means to take something into the camera. When I visited Tokyo, I used my camera to take Tokyo in. My intention was that an image outside the camera should be brought inside the camera.
What was necessary for me to take a picture into the camera? Three main things are needed: the lens without, the film within, and the light. With these three things, an object can be taken into the camera. Several years ago when I was traveling on a train, I took some pictures. After the film was processed, many of the pictures were blank. What had happened? I discovered that I was in such a hurry to take the pictures that I forgot to take the cover off the lens. The lens was “blinded” by the covering.
Many times when an unbeliever comes to hear a good message of the gospel, we think, “Tonight this man will surely be saved.” But eventually, he is still “blank.” The enemy of God has blinded his mind. The mind is the understanding organ, and Satan has blinded the understanding of this listener. Regardless of how good the message is and how much he has heard, his understanding has been blinded, or covered. His mind is still a blank; nothing has been taken in.
Thirty years ago Brother Watchman Nee was preaching the gospel, telling people that God’s intention is not for us to do good. Good does not mean anything to God. He stressed this point so much that it was very clear. A brother had brought a friend to the meeting, and looking at his friend from time to time during the message, he noticed that he was always nodding his head positively as if he understood. The brother was so happy, thinking that his friend was listening carefully and taking everything in. Do you know what happened? Afterward the brother asked his friend, “What do you think about the message?” He replied, “Yes, all religions encourage people to do good.” But in his message Brother Nee had stressed so clearly that God has no intention to require man to do good. This man’s reply indicated that his understanding was blinded by the enemy. Many times we need to pray that God would bind the god of this age and bind his blinding work during a message. This simply means to take the cover off the lens.
After the cover is taken off, we need the right kind of film. Without the proper film, even though the lens is right, it will not work. We cannot receive a proper picture if we are using the wrong film. The film illustrates our heart. Our mind is like the lens, and our heart is like the film. Therefore, our heart must be tuned and adjusted properly. We need the lens, and we also need the film. We need the understanding mind, and we need the receiving heart. The heart must be pure, clean, right, and adjusted.
Yet even if we have the lens and the film, we still need the light. We need the light to shine through the lens and onto the film. The divine light of God’s glory shines in us to give the image and picture of Christ. This very image of Christ is the treasure in the earthen vessels. Through this illustration we can realize how to deal with our mind and our heart. It is just like the camera: we must know how to adjust the lens and how to use the film. If we do not know how to handle the lens and the film, we can never receive a proper picture.
Spiritual experiences are just like taking pictures. We ourselves are the cameras, and we must learn how to use our camera in order to receive God in Christ as the picture. It is regrettable that so many dear Christians simply do not know how to handle their minds and their hearts. In fact, they do not even know that they themselves are cameras.
Christianity is not, strictly speaking, a religion teaching people to do this and to do that. It is simply Christ Himself, the living One, being wrought into us. He is the very object, the very figure, and we are the camera. As the object, He must be wrought into us by the shining of the divine light through the lens onto the film. Day by day and moment by moment, we need the divine light to shine more of the image of Christ through the understanding of the mind that we may receive Him into our heart. Therefore, we must learn how to adjust the mind and the heart.
What are the spiritual experiences? They are simply the pictures of Christ taken into us, the camera, and impressed upon our spiritual film. With some Christians the lens is nearly always covered, and the film is usually improperly adjusted. If you look at their film, there is no picture; every photo of the film is blank, because there are no experiences of Christ. But if the apostle Paul came and we opened his camera and took out the film, we would find that every photo is a picture full of Christ. Everything depends on how much we adjust the lens and take care of the film — that is, how much we deal with our mind and properly tune our heart. If we do this well, whenever the divine light shines upon us, the image of Christ will be shined into us. We will have a beautiful picture of Christ. This is God’s economy with its mark.
Now we know the importance of learning our different parts. We were made to contain God in every part. We must go on to know them all — more than even the mind and heart. In the next chapter we will consider in detail all the parts, and later, how they function and how to adjust them.
