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Scripture Reading: Col. 2:2-3, 9; Eph. 3:4-6, 9-11; 1:23
Colossians 2:2-3 says, “The mystery of God, Christ, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.” Verse 9 says, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” The mystery of God is Christ because all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him.
Ephesians 3:4 says, “By which, in reading it, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ.” This verse speaks of another mystery. Colossians speaks of the mystery of God, whereas this verse in Ephesians speaks of the mystery of Christ. If the mystery of God is Christ, what is the mystery of Christ? The mystery of Christ was not made known to the sons of men in other generations, but it “has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit, that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the Body and fellow partakers of the promise through the gospel” (3:5-6). Fellow heirs refers to the one Body, the church. Therefore, the mystery of Christ is the church.
Verses 9 through 11 speak further of enlightening “all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things, in order that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies the multifarious wisdom of God might be made known through the church, according to the eternal purpose which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This portion also shows that the mystery of Christ is the church.
Verses 22 and 23 of chapter 1 say, “The church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.” The One who fills all in all is Christ, and the church is the fullness of Christ, just as Christ is the fullness of God. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily; hence, Christ is the mystery of God. Likewise, all the fullness of Christ is in the church; therefore, the church is the mystery of Christ.
Colossians and Ephesians complement each other. Colossians says that Christ is the Head of the church, and Ephesians says that the church is the Body of Christ; these two books present a complete picture. In Ephesians we can see the Body of Christ, and in Colossians we can see the Head of the Body. These two books show a complete person — Christ as the Head with His Body. Colossians speaks of the Head from the point of view of the Body, whereas Ephesians speaks of the Body from the point of view of the Head. Ephesians speaks primarily of the Body but also of the Head; Colossians speaks primarily of the Head but also of the Body. The Head is a mystery, and the Body is a mystery as well. These two mysteries are two parts of one mystery, just as a man’s head and body are not two persons but two parts of a man.
What is a mystery? A mystery involves many elements that are not readily manifested, and therefore, they cannot be understood or comprehended easily. Any reasonable man would admit that many of the elements of the universe are far beyond human comprehension. The universe is a mystery, and this mystery is about God. The story of this mystery is the story of God. God is a mystery; He is the secret of the universe, the mystery of the universe.
The Bible shows that this mystery has two parts: one part is related to the Head, Christ, and the other part is related to the Body, the church. If a man has not been enlightened by God and if the eyes of his heart are not opened, he has no way to understand the two parts of this mystery. Just as worldly people do not understand the universe, many saved ones do not understand the Lord’s salvation and the church. Worldly people have only a general knowledge of the universe. They see the sun and the moon in the sky. They see the wind blowing, the rain descending, and the earth yielding grain to provide food to man, but they do not see much else. Similarly, if we asked believers why God saves us and brings us together to be the church, I am afraid that hardly anyone would have a clear and thorough answer. Many would only be able to say, “God saves us because He loves us. After we are saved, we should exhort one another, love one another, and encourage one another. If we do not have the church and the meetings, we will become cold and then backslide and stumble. Therefore, while we are still walking in the wilderness of the world, we must have the church and go to meetings regularly.” Such an answer, though not wrong, is shallow. It is similar to someone who looks at the universe and sees only the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, and the earth that yields grain to feed man. These things are not the meaning of the universe nor the meaning of salvation and the church. The meaning of the universe is a mystery, and the meaning of salvation and the church are also a mystery; this mystery is with God. Ephesians and Colossians show the two parts of this mystery: the first part is Christ, and the second part is the church. The mystery of God is Christ, and the mystery of Christ is the church. Christ as the Head is a mystery, and the church as the Body is a mystery.
The mystery of God involves His elements, and if we want to know God’s elements, we need to look at Christ. Without knowing or understanding Christ, we cannot know or understand God’s elements, because Christ is the expression of God, the testimony of God, and the mystery of God.
In John 14:8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us.” The Lord replied, “Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how is it that you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father who abides in Me does His works” (vv. 9-10). The Lord told the disciples that when they saw Him, they saw the Father and that when they knew the Lord, they knew the Father. He was the Father’s expression, the Father’s mystery.
Colossians speaks concerning this mystery and shows the elements of this mystery. This book does not deal with meekness, endurance, or a loving heart; it deals with the mystery of God, that is, Christ as the Head of the church. It pleases God for Christ to have the first place in all things (1:18), and all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily (2:9). All the things of the Godhead are in Christ. Christ as the Head of the Body is God’s mystery. For thousands of years man could not understand the things of God, but Christ, as the expression of God, manifested God in a living and bodily way before the eyes of man. Christ is the mystery of God, the testimony of God. The testimony of God is Christ as the Head.
In the same principle all the elements of Christ as the Head are in the church. He imparts Himself into the church so that the church becomes the mystery of Christ, the details of Christ. Christ is manifested in the church. Apart from Christ, no one can meet God, and apart from the church, no one can meet Christ. In order to meet God, we must touch Christ, and in order to meet Christ, we must touch the church. The church is the expression of Christ, the testimony of Christ. All the elements of Christ — all that Christ is, has, can do, and has done — are in the church; therefore, the church is the mystery of Christ. No one has ever seen God, but Christ declares God (John 1:18). Likewise, after Christ ascended to heaven, no one has ever seen Christ, but the church declares Christ (Eph. 3:9-10). Throughout the last two thousand years, Christ has been declared through the church in every place. This is the testimony of the church.
God was in Christ, and Christ passed through death and resurrection to become the Spirit. Now all the elements of God that are in Christ are in the Holy Spirit. Today people use the term Holy Spirit without an adequate understanding concerning the Holy Spirit. Many have not seen that the Holy Spirit in the New Testament age is much richer than the Spirit of God in the Old Testament age. All the elements, processes, and accomplishments of God in Christ are in the Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament age the Spirit of God did not have the element of the forgiveness of sins, because the problem of man’s sin had not yet been resolved. However, in the New Testament age Christ has become the Spirit through death and resurrection, and after His ascension He poured out the Holy Spirit from heaven. This Spirit reaches man with the element of the forgiveness of sins. Since Christ redeemed man and solved the problem of sin through the shedding of His blood, the element of the forgiveness of sins is in the Spirit. In the Old Testament the Spirit of God was like a cup of water without any other element in it. In the New Testament other elements were added to the water. For example, when sugar is added to water, it becomes sugar water because it contains the element of sugar.
The elements of God are in Christ, and the elements of Christ are in the Spirit. Christ’s elements consist of at least seven items: He brought God into man and man into God (John 1:14; 20:17). In Him there is nothing of Satan (14:30), nothing of sin (8:46; 18:38), nothing of the world (17:14, 16; 16:33), nothing of death (11:25), nothing of idols (8:28-29), and nothing of Satan’s kingdom, which is the authority of Satan. Satan has been cast out, sin has been eliminated, the world has nothing in Him, death has been destroyed, idols cannot touch Him, and the kingdom of Satan cannot rule over Him. Christ passed through, escaped from, resolved, and overcame all these matters. He is full of the expression of the riches of God. In Him divinity was mingled with humanity in His incarnation, and in His resurrection He brought humanity into divinity to be mingled with divinity. All His elements are in the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down from Him and with Him, reaching man with all these elements. This Spirit reached a group of people who believed in Christ and who received Christ as the mystery. When these people gathered together, others sensed that they had the elements of the mystery in them, that God was with them and that they lived in God. Furthermore, others felt that there was nothing of Satan, sin, the world, death, idols, or the kingdom of Satan in this group of people. This was the testimony of Christ, which was also the testimony of the church.
These elements apply to us because the Holy Spirit reached us when we were saved. Although we all have weaknesses, we still express a mysterious condition that cannot be understood by unbelievers when we come together. Nevertheless, they can sense that there is a different atmosphere and situation among us. In Christian terms, they sense that God is with us and that Satan, sin, the world, death, idols, and the kingdom of Satan have no ground in us. If this is not our condition, we are the most pitiful Christians. However, if this is our condition, it is because we have the presence of Christ, the expression of Christ.
First Corinthians 14:24-25 speaks of an unbeliever coming into a meeting of the church and being convicted and examined by all so that the secrets of his heart become manifest, and thus, he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that indeed God is among us. This shows that when we meet, we have God’s presence. God is in Christ, and Christ as the Spirit is in the church. Christ is God’s mystery, elements, expression, and testimony; the church is Christ’s mystery, elements, expression, and testimony.
The testimony of the church is not related to a particular item of truth or matter but to a person, Christ Himself. Anything less than Christ is not the testimony of the church. When people say that we need to uphold the Lord’s testimony, what should we uphold? The Lord’s testimony is Christ, who testifies God and expresses God. Other than this, there is no testimony. We should not think that upholding the testimony of Christ is just to maintain the testimony of the oneness of the church, the testimony of the ground of the church. This is not our testimony. The testimony of the church is Christ, who testifies God and expresses God. Christ is not the testimony of a truth or a matter; Christ is the testimony of God with God’s fullness being expressed through Him. Likewise, the church is not the testimony of a truth or a matter; the church is the testimony of Christ with Christ’s fullness being expressed through us. In order to know God, we must know Christ, and in order to know Christ, we must know the church.
The book of Acts records that a hundred twenty people were in one accord in prayer on the day of Pentecost, serving the Lord, (1:14-15); thus, they were able to bring three thousand people, and then another five thousand, to salvation (2:41; 4:4). The condition among the one hundred twenty was the testimony of the church — Christ was expressed through them. At that time the heart and soul of these believers were one, and all things were common (v. 32). Their situation showed that God was mingled with man, that man was living in God, and that Satan and all the other negative things had no ground in them. This is the testimony of the church.
Regrettably, Satan soon came in, when a man named Ananias sold a piece of property and put aside for himself some of the proceeds; his wife, Sapphira, was also aware of this. When Ananias brought some of the proceeds and laid it at the feet of the apostles (5:1-2), Peter said to him, “Why has Satan filled your heart to deceive the Holy Spirit and to put aside for yourself some of the proceeds of the land?” (v. 3). After this, sin, the world, death, idols, and the kingdom of Satan gradually began to creep into the church. The seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3 show that many things from Satan and belonging to Satan were present in the church; therefore, the testimony of the church was damaged.
In order to know the ground of the church, we must know the testimony of the church. If we do not see the testimony of the church clearly, accurately, and thoroughly, we will never understand the ground of the church. If our testimony is merely about a truth or matter, our ground is definitely wrong. If our testimony is Christ, the all-inclusive Christ, the Christ who fills all in all, we will be very clear concerning our ground.
Thirty years ago I told a brother, “It would be good if we could drink one cup and break one bread. How wonderful this testimony would be!” After a few years I met a brother who told me that in his locality the believers were testifying of one cup and one bread. When I look back, I feel that this kind of seeing was truly childish. If we are maintaining merely such a testimony, our ground is wrong. Our testimony is not one cup and one bread but the Lord of all.
When we break the bread, it would be better, of course, for us to have only one cup and one bread. Nevertheless, we need to see that our testimony is not of these things. However, this does not mean that we should do things in a loose way. We need to try our best to do things according to the Bible; however, we need to see that these matters are not our testimony. Our testimony is not one cup and one bread; our testimony is the Christ of all. We can know our ground only when we see our testimony clearly.
When I was young, I met a group of people who preached nothing but the posttribulation rapture. They would have nothing to do with those who believed in a pretribulation rapture. They looked upon everyone who did not believe in a posttribulation rapture as a stranger. They did not care about anything else. They did not even ask others if they believed in the Lord Jesus or if they were saved. Whenever they talked to someone, they would ask him if he believed in a pretribulation rapture or in a posttribulation rapture, and they would reject those who did not believe in a posttribulation rapture. They thought that they had been raised up by the Lord to defend the truth of a posttribulation rapture. In contrast, we need to see that we were not raised up by the Lord to defend a matter of truth or to defend teachings, such as head covering and baptism by immersion. We are here to testify of Christ. We should not ask others whether they cover their head or whether they baptize people by immersion; rather, we should ask them how much ground does Christ have in them. We do not care if they believe in a pretribulation rapture or in a posttribulation rapture; we care only about how much of Christ’s elements are in them. We do not need to stress one cup and one bread; we should care only about Christ being in us more and among us more. The testimony of the church is Christ, and the mystery of Christ is the church. I am not saying that we can be careless about matters such as head covering, baptism, and breaking bread, but we need to see a greater matter — testifying Christ. The testimony of the church is Christ; we should respond to whatever brings us to contact Christ and touch Him.
The testimony of the church is absolutely one. No matter how many people this testimony includes, the testimony is one and indivisible. It is a testimony of one Lord in one Spirit. Although it is expressed through many people, the testimony is one. Although it is expressed through many local churches, the testimony is one.
Since the testimony of the church is one, the ground of the church is also one. If the church is centered on something other than Christ, there will be different grounds. If a person takes a posttribulation rapture as the center of his testimony and another takes a pretribulation rapture as the center of his testimony, there will be confusion as to the ground. Similarly, there will be confusion if one takes immersion as his testimony, and another takes sprinkling as his testimony. In order to understand the ground of the church, we must see the testimony of the church. If we do not see the testimony of the church, our ground will be inaccurate. It is not accurate to judge the ground of the church merely according to doctrines or letters; the ground of the church becomes clear when we see it from the point of view of the testimony of the church. The church should not express immersion, head covering, one cup and one bread, pretribulation rapture, or posttribulation rapture. The proper expression of the church should be the full presence of Christ. This testimony should be uniquely one. In this way the ground will be clear. Just as the testimony should be uniquely one, the ground should be uniquely one as well. The church cannot be divided and should not be divided. There is no excuse for division in the church; there is no valid excuse for division because the testimony of the church is one.
I have a very heavy burden. Everyone who serves the Lord must see that the testimony of the church is Christ as the Spirit. Christ is so great, so rich, so honorable, and so glorious; apart from Him, we should not allow anything or any truth to become our testimony. Even the best truth or the best thing should never be the center of our testimony. The reality of the testimony of the church is in the Holy Spirit. This should not be merely doctrine for us to listen to or to preach. We must ask ourselves, “Are we living in the Holy Spirit? Does the Holy Spirit have any ground among us? Is there any opportunity among us for the Holy Spirit to be the testimony of Christ? In how many things and situations do we give ground to the Holy Spirit so that He can freely apply the elements of His fullness in us?” This is the crux of the matter.
We should not regard this matter as a theory, as something to merely preach, or as a noble label for ourselves. We must examine ourselves: How much ground does the Holy Spirit, who contains the Lord of all and the fullness of Christ, have among us? The ground that we give to the Holy Spirit will determine the extent of our testimony of Christ. The extent to which we allow the Holy Spirit to execute His authority in us, to govern us, and to move freely in us will determine the extent of our testimony of Christ, the testimony of the church. When others touch us in such a condition, they will say, “God is truly among you, and Christ is actually with you.” When others touch us in such a condition, they will feel that God is with us, that we are living in God, and that Satan and all the negative things of Satan have no ground in us. Here there is only God and man, and there is nothing of Satan or even Satan himself. Here there are men who have been redeemed, dealt with, and purified, such that every kind of mixture has been purified. Here there is only a testimony of people living in God and who are full of God’s presence. Such people are the testimony of the church, which is the reality of the testimony of Christ being mingled with the church. This is the issue of the church being full of the move of the Holy Spirit. This should be the condition of every local church. This is not a doctrine, a label, or a way of doing things; it is the reality of the testimony of Christ in the Holy Spirit and the expression of God, the expression of Christ; it is the testimony of God, the testimony of Christ. It is what God is doing in this age. Only the testimony of the church can fulfill God’s will and satisfy His heart’s desire. Only this testimony can deal with His enemy and bring in the kingdom of God.
When we touch these matters in this chapter concerning the church, we are not touching doctrinal arguments or word studies. Moreover, we are not touching the ground in an outward way. May the Lord have mercy on us so that we may see that we are touching these matters because God has shown us something real, something that Satan has been trying to destroy throughout the generations. He has destroyed much and continues to damage this testimony. We need mercy before the Lord to receive grace in order to be saved from the destroying work of Satan so that God can gain the testimony of the church in us. If we see this testimony, we will understand the ground of the church.
