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Scripture Reading: Eph. 3:2-11, 16-19
We are considering six decades of the Lord’s history among us so that we may be enlightened to see the Lord’s way, His recovery, and so that we may learn lessons from history. We are also considering the vision that God has revealed to us in the Bible so that we can follow and practice it. We are not following our views, opinions, or feelings. For the past six decades our work has been based on this controlling vision in God’s Word.
We are considering this vision for the sake of the younger generation. There are now numerous churches not only in Asia but also on five other continents — North America, South America (including Central America), Europe, Africa, and Australia (including New Zealand). In some churches over eighty percent of the saints are between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. These saints are either studying in college or working. We want to pass on our history to these saints so that they may see the vision that the Lord has shown us. This vision involves the deep mysteries in the Bible.
There are two mysteries in the Bible. The first mystery is the mystery of God, and the second mystery is the mystery of Christ. The mystery of God is Christ, and the mystery of Christ is the church. Our vision is Christ and the church. The Lord has revealed Christ and the church to us; Christ and the church are the greatest mysteries in the Bible. In this chapter we will consider Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ.
The Bible is not an ordinary book. Every word in the Bible is God-breathed and is His revelation (2 Tim. 3:16). There are two kinds of revelation in the Bible: revelation on the surface and deep revelation. The deep revelation is a matter of mystery.
When I stand up, others can clearly see that I am an old Chinese man. I have a nose, a mouth, two eyes, and two ears. I am not too tall, nor am I too short. I also have two arms and two legs. However, I have more than outward features; I also have an inner being, which is my mystery. My inner being is my soul — my mind, emotion, and will — and my spirit, including my conscience. These inner parts are difficult to understand; they are indescribable. The inner being is the deep mystery within man. This principle also applies to the Bible. There are revelations on the surface, and there are deep mysteries.
The revelation on the surface of the New Testament can be understood by any literate person. According to this revelation, Jesus Christ is the Son of God and was born approximately two thousand years ago in the land of Judea. He lived on the earth for thirty-three and a half years. During that time He preached, taught, cast out demons, healed, did many good deeds, and performed many miracles. Finally, He bore the sins of mankind and was crucified on the cross in order to be judged by God on our behalf and to accomplish redemption. He was buried and resurrected after three days. After His resurrection He was with His disciples for forty days and then ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high to be made both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). He is the Lord and the Savior of all men (1 Tim. 4:10). Anyone who is willing to repent, confess his sins, believe in the Lord as the Savior, and accept Him as the Redeemer will be saved — his sins will be forgiven, and he will be regenerated.
When the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (Rom. 11:25), the Lord will return to judge the world and deal with the devil. Then He will reign on the earth with His overcoming saints for a thousand years (Rev. 20:6). This period of a thousand years is called the millennial kingdom. After a thousand years the Lord Jesus will terminate the entire old creation, renew the heavens and the earth, and bring in the New Jerusalem. In the New Jerusalem God will dwell with man in peace and righteousness, and man will enjoy divine blessings for eternity. This is the revelation on the surface of the New Testament. This is the truth in the Bible, and it is the gospel that many missionaries preach all over the world. We thank the Lord for such a revelation in the Bible.
However, the Bible is not so superficial. There are deep mysteries in the Bible. In Ephesians 3:2-11 the word mystery is used three times. A mystery is something hidden, secret, and unfathomable. Anything that is obvious or easy to understand is not a mystery. Hence, the whole universe is a mystery. The more science develops, the more scientists feel that the universe is a mystery. Who can trace the origin of the heavens, the heavenly hosts, and the earth? Who can explore their meaning? The answer to these questions is hidden and not easy to understand.
In addition to the heavens and the earth, man is a mystery. What is man’s origin? Who designed man? Why do our nostrils point downward, not upward? Why are our eyebrows above our eyes, not below them? Architects can improve the design of buildings, engineers can produce newer car models, and fashion designers can change the design of clothing, but the human body cannot be improved. If the nose pointed upward, dust and rain would fall into our nostrils, and we would look very ugly. No one can improve the location of our eyes, ears, nose, or mouth; they are just the right size. Our hands look good with four fingers and a thumb; they are capable of doing many things.
What is the meaning of human life? What is the value of human life on the earth? This is a mystery that people do not understand. Nevertheless, God has revealed this mystery in His Word. He wants man to understand this mystery. He also wants this mystery to become our experience and reality so that this mystery would be our life and we would live out this mystery, the church. Therefore, we need to spend time to consider the mystery of God by looking at the deep mystery in the Bible.
The mystery revealed in the New Testament first concerns the mystery of God, which is Christ. Most people agree that Jesus Christ stands out in the history of mankind and that He is transcendent and unrivaled. Opposers, unbelievers, and believers admit that His human living was outstanding. Some know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who became a man. Others know that He was crucified and resurrected from the dead. However, the New Testament says much more than this. For example, the four short chapters of the book of Colossians give an all-inclusive, deep, and vast description of Christ.
Colossians says that Christ is the mystery of God. God Himself is a mystery. He is real and living, but no one has ever seen Him. The best scientists acknowledge that the laws and principles of the universe speak of the existence of a Creator who rules the universe. Scientists have confirmed that there is a system in the universe, a force, that holds all the galaxies together. This is confirmed by Colossians 1, which says that Christ is the centrality and the universality of all things and that all things cohere in Him (v. 17). All things are held together by the mutual interaction of two opposing forces, centrifugal force and centripetal force. The Bible says that Christ is the centrality and that He is the universality. Centrality refers to centripetal force, and universality refers to centrifugal force. Therefore, Christ upholds and bears all things (Heb. 1:3).
Colossians also speaks of Christ as the mystery of God (2:2). Christ is the embodiment of God. All that God is, all the fullness of the Godhead, dwells in Christ bodily (v. 9). No one can find God apart from Christ (John 14:6). Christ is the true God, the complete God; only He is God (Rom. 9:5).
Christ is infinitely deep and vast; He is all-inclusive. It is remarkable that such a Christ has become our life (Col. 3:4). This is also a mystery. Every Christian can testify to this mystery: Christ is in us. Today He is our life, and one day He will be our glory. Today we live by Him and live in Him, and one day we will be manifested with Him in glory (v. 4). He is our life today and our glory in the future.
According to Colossians 2, Jesus Christ is our food and our drink; He is our feast, our joy; He is our new moon, our bright beginning in times of darkness; and He is our Sabbath, our enjoyment and peace (v. 16). In other words, Christ is the reality of every positive thing (v. 17). He is our all in all. He should be the daily experience of every believer.
Ephesians is the sister book to Colossians. Colossians concerns Christ, and Ephesians concerns the church. Colossians has four chapters, and Ephesians has six chapters. Ephesians is two chapters longer than Colossians and contains many items. Both Christians and non-Christians know the word church. However, few people know the true meaning of this word. The most superficial and erroneous understanding is that the church is a Western-style building with a steeple and a bell. The church is not a hall of worship; it is not a chapel.
According to the original Greek, the church is the gathering of God’s called people. Therefore, a more accurate rendering of the Greek word would be “assembly.” The revelation of the church as God’s called-out congregation is on the surface of the Bible. Each of the six chapters in Ephesians speaks concerning the church.
Chapter 1 speaks of the church as the Body of Christ (vv. 22-23). The Body is an organism. This is a mystery. Chapter 1 also says that the church is the fullness of Christ (v. 23). The word fullness is not easy to comprehend. A person’s body is his fullness. Everyone would be scared if my head were floating in the air by itself. If I were only four feet eleven inches tall, people would say that I do not have a fullness. A brother who is tall and weighs about two hundred pounds has a fullness. His head might not be larger than mine, but he is fuller than I. His fullness is related to his body. The church is the Body of Christ and the fullness of Christ. In the Gospels Christ could be in only one place at one time. He could not be in Bethlehem if He was in Jerusalem, and He could not be in Nazareth if He was in Bethlehem. But today Christ is on six continents; He is everywhere because there are churches everywhere. The church is the fullness of Christ. This is a mystery.
Ephesians 2 speaks of four important matters concerning the church. First, the church is God’s masterpiece (v. 10). In the original Greek the word masterpiece means “poem.” The church being God’s masterpiece means that the church is a poem written by God. This poem is full of affection and is expressive and descriptive. The church is a telling forth of God’s inner feelings and a description of His intention. Therefore, the church is God’s masterpiece. Second, the church is the household of God (v. 19). A person’s household is where his desire is fulfilled. The church is the means by which God expresses His love and the place where His desire is fulfilled. Third, the church is the kingdom of God (v. 19), that is, the place where God exercises His authority. Fourth, the church is the dwelling place of God (v. 22), that is, the place where God dwells and makes His home. Chapter 2 reveals four crucial points concerning the church: God’s masterpiece, His household, His kingdom, and His dwelling place.
In chapter 3 the second half of verse 19 says, “That you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.” I have studied various authoritative versions of the Bible. Most translators of the Bible do not render this verse accurately, because their understanding and utterance are inadequate. When we let Christ make home in us and let Him work in us, we will be filled with the riches of Christ “unto all the fullness of God.” The fullness of God is the expression of God. A brother has a fullness, and his fullness is his expression. If I did not have a body, I would not have an expression. My body is my fullness, and my fullness is my expression. Others know me because I have a body. Sometimes we can recognize a person just by his silhouette or by his walk. Similarly, God wants to have an expression on the earth today, and this expression is His fullness. In Ephesians 1 the church is the fullness of Christ. In chapter 3 the church is filled unto all the fullness of God. A person who does not have all his limbs does not have a full expression. I am not tall, but when I speak, my face, posture, hands, and feet express me. Even the way I move my arms and blink my eyes are an expression. This is “all the fullness.”
The church is all the fullness, all the expression, of God. This is accomplished by Christ making His home in our hearts, possessing our whole being, and filling and saturating us so that we may be filled with Christ. Man is a vessel to contain Christ. A person who does not have Christ is an empty vessel. However, it is not sufficient to have Christ; we must be filled with Christ. For example, a cup can have water but not be full of water. When the cup is full, the water overflows and is expressed. If we are possessed by the Lord, we will be filled with Him. The more we are filled with the Lord, the more He will overflow and be expressed. Then God will be expressed. The church is the fullness of God, the expression of God.
In chapter 4 the church is the one new man (v. 24). As believers, we have been regenerated by Christ and have become an organism together with all those who have been saved. This organism grows and causes us to love one another and to be joined to one another. As long as we love the Lord Jesus and are filled with Him, we will spontaneously be one when we come together. We will not need to be exhorted.
I went to Seoul, South Korea, not long ago. In ancient times Korea adopted aspects of Chinese culture; hence, Koreans know some Chinese characters. I do not know Korean, but when I was in Seoul, I wrote Chinese characters, and the Koreans understood. Then they wrote with Chinese characters, and I understood. However, we were limited to expressing ourselves with incomplete sentences. Since I could speak some English, and the local brothers could also speak English, we communicated in English. Even though there were language barriers, we were joined as one the moment we met, because Christ is in us. In our meetings in the United States, even though we have people of every color who speak English with all kinds of accents, we are joined as one when we fellowship. The church is the one new man.
In chapter 5 the church as the counterpart of Christ is being sanctified in order to be presented as a glorious bride to Christ (vv. 25-27). In chapter 6 the church is a warrior with the whole armor of God to fight against God’s enemy and adversary, the devil (vv. 10-20).
Thus, Ephesians speaks of at least four major aspects of the church, each of which is a mystery. Most Christians know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died for us and became our Savior and who will return one day. This is true and precious, but there is a mystery in the depths of this truth. This mystery reveals that the church is the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all; the church is God’s masterpiece, a poem written by God to express and describe His sentiments; the church is the household of God, His kingdom, and His dwelling place; the church is all the fullness of God and the new man to be Christ’s satisfying counterpart and to be God’s warrior to fight for God’s kingdom.
Ephesians 3:2 through 11 and verses 16 through 19 contain three crucial points. The first point is the mystery of Christ. This mystery was hidden in God, who created all things. Why did God create the heavens, the earth, all things, and man? The purpose of creation was a secret that God did not tell the angels or the saints in the Old Testament. God did not tell this secret to Adam, Abel, Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Malachi. The saints in the Old Testament feared God and were blessed by Him, but the mystery was not revealed to them, and they did not know it. This mystery was hidden in God throughout the ages.
Christ Jesus was born two thousand years ago. While He was on the earth, He called a group of disciples and appointed them as apostles. Then through His Spirit, God revealed His mystery to the apostles and prophets in their spirit. Paul was among those who received this revelation of the mystery. There are a total of twenty-seven books in the New Testament, and fourteen of these books, from Romans to Hebrews, were written by Paul. He wrote over half the books of the New Testament. In these fourteen Epistles Paul elaborated and developed this mystery. He spoke of “the stewardship of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:2). The word translated “stewardship” in this verse is the same word in Greek as the word translated “economy” in 1:10 and 3:9. A person who has a stewardship must be full of God’s economy and plan. This economy is the stewardship.
Paul said, “If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God which was given to me for you, that by revelation the mystery was made known to me” (vv. 2-3). Paul received a revelation from God. God revealed the mystery, which had been hidden in Himself throughout the ages, to Paul. God did not tell this mystery to the angels or anyone else. It was not until God found Paul that He opened the secret hidden in His heart through revelation. Paul used fourteen Epistles to write concerning this indescribable mystery.
Paul called this mystery “the mystery of Christ” (v. 4), which is the church. When we say that the mystery of God is Christ, we mean that God is in Christ and that Christ is the embodiment of God. To say that the mystery of Christ is the church means that Christ is in the church and that the church is the embodiment of Christ. A person who wants to find God must find Christ, and a person who wants to find Christ must find the church. Today God is in Christ, and Christ is in the church. This is the mystery of Christ. We may not be fully able to explain this matter, but it is a crucial point in Paul’s Epistles.
God revealed the mystery to Paul and gave him a stewardship to announce the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel to the Gentiles (v. 8). This is a very significant word. How much of the riches of Christ do we know? How much have we tasted? His riches are unsearchable and indescribable. In order to describe the riches of a wealthy man, we need to know his assets. A person’s assets are his riches. How many riches does Christ possess? The first item of the riches of Christ is that He is the embodiment of God. Christ being the embodiment of God means that He is God. Who is richer than God?
The second item of the riches of Christ is that He is man. In order to know the true God, we must know Christ, and in order to know a true man, we must also know Christ. We should consider whether we are true. There is no one on this earth who has not told a lie; no one is honest. We are not even honest with our parents. How often have we deceived our parents? If we are honest, we will confess that we have deceived our parents, spouse, and children; hence, we are not honest or genuine. No one is true.
In human history there has been only one honest person — Jesus Christ. When He was seized before His crucifixion, He underwent six trials. Three times He was tried according to the Old Testament law and judged by the Jewish high priests Annas and Caiaphas and by the Sanhedrin (John 18:13; Matt. 26:57; Luke 22:66). He was also tried three times according to Roman law and judged by Herod and by Pilate (23:1-25). Eventually, Pilate said that he found no fault in Him (John 19:4; Luke 23:22). In other words, Pilate found no error or falsehood in the Lord Jesus. Who among men could pass through such examinations? We would not have needed six trials to prove that we are at fault. One trial would have been sufficient. Only Jesus Christ could stand in front of everyone and say, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:46).
Jesus Christ is the true God and a true man. He is rich. I once made a list of the riches of Christ according to the Bible. Jesus Christ is God, man, life, light, holiness, righteousness, sanctification, love, grace, and so many other items. He is over two hundred and seventy items. He is every positive item. He is the sun, the air, food, water, and the best drink. He is whatever we need. He is our patience, our love, and our obedience. He is God, and He is man. He became a man to be our Redeemer and our Savior. He also became the life-giving Spirit. He is the light of life, and this light is full of the elements of grace, righteousness, and holiness. He is the glory of God and every human virtue. We are false; only Christ is true. Our humility is false; only Christ is real humility. Every human virtue is a shadow; only Christ is the reality. Christ is so rich.
When Paul announced the gospel, he did not announce doctrine; he announced a person. Paul announced the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel. We should do the same today. We should announce Christ everywhere around the world. Christ is living, true, all-inclusive, deep, and vast. He is rich, and He is everything.
It is not easy to be a parent. People want children, but they do not know how difficult it is to be a parent until after they have children. It is easier to deal with other people than with our own children. It is most difficult for parents to deal with their children. Therefore, I would like to inform the parents that you need Christ. When you have Christ, you will know how to deal with your children. Christ is our wisdom in dealing with our children. When we have Him, we have wisdom, because He is wisdom. Furthermore, He is our life and ability so that we not only know how to deal with our children but also have the ability to deal with them. We need Christ. He is everything that we need in our daily living.
Paul announced Christ in such a way. Paul did not talk about doctrines; he announced Christ and also delivered Christ. To tell you how nutritious a drink is and how it can quench your thirst is like announcing doctrines. But if I deliver the drink to you, you can enjoy its nutrients by drinking. Paul delivered the riches of Christ.
After speaking of the mystery of Christ, Paul bowed his knees unto the Father and prayed for the believers. Paul did not ask the Father to give us peace, prosperity, wealth, or success. He prayed that the Father would grant us, “according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, that Christ may make His home” in our hearts through faith (Eph. 3:16-17). When we are strengthened into the inner man, Christ will be able to make His home in our hearts; that is, Christ will have the ground in us and will be the Master of our home. This is a crucial key. In order to see the mystery of Christ and the riches of Christ, we must let Christ make His home in our hearts. If Christ cannot make His home in our hearts, we will have nothing of His riches in our experience.
After a couple gets married, it is inevitable that there will be problems. Everyone likes the word marriage, but no one wants trouble. Once a marriage is “tied,” however, the couple is bound together; this means that they are trouble-bound as well. Before getting married, a single brother does not have many problems. But after he is married, he will begin to have problems the second day of his marriage. It is not easy to be married. Therefore, we need Christ. However, we should not only have Christ; we must also let Christ make His home in our hearts. If Christ does not make His home in us, our having Christ is in vain. For example, what is the purpose of having a cup with water if we do not drink the water? If we drink the water, it enters into us, and we receive the supply.
A sister may be a good wife, but she can be a problem to her husband. If the brother lives in his emotions, an unpleasant countenance and tone from her will touch his emotions and provoke his anger. If he is a rational person, his mind will be able to control him when his anger flares up. However, over time his anger will eventually overcome his mind, and he will respond when she speaks. This is a typical example of how an argument occurs between a husband and wife. We cannot say that Christ is not in the husband and wife. Christ is in them, but He does not have ground in them; hence, He is confined by them.
Man has many parts. We have emotions, which include our anger. We have a mind, in which is our reasoning. We have a will, which can control our behavior. If our will is not strong, we will not be able to control ourselves, and we will lose our temper. However, we also have an inner man, which is our spirit. When we lose our temper and quarrel with our spouse, we are using our mind, emotion, and will. When we quarrel, our inner man often faintly says, “Why are you doing this? What are you quarreling about? Calm down! Pray!” Every believer has had this kind of experience. This is Christ in our spirit. We lose our temper and quarrel with our spouse because we are strong in our mind and emotion; we are strong in everything but not in our inner man, where we confine Christ as the life-giving Spirit.
Therefore, Paul prayed that the Father would grant us, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, that Christ may make His home in our hearts through faith (vv. 16-17). When our spirit is strong, it prevails over our mind, emotion, and will; our spirit can prevail over our entire soul. Many of us have had the experience of our anger dissipating when we call, “O Lord!” Our anger can be compared to a big balloon that is pricked and deflated when we call on the Lord. When we are strengthened into the inner man, Christ has the ground to come out of His confinement. We may confess our sin, saying, “Lord, forgive me for not giving You the ground. I was the boss. Lord, forgive me and gain me.” When we pray in this way, we give Christ the opportunity to permeate our inward parts and to supply our whole being. Christ can gain ground and make His home in our hearts when we are strengthened into the inner man.
In Greek the word hearts in this portion is not a word without a definite meaning that is used to fill out the sentence; rather, it functions as a noun with a definite meaning that is important to the sentence. The heart here refers to our psychological heart, not our physiological heart. Our heart is composed of our mind, emotion, will, and conscience. For Christ to make His home in our hearts is for Him to possess these four parts. The phrase make home is a verb derived from the noun home in Greek. Hence, it should be rendered “make home.” When we visit the churches, we may stay in a hospitality room in a meeting hall, and the love and service of the saints may be perfect. However, no matter how perfect everything may be, this room is not our home. We can only be a guest; we cannot make our home there. We must be ready to leave at any moment.
It would be terrible if Christ were merely a guest in us. As Christians, we possess the Lord’s life within us. But the question is whether the Lord has made home in our hearts. When He makes home in our hearts, His riches are transmitted into us to supply our needs and quench our thirst. We should never think that this is superstition or that this is merely someone’s exposition of the Bible. I can testify that this has been my experience for over fifty years.
Christ is rich; He is God, He is the Spirit, He is life, and He is a man. In resurrection He brought humanity into divinity. Now the human element is in the Spirit and in the divine life. The resurrected Christ is indescribably rich.
The Christ in whom we believe is true. He is a mystery, and He is rich. However, He must make His home in us. For Him to make home in us means that we give everything to Him, and He supplies us within. If we lack wisdom, He is our wisdom. If we lack patience, He is our patience. If we lack humility, He is our humility. He is whatever we lack. He is not an objective religion, nor is He doctrine. He is living inside of us. He is God, man, the Spirit, and life; He is all and in all. His riches are unsearchable and inexhaustible. As long as we open to Him, give Him the ground, and let our inner man prevail over our mind, emotion, and will, Christ will have the ground to make His home in us.
Then we will be filled with the riches of Christ, His rich supply. The result of such filling is that we become the fullness of God, that is, the expression of God. We will express God. This expression is the church. The multifarious wisdom of God is made known to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies through the church. This is what we in the Lord’s recovery announce and testify in every country and in every place. I hope that the young people, the young adults, the middle-aged, and the elderly among us would see this mystery. This is our vision, and this is our testimony.
