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Christ’s person is wonderful, profound, and mysterious. His person has two aspects, the divine aspect and the human aspect. In theology the study of Christ’s Person is known as Christology. Since the second century, Christian teachers have argued concerning the person of Christ. Due to the different teachings and opinions, the argument regarding the person of Christ has gone on and on, even until today. Therefore, we must be on the alert. If we follow a teaching regarding Christ’s person that is not according to the Bible, we shall be in difficulty. Do not be influenced by any teaching concerning Christ’s person that is not according to the Scriptures.
I beg you to come back to the Bible and not try to analyze Christ or to understand Him according to your mentality. We simply cannot understand Him fully. In fact, we cannot even understand ourselves. Can you tell me where your mind is located? Furthermore, do you realize that you have two hearts, a physical heart and a psychological heart? You can locate your physical heart, but can you locate your psychological heart? Where is it? We all should answer, “I don’t know.” If you would know the Bible, you must learn to say, “I don’t know.” The Bible reveals that we have a soul. Do you know where your soul is? And what about your spirit? Do you know where it is? We all have a spirit, a soul, a heart, a mind, an emotion, and a will, but we are not able to locate them. In addition to all this, and most mysterious of all, there is the matter of our physical life. Do you understand your physical life? Not even medical doctors know what life is. Thus, how could we expect to understand all there is of Christ when we cannot even understand ourselves?
The matter of eating also illustrates how limited our mind is. Do you know everything about the food you eat? If you did not eat until you adequately understood what you were eating, you would die of starvation. Day after day we eat our food without trying to analyze it. I am not interested in understanding the food I eat. In my travels throughout the world I have stayed in homes in many different countries in the Far East, Europe, South America, and the United States. Because my hosts have lovingly taken care of me, they served me the best food. As they served me, they have often attempted to explain the food to me. However, I said to myself, “Please, simply serve me the food. Do not try to explain it. There is no room in my mind for all this information. Please stop talking and let me enjoy the meal. Because you love me, I know that you have prepared the best food for me. I am assured that you would never serve something that was bad for me. I prefer to enjoy my food ignorantly.” Actually, the more you study, the less you will enjoy. But the less you study, the more food you will enjoy and the better you will digest it.
We may apply this matter in coming to the Bible. It is not sufficient just to study the Bible; we have to eat it. Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found and I ate them.” In resisting the temptation of the devil, the Lord Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). When you come to the breakfast table, do you study the food, or do you eat it? No one would be so foolish as to study it. However, most Christians do not eat the word of God when they open their Bibles; they merely study it. Too much study without eating may damage you; many have been damaged in this way.
One day I began to read the Gospel of John. I was puzzled by the first phrase, In the beginning, and I began to study it. I asked myself, “The beginning? What does this mean? What kind of beginning is this?” I stopped eating and began studying. I checked the marginal references, and then I consulted a concordance and a dictionary to find the meaning of the phrase In the beginning. I simply was not able to understand this. Instead of eating the meat of the “chicken,” I studied the bones. But it was too much for my teeth to handle. Nevertheless, I went on to study further and to ask more questions concerning what the Word was and how the Word could be both with God and God Himself. It seemed to me that it was not logical to say that the Word both was God and was with God. I wondered if the Word and God were one or two. After many years the Lord showed me that the way is not to study but to eat. After having learned this way, I came again to John 1:1 and began to eat it. I prayed with this verse, saying, “In the beginning, Amen! In the beginning was the Word. Amen! Oh, the beginning! Oh, the Word! And the Word was with God! Amen! And the Word was God! Hallelujah for the beginning! Hallelujah for the Word! Hallelujah for God!” In this way I had a rich breakfast.
If you are troubled over the matter that the Son is called the eternal Father, I suggest that you eat Isaiah 9:6. Eat the verse by saying, “A child is born! Amen! Not taught but born! To us! Amen! Oh, to me, to you, to us! Hallelujah, a Son is given! Not a teacher but a Son! And the government is upon His shoulder! Amen! And His name! Hallelujah for His name! His name will be called Wonderful! Wonderful! Hallelujah! Oh, His name is Counselor! What rich food this is! He is wonderful! He is the Counselor! Praise Him, He is the mighty God! A child is the mighty God! His name is called the eternal Father! Hallelujah, the Son is the Father!” After you eat this verse, you will still not understand it fully, but you will be nourished.
Some say that they do not like pray-reading because it is too noisy. If you do not like the noise, exercise your table manners and eat quietly. However, those who take care of their manners usually do not enjoy eating very much. Nevertheless, even when you observe the proper table manners, eating is still superior to studying.
The principle here is not to trust in our limited mentality. The spiritual mysteries are always revealed to our spirit, not to our mind. As you are pray-reading the Word, open your spirit. Do not exercise your mentality — exercise your spirit. Then the Holy Spirit will shine into you and reveal the depth of the truth into your spirit. In this way you will receive revelation instead of mere knowledge.
Now in this chapter we need to consider thirty-five items of what Christ is. Christ is the Word (John 1:1, 14). When we say that Christ is the Word, we are not speaking of who Christ is but of what Christ is. The Word is the expression of God. I may have a great deal of feeling within me, but if I have no words, my feelings cannot be expressed. But when my feelings are expressed in words, then you are able to understand them. Christ is the Word, the Word of God. Although no one knows God, Christ as the Word speaks for God, defines God, and even declares God. Hallelujah, Christ is the Word!
John 1:4, speaking of Christ as the Word, says, “In Him was life.” Thus, Christ is life. Life causes us to be living. To come to the Word and be made living by it means to receive life. But if instead of becoming living, you are deadened, this indicates that you did not receive life; rather, you received death. Every time we receive the Word in which there is life, we become living. This is life. Christ is the Word, and He is also life.
John 1:4 also says that this life is the light of men. Hence, Christ also is light. If you have life, then you have light. Anyone who is dead is absolutely in darkness, for death denotes darkness. However, life indicates light. As long as we are living, we shall be in the light and be able to see. But when someone dies, he is in darkness and sees nothing.
John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us...full of grace and reality.” Christ is full of grace. Grace is Christ for our enjoyment.
Christ is also the reality. Reality means the realization of what God is to us. Grace is related to life, and reality is related to light. Life is the essence, the substance, of grace. If you have life, you will enjoy grace. Light is the realization of what God is. When you have light, you gain reality. Thus, grace is connected to life, and reality is connected to light.
According to John 1:14, Christ is also the tabernacle. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. Christ in the flesh was God’s tabernacle, God’s dwelling place on earth.
John 1:29 reveals that Christ is the Lamb. This verse says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” As the Lamb, Christ took away our sin.
John 1:51 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, You shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” This verse reveals that Christ is the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream (Gen. 28:10-22). Jacob’s dream is fulfilled in this verse. Christ, the heavenly ladder, joins earth to heaven and connects God to man.
In chapter 1 of the Gospel of John we have Christ as the tabernacle; in chapter 2 we see Him as the temple (vv. 19, 21). Christ is the temple of God, God’s habitation.
John 3:14 reveals that Christ is also the bronze serpent. When the children of Israel committed sin against God, many of them were bitten by serpents and died. When the children of Israel cried out to Moses, the Lord told him to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole. Everyone who looked at that serpent was forgiven, healed, and kept alive (Num. 21:4-9). In John 3:14 the Lord said to Nicodemus, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” This means that when the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, He was lifted up as the bronze serpent. He died so that the serpent might be destroyed. As the Lamb, He died on the cross to take away our sin, but as the bronze serpent, He died on the cross to destroy the old serpent, Satan, the devil (Heb. 2:14).
Christ is the fountain, or spring, of water. In John 4:14 He said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.”
As we all know, Christ is the bread of life typified by manna (6:35). The fountain of water is for us to drink, and the bread of life is for us to eat. Thus, we must drink of Him and eat Him. The Lord Jesus said, “As the living Father has sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (v. 57). If we eat Him, we shall live by Him. Because I eat adequately day after day, I have the energy I need. I live by what I eat. If I do not eat properly, I do not have the energy to speak. The food I eat energizes me. This food is not the objective food, the food for study; it is the subjective food, the food I take in through eating. The real food is Christ.
In John 10:7 the Lord Jesus said that He is the door. Many Christians think that Christ as the door is for us to go to heaven. But if you read John 10, you will see that the door is not for going to heaven; it is for enabling us to get out of the fold, that is, to get out of religion. Religion, including every denomination, is a fold, but the church is a flock. We must come out of the fold and be flocked together as one flock. Only through Christ as the door can we come out of the fold. Hallelujah for Christ as the door! The more you love Christ, eat Christ, live by Christ, and fellowship with Christ, the more He will be the wide open door through which you may walk out of religion, out of the denominations, out of every kind of fold. Through Him as the door you will be released from the fold to the pasture. Sheep do not enjoy the fold as much as they do the pasture. When there is danger or bad weather, the fold is useful. But when there is no danger and the weather is pleasant, the sheep prefer to come out of the fold and to get into the pasture where they can enjoy the green grass as their food. We in the Lord’s recovery are in the tender green pasture feeding on Christ. We are not in the fold eating dry grass.
Christ is not only the door for us to come out of religion; He is also the pasture. In the church life, meeting after meeting we sense that we are in the pasture eating the tender grass.
We have already pointed out that Christ is life. Now we must see that He is also the resurrection (11:25). Resurrection is stronger than life. Resurrection is life that has been put into death and that has risen above death. Thus, resurrection is the life that conquers and subdues death. It is the life that can walk out of death. Because the Lord Jesus is the resurrection, He was able to be put into death, walk through death, take a look at every aspect of death as if He were on a sightseeing tour, and then walk out of death. After completing His tour of the region of death, Christ walked out of death. This is Christ as the resurrection. We all need to enjoy Christ not only as life but also as the resurrection.
This is not a doctrine; it is something that must be applied to our daily living. Many of us have a problem with our temper. It seems that our little temper often puts us into death. Many times sisters have come to me and said, “Brother Lee, I want to be a good sister, a good wife, and a good mother. But I am bothered by my temper. When my temper rises up, I don’t know what to do. Please help me. I am afraid of my temper.” In the past my experience was the same as theirs. Gradually, however, I received the revelation that my temper is death. However, because Christ is in me as resurrection, I need not be afraid of the death my temper brings. Suppose the enemy uses your husband or wife to stir up your temper. The first thing you must realize is that the devil is tempting you. The devil may say, “You have heard that Christ is your resurrection. Now let me test you to see whether or not this resurrection will work.” After you realize that this temptation is coming from Satan, do not be afraid of your temper, and do not try to overcome it. Rather, praise the Lord and say, “Hallelujah! Amen! Little devil, are you trying to cause me to lose my temper? Do you intend to put me into death? I would like to go with you to have a sightseeing tour. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Goodbye death!” This is the experience of resurrection.
Sometimes the devil may send a brother to rebuke you. This brother may be the only one who has the boldness to rebuke you. His rebuke is another form of death. After being rebuked by him for several minutes, you may find yourself in a tomb. You may be tempted to think that it is not fair for him to rebuke you. But yielding to that temptation will cause you to lose the resurrection. I have had some experience of this. As someone was rebuking me, I said within to the Lord, “Amen, Lord! Hallelujah, now I am coming out of the tomb.” Even as that one was rebuking me, I came forth from the tomb. This is the experience of Christ as the resurrection.
Christ is also a grain of wheat. John 12:24 reveals that Christ fell into the earth as a grain of wheat and died so that He might bring forth many grains. By His death as the Lamb, He took away our sin; as the bronze serpent, He destroyed the devil; and as the grain of wheat, He produced many grains to form the loaf, which is the church.
Christ is the way (14:6). If you do not know how to contact God, take Christ as your way. Always and in everything take Christ as the way. The young brothers and sisters may not know how to go on as far as marriage is concerned. They simply do not know whom they should marry. At such a time they should not try to know. Rather, they should take Christ and say, “Lord Jesus, You are my way. I love You, I take You, I live by You, and I live for You.” When they do this, Christ will be their way.
First Corinthians 1:24 says that Christ is the power of God. In order to do anything, we must have power. Christ is the power of God for us.
First Corinthians 1:24 also says that Christ is the wisdom of God. In order to do things, we also need wisdom. Thus, Christ is the wisdom of God for us.
First Corinthians 1:30 reveals that Christ is our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Christ is power and wisdom so that He can be our righteousness for our past. Our past is miserable. In the past there were many sins and wrongdoings. Thus, for our past, we need Christ to be our righteousness. Hallelujah, by Him, through Him, and in Him, we have been justified, and our past has been forgiven.
For the present, Christ is our sanctification. Thus, we are now able to live a holy life. In ourselves, we cannot be holy and sanctified, but Christ is our sanctification. Day by day, for our present living, He is our sanctification.
Furthermore, for the future, Christ is our redemption. One day our body will be redeemed. Therefore, for our past, Christ is our righteousness; for our present, He is our sanctification; and for our future, He is redemption. Oh, Christ is everything!
First Corinthians 2:10 says, “The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” The deep things of God, or the depths of God, are Christ. All scientific knowledge is superficial. Only Christ is deep. If as a Christian you do not live by Christ, you are a superficial Christian. Although you may have a doctor’s degree, you are still shallow, for whatever you know is superficial. But Christ is deep. If you have Him, you truly have the deeper life.
First Corinthians 3:11 says, “Another foundation no one is able to lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Christ is the only foundation. For the church, God’s temple, Christ is the foundation.
First Corinthians 5:7 says, “Our Passover, Christ, also has been sacrificed.” Because of Christ, God has passed over us, and we have no problems with Him. We have Christ as our Passover.
First Corinthians 10:3 speaks of “the same spiritual food.” This indicates that Christ is our spiritual food, our heavenly manna. Daily we need to eat Him as our spiritual food.
First Corinthians 10:4 indicates that Christ is our spiritual drink. As our spiritual drink, He is the living water.
First Corinthians 10:4 also says, “They drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.” Christ is the spiritual rock that flows out the living water. He has been cleft for us, and out of Him flows the living water for our drinking.
According to 1 Corinthians 11:3, Christ is the Head. He is the Head of the Body and of every one of us.
Christ is not only the Head; He is also the Body. First Corinthians 11:3 says that Christ is the Head, and 1 Corinthians 12:12 says that He is the Body. This verse says, “Even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ.” This reveals that Christ is the Body. Of course, the Christ here is not the individual Christ; He is the corporate Christ, the Body-Christ. Christ Himself is the Head, and the church is the Body. Eventually, however, both the Head and the Body are Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 15:20 we see that Christ is the firstfruits. In verses 47 and 45 of the same chapter we see that Christ is the second man and the last Adam. When we put these three items together, we have the first, the second, and the last. This reveals that Christ is the First, the Second, and the Last. He is everything!
Revelation 22:13 reveals that Christ is the Alpha and the Omega. Christ is not only the way; He is also the alphabet. As we all know, every word is composed of letters. Christ is the letters that compose every verse of the Bible. Because He is the first letter, the Alpha, and the last letter, the Omega, He is certainly all the letters in between. An English-language typewriter has twenty-six letters. With these letters we can compose any word, sentence, paragraph, or book. I have such a typewriter in my study at home. By using the twenty-six letters on this typewriter, I can compose anything. Christ is the real typewriter containing all the letters from Alpha to Omega. Whenever you want to say something, simply type Christ. Day by day we must practice typing with Christ as the letters. I hope that everyone in the local churches will be a good typist, well able to type with Christ as the letters.
Revelation 22:13 also tells us that Christ is the First and the Last. As the Alpha, He is the First, and as the Omega, He is the Last.
Furthermore, Revelation 22:13 reveals that Christ is the Beginning and the End. As the Beginning, nothing precedes Him, and as the End, nothing succeeds Him. This means that before Christ and after Christ there is no other. Christ is everything. Is the Christ you experience like this? We must admit that the Christ experienced by many Christians is not. We, however, must experience Christ in a full way, all the way from Alpha to Omega. Before alpha there is no letter, and after omega there is also no letter. The Alpha is the Beginning, and the Omega is the End.
Last, Christ is all in all. This aspect of Christ is related to the new man, the church. According to Colossians 3:11, in this new man, “There cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all.” In the new man Christ is in everyone, and Christ is all. Christ is in you, and Christ is in me. Therefore, in the new man, that is, in the church, there is no American, German, Chinese, or Japanese. Likewise, there are no managers, servants, or Ph.D.’s. Sometimes we refer to a certain brother as a brother with a doctor’s degree. I do not like to hear this. The doctor’s degree must be put away, because in the new man there is only Christ. In the new man Christ is in everyone, and Christ is everyone. Christ is all and in all.
How we need to experience Christ! All these aspects of Christ are not doctrine, religion, or ethics. Neither are they Christianity. Christ is for our enjoyment, and the issue of our enjoyment of Christ is the church. Once again, this is a matter of Christ and the church, the kernel of the Bible.
