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Scripture Reading: Eph. 5:25-27, 29
In the previous chapter we said, by way of indication, by way of inference, that the matter of eating is referred to in Ephesians 4. If we want to grow, we must eat, for our body grows by our eating. Ephesians 4 reveals that the perfecting of the gifts is to cause us to grow up into the Head, Christ, in all things. Based upon this we saw that we must eat if we want to grow. We also saw a little concerning the matter of eating.
In John 6 the Lord Jesus said, “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (v. 57b). This word is figurative. It does not mean that the Lord really wanted people to take one or two bites of Him. What He meant was that He wanted them to receive Him into them. The basic principle of eating is to take something outside of you and assimilate it into your blood cells so that it may become a part of you. Actually, the Lord did not stress eating itself. He stressed the underlying principle of eating, which is to take Him into us so that He may become us. This was the Lord’s intention when He spoke about eating.
Unfortunately, that day the Jews misunderstood the Lord’s words. They said, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” (v. 52). Even many of His disciples said, “This word is hard; who can hear it?” (v. 60). In response to these words, the Lord said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (v. 63a). Moreover, sympathizing with their weakness, He went on to say, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (v. 63b). Although the Lord spoke these words, Christianity has made the Lord’s words into doctrine. In Christianity today the Lord’s words are neither spirit nor life but have become letter, doctrine, knowledge, and death. Therefore, we really need a spirit of wisdom and revelation, which the apostle Paul prays at the beginning of Ephesians that the believers would have.
Why is it so easy for us to listen to teachings about the cross and about “being broken”? Why is it easy to receive teachings on “learning lessons” and “being pressed”? It is because these things have existed in our concepts for a long time, and as a result, we do not need revelation regarding them. If you talk to monks and nuns about asceticism, they do not need any revelation and can understand immediately. If you speak to the Hindus about sufferings, they do not need revelation either. Without your repeated urging and charging, they have a clear understanding of self-mortification the moment you speak about it. When you speak to the followers of Confucius about seeking perfection in ethical pursuits or about character cultivation, you do not need to say too much to enable them to understand what you are saying, because these things are already in them. When we speak concerning real spiritual things, however, we need revelation. Without revelation we cannot understand spiritual things, and we immediately deviate from their original meaning.
If someone were to cover me with a big piece of cloth, and if I were to stand in front of you, you would see only a heap and would wonder what it was. You would likely be puzzled by this mystery. If the sheet were removed, you would still need light to see what was there. To remove the sheet is to unveil, to reveal; however, if there is no light and it is dark, one still cannot see. Moreover, even if there is light, one who is blind still will not be able to see. Revelation plus light and sight enable a person to see a vision.
The problem today is that within us we all have natural things, and these things are just like flypaper that one hangs to catch flies. When flies come, they stick to the flypaper immediately. The natural concepts within us are just like a sheet of flypaper. Anything that corresponds to them immediately gets stuck to them. Ephesians is full of revelations, such as the revelation concerning the unsearchable riches of Christ and the power of His resurrection, yet we do not care when we hear them. We do not pay much attention to revelation, because we are full of natural concepts within.
When a person is saved and comes into the church, immediately he has the thought that from that day onward he must behave properly. Then someone who has advanced a little may draw up some guidelines for him on how to be a proper Christian. The newly saved person will then try to be a Christian according to these guidelines. To do this requires neither teaching nor revelation. The thought that he must behave properly is already in him. This is often the case with those who listen to sermons. In fact, those who are preaching the sermons may not have any revelation either. They may preach from their natural concept, saying things such as, “Since we have been saved, we should glorify God in our daily walk.” Actually, there is no need to teach people such things, because this view has been in them since long before they were saved. Some preachers may go further to say, “We are too hard, so the Lord has to strike us and subdue us through our circumstances.” When we hear this word, it sounds very logical, and it also corresponds with our concepts. In Christianity there are mostly natural teachings; there is almost no revelation.
The Bible is not without revelation, but when people read the Bible, they often touch only the surface, not the substance, the revelation. For example, Ephesians is altogether a book of revelation, but I can assure you that almost one hundred out of one hundred who read it do not see the revelations in it. What everyone sees is: Husbands, love your wives; wives, be subject to your husbands; children, honor your father and mother; and parents, do not provoke your children to anger. These items are just like flypaper. When you read them, you get stuck to them. Actually, people already teach these things even if they have not read about them. Yet regardless of how many times they read Ephesians 1 concerning the fullness of Christ, they cannot see it. This is like ink on marble—the marble simply cannot absorb the ink. It is also like writing on marble with a pen—no matter how hard we may try, we cannot write anything on it. We read about the fullness of Christ, yet this matter just slides away from us. We read about the creation of the one new man, yet it slides away. We read about the unsearchable riches of Christ and the great power within us, yet these matters also just slide away. However, when we come to 3:20a, which says, “To Him who is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think,” immediately we are impressed. We might say, “Oh, I prayed to the Lord for a house with three bedrooms, and He has given me a house with five bedrooms. His grace is so great and is above all that I ask and think.” This phrase above all that we ask or think will certainly be printed in us because we have asked and thought of many things. However, as to the latter half of this verse, which says, “According to the power which operates in us,” after reading it a hundred times, we are still not impressed, because we do not have this thought in us. Similarly, concerning the phrase to Him be the glory in the church (v. 21a), we also may not see what this means after reading it a hundred times. When we come to chapter 4, the easiest word to receive is, “He who steals should steal no more” (v. 28). We will surely be impressed by this. Actually, we do not even need to read the whole phrase. We get this thought just by reading half of the phrase. As a matter of fact, even without reading any of it, we already have this thought in us. However, we may read the verses containing the revelations in the book of Ephesians a hundred times and still not see anything. Therefore, many people can speak only about the matters in this book that are according to their natural concepts.
Today in His recovery the Lord truly desires to bring His church into revelation. We all need to see a revelation. All man-made cultivation and improvement belong to Confucianism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, and asceticism. They are not what God wants. Our eyes must be opened by God to see that Christ has come into us to be our all. Christ, who is our all, is already in us. If you see this revelation, you will realize that in a sense even eating the Lord is not necessary. In response to this statement, some may say, “Oh, this is a hard word; who can hear it? Are we supposed to eat the Lord or not?” It is true that for the body to grow, it is necessary to eat. There is no doubt about this. The Bible, however, also reveals that the Lord has sown Himself into us. In Matthew 13 the Lord spoke the parable of the sower. Strictly speaking, since the seed that was sown into the soil contains all the riches of life, eating is not necessary. What the seed needs is the opportunity to develop in the soil.
Every seed contains all the riches of its life, and every kind of life has three characteristics: its substance, its function, and its form. Suppose there is an apricot tree that is blossoming and bearing fruit. Do I have to worry that the apricots may grow and eventually take the shape of bananas? Do I need to ask an expert to make some apricot molds to cover the tiny apricots so that they will grow into beautiful apricots? No one would be so foolish as to do such a thing. I should simply go home and sleep. The apricot life contains the apricot shape. If I let the apricot life grow, eventually the apricot shape will come forth. Likewise, when a puppy is born, you do not need to make a mold in the shape of a dog and place it over the puppy so that it will grow and take the shape of a dog. You just need to let the puppy grow, and it will grow into its own shape.
Romans 8 speaks of being conformed to the image of the Son of God (v. 29). In the past when I gave messages along this line, I often told people that we need the circumstances to shape us. I likened this to the sisters placing dough into a mold after it has been kneaded when they are baking cakes or cookies. After the dough is beaten, kneaded, and pressed, a form emerges. Today with regret I retract such a wrong teaching. The image of Christ does not come by outward molding but by the growth of His life within us. Christ’s life has its substance and shape. Thus, if you let it grow in you, spontaneously the image of Christ will come forth. A peach tree will grow fruit bearing the shape of peaches, and an apricot tree will grow fruit bearing the shape of apricots. A cat will grow into the shape of a cat, and a dog will grow into the shape of a dog. Since the life in you is the life of Christ, regardless of how you grow, you will never grow into the likeness of the devil. The life in you is the life of Christ. It is possible to prevent it from growing, but the more you allow it to grow, the more it will grow Christ. The substance, function, and shape are the riches that are contained in a seed. The seed contains all the riches of life. From this perspective, we can say that what is needed today is not for us to eat but for us to allow the seed to develop.
We need to see the revelation that the seed has been sown into us. We also need to see that God does not want us to do anything or try to grow anything. God’s intention is to sow Himself in His Son as a seed into us. He also wants the seed to grow out from us. This revelation is largely lacking in Christianity. Christianity as a whole has teachings concerning human conduct, asceticism, behavior improvement, and life in general, but it is short of revelation and does not see that these things are not what God wants. God’s desire is to come into us in His Son, to be developed in us, and to be our all. We all need to see this revelation. Today I have a burden upon me to show the churches that God’s chief desire is not that we would learn the lessons of the cross or receive the breaking of our flesh. His desire is not that we learn lessons and endure sufferings. Rather, His desire is to sow Christ into us so that Christ may grow out from us.
What we have been touching in these chapters is a matter of revelation. We have seen God’s eternal plan, the all-inclusive Christ, the marvelous Spirit, and our spirit. In addition to these four visions, we also need to see clearly that God does not want anything from us. He does not want us to be broken, to improve our behavior, to learn lessons, to suffer, or to bear the cross. Rather, He wants Christ to be sown into us and to grow out of us. This is what He wants. We also need to see that the unsearchable riches, and the great power as well, are already in us. We need to see this.
Recently, I fellowshipped with some brothers, saying, “To eat Christ we need to pray-read, to eat Christ we need to call on the Lord’s name, to eat Christ we need to turn to our spirit, and to eat Christ we need to pray a great deal. However, suppose you did not have pray-reading, calling on the Lord’s name, turning to the spirit, or praying. Then what would you do? In other words, suppose you were not allowed to pray-read, to call on the Lord’s name, to turn to your spirit, or to pray, what would you do? Would you still eat Christ or not? Would you have a way to do this?” Here I appreciate the word revelation. If you do not have revelation, you would be finished in this situation. If you have the revelation—if you have seen clearly that Christ has been sown into you, that all the riches of Christ are in you, and that the great power is already in you—then the more you were prohibited from outward activities, the more you would appreciate this revelation. Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that we should not pray, call on the Lord’s name, pray-read, or turn to our spirit. I do not mean to say that we are now free and that we no longer need to do anything. We should not be this way. We all need revelation. If you have truly seen that Christ is in you, that the unsearchable riches of Christ are in you, and that the great power is in you, then the more you stop the outward activities, the better off you will be. Christ is a seed, and as such, He is living.
Farmers all know that when seed is sown into a field, the best thing to do is to ignore it. Suppose you loosen the soil today to take a look and to try to render a little help to the seed. The next day you do something else to try to help it somewhat, and then you try to pull on the sprout to help it grow. The result will be that the crop will be ruined. Similarly, the primary matter today is not pray-reading, eating and drinking, or turning to our spirit. Rather, it is giving Christ the opportunity to grow and spread in us. We do not need to receive anything anymore. All the riches are already in us. This is what Paul said: “When I am weak, then I am powerful” (2 Cor. 12:10b). This was because when he was weak, he did not do anything; instead, he allowed the inner power to be expressed. This is revelation.
Do not misunderstand my words. It is correct that we need to pray-read, call on the Lord’s name, turn to our spirit, and pray a great deal. All these things are right, and we really need them. Strictly speaking, however, the growth of Christ in us does not depend on these things directly; rather, it depends on the opportunity we provide for Him to expand in us. The problem is that, because we do not have a strong and clear revelation, although it seems that we understand, we really do not understand. If we are truly clear, we will need to pray-read more, but the nature of our pray-reading will no longer be the same. We will need to call on the Lord’s name more, but the nature of our calling will be changed. We will need to turn to our spirit even more, but our turning now will be different from our turning before, because we have seen the vision. Christ does not require us to do anything. He only wants us to give Him the greatest opportunity to spread in us.
In the previous chapter we used the gas station as an illustration of our relation to the Lord. However, this illustration is not so accurate. Since we have all the riches inside, what else do we need to be filled with? Once Christ comes into us, He is in us forever, and everything comes in with Him. It is not that today Christ comes into us with a little bit of Himself, then tomorrow He adds a little more, and the day after tomorrow He adds some more. Strictly speaking, it is not an adding but a spreading. Everything has already come into us. Now the question is, will we let Him spread? When we see a big peach tree with hundreds of peaches on it, do not forget that five years earlier the peach tree may have been only a seed. When that seed was sown into the soil five years earlier, fertilizer and water may have been added. However, in any case, the substance of life, the function of life, and the shape of life were all contained in that seed. After it has been sown into the soil, all that matters is whether it is given the opportunity to grow, and whether the riches inside are given the chance to develop fully. If you allow the seed to develop today, in five years you will have a tree full of peaches.
We all need a revelation. We need to pray, “O Lord, show me the revelation in Ephesians, and show me how You are the all-inclusive seed, how all Your riches are in the seed, and how You have been sown into me.” Within this seed there are the substance, the function (which is His great power), and the form (which is His image). Do we allow Him to expand in us, to develop all that He is, all that He has, and all that He can do? We definitely need to see the importance of this. When we minister to others, strictly speaking, it is not we who minister to them. We simply help them to see that Christ is already in them and that He needs the opportunity to spread out of them.
Now let us consider a few verses from chapter 5 of Ephesians (vv. 25-27, 29). Ephesians is a book of revelations. In these few verses I will bring out only two points: one is the water in the word, and the other is nourishing and cherishing. These verses show us again that the church is the Body of Christ, and we all are members of the Body. Actually, our proper living is not a matter of learning lessons or a matter of enduring sufferings and bearing the cross. Ephesians 5 reveals that we need the water in the word. There is water in God’s word. The word here does not denote a lengthy discourse or the words printed in the Bible. The word here is the instant word, the present word, the word today. Two different Greek words are used in the New Testament for word: one denotes God’s constant word, and the other denotes God’s instant word. The one used here in Ephesians 5 denotes God’s instant word. The Bible is God’s constant word. After we read it, however, it becomes the instant word to us. Many times the Lord speaks an instant word directly within us. We may think that the Lord’s words must be the words written in the Bible. Actually, it is not necessarily so, because the Lord who is in us is living, and He speaks to us. In principle, of course, the words that the Lord speaks to us within will never contradict His constant words in the Bible. However, in detail, numerous words that the Lord speaks to us throughout our whole life are not found in the Bible. For instance, when you are going to watch a movie, the Lord may say within you, “Do not go to see that movie.” No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to find this word—Do not go to see that movie— in the Bible. The Bible does not have this word, but actually in the Christian’s experience of life, this kind of word may occur frequently. This is the instant word spoken of here in Ephesians 5.
The Lord’s words contain the element of water, which simply speaking, is spirit and life. The Lord said, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63b). In other words, the Lord’s words have cleansing power. The water here is not for supplying but for cleansing, that is, for the cleansing and washing of the church. What is washed away is not defilements or sins but spots and wrinkles. Wrinkles are related to oldness. You must let the water in the word, that is, the spirit and the life in the word, do a metabolic work in your organic being by adding new life elements into you to replace the old elements. This is a metabolic process and a discharging. We all know that metabolism takes place within us by something new being supplied and added to us and something old being discharged and eliminated. This metabolism is the cleansing referred to in Ephesians 5.
Now you can see that no matter how much you tell people to learn the lessons of the cross, to be broken, and to endure sufferings, they can never experience metabolism by these things. This requires a revelation. When we help people, we should not try to teach them too much. If we do this, we will lead them into a maze. Instead, we should help them receive the Lord’s instant word, the Lord’s living word, every day. The spirit and the life contained in the Lord’s living word will become the cleansing water that brings the life functions to their organic constitution.
Ephesians 5:26 says, “That He might sanctify her [the church], cleansing her...” According to the Greek grammatical construction of this verse, it is difficult to decide whether sanctifying or cleansing comes first. According to the grammar, these two things occur simultaneously. When the church is being sanctified, she is being cleansed, and when she is being cleansed, she is being sanctified. We know that to be sanctified is to have the element of the Holy Spirit added into us, and to be cleansed is to have the old elements discharged from us. Sanctification is an addition, whereas cleansing is a subtraction. What is added is Christ, and what is subtracted is our oldness.
The combination of these two—sanctifying plus cleansing, and cleansing plus sanctifying—is what is called transformation in the New Testament. As referred to in the New Testament, on the one hand, transformation is a sanctifying, and on the other hand, it is a cleansing. On the one hand, the element of Christ is added, and on the other hand, the element of Adam is eliminated. This is transformation. Wrinkles surely do not come from the element of Christ but from the old Adam. These things cannot be removed by the cross or cleansed by the precious blood. We need Christ as the new element to be added into our organic constitution. When this happens, the elements of the old creation will be replaced.
In addition to being cleansed, we also need to be nourished and cherished. Our body must receive nourishment. The ordinary way to nourish our body is for us to eat. To eat is to receive outward nourishment into our body so that it becomes our inner elements. The nourishing in Ephesians 5 is this kind of eating. Our body needs this kind of nourishing. It also needs to be cherished, to be kept warm. If you ask doctors, they will tell you that for most illnesses the body needs to be kept warm. If you are not kept warm, you become cold and stiff, and you may even die. The Greek word for cherish is difficult to translate. It means, on the one hand, to warm, and on the other hand, to soften. When we are cold, we become stiff and hard, and when a person dies, his body becomes stiff and cold. If any kind of hardness develops in any part of your body, that is bad because it might be a tumor. For the body to stay healthy, it must be nourished and kept warm and soft. If we have a boil, that spot can become hard and cold. The lessons of the cross may cause people to become cold, and the breaking may cause them to become hardened. The more breakings they experience, the more they become hardened. Because you do not have any sores or boils on your body, your body is soft all over. Suppose, however, you are cut with a knife. After half an hour, both sides of the cut will become hardened. Being broken, receiving the cross, and enduring sufferings cannot keep us warm and soft. Today, what is really beneficial to our body is that which can warm and soften it. It is all right for our body to sweat, because we sweat when we are warm. However, do not expose yourself to coldness, or you may catch a cold. In order to protect your body, it is better to keep it warm rather than to let it get cold.
Today we need to see these principles of life from the Lord’s Word. When brothers or sisters live together, they should not make their homes seem like funeral homes. All the corpses in the funeral homes are stiff. When people visit a brothers’ house, they should be able to sense the warmth there. They should be able to sense that everyone there is softened. If I come to visit your sisters’ house, and when I step inside, the atmosphere is cold, everyone’s face has an icy look, and nobody dares to say a word, then something is seriously wrong there. If I come to the brothers’ or sisters’ house, and the moment I enter, I can feel the warmth there, and if every one of you is soft when I speak with you, then I will know that the spiritual condition there is proper.
In Greek, the meaning of nourishing and cherishing implies feeding the body so that it is always kept warm and soft. Do not be like a corpse and become cold and rigid. Suppose a person who has been sick for a long time is about to die. When you touch his feet, you will feel that they are cold. After ten minutes the legs will be cold. After another ten minutes the coldness will reach his knees, and fifteen minutes later the coldness will reach his thighs. At that stage you know that he is about to die. As soon as a person dies, his whole body becomes cold. Some brothers and sisters have received the kind of “help” that makes them cold, then makes them hard, and finally causes them to become a stiff corpse. May the Lord have mercy on us and deliver us out of all these situations. The entire church life and all the church meetings should be in a nourishing and cherishing situation.
