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Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 2:14-16
Paul is a pattern of living Christ for the church. According to his word in 2 Corinthians, if we would live Christ for the church, we need to be attached, anointed, sealed, captured, subdued, and led to scatter the incense of Christ. In 2:14 Paul says, “But thanks be to God, Who always leads us in triumph in the Christ, and manifests through us the savor of the knowledge of Him in every place.” In this verse Paul uses two metaphors: captives in a triumphal procession and incense-bearers scattering incense in such a procession. As incense-bearers, the apostles scatter the savor of the knowledge of Christ in His triumphal ministry as in a triumphal procession. The apostles are such incense-bearers in the ministry of Christ and captives in the train of His triumph as well. Paul was attached, anointed, sealed, captured, subdued, and led to scatter the incense of Christ. We also need to experience all these matters so that we may scatter the incense of Christ.
Second Corinthians 1:21 and 22 and 2:14-16 are wonderful verses. In these five verses there are a number of marvelous truths. According to 1:21 and 22, we must be firmly attached to Christ, we must be anointed by God, and we must be sealed with the Spirit. Furthermore, according to 2:14-16, we need to be captured, subdued, and led. All this is that we may scatter the incense of our Savior, the incense of the One whom we love to the uttermost. In my ministry I am not merely a teacher or a preacher — I am one scattering the incense of my Lord. I am beside myself with love for Him, and I desire to scatter His incense. Every one in the Lord’s recovery must be a person scattering the incense of Christ. Wherever we go we should scatter this incense.
Some have wondered why a number of Christians in this country have been willing to receive my ministry. The reason is that I am scattering the incense of Christ. This is my unique occupation, my unique profession. My major in the heavenly university was scattering the incense of Christ. I expect that in the years to come many among us, especially the young people, will rise up to scatter Christ’s incense. Young people, your aspiration should be to scatter the incense of Christ. Regarding this, you need to say, “By the Lord’s grace, I shall become one who scatters the incense of Christ wherever I go.”
I believe that in the next ten years many of today’s young people will become those who scatter the incense of Christ. I believe there will still be time for the young people to grow up and be used by the Lord. Because of the immaturity of Christians, the bride is not yet ready for the Lord’s coming. The Lord will not come for the bride until she is mature and ready for Him. Until the bride is prepared, the Lord will continue to execute God’s government and carry on His heavenly ministry to hasten the process of our maturing. We cannot mature overnight. Anything of life needs time to grow. It is possible to make hundreds of artificial flowers in a day, but genuine flowers need time to grow. I believe that during the time required for the bride to grow and mature, many young people will scatter the incense of Christ. In the years to come, the Lord may lead certain ones to different places. Wherever we may go, we should scatter the incense.
I can testify that the opposition to the Lord’s recovery is actually a positive sign. It is a sign that the recovery truly is of the Lord and that it is His move on earth. Hallelujah, we are in the Lord’s recovery! We are growing up, and we are being raised up to scatter the incense of Christ.
In 1:21 Paul says, “But He Who firmly attaches us with you unto Christ and has anointed us is God.” Paul was not attached to Christ in an individualistic way. Rather, he says that the apostles were attached with all the other believers. The Greek word rendered “with” in verse 21 means together with. Together with the rest of the believers, the apostles have been attached to Christ, the anointed One. This proves that Paul was not individualistic. Even though he was the greatest apostle, he still needed all the other believers. It was with the believers in Corinth that he was attached to Christ. Hence, he was attached to Him corporately, not individualistically.
The One to whom we have been attached is Christ, God’s anointed One. The Bible reveals that all the ointment of God has been poured out upon God’s anointed One. Apart from Him, there is no ointment, no anointing. When the anointing was poured upon Christ, the process of anointing was completed. There is no ointment other than that which is on Christ, the anointed One. God does not do any more anointing. What He does concerning us today is to attach us together to this anointed One. Because we have been attached to Him, we are attached to the anointing. For this reason, the anointing follows the attaching. God has attached us, and He has also anointed us. After we are attached, we are anointed spontaneously.
Do you know what it means to be anointed by God? It means that we are put into all the riches of the Triune God. The riches of the Triune God are now the ointment, and the ointment has been poured out upon Christ. When we are attached to Christ, we are under the anointing. In this way, we are anointed. We are put into the practical enjoyment of all the riches of the Triune God.
In 1:22 Paul goes on to say that God has also sealed us and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts. The anointing in verse 21 is the sealing. Since God has anointed us in Christ, He has also sealed us in Him. This seal is a mark placed upon us by God. This mark can be compared to a person’s signature. Whenever I purchase a new book, I immediately write my name in it. Every book belonging to me bears my signature. Writing my signature in a book illustrates what it means to be sealed by God. If we would live Christ, we must be attached to Him and enjoy the anointing. Then this anointing will become a seal indicating that we are possessed by the Lord. Now that we have been anointed and sealed, we no longer belong to Satan or the world. We do not even belong to ourselves. We belong to the Lord, to Christ, God’s anointed One. Hallelujah, we are His!
In order to live Christ, we must first have Christ. The same is true in principle with spending money. Spending money requires that we have money to spend. If we are in debt and have no money in our account, then we do not have any money to spend. Likewise, if we do not have Christ, we cannot possibly live Him. But because we have been attached to the anointed One, anointed with the riches of the Triune God, and also sealed, we have the spiritual wealth required to write “checks” and draw on the riches from our spiritual bank account. We can live Christ because we have Christ, and we have Christ because we have been attached, anointed, and sealed. Paul, the pattern of a person who lives Christ for the church, was attached, anointed, and sealed. Such a one has an abundance of riches to use for the church.
Although we have been attached, anointed, and sealed, we still need to be captured by Christ in full. Is it not true that at least part of your being has not yet been captured by the Lord? Perhaps a rather large percentage of your inner being has not yet been captured by Him. A brother who has been partially captured by Christ may say to himself, “Tomorrow is the Lord’s Day once again. I don’t want to go to the church meeting, but it is necessary for me to go. I’m sorry that I became a Christian. Now that I have been saved, I know that I can’t escape from the Lord. I would like to get away from Him, but it is impossible. Christ will not let me go. Furthermore, my wife loves the Lord and is fervent for the church life. She brings all the children to the church. I would much rather do something else instead of attending the meeting tomorrow, but I am overruled by my family. They all want me to attend the meeting. Therefore, I have no choice in this matter. I must go to the meeting tomorrow to suffer and feel miserable.” This is the attitude of one who has been captured by Christ only to a very limited degree.
Unless we have been captured by Christ, we cannot live Him. I surely have learned this secret. Do not think that I am always willing to be captured by the Lord. Sometimes a part of my being is not pleased to be captured by Him. I have learned that if we would be captured, we need grace. Whenever you sense that part of you is not willing to be captured by the Lord, remember that you have been attached, anointed, and sealed. Sometimes when I sense such an unwillingness within me, I recall the fact that I have been attached, anointed, and sealed. Then I realize that it is my destiny to be captured and subdued so that I may live Christ. Only those who have been captured by Christ and subdued by Him can live Him for the church. This is our destiny and, ultimately, concerning this we have no choice, preference, or opinion. We must be captured and subdued.
Have you been subdued by the Lord? I know of some wives who eventually were subdued by their husbands. After a period of years, they were willing to recognize the husband as the head. But to be subdued by one’s husband is not nearly as good as being subdued by Christ. Christ is always gentle, but He is strong and persistent. He is able to wait as long as necessary until we are willing to be subdued by Him. If we are not willing to be subdued today, He may wait for another year or even longer. If we are not subdued in this age, He knows we shall be subdued in the next age, or in the New Jerusalem. Eventually we all shall be subdued by the Lord. It is much better to be subdued today. It is wise and also very profitable to be subdued now. To wait even a short time before we are subdued may cause us to suffer loss.
I can testify that I do not regret being subdued by Christ. When I was young, I had a good job with a good income. Then one day Christ came in to require me to give up my job and serve Him full time. However, I had a number of questions. The Lord told me simply to believe in Him. I said to the Lord that I was willing to suffer hunger for Him as long as He would take care of my wife and children. The Lord encouraged me to trust my wife and children to His care. Nevertheless, I was concerned about what would happen to my family if I left my job to serve the Lord. I realized that the Lord is the almighty One, but still I felt it was safer to have the family in my own care. I struggled with the Lord for a long time. I wondered why He had provided me with a wife and children if it was His intention that I serve Him. But after a while, I gave in to the Lord. This was nearly fifty years ago, and I can testify that the Lord has rewarded me a hundredfold. My point here is that whenever the Lord demands that we do something, He will most assuredly supply us for that matter. To live Christ is not only a demand; it is a requirement that implies a promise. Every demand in the New Testament implies that the Lord will supply what we need to meet that demand. The more He demands of us, the more He will supply us.
In order to live Christ, we must first be captured by the Lord and then subdued by Him. If I had stayed with my job and not left it to serve the Lord full time, that would have been a sign that I had not been captured and subdued. If that had been the situation, I could not have been used by the Lord for the raising up of churches in His recovery. Whether or not so many churches could be raised up depended upon the capturing and subduing of one person. What the Lord is able to do through you also depends on your willingness to be captured and subdued by Him. Therefore, it is a very significant matter to be captured and subdued by Christ.
Paul could say to the Lord, “Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You have attached me, anointed me, sealed me, captured me, and subdued me. Now I am ready to be led by You.” Then the Lord could come in to lead Paul in His triumphal procession. As an apostle, Paul did not do anything according to his own choice, preference, or taste. On the contrary, he was truly led by the Lord. Paul took the Lord’s leading, no matter what it was. Concerning the Lord’s leading, Paul did not have any choice. As the metaphor in 2:14 indicates, he considered himself a captive who had been placed in Christ’s triumphal procession, a procession celebrating Christ’s victory. How could such a captured one have any choice? There is no choice for captives. Because Paul, a captive, was willing to be led, wherever he went was the Lord’s leading. Paul did not travel in Asia Minor to carry on a work of evangelization. No, his travel was a move in Christ’s procession. Christ’s triumphal procession was advancing through Asia Minor and onward to Macedonia and Achaia. Paul was in a procession led by God to celebrate the victory of God’s Son.
I do not believe that my coming to this country was any kind of missionary work. It also was a move in Christ’s procession, the Lord’s celebration of His victory in His recovery. As one captured, subdued, and led, I am a captive in this procession. Praise the Lord that the procession celebrating Christ’s victory in the recovery has come to this country!
By being attached, anointed, sealed, captured, subdued, and led, we scatter the incense of Christ. This scattering of the incense is actually to live Christ. The Christ we live has incense, and He even is this incense. Therefore, when we scatter the incense of Christ, we scatter Christ Himself.
This scattering of Christ as the incense has an effect: it is a matter of life or death. For those who have been chosen by God, the scattering of the incense is unto life. But to others, it is unto death. This is a very serious matter, and Paul asks, “Who is sufficient for these things?” (2:16).
We praise the Lord that it is possible for us to be those who scatter the incense of Christ. When we have been attached, anointed, sealed, captured, subdued, and led, we shall scatter the incense of Christ.
