Eph. 3 reveals that the Apostle Paul had a walk worthy of God’s calling. As one with such a worthy walk, he was a prisoner, a steward, and a minister. In this chapter Paul told us that the revelation of the mystery concerning Christ for the church has been given to the apostles and prophets (v. 5). Paul’s revelation of Christ was mainly a revelation of Christ’s unsearchable riches. Because Paul’s walk was governed by his revelation of Christ, he could not keep from speaking of the riches of Christ. The apostle’s preaching was focused on the riches of Christ, not on the doctrines. The riches of Christ are what Christ is to us, such as light, life, righteousness, and holiness. These riches are unsearchable; it is beyond our ability to trace them out. Since we also can be apostles and prophets, there is the need for us to see the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Many Christians have the mistaken concept that the apostles in the universal church and the elders in the local churches are high officials, far above the so-called laymen or common believers. As we pointed out in the foregoing message, the Apostle Paul, realizing that such was a wrong concept, purposely indicated that the apostles and prophets were not extraordinary. On the contrary, they should be regarded simply as leading ones among the saints in the churches. They take the lead to receive the revelation concerning Christ for the church, to live Christ, to experience Christ, to enjoy Christ, and to minister the riches of Christ to others. If the enjoyment of the riches of Christ were available only for certain exceptional persons of high rank, then the rest of us would have no share in it. But in 3:8 Paul said that he was less than the least of all saints; yet he could preach the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel. The fact that Paul could do this indicates that we can do it also. Because he was less than we are, what was available to him is available also to us.
The apostles and prophets are not a special class of believers. Rather, they are ordinary believers like the rest of us. The difference between them and other believers is that they are leading ones. It is the same with the elders in the local churches. The elders are not extraordinary people of high rank, higher than other believers. No, they are simply those who take the lead in the church life. We all need to allow this concept to sink into our being.
In the Lord’s recovery we must drop the thought of rank. There is no rank among us. At most, we just have some leading ones to take the lead to live Christ for the church life. There is no higher class, no special class, in the church. We have no leader. According to the Lord’s word in Matthew 23:8-10, He is our unique Leader, and we all are brothers. We must drop the concept that the apostles and elders are special. We all are sheep, and the apostles, prophets, and elders take the lead to set an example, a pattern, of how to know Christ, to enjoy Him, to gain Him for the church life, and to dispense Him into others. This is a matter of setting an example, not a matter of rank or position.
In order to be apostles, prophets, stewards, ministers, and even prisoners in Christ, we need to know the unsearchable riches of Christ. These riches are for the producing of the church to be the fullness of Christ.
The riches of Christ are depicted in types. It is not easy to find all the types of Christ in the Old Testament. Some types are hidden. For example, the earth that emerges in Genesis 1:9 and 10 is a type of Christ. Many other types are found in chapter one of Genesis: light, the sun, the star, and the trees. Elsewhere in the Bible we see that the vine tree, the apple tree, the cedar, and the cypress are all types of Christ. Herbs also typify Christ. At the time of the Passover, the children of Israel ate not only the lamb, but also unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Wheat and barley are also types of Christ, and the henna flower spoken of in Song of Songs as well. Certain persons also typify Christ. Adam, Abel, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron are some of these who are types of Christ. The priests, the kings, and the prophets also typify Him.
The more I study the Bible, the more I realize how little I know it. A hundred messages could be given on Genesis 1, mainly on the types of Christ in this chapter. The Bible is deep and profound. Only when we get into its depths do we see the riches it contains. Beneath the surface of the Bible are the riches of Christ. Because these riches are so vast, it is difficult for anyone to say how many types of Christ there are in the Old Testament. Just this one matter of the types reveals many of the riches of Christ.
Along with the types, there are the shadows and figures of Christ. Although types and shadows are similar in certain respects, they are like human faces in that they not only share similarities, but also differ from each other. Types are mainly persons or things that signify Christ, whereas shadows mainly refer to rituals and practices in the Old Testament that portray Christ. According to Colossians 2:16 and 17, eating regulations, rituals, and holy days were shadows. By this we see that the laws, ordinances, and ceremonies in the Old Testament were shadows portraying Christ. But Adam, Aaron, and Moses were not shadows; they were types. The Sabbath day and the new moon, on the contrary, were shadows. Although the Sabbath was a rest, it was not the real rest, for the real rest is Christ. Likewise, the law as a testimony of God described what God was like. As a description and explanation of God, the law was a testimony of God. In this it was a shadow of Christ as the real explanation, definition, and testimony of God.
A figure mainly refers to a situation that presents a certain picture. For example, the wandering of the children of Israel in the wilderness is a figure, a picture, of our experience in the Christian life today, which is often a life of wandering. The Passover is another figure. Although the Passover lamb is a type of Christ, the Passover itself is a figure depicting how Christ, our Passover, saves us from God’s judgment and feeds us with what He is. Hence, the picture of the Passover is a figure of Christ.
Christ is so rich that He needs not only types, but also shadows and figures to portray Him. All the types, shadows, and figures of Christ in the Old Testament are descriptions, explanations, and definitions of what Christ is. We need to study all these matters in the Scriptures in order to know the riches of Christ.
The riches of Christ are also seen in prophecies. In the Bible the first prophecy concerning Christ is Genesis 3:15, a verse which predicts that Christ as the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent, Satan. This implies that Christ had to become a man born of a virgin, for He was to be the seed of woman. Christ is not the descendant of a man; He is the seed of a woman. This one verse reveals much of the riches of Christ.
Isaiah 9:6 is another prophecy regarding Christ. This verse gives us seven titles of Christ: Child, Son, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. In the Old Testament, there are a great many other prophecies of Christ. Even the short book of Zechariah contains many detailed prophecies concerning Him.
The riches of Christ are also seen in the fulfillment of the prophecies. Sometimes in the fulfillment of a prophecy in the New Testament something further is added. For example, the Old Testament reveals that Christ will be the lamb. But in the Old Testament, Christ is never called the Lamb of God. Nevertheless, in the fulfillment of the prophecy regarding Christ as the lamb, He is called the Lamb of God (John 1:29). What an addition this is!
When I was young, I was troubled by the fact that sometimes the New Testament writers added certain things when quoting the Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ. I thought that they should not have gone beyond what was written in the Old Testament. Later I came to see that Christ could not be limited by the prophecies concerning Him. When He came, He fulfilled more than what had been prophesied. Furthermore, our experience of Christ surpasses the fulfillment of the prophecies. Actually, this is not adding something; it is experiencing the unlimited Christ. In our experience Christ is not only the Lamb of God, but the Lamb of eternity. Thus, the prophecy is short, the fulfillment is longer, and the experience is eternal. When we experience Christ in the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Him, we do not add anything. Rather, we enter into the eternal experience of the inexhaustible riches of Christ.
Plants also portray the riches of Christ. Grass, flowers, grains, and trees all depict Christ’s riches.
Christ is typified not only by trees and plants, but also by animals. The lamb, the cow, the eagle, the lion, and the dove are all types of Christ.
In the Bible, a number of minerals also show forth the riches of Christ. Gold, silver, brass, and precious stones, for example, typify Him.
We have pointed out that a number of persons in the Bible typify Christ. All these depict different aspects of Christ’s riches. We see certain riches of Christ in Adam, others in Abel, and others in Joseph. Throughout the Bible, many other persons portray different aspects of the riches of Christ.
All the positive things in the universe point to Christ. For example, Christ is the real gravity. Without Him, we would drift away. If Christ did not hold us in place, we would not be able to stand. Christ is the One with the true holding power. According to Hebrews 1:3, He upholds the entire universe.
Because all the positive things in the universe signify Christ, Christ could use so many things as illustrations of Himself when He was on earth. For instance, He could use the door as a picture of Himself and say, “I am the door.” Christ is the reality of every positive thing. He is not only the gravity, but also the air, the light, and every positive thing.
The riches of Christ also include both human virtues and divine attributes. Christ is the real love, patience, and forgiveness. Apart from Christ, we cannot love, be patient, or forgive, not even in relation to our wife or husband. But when we have Christ, we have all the human virtues and divine attributes.
All the riches of Christ are for the producing of the church. This takes place through the divine dispensation of Christ into the believers. The church is produced not by teaching, nor by organizing, but by the dispensation of Christ. The more Christ is dispensed into us, the more life we have, the stronger life we have, the richer life we have, and the more uplifted the church life becomes. I love the ministry that dispenses the riches of Christ into the believers. By means of such a ministry, we have a proper, strong, uplifted church life.
The riches of Christ produce the church through the believers’ experience and enjoyment of Christ. On Christ’s side, it is a matter of dispensation, but on our side, it is a matter of experience and enjoyment. When we experience and enjoy the very Christ who is dispensed into us, we become part of the proper church life.
The riches of Christ also express God’s multifarious wisdom (3:10). God’s wisdom is manifold; it has many aspects in many directions. This wisdom is expressed before the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies, mainly before the evil powers of Satan. God desires to demonstrate to the powers of Satan how wise He is. Thus, the riches of Christ display His wisdom in a multifarious way. This is according to God’s eternal purpose (3:11).
The experience of the riches of Christ results in the fullness of Christ, the Body as Christ’s expression (1:23). The book of Ephesians speaks both of the riches of Christ and of the fullness of Christ. A tall, husky man is the fullness of America because he has enjoyed the riches of American foodstuffs. Throughout the years of his growth and development, he has consumed a great deal of meat, poultry, vegetables, and fruit. Therefore, as a full-grown man, he becomes the fullness of America. The riches of American foodstuffs did not make him this fullness until he ate them, digested them, and assimilated them. By absorbing the riches in this way, the riches became part of him. Likewise all the aspects of the riches of Christ do not become the fullness of Christ until they are eaten, enjoyed, digested, and assimilated by us. By absorbing these riches in such a way, we become the Body of Christ as His fullness to express Him. Thus, the Body of Christ is constituted of the riches of Christ that have been enjoyed and assimilated by us. Therefore, the Body is the result, the issue, of the experience and enjoyment of the riches of Christ.
