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God’s economy is not a religion, but a wonderful, unlimited, immeasurable, unsearchable, and all-inclusive Person, Christ Jesus Himself. Christ is the embodiment of God and the content of the church. This Christ is to be our life and our person.
However, in today’s Christianity God’s economy has become a mere religion. Under the influence of this religion, Christians believe that God loved the world and gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins. After Christ’s resurrection, He ascended to the heavens. Until He comes back, we are to study the Bible and follow its teachings. But teachings are not the living Person of Christ Himself. God’s economy is not a matter of religion with doctrines and teachings; it is a matter of a wonderful, living Person. Now this Person must become our person. Our need today is not to be concerned with doctrine, but to be concerned with contacting the living Christ within us.
Many Christians pay more attention to the Bible than to Christ. This indicates that even the Bible can be utilized to distract people from Christ. Surely, we believe, respect, and honor the Bible to the uttermost. But we recognize that the Bible is the revelation of the living Person of Christ. If we do not pay attention to the Christ revealed in the Bible, then we ignore the main function of the Bible, which is to reveal this very Christ to us. How we need to be recovered fully to Christ Himself!
We need to be recovered not merely to the objective Christ in the heavens, but to the subjective Christ in our spirit. This subjective One is seeking to spread Himself into our heart. Not only is Christ our Savior objectively, but He is our life and our person subjectively. We need to devote our full attention to such a subjective Christ. In Galatians 2:20 Paul could say, “Not I, but Christ who lives in me.” Here Paul did not speak of the life of Christ, the work of Christ, or the power of Christ; he spoke of Christ Himself living in him. Hallelujah, the very Person of Christ is living in us!
In the foregoing message we pointed out that when Christ was in the flesh, He gave Himself up for us. Then in resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit. This life-giving Spirit is the One we are to take daily as our person. As the life-giving Spirit, Christ is washing us, sanctifying us, cleansing us, nourishing us, and cherishing us. We shall consider these matters in this message.
Perhaps you have heard messages or read books about sanctification. In order to know the true meaning of sanctification, we need to contact the life-giving Spirit indwelling our spirit. One aspect of sanctification involves separation. To be sanctified is to be separated positionally, to undergo a change of position. However, this is not the only aspect of sanctification. In sanctification something that once was natural gradually becomes holy in nature. Hence, as we are sanctified subjectively, we become holy dispositionally.
This aspect of sanctification can be illustrated by the process of making tea. When tea is placed in a cup of water, the water is “tea-ified.” As the water is “tea-ified,” it becomes tea-water. We can compare ourselves to the cup of water and Christ to the tea. Just as water is “tea-ified” by the element of tea, so we are sanctified by the element of Christ. Therefore, to be sanctified is to have Christ Himself added into our being. The more Christ is added into us, the more we have the appearance, taste, and aroma of Christ. Day by day, our need is to take more of Christ as the heavenly tea into us so that more of His element may be added into our being. In this way we shall be “Christ-ified.”
Suppose Christ were simply an objective Christ at the right hand of God in the heavens. Could we be sanctified dispositionally simply by trying to follow in an outward way the teachings of the Bible? Certainly not. Nothing of the element of Christ could be added into our being. We thank the Lord for showing us that subjective sanctification is a matter of having Christ added into us. The only way this can happen is by our taking Him as our life and as our person.
We have pointed out that when we take Christ as our person, we experience Him speaking in us as the life-giving Spirit. The Lord’s intention in His inward speaking is not simply to tell us to do certain things or not to do other things; it is to impart Himself into us by speaking to us. The more the Lord speaks within us, the more He imparts Himself into us. Whenever we tell the Lord that we want Him to be our person, He begins to speak within us.
Even if we do not hearken to His speaking, He will still impart Himself to us by His speaking. Many times we may disobey the Lord’s inner speaking, but He spreads within us a little more nevertheless. The Lord’s main concern is not with how much we obey Him, but with how much opportunity He has to impart Himself to us and to spread Himself within us. As soon as you say, “Lord Jesus, I take You as my person,” the Lord begins to impart Himself into you. However, should you change your mind and tell the Lord that you want to withdraw your promise, He will say, “Even if you withdraw your promise, I have already imparted Myself into you.” If we tell the Lord that we are not able to obey Him, He will reply, “I am not concerned whether or not you feel you are able to obey Me. I only care to be given the opportunity to get Myself into you.” Even as we are speaking to the Lord about not wanting to fulfill the promise we have made to Him or about being unable to obey Him, He is imparting Himself into us. The more we speak to Him, the more we are “Christ-ified.”
Sanctification comes from our dealing with the living Person of Christ. I have the full assurance that those who have told the Lord that they are willing to take Him as their person cannot escape the Lord’s speaking. As the Lord speaks, He imparts Himself into us. This impartation is sanctification.
We come now to cleansing. In sanctification a new element is added into us, whereas in cleansing a particular element is removed from us. We all need our natural disposition to be cleansed. No matter how good or kind you may be naturally your natural disposition is a problem. Furthermore, we have the problems of our habits, customs, and self-made ordinances. All these things need to be eradicated.
Contrary to religious teachings, we are not cleansed by self-correction. This means that we are not cleansed by dealing with ourselves in an outward way. For example, it is impossible to remove wrinkles, signs of oldness, by washing the skin outwardly. During our first period of time in the church life, we may experience a church honeymoon. However, inevitably oldness sets in and wrinkles appear. In order for our wrinkles to be removed, our youthfulness in life must be restored. As the life-giving Spirit, Christ is doing such a work of restoration among us today. Christ will not come back for a bride with wrinkles. If we would be His Bride, we must be kept up to date with Him. Wrinkles are not taken away by teaching or by trying to obey the doctrines in the Bible. Wrinkles are removed as we take Christ as our person and allow Him to live in us. It is not the objective Christ in the heavens who cleanses us; on the contrary, it is the subjective Christ, the Christ so intimate and available, who cleanses us. Whenever we contact Him, we are refreshed, renewed, and made more youthful in life.
Ephesians 5:25 and 26 say that Christ gave Himself up for the church that He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word. In the foregoing message we pointed out that the water in the word is Christ as the speaking Spirit. The more Christ speaks within us, the more He flows within us. This flowing water is not in the logos, the constant word, but in the rhema, the present, instant word. As this water washes us, it carries away our oldness. This washing is a metabolic washing. It supplies a new element to replace the old. This leads to transformation. Therefore, cleansing is not a matter of teaching, but a matter of taking Christ as our living person. When we take Him as our person, He adds Himself into us and washes us metabolically.
In verse 29 there are two important words: nourish and cherish. To nourish is to feed. In the past many of us attended so-called Christian services or read the Bible without receiving any nourishment. But if we take Christ as our person, we shall experience Him nourishing us. We shall continually have the sense of His inward nourishment. To be nourished by Christ is to be supplied with His riches. I believe that we all have experienced the nourishment that comes from taking Christ as our person.
Nourishment brings about transformation. We all become what we eat. This means that if we eat Christ, we shall eventually be constituted with Christ. We shall be transformed by the element of Christ that has been dispensed into us. The more we take Christ as our person, the more He nourishes us. Through Christ’s nourishment we are transformed. This means that we become a new person with a new element and substance. Hallelujah, Christ nourishes us with Himself, with the riches of all He is! What we need today is not doctrine or religion, but the enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ.
In these messages our burden is not to pass on more teachings to the saints. Our burden is to minister the living Christ. Today the need of the Lord’s people is to take Christ as their person for nourishment. Because we are conscious of this need, we are not interested in mere objective teachings. Our desire is to help others come in touch with the living Christ, to open to Him, and to take Him as their life and person. I hope that many will say, “Lord, I have been a Christian for years, but I have not taken You as my person. Lord, by Your mercy, I want to begin now to take You as my person.” If your husband or wife troubles you and you are tempted to exchange words, that is the time to take Christ as your person. Instead of arguing with others or defending ourselves, we should allow Christ to make His home in our heart.
Many of us can testify that we have been “wrecked” by Christ. On the one hand, Christ rescues us; but on the other hand, He “wrecks” us and makes us useless for anything other than Himself and the church life. The more we take Christ as our person, the more He “wrecks” us. Actually, this ministry is a “wrecking” ministry. Through it, thousands have been “wrecked” for Christ and the church. Now nothing other than the living Christ and the proper church life can satisfy us.
Along with the nourishing we have the cherishing. To be cherished is to be softened by being warmed. When we are hard and cold, we need Christ to cherish us. We need Him to warm our hearts. After some experiences of His warming, we are softened. Many can testify that through their contact with the church in the Lord’s recovery, they have been warmed and softened. Before coming into the church life, they were somewhat cold and hard. But Christ, the nourishing and cherishing One, has made them warm and soft. Many of us can give testimony of what it is to be cherished by Christ in such a tender, intimate way.
Just as a mother cherishes a child by holding the child to her breast, so the Lord cherishes us by holding us close to Him. Although I am an elderly person, I still need Christ’s cherishing. Sometimes I tell Him, “Lord, You know how small I am.” He replies, “Yes, I know. This is why I am here not only to sanctify, cleanse, and nourish you, but also to cherish you.” How tender, sweet, and warm the Lord Jesus is! By resting on Him, we who once were hard and cold become soft and warm. Such a change takes place through the Lord’s care for us from within. Inwardly the Lord warms us and softens us as we enjoy His tenderness, sweetness, and lovingness. Praise Him, He is the cherishing One! May we all take Christ as our person and experience more of His sanctifying, cleansing, nourishing, and cherishing. In this way we enjoy Him and experience Him in a living way.
