Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:20-23; 3:8, 16-19; 4:8-10
God’s economy is Christ with the church. May the Lord grant us a clear sky so that we may see the vision of Christ and the church. Although Ephesians is a short book, no other book in the Bible reveals Christ in His all-inclusiveness, both vertically and horizontally, as the book of Ephesians does.
Many students of the Word realize that Colossians reveals Christ as the Head and Ephesians reveals the church as the Body. However, not even the book of Colossians reveals Christ in such a vertical and horizontal way as He is revealed in Ephesians. Eph. 1:21 says that Christ is “far above all.” Such a word cannot be found in Colossians. Colossians says that Christ must have the preeminence, the first place, in all things, but it does not say that Christ is far above all. Some may regard the third heaven as the highest point in the universe. But in 4:10 Paul says that Christ has “ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.”
Eph. 1:23 says that Christ “fills all in all.” Col. 3:11 says that Christ is all and in all. However, Christ’s filling all in all in Ephesians 1:23 surpasses His being all and in all in Colossians 3:11. Colossians 3:11 refers to the sphere of the new man. Hence, in the new man Christ is all and in all. But Ephesians 1:23 refers to the universe, which includes time and space. Christ is not only all and in all with respect to the new man, but He fills all in all with respect to the universe. Universally, Christ is above all and fills all in all.
In 3:8 Paul refers to the unsearchable riches of Christ. This term is not found in Colossians. The riches of Christ are what Christ is to us, such as light, life, righteousness, and holiness. These riches are unsearchable and past our tracing out.
In 3:18 Paul speaks of the “breadth and length and height and depth.” The breadth, length, height, and depth are the dimensions of Christ. Christ is not only higher than all things — He is the height. He is not only deeper and broader and longer than all things — He is the breadth, the length, and the depth.
This very Christ who is all-inclusive both vertically and horizontally is making His home in our hearts in a very intimate way. Oh, may we see that the all-inclusive Christ is now making His home in our hearts!
Christ is far above all because He has been raised from among the dead (1:20-21). Apart from Christ, no one has been able to overcome death and come out from among the dead. For Christ to be raised up out of death indicates that nothing can hold Him down. When death comes to visit us, we cannot refuse it, for death has the power to hold us. But it did not have the power to hold Christ (Acts 2:24). After visiting the realm of the dead for three days, Christ came forth in resurrection. Although death did everything possible to hold Him, Christ could have said, “Death, is this all you can do to Me? If this is all, then it is time for Me to walk away from you in resurrection.”
Just as nothing can hold Christ down, so nothing negative can hold us down, because we have Christ in us. We who believe in Christ must be the raised-up ones. Christ has been raised from the dead, and nothing can hold Him down. This is the reason that He is now far above all. He has been resurrected to be far above all. This is our Christ.
All Christians know that Christ is the Redeemer and the Savior. Some realize that Christ is the Giver of all gifts and that He Himself is our life. But Christ is even more than this. In Ephesians, a book concerned with God’s economy, we see that Christ is far above all. I can testify that the Christ I enjoy is the One who is far above all.
In a number of respects the Christ we enjoy in the Lord’s recovery is different from the Christ in Christianity. When some hear this, they may accuse us of heresy. But consider the typology in the book of Leviticus. In this book five main offerings are described: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. These offerings typify Christ in various aspects. Even with one kind of offering, such as the burnt offering, there are different types of sacrifices. One could offer as a burnt offering a bullock, a lamb, or a bird. All these are types of Christ. This gives us the ground to say that in our experience the Christ we enjoy may be different from the Christ enjoyed by others. The Christ I experience may be different from the Christ you experience, and the Christ you enjoy may differ from the Christ enjoyed by others.
Chapter three of Ephesians reveals three important things regarding Christ: that His riches are unsearchable, that He is making His home in our heart, and that His dimensions are universal. As we have pointed out, Christ is the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth. Who can say how broad is the breadth or how high is the height? Oh, we may experience the unsearchable riches of the immeasurable Christ! Christ is the breadth, length, height, and depth of the universe. Hallelujah for Christ in His immeasurable dimensions! We need to ask ourselves whether or not we know such a Christ.
Although Christ is immeasurable, He is still making His home in our hearts. The immeasurable Christ is a wonderful Person who makes His home in our hearts in a very intimate way. In order for Christ to make His home in our hearts, we need to be strengthened with power through the Spirit into our inner man. Then we shall be filled unto all the fullness of God (v. 19).
The immeasurable Christ who is making home in us is the Spirit, on the one hand, and the very God of fullness, on the other hand. If we are strengthened by the Spirit and Christ makes His home in us, we shall be filled unto all the fullness of God. Do not say that Christ is only the Son, but not the Spirit and not God the Father. Be careful that you are not under the influence of the systematized doctrine of Christianity. Christ is too wonderful to be systematized in doctrine. When He makes His home in us, the Spirit is strengthening us, and we are being filled unto the fullness of God.
Have you noticed that in Ephesians 3 Paul speaks of the Spirit, Christ, and God? The Spirit strengthens us, Christ makes home in us, and we are filled unto the fullness of God. Christ is the all-inclusive One. He is the Spirit who strengthens us, the Christ who makes His home in us, and the God who fills us unto His fullness. Many of us have read the book of Ephesians without ever seeing the vision of such a Christ. May we all see that the Christ whom we have received is the Spirit who strengthens and the God who fills us unto His fullness. I can testify that the Christ I enjoy is such a wonderful One.
In 4:9 and 10 Paul says, “Now this, He ascended, what is it except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He Who descended is the same Who also ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.” Christ has done a great deal of traveling in the universe. Firstly, He descended from heaven to earth in His incarnation. Then He descended further, from earth to Hades, the lower parts of the earth, in His death. Eventually, He ascended from Hades to earth in His resurrection, and from earth to heaven in His ascension. Through such a journey, He cut the way that He might fill all things. When Christ ascended up on high, to the third heaven, that was not the end of His traveling. After He ascended, He descended into our spirit. Therefore, Christ is the One who descends, ascends, travels, and comes to us in gracious visitations.
Today Christ is still traveling. He is still ascending and descending. However, His traveling takes place mainly within us. In our experience we may be up or down. When we are down, Christ comes down to where we are and brings us up to God. Many times during the course of a day we may be brought by Christ into the heavens. From our experience we can testify that within us Christ descends and ascends; He goes up and down. Although He is always steady, He does not stand still. On the contrary, He does a great deal of traveling within us.
It is difficult to say where Christ is. Is He in heaven or on earth? If you say that He is on earth, you may have the sense that He is in heaven. But if you say that He is in heaven, you may soon realize that He is on earth. Actually, Christ is everywhere. According to 4:9 and 10, He descended and ascended in order to fill all things. Do you think that Christ will fill all things in the universe without also filling you? Through His descending and ascending, Christ will fill us with Himself.
It is by His descending and ascending that Christ constitutes us gifts to the Body. The more He descends and ascends within us, the more we become gifts. Many brothers and sisters have very little function in the church because they have not yet been constituted as gifts. They may be good brothers and sisters, but they are not gifts to the church. But as Christ descends and ascends within them, He captures them, vanquishes them, and constitutes them into gifts to His Body. As a result of Christ’s traveling, they become useful gifts. I am concerned, however, that within some of the saints Christ’s traveling may have ceased. He no longer goes up and down within them.
I can testify that I have been constituted as a gift to the church through Christ’s descending and ascending within me. Christ has had many ups and downs within me. If we try to hold Christ as the Head without allowing Him to descend and ascend within us, we damage the process by which we are constituted gifts. The Lord will constitute us as gifts only through His descending and ascending within us. After such experiences of Christ’s inward traveling over a period of time, we become useful in the church.
Allow me to give a word of testimony on behalf of a certain brother whom I met more than twenty years ago. At that time, he had not experienced very much of Christ’s descending and ascending. But this brother’s situation is much different today. Through Christ’s descending and ascending within him, he has been constituted into a useful gift to the Lord’s recovery. He could tell you that especially on the days he is used by the Lord, Christ goes down and up within him. Christ comes down to where he is and ascends with him into the heavenlies. Christ truly is a descending and ascending Christ.
If you consider the verses we have covered in this message, you will see that the Christ we experience in the Lord’s recovery is different from the Christ we heard about in religion. What a Christ we have! He is the embodiment of God and the content of the church. Our Christ is the all-inclusive, universal Christ. He is far above all, He is unsearchable and immeasurable, and yet He is intimately making His home in our hearts. Furthermore, our Christ is continually descending and ascending within us. Because all the fullness of God is in Him, He is the very embodiment of God. Therefore, as He makes home in our heart, we are filled unto all the fullness of God. This Christ who is the embodiment of God is also the very content of the church. Furthermore, through His descending and ascending He fills all things, universally, vertically, and horizontally.
We should not focus our attention on ourselves, but on the all-inclusive Christ. Do not consider how weak or how poor you are. Rather, think of Christ, speak of Christ, and look away to Christ. Praise the Lord for the revelation of Christ in God’s economy found in the book of Ephesians! This book says little of Christ as the Redeemer or Savior. But it does reveal that Christ is far above all and that He is now filling all in all. Nevertheless, this Christ is available to us. He is making His home in our heart, and He is imparting into us His unsearchable riches so that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God. Eventually, we as the church shall have Christ fully wrought into us as our unique content.
