总题：经历基督
Message One
The Intrinsic Significance of the Experience of Christ
Scripture Reading: Phil. 1:3-6, 19-21a, 27; 2:2, 20-21, 30; 3:1; 4:1, 4
I. The experience of Christ is a mystery:
A. God is a mystery, Christ is the mystery of God (Col. 2:2), and the church is the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:4); hence, the church is actually a mystery within a mystery.
B. Our Christian living is a mystery; for example, although human love is limited, the proper love lived out by a Christian is unlimited; hence, it is a mystery—cf. v. 19a.
C. To magnify Christ is to express Christ without limitation (Phil. 1:20); it is to show the whole universe that the very Christ by whom we live is unlimited.
D. Paul's experience of Christ as his unlimited endurance was the magnification of the unlimited Christ; any attribute we have through living Christ by the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ will be unlimited and thus mysterious—vv. 19-21a.
E. Even our forgiveness of others needs to be a magnification of Christ; our forgiveness is the inexhaustible Christ Himself being magnified in us—Matt. 18:21-22.
F. In the midst of suffering, we should simply love the Lord and experience Him; then we will magnify Christ, expressing Him as the One who is unlimited; it is a joy to magnify Christ through suffering—2 Cor. 12:7-10.
G. The experience of Christ is a mystery, and whatever we experience of Christ is unlimited; if we see this vision, it will not only control our life but also strengthen our Christian walk; God's intention is to magnify Christ through us.
H. The church life is the sum total of our Christian living; we all live Christ, and our Christian living is added together to make the church life; when we come together as the church, we are a complete mystery—1 Tim. 3:15-16.
I. Paul says, "To me, to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21a); this means that we can live to be Christ; the Christ whom we experience and whom we live is a mystery; we should not have any assurance of our experience, for all experiences of Christ are mysterious.
II. Philippians unveils that the experience of Christ is our fellowship unto the furtherance of the gospel until the Lord Jesus comes back—1:3-6:
A. From the time that we are saved until the time the Lord Jesus comes back, our Christian life should be a gospel-preaching life:
1. The Christ-experiencing and -enjoying life is a life in the furtherance of the gospel, a gospel-preaching life, not individualistic but corporate; the more fellowship we have in the furtherance of the gospel, the more Christ we experience and enjoy; this kills our self, ambition, preference, and choice.
2. Whether we speak or remain silent, our life, our living, our being, and our entire person must be a preaching of Christ.
B. Paul charges us to conduct ourselves "in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ," which is to "stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving together along with the faith of the gospel"—v. 27:
1. To be with one soul and to be like-souled for the gospel work are more difficult than to be in one spirit for the experience of Christ—2:20-21, 30.
2. To be with one soul requires that, after having been regenerated in our spirit, we go further to be transformed in our soul—2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:2.
3. If we are not one in our affections, thoughts, and decisions, we are not with one soul; as long as we are not one in soul, we are not in the fellowship unto the furtherance of the gospel, and our conduct is not worthy of the gospel.
4. When all the members in the church are in one spirit with one soul, this oneness will be convincing, subduing, and attractive, and we will experience Christ and enjoy Him.
III. Strictly speaking, Philippians is a book not only on the experience of Christ but also on the enjoyment of Christ:
A. Since Philippians is concerned with the experience and enjoyment of Christ, which issue in joy, it is a book filled with joy and rejoicing—1:4, 18, 25; 2:2, 17-18, 28-29; 3:1; 4:1, 4.
B. The experience of Christ is primarily in our spirit, but the enjoyment of Christ is in our soul; like children who are made to eat without enjoying their food, many times we experience Christ without enjoying Him.
C. Thus, we can have the experience of Christ without the enjoyment of Christ; the problem here is with our soul—our mind, emotion, and will.
D. "I am somewhat concerned that you may not have very much enjoyment of Christ" (The Experience of Christ, p. 29); the reason that many lose the enjoyment of Christ is the problem they have in the soul; if you do not have much enjoyment of Christ, it indicates that you are not one in soul, joined in soul (2:2).
E. Among the Philippians there was dissension in their thinking (4:2), which troubled the apostle; hence, he asked them to think the same thing, even the same one thing, that they might make his joy full (2:2):
1. According to the context of this book, the one thing must refer to the subjective knowledge and experience of Christ (v. 2; 1:20-21; 2:5; 3:7-9; 4:13); Christ, and Christ alone, should be the centrality and universality of our entire being.
2. The one thing is the subjective experience of Christ as our enjoyment for the church life, the Body life; this one thing should occupy our mind all the time; if we think the one thing, immediately the enjoyment of Christ will be our portion.
3. Our thinking should be focused on the excellency of the knowledge and experience of Christ (3:8, 10); focusing on anything else causes us to think differently, thus creating dissensions among us.
4. To think something other than the one thing is to rebel against God's economy; God's economy is that we think the one thing.
5. Because of the dissension in their thinking, the Philippian believers had different levels of love (2:2); they did not have the same love toward all the saints for the keeping of oneness; if our love toward the saints has been regulated and dealt with, then we will enjoy Christ as we love the saints.
6. Being one in soul, joined in soul, is not only for the experience of Christ but even more for the enjoyment of Christ; our experience of Christ should also be an enjoyment of Christ.
7. To experience Christ with enjoyment, we need to be in one spirit with one soul; in order to enjoy Christ, we need to have a proper soul, a "co-soul" that is one with the souls of other saints.
8. The most important thing for us to do is to experience Christ as our enjoyment today so that the church may be built up for His glory; this is the way for us to be preserved in the Lord's recovery until He comes back.