KNOWING AND EXPERIENCING THE ALL-INCLUSIVE, EXTENSIVE CHRIST
Message Six
Knowing and Experiencing the All-inclusive, Extensive Christ as Our Life and as the Constituent of the New Man
Scripture Reading: Col. 3:1-4, 15-17
I. We need to know and experience the all-inclusive, extensive Christ as our life:
A. In order to experience Christ as our life, we need to see that we have one position, one life, one living, one destiny, and one glory with Christ—Col. 3:1-4; cf. 1 Cor. 6:17:
1. Our position is that we are in Christ; because we are in Him, we are where He is—sitting at the right hand of God—Col. 3:1; John 14:20; 17:24; Eph. 2:6:
a. The Son's position is in the Father (John 10:38; 14:10); we are in the Son (1 Cor. 1:30a), so we are in the Father (John 14:20; 1 Thes. 1:1; 2 Thes. 1:1).
b. It is when we are in the spirit that we are in Christ, in the Father, and in heaven practically and experientially (cf. John 14:20):
(1) There is a transmission taking place from Christ in heaven to us on earth by means of the all-inclusive Spirit in our spirit—Eph. 1:19, 22-23; 2:22.
(2) The very Christ who is sitting on the throne in heaven (Rom. 8:34) is also now in us (v. 10), that is, in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22), where the habitation of God is (Eph. 2:22).
(3) Since today our spirit is the place of God's habitation, it is now the gate of heaven, where Christ is the ladder that joins us to heaven and brings heaven to us—v. 22; Gen. 28:12-17; John 1:51.
(4) Whenever we turn to our spirit, we enter through the gate of heaven and touch the throne of grace in heaven through Christ as the heavenly ladder; our spirit is the receiving end of the divine transmission, whereas the throne of God is the transmitting end—Heb. 4:16.
2. The life of God is the life of Christ, and the life of Christ has become our life—Col. 3:4; John 5:26:
a. For Christ to be our life means that He is subjective to us to the uttermost—1:4; 14:6a; 10:10b; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:10, 6, 11.
b. It is impossible to separate a person from the life of that person, for a person's life is the person himself; thus, to say that Christ is our life means that Christ has become us and that we have one life and living with Him—John 14:6a; Phil. 1:21a.
c. With Christ as the believers' life there are three characteristics, which distinguish it from the natural life:
(1) This life is a crucified life—Gal. 2:20.
(2) This life is a resurrected life—John 11:25.
(3) This life is a life hidden in God—Col. 3:3-4; Matt. 6:1-6, 16-18.
3. To seek the things which are above and set our mind on them is to join ourselves to the Lord in His heavenly ministry, His divine enterprise; this is to live Christ, to have a living that is one with Christ's living—Col. 3:1-2:
a. In His heavenly ministry, Christ today is living as the High Priest to intercede for the churches—Heb. 8:1; 4:14; 7:25; 4:16; Col. 4:2.
b. In His heavenly ministry, Christ today is living as the heavenly Minister to supply the saints with the riches of Christ—Heb. 8:1-2; Eph. 3:8.
c. In His heavenly ministry, Christ today is living as the universal Administrator of God's government for the accomplishment of God's purpose—Rev. 4:1-2, 5; 5:6; Eph. 1:10-11:
(1) From the throne in the heavens, the divine transmission brings the things above into the local churches—vv. 19, 22-23.
(2) In Revelation 4 and 5 we have a vision of our "central government, " and in Revelation 1 through 3 we have a vision of the local churches as the "embassies"; through the seven Spirits what is in the heavenly "headquarters" is transmitted into the churches as the "embassies. "
(3) What takes place in the local churches should be under the direction of the throne of God in heaven; in order for the recovery to be the Lord's recovery, it must be under His direction—Col. 1:18; 2:19; Rev. 4:2-3.
4. Our destiny is glory; Christ is leading us into glory for us to be manifested with Him in glory—Heb. 2:10; Col. 3:4.
B. Our life is the Christ who dwells within us, and this life is hidden with Christ in God; the Christ hidden in God is typified by the manna hidden in the golden pot—vv. 3-4; Exo. 16:32-34; Rev. 2:17:
1. Christ as the hidden manna is in God the Father as the golden pot; the Father is in Christ as the Ark with His two natures, divinity and humanity; and Christ as the indwelling Spirit lives in our regenerated spirit to be the reality of the Holy of Holies—cf. John 14:16-20; 2 Tim. 4:22.
2. When we eat Christ as the hidden manna, we are incorporated into Him for the mutual abode of God and man—John 15:5, 7; 8:31; 6:57, 63; 14:23.
C. That Christ is our life is a strong indication that we are to take Him as life and live by Him, that we are to live Him in our daily life—Col. 3:4a:
1. Christ must be our life in a practical and experiential way; day by day we need to be saved in His life—v. 4; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 5:10.
2. The new man is the spontaneous issue of our taking Christ as our life and living Him—Col. 3:3-4, 10-11.
II. We need to know and experience the all-inclusive, extensive Christ as the constituent of the new man:
A. In the new man there is room only for Christ; He is all the members of the new man and in all the members; He is everything in the new man—vv. 10-11.
B. In the new man Christ is the centrality and universality; He is the constituent of the new man, and He is all and in all in the new man.
C. If we would live Christ as the constituent of the new man, we need to be ruled by the peace of Christ (vv. 12-15) and inhabited by the word of Christ (vv. 16-17):
1. We need to allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts—vv. 12-15; Eph. 2:14-18; Rom. 5:1; Matt. 18:21-35:
a. The Greek term for arbitrate can also be rendered "umpire, preside, " or "be enthroned as a ruler and decider of everything"; the arbitrating peace of Christ dissolves our complaint against anyone—Col. 3:13.
b. Often we are conscious of three parties within us: a positive party, a negative party, and a neutral party; hence, there is the need for inward arbitration to settle the dispute within us:
(1) Whenever we sense that different parties within our being are arguing or quarreling, we need to give place to the presiding peace of Christ and allow this peace, which is the oneness of the new man, to rule within us and have the final word.
(2) We need to set aside our opinion, our concept, and listen to the word of the indwelling Referee.
c. If we allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts, this peace will settle all the disputes among us; we shall have peace with God vertically and with the saints horizontally:
(1) Through the arbitration of the peace of Christ, our problems are solved, and the friction between the saints disappears; then the church life is preserved in sweetness, and the new man is maintained in a practical way.
(2) The arbitrating of the peace of Christ is Christ working within us to exercise His rule over us, to speak the last word, and to make the final decision—cf. Isa. 9:6-7.
(3) If we stay under the ruling of the enthroned peace of Christ, we shall not offend others or damage them; rather, by the Lord's grace and with His peace, we shall minister life to others.
(4) This peace should bind all the believers together and become their uniting bond—Eph. 4:3.
2. If we would live Christ as the constituent of the new man, we need to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly—Col. 3:16-17:
a. When the peace of Christ arbitrates in us and keeps us in a situation full of oneness and harmony, we become the place of God's speaking, His oracle—vv. 15-16; Rev. 2:1, 7:
(1) God's speaking requires oneness; division causes God's speaking to diminish, even to cease altogether—Lev. 1:1.
(2) Since oneness is a necessary condition for God's speaking, we need to let the peace of Christ arbitrate in our hearts—Col. 3:15.
(3) For the word of Christ to dwell in us richly means that it has adequate room in us to permeate and saturate our whole being; it is crucial for us to let the word of Christ enter into us, dwell in us, prevail in us, and replace our concepts, opinions, and philosophies—Psa. 119:130; cf. Rev. 21:23; 22:5.
b. We need to allow the word of the Lord to have the first place in us so that we may experience the functions of the word of God operating within us and ministering the riches of Christ into our being—Col. 3:16:
(1) The word of God enlightens (Psa. 119:105, 130), nourishes (Matt. 4:4; 1 Tim. 4:6), and waters us to quench our thirst (Isa. 55:1, 8-11).
(2) The word of God strengthens (1 John 2:14b; Prov. 4:20-22), washes (Eph. 5:26), and builds us up (Acts 20:32).
(3) The word of God completes, perfects (2 Tim. 3:15-17), and edifies us by sanctifying us (John 17:17).
c. By allowing the word of God to inhabit us, we can become a proper human being, a God-man filled with Christ as the reality of the attributes of God—Col. 3:16-25; Phil. 4:5-8.
3. If we allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in us and if we are filled with the word of Christ, we shall have the new man in a practical way; all the saints in all the churches throughout the Lord's recovery will be living Christ in the one new man.