THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The All-inclusive Christ

Message Nine
Experiencing, Enjoying, and Ministering Christ in the Stage of Inclusion

Scriptures Reading: Exo. 30:22-25; Acts 13:33; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 1 Pet. 1:3; Rom. 5:10; Psa. 23

I. The second stage of Christ’s full ministry is the stage of inclusion, from His resurrection to the degradation of the church—1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17a:

A. The stage of incarnation was the stage of Christ’s first “becoming”—the stage of His becoming flesh—John 1:14, 29.

B. The stage of inclusion is the stage of Christ’s second “becoming”—the stage of His becoming the life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17a.

C. Our use of the word inclusion is based on our use of the word inclusive; for Christ, as the last Adam, to become the life-giving Spirit was for Him to become the all-inclusive Spirit—Phil. 1:19; Exo. 30:22-25.

II. Christ’s ministry in the stage of inclusion is His ministry in resurrection as the life-giving Spirit in our spirit; resurrection is the life pulse and lifeline of the divine economy—1 Cor. 15:12-19, 31-36, 45-49, 54-58:

A. If there were no resurrection, God would be the God of the dead, not of the living—Matt. 22:32, Mark 12:26-27.

B. If there were no resurrection, Christ would not have been raised from the dead; He would be a dead Savior, not a living One who lives forever and is able to save to the uttermost—Rev. 1:18; Heb. 7:25; Rom. 5:10.

C. If there were no resurrection, there would be no living proof of our being justified by His death, no imparting of life, no regeneration, no renewing, no transformation, and no conformity to the image of Christ—4:25; John 12:24; 3:5; Titus 3:5; Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29.

D. If there were no resurrection, there would be no members of Christ, no Body of Christ as His fullness, no church as Christ’s bride, and therefore no new man—12:5; Eph. 1:20-23; John 3:29; Eph. 2:15; 4:24; Col. 3:10-11.

E. If there were no resurrection, God’s New Testament economy would altogether collapse, and God’s eternal purpose would be nullified—Acts 13:33; 1 Pet. 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Col. 1:18.

III. We need to see and enter into the unveiled truth of Christ’s resurrection in the stage of inclusion for the ultimate goal of God’s economy—Acts 13:33; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 1 Pet. 1:3:

A. In resurrection Christ was born to be the firstborn Son of God—Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5-6:

1. From eternity past without beginning, Christ was God’s only begotten Son, possessing only divinity, without humanity and not having passed through death into resurrection—John 1:18.

2. In incarnation the only begotten Son of God became flesh to be a God-man, a man possessing both the divine nature and the human nature—v. 14.

3. Through death and resurrection Christ in the flesh as the seed of David was designated to be the firstborn Son of God—Rom. 1:3-4:

a. In death His humanity was crucified—1 Pet. 3:18.

b. In resurrection His crucified humanity was made alive by the Spirit of His divinity and was uplifted into the sonship of the only begotten Son of God; thus, He was begotten by God in His resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God—Rom. 8:29.

B. In resurrection Christ became the life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:6, 17:

1. The life-giving Spirit “was not yet” before the resurrection of Christ—the glorification of Christ—John 7:39.

2. Christ, the Son of God as the second of the Divine Trinity, after completing His ministry on the earth, became (was transfigured into) the life-giving Spirit in His resurrection to release the divine life that was confined in the shell of His humanity and to dispense it into His believers, making them the many members which constitute His Body—12:24; cf. 19:34.

3. This life-giving Spirit, who is the pneumatic Christ, is also called—1 Cor. 15:45b:

a. The Spirit of life—Rom. 8:2.

b. The Spirit of Jesus—Acts 16:7.

c. The Spirit of Christ—Rom. 8:9.

d. The Spirit of Jesus Christ—Phil. 1:19.

e. The Lord Spirit—2 Cor. 3:18.

C. In resurrection we, God’s chosen ones, were regenerated—1 Pet. 1:3; John 12:24:

1. The pneumatic Christ became the firstborn Son of God and the life-giving Spirit for the regenerating of the believers, making them the many sons of God born of God with Him in one great universal delivery—Acts 13:33; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 1 Pet. 1:3.

2. This great birth of the firstborn Son of God and of the many sons of God in Christ’s resurrection was for the composition of the house of God and for the constitution of the Body of Christ to be His fullness, His expression and expansion, to consummate the eternal expression and expansion of the processed and consummated Triune God—Eph. 1:23; 3:19; Rev. 21:10-11.

3. In the one Spirit all the believers of Christ have been baptized into the one Body of Christ and have been given to drink this Spirit—1 Cor. 12:13.

4. The Christ in resurrection gives Himself as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit without measure through His speaking of the words of God—John 3:34.

5. All the believers in Christ are built up into a dwelling place of God in their spirit indwelt by Him as the Spirit through the process of His organic salvation—through dispositional sanctification, renewing, transformation, and conformation unto glorification—Eph. 2:22; Rom. 5:10; 15:16; Titus 3:5; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29; Phil. 3:21.

IV. We need to establish and shepherd the churches by the pneumatic Christ, the Christ who is the life-giving Spirit, with His organic salvation—1 Cor. 15:45b; Acts 20:28:

A. The Lord Jesus has incorporated the apostolic ministry with His heavenly ministry to take care of God’s flock, which is the church, issuing in the Body of Christ—John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2; 1 Cor. 15:58; cf. Gen. 48:15-16a.

B. The shepherding of the pneumatic Christ is in five stages—Psa. 23:

1. The enjoyment of Christ as the green pastures and of the Spirit as the waters of rest—v. 2.

2. The revival and transformation on the paths of righteousness—v. 3.

3. The experience of the resurrected pneumatic Christ while walking through the valley of the shadow of death—v. 4.

4. The deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ in fighting against the adversaries—v. 5.

5. The lifelong enjoyment of the divine goodness and lovingkindness in the house of Jehovah as the ultimate goal of God’s eternal economy—v. 6.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

CHRIST HAVING TWO BECOMINGS

Incarnation

Christians have paid a great deal of attention to the matter of incarnation. Every year at Christmas so many believers celebrate the Lord’s incarnation; however, not many realize what the intrinsic significance of the incarnation is. Through incarnation Christ as God became flesh. John 1:14 tells us that the Word, who is the very God, became flesh.

Inclusion

In His resurrection the Christ who had become flesh through incarnation became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). Christ, therefore, has had two becomings. The first becoming is seen in John 1:14—the Word became flesh. The second becoming is seen in 1 Corinthians 15:45b—the last Adam (Christ in the flesh) became the life-giving Spirit. From our study of the Bible we have found out that Christ’s second becoming in resurrection is no less important than His first becoming in incarnation. As we will see, Christ’s becoming the life-giving Spirit in resurrection involves something that we may designate by the word inclusion. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification”, msg. 1)

Christ Becoming the All-inclusive Life-giving Spirit in Resurrection

Because so many complications are involved in Christ’s second becoming, His becoming the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit in resurrection, we may use the word inclusion in speaking of this second stage of Christ. The issue of this becoming was not something simple but something compounded, that is, not just oil signifying the Spirit of God but the ointment signifying the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit who gives life. This Spirit is the pneumatic Christ, the Christ in the second stage—the stage of inclusion.

Whereas it is common for Christians to teach concerning incarnation, very few, if any, teach concerning inclusion. The incarnation issued in the Christ who was in the flesh, but the inclusion has issued in a Christ who has become the compound, all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit. We see this compound Spirit in the book of Acts and in the twenty-one Epistles from Romans to Jude. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification”, msg. 2)

RESURRECTION BEING THE LIFE PULSE
AND LIFELINE OF THE DIVINE ECONOMY

In this message we shall consider two matters in 15:12-28: Paul’s rebuttal to those who claimed there was no resurrection, and the history of resurrection.

God’s New Testament Economy Altogether Collapsing
If There Were No Resurrection

Verse 12 says, “But if Christ is preached that He has been raised from among the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” In this chapter the apostle deals with the Corinthians’ heretical saying that there is no resurrection of the dead. They were like the Sadducees (Matt. 22:23; Acts 23:8). This is the tenth problem among them. It is the most damaging and destructive to God’s New Testament economy, worse than the heresy of Hymenaeus and Philetus concerning resurrection in 2 Timothy 2:17 and 18. Resurrection is the life pulse and lifeline of the divine economy. If there were no resurrection, God would be the God of the dead, not the God of the living (Matt. 22:32). If there were no resurrection, Christ would not have been raised from the dead. He would be a dead Savior, not the One who lives forever (Rev. 1:18) and is able to save to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25). If there is no resurrection, there would be no living proof of justification by His death (Rom. 4:25), no imparting of life (John 12:24), no regeneration (John 3:5), no renewing (Titus 3:5), no transformation (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18), and no conformity to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). If there were no resurrection, there would be no members of Christ (Rom. 12:5), no Body of Christ as His fullness (Eph. 1:20-23), and no church as Christ’s bride (John 3:29) and the new man (Eph. 2:15; 4:24; Col. 3:10-11). If there were no resurrection, God’s New Testament economy would altogether collapse and God’s eternal purpose would be nullified.

In verse 12 Paul refers to the preaching that Christ has been raised from among the dead. This indicates clearly that the apostles preached the resurrection of Christ. According to the book of Acts, the preaching of the gospel was mainly the preaching of Christ’s resurrection. Although the apostles emphasized the resurrection of Christ, today’s Christian preaching stresses the crucifixion much more than the resurrection. We, however, must follow the apostles to emphasize resurrection as well as crucifixion.

Neither Having Christ Been Raised If There Is No Resurrection of the Dead

Verse 13 continues, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised.” This is the first point of Paul’s rebuttal. It is a fact that Christ has been raised from among the dead. How, then, could some say that there is no resurrection? If there were no resurrection, then Christ could not have been raised from among the dead.

Our Preaching of the Gospel Being Vain if Christ Has Not Been Raised

In verse 14 Paul says, “And if Christ has not been raised, then is our preaching vain; your faith also is vain.” The Greek word rendered vain means empty, void. Without the living Christ in resurrection, both the preaching of the gospel and our faith in it would be empty and void, having no reality. Preaching the death of Christ without preaching His resurrection would be vain. The resurrection of Christ is what causes our preaching to become vital and prevailing. Such a preaching would never be in vain. Furthermore, apart from Christ’s resurrection, our faith would also be vain. Without the resurrection of Christ, both our preaching and our believing become vain. This is a very serious matter.

In verse 15 Paul goes on to say, “And we are found also false witnesses of God, because we witnessed concerning God that He raised Christ, Whom He did not raise if indeed the dead are not raised.” This is another strong point in Paul’s rebuttal.

In verse 16 Paul says, “For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised.” Then verse 17 says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” The Greek word rendered futile means fruitless, worthless. Without Christ resurrected to live in us as our life and as everything to us, our faith in Him is fruitless, worthless, and without any issue like the impartation of life, freedom from sin, victory over Satan, and growth in life. The word futile used here is even stronger than the word vain found in verse 14. Something that is vain is empty. But the word futile indicates labor without result, work without any gain. If there is no resurrection, we may still believe, but eventually nothing results from our believing. Hence, our faith becomes futile.

Being Still in Our Sins If Christ Has Not Been Raised

Furthermore, according to verse 17, if Christ has not been raised, we are still in our sins. Christ’s death saves us from the condemnation of our sins, not from the power of sin. It is His resurrection life that delivers us from the power of sin (Rom. 8:2). If Christ were not resurrected, we would still remain in sins and under the power of sin. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 66)

Christ’s resurrection was also very complicated. His resurrection produced the firstborn Son of God by uplifting the humanity of Christ into His divinity and by having Christ born of God (Acts 13:33; Psa. 2:7), that is, by designating the seed of David (Christ’s human nature) by the Spirit of holiness (the divinity of Christ) in the power of resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God (Rom. 1:3-4). In Christ’s resurrection all of God’s chosen people were regenerated to be the many sons of God and the many brothers of the firstborn Son of God (1 Pet. 1:3; Heb. 2:10; Rom. 8:29). In Christ’s resurrection the Spirit of God was consummated to be the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b): the Spirit of Christ—the pneumatic Christ, the pneumatized Christ (Rom. 8:9); the ultimate consummation of the processed and consummated Triune God, who is embodied in the pneumatized Christ as the life-giving Spirit; and the reality of resurrection, which is Christ Himself and the processed and consummated Triune God (John 11:25; 1 John 5:6). From this we can see that Christ’s resurrection is full of complications. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification”, msg. 2)

THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF CHRIST
IN THE STAGE OF HIS INCLUSION FROM HIS RESURRECTION
TO THE DEGRADATION OF THE CHURCH

The degradation of the church began at the end of the early apostles’ ministry. In Paul’s second Epistle to Timothy we can see this degradation. We need to see the three major things which Christ accomplished in the stage of His inclusion from His resurrection to the degradation of the church. In Christ’s resurrection He was begotten as God’s firstborn Son, He became the life-giving Spirit, and He regenerated the believers for His Body.

An excellent illustration of Christ’s death and resurrection was given by the Lord when He likened Himself to a grain of wheat falling into the earth to die and to bear much fruit in resurrection. After the grain of wheat is sown into the earth, on the one hand it is dying, but on the other hand it is rising up. The shell is dying, but the life element within the grain is growing. Eventually, a new sprout comes out from the death and resurrection of the grain. According to 1 Peter 3:18, Christ’s resurrection was going on while He was dying on the cross. He was “on the one hand being put to death in the flesh, but on the other, made alive in the Spirit.” According to His flesh, He was crucified for our sins, but according to the Spirit He was very active. Resurrection was not a sudden event. Actually, while Christ was dying in the flesh on the cross, He was active, moving, and energized with life to rise up.

Being Begotten as God’s Firstborn Son

God’s Only Begotten Son

From eternity past without beginning, Christ was God’s only begotten Son, possessing only divinity, without humanity. At that time, He had not passed through death into resurrection.

Becoming Flesh to Be a God-Man

In incarnation the only begotten Son of God became flesh to be a God-man, a man possessing both the divine nature and the human nature.

Being Designated to Be the Firstborn Son of God

Through death and resurrection, Christ in the flesh as the seed of David was designated to be the firstborn Son of God. In death His humanity was crucified. In resurrection His crucified humanity was made alive by the Spirit of His divinity and was uplifted into the sonship of the only begotten Son of God. Thus, He was begotten by God in His resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God.

Becoming the Life-giving Spirit

The Last Adam [Christ in the Flesh] Becoming a Life-giving Spirit

First Corinthians 15:45b says, “The last Adam [Christ in the flesh] became a life-giving Spirit.” The last Adam was the last man. Christ’s crucifixion was the end of man. In His resurrection Christ, the last Adam, became the life-giving Spirit for dispensing life.

The Spirit Being Not Yet Prior to the Resurrection of Christ

According to John 7:39, prior to the glorification of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, “the Spirit was not yet.” This means that the life-giving Spirit “was not yet” before the resurrection of Christ—the glorification of Christ. Before Christ was resurrected, the Spirit of God was not the life-giving Spirit.

Christ, the Son of God as the second of the Divine Trinity, after completing His ministry on the earth, became (was transfigured into) the life-giving Spirit in His resurrection. This life-giving Spirit is signified by the water that flowed out of the pierced side of Jesus on the cross (John 19:34). Through His death and resurrection, Christ released the divine life that was confined in the shell of His humanity and dispensed it into His believers, making them the many members which constitute His Body (John 12:24).

The Life-giving Spirit Being the Pneumatic Christ

This life-giving Spirit who is the pneumatic Christ is also called the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7), the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9), the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19), and the Lord Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). The Lord Spirit may be considered a compound title like the Father God and the Lord Christ.

Regenerating the Believers for His Body

First Peter 1:3 reveals that Christ regenerated all of us who believe in Him in His resurrection. With God there is no time element. According to our human perspective, we were regenerated at a certain time, but in God’s view all of His many sons were regenerated through the resurrection of Christ. In Revelation nearly all the predicates are in the past tense. In the eyes of God the New Jerusalem has been completed already. We say that we are consummating the New Jerusalem, and this is correct according to our view in time. But according to God, He has already consummated the New Jerusalem. Revelation 13:8 says that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. In the eternal view of God, from the time the created things came into being, Christ was crucified.

The Many Sons of God Being Born with Christ as the Firstborn Son
in One Universally Big Delivery

The purpose of Christ’s being begotten to be the firstborn Son of God and becoming the life-giving Spirit was for the regenerating of the believers, making them the many sons of God born of God with Him in the one universally big delivery. Christ’s resurrection was a big delivery of Himself as the firstborn Son and the believers as His many brothers, His millions of “twins.” This was for the composition of the house of God, even the household of God, and the constitution of the Body of Christ to be His fullness, His expression and expansion, to consummate the eternal expression and expansion of the processed and consummated Triune God. All the believers of Christ in this one Spirit have been baptized into the one Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13a). Furthermore, all the believers who are baptized in this one Spirit are given to drink this one Spirit (v. 13b). Through baptism we were immersed in the Spirit, and by drinking, the Spirit gets into us. The best Christians are the ones who are in the Spirit and have the Spirit in them to make them completely one with the Spirit.

Giving the Spirit without Measure

The Christ in resurrection gave Himself as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit without measure through His speaking of the words of God (John 3:34). The more we receive the Lord’s words, the more we are filled with the immeasurable Spirit.

Being Built Up into a Dwelling Place of God in Spirit

All the believers in Christ are built up into a dwelling place of God in their spirit indwelt by Him as the Spirit (Eph. 2:22) through dispositional sanctification (Rom. 15:16), renewing (Titus 3:5), transformation (2 Cor. 3:18), and conformation (Rom. 8:29).

In order to get into the details of the outlines that we have released on Christ in His three stages, I would like to recommend the practice of the saints in Taipei. They come together in small groups to pray-read the outline. After pray-reading, they study it. Then they learn to recite the entire outline, word by word. Then they prophesy. We may feel that we cannot do this, but if there is a will, there is a way. This practice of pray-reading, studying, reciting, and prophesying has become the best way for the saints in Taipei to digest all these new outlines. After they practice this, they are fully nourished, and they can go to nourish others.

The content of one outline concerning Christ in one of His stages is like ten meals. We should nourish people with a meal. Each member of the vital groups should present a meal to people for their nourishment. It is hard to see a group among us today that is really vital. Our groups are not vital because we are not nourished. If we want to enter into the intrinsic significance of the Bible, we need to digest these outlines that we have released to enable us to nourish others with the unsearchable riches of Christ in His full ministry in three stages. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups”, msg. 13)

ESTABLISHING AND SHEPHERDING THE CHURCHES BY THE PNEUMATIC CHRIST, WHO IS THE LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT

The three aspects of God’s divine building are the church, the Body of Christ, and the New Jerusalem. To work with God, to carry out the divine building of God in its three aspects, we co-workers and elders must first establish and shepherd the churches by the pneumatic Christ, the Christ who is the life-giving Spirit. We must build up the churches by the pneumatic Christ. The building of the church is the ministry of Christ in His second stage. In His first stage there was only the mentioning of the church (Matt. 16:18; 18:17); there was not yet the actual building of the church. In the first stage He accomplished only the judicial redemption to redeem back the chosen people of God to be the material for the building of the church. The church is not built by Him in the ministry of His incarnation; the building of the church is accomplished by the pneumatic Christ as the Spirit in the ministry of His becoming the Spirit.

Hence, we need to establish and shepherd the churches by the pneumatic Christ, who is the life-giving Spirit, with His organic salvation. Our establishing and shepherding the churches should be carried out not only by Christ, who is the life-giving Spirit, but also by our applying His organic salvation. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “How to Be a Co-worker and an Elder and How to Fulfill Their Obligations”, msg. 6)

Christ’s Shepherding of Us Being in Five Stages

Psalm 23:2b says that Christ as our Shepherd leads us to waters of rest. The waters of rest are the Spirit. The Spirit is the water, and Christ is the pasture. Verse 5 says, “You anoint my head with oil.” Hebrews 1:9 refers to the oil of exultant joy. This oil signifies the Spirit. John 7:39 says that before Christ’s resurrection, the Spirit was not yet. This means that the Spirit was not yet consummated. The Spirit of God has been consummated through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. In Christ’s resurrection, the Spirit of God became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). Now He is available to us because He has been consummated. In Psalm 23, the Spirit as typified by the waters and the oil signifies the consummated Spirit after Christ’s resurrection.

This psalm also tells us that Christ’s shepherding of us is in five stages. The first stage is of the pastures and the waters of rest (v. 2). Pasture and waters are for our nourishment, including cherishing and enjoyment. The second stage is the stage of the paths of righteousness (v. 3). The paths of righteousness indicate our walk. After we enjoy Christ, are filled up with Christ, and are nourished by Christ, we walk on the paths of righteousness. The third stage is the valley of the shadow of death (v. 4). The valley, the shadow, and death are not pleasant. Christ’s shepherding leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. The fourth stage is the battlefield (v. 5), where we are fighting against the adversaries. At the battlefield a table, a feast, is spread for us. Finally, the last stage is to dwell in the house of God all the days of our life (v. 6).

The Initial Stage of the Enjoyment in Green Pastures and at Waters of Rest

The resurrected Christ shepherds us first in the initial stage of enjoyment in green pastures and at waters of rest (Psa. 23:1-2). Because He is our Shepherd, we will lack nothing (Phil. 1:19b). Right after we were saved, we entered into this first stage of enjoyment. In John 21 the Lord Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. When Peter said that he did love the Lord, the Lord charged him to feed His lambs (v. 15). We need to be like nursing mothers to cherish and feed the little ones under our care (1 Thes. 2:7). Right after a child is delivered, a mother feeds the child so he can grow.

In the initial stage of the enjoyment of Christ, the lambs, the infants, feed on Christ as the green pasture (John 10:9). Infants do not have table manners. All the little lambs lie down to eat the pasture without any thought of manners. Christ makes us to lie down, not sit down in a mannerly way, in green pastures. This kind of eating, without the thought for proper manners, is more enjoyable. The little lamb lying down in the pasture and eating the grass does not have to worry about proper table manners. This is just like an infant lying in the bosom of his nursing mother. No table manners are necessary.

The Second Stage of Revival and Transformation on the Paths of Righteousness

Psalm 23:3 says, “He restores my soul;/He guides me on the paths of righteousness/For His name’s sake.” This is the second stage of revival and transformation on the paths of righteousness. To restore our soul is to revive us. Restoring also includes renewing and transforming. This corresponds with the New Testament teaching in Romans 12:2 which says that we need to be transformed by the renewing of the mind, which is the leading part of our soul. Christ in His shepherding restores—revives and transforms—our soul.

He restores us—revives and transforms us—in our soul to make us take His way, to walk on the paths of righteousness. Both the paths and righteousness are Christ. The resurrected Christ today is our paths. In order to be a proper sister or a proper brother, we need Christ as our paths, as our way. A sister who does not behave and walk as a female does not have Christ as her paths. A brother who acts foolishly does not have Christ as his paths. Some brothers need a particular path to be an elder. Others need a path to be a co-worker. We also need a path to act as Christians and another path to work in God’s economy. We need many paths, the paths of righteousness, in our Christian life and work.

The Third Stage of the Experience of the Presence of the Resurrected
Pneumatic Christ through the Valley of the Shadow of Death

The third stage is the stage of the experience of the presence of the resurrected pneumatic Christ through the valley of the shadow of death (Psa. 23:4). Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we do not fear evil, for the pneumatic Christ is with us (2 Tim. 4:22). This means that we experience His presence. For Him to be with us is for us to enjoy His presence. His presence is a comfort, a rescue, and a sustaining power to us when we are walking in the valley of the shadow of death.

We human beings cannot avoid having troubles as we live on this earth. A husband’s wife who takes care of him and the children may suddenly become so ill that she is unable to walk. Then this brother gets into the valley, which is under a shadow and full of death. Some saints may have children who are crippled. This brings these saints into the valley. A brother may be an elder in a locality, and the Lord may suddenly bring in another elder, with whom it is difficult for this brother to coordinate. This other elder then becomes the valley of the shadow of death to the first elder. He cannot quarrel with this other elder, or he will offend his spirit. He has to keep the one accord with him. Also, his spirit will not allow him to withdraw. He has to stay in the valley to suffer. These are examples of the valley of the shadow of death.

The Fourth Stage of the Deeper and Higher Enjoyment of the Resurrected Christ

Now we come to the fourth stage of the deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ (Psa. 23:5). The Lord spreads a table—a feast—before us in the presence of our adversaries (1 Cor. 10:21). The Lord’s table is a feast. Every Lord’s Day when we come to His table to take the feast, it is always in the presence of our adversaries. Every day is a fighting day to us. We Christians have to fight. Otherwise, we will be defeated. There may be adversaries in our business, in our home, and even in the church. On the one hand, we enjoy the feast of the Lord, and on the other hand, we should fight for the victory. If we are defeated during the week, it will be difficult for us to enjoy the Lord’s table that much. We need to fight the battle in the Lord all week long before we come to the Lord’s table. Then we will be able to have a rich enjoyment of the Lord as our feast at His table.

In the fourth stage of the deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ, the Lord anoints our head with oil (of exultant joy—Heb. 1:9); our cup (of blessing—1 Cor. 10:16a) runs over. To anoint the head is to anoint the whole body. Psalm 133 speaks of the ointment upon the head spreading down to the skirts of the garments. No doubt, this is the anointing of the compound, life-giving Spirit in Christ’s resurrection. All the riches of Christ’s being and doing are compounded together in this anointing compound ointment.

The Bible uses the word cup to indicate blessing. The cup of blessing runs over. Psalm 23:5 speaks of the table, the feast, which is Christ with His riches for our enjoyment. Then there is the anointing oil, which is the Spirit. Then there is the cup of blessing, which refers to the Father. The Father is the blessing, even the source of blessing. Thus, in verse five there is the Triune God—the Son as the feast, the Spirit as the anointing oil, and the Father as the source of blessing.

The Fifth Stage of the Lifelong Enjoyment of the Divine Goodness and Kindness in the House of Jehovah

Psalm 23:6 speaks of the fifth stage of the lifelong enjoyment of the divine goodness and kindness in the house of Jehovah. Surely goodness and kindness will follow us (the grace of Christ and the love of God will be with us—2 Cor. 13:14) all the days of our life (in the present age). Goodness refers to the grace of Christ, kindness refers to the love of the Father, and follow refers to the fellowship of the Spirit. Second Corinthians 13:14 reveals the move of the Triune God for us to enjoy all His riches. The grace of the Son, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit are with us. This is the fifth stage of our enjoyment of the Triune God in Psalm 23.

Eventually, this enjoyment will usher us into the house of God. We will dwell in the house of Jehovah (the church and the New Jerusalem—1 Tim. 3:15-16; Rev. 21:2-3, 22) for the length of our days (in the present age and in the coming age and in eternity). Our days are not only in the present age but also in the coming age and in eternity. We will live for eternity; our days will be that long. Today we are in the church. If we are overcomers, we will be in the kingdom of one thousand years in the New Jerusalem. Eventually, in eternity we will be in the New Jerusalem with all of the chosen and redeemed saints. God’s house is our dwelling place where we enjoy the Triune God—the Son’s grace, the Father’s love, and the Spirit’s fellowship. Today we enjoy the Triune God in the church, and in the future we will enjoy Him in the New Jerusalem. (Life-study of Psalms, msg. 11)