THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians
Message Three—Christ Our Life
Scripture Reading: Col. 3:1-4
I. 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:
A. 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 17:24; Eph. 2:6:
1. The Son’s position is in the Father (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. 2:1).
2. It is when we are in the spirit that we are in Christ, in the Father, and in heaven practically and experientially:
a. 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.
b. 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).
c. 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—Eph. 2:22; Gen. 28:12-17; John 1:51.
d. 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.
B. The life of God is the life of Christ, and the life of Christ has become our life—John 5:26; Col. 3:4:
1. For Christ to be our life means that He is subjective to us to the uttermost—John 1:4; 14:6a; 10:10b; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:10, 6, 11.
2. 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.
3. With Christ as the believers’ life there are three characteristics, which distinguish it from the natural life:
a. This life is a crucified life—Gal. 2:20.
b. This life is a resurrected life—John 11:25.
c. This is a life hidden in God—Col. 3:4; Matt. 6:1-6, 16-18.
C. 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:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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; 1:11-12:
a. From the throne in the heavens, the divine transmission brings the things above into the local churches—Eph. 1:19, 22-23.
b. 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.”
c. 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.
II. 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—Col. 3:3-4; Exo. 16:32-34; Rev. 2:17:
A. 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.
B. 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.
III. 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. 3:4:
A. Christ must be our life in a practical and experiential way; day by day we need to be saved in His life—Col. 3:4; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 5:10:
1. To be saved in the divine life from the slavery of sin, the law of sin, is by the release of the law of the consummated Spirit—8:2.
2. To be saved in the divine life from the present age of the world is by the sanctification of the consummated Spirit—12:2a; 6:19b, 22b.
3. To be saved in the divine life from our natural being is by the transformation of the life-giving Spirit—12:2b.
4. To be saved in the divine life from individualism is by being built up in the Body of Christ—v. 5.
5. To be saved in the divine life from self-likeness is by the conformation of the life-imparting Spirit—8:29.
6. To be saved in the divine life from our body of humiliation is by the transfiguration in the virtue of the divine life—8:30; Phil. 3:21; Rom. 8:11.
7. To be saved in the divine life is to reign in the divine life—5:17.
8. To be saved in the divine life will result in the victory over Satan—16:20.
B. The new man is the spontaneous issue of our taking Christ as our life and living Him—Col. 3:3-4, 10-11.
Ministry Excerpts:
THE TWO BIRTHS OF CHRIST
According to the New Testament, Christ has had two births. His first birth took place at His incarnation, and His second birth was in His resurrection. The church came into being through the resurrection of Christ. In His second birth the firstborn Son of God was born with all His brothers, who are the members of His Body, the church. Therefore, the church was born in resurrection, that is, in the second birth of Christ. The church now continues its existence in the all-inclusive Spirit.
ONE PERSON AND ONE WAY
In the foregoing message we pointed out that in God’s economy there is one Person, Christ, and one way, the cross. The diagram is actually a chart of this one Person and the one way. Things such as Gnosticism and asceticism have no place here. The teachings of Plato, Socrates, and Confucius and the practices of asceticism are all outside of Christ and apart from the way of the cross. All religions, including Judaism and Christianity, are outside of the line depicted on the diagram. But in the Lord’s recovery we are being brought back to the one Person and the one way. We all need to be recovered from so many different kinds of isms, philosophies, and practices to this one line, to Christ and the cross. Today both Christ and the cross are in the all-inclusive Spirit. Therefore, to be recovered to Christ and the cross is to be recovered to the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit.
In our daily Christian experience we need to know the difference between practicing asceticism and taking the way of the cross. To take the cross is certainly not to cause ourselves to suffer in some way. Some saints may say that to experience the cross is to exercise faith in order to apply what Christ accomplished on Calvary to our situation. But even this may be a subtle form of asceticism. In my early years as a Christian, I appreciated the book, The Imitation of Christ. Eventually I learned that a great deal of what that book advocates is actually asceticism.
THE SPIRIT
If we would apply the cross to our situation, we need to contact the all-inclusive Spirit. The effectiveness of the death of Christ is in this Spirit, just as the effectiveness of certain medicines is included in a certain prescribed dose. When a person takes the prescribed dose, he experiences the effectiveness of that medicine. Today the all-inclusive Spirit is an all-inclusive dose. This dose includes the effectiveness of Christ’s death and the power of His resurrection. Furthermore, Christ’s resurrected and uplifted humanity is also in the all-inclusive Spirit.
According to the New Testament, the all-inclusive Spirit is the Spirit. In John 7:39 we are told that the Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified. This means the Spirit of God had not yet been compounded to become the Spirit, the all-inclusive Spirit. But when Jesus was glorified, the process of compounding was accomplished, and the Spirit came into being. Today it is the Spirit who descends upon us and enters into us to indwell our spirit. In this Spirit we have the effectiveness of the death of Christ.
If we would apply the cross of Christ, we need to open ourselves to the Spirit, contact the Spirit, and allow the Spirit to have a free way within us. Then the Spirit will spontaneously apply the effectiveness of the death of Christ to us. This is what it means to apply the death of Christ. Furthermore, when we open to the Spirit and allow Him to apply the death of Christ to our situation, this experience of Christ’s death will bring Christ to us in resurrection. Hence, through the experience of Christ’s death, we also experience His resurrection. The more we experience this, the more we can say with Paul, “To me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21).
Due to the influence of tradition, we often use the right terms in the wrong way. The terms are correct, but our understanding of them is mistaken. One of these terms is the cross. When we speak of applying the cross to our situation, we need to have the proper understanding. We need to realize that the effectiveness of the death of Christ is in the all-inclusive Spirit. The reality of the cross of Christ is in the Spirit. Thus, if we open to the Spirit and allow the Spirit to move freely within us, He will flow within us. This inward flowing will bring to us the effectiveness of the death of Christ. Moreover, this application of Christ’s death will bring Christ Himself in resurrection. Then, as those who have died with Christ, we shall live with Him in resurrection. It is here that Christ becomes our life in a practical way. We have died with Christ on the cross, and we have been raised up together with Christ. Now, in resurrection, we have Christ as our life. If we spend more time considering the diagram, we shall be helped to realize in what way we have Christ as our life.
RAISED WITH CHRIST
In 3:1 Paul says, “If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.” The word “raised” here refers to the raising aspect of baptism, which is altogether contrary to asceticism. We were raised together with Christ. We are now where Christ is, sitting in the heavens. Hence, we should not practice the things on earth that ascetics do. Rather, we should seek the things which are in the heavens.
LIVING IN THE HEAVENS
We need to live by Christ in the heavens, not by the elements of the world. As those who have died with Christ from the things on the earth, especially to things related to asceticism, as those who have been baptized into His death (Rom. 6:3), and who have been raised together with Christ, we should live in the heavens. But how can we do this? The diagram will help us to answer this question also. By the diagram we see that the heavens are joined to the church; therefore, to live in the heavens is simply to live in the church, for the church and the heavens are one. This is the reason that there should not be any of the elements of the world in the church. Today, to be in the church is to be in the heavens, and to be in the heavens is to be in the church. In our Christian life the church and the heavens are one. As I participate in the church life, I have the sense that I am in the heavens. Many Christians talk about going to heaven in the future, but we are in the heavens daily. Oh, the church is in the heavens today! Here, in this heavenly realm, we have no place for the elements of the world.
HIDDEN WITH CHRIST IN GOD
In 3:3 Paul goes on to say, “For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God.” Because our life (not our natural life, but our spiritual life, which is Christ) has been hidden with Christ in God, who is in the heavens, we should no longer care for things on the earth. God in the heavens should be the sphere of our living. With Christ we should live in God.
In verse 4 Paul continues, “When Christ our life is manifested, then you also shall be manifested with Him in glory.” In God, Christ, not our self, our soul, is our life. This life is now hidden, but it will be manifested. Then we shall be manifested with this life in glory.
Moreover, 1 Corinthians 12:12 tells us that Christ is the Body. Since we, the believers, are the Body of Christ, this reveals our oneness with Christ. We truly are with Christ. Where Christ is, there we are also. With Christ, our life is hidden in God.
IN GOD AND AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD
In verses 1 and 3 we have a matter that deserves our attention. In verse 1 we are told that Christ is at the right hand of God. But according to verse 3, Christ is in God. Where then is Christ, at the right hand of God or in God? I wonder how those who specialize in analytical theology would answer this question. No matter how much we may try to analyze this, our minds are too limited to comprehend it. The Triune God is unlimited, far beyond our understanding. Do not try to understand Him with your limited mentality. At the same time, Christ is both at the right hand of God and in God. However, according to our limited mentality, we cannot reconcile these statements.
Regarding matters such as this, we do not follow the traditional teachings of the so-called historic church; we follow the pure Word of God. Many believers claim to know the Bible, whereas actually their understanding of the Scriptures has been blinded by traditional teachings embodied in creeds such as the Nicene Creed. However, as we have pointed out, we follow the pure and complete Word of God. According to the Bible, Christ is at the right hand of God and also hidden within God. We may not be able to reconcile these statements, but we believe them because of what the Bible tells us.
HIDDEN WITH CHRIST AND MANIFESTED WITH HIM
I appreciate the word “hidden” in 3:3. Today our life is hidden with Christ in God. But one day Christ will appear, and we shall be manifested with Him in glory. Although we shall be manifested with Christ in the future, now is the time for us to be hidden. For this reason, we should not advertise ourselves.
The importance of a hidden life was impressed upon me afresh in my work on the biography of Brother Nee. Although this book has been completed, I am still seeking the Lord’s mind whether or not it should be published. The reason for my hesitation is that it is difficult to print a biography of someone without exposing that person. This is somewhat opposed to the principle of a hidden life. The life of a Christian today should be a hidden life.
At present, even Christ is hidden. Think of how much He is criticized, opposed, and attacked. People rebel against Him to such an extent that it almost seems as if He does not exist. Although Christ is suffering from this attack and rebellion, He continues to be silent and hidden.
According to Romans 8, we shall one day be glorified with Christ. In Romans 8:19 we are told that the “creation eagerly expects the revelation of the sons of God,” at which time it will “be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (v. 21). What a wonderful day it will be when we appear with our Christ in glory! At that time, even our vile body will be transfigured into a glorious body. But as we await that wonderful day, we must remain hidden with Christ in God, in the heavens, and in the church. (Life-Study of Colossians, msg. 27)