THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The Experience and Enjoyment of Christ
Message Three
The Experience and Enjoyment of Christ
in Colossians to Revelation
Scripture Reading: Col. 1:12; 2:16-17; 3:1-17; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; 2 Tim. 4:8; Heb. 5:6; 6:19-20; 8:6; 12:2-3; 1 Pet. 2:4-8; 1 John 2:1-2; Rev. 1:12—2:1
I. In Colossians 1:12 Paul says, “Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light.” This verse indicates that the portion of the saints is the all-inclusive Christ for our enjoyment—Col. 1:12: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 352)
A. God the Father has qualified us by the redemption of God the Son and through the sanctification of God the Spirit for a share of the all-inclusive Christ, the embodiment of the processed Triune God, as the allotted portion of the saints—v. 12: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 352)
1. When the children of Israel entered the good land and took possession of the land, God commanded them to divide the land into lots and to allot them to the children of Israel so that they would receive a portion of the good land for their inheritance and enjoyment—Num. 36:2. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 352)
2. The all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land allotted to us by God. The riches of the good land typify the unsearchable riches of Christ in the different aspects of His bountiful supply to His believers in His Spirit—Deut. 8:7-10; Eph. 3:8; Phil. 1:19. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 352)
B. By enjoying the riches of the land, the believers in Christ are built up to be His Body as the house of God and the kingdom of God—Eph. 1:22-23; 2:21-22; 1 Tim. 3:15; Matt. 16:18-19; Rom. 14:17. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 352)
II. In Colossians 2:16 and 17 Paul says, “Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath, which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ.” These verses reveal that as the mystery of God, Christ is the body, the reality, of all the shadows—Col. 2:16-17: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 356)
A. Eating and drinking are daily, the Sabbaths weekly, the new moons monthly, and the feasts yearly. All the aspects of our living are shadows of Christ—1 Cor. 10:3-4; Matt. 11:28-29; John 1:5; 8:12; 1 Cor. 5:8. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 356)
B. Daily we eat and drink Him, weekly we have completion and rest in Him, monthly we experience a new beginning in Him, and throughout the year He is our joy and enjoyment—Col. 2:16-17. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 356)
C. All these items of the ceremonial law are a shadow of the spiritual things in Christ, which are the things to come. This all-inclusive Christ is the focus of God’s economy—vv. 16-17. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 356)
D. As the body of shadows, the all-inclusive Christ is the reality of all the positive things in the universe—cf. Rom. 1:20; Eph. 3:18: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 356)
1. The Old Testament uses six major categories of things as types to describe Christ: human beings, animals, plants, minerals, offerings, and foods. In the New Testament Christ is the Spirit of reality who makes the untraceable riches of all that He is real to us, guiding us into Himself as the divine reality—Ezek. 1:10, S. S. 2:3, John 14:6a, 17; 1 John 5:6. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 356)
2. The elements of the reality of all the types are in the Spirit, and the Spirit transfuses and dispenses all these riches into us through the Lord’s words—Phil. 1:19; John 6:63; Col. 3:16; Eph. 6:17-18; Rev. 2:7. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 356)
3. If we follow the practice of taking Christ as the reality of all the material things in our daily life, our daily walk will be revolutionized and transformed. It will be full of Christ—Col. 2:16-17. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 356)
III. In Colossians 3:1-17 Christ is presented as the life of the saints—v. 4: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 357)
A. The extensive, all-inclusive Christ is subjective to us, for He dwells in us as our hope of glory and is our life—1:27, 3:4. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 357)
B. Christ must be our life in a practical and experiential way—v. 4. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 357)
C. We need to be one with the Lord Jesus just as He is one with the Father—John 14:10. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 357)
D. The life of the saints is Christ, a wonderful person who is sitting at the right hand of God, with whom the saints were raised, and with whom their life is hidden in God, in order that they may seek the things which are above and may set their mind on the things which are above for them to be manifested with Him in glory—Col. 3:1-4. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 357)
IV. In 1 Timothy 3:15-16 Christ is presented as God manifested in the flesh. This is one of the greatest aspects of Christ for our experience and enjoyment—1 Tim. 3:15-16: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 363)
A. The word godliness in verse 16 means “God-likeness.” In the context of this verse, the phrase the mystery of godliness means that God in His mystery can be manifested and expressed in the flesh, in human beings. Godliness is God manifested in the flesh; the mystery of godliness is God manifested in human beings. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 363)
B. First Timothy 3:15-16 indicates that not only Christ Himself as the Head is the manifestation of God in the flesh but also that the church as the Body of Christ and the house of God is the manifestation of God in the flesh—the mystery of godliness—vv. 14-15; 1 Cor. 14:24-25. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 363)
C. God’s manifestation was first in Christ as an individual expression in the flesh. God is manifested in the church—the house of God and the Body of Christ—as His enlarged corporate expression in the flesh—1 Tim. 3:16; Col. 2:9; John 1:1, 14; Eph. 1:22-23. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 363)
D. The great mystery of godliness is that God has become man so that man may become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead to produce a corporate God-man for the manifestation of God in the flesh—Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4; Eph. 4:24: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 363)
1. In 1 Timothy 4:7 Paul goes on to tell us that we should exercise ourselves unto godliness. To exercise ourselves unto godliness is to exercise our spirit so that we may express the mystery of godliness—God manifested in the flesh. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 363)
2. If the whole church is gathered together in a proper way, and an unbeliever comes in, “falling on his face, he will worship God, declaring that indeed God is among you”—1 Cor. 14:23-25. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 363)
3. Ultimately, God will be manifested in the New Jerusalem as the consummated corporate expression of the processed and consummated Triune God in the new heaven and new earth—Rev. 21:1-2, 10-11. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 363)
V. In 2 Timothy 4 Christ is unveiled as the One who is to appear—2 Tim. 4:1, 8. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 365)
A. As the righteous Judge, Christ will judge the living on His throne of glory at His second appearing, and He will judge the dead on the great white throne after the millennium—2 Tim. 4:8; Matt. 25:31-46; Rev. 20:11-15. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 365)
B. The Lord’s appearing and His kingdom being the incentive to His servant; the apostle not only took these two matters as the incentive and goal for himself but also by these two matters charged Timothy, who was under his leading, to faithfully fulfill his ministry of the word—2 Tim. 4:1-2, 5. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 365)
C. As the righteous judge, awarding the crown of righteousness to his servant and all those who have loved His appearing—2 Tim. 4:8. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 365)
D. Paul says that such an award will be given to all who love the Lord’s appearing. The Lord’s appearing, His coming back, is a warning, an encouragement, and an incentive to us. We should love it and look forward to it with earnest expectation and joy—v. 8. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 365)
VI. Hebrews 5:6, a quotation from Psalm 110, says, “You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Christ is our High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek—Heb. 7:26, Psa. 110:1-4: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 373)
A. The order of Melchizedek is for the priesthood in both humanity and divinity—Heb. 7:26. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 373)
B. Melchizedek’s coming to minister the bread and wine to Abraham, the father of the called race, signifies Christ’s coming to minister Himself as the processed God into us for our supply and satisfaction—v. 26. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 373)
C. One night, before He left His disciples, the Lord Jesus ministered to them the bread and wine; partaking of the Lord’s table is related to Christ’s priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek—Matt. 26:26-28. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 373)
D. The Christ revealed in this book is also the One who, after accomplishing redemption, comes to us in a mysterious way in our spirit. He does not come as our Redeemer but as our High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. He does not come to offer anything on our behalf but to minister Himself to us in the form of bread and wine as our daily supply and our satisfaction—Heb. 7:26. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 373)
E. Many Christians are weak because they do not have much experience of Christ ministering Himself into them as the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek—v. 26. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 373)
VII. Hebrews 6:19-20 reveals that Christ is our Forerunner. The Lord Jesus as the Forerunner has entered “within the veil” for us, “having become forever a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek:” (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 376)
A. The Lord Jesus is the Forerunner, the Pioneer, who has cut the way into glory within the veil; we need to experience Christ as the Forerunner and follow Him to run the race—vv. 19-20: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 376)
1. We must exercise our spirit in order that we may enter within the veil to have direct contact with the heavenly Christ, the man in the glory, beholding Him to be transfused and infused with Him so that we may become His corporate reproduction—vv. 19-20. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 376)
2. To be within the veil is to be in the Holy of Holies, a realm where we partake of Christ and enjoy Him as the hidden manna, the budding rod, and the law of life, issuing in God’s corporate expression for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose—Heb. 9:3-4. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 376)
B. As the Forerunner, the Lord Jesus is now within the veil, in the Holy of Holies in heaven—6:19-20. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 376)
C. We need to enter into the full participation in His priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek. If we do this, we will have a complete overcoming of sin, and sin will be absolutely under our feet. We will be in the Holy of Holies, having nothing to do with sin but continually enjoying grace—vv. 19-20. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 376)
VIII. In the book of Hebrews Christ is presented as the surety and the Mediator of a better covenant, the new covenant—Heb. 8:6: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 377)
A. The Greek word translated “surety” means “a guarantee, bondsman, sponsor,” and is from the root word meaning “a hand into which something is placed as a pledge,” implying that the guarantee, the surety, cannot be unbound—v. 6. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 377)
B. Christ is not only the consummator of the new covenant; He is also the surety, the pledge that everything in that covenant will be fulfilled. He is the surety, guaranteeing the effectiveness of this covenant—v. 6. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 377)
C. According to Hebrews 8:6, Christ is also “the Mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted upon better promises.” In His heavenly ministry Christ, as the Mediator, is the Executor of the new covenant, the new testament, which He bequeathed to us by His death. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 377)
1. Christ, as the embodiment of the riches of the Godhead and as the crucified and resurrected One, has become the covenant of God given to His people—Col. 2:9; 1:19. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 377)
2. God’s salvation, God’s righteousness, God’s justification, God’s forgiveness, God’s redemption, God’s riches, and all that God has and will do have been covenanted to us. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 377)
3. The way to receive and enjoy Christ as the covenant given to us is to exercise our spirit, to live according to our spirit, and to remain in our spirit—2 Tim. 4:22. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 377)
IX. In Hebrews 12:2-3, Christ is revealed as the Author and Perfecter of faith: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 380)
A. The Greek word translated “Author” may be rendered “Originator, Inaugurator, Leader, Pioneer, Forerunner” —vv. 2-3. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 380)
B. As we look to Him as the Originator of faith in His life and in His path on earth, and as the Perfecter of faith in His glory and on His throne in heaven, He transfuses and even infuses us with the faith that He originated and perfected—vv. 2-3. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 380)
C. According to the New Testament revelation, faith is simply Christ Himself—Rom. 3:22; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:9. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 380)
D. Faith, which is the unique requirement of the New Testament, is Christ Himself being transfused into us to become our element and ability to believe in Him and in all the divine, spiritual, and heavenly things—Rom. 3:22; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:9: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 380)
1. As the Completer of faith, He is continually infused into us as the believing element and ability when we pray to the Lord, fellowship with Him, pray over the Bible, attend church meetings, listen to spiritual messages, and read spiritual books—Heb. 12:2-3. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 380)
2. The more Christ is infused into us as the believing element and ability, the more He is growing in us vv. 2-3. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 380)
3. Day by day our faith will be under the Lord’s perfecting until we meet Him on the day of rapture—vv. 2-3. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 380)
4. We need to pursue the Lord to experience and enjoy Him in this aspect day by day and even moment by moment—Col. 3:11. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 380)
X. In 1 Peter 2:4-8 Christ is unveiled as the living stone—1 Pet. 2:4-8: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 383)
A. Christ as a living stone was “rejected by men but with God chosen and precious” —v. 4. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 383)
B. We come to Christ as living stones to be built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Him—v. 5: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 383)
1. We come to the Lord by drinking the milk of the word, growing in life by being nourished with Christ; the milk does a transforming work within us to produce a stone; to be built up as a spiritual house, which is the church—v. 2. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 383)
2. God’s purpose is that we be built up together as a spiritual house, and this spiritual house is a priesthood, a body of priests built together to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God. This is the service in the church and the church life—v. 5. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 383)
XI. In 1 John 2:1-2 Christ is presented as an Advocate—1 John 2:1-2: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 393)
A. The word“Advocate” carries the sense of consoling and consolation; hence, a consoler, a comforter. It is used in the Gospel of John for the Spirit of reality as our Comforter within us, the One who takes care of our case or our affairs—John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 393)
B. It is used in 1 John 2 in reference to the Lord Jesus as our Advocate with the Father. When we sin, He, based on the propitiation that He accomplished, takes care of our case by interceding and pleading for us—Rom. 8:34. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 393)
C. If we put 1 John 2:1 together with John 14:16, we see that today the Lord Jesus is our Advocate at the right hand of God in the heavens; at the same time, He is also the Comforter in our spirit: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 393)
1. Satan, the enemy of God and our subtle enemy, accuses us before our God day and night. Perhaps he tells God that although God is holy and righteous, His children whom He loves are unrighteous and filthy—Rev. 12:10. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 393)
2. The Father then may tell him that His children have an excellent attorney, Jesus Christ. Our attorney, Christ, also may tell Satan to look upon His blood, which cleanses us from every sin, and to shut his accusing mouth—v. 11. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 393)
3. We should tell Satan to shut his mouth and should praise the Lamb of God for His overcoming blood. Then the divine life will be dispensed into us once again. Christ, our Advocate, takes care of our case so that life-dispensing can continue—v. 11. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 393)
XII. In Revelation, Christ was presented as the son of man walking in the midst of the golden lampstands—1:12—2:1: (1999 ST, msg. 6)
A. Christ as the Son of Man is the High Priest, “clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle”, to cherish the churches in His humanity and nourish them in His divinity—1:13. (1999 ST, msg. 6)
B. The heavenly ancientness of the Lord is depicted by His head and hair being as white as white wool, as snow—v. 14. (1999 ST, msg. 6)
C. The Lord’s seven eyes are like a flame of fire for watching, observing, searching, and judging by enlightening and infusing—v. 14; 5:6; Dan. 10:6: (1999 ST, msg. 6)
D. The Lord’s feet are like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace, signifying that His perfect and bright walk qualifies Him to exercise divine judgment—Rev. 1:15a; Ezek. 1:7; Dan. 10:6. (1999 ST, msg. 6)
E. The Lord’s voice is like the sound of many waters, which is a tumultuous sound, the sound of the voice of the Almighty God in its seriousness and solemnity—Rev. 1:15b; cf. 14:2; Ezek. 1:24; 43:2; Rev. 10:3. (1999 ST, msg. 6)
F. Christ is the Holder of the bright messengers of the churches—1:16a, 20. (1999 ST, msg. 6)
G. Out of Christ’s mouth proceeds a sharp twoedged sword, which is His discerning, judging, and slaying word for dealing with negative persons and things—1:16b; Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17. (1999 ST, msg. 6)
H. Christ’s face is as the sun shining in its power for judging enlightenment to bring in the kingdom—Rev. 1:16c; cf. Dan. 10:6. (1999 ST, msg. 6)
I. Christ is the First and the Last, assuring us that He will never leave His work unfinished, and the living One for the churches as the expression of His Body to be living, fresh, and strong—Rev. 1:17-18a. (1999 ST, msg. 6)
J. Christ has the keys of death and of Hades—v. 18b. (1999 ST, msg. 6)
XIII. Christ, as the Lion-Lamb, the overcoming Redeemer, opens the scroll of God’s economy—5:5-7: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 77)
A. Christ is both the fighting, victorious, and overcoming Lion and the Redeeming Lamb—vv. 5-7. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 77)
B. As the Lion, He is the Fighter against the enemy, Satan; as the Lamb, He is the Redeemer for us. He has fought to redeem us, and He has won the battle over the enemy and accomplished redemption for us—vv. 5-7. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 77)