THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Ministry of Paul
Message Two—The Central Vision of Paul’s Completing Ministry
Scripture Reading: Col. 2:2; Eph. 3:4; Rom. 9:21, 23; Phil. 2:13; Col. 1:12; Rom. 12:5
I. The central vision of Paul’s completing ministry concerns Christ as the mystery of God (Col. 1:25-27; 2:2) and the church as the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:4); this is the great mystery of Christ and the church (5:32): (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
A. God is a mystery, and Christ, as the embodiment of God to express Him (Col. 2:9), is the mystery of God. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
B. Christ also is a mystery, and the church, as the Body of Christ to express Him, is the mystery of Christ. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
C. This mystery is God’s economy, which is to dispense Christ, as the embodiment of God, into God’s chosen people in order to produce a Body to be the increase of God’s embodiment in Christ, that God may have a corporate expression—1 Tim. 1:4; Eph. 3:8-9. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
II. The central vision of Paul’s completing ministry is God in us as our contents, Christ as the mystery of God, and the church as the mystery of Christ: (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
A. Man is a vessel to contain God—Gen. 2:7-9; Acts 9:15; Rom. 9:21-24; 2 Cor. 4:7; 2 Tim. 2:20-21: (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
1. We must learn to turn away from all considerations of our behavior and care only to be filled with God. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
2. God is illustrated in the Bible as food, water, and breath; we must take Him in and be filled with Him, just as we take in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe—John 6:35, 57; 4:10, 14; 7:37-39; 20:22; Lam. 3:55-56. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
3. Ephesians 4:6 reveals that the Father is not only over us and through us but also in us; God is housing Himself in us. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
4. Ephesians 3:19 says, “That you may be filled unto all the fullness of God”: (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
a. To be filled unto all God’s fullness means to be filled unto all that God is; the fullness of God implies that the riches of what He is become His expression. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
b. All that God is should be our contents; we should be so filled with Him that we become His fullness, His expression—vv. 14-19. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
B. The mystery of God is Christ as the embodiment and manifestation of God, making God so real and enjoyable to us—Col. 2:2, 9; Rom. 9:5: (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
1. Christ is everything to the believers—1 Cor. 1:9; 15:45b; Eph. 3:8; 2 Cor. 4:6-7; John 8:58: (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
a. Christ is the God-allotted portion to the saints—Col. 1:12; 2:6; 1 Cor. 1:2. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
b. Christ is our life—John 14:6a; Col. 3:4; Rom. 8:2, 4, 6. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
c. Christ is the hope of glory—Col. 1:27; Eph. 1:18b; 4:4b; Rom. 8:19, 23-25. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
d. Christ is our necessities and our enjoyment—John 8:12; 6:51, 57b; 1 Cor. 10:4; John 20:22; Gal. 3:27; John 15:7a; Col. 2:16-17; Matt. 11:28. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
e. Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom to us—1 Cor. 1:24, 30. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
2. Christ is everything to the church: (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
a. Christ is the Head of the Body—Col. 1:18. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
b. Christ is the Body of the Head—1 Cor. 12:12. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
c. Christ is the foundation stone—Isa. 28:16; 1 Cor. 3:11. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
d. Christ is the living stone, the cornerstone, and the topstone—1 Pet. 2:4, 6-7; Eph. 2:20; Zech. 3:9; 4:7. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
e. Christ is all the members of the new man—Col. 3:10-11. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
3. God wants us to realize that in Christ the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—has passed through a process involving incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension—John 1:14; 14:9-11; Col. 1:15; 1 Pet. 1:3; Acts 2:33, 36; John 1:8; 2:4. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
4. As the life-giving Spirit, the Lord is waiting for people to receive Him by believing into Him—1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17; John 1:12-13; 3:15. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
C. The mystery of Christ is that the Triune God through death and in resurrection is mingling Himself with us, making us the living members of His organic Body: (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
1. The central vision is the vision that Christ, the expression of God, has become the life-giving Spirit so that He may impart Himself into us as our life to make us the living members of His Body to express Him organically—1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 12:5. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
2. The Lord is recovering Christ as life and everything to us and the church as His Body, His fullness—Col. 3:4, 11, 16; 2:19. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)
3. The Lord wants a church composed of believers who are infused, filled, and saturated with Himself to be His Body for His expression; eventually, this living Body will become Christ’s loving bride, who will prepare the way for His coming back—Eph. 1:22-23; Rev. 19:7-9. (2013 MDC, msg. 2)