THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The All-inclusive Ch$rist
Message Two—The Centrality and Universality of Christ

Scriptures Reading: Ezek. 1:15; Col. 1:15-19; 2:2-3, 8-10, 19; 3:4, 7, 11; Eph. 1:10, 22-23; 4:13-16; 1 Cor. 1:22-24; 2:2

I. The whole universe—including the old creation and the new creation, including everything in the heavens and everything on the earth, in the present and in the future—is like a great wheel; Christ is the hub, the center; Christ is the rim, the circumference; and Christ is the spokes of this wheel; Christ is everything—Ezek. 1:15.

II. In the Godhead, there are three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit; the Father is the source, the Spirit is the communion, the fellowship, the transmission, and the Son, Christ is the center; furthermore, all the fullness of the Godhead is pleased to dwell in Christ bodily—Col. 1:19; 2:9; John 10:38; 14:10-11; Col. 2:9-15; 2 Cor. 4:4b; Heb. 1:3a; John 1:1; 20:28-29; Rom. 9:5.

III. In God’s economy Christ is the very center; in God’s plan Christ is the Head to head up all things; the whole universe is for Christ; whatever God has planned, whatever God has done, and whatever God is doing is to make Christ the Head, the center,, and everything—Eph. 1:10.

IV. In God’s creation Christ is the first, the One who has preeminence among all creatures; all things were created in Christ, through Christ and unto Christ; furthermore, all things cohere, subsist together, and are compacted as one in Christ—Col. 1:15b-16, 17b.

V. In God’s new creation, that is, in the church, the Body of Christ, Christ is everything—Col. 1:18:

A. Christ is the Firstborn from the dead; He is the first in resurrection; as such, He has the first place in the church as God’s new creation—Col. 18.

B. Christ is not only the Firstborn of the new creation but also the Head of the church, the Body; moreover, He is the constituent of the Body; He is all the members of the Body and in all the members—2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Col. 3:11.

C. Everything of the Body, the church, in a positive way and in the proper condition, must be Christ Himself; Christ is the Head, Christ is the life, and Christ is the constituent of the church—1 Cor. 12:12.

VI. In the Christian living, the Christian life must be a life that is Christ Himself expressed through us—Gal. 2:20:

A. What we had originally was absolutely out of Adam, but now we have been born of Christ; Christ is our life—1 Cor. 2:1-2:

1. Our humility and loveliness must not be something of the old life but something of Christ—Gal. 2:20.

2. Christ has to be lived out in our lives; our victory is based on our yielding to Christ the first place in all things and allowing Him to be the Lord in all of our living:

a. We must know the self thoroughly; we must see that the self deserves only to die; any hope in the self must come to an end—2 Cor. 1:8.

b. We must consecrate wholeheartedly; if we do not see our utter weakness, we cannot accept the cross and fully consecrate ourselves, nor hand over all our rights to the Lord’s hand to allow Him to be the Lord—2 Cor. 12:9.

c. After consecration we have to believe that Christ is being lived out in us and that He has taken over our rights—Gal. 2:20.

B. Whatever God gives to us, whether it be a sweet life or a suffering life, is for the purpose of making Christ the One who occupies the first place in us; God deprives us of our possessions, relatives, health, and goodness in order that we would take Christ as our satisfaction, be filled with Christ, and allow Him to have the first place in all things—1 Cor. 1:9; 1 John 5:21; cf. Jer. 2:13; Lam. 3:22-24.

C. Christ should have the first place in our work; our work should also be for Christ—John 5:17; Eph. 2:10:

1. The goal of God’s work is Christ; God’s work from eternity to eternity has always been with the view that His Son would have the first place in all things—Eph. 1:15b-16; Rom. 8:29.

2. How successful our work is depends on how much Christ is in it—2 Thes. 1:2; Col. 2:19.

3. The work from beginning to end, is all for Christ, not for us; we should be satisfied with the work allotted to us by the Lord and with the position the Lord arranged for us—2 Cor. 10:16; 1 Cor. 14:34-35; 1 Tim. 2:12.

D. Our central message should not be the dispensations, the prophecies, the types, the kingdom, baptism, forsaking denominations, speaking in tongues, keeping the Sabbath, or holiness, etc.; our central message should be Christ; we should allow Christ to have the first place in the small things in our daily life before we can preach the message of the centrality of Christ—2 Cor. 4:5; 1 Cor. 2:2.

E. God works through the cross, which in turn works through the environment to dig into us deeply, causing us to know Christ and be filled with Him, so that Christ may have the first place in us—Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 12:9.

VII. I look to the Lord that our eyes may be opened to see these things in a thorough way until they become transparent to us; we need to see that Christ is the center, Christ is the circumference, and Christ is everything—Col. 3:11; 1:18; 2:2; 2 Cor. 4:5.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

CHRIST IN THE GODHEAD

The first item we will consider is Christ in the Godhead. Even in the Godhead, Christ is the center. In the Godhead there are three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Father is the source, the Spirit is the communion, the fellowship, the transmission, and the Son, Christ, is the center. All that the Father has planned and purposed is in the Son, for the Son, and through the Son, and all that the Spirit is doing also is for the Son. The Spirit comes to witness for the Son, to glorify the Son, and to make the Son real to us (John 16:13-15). Thus, we see that even in the Godhead, Christ is the center.

Furthermore, all the fullness of the Godhead is pleased to dwell in Christ bodily (Col. 1:19; 2:9). If we do not hve the Son, we do not have the Father. If we have the Son, we have the Father also, because the Father is in the Son (John 10:38; 14:10-11) and the Son is the very embodiment of the Father (Col. 2:9). Christ is the image of God (Col. 1:15; 2 Cor. 4:4b) and the impress of God’s substance, the expression of what God is (Heb. 1:3a). Apart from Christ we cannot meet God or have God. Christ is God (John 1:1; 20:28-29; Rom. 9:5). Hence, Christ is the center of the Godhead.

CHRIST IN GOD’S PLAN

The second thing we will consider is Christ in God’s plan. We have seen clearly from Ephesians that in God’s economy Christ is the very center. In God’s plan Christ is the Head to head up all things (Eph. 1:10). The whole universe is for Christ. Whatever God has planned, whatever God has done, and whatever God is doing is to make Christ the Head, the center, and everything. This is God’s eternal purpose. The phrase to head up all things in Christ in Ephesians 1:10 indicates the divine economy. Hence, in God’s plan, in God’s economy Christ is the Head and the center. Christ is everything.

CHRIST IN GOD’S CREATION

The next item we will consider is Christ in God’s creation, that is, the old creation. In God’s creation Christ is the first, the One who has preeminence among all creatures. In the old creation all things were created in Christ, through Christ, and unto Christ (Col. 1:15b-16). Furthermore, all things cohere, subsist together, and are compacted as one in Christ (v. 17b). We can see the beauty of the unierse and the oneness of all things in this universe. If the moon went out of its orbit even to a small degree, there would be a terrible result on this earth. However, today everything in the universe is going on in a good order. This is due to the power of Christ. Christ is the power by which and in which all things cohere. Christ is the center of God’s creation, and He has the first place in all creation.

CHRIST IN THE NEW CREATION

The fourth item is concerning Christ in the new creation, that is, the church. Whereas the old creation was created by God in Christ, through Christ, and unto Christ, the new creation is something of the old creation that has died and resurrected into life to have a fresh beginning in newness. Christ is the Firstborn from the dead (Col. 1:18); He is the first in resurrection. As such, He has the first place in the church as God’s new creation (2 cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15). Christ is not only the Firstborn of the new creation but also the Head of the church, the Body. Moreover, He is the constituent of the Body. He is all the members of the Body and in all the members (Col. 3:11). Even the Body itself is Christ (1 Cor. 12:12). Everything of the Body, the church, in a positive way and in the proper condition, must be Christ Himself. Christ is the Head, Christ is the life, and Christ is the constituent of the church. Hence, in the new creation, the church, Christ is everything.

CHRIST IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

One day in 1933 the Lord opened my eyes to see that Christ is everything to us. Many times the saints came to me to praise someone by saying that he was humble or lovely. but after 1933 whenever I heard this kind of praise about a person, I always had a question within me. What do you mean by being humble? What do you mean by being lovely? Do you mean that a part of the old Adam is humble, or that a man in Adam is lovely? The real humility and loveliness of a Christian must be Christ Himself. Our love toward others must be Christ. Our patience, our humility, our wisdom, our knowledge, and our insight must be Christ.

However, we were not originally born in Christ, of Christ, or with Christ. What we had originally was absolutely out of Adam. But now we have been born of Christ. Yet still something of the old nature remains with us. We have Christ and the old Adam as well. We can even be humble and nice by the old adamic life. In China I saw some people who were taught, educated, by the teachings of Confucius. They were truly nice and lovely, but with them there was nothing of Christ. The Christian life must be a life that is Christ Himself expressed through us.

Now let us look at the situation of Christianity today. There is very little of Christ in today’s Christianity. Instead, Christianity is full of three categories of things. First, today’s Christianity is full of forms and regulations, and it is organized as a religion. Second, today’s Christianity is full of doctrines, knowledge, teachings, and theology. Once I met a person who spoke with me concerning justification by faith; but I found out that he himself had not been justified, though he was very much for justification by faith. The reason for this is that he had the doctrine of justification by faith, but he did not have the living person of Christ. If we have Christ, we are justified. If we do not have Christ, we are not justified. Someone may have a doctor’s degree in divinity and yet not saved; he may be full of doctrines but void of Christ.

Sometimes people have asked me, “Brother Lee, do you believe in absolute grace?” I said, “I believe in the very Christ who is grace itself. What do you believe? You believe in the doctrine of grace, but do you have grace? Who is grace? Who is all-inclusive grace? Who is the absolute grace?” We need to see that grace is a living person, not a doctrine. Grace is Christ Himself (John 1:17). We can teach grace and even fight for the doctrine of grace, yet we do not have grace if we do not have the living person of Christ. We may not have the word grace in our vocabulary or dictionary, but if we have the reality of Christ, we have the reality of grace. It is not a matter of doctrine but a matter of the living Christ being realized by us.

Third, today’s Christianity is full of gifts, full of the seeking for healings and speaking in tongues. But where is Christ? How much Christ is there? Christianity is full of forms, full of teachings, and full of gifts, but it has very little of Christ. Christ has nearly no place, no ground, even in the formal church, the doctrinal church, the fundamental church. Also, in the Pentecostal church there is not much room for Christ Himself. This is the condition of today’s Christianity.

We surely should mourn over such a situation (Matt. 5:4). The United Sttes is a Christian country, but it has very little of Christ. I am not trying to teach you and give you something new. I am here to tell you that you need Christ. What you ned is not forms, doctrines, gifts, healings, and speaking in tongues; you need Christ, the living One, the Son of the living God. You need to know Him and experience Him. You need to be filled with Him, to be saturated with Him, and to be mingled, blended, with Him.

In the New Testament there is the Epistle to the Hebrews, which deals with religion. The Hebrew Christians had the best religion, the Jewish religion, yet they greatly neglected Christ. They forgot about Christ. They were distracted and even separated from Christ. They were led away from the right track, which is Christ Himself. They paid attention to something other than Christ, something that was used by God to bring people, to conduct people, to Christ. Their religion became a substitute for Christ, something that took the place of Christ. Even though it was good at one time, it eventually replaced Christ.

Galatians shows us that the law became a substitute for Christ. The Galatians were trying to do good, to improve themselves, and to adjust themselves in order to have good behavior. This kind of thing crept in among the Christians to usurp the place of Christ. Some Christians are good and try to do good. But this is a deceiving by the enemy. We are not for good conduct; we are persons who are absolutely for Christ. We were made vessels not to contain good conduct but to contain Christ. We are Christ-containers.

First Corinthians shows the contrast between Christ and the gifts. I have said many times that 1 Corinthians shows that it is quite possible for someone to have many gifts yet still be a babe, an infant, in Christ (1:7; 3:1).

The Corinthian believers had all the outward, miraculous gifts, yet they were childish. That is the reason that the apostle was forced to say, “When I came to you…I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified” (2:1-2). The Jews are seeking signs, miracles, and supernatural things, and the Greeks are seeking wisdom and knowledge, but we, the saved ones of God, preach only Christ Himself. Besides Christ, we know nothing. Christ is the real power for signs and the real wisdom for knowledge. Today the enemy is still very subtle. If the enemy were to bring in something sinful, all the lovers of Christ, the seeking ones, would reject it. But the enemy in his subtlety brings in something good. What the enemy brings in may be something very good, but it is not Christ Himself.

In the beginning of the New Testament, in Acts, there are the gifts, signs, and miracles. But the latest Epistles, such as 2 Corinthians, the Epistles to Timothy, the Epistle to Titus, and 1, 2, and 3 John, do not mention signs, miracles, or gifts. In Revelation the gifts and miraculous things are not mentioned. All these books deal much with the matters of knowing Christ and of being worked on by God, by the Holy Spirit, through the cross that Christ may be wrought into us, that we may be mingled, blended, filled, and saturated with Christ.

We need to come back to God’s Word, where we do not see any stress on doctrines, forms, gifts, healings, or speaking in tongues. The focus and stress in God’s Word are Christ the living One. The enemy is subtle. Because of this the apostle told us that while they were preaching christ, on the one hand, negatively, they warned and admonished people, and on the other hand, positively, they taught people (Col. 1:28). The apostle’s warning was needed because some subtle things were brought in by the enemy.

In Colossians 2:8 Paul said, “Beware that no one carries you off as spoil through his philosophy and empty deceit.” Philosophy is good, not sinful or worldly. It is not something dressed in black and dark clothing, but something clothed in a white and bright garment that can carry us away from Christ. It is nice and good, but it is deceiving, sidetracking, and distracting. It separates us and carries us away from the right track, which is Christ Himself. Whenever we pay our attention to anything other than Christ, we have been sidetracked already. If we focus on something other than Christ, regardless of how good it is, we have been sidetracked; we are no longer on the right track.

Brothers and sisters, here is the battle. We are not fighting with men; we are fighting against the enemy, the cunning one, who has been damaging the Body of Christ for all the past generations, sometimes by evil things and sometimes by good things. Hebrews, Galatians, Colossians, and 1 Corinthians do not deal with evil things but with good things. The book of Hebrews deals with religion, Galatians deals with doing good according to the law, Colossians deals with the best human invention, philosophy, and 1 Corinthians deals with gifts. But all these things are substitutes for Christ that replace Christ and usurp the ground of Christ in the believers. This is a battle. We need to receive the burden to pray for this. The enemy is fighting to frustrate, to damage, to mix up, to confuse, and to complicate the pure building up of the church.

I look to the Lord that our eyes may be opened to see these things in a thorough way until they become transparent to us. We need to see that Christ is the center, Christ is the circumference, and Christ is everything. (The Centrality and Universality of Christ, ch. 1)

CHRIST HAVING THE FIRST PLACE IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

Christ is our life. This is victory! This is holiness! The victorious life, the holy life, the perfect life, are all Christ. From beginning to end, everything is Christ. Outside of Christ, we have nothing. Christ must have the first place in all things. The victorious life God has given us is not a thing, such as patience or meekness, but the living Christ. Christ never mends our wrongs. What we lack is not patience but a living Christ. God will never tear a piece of cloth from Christ to mend our hole. To be short of patience is to be short of Christ, because God wants Christ to have the first place in all things. Therefore, to put the self to death is not holiness. Holiness is Christ. Christ must have the first place in all things.

CHRIST HAVING THE FIRST PLACE IN THE CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE

The experience of a Christian has two sides: one is sweet, the other, painful. God causes us to experience a sweet and suffering life in order that Christ may have the first place in all things.

CHRIST HAVING THE FIRST PLACE IN CHRISTIAN WORK

Paul planted, and Apollos watered. It was not accomplished by one person, lest anyone would say, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos.” All the things concerning the work are for Christ, not for the worker. We are the loaves in the Lord’s hand. When people eat the loaves, they thank the one who gives them the loaves; they do not thank the loaves, which are we. The work from its beginning to its end is all for Christ, not for us. We should be satisfied with the work allotted to us by the Lord and with the position the Lord arranged for us. We should not be “in another man’s rule” (2 Cor. 10:16). We like very much to leave our own lot to tread on another’s lot. The question is not whether we can do it or know how to do it, but whether God has commanded it. Sisters should stand in the sisters’ position (1 Cor. 14:34-35). Sisters should not be teachers, making judgments concerning God’s word (1 Tim. 2:12). In all the work, we should let Christ have the first place.

CHRIST HAVING THE FIRST PLACE IN CHRISTIAN MESSAGES

Christ should also have the first place in our messages. We “preach…Christ Jesus as Lord” (2 Cor. 4:5). “For I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Christ is the center of God’s plan and the center of God’s goal. The cross is the center of God’s work. The work of the cross is to accomplish God’s goal. The cross works to eliminate all that issues from the flesh in order that Christ may have the first place. Our central message should not be the dispensations, the prophecies, the types, the kingdom, baptism, forsaking denominations, speaking in tongues, keeping the Sabbath, or holiness, etc. Our central message should be Christ. The centrality of God is Christ. Therefore, we should take Him as the center. (God’s Overcomers, msg. 2)