THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The All-inclusive Christ
Message Two
The Centrality and Universality of Christ
Scriptures Reading: Ezek. 1:15; Col. 1:15-19; 2:19; 3:10-11; Eph. 1:10, 22-23; 4:13-16; 1 Cor. 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: (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)
A. In the Godhead, 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. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)
B. 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. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)
C. 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. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)
II. In God’s new creation, that is, in the church, the Body of Christ, Christ is everything—Col. 1:18: (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)
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. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)
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. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)
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. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)
III. In the Christian living, Christ must be everything in our Christian life; the Christian life must be a life that is Christ Himself expressed through us—Gal. 2:20: (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)
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: (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)
1. Our humility and loveliness must not be something of the old life but something of Christ—Gal. 2:20. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)
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; how can we enter into this victorious life? We must do the following things: (CWWN, vol. 11, “The Present Testimony (4)”, ch. 10)
a. We must see that the self deserves only to die; any hope in the self must come to an end—2 Cor. 1:8. (CWWN, vol. 11, “The Present Testimony (4)”, ch. 10)
b. We must consecrate wholeheartedly; if we do not see our utter weakness, we cannot accept the cross and fully consecrate ourselves—2 Cor. 12:9. (CWWN, vol. 11, “The Present Testimony (4)”, ch. 10)
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. (CWWN, vol. 11, “The Present Testimony (4)”, ch. 10)
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. (CWWN, vol. 11, “The Present Testimony (4)”, ch. 10)
IV. Christ should have the first place in our work; our work should also be for Christ—John 5:17; Eph. 2:10: (CWWN, vol. 11, “The Present Testimony (4)”, ch. 10)
A. 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. (CWWN, vol. 11, “The Present Testimony (4)”, ch. 10)
B. How successful our work is depends on how much Christ is in it—2 Thes. 1:2; Col. 2:19. (CWWN, vol. 11, “The Present Testimony (4)”, ch. 10)
C. 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; we should not be “in another man’s rule”—2 Cor. 10:16; 1 Cor. 14:34-35; 1 Tim. 2:12. (CWWN, vol. 11, “The Present Testimony (4)”, ch. 10)
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. (CWWN, vol. 11, “The Present Testimony (4)”, ch. 10)
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. (CWWN, vol. 11, “The Present Testimony (4)”, ch. 10)
V. 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. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ”, msg .1)