CHRIST HAVING THE FIRST PLACE IN ALL THINGS
The fourth main point in Colossians is that Christ has the first place, the preeminence, in all things (1:18). That Christ would be the first in everything is according to God’s plan.
CHRIST OUR PORTION
The fifth main point is that Christ is our portion. Colossians 1:12 says, “Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light.” Christ is the allotted portion given to us by God. Strictly speaking, God has given only Christ to us. All other things are simply shadows. No doubt God gives us food, sunshine, air, breath, and many good things, but all these things are merely shadows of Christ; the reality is Christ Himself. Christ is our portion.
In the entire universe what else is our portion? If we do not have Christ, we have nothing. Although we do have the shadows, they are vanity, because it is easy for shadows to depart. Even if we had a palace, in only one night it could burn up in a fire or be brought down by an earthquake. Everything soon fades away because it is all a shadow. Only Christ is the reality. Only He exists forever without change.
At the present time I am almost sixty years of age. I can say from my heart that I love nothing else. Only Him do I love. All night and all day I love Him. Nothing is so dear to me as He is. During the past half century from my teenage years to the present time, I have noticed all the changes in international and national affairs, in families, and in society. Everything is a shadow that passes away quickly. From this I have learned that nothing on earth is lovable or trustworthy. Only One is so dear to me, and He is so real to me. In nothing or no one else can I put my trust; I can trust only Him. He is the reality, and He is our portion.
If you do not have Christ, you are a person of vanity, but if you have Christ, you are a person of reality; you have Him, and He is everything. I hope that we all would learn to realize Him and love Him. Simply love Him, and do not seek anything else. Everything else is merely a shadow. Of course, while we are still on this earth, we need many things. However, we must use these things in the way of realizing Christ as our reality. The only portion which God gives to us is this wonderful Christ. We must learn to know Him, to live Him, to take Him, to experience Him, and to realize Him. He is not a religion, a doctrine, a set of teachings, or even Christianity, but an all-inclusive, real, and living Christ. It is worthwhile for us to have Him, and we can never regret having Him. Since my youth, for more than forty years, I have loved Him without any regret. He is the portion of the saints in the light.
CHRIST OUR LIFE
Sixth, this very Christ is life to us (3:4). He is very intimate, tender, subjective, and near. Nothing is as dear, precious, and available to us as our life, yet even our own life, the very life we received from our parents, is not the real life. It is only a shadow. Therefore, he who does not have Christ does not have the life (1 John 5:12). He is not only our portion for us to enjoy, but He is our life for us to live.
Even though I have been teaching and ministering for more than thirty years, I still do not have the adequate words to explain what it means that Christ is our life. This is something beyond human expression and human utterance. I can simply say that this wonderful Christ today is life to us. How precious and how wonderful this is! Christ is everything, He is our portion, and even more He is our life. In all the sixty-six books of the Bible, Colossians 3:4 is the clearest word about Christ being our life.
(General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, A - Part 2: Romans through Philemon, Chapter 11, by Witness Lee)
