II. CHRIST TO THE BELIEVERS
A. God’s Allotted Portion to the Saints
Christ is the God-allotted portion to the saints. In the Bible, Christ is likened to the good land. When the children of Israel entered into the good land, they allotted the land to the twelve tribes, so every tribe received a lot. Today every saint has received a "lot," a portion, of Christ. Christ is our allotted portion from God. Christ is not only our life and our Savior, but also our lot, our portion.
1. The Father Having Qualified Us for
a Share of the Portion of the Saints
Colossians 1:12 says that the Father has qualified us for a share of the portion of the saints. The portion of the saints is the all-inclusive Christ for our enjoyment.
2. All Those Who Call Upon
the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ
in Every Place, Theirs and Ours
First Corinthians 1:2 speaks of "all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, theirs and ours." The phrase "theirs and ours" indicates that Christ as the all-inclusive One belongs to all believers. He is their portion and our portion. Paul indicated that whoever calls upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will enjoy Christ as his portion. Then in verse 9 Paul said that the faithful God has called us into the fellowship of this portion. Now we all are in the fellowship, in the participation, in the enjoyment, of this portion. Paul went on to show the Corinthians so many items of Christ as our portion. This portion is the divine power from God to us (1:24a). This portion is the divine wisdom from God to us (1:24b; 30a). This portion is the divine righteousness, the divine sanctification, and eventually the divine redemption from God to us (1:30b). These five items are wonderful!
B. Life
1. Christ Our Life
As the God-allotted portion to us, Christ is our life (Col. 3:4a). Life is the top enjoyment. If our life is gone, all of our enjoyment is finished. Today Christ is our life. It is a fact that we have Christ as our life, but some may wonder how we can prove this fact. All of us have our physical life, but this life is not something which we can show others. Life is unseen; it is invisible. Life cannot be seen, but the activities of life are strong proofs that someone has life. Can we show others that we have Christ as life? We cannot show them because this life is invisible, but there are the activities of this life, which show that we possess it. Our being so living, so active, and so aggressive for the Lord is a proof that we have His life. His life within energizes us. Many times I feel tired, but when I am ministering the word, the Lord supplies me with His life, and I am full of the energy of His life. Our being so active in Christ and for Christ shows that we have Christ as our life.
2. Christ Living in Me
In Galatians 2:20a Paul said, "Christ lives in me." Not only is Christ our life, but He also lives in us. We have died in Christ through His death, but now He lives in us through His resurrection.
3. To Me to Live Is Christ
In Philippians 1:21a, Paul said, "To me to live is Christ." We may know the doctrine that Christ lives in us and that for us to live is Christ, but most of the time, in actuality, He does not live, but we live. In many formal wedding ceremonies around the world, the bride has her head covered to indicate her submission to her husband. At the wedding there are two persons, but only one head. According to the Bible, the husband is the head of the wife (Eph. 5:23). If a wife has Christ as her life, she has to admit that her head is her husband. While I am saying this, though, I feel very sorry. We have this teaching, but in many of our families we do not have this reality. In many families the wife is acting as the head, not the husband. We need to realize that two lives can never live together. They have to be combined to be one life. Christ is our life, and Christ lives in us. Now we have to live in His living. Outside of His living, we do not have any living. We live Christ. Christ was not only Paul’s life within but His living without. He and Christ lived together as one person.
(Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990, Chapter 18, by Witness Lee)
