EPHESIANS
Ephesians deals with the issue of a life which lives Christ.
God Dispensed
This book tells us that the church is the Body of Christ and that it is the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Eph. 1:22-23). How could the church possibly be His fullness? It is by the unsearchable riches of Christ dispensed into all the members who live Christ out. The more we live Christ out, the more His riches will be dispensed into our being. In the very next verse after the unsearchable riches of Christ are mentioned, is the dispensation of the mystery (3:8-9). The mystery, therefore, is the dispensation of the Triune God: the Father as the source, the Son as the course, and the Spirit as the flow.
The Outcome
The outcome of this dispensation of the Triune God into His chosen people is the church (3:10), which is to display God’s wisdom “according to the purpose of the ages” (3:11).
Have you noticed the sequence in these four verses (3:8-11)? The unsearchable riches of Christ in verse 8 are the dispensation of the mystery in verse 9. The issue is the church in verse 10, which is according to God’s eternal purpose in verse 11.
God’s Eternal Purpose Realized
Practically speaking, God’s eternal purpose is realized by our participating in Christ’s riches. This we do by taking Christ as our life and as our person. If He is our life and our person, we can say that He lives in us and makes His home in us (3:17). We have nothing in common with religion, law, and isms. Our only concern is to take Christ as our life and our person. As we do this day after day, we enjoy all His riches. This enjoyment is the dispensation of the mystery.
Organic Relatedness
This way of living issues in the church. The church is not a group of people with the Christian faith who come together to sing hymns. The church is a Body. My body is not just a few bones stuck together and covered with skin, then dressed in some clothing. To claim that that is my body is an insult. My body is made up of organs, which are organically interrelated. A group of Christians singing hymns together do not necessarily have any organic relatedness. Some Christians could perhaps be likened to a set of dentures, placed in the body but not part of it.
Is our relationship to the Body of Christ like that of a set of dentures? No! We are growing together organically, not placed together by organization. When those of different nationalities are put together, the relationship is not easy. In the church we have many different nationalities and backgrounds. Nonetheless, we can all grow together!
(Life Messages, Vol. 2 (#42-75), Chapter 15, by Witness Lee)
