For the past years we have been stressing Christ as our life, but in recent days the Lord has shown us that He is also a person. In John 15:4a He says, "Abide in Me and I in you." You as a person abide in Christ, and He as a person abides in you. Christ is a person. He is not merely power, strength, might, or life, but a person. Within a tree there is life, but the tree is not a person. Within a motor there is power, but the motor is not a person. But within a man, there is life and power, and even the more, he is a person. Christ to us is not only life and power but also a person abiding in us (John 15:4a, 5a; 14:23).
Ephesians 3:17a says, "That Christ may make His home in your hearts." A person needs a home. Christ desires to make His home in our hearts. This means that this Christ who is making home in our hearts is a person. God’s intention is that we human beings take Christ as our person. This means that we have to live, not by ourselves but by Christ as our person (Gal. 2:20a; Phil. 1:20b-21; John 6:57; 14:19).
Suppose we have a young man and a young lady who are going to get married. They are two beings with two persons. How can the two of them become one being? In many weddings the head of the bride is covered. This signifies that the two persons become one since the wife is willing to have her head covered. As a wife, you have to realize that, according to God’s economy, your head has to be covered. This does not mean that the man as the head has authority and that the wife is miserable in losing all her rights. Rather, it is a matter of love. It means that the wife loves her husband to such an extent that she is willing to give herself up. She is willing to give up her person and take her husband as her person. As a living being, she does not live by her own person; she lives by her husband’s person. This is real love.
Likewise, we need to give up our person and take Christ as our person. When we are willing to forget about ourselves and take Christ as our person, we will be rooted and grounded in love (Eph. 3:17b). We will say to the Lord, "O Lord Jesus, I just love You! You are so wonderful, good, nice, capable, and qualified. O Lord, You are so sweet and tender. I want to forget about myself and take You as my person!"
Among the saints, the husband should not say to his wife, "Have you heard the message in the meeting tonight? Who is the head?" The wife would say, "Yes, I heard that. No doubt, you are the husband, so you are the head. But it’s pitiful that I am a woman. Since I am your wife, I have no choice but to cover my head." This kind of wrong understanding concerning the husband being the head, the person, of the wife will lead to either separation or divorce. We must know that the wife’s taking the husband as her person is a matter of love. When we take Christ as our person, it simply means that we love Him. We tell Him, "O Lord Jesus, You are so sweet and capable. Therefore, Lord, I just forget about myself, and I take You as my person." If I ask a sister why she is wearing a particular dress, she may say, "Because I like it." This is a failure. As a wife, you should be able to say, "I wear this dress because my husband likes it." Suppose I ask a brother, "Why do you comb your hair this way?" His answer should be, "Because my Husband, the Lord who lives in me, likes it." This is what it means to take Christ as our person.
(The Life for the Preaching of the High Gospel, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee)