THE ALL-INCLUSIVE CHRIST AS
THE BELIEVERS’ PORTION
First Corinthians 1:2 says that Christ is "theirs and ours." This kind of identification is not objective, but subjective. It is an identification in life. For example, when we buy a book, we may put a seal on it. The book then becomes our book. But the relationship between the book and us is merely objective. There is no union in life between the two things. Christ is ours. This means that when we receive this all-inclusive Christ into us as our enjoyment, He becomes our portion and our supply. This supply is the dispensing of God within us. It dispenses Christ into us as our portion. Since Christ is our portion, He also has become the portion of all the believers.
THE BELIEVERS HAVING
BEEN CALLED BY THE FAITHFUL GOD INTO
THE PARTICIPATION OF CHRIST
First Corinthians 1:9 says, "God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." In the original language, the word fellowship here has the meaning of participation and enjoyment. The more fellowship we have with Christ, the more we partake of Him and the more we enjoy Him. When we attend a feast, on the one hand, we have fellowship with others; on the other hand, we have enjoyment. This kind of feasting is a joint participation and enjoyment. This kind of enjoyment is not only an individual enjoyment, but a corporate enjoyment and a mutual participation with all those attending the feast. We have been called by the faithful God into the fellowship of His Son for the purpose of participating in and enjoying Him.
THE ALL-INCLUSIVE CHRIST
BEING THE POWER AND WISDOM
DISPENSED BY GOD TO THE BELIEVERS
First Corinthians 1:24 says, "But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom." Here Paul tells us that to the called ones, that is, those who have been chosen by God in eternity and have believed into Christ, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. The all-inclusive Christ has become God’s power and God’s wisdom to us, not in an outward way but in the way of dispensing and transmitting within us. This is like the turning of an electric fan: it is turned not by the hand of man but by the transmission of electric power through a union with the power plant.
Christ’s being God’s power and God’s wisdom to us is based on His being life within us. We know that every kind of life has its own kind of power and skill, which is its wisdom. Through regeneration we have become the children of God. Within us we have God’s life. Because of this, we have the power and wisdom that God gave to us in Christ. This is not something outward, but something inward. Furthermore, it is not a once-for-all matter; it does not cease being transmitted once it has been received. Rather, it is being transmitted to us continually. Today, all day long our Christian life is the story of a transmission from God to us. However, many Christians are closed to God. They are like an electric fan that has been cut off from the power source. Because of this, the fan will not turn. We must be open to the Lord so that He can transmit to us continuously. In this way, Christ will become our power and our wisdom.
After this, Paul continued in 1:30, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption." Paul pointed out that Christ is both theirs and ours. At the same time, we have been called into His fellowship, that is, into the mutual participation in Christ. He has become our portion. In the second half of chapter one, from verse 24 on, Paul shows us the different aspects of the enjoyment of Christ as our all-inclusive portion. Christ as the wisdom of God includes 1) righteousness, for the believers’ past, that they may be justified and regenerated in their spirits (Rom. 5:18b; John 3:6b); 2) sanctification, for the believers’ present, that they may be sanctified and transformed in their souls (Rom. 6:19, 22; 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18); and 3) redemption, for the believers’ future, that their bodies may be redeemed, transformed, and their whole being may enter into the glory of the Triune God (Rom. 8:23; Phil. 3:21; Rom. 8:17b, 30).
(The Economy and Dispensing of God, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee)
