THE TREASURE—CHRIST
In Matthew these items of Christ are in seed form. We can see the blossoming in the Epistles and the harvest in Revelation. In answering the foolish questions of the religious people, the Lord Jesus spontaneously revealed Himself in a full way. Nevertheless, there is more. What has been revealed is insufficient; there is something more to be revealed about Christ. The mouths of all the inquirers were shut, and all the problems and questions were solved. Eventually, the Lord Jesus presented them the treasure by asking, "What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose Son is He?" (22:42). Forget about religion, politics, doctrines, and questions of the law. The question of questions is: "What do you think concerning the Christ?" When they answered that Christ is the Son of David, the Lord then asked them, "How then does David in spirit call Him Lord?" (22:43). We may ask the same question. It is because He is both the Son of David and the Lord of David. Christ is man, and He is also God. He has both divinity and humanity. In His humanity, He is the Son of David; in His divinity, He is the Lord of David.
In addition, by His simple and brief word in Matthew 22:44, the Lord sowed the seed of His ascension and coming victory over the enemy to set up His kingdom. "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on My right hand until I put Your enemies underneath Your feet." The words are simple and brief, yet the implication is vast and far-reaching. This statement implies that Christ will be resurrected, ascended, and set on the right hand of God. It also implies that Christ will return in victory over all His enemies to establish the kingdom of God. God will put His enemies underneath His feet. What a Christ! He is man, God, the resurrected One, the ascended One, the coming One, the victorious One, and the One who will set up God’s kingdom over His enemy. What a revelation of Christ! This is Christ as the all-inclusive seed.
Can you recall all of the aspects that we have covered? Christ is the Son of God, the Heir of God, the building stone, the stumbling stone, the smiting stone, the feast, the marriage garment, man, God, the resurrected and ascended One, the coming and victorious One, and the One who will establish God’s kingdom on the earth over every enemy. This is the seed which is developed throughout the remainder of the New Testament until it reaches maturity in the book of Revelation.
We should not be like those Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians. We must be always keen and alert to apply Christ to our situation. "O Lord Jesus, You are the Son of God! You are the Heir of God! I take You as the building stone; I take You as the marriage feast and as the marriage garment. I take You as man and as God. I take You as the resurrected and ascended One. I take You as the coming One, the victorious One, and as the One who will set up God’s kingdom on the earth." I hope that all the saints in the churches will concentrate on these matters. If you do so, you will be enlightened by Christ. You will be filled and saturated with Him. You will then have a new way of understanding the Bible. You will understand the Bible not as a mere book of stories or doctrines; You will take the Bible as a revelation of Christ with all His riches. Spend time on the aspects of Christ revealed in His answers to the religious people. Truly He is everything. Matthew is a book of the living Christ, a rich Christ, a practical Christ, a present Christ, and an experiential Christ. This Christ is our marriage feast and our marriage garment.
IN OUR SPIRIT
We can realize Him, apply Him, experience Him, and enjoy Him in our spirit. We all must be in our spirit. Have you seen the revelation of Christ? If so, turn to your spirit and call Him Lord. David in spirit called Him Lord. Please notice that the word "spirit" has a small letter "s," denoting our human spirit. David called Him Lord in spirit, and this is what we also need to do today. We need to call Him Lord in our spirit. It makes a great difference. The first sentence of the Lord’s teaching in the book of Matthew was concerning our spirit. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens" (Matt. 5:3). We need to call Him Lord in our spirit. We need to be poor in spirit, and we also need to call Him Lord in our spirit.
(The Kingdom, Chapter 31, by Witness Lee)
