II. THE WAY TO RECEIVE, EXPERIENCE, AND ENJOY
THE ALL-INCLUSIVE CHRIST
AS THE ALL-INCLUSIVE LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT—
THE AGGREGATE OF THE ALL-EMBRACING BLESSING
OF THE FULL GOSPEL OF GOD
A. The Way in the Book of Galatians
The way to share in, partake of, and participate in the threefold seed can be seen in the book of Galatians. In the short book of Galatians Paul presents the fact that the very Christ whom he ministered to people is the consummated God as the Spirit to be our blessing (3:14). I studied Martin Luther’s exposition on Galatians, and I appreciate his interpretation of chapter three. However, he did not see that the blessing of God’s gospel is the consummated Triune God as the consummated Spirit. Nevertheless, Paul presented this to us, and we thank the Lord that He has opened our eyes to see this.
1. By God’s Revealing of Christ in Us
The way to receive, experience, and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, the aggregate of the all-embracing blessing of the full gospel of God, is first by God’s revealing of Christ in us (Gal. 1:16a). Apart from God’s revelation, none of us, not even Paul, has a way. Paul said that he formerly was zealous for his fathers’ religion (v. 14) and that he had advanced in that religion beyond many of his contemporaries. Paul was fighting absolutely for his fathers’ religion against Jesus Christ. On a certain day he was traveling from Jerusalem to Damascus to bind the followers of Jesus and bring them to the high priest for sentencing. As he went, he drew near to Damascus; suddenly a light from heaven shone around him, and he fell on the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9:3-4). That shocked him. He thought that he was persecuting the followers of Jesus on the earth. How then did a voice come from heaven? Paul responded, and spontaneously he called this One "Lord." He said, "Who are You, Lord?" (v. 5). He did not know who this One was, yet he called Him "Lord." By this he was saved, for "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:13). The Lord answered Paul, "I am Jesus." From that time the revelation began to shine within Paul. He received a revelation of Christ, and he also received a burden to preach, to minister, and to present this One to others.
The New Testament tells us that Paul was a pattern to all the believers (1 Tim. 1:15-16). Therefore, since God revealed Christ into Paul, it should be the same with us. God must reveal Christ into each of us. Those who have been genuinely regenerated and saved can testify that since the time they heard the gospel, within them there has been an unveiling. After they heard the gospel, the scenery of a person, Jesus, began to shine within them. From that time onward, nearly every day something more concerning this One is unveiled to them. We have not just heard something; we have seen something within. We could not have been saved unless we had had such an unveiling of Christ within us.
The Christ whom we have seen is a profound Christ, One whose size is the dimensions of the entire universe. The dimensions of the universe are unlimited. No one can tell the length, the breadth, the height, and the depth of the universe. However, Paul said that if we allow Christ to make His home in our hearts, we will have the ability to know with all the saints the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth of this universe, that is, the dimensions of Christ (Eph. 3:17-18). From 1960, when I was in Taiwan, I began to count how many items of Christ are revealed in the Bible. They are endless. It was from that year that I began to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ (v. 8). Oh, the riches of Christ are unsearchable!
Today Christ is still shining in me, and I am continually seeing more of Him. We all need such an unveiling. This is God’s doing. Every aspect of the Christian life comes out of this unveiling. We live the Christian life according to the Christ whom we have seen. My Christian life is not according to the teachings I picked up from reading the Bible or from listening to messages. My Christian life comes out of the Christ whom I have seen day after day. Christ must be revealed not only into us but in us. This means that something is going on within us. Since the day we believed in the Lord Jesus, God’s unveiling of Christ has been going on in us. This unveiling never ceases.
(The Central Line of the Divine Revelation, Chapter 13, by Witness Lee)
