THE SPREAD IN ASIA MINOR AND EUROPE
THROUGH PAUL AND HIS COMPANIONS' MINISTRY (25)
Read and Pray: "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ." (Phil 3:7)
Ephesians
In the book of Ephesians, Paul indicates that all believers, both Jews and Gentiles, need the spirit of wisdom and revelation to see the calling of the Lord, which results in the church, the Body of Christ, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (1:17-23). In Ephesians 2, he also shows that all the ordinances of the law of the Old Testament were abolished through Christ's death on the cross, so that in Him, from both Jews and Gentiles, a new man could be created (vs. 14-16).
In chapter three, we see that the riches of Christ must become the constituent of the church life, and that we need Christ to dwell in our hearts so that we may be filled with the fullness of the Triune God, to become His full expression (vs. 8, 17-19). In chapter four, Paul speaks of one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God (vs. 4-6).
The Body has the Triune God constituted within it and is mingled with Him to become the new man (v. 24). After this, in chapter five, Paul indicates that the new man must be filled in spirit with the Triune God in order to live a life that is the expression of the Triune God in Christ (v. 18).
Finally, in Ephesians 6, we see that we must fight the spiritual battle for the kingdom of God (v. 11). This is a brief summary of the revelation in Ephesians.
Philippians
In Philippians 3:7, Paul says, "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ." Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee as to the law (3:5). However, he considered all things Jewish, the things of the Old Testament, as refuse to gain Christ (3:8). He knew that in God's New Testament economy, Christ must be everything. Thus, he sought Christ to have a life that would be found in Christ (3:9-14).
Colossians
According to the revelation in Colossians, Christ is the reality of all positive things. He is the portion God has given to the saints (1:12), the image of God (v. 15), the Firstborn of all creation (v. 15), the Firstborn from the dead (v. 18), the mystery of God (2:2), the embodiment of the Deity (2:9), our feast, new moon, and Sabbath (2:16-17), and our life (Col 3:4). In Colossians, we see that Christ must be everything to us. This book also clearly states that in the new man, composed of all believers, there cannot be Greek or Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, but Christ is all and in all.
If we consider together Hebrews, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, we will see that for someone as enlightened as Paul, in God's New Testament economy, there is nothing but Christ. However, what he saw in Jerusalem on his last visit there was a mixture. Something of Christ was mixed with the things of the Old Testament economy.
Through Paul's completing ministry (Col 1:25), the all-inclusive Christ is fully revealed. In his fourteen Epistles, especially in Hebrews, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, Christ is revealed as everything for the church and for the saints. But when the book of Revelation was written, this vision of the all-inclusive Christ had been lost. This loss is indicated by the seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3. Christ, the Head of the Body, called the overcomers to overcome the degraded situation. The overcomers in Revelation not only overcome sin, the world, and the flesh; they primarily overcome the degraded situation in which the clear vision of the all-inclusive Christ was lost.
In Revelation 2:7, the Lord Jesus says, "To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." In 2:17 He also says, "To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna to eat, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows except him who receives it." Additionally, in 3:20, the Lord says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."
In these verses, we see the tree of life, the hidden manna, and fellowship with the Lord. Here the Lord seems to be saying, "You need to enjoy Me and forget the outward practices and forms. Return directly to Me as your tree of life, manna, and feast. Turn away from all the mixtures and things that replace Me in the degraded churches, and return to Me as your all."
The problem with today's degraded situation is that many things are replacing the all-inclusive Christ. We need to turn away from all substitutes and return directly to the all-inclusive Christ as our tree of life, hidden manna, feast, and everything to us. We need to turn to Him as enjoyment, not merely as doctrine. We need to turn to Him not just knowing Him objectively, but enjoying Him as the tree of life, hidden manna, and feast.
Overcoming the degraded situation among Christians today and returning directly to the enjoyable Christ as our tree of life, hidden manna, and feast is having the real transfer. It is a transfer from the old, degraded religion to the updated restoration—the restoration of the enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ. Today, this Christ is not only the Spirit who gives life (1 Cor 15:45), but the sevenfold intensified Spirit (Rev 5:6).
We need to have an overall view to see the degraded situation today and also understand that the Lord's intention is to bring us back to Himself, so that we may be fully restored to the enjoyment of Him. Every day we should know only one thing: to enjoy Christ as the tree of life, hidden manna, and feast.
We need to enjoy Him as our all, even as our white garments (Rev 3:5) and the white stone (2:17), to make us material for the building up of God's eternal habitation. Our need today is to experience the transfer from the degraded religion to the reality of the all-inclusive Christ as enjoyment.
Enjoy more: Hymn 202
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