HOME MEETINGS
Read and pray: “To me, the least of all saints, was given this grace to announce to the Gentiles the gospel of the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8)
In the previous message we saw that the way to equip ourselves for the home meetings is to be filled in the spirit and strengthened in the inner man. In this message we will consider two more aspects of the way to equip ourselves: experiencing the unsearchable riches of Christ and preaching Christ as the good news.
Without a doubt, we need both strengthening and filling. However, if we only have the filling and the strengthening, we will not be rich for the home meetings. To be filled is one thing and to be strengthened is another. But these two cannot be our riches. Our riches are simply Christ.
To be rich in the home meetings, to have something to minister to others, we need to experience the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Ephesians is a profound book. In chapter three Paul first speaks of the unsearchable riches of Christ (v. 8). Then he goes on to pray that we may be able to comprehend or grasp with all the saints the dimensions of Christ (v. 18). This is to know the length, the breadth, the height, and the depth of the universe. These four dimensions are an illustration of the unlimited Christ.
What is the height of the universe? How high is its height? Nothing can measure it. What is the breadth of the universe? Can you measure its length? Nothing can measure this. Paul uses these dimensions to speak of the unlimited Christ.
Christ is not only rich in what He is; He is also immeasurable in His dimensions. This is wonderful. Every time I reach this point, I become fearful that I may not be able to adequately express what the unsearchable riches of Christ are, due to the limitation of human language.
By the Lord’s mercy, I began to see this more than forty years ago. Yet every time I spoke of the unsearchable riches of Christ, I lamented the deficiency of human expression. When speaking, I could not adequately detail all the riches of Christ.
Our hymnal is composed of more than eight hundred compositions selected from ten thousand compositions from various sources. After gathering these best Christian songs, it seemed to us that there was a shortage of hymns on the things the Lord has shown us and that we have experienced in this half century.
Hymn 542 (English hymnal) was written when we were preparing the hymnal. It says:
In writing the second stanza, I tried to detail some of the riches: “life and light, wisdom, power, healing, comfort, rich treasures of God’s rejoicing.” In the third stanza it says:
It is easy to say, “Nothing less than God as all,” but what is the “all”? The fourth stanza continues:
Yet many of the riches are not detailed. Stanzas 5 and 6 continue:
Yet the riches of Christ are not adequately detailed.
In the training outlines on “The Conclusion of the New Testament” there is a section on the attributes of Christ in which I counted twenty-two items altogether, but it is no exaggeration to say that there must be two thousand.
I wanted to impress you by showing that Paul in Ephesians 3:8 said that the “unsearchable riches of Christ” had been shown to him. This verse begins with the phrase “to me.”
When I was young I read it and said, “I am not this ‘me’. That is Paul. He is too great. ‘To him’ is fine, but not ‘to me’.” But Paul said “to me.” This “me” is “less than the least of all the saints.” He was “the least,” yet this grace was given to him to announce the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel.
🌿 Enjoy more:
Hymn: Experience of Christ – "His Riches"
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