To be nourished and cherished as a member of the Body of Christ by Christ as the Head (Eph. 5:29) is also a way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ. To be nourished is to be fed, whereas to be cherished is to be made happy. Being cherished includes being warmed up. As ministers who serve the Lord, we all need to learn how to make people happy. Those whom we go to visit need our cherishing. Our coming to someone with a cold face may cause him to feel threatened. When we go to visit people, our face, especially our eyes, must be pleasant. To visit people in this way is to cherish them. Mothers know how to nourish and cherish their children. If a mother spanks a naughty child who does not want to eat, the child will become more naughty. However, if the mother picks up and embraces the child, the child will be warmed up. Then he will behave properly and will pleasantly receive his mother's feeding. The elders must learn how to cherish the saints. A stern face may frustrate the elders' ministering to the saints.
Very often Christ not only nourishes us but also cherishes us. Throughout the years I have been cherished many times by the Lord. He did not come to rebuke, condemn, or reprove me. Rather, He said, "I love you." This touched me and caused me to confess and repent of my mistakes, sometimes with tears. One experience of such cherishing builds us up more than hearing ten messages. By being nourished and cherished in this way by our Head, we enjoy Him.
The way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is also by being empowered in the Lord to put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:10-11). To be empowered in the Lord is to arm ourselves for fighting. In Ephesians 5 the church as the bride of Christ is a female; as such, she should not be too bold. But in Ephesians 6 the church is a corporate warrior to fight for God; as such, the church must be bold. We should not be timid or afraid; we should be bold. God's grace makes us His horses of majesty in battle (Zech. 10:3). We are fighters, not against the churches or against our fellow believers but against the unique enemy, Satan, who is the ruler of the authority of the air (Eph. 2:2). Toward him we must be bold and show no mercy. If we fight for Christ, we will enjoy Him.
Another way to receive, experience, and enjoy Christ is by enjoying the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ to magnify Christ by living Him (Phil. 1:19b-21a). Today the Spirit is no longer merely the Spirit of God; He is also the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He is the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7), who lived a lowly, humble, and sorrowful life on the earth and who grew up like a tender plant, like a root out of dry ground (Isa. 53:2). The Spirit is the Spirit of such a One. He is also the Spirit of Christ in His glory, resurrection, and ascension (Rom. 8:9). Jesus Christ today is a Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17), and this Spirit is called the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Jesus Christ is the bountiful supply. The Greek word for bountiful supply refers to the supplying of all the needs of the chorus by the choragus, the leader of the chorus. This bountiful supply of the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus Christ is for us to magnify Jesus Christ by living Him. We live Him that He may be magnified. First we live Christ; then we magnify Him. Paul magnified Christ in this way. While he was in the Roman prison, he did not shame Christ but magnified Christ by his living of Him every day.