Having considered Christ’s person in the Godhead, we shall go on in this message to see Christ’s person in the divine economy. The aspects of Christ’s person in the Godhead are deep, but the aspects of Christ’s person in the divine economy are even deeper.
What is the divine economy? The divine economy is God’s household management, God’s household administrative arrangement, the divine dispensation. In 1 Timothy 1:4 we see God’s household administration, which is to dispense Himself into His children so that He may have a household, the church, to express Himself.
The English word “economy” is an anglicized form of the Greek word oikonomia, which is composed of two words: oikos, meaning house, and nomos, meaning law. Hence, oikonomia refers to the house arrangement, household management or administration. The word denotes the management and distribution of the wealth of a rich household. Joseph in the Old Testament, for example, was the administrator of Pharaoh’s house, which was so rich that it could supply other nations. There was the need of some management and administration in order to distribute the riches of Pharaoh’s house. This illustration helps us to see that oikonomia is a household management to distribute and dispense the riches of the house.
Our Father has a great house with a vast store of the unsearchable riches of Christ. This great house needs some administration, some management, to dispense all these riches into God’s people for the producing of the church as the corporate expression of the Triune God. God’s economy, therefore, is His household administration to dispense Himself in Christ into His chosen people so that He may have a house, a household, to express Himself, which household is the church, the Body of Christ. In this message we need to see Christ in this divine economy.
In the divine economy Christ is God’s Anointed, the Messiah. Concerning this, John 1:41 says, “He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah (which translated means Christ).” Messiah is Hebrew; Christ is Greek. Both mean “the anointed.” Christ is God’s Anointed, the One appointed by God to accomplish God’s purpose, His eternal plan.
In John 20:31 we see that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: “These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” The Christ is the title of the Lord according to His office, His mission. The Son of God is His title according to His person. He is the Son of God to be the Christ of God.
In Matthew 16 Peter received a revelation from the Father concerning Jesus being the Christ. Prior to this chapter, the Lord had been with His disciples for a period of time. During this time, they came to know Him rather well. Nevertheless, one day He took these disciples far away from the holy city and the holy temple to Caesarea Philippi, and there He asked them a question: “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” (Matt. 16:13). They replied, “Some, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets” (v. 14). All these answers were according to the natural, religious mentality. The Lord then directed the question to them: “But you, who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). Then Peter declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). Here the definite article before the word “Christ” is very important. Its importance is explained as follows. Christ is the anglicized form of the Greek word Christos, which is equivalent to the Hebrew Messiah. As we have indicated, both Messiah in Hebrew and Christos in Greek mean the anointed One. The term Messiah, the anointed One, is used in Daniel 9:26, which says, “After threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself.” This refers to Jesus Christ, who is the anointed One.
According to the Old Testament principle, anyone used by God to carry out His administration had to be anointed. Thus, the kings, priests, and prophets were all anointed when they came into function. This indicates that the anointing is for the carrying out of God’s administration. For the carrying out of God’s administration, His economy, Christ is God’s Anointed.
The title Christ refers to the Lord’s commission. His commission is to accomplish God’s eternal purpose through His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and second advent. When this anointed One was crucified, He was carrying out His function as the Christ. Not only His death but also His resurrection and ascension were part of His function. Therefore, Christ, the anointed One, carried out His function through crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension so that God may dispense Himself into us for the producing of the church. From this we see that the Lord is the anointed One to accomplish God’s purpose to dispense Himself into us. Through the function of Christ, the anointed One, the Triune God is dispensed into us for the producing of the church.
As the One anointed by God Christ is the appointed One. His appointment is related to His commission. Christ has been appointed to carry out the intention of God, the Appointer. Therefore, as God’s anointed One, the Messiah, Christ has been commissioned by God to carry out the desire of His heart.