Message Five

The All-inclusive Christ—
the Centrality and Universality
of God's New Testament Economy

1. Christ has the preeminence, the first place, in all things—Col. 1:18:
   1. Christ has the preeminence in the Triune Godhead—the first, the Father, always exalts the Son, and the third, the Spirit, always testifies concerning the Son—Phil. 2:9; John 15:26:
      1. Christ has the first place in all things; for in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell—Col. 1:18b-19.
      2. In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily—Col. 2:9; Phil. 3:21.
   2. In God's old creation, Christ is the Firstborn of all creation—Col. 1:15b.
   3. In God's new creation in resurrection, Christ is the Firstborn from the dead—Col. 1:18b.
   4. We can also see the preeminence of Christ in God's exaltation:
      1. Christ has been exalted to the right hand of God in the third heaven—Acts 2:33a; Eph. 1:19-20.
      2. In God's exaltation of Christ, He has been given to be Head over all things—Eph. 1:22b.
      3. God has also given Him the name which is above every name—Phil. 2:9b.
   5. Christ has the preeminence in the church, being the Head of the Body, the church—Col. 1:18a.
2. Christ is everything to the believers for their enjoyment:
   1. Christ is the God-allotted portion to the saints:
      1. The Father has qualified us for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light—Col. 1:12.
      2. The phrase theirs and ours in 1 Corinthians 1:2 indicates that Christ as the all-inclusive One belongs to all the believers.
   2. Christ is our life—Col. 3:4a:
      1. Christ lives in us—Gal. 2:20a; 2 Cor. 13:5.
      2. Christ should be our living—Phil. 1:21a.
      3. Christ should be magnified in our body—Phil. 1:20b.
      4. Christ should be formed in us—Gal. 4:19.
      5. We need to grow up into Christ, the Head, in all things with the growth of God—Eph. 4:15b; Col. 2:19b.
      6. We have to grow to such an extent that we can be presented to God full-grown in Christ—Col. 1:28b; Eph. 4:13b.
   3. Christ is in us as the hope of glory—Col. 1:27b:
      1. The hope of our calling (Eph. 1:18b; 4:4b) is the hope of glory, which is the transfiguration of our body and the manifestation of the sons of God—Rom. 8:19, 23-25.
      2. "He will change my body like unto His own, / Wholly making me the same as He"—Hymns, #948.
   4. Christ is our every necessity and our full enjoyment:
      1. Christ is our light—John 8:12.
      2. Christ is our spiritual food—John 6:51, 57b.
      3. Christ is our spiritual drink—1 Cor. 10:4.
      4. Christ is our breath—John 20:22.
      5. Christ is our clothing—Gal. 3:27.
      6. Christ is our dwelling place—John 15:7a.
      7. Christ is our enjoyment and rest—Col. 2:16-17; Matt. 11:28.
   5. Christ is our divine provision:
      1. Christ is God's power—1 Cor. 1:24a.
      2. Christ is God's wisdom—1 Cor. 1:24b; 30a.
      3. Christ is our righteousness.
      4. Christ is our sanctification.
      5. Christ is our redemption—1 Cor. 1:30b.
3. Christ is everything to the church:
   1. Christ is the Head of the Body—Col. 1:18.
   2. Christ is the Body of the Head—1 Cor. 12:12.
   3. Christ is the foundation of the church—1 Cor. 3:11.
   4. Christ is the living stone, the cornerstone, and the topstone of the house of God, the church—1 Pet. 2:4-8; Eph. 2:20; Zech. 4:7.
   5. Christ is all the members of the new man—Col. 3:10-11.
4. Christ is the centrality and universality of God's New Testament economy—Col. 1:17.
5. Christ is the reality of every section of the God-ordained way:
   1. Christ is the reality in the fulfilling of the New Testament priesthood of the gospel—Rom. 15:16; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9.
   2. Christ is the reality in the feeding of the new believers—John 21:15.
   3. Christ is the reality of the perfecting of the saints in the vital groups—Eph. 4:12; Heb. 10:24-25.
   4. Christ is the reality in the building up of the church, the Body of Christ, by prophesying in the bigger meetings of the church—1 Cor. 14:3-5.