Second Corinthians 4:3 and 4 say, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in those who are perishing, in whom the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers that the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine on them.” According to verse 4, the gospel of the glory of Christ shines. The enemy is afraid of this shining, so he has blinded the minds of the unbelievers in order that the shining of the gospel of the glory of Christ will not get through. Verses 5 and 6 continue, “For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. Because the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” The gospel of the glory of Christ in verse 4 corresponds with the knowledge of the glory of God in verse 6. Verse 7 says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us.” The treasure in the weak earthen vessels is the very God in Christ shined into us.
If we read the entire Scriptures carefully, we will realize that they reveal only one main item: the economy of God and the mark of God’s economy. The main item of the economy of God is that God’s intention is to work Himself in His Triune person into all the parts of our being. I have the burden to tell the Lord’s children a thousand times, if need be, that in the whole universe God’s intention is nothing else but to work Himself into human beings. For what purpose did God create man? It was for the unique purpose of making man His container. A container is a vessel, like a bottle or a cup. Romans 9:21-23 and 2 Corinthians 4:7 tell us clearly that God created us with the intention that we may be vessels, containers, to contain God Himself. We are nothing but empty containers, and God is the unique content.
A drink such as Coca-Cola needs a bottle as a container. Soda bottles are very definite and specific containers, because they are made with a definite and specific purpose. We human beings are also made in a very definite and specific way. If a bottle made purposely for Coca-Cola does not contain Coca-Cola, it is meaningless, good for nothing. We human beings were made purposely to contain God. If we do not contain God, if we do not have God as our content, we are meaningless persons. Regardless of how much education we have, what kind of position we have obtained, or how much wealth we have in our hands, without God we are still meaningless, because we were made purposely as containers to contain God. God is the very content, so we have to receive God into us.
This word may seem very simple, but it is the precise way to speak the central point, the main item, of the entire Scriptures. The whole Scriptures simply tell us one thing: God is the very content, and we are the container to contain this content; therefore, we must receive God to be filled with God. This is the basic teaching of the Scriptures. There are many things mentioned in the Scriptures, but all those items are not the basic item of the Scriptures. The basic item of the Scriptures is that God’s intention is to put Himself into us as our content.
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