We need to see what is revealed in the Epistles of 1 and 2 Corinthians. These Epistles reveal a wonderful divine matter: the Triune God dispensing His very essence into our tripartite being.
In reading 1 and 2 Corinthians it is very easy for us to be attracted to, and even captured by, matters other than the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity. Therefore, in reading these Epistles, we need to pay attention to certain crucial points. For example, in 1 Corinthians 1:9 Paul says, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Here we see that we have been called by God into the fellowship of His Son. As we have seen, the fellowship of the Son of God is the partaking of, the participation in, the Son; that is, to partake of, to participate in, the all-inclusive Christ. God has called us into such a fellowship so that we may partake of Christ and enjoy Him as our God-given portion. God has called us into such an enjoyment of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 1:30 we see that Christ is the sphere and element into which we have been placed by God: “Of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” God has put us into a particular sphere, and this sphere is Christ. Hence, we need to realize that God has not only called us into the fellowship and enjoyment of Christ; He has also put us into Christ as our sphere and element.
Sorry to say, many readers of the New Testament do not have any realization of the fact that God has called us into the fellowship of His Son and that He has also placed us in Christ. The reason they do not have any realization or impression regarding these matters is that they do not have such a concept, thought, or understanding as they read the New Testament.
Let us suppose, as an illustration, that you are reading a book that describes a particular machine and how it operates. If you do not have any knowledge of that machine, you may have little understanding of what you read concerning it. But someone with a thorough knowledge of that machine will easily understand what the book is saying. In fact, he only has to glance at what is written in order to grasp what is in the book. He may even understand more than what is actually written. Because he has a knowledge of the machine, he can easily take in what is written in the book about that machine.
In reading anything, we need to have an adequate knowledge of the vocabulary used. This is true even in the reading of a newspaper. The more adequate our knowledge of the vocabulary is, the more we shall understand what we read. This principle applies to our reading of the Bible.
First Corinthians 1:9 tells us that God has called us into the fellowship of His Son. God has called us into the enjoyment of a wonderful Person, the unsearchably rich Christ. However, if we do not have the knowledge of Paul’s vocabulary, we shall not have much realization concerning what he is saying about the enjoyment of Christ.
Because certain matters in the Scriptures seem to fit in with our natural concepts, we respond immediately when we read them. For instance, in Ephesians 5:22 Paul says, “Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord.” A brother reading this verse may say, “Yes, this word certainly applies to my wife. She should be in subjection to me.” But if this brother were to read Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 1:30, a word that tells us that it is of God that we are in Christ, he may not have any understanding or response whatever. Such a word may sound very strange to him.
In the past, what was your reaction to Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 1:30 about being in Christ? Were you deeply impressed with this matter? Honestly speaking, when I read this verse as a young Christian, I was troubled by it. I did not know what it meant to be in Christ. Neither did I know how it was possible for us to be in Christ. When I asked others about this matter, they were not able to help me. I could not find anyone to help me understand this verse. If Paul had said here that it is of God that we are saved by Christ, I would have understood this verse immediately. However, I did not know what Paul meant by saying that it is of God that we are in Christ Jesus. I use this as an illustration of our need to have a proper knowledge of Paul’s vocabulary.