In the last message we saw that the way to be equipped for the home meetings is to be filled in spirit and to be strengthened into the inner man. In this message we shall consider two more aspects of the way to be equipped: to experience the unsearchable riches of Christ and to preach Christ as the good news. Surely we need the strengthening. We need the filling. Yet if we have only the filling and the strengthening, we would still not be rich for the home meetings. To be filled is one thing and to be strengthened is another thing. Yet these two could not be our riches. Our riches are just Christ Himself. Therefore, for us to be rich in the home meetings, to have something to minister to other people, we need the experience of the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Ephesians is a profound book. In chapter three Paul first speaks of the unsearchable riches of Christ (v. 8). Then he goes on to pray that we may be able to comprehend or apprehend with the saints the dimensions of Christ (v. 18). This is to know the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth of the universe. These four dimensions are an illustration of Christ’s unlimitedness. What is the height of the universe? How high is the height? No one can measure it. How long is the universe? Can you measure the length? How broad is the breadth, and how deep is the depth? No one can measure this. These dimensions are used by Paul to speak of the unlimitedness of Christ. Christ is not only rich in what He is, He is also immeasurable in His dimensions. This is marvelous. Whenever I come to such a point, I am in trembling that I may miss the mark due to the shortness of human language, the lack of the adequate expression to tell others what the riches of Christ are. By the Lord’s mercy I began to see this about forty years ago. But whenever I spoke on the unsearchable riches of Christ, I regretted that I was so short in the human utterance. In my speaking I was not so adequate to itemize all the riches of Christ.
Our hymnal includes over eight hundred pieces collected from more than ten thousand pieces from different sources. After collecting these top Christian songs, we felt there was a big shortage of hymns on the things that the Lord has shown us in this half century and on the things we have experienced. Hymn #542 was written at the time we were preparing the hymnal. The chorus says:
O the riches, O the riches,
Christ my Savior has for me!
How unsearchable their measure,
Yet my full reality!
In writing verse 2, I tried to itemize some of the riches: “life and light, wisdom, power, healing, comfort, treasures rich of God’s delight.” Then verse 3 says:
God’s redemption, full salvation,
And His resurrection pow’r,
Sanctifying, glorifying,
All transcending every hour!
Verse 4 says:
O the riches of my Savior—
Nothing less than God as all!
It is easy to say, “Nothing less than God as all,” but what is the “all”? Verse 4 continues:
All His person and possessions,
Now my spirit doth enthrall.
Still, not many riches are itemized. Verses 5 and 6 continue:
O the riches of my Savior!
Who can know their breadth and length,
Or their depth and height unmeasured,
Yet they are my joy and strength.
May I know these boundless riches,
Christ experience in full;
There still is not the adequate itemizing of the riches of Christ.
In the training outlines on The Conclusion of the New Testament there is one section on the attributes of Christ in which I counted altogether twenty-two items. But it is not too much to say that there should be two thousand items.