As we read 1 Corinthians, it is very important that we understand Paul’s central thought. Paul realized that the philosophical Greek believers had gone astray from Christ. Although they were genuine Christians, they were missing the mark concerning Christ. Instead of living a Christian life by living Christ, they were living their Greek culture. Therefore, Paul was burdened to rescue them and bring them back to Christ.
Paul was not a shallow person, and in his writing he did not carry out the rescue of the believers at Corinth in a shallow way. On the contrary, Paul’s way of rescuing them involves matters that are deep and profound. As he wrote to the Corinthians with the aim of rescuing them from what was distracting them from Christ, Paul unveils the depths of God, the deeper things concerning Christ. If we did not have the first three chapters of 1 Corinthians, we would not know that Christ has become wisdom to us from God; neither would we know that this wisdom includes Christ as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Paul’s thought here is very deep. The problems he deals with in this Epistle may seem rather shallow, but the way he deals with these things is profound. In particular, the eating of idol sacrifices is a shallow matter. But Paul’s way of dealing with this problem is related to the deep, mysterious, all-inclusive Christ.
The depths of God are related to the mysterious Christ. Because what we are teaching and experiencing regarding Christ is mysterious, unbelievers cannot understand what we are talking about. To them Christ is simply a historical figure. But to us Christ is real, living, present, and precious; He is mysterious, deep, and all-inclusive. He is far beyond our comprehension, so deep that we cannot fathom Him.
In his Epistles, Paul did not have a vocabulary adequate to describe the all-inclusive Christ. In Ephesians 3:18 he speaks of apprehending with all the saints “what is the breadth and length and height and depth.” Here Paul refers to the dimensions of Christ. What is the breadth? And what are the length, the height, and the depth? These are the immeasurable dimensions of Christ. Christ Himself is the breadth, length, height, and depth. His dimensions are more vast than the dimensions of the universe. Such a marvelous Christ is beyond our apprehension.
According to Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians, this wonderful Christ is ours. In 1:2 we are told that Christ is “theirs and ours.” In 1:9 Paul says that we have been called into the fellowship of Christ. This means that Christ is our portion for our enjoyment.
For us, as those who have been called into the fellowship of Christ, it is not sufficient only to believe in Him, trust in Him, and rely on Him, as Christians today are often taught to do. Of course, we must trust in the Lord and rely on Him. But we may do this and still miss the central matter of enjoying Christ and possessing Him as our portion. In the past, many of us were taught to believe in Christ, trust in Christ, rely on Christ, and pray to Christ. One very important matter, however, was neglected—the enjoyment of Christ. Before you came into the Lord’s recovery, did you ever hear a message about enjoying Christ? Where is such a word spoken among the Lord’s people today? Christians do not have this terminology because they do not have this spiritual culture. They do not speak of eating Christ or of drinking Him, even though these matters are mentioned in the Bible.
Paul’s purpose in writing 1 Corinthians was not merely to help us trust in Christ or rely on Him. His goal was to encourage us to enjoy Christ. Hallelujah, Christ is ours! The simple phrase “theirs and ours” in 1:2 implies enjoyment. For Christ to be ours means not only that we trust in Him, but also that we enjoy Him. How wonderful that Christ is ours to enjoy!