In Hebrews we see that Christ is far superior to everything in Judaism. In Judaism there is God. According to Hebrews 1, Christ is the very God. Furthermore, in Hebrews 2 we see that Christ is also man. The God in Judaism is merely God, but the God in the New Testament is both God and man, the God-man. As such a God-man, Christ is superior to the angels, another important item of Judaism. Furthermore, the book of Hebrews reveals that Christ is superior to Moses, Joshua, and Aaron, the priest.
According to the book of Hebrews, the new covenant enacted by Christ is superior to the old covenant enacted by Moses (8:6-13), and Christ’s unique sacrifice is superior to the old sacrifices (10:9-10, 12, 14). God now cares only for Christ’s unique sacrifice, which has terminated and replaced all the Old Testament sacrifices.
In the book of Hebrews Paul presents a clear picture showing us that the Old Testament things are over. What remains now in God’s New Testament economy is Jesus Christ, the all-inclusive One. Having seen such a view, Paul could not tolerate a mixture of such an all-inclusive Christ with the inferior things of the out-of-date, Old Testament economy.
In the book of Ephesians Paul indicates that all the believers, both Jews and Gentiles, need a spirit of wisdom and revelation to see God’s calling, which issues in the church, Christ’s Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all (1:17-23). In Ephesians 2 Paul goes on to point out that all the ordinances in the Old Testament law have been abolished through Christ’s death on the cross so that in Christ the Jews and the Gentiles might be created into one new man (vv. 14-16). In chapter three we see that the riches of Christ need to become the constituent of the church life, and that we need Christ to make His home in our hearts so that we may be filled unto all the fullness of the Triune God to become His full expression (vv. 8, 17-19). In chapter four Paul speaks of the one Body, the one Spirit, the one Lord, and the one God (vv. 4-6). The Body is constituted of and mingled with the Triune God to become the new man (v. 24). Following this, in chapter five Paul indicates that the new man should be filled in the spirit with the Triune God in order to have a life that is the expression of the Triune God in Christ (v. 18). Finally, in Ephesians 6 we see that we must fight a spiritual battle for the kingdom of God (v. 11). This is a brief summary of the revelation in Ephesians.
In Philippians 3:7 Paul says, “What things were gains to me, these I have counted loss on account of Christ.” Paul was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee as to the law (3:5). However, he counted all Jewish things, all the things of the Old Testament, as dung in order that he might gain Christ (3:8). Paul knew that in God’s New Testament economy Christ must be everything. Therefore, Paul pursued Christ so that he might live a life of being found in Christ (3:9-14).
According to the revelation in the book of Colossians, Christ is the reality of every positive thing. Christ is the portion God has given to the saints (1:12), the image of God (v. 15), the Firstborn of all creation (v. 15), the Firstborn from among the dead (v. 18), the mystery of God (2:2), the embodiment of the Godhead (2:9), our feast, new moon, and Sabbath (2:16-17), and our life (Col. 3:4). In Colossians we see that Christ must be everything to us. Colossians also says clearly that in the new man, composed of all the believers, there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, but Christ is all and in all.
If we consider together Hebrews, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, we shall see that to such an enlightened one as Paul, in God’s New Testament economy there is nothing but Christ. However, what Paul saw in Jerusalem during his last visit there was a mixture. Something of Christ was mixed with the things of the Old Testament economy.
Through Paul’s completing ministry (Col. 1:25) the all-inclusive Christ is revealed in a full way. In the fourteen Epistles of Paul, especially in Hebrews, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, Christ is unveiled as everything to the church and to the saints. But by the time the book of Revelation was written this view of the all-inclusive Christ had been all but lost. This loss is indicated by the seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3. Christ, the Head of the Body, came in to call the overcomers to overcome the degraded situation. The overcomers in Revelation do not simply overcome sin, the world, and the flesh; they especially overcome the degraded situation in which the clear view of the all-inclusive Christ has been lost.
In Revelation 2:7 the Lord Jesus says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” In 2:17 He goes on to say, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.” Furthermore, in 3:20 the Lord says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.” These verses speak of the tree of life, the hidden manna, and feasting with the Lord. Here the Lord seems to be saying, “You need to enjoy Me and forget outward practices and forms. Come back directly to Me as your tree of life, manna, and feast. Turn from all the mixtures and the things replacing Me in the degraded churches and come back to Me as your everything.”
The problem in today’s degraded situation is that many things are replacing the all-inclusive Christ. We need to turn from all replacements and come back directly to the all-inclusive Christ as our tree of life, our hidden manna, our feast, and our everything. We need to come back to this One in the way of enjoyment, not merely in the way of doctrine. We need to return to Him not only in the way of knowing Him objectively, but in the way of enjoying Him as the tree of life, the hidden manna, and the feast.
To overcome the degraded situation among today’s Christians and to come back directly to the enjoyable Christ as our tree of life, hidden manna, and feast is to have a real transfer. This is a transfer out of old degraded religion into an up-to-date recovery, a recovery of the enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ. Today this Christ is not only the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45)—He is the sevenfold, intensified Spirit (Rev. 5:6).
We need to have an overall view to see today’s degraded situation and also to see that the Lord’s intention is to bring us back to Himself so that we may be fully recovered to the enjoyment of Him. Every day we should know only one thing—to enjoy Christ as the tree of life, the hidden manna, and the feast. We need to enjoy Christ as our everything, even as our white garments (Rev. 3:5) and the white stone (2:17) to make us building materials for God’s eternal habitation. Our need today is to experience a transfer from degraded religion to the reality of the all-inclusive Christ in the way of enjoyment.