Paul was heavily burdened concerning God’s New Testament economy. Although he was not able to continue to work this out personally, he was given the opportunity to write the divine revelation. In Colossians 1:25 he says, “I became a minister according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God.” Here we see that Paul’s writing of the book of Colossians was for the completing of God’s New Testament economy. Without the books of Colossians, Philippians, Ephesians, and Hebrews, we would not have a clear view of God’s New Testament economy.
Actually, the Greek word for “economy” (oikonomia) is a word used particularly by Paul, especially in the book of Ephesians. Although Paul uses this word in 1 Corinthians 9:17, he does not use it there for the specific purpose of unveiling God’s New Testament economy. But he does use the word oikonomia for this purpose in Ephesians. Ephesians, we know, is a book on the church. But if we have only this understanding of Ephesians, our comprehension of this book will be too superficial. We need to see that Ephesians is a book on God’s economy.
We have emphasized the fact that regarding the situation in Acts we can see the Lord’s sovereignty. Neither Judaism nor Roman politics could defeat the sovereign Lord. On the contrary, everything served His purpose. Even Peter’s fearfulness (Gal. 2:12) and the plots of the Jews served the Lord’s purpose. Apparently, these things frustrated His move. Actually, they served His purpose in revealing and then carrying out God’s New Testament economy.
Today we are burdened for the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy. This is the reason I have often pointed out that in the Lord’s recovery we are not doing an ordinary Christian work. On the contrary, by the Lord’s mercy and grace, we are here to carry out God’s New Testament economy.
After studying all the books of the Bible for many years, we began to see the overall revelation in the Scriptures concerning God’s New Testament economy. Through the Word, the Lord showed us that in this economy the Triune God became a man in the Son. This means that the accomplishment of God’s New Testament economy began with the incarnation. Through Christ’s human living, death, resurrection, and ascension, everything necessary for the accomplishment of God’s economy was done. After breathing the Spirit into the disciples essentially (John 20:22), the Lord, in His ascension, poured out the Spirit upon His Body economically (Acts 2:17). That outpouring of the Spirit was the completion of the accomplishment of God’s New Testament economy. Now the Triune God as the processed all-inclusive Spirit is both within His chosen people and upon them, and with them He is carrying out the New Testament economy. The Lord is propagating Himself by imparting Himself to His believers to make them living members of His universal Body to be His corporate vessel for His expression. Today this corporate vessel is expressed in various localities as local churches, and all these churches are lampstands shining in this dark age. Eventually, all the shining local churches will consummate in the New Jerusalem, which will be the ultimate consummation of God’s move in His New Testament economy.
The crucial focus of God’s New Testament economy is the all-inclusive Christ as our life, our person, and our everything. The divine economy is not focused on any law, regulation, teaching, philosophy, or practice. God’s economy is focused on one all-inclusive, wonderful Person. This Person is the embodiment of the processed Triune God, and He is realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, who is within us and upon us. This Spirit is working in us so that we may be brought back directly to Christ to enjoy Him as everything. I hope that we shall all have a clear view concerning this.
If we see the vision of the divine economy, we shall praise the Lord for the two years He kept Paul in custody in Caesarea. Those years were a time of preparation for Paul, a chosen vessel, to put forth the completing revelation which he received of the Lord. After the preparation in Caesarea, Paul was transferred to Rome. Then he wrote the excellent completing Epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews. If we would be constituted of Paul’s ministry, we need to study these four books.
In addition to writing these four Epistles, Paul also wrote 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. In 1 Timothy 1:3 and 4 Paul said to Timothy, “Even as I urged you, when I was going into Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach differently, nor to occupy themselves with myths and unending genealogies, which give occasion for questionings rather than God’s dispensation which is in faith.” Here Paul charged us not to teach differently, but to teach God’s economy. According to the Epistle of 1 Timothy, God’s economy is focused on God manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16). According to 1 Timothy 3:15, the church of the living God, the house of God, is the pillar and base of the truth, and this truth is actually the reality of the New Testament economy.
In 2 Timothy 1:14 we have this charge: “Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.” Then in 2 Timothy 2:2 Paul went on to say, “The things which you have heard from me through many witnesses, these commit to faithful men, who will be competent to teach others also.” Here Paul charged Timothy to pass on to others what he had received so that they might in turn teach others.
Furthermore, Paul told Timothy to “pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Tim. 2:22). Here we see that calling on the name of the Lord has a definite place in the carrying out of the New Testament economy of God. For the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy, we need to call on the name of the Lord continually. Not only should we ourselves call individually; we should also call on Him with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
We thank the Lord for the last eight Epistles written by Paul. If we did not have these books, I do not know where we would be today with respect to God’s New Testament economy. We also thank the Lord for the picture portrayed for us in Acts. After considering the remaining chapters of this book, we shall have an even clearer view of the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy.