Perhaps you are wondering what the Lord Jesus is doing in heaven to reach the goal of building up His Body. According to the book of Hebrews, Christ today is the High Priest and the heavenly Minister (2:17; 4:14; 7:26; 8:1-2). As the High Priest, He is interceding for us, and as the heavenly Minister He is supplying us with the riches of God. In His intercession Christ brings us with our need to God. In His ministry He brings the riches of God to us.
Christ’s heavenly ministry has much to do with our practical daily life. We have already pointed out that it is difficult to be a good husband in the church life. Realizing their shortcomings, many brothers may confess to the Lord that they simply are not able to be a proper husband. Whenever a brother admits his need to the Lord in this way, immediately the Lord as the High Priest intercedes for him and brings his need to God. Then, as the heavenly Minister, He supplies all that is necessary to be a good husband. Toward God, Christ is the High Priest for us; toward us, He is the heavenly Minister for God. Because Christ intercedes for us and ministers His riches into us, a brother may find that as soon as he confesses that he cannot be a good husband, he has the sweet sense and deep conviction within that he can be a good husband. This sweet, inward assurance comes from Christ’s heavenly ministry, from His prayer for our need and from His ministry of the rich life supply into us.
I encourage you to tell the Lord that you simply are not able to do certain things. This will stir Him to pray for you. For example, out of defeat you may confess, “Lord, I simply am not able to be holy.” Immediately, He will intercede for you and minister His riches into you. Thus, there will be a spiritual transmission, transaction, and traffic between God and you because of Christ’s ministry as High Priest and Minister. As a result of Christ’s heavenly ministry, you will have the sense within that although, in yourself, you cannot be holy, it is still possible for you to be holy in Him.
The things above mentioned in Colossians 3 are the things related to the heavenly ministry of Christ, to Christ’s ministry as our High Priest and God’s Minister. We should not be occupied with earthly things and with the elements of the world, but should realize that we are hidden with Christ in God. We should then seek the things above and set our mind on them. We should set our mind on Christ’s intercession and on His ministry for the building up of His Body.
As we seek the things above, the new man will be renewed in a full way. In a very practical sense, the new man comes into existence through our seeking the things which are above. Therefore, if the new man is to be expressed on earth, we need to see Christ as our High Priest and heavenly Minister and also experience the two-way traffic between the heavenly Christ and us.
We need to be those who respond to Christ’s heavenly ministry. For centuries, Christ has tried without adequate success to get a people to respond to His ministry in the heavens. By His mercy and grace, there is on earth today a group of people in the Lord’s recovery responding to Christ’s heavenly ministry. Let us be those who tell the Lord that we are one with Him in this ministry. Day and night, we need to respond to the Christ who is above all. When I respond to the Lord, saying, “Amen, Lord,” I have the conviction deep within that Christ is interceding and ministering, that He is transmitting His riches into me and infusing me with the element of God. Because of this transmission and infusion, I am filled and stirred for the Lord’s interests. Sometimes I am so beside myself with joy that I hardly know what to do. This is what it means to seek the things above.
If we seek the things above and are one with Christ in the things above, we shall not care for religion, philosophy, or ethical teachings, all of which are elements of the world. Rather, we shall care only for Christ’s intercession for His Body and for the transmission of His riches into His members. I have the full assurance that many of the saints in the local churches are experiencing the transfusion of the riches of Christ. Because we have such a transfusion, we do not need ethics, culture, or religion. We simply need more and more oneness with Christ in His heavenly ministry. Praise Him for His intercession, for His ministry, and for the traffic between heaven and earth!
We need to be impressed with the fact that the Christ who is in heaven is very busy. Consider how many local churches He takes care of throughout the world. Christ’s ministry in heaven is all for the goal of building up the Body and forming His Bride. However, Christ’s ministry in heaven requires our response. We need to become on earth the very reflection of that heavenly ministry. When we seek the things above, we respond to the Lord’s heavenly ministry and reflect it. Our experience testifies of this. If in our prayer we are willing to forget insignificant matters and care for the things above, we shall become conscious of the traffic between us and Christ in heaven. We shall sense a current flowing back and forth between Him and us. By means of this kind of prayer, the divine riches are transfused into us. This enables us to be one with others and to be right with everyone. This also issues in the renewing of the new man. Through the heavenly transmission and transfusion, the new man comes into existence in a practical way. Hence, the new man is not produced by teaching; the new man is produced by the heavenly traffic, transaction, and transfusion.
My burden in this message has been to point out where we all need to be—one with Christ in His heavenly ministry. We all need to keep ourselves one with Christ in the things above. We should not be distracted by ethical admonitions of any sort. All such admonitions are elements of the world. We should be concerned only with Christ and His ministry in heaven. The Christ who is seated in heaven is working, interceding, and ministering. Let us be one with Him in these things. This is to be one with Christ in the things above. Whenever we are one with Him in the things above, we experience a divine transfusion. Then we are brought into God, and God is brought into us. This comes from the interceding and ministering of the all-inclusive Christ.