In 2 Corinthians 10:1 Paul says, “Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.” Paul did not say that he imitated the meekness and gentleness of Christ. To imitate Christ is one thing, but to live in Christ’s meekness and gentleness is another. Paul enjoyed these aspects of Christ’s unsearchable riches and they also should be our enjoyment today. As we contact others, we should not try to imitate Christ. Rather, we should contact them in the meekness and gentleness of Christ.
In order to enjoy the meekness and gentleness of Christ, we need to be in the Spirit, for all the riches of Christ are in the all-inclusive Spirit. When we turn to our spirit, contact Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit, and take Him as our person, His meekness and gentleness become our food, nourishment, strength, and satisfaction. There is no need for us to desperately attempt to restrain ourselves or to manufacture meekness or gentleness. The meekness and gentleness of Christ are our spontaneous enjoyment. We can actually feed on these aspects of Christ’s riches. When we take Him as our person, we spontaneously enjoy His meekness and gentleness. Instead of self-effort, we simply enjoy whatever Christ is. This was the living of the Apostle Paul.
In 2 Corinthians 11:10 Paul says, “The truth of Christ is in me.” Within Paul there was something true and real of Christ. Because he enjoyed the truth of Christ, His reality, he knew that what he was relating to the Corinthians was of the truth of Christ. This is a further indication that Paul lived not by the self, but by taking Christ as his person.
Paul did not boast that he had any truth of himself. On the contrary, he boasted of the truth of Christ. We should learn from this never to boast of ourselves. We need to forget what we are and not speak of ourselves. Instead, we need to live according to Christ and behave by the truth of Christ. As we contact others in the meekness and gentleness of Christ, we need to speak as the truth of Christ is in us.
In 2 Corinthians a number of verses speak of the grace of Christ. For example, 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” By grace, Christ lowered Himself and left His position for our sake. He gave up His riches so that we may become rich. We can do such a thing only through the grace of Christ. If we take His grace as our enjoyment, spontaneously we shall do the same thing Christ did. Actually, we shall not be the ones who do this, but it will be Christ living in us.
In chapter twelve Paul asked the Lord three times that the “thorn in the flesh” might depart from him (vv. 7-8). However, the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9). Therefore, Paul could say, “Most gladly therefore will I rather boast in my weaknesses so that the power of Christ might overshadow me” (v. 9, Gk.). The Lord told Paul not to care about the thorn or about his sufferings, but to enjoy His sufficient grace. Paul realized in his experience that Christ’s strength was made perfect in his weakness.
Today many complain of their weakness or lack of ability. However, they need to see that in their weakness Christ’s strength is made perfect. Their weakness gives them an opportunity to enjoy the strength of Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 12:10 Paul went on to say, “Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (Gk.). Paul was strong because Christ’s strength was made perfect in his weakness.
We have pointed out that the book of 2 Corinthians ends with a blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all” (13:14, Gk.). Today many pastors pronounce these words as a formal benediction. Paul here was not giving such a benediction. Rather, he was telling the saints that they could partake of the riches of Christ and enjoy them.
The grace of Christ issues out of the love of God. This means that the love of God is the source of the grace of Christ, and that the grace of Christ is the expression of the love of God. Furthermore, this grace is in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the grace of Christ with the love of God becomes our enjoyment. This enjoyment is just what we need today.
If we all experience and enjoy the riches of Christ, we shall have much to speak concerning Christ whenever we come together. As we fellowship with others in the Lord, we shall speak of what Christ is to us. We shall not speak about doctrine or gifts, but about the genuine experience of Christ and the real enjoyment of the riches of Christ. The more the riches of Christ are dispensed into us, the more we shall be sanctified and metabolically transformed. As a new element discharges the old element, we shall be nourished, cherished, and, eventually, glorified. The goal of the Lord in His recovery is to bring His people into this experience. After the time of Paul, the enjoyment of the unsearchable riches of Christ was lost to a large extent. Praise the Lord that this experience is being recovered!