After those forty days, the Lord Jesus ascended to the heavens, leaving the disciples on earth. For the next ten days they prayed continually in one accord. Then on the fiftieth day a great event took place-the consummation of the Triune God was poured out. This consummation is the all-inclusive, life-giving, compound Spirit of the processed Triune God. Such a One-the totality of the Triune God-was poured out upon the one hundred twenty disciples, who represented the Body of Christ.

Pentecost is the full issue of Christ’s resurrection, and Christ’s resurrection is the issue of His death. Without death there cannot be resurrection. The Lord’s death on the cross issued in His resurrection, and His resurrection issued not only in His ascension but also in His being poured out as the consummation of the processed Triune God upon His Body. Since this happened on Pentecost, the feast of Pentecost is a great manifestation of God’s economy.

As a result of what took place on the day of Pentecost, the Body of Christ came into existence. Prior to that time, in God’s economy there was only the individual Christ to fulfill the desire of God’s heart. But at Pentecost the Body of Christ came into being to match Christ, to make Him a corporate Christ. Now Christ has a Body, and this Body is His increase, His enlargement, His extension, even His expansion. Today we are a part of Christ’s extension. Every local church is a small part of the universal extension of Christ, which came into being on the day of Pentecost.

The first four festivals form a group that bears a great significance. This significance includes the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the ascension of Christ, and the outpouring of the consummated Spirit of the processed Triune God to produce the Body of Christ as the enlargement, the increase, the extension, the expansion, of the unlimited, individual Christ into a universal, corporate Christ.

Historically, the first four festivals are all related to Christ. He is the fulfillment and reality of the Passover, the unleavened bread, and the firstfruit. In a spiritual form, as the consummation of the processed Triune God, Christ is also the fulfillment and reality of Pentecost. All these historical instances have become our experience. We have participated in the Passover, in the unleavened bread, and in the firstfruit, and we have become a part of Pentecost.

Pentecost is a matter of forty-nine days plus the first day of the week. This involves eight first days, from the first first day, the day of resurrection, to the eighth first day, which is the fiftieth day. This indicates from resurrection to resurrection. Here everything is in resurrection, for we have eight times resurrection.

We all are those in resurrection. We were produced on the first first day of the week, and we have come to the eighth first day. Now we are a part of Christ’s expansion, part of His increase, enlargement, and extension. No longer is Christ merely an individual Christ; He is now a corporate Christ. This corporate Christ includes us. The church, therefore, is Christ incorporated.

We need to see that we are now in Pentecost and that the component of Pentecost is eight times resurrection. Here we have the expansion of the incorporated Christ. This expansion as the enlargement, the increase, of Christ is actually the mingling of the processed Triune God with His chosen and redeemed people. There is such a mingling in the universe, a mingling that is the achievement of God’s eternal economy and the fulfillment of God’s eternal desire. We may not have much realization of this today, but we shall have the full realization of it in the New Jerusalem. Do you know what the New Jerusalem is? The New Jerusalem is the real increase, enlargement, expansion, and extension of the all-inclusive, immeasurable, untraceable Christ, who fills all in all. Praise the Lord that we all are parts of the enlargement of Christ produced on the day of Pentecost!
Home | First | Prev | Next