Let us continue to consider the living of the jubilee, that is, the kind of life that lives in the jubilee. We pointed out in the foregoing message that this is a life of resting in the good land and of enjoying the riches of the good land. Our Christian life should be a life full of liberty, freedom, and release, a life full of rest, satisfaction, and enjoyment.
Luke 15:23 indicates that the Christian life should be a life of enjoyment: “And bring the fattened calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry.” The result of the prodigal son’s coming back to his father’s house was that he and all those in the house could eat, drink, and be merry. This indicates that we should eat Christ as the fattened calf, drink the life-giving Spirit, and be merry in the enjoyment of the Triune God and in the riches of the Father’s house.
As we go on to 1 Corinthians 5:8 we see that the Christian life is a feast: “Let us therefore keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of malice and evil, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” The feast here refers to the feast of unleavened bread as the continuation of the Passover (Exo. 12:15-20). This feast lasted for seven days, the period of a complete course, signifying the entire period of our Christian life, from the day of our conversion to the day of rapture. This is a long feast which we should keep with unleavened bread, which is Christ as our nourishment and enjoyment. Only He is the life supply of sincerity and truth, absolutely pure, without mixture, and full of reality. Such a feast is a time for enjoyment. The entire Christian life should be a feast and an enjoyment of Christ as the rich supply of life. Therefore, in 1 Corinthians 5:8 Paul charges us to keep the feast with Christ as unleavened bread.
A feast is not a time for working; rather, it is a time for eating, enjoyment, satisfaction, and rest. In the Christian life Christ should be our food, enjoyment, satisfaction, and rest.
In Ephesians 3:8 Paul says, “To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the nations the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel.” Paul preached not the doctrines but the riches of Christ. The riches of Christ are what He is to us, such as light, life, righteousness, and holiness, for our experience and enjoyment. These riches are unsearchable and untraceable. The Christian life is a life of enjoying the unsearchable riches of Christ.
In Philippians 1:19 Paul speaks of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The Christian life is a life of enjoying this bountiful supply.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9 we see that Paul experienced and enjoyed the grace of Christ: “And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Then in 2 Corinthians 13:14 Paul goes on to say, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” To be sure, the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit are for our enjoyment. The grace of the Lord is the Lord Himself as life to us for our enjoyment, the love of God is God Himself as the source of the grace of the Lord, and the fellowship of the Spirit is the Spirit Himself as the transmission of the grace of the Lord with the love of God for our participation. The result of the enjoyment of the grace of the Lord, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Spirit is satisfaction, and the issue of this enjoyment and satisfaction is rest. All Christians should have this enjoyment, satisfaction, and rest.
However, only a small minority of Christians daily are enjoying the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Spirit. Where are we with respect to this enjoyment? Many of us are laboring and are full of anxiety and worry. Furthermore, we have many expectations or dreams. Eventually, because these dreams are not fulfilled, we are disappointed and have suffering. Many among us daily are laboring, worrying, dreaming, and suffering. Someone may dream of becoming rich, but this dream leads to disappointment and suffering. Human life is a life of laboring, worrying, dreaming, and suffering.
Some believers who are still laboring, worrying, dreaming, and suffering may say, “I thought that life would be better after I became a Christian, but it’s about the same. What, then, is the purpose of being a Christian?” Because of questions such as this, a number of Christians have been attracted to the teaching concerning prosperity, the teaching which claims that Christians can become rich and successful. Nevertheless, it is a fact that most Christians are laboring, worrying, dreaming, and suffering. Furthermore, most, whether they are a success or a failure, are going in a downward direction.