If we keep the pictures at the two ends of the Scriptures before us as we read the Scriptures, we will see that the entire Scriptures deal with nothing but Christ as life for God’s building. Christ is life for the purpose of producing the materials that will be built up as a spiritual building, a spiritual house. This spiritual house is the Body of Christ as a dwelling place to God and a bride to Christ. In the picture in Genesis 2 we see the tree of life, the flow of the river, the materials for the building, and a woman, Eve, built by God to be a bride for Adam (vv. 21-24). Adam is a type of Christ (Rom. 5:14), and Eve is a type of the church (Eph. 5:31-32). In the picture in Revelation 21 and 22 we again see the tree of life, the flow of the river, and a woman built with the same three kinds of precious materials. This woman, the New Jerusalem, is the wife of the Lamb (21:9-10).
The central thought of the Scriptures is that we must receive Christ as life and experience Christ as life so that we will first be regenerated, then transformed to be the precious materials for the building, and then built up together (Eph. 2:22; 4:12, 16; 1 Pet. 2:5). The ultimate issue of such a process is a building, the holy city, New Jerusalem, which is the tabernacle of God and the wife of the Lamb (Rev. 21:2-3, 9-10). Once we know the central thought of the Scriptures, we must be responsible for two things. First, we must accept, receive, experience, and apply Christ as our life, and second, we must be transformed. After we have been regenerated, we must be transformed into precious materials. We were created of clay, and we must be transformed into stones. Then we must be transformed further from stones into precious stones and be built up together as a building. This building is the church. In other words, the central thought of the Scriptures is that Christ is life to us to regenerate us and transform us into precious materials for His building. We must be responsible to receive Christ, apply Christ, and appropriate Christ to ourselves as life that we may be regenerated, transformed into precious materials, and built up together with others as the Body of Christ, which is God’s dwelling place and Christ’s bride. If we see such a vision, it will change our concept radically. This vision will revolutionize our entire being and conduct. We will know where we are and what we must do.
By seeing this vision, we will also be qualified, equipped, and in the right position to see and apprehend all the spiritual things in a proper way. The Scriptures and all the spiritual things are like a jigsaw puzzle. If we intend to put a jigsaw puzzle together, we must first see the picture. With the picture in our mind, we can put all the pieces of the puzzle together correctly. Today as they read the Scriptures, many Christians do not have the picture. They put the “head” where the “tail” should be, or they put the “tail” on the “head.” The result is a monster. Often as I was listening to people expound the Scriptures, I said to myself, “Dear friend, you are making the church a monster. It is obvious that you have not seen the picture.” First, we must see the pictures in Genesis 1 and 2 and Revelation 21 and 22. If we have these two pictures, we will know the central thought of the Scriptures and will be able to put every piece of the jigsaw puzzle into the right place to eventually form the full picture. We will know where we are and what we need to do. This vision will direct our whole conduct and control our whole thought. The vision is to receive Christ as life that we may be regenerated, transformed, and built up with others. Life and building, or life for building, is the central thought of the Scriptures.
We are transformed by contacting Christ, receiving Christ, and applying Christ again and again. This is the proper meaning of the Lord’s table, which is unto the remembrance of the Lord. As a young Christian who was newly saved, I thought that to remember the Lord was to remember how great, glorious, kind, and gracious the Lord is. Later, I received the light to know the proper meaning of the remembrance of the Lord. When the Lord instituted the table with His disciples, He said, “This is My body which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). The real meaning of the remembrance of the Lord is to receive the Lord by eating Him. To remember the Lord in a proper way, we need to receive something of the Lord into our being. Therefore, whenever we come to the Lord’s table to break the bread and drink the cup, we need to receive the Lord once more by exercising our spirit. The remembrance of the Lord is not merely a human remembrance by using our mind to consider and remember what the Lord is to us. The proper meaning of remembering the Lord is to receive the Lord once again. Whenever we come to the Lord’s table, we must exercise our spirit to receive something of the Lord. The Lord’s table is a testimony, testifying that we live by the Lord (John 6:57). Day by day, morning and evening, and moment by moment we live by taking Christ as our life. This is our way of living. On the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week, we come together to testify this to the universe, especially to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
The Christian life is a life of taking Christ as everything. By such a life we are gradually transformed, and our nature is changed from clay into stone and from stone into precious stone. Then we are built up together with others as a spiritual building. This is the central thought of the Scriptures, and this will check us, direct us, and control us in our doing, our living, and our work.