Prayer: Lord, for this meeting we look to You for the cleansing of Your blood so that we may enjoy Your presence and Your anointing. Lord, thank You for giving us the Word. You have indeed opened up to us the mystery in Your Word in this end time. Lord, be gracious and merciful to us that we may see Your mystery. Visit us once more tonight. We worship You once more. We exalt You and love You. Amen!
In this message we will look at the mystery of Christ, which is the church. All of us seem to know this, but strictly speaking, this message is more profound than the last one.
Here I have listed nine main points. The first three points form one group. The first point is concerning the church being chosen and predestinated by God the Father before the foundation of the world. The second point is concerning it being redeemed by God the Son after the foundation of the world. The third point is concerning it being sealed with God the Spirit and receiving the Spirit as the pledge at the time of its redemption. First, there is the selection of God the Father. Then there is the redemption of God the Son, after which is the sealing and pledging of God the Spirit. The sealing is for us to become God's possession. The pledge is a guarantee and a foretaste for God to become our possession. This is the full salvation that the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit has accomplished upon us.
After we have experienced the full salvation of the Triune God, we have the fourth point, which is to participate in the resurrection and ascension of Christ, thus becoming the Body of Christ. Then in the fifth point, we become the universal new man to be God's kingdom and God's house, as well as the habitation of God. Following that, there are two more points. The sixth point is that we have the absolute ground and right to enjoy the unsearchable riches of Christ for the expression of the multifarious wisdom of God. The seventh point is that Christ makes His home in our hearts. Not only is He the life supply in us, but He is also working Himself fully into us, occupying every part of our heart, so that we may be filled with the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth of what He is, to become all the fullness of God. In this way, we have the eighth point, which is the life union of Christ and the church. This is the great mystery in the universe. The ninth point is that this great mystery will reach a final stage when it will ultimately be consummated in the New Jerusalem.
This message is more crucial than the last one because it is concerned with us directly. If we want to know about the life that a Christian should live, we have to know about the mystery of Christ. The mystery of Christ should be our daily life. Without this mystery, our life would just be the life of a human being; it would not be the life of a Christian. The Christian life is a mystery, and this mystery has to do with Christ. This Christ is already in us as our life. He lives in us daily. In our daily life, everything whether positive or negative, enjoyable or bitter, should be the expression of this mystery. The reason for this is that we are not the one who is living, but a mysterious One is living within us. Everyone in the world lives unto themselves. Whether they are happy or sorrowful, there is no mystery at all. But a Christian is different. In smooth circumstances he would give thanks. In adverse circumstances he would offer up praise. Others are bewildered by him. This is the mysterious story of Christ.
For many years, I have been talking to you about Christ. Some are concerned about what will happen when I have exhausted my speaking. I told them that I may exhaust my speaking, but the Christ within me will never be exhausted. He is a mystery. Sometimes, there seems to be nothing more to say. But then He comes again and appears even richer than before. Our Christian life is a mysterious story. Without this mystery, we would fail. No matter how ill-treated we are, we can behave as if nothing has happened; we can be at ease. By this Christ the mystery is expressed. We are crucified with Christ. It is no longer we who live, but it is Christ living in us. When we love, it is Christ loving. When we are humble, it is Christ who is humble. When we are patient, it is Christ who is patient. This is the mystery. Individually speaking, this mystery is our personal life. Corporately speaking, this mystery is the Body of Christ.