Ephesians is a book that requires revelation because the matters it speaks about are high and profound and are not according to our natural concepts or religious thoughts. For this reason we may read Ephesians once, twice, or even a hundred times without anything echoing within our being. Because we are so full of natural concepts and religious ideas, anything that corresponds with them will immediately cause an echo and find a place in our being, even if we have never heard of it beforehand. Thus, we have not paid much attention to the matters in Ephesians. By the Lord’s mercy, we have seen quite a few things from Ephesians in the past and have also released and presented these things to the saints. Nevertheless, after these things were presented, they were neglected. We have not paid much attention to them in our daily living, not to mention in the meetings.
When we are stirred up to love and seek the Lord, our heart toward Him is right. However, after some pursuing, our concepts and ideas spontaneously turn to the cultivation of our conduct, because of the lack of light and revelation. The whole human race has the natural concept of cultivating their conduct. Because religion has been influencing mankind for several thousand years, the concepts of asceticism, behavior improvement, and the cultivation of one’s conduct have penetrated all fallen people. Moreover, the Bible contains numerous passages that apparently resemble the teachings concerning cultivating one’s conduct and practicing asceticism. Hence, it is very easy for us to fall into these things. For example, when we read Brother Nee’s book The Breaking of the Outer Man and the Release of the Spirit, most of us immediately turn our attention to the breaking of the outer man and disregard the release of the spirit. Brother Nee said that the spirit cannot be released if the outer man is not broken. Thus, the outer man must be broken. When we hear this, most of us immediately focus on the breaking and forget about whether or not the spirit is released.
During the last half century, beginning with Mrs. Penn-Lewis, the teaching concerning the cross was widely propagated. Consequently, it is common for people to desire to be broken by the cross and to learn the lesson of the cross. However, the result of all the breaking and learning is rather empty. In the United States I have stayed in the homes of many typical American Christians who were zealously loving and seeking the Lord. In every home there were shelves of spiritual books, which would invariably include books by Mrs. Penn-Lewis. Some of the Christians had actually read all her books. Yet there was no cross in their practical living. Again, this confirmed my observation that merely having the teachings concerning the cross and resurrection is futile. We must be in spirit to have the reality. When we are taught matters such as practicing asceticism, being broken, and learning the lesson of the cross, we find that these things correspond to our natural concepts and are easily absorbed. However, when we are taught matters such as touching the spirit or seeing the riches of Christ, most of us are like pieces of marble that cannot easily absorb ink. Our inner concepts cannot assimilate these things. However, these are the very items that the Lord wants to recover. He will keep coming back to touch us about them.
My deep feeling is that it would be a shame in the Lord’s recovery if the church was poor and weak. Chapter three of Ephesians speaks of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Paul has already preached these riches to us. Thus, these unsearchable riches are already in the church. Ephesians chapter three not only speaks of the unsearchable riches of Christ but also of His great power, that is, the dynamo, the exploding power, the energizing power of Christ. This great power is in us as well. Thus, we should be rich, and we also should be strengthened by this great power. Many times, however, we seem to be poor and weak, and this even becomes our boast and excuse, as well as our slogan by which to plead with others for sympathy and understanding. How pitiful this is! We all need to read Ephesians chapter three concerning the unsearchable riches and the great power again. We must declare, “The church is not poor! The church is not weak! In the church are the unsearchable riches of Christ and also the great power of Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and transcendence.”
Ephesians chapter one says that the church is the Body of Christ. Chapter two says that the church is the new man. The church is not only the Body of Christ but also the new man. We have pointed out that a person cannot be made to grow by beating him or telling him to learn certain lessons. If he is not well-fed and nourished, he will not be healthy, no matter how much he learns about health and personal hygiene or how much he exercises. If you do not give a child enough to eat and only discipline him, telling him to learn certain lessons and to exercise, you are actually helping him to die faster. For a child to grow and stay healthy, what he needs to do is not to learn certain lessons but to eat. If he is fed, he will be healthy. If a child is not fed, he cannot grow, and if he does not grow, you cannot teach him to do anything. What a person needs first is not teachings but the proper eating. The church is the Body of Christ and also the new man. The church as the Body and the new man needs to grow, and growth requires eating. This is not a doctrine. Teachings will not make a person grow. In order for a person to grow, he must eat, and he must eat adequately. There is no other way. Even an old man who does not need to grow bigger still needs to eat a large amount of food. Just as a car needs to be filled with gas for a long trip, every day I need to eat three full meals. Then I am able to work all day long with vigor.
Ephesians chapter one speaks about the Body, chapter two speaks about the new man, and chapter three speaks about the unsearchable riches of Christ and His great power. This is the “gas station” of the church. The economy of God is to dispense His unsearchable riches and the great power of His resurrection into us. Do you realize that you have the unsearchable riches of Christ and His great power in you? Most of us are foolishly blind to this fact. We have often said that the Lord dwells in us. Since the Lord dwells in us, His riches and His great power must also be in us. We all have these riches and this great power in us.
The riches and the great power in chapter three are for the Body in chapter one and the new man in chapter two. When we enjoy the riches and the power within, the church is produced. What is the church? The church is the Body and the new man. How does the church grow? The church grows by the riches of Christ, which are not only for nourishment but also for power. When a person has enough to eat, he has strength. Hence, the power comes from the riches. We must see all these points.
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