In the previous message we said, by way of indication, by way of inference, that the matter of eating is referred to in Ephesians chapter four. If we want to grow, we must eat, for our body grows by our eating. Ephesians 4 reveals that the perfecting of the gifts is to cause us to grow up into the Head, Christ, in all things. Based upon this we saw that we must eat if we want to grow. We also saw a little concerning the matter of eating.
In John 6 the Lord Jesus said, “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (v. 57b). This word is figurative. It does not mean that the Lord really wanted people to take one or two bites of Him. What He meant was that He wanted them to receive Him into them. The basic principle of eating is to take something outside of you and assimilate it into your blood cells that it may become a part of you. Actually, the Lord did not stress eating itself. He stressed the underlying principle of eating, which is to take Him into us that He may become us. This was the Lord’s intention when He spoke about eating.
Unfortunately, that day the Jews misunderstood the Lord’s words. They said, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” (v. 52). Even many of His disciples said, “This word is hard; who can hear it?” (v. 60). In response to these words, the Lord said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (v. 63a). Moreover, sympathizing with their weakness, He went on to say, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (v. 63b). Although the Lord spoke these words, Christianity has made the Lord’s words into doctrine. In Christianity today the Lord’s words are neither spirit nor life but have become letter, doctrine, knowledge, and death. Therefore, we really need a spirit of wisdom and revelation, which the apostle Paul prays at the beginning of Ephesians that the believers would have.
Why is it so easy for us to listen to teachings about the cross and about “being broken”? Why is it easy to receive teachings on “learning lessons” and “being pressed”? It is because these things have existed in our concepts for a long time, and as a result, we do not need revelation regarding them. If you talk to monks and nuns about asceticism, they do not need any revelation and can understand immediately. If you speak to the Hindus about sufferings, they do not need revelation either. Without your repeated urging and charging, they have a clear understanding of self-mortification the moment you speak about it. When you speak to the followers of Confucius about seeking perfection in ethical pursuits or about character cultivation, you do not need to say too much to enable them to understand what you are saying because these things are already in them. When we speak concerning real spiritual things, however, we really need revelation. Without revelation it is difficult for us to understand them, and we immediately deviate from their original meaning.
If someone were to cover me with a big piece of cloth, and if I were to stand in front of you, you would see only a heap and would wonder what it was. You would likely be puzzled by this mystery. If the sheet were removed, you would still need light to see what was there. To remove the sheet is to unveil, to reveal; however, if there is no light and it is still dark, one still cannot see. Moreover, even if there is light, one who is blind still will not be able to see. Revelation plus light and sight enable a person to see a view. This is a vision.
The problem today is that within us we all have natural things, and these things are just like flypaper that one hangs to catch flies. When flies come, they stick to the flypaper immediately. The natural concepts within us are just like a sheet of flypaper. Anything that corresponds to them immediately gets stuck to them. Ephesians is full of revelations, such as the revelation concerning the unsearchable riches of Christ and the power of His resurrection, yet we do not care when we hear them. We do not pay much attention to revelation, because we are full of natural concepts within.
When a person is saved and comes into the church, immediately he has the thought that from that day onward he must behave properly. Then someone who has advanced a little may draw up some guidelines for him on how to be a proper Christian. The newly saved person will then try to be a Christian according to these guidelines. To do this requires neither teaching nor revelation. The thought that he must behave properly is already in him. This is often the case with those who listen to sermons. In fact, those who are preaching the sermons may not have any revelation either. They may preach from their natural concept, saying things such as: “Since we have been saved, we should glorify God in our daily walk.” Actually there is no need to teach people such things, because this view has been in them since long before they were saved. Some preachers may go further to say, “We are too hard, so the Lord has to strike us and subdue us through the circumstances.” When we hear this word, it sounds very logical, and it also corresponds with our concepts. In Christianity there are mostly natural teachings. There is almost no revelation.
The Bible is not without revelation, but when people read the Bible, they often touch only the surface, not the substance, the revelation. For example, Ephesians is altogether a book of revelation, but I can assure you that almost one hundred out of one hundred who read it do not see the revelations in it. What everyone sees is: Husbands, love your wives; wives, be subject to your husbands; children, honor your father and mother; and parents, do not provoke your children to anger. These items are just like flypaper. When you read them, you get stuck to them. Actually, people already teach these things even if they have not read about them. Yet regardless of how many times they read chapter one concerning the fullness of Christ, they cannot see it. This is like ink on marble-the marble simply cannot absorb the ink. It is also like writing on marble with a pen-no matter how hard we may try, we cannot write anything on it. We read about the fullness of Christ, yet this matter just slides away from us. We read about the creation of the one new man, yet it slides away. We read about the unsearchable riches of Christ and the great power within us, yet these matters also just slide away. However, when we come to 3:20a, which says, “To Him who is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think,” immediately we are impressed. We might say, “Oh, I prayed to the Lord for a house with three bedrooms, and He has given me a house with five bedrooms. His grace is so great and is above all that I ask and think.” This phrase above all that we ask or think will certainly be printed in us because we have asked and thought of many things. However, as to the latter half of this verse, which says, “According to the power which operates in us,” after reading it a hundred times, we are still not impressed, because we do not have this thought in us. Similarly, concerning the phrase to Him be the glory in the church (v. 21a), we also may not see what this means after reading it a hundred times. When we come to chapter four, the easiest word to receive is, “He who steals should steal no more” (v. 28). We will surely be impressed by this. Actually, we do not even need to read the whole phrase. We get this thought just by reading half of the phrase. As a matter of fact, even without reading any of it, we already have this thought in us. However, we may read the verses containing the revelations in the book of Ephesians a hundred times and still not see anything. Therefore, many people can speak only about the matters in this book that are according to their natural concepts.
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