The church is not only a vessel and a Body; the church is also a man. As a man, the church is the one new man. This new man is not composed of scattered individuals; it is a great corporate man. This great corporate man is a man in the spirit, and the person of this man is Christ. The church must not experience merely the power of Christ and the life of Christ but also the person of Christ. This experience must become real to every saint.
After nearly two thousand years, the Lord Jesus has not returned. From the time of the apostles, many have felt that the Lord’s return was imminent; however, nearly two thousand years have passed, and He has not returned. The Lord has not returned because the Bible reveals that His desire to return is related to His being a Bridegroom rather than a Judge (Rev. 19:7). He is coming back as a Bridegroom for His bride, and the bride is the church. Hence, the bride needs to be prepared so that the Bridegroom can return. But is the church ready? Today the church is still in a messy situation with some saying one thing and others saying another thing. The presence of so many opinions in the church proves that we have not taken Christ as our person so that we can be a proper bride for Him.
If we do not take Christ as our person, the Chinese and those who are not Chinese will not be able to get along. Even those from northern China will not be able to get along with those from southern China. Even if we were all southern Chinese, we would still not get along. For example, some brothers say that we should preach the gospel, others say that we should study the Word, and still others say that we should pursue the growth in life. Some are in favor of shouting in the meetings, and others are in favor of being quiet. There are many opinions. The genuine oneness in the church will be the issue of us all taking Christ as our person. When we all take Christ as our person, the church will be one.
I believe with my whole heart that the local churches will arrive at this point one day. The Lord will work continually among us until every one of us takes Christ as our person. When this happens, we will not preach the gospel, study the Word, or pursue the growth in life merely because it is our preference. We will do these things because Christ, our person, is doing these things. Even being loud or quiet in a meeting will come out of Christ being our person. When the Lord brings us to the point that He is our person, we will experience more than just His power and His life. When we experience His person, His taste will become our taste, His feelings will become our feelings, His inclinations will become our inclinations, and His preferences will become our preferences. If we go on in this way in the Lord, we will see the sweet oneness of the church, and we will have no opinion and no expression of the self.
We should preach the gospel because the Lord Jesus is preaching the gospel. We should study the Word because the Lord Jesus is studying the Word. Our being quiet in a meeting should be the issue of the Lord Jesus being quiet, not because it is our preference to be quiet. Similarly, any shouting in a meeting should be an issue of the Lord Himself desiring to shout.
Our problem is that too often we take ourselves as our person instead of taking the Lord as our person. A brother may say, “I love the Lord, so I am going to the mountains to preach the gospel.” Another brother may say, “I love the Lord, so I am going to start a Bible-study group.” Still another brother may say, “I love the Lord, so I am going to pursue the growth in life.” This kind of love is difficult for the Lord to bear. If we love the Lord and seek to follow Him according to our desires, His desire will be frustrated. Hence, we all have to practice taking Christ as our person. The church is not only a vessel and a Body; the church is also a person. We must reject our own person and take Christ as our person. We all must take Christ as our person. When this occurs, the church will be filled with glory. I absolutely believe that this will bring the Lord back. When the church reaches the stage of taking Christ as her person and is prepared as a bride, the Lord will return immediately.
We should not think that taking Christ as our person is the same as enthroning Him as our King or submitting to Him as our Head. Often when we say, “O Lord, You are the Head and the Lord,” He is not very happy because we are still not focused on His desire. However, if out of love we would reject our person and take Him as our person, we would not only follow the Lord but inquire of Him. For example, we would say, “Lord, are You going to the store? If You are not going, I will not go.” If we go to the store because He is going, we should still inquire of Him before buying anything. Such a practice is not related to fearing the Lord but to loving Him and desiring to take Him as our person.
If we reach this stage, we will know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, and we will apprehend the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth of our immeasurable Lord. Further, we will be renewed in the spirit of our mind, having put off the old man and having put on the new man. The new man is the church; we will put on the church practically and live the church life practically. To put off the old man is to put off our former manner of living in human society, and to put on the new man is to put on the church and live the church life (Eph. 4:22, 24).
This is the goal that the Lord desires to reach today. May He have mercy on us and lead us toward this goal. I believe that in the near future, the Lord will bring the churches in every place into a condition in which many lovers of Christ will experience not only His power, life, and grace but also His person. Thus, we will let Him make His home in our hearts. The Spirit of the Lord in our spirit will spread to our mind and become the spirit of the mind (v. 23). In this renewed spirit of the mind we will put off our former manner of living and put on the life of the new man, the church. When this occurs, the bride will be ready to receive the Bridegroom.