Christ Himself Is All
By Art Licursi built upon some thoughts taken from Watchman Nee’s writing
John 5:39-40 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
Col. 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Religion is man “doing to find, serve and please God”.
God’s plan consists of what He has done for man in the Person of Jesus
Christ the Lord. God's eternal plan is not a religion; it centers on a
wonderful, all-sufficient, unlimited, immeasurable, unsearchable, and
all-inclusive Person, Christ Jesus Himself. Christ is the subjective,
personal, individual life of each believing member of the Church, which is His
body (Eph 1:22). Jesus Christ is the full embodiment of God (Col 2:9-10) and
the content of the church. This Christ is to be our life and our person (Gal
2:20) individually, and thereby He is the life of the Church. Our serving and
pleasing God is only possible as we live in the Person of His Son, by His
life. It is not about us, but wholly about the Son of God, who is “all
and in all” (Col 3:11).
We thank God for His most precious Bible, which He has provided us as a most
detailed roadmap for us to find and know Christ who is the living “Word”
(John 1:1), now in us. We recognize that the Bible is the written revelation
of the living Person of Christ.
Two thousand years ago, the incarnate Jesus of Nazareth was the Word, as He was the express image of the Father (Heb 1:3). Jesus of Nazareth expressed and declared the Father (John 6:46, 14:9) who no man had seen. Today, this same Jesus is now both the resurrected Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (2Cor 3:17, Rom 8:2) and Lord (Acts 2:36); and He dwells within our human spirit (2Tim 4:22).
Yes, sadly, many Christians seem to ignore their Bible and yet, sadly also, many Christians pay more attention to the Bible than to the indwelling Christ (John 5:39). John 5:39-40 indicate that even the Bible can be utilized to distract people from Christ Himself.
Surely, we believe, respect, and honor the Bible to the uttermost. We have Biblical examples of a Scripture focused people missing the focus of Scripture; the religious people of Jesus of Nazareth’s day had the scripture to tell them so much concerning the Messiah, including where he would be born, yet they did not receive Him when He appeared to them.
Paul says he is the “Apostle to the Gentiles” (Gal
2:2) for this day of “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph
3:2). If we do not pay particular attention to the Christ revealed the
Pauline Scripture within the Bible, leading us to know the Christ now revealed
in us (Gal 1:16a) by the Spirit (John 15:26), then we ignore the main
function of the Bible, which is to reveal this very mystery that Paul
declared, “Christ in you … whom we preach”. We need to
come to experientially know Christ Himself, in us, as our life (Philip
3:10).
We need to not merely know of the objective Christ seated in the heaven above
all heavens, but to also subjectively know Christ in our spirit (2Tim 4:22,
1Cor 6:17, 1John 4:13). This subjective One is seeking to spread Himself as
life into our soul’s heart (Rom 5:10, 2Cor 3:15-16). Not only is Christ our
Savior objectively, but He also is our life and our person subjectively; come
to dwell in us. We need to focus ourselves upon such a subjective Christ.
Paul could say, Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Here Paul did not speak of the life work and power of Jesus of Nazareth; he spoke of Christ Himself living in him. As Christians, the Person of Christ is living in us today. <END>