our Lord Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and it is He who builds up His church!

It is so easy to take for granted what the Bible says, especially the paragraphs / sections that we know and read often. But we daily need to exercise ourselves to empty ourselves from anything old, even any old knowledge, so that we may receive a fresh revelation concerning the wonderful Person of Christ – daily see Him afresh, appreciate Him anew, and enjoy Him constantly! In Matthew 16 we see that the Lord took His disciples apart and away from the holy city(Jerusalem), and then He asked them, Who do men say that I am? Then, He asked them – but YOU, who do you say that I am? Who is Christ to You? What is He to You? What did you see concerning His Person and His Work, so that Your appreciation is increased? Here’s what the Bible says in Matt. 16:16-18,

16. And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17. And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens.
18. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Here we see that Peter, being enlightened by the Father God, spoke the truth about the Lord Jesus – he unveiled that the Lord is Christ and He is the Son of the living God! Here we see the two main aspects of Christ:

1. According to His person, the Lord Jesus is the Son of the living God. The Lord’s person embodies the Father and issues in the Spirit for a full expression of the Triune God. As the Son of the living God, Christ can regenerate His believers that they may become sons of God, filled with the divine life and nature! Who can bring forth the many sons of God? Only the Son of the living God can produce the many sons of God. He not only redeemed us, He also regenerates us with His life to become Sons of God!
2. According to His work / commission, the Lord Jesus is the Christ – the One annointed and appointed by God to accomplish His economy. Christ is the particular One, the unique One, who carries out God’s commission. He has been commissioned by God with a great purpose to produce many sons of God to constitute His Body, His expression. To do this, God had to become man in incarnation, He lived a perfect human life, died an all-inclusive and all-terminating death on the cross, resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit, ascended to the heavens to be enthroned, and now He is carrying out His heavenly ministry by interceding for us, ministering to us, shepherding us, and saving us organically. All this is for the fulfillment of God’s economy, His purpose, to have a corporate expression in humanity.

Here is what the footnote says about the two aspects of Christ’s person revealed in Matt. 16:16,

The Christ refers to the One concerning whom God prophesied in the Old Testament through the prophets and whom His saints through the ages looked for (John 1:41, 45; Luke 2:25-26; 3:15), the One who would come to accomplish the will of God (Heb. 10:5-7).
The Christ, referring to the anointed One of God, speaks of the Lord’s commission, whereas the Son of the living God, referring to the Second of the Triune God, speaks of His person. His commission is to accomplish God’s eternal purpose through His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and second coming, whereas His person embodies the Father and consummates in the Spirit for a full expression of the Triune God.

When we see Christ in His Person and His work – such a vision will bring us, as the Lord Jesus did, to the church! God wants Christ and the church! When Peter spoke about Christ, the Lord said, Yes, and I am building My church! The church is built upon Christ and the revelation of Christ – not just Christ, but also the revelation concerning Christ. [enjoyment from the Conclusion of the New Testament, message 191, by brother Witness Lee]

Amen, Lord, we want to see You in what You are and what You do! Increase our appreciation of Your Person and Work! Lord, build up Your church! Build us up as Your corporate expression on this earth! You are the One annointed and appointed by God to carry out His commission! Keep us coming to You daily to see You, enjoy You, and be infused with You! We love You, Lord!

Christ as our replacement is a peg driven into a sure place, a throne of glory, and the One on whom all the vessels hang

As we saw in the previous portion, Christ as the all-inclusive replacement of everything else in God’s economy with Himself is represented by David – Christ is the real David, since He is the One who builds the house of God and the kingdom of God. As the greater David, Christ has built up the house of God, the real temple, and He has set up the kingdom of God, the dominion in which He can exercise full authority to represent God. Hallelujah, Christ is the One who has the key of David – He’s the center of God’s economy, the One who expresses and represents God, the One who holds the key to open everything in God’s dominion!

Besides all these, our Christ is so much more! Listen to Isaiah 22:23-24,

And I will drive him as a peg into a sure place, and he will become a throne of glory for his father’s house. And they will hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all the smallest vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.

In this universe nothing is sure / certain, but Christ is the One that God drives as a peg, or a nail, into a sure place! Through His death and in His resurrection, God thrust Christ / drove Christ into the third heavens in His ascension – He drove Christ into God the Father, the surest place in the universe! Christ today is in the heavens as a peg driven into God. He is the peg upon which all of us hang. “The best hanger” in the universe is Christ who has been driven into God in the heavenlies!

Also, Christ is a throne of Glory and of Honor. The glory here is actually the children of God as the offsping and the issue of God, and so we as God’s children are the many vessels in the house of God – who are hanging on Christ as the peg. Wow! Here we clearly see that Christ being a throne of glory for His Father’s house is actually the issue of His people(who are vessels) hanging upon Him as the peg in order to contain Him and minister Him to others! We are God’s people, His children, filled with God and expressing God in His glory – we are the glory of Christ! On the one hand Christ rules and governs everything in the house of God, exercising His administrative authority, and on the other hand we are “vessels of honor unto glory” hanging upon Christ and glorifying Him by containing Him and ministering Him to the others!

This paragraph is so rich in meaning… these vessels are “from the bowls to all the jars” – the bowls are the small vessels that contain water, and the jars are the big vessels to contain the wine. This signifies that in the house of God all His children are vessels to contain His Spirit as water(to quench people’s thirst) and His life as wine(to cheer people unto rejoicing)! When we received the Lord – when we were saved, we received Christ as the living water into us; as we enjoy Christ and we grow in life, this water becomes the wine to us, cheering us up. We daily enjoy Him – so we daily are filled with the divine Spirit(water) and with the divine life(wine)! [enjoyment from the Life-study of Revelation & the life-study of Isaiah, as quoted in the morning revival on the Crystallization-study of Isaiah(1)].

Amen, Lord, thank You for being the One driven into a sure place – and we’re all hanging on You as the many vessels in Your house! Keep us enjoying You as the flowing Spirit-water of life and as the cheering divine life so that we may be filled with You and overflow You out unto Your glory and Your expression! Make Your home in our heart until You are fully enthroned in us and You are ruling and reigning within, with the goal of bringing in Your kingdom and building up Your house!

Christ is the Steward in God’s house, a father to us, and the One who holds the key of David!

Hallelujah for Christ as the Unique Replacement of everything else with Himself in God’s economy! In Isaiah we see another full type of Christ in the person of Eliakim who is set by God to replace Shebna, to be the steward in the house of the king. But it’s not just that: in only 3 verses we see so much about what Christ can be to us! This is what Isaiah 22:20-22 says,

20. And in that day I will call to My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
21. And I will clothe him with your tunic, And I will strengthen him with your girding sash, And I will put your dominion into his hand; And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem And to the house of Judah.
22. And I will set the key of the house of David upon his shoulder – When he opens, no one will shut; When he shuts, no one will open
Christ is the real Eliakim, and in these verses we see six aspects of Christ:

1. Christ is the Steward in God’s house.
2. Christ is the Father as the source and Supplier to the people of God.
3. Christ is the key holder, holding the key of David.
4. Christ is a peg, a nail, driven into a sure place.
5. Christ is a throne of glory for His Father’s house.
6. Christ is the One upon whom hangs all the glory of His Father’s house.

Out of these aspects, today I was enjoying the first three today in the morning time with the Lord. What a rich all-inclusive Christ that wants to come into us and be our enjoyment, and that even wants to replace us! Christ is the unique and real steward in the house of God! In the divine household, only Christ is the One who ministers and takes care of all the ones in God’s house. He serves us with God, He gives Himself to us as the reality of all that we need. And His service is actually a kind of governing, a ruling: when we are served by Christ, we are under His government. The more He takes care of us, the more we are under His authority, His administration. Lord, how much we need Your care that results in Your inward ruling!

Also, Christ is “a father” to the ones in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah – a father is the source and the supplier. Everything comes from Him – He supplies us and supports us both physically, psychologically, and spiritually in every way! Whatever we need, He is; whenever we need something, we come to Him with an open heart, and He supplies us! More and more as we go on in our experience as children of God we realize that our Savior, Christ, is our source and our supplier in every way.

As typified by Eliakim, Christ is the One upon whose shoulder the key of the house of David is set – just like in Rev. 3:7, Christ is the One upon whose shoulder the key of the treasury of the house of God – typified by the house of David for the building up of the kingdom of God – is set. God’s house today is the church, and the church is also the kingdom of God(Matt. 16:18-19, Rom. 14:17). We can see the church today, but the kingdom may not be so evident: the church needs to be built up more for the kingdom of God to be seen and to come! When the church as the house of God is adequately built up, the church is manifested as the kingdom of God. Also, the key is set upon the shoulder – this shows that it is a big key which is unlocking/locking a great door. Such a door would be a stronghold to protect and keep the treasures of the house of God. Actually, the treasures today in the house of God are all the riches of Christ – Christ has a big key to open the treasury of all His riches! Amen, Lord, we come to You to enjoy all Your riches! You have the key to open and to shut the door to all that You are! All that we need is in You, and You are so rich! We just come to You, Lord, to enjoy You! Open our apetite and open our enjoyment of You today, Lord! [enjoyment from the life-study of Isaiah, as quoted in the morning revival on the Crystallization-study of Isaiah(1)]

Eating, drinking, and breathing Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ

Our Christian life, just like our physical life, is being maintained / sustained by our continual supply – we need to daily eat, drink, and breathe in Christ. Christ is our real food, Christ is our real drink(John 6:55; John 6:30-35); He is the manna, He as the Spirit is the living water(John 7:38-39); Christ is the Tree of Life(John 15:1). Even more, as the Spirit, He is “pneumatic” – just like the air, He is everywhere – He can be contacted and received at any time(Rom. 10:8-10)! We can breathe Him in by calling on His name and by praying unceasingly!

Actually, this is the church life: eating Jesus, drinking Jesus, and breathing Jesus! As we do this, organically, we are being built up as the Body of Christ(1 Pet. 1:1-3)! The way the human body is being built(besides the physical exercises which also are necessary) is by us eating and drinking, and continually breathing! By growing, our body is being built up! In the same way, when we spend time with the Lord to enjoy Him, there is a metabolic process of spiritual digestion going on within us(2 Cor. 3:18). The old constitution, the old element, the old man, is being discharged and eliminated, and Christ becomes our constitution organically! This is how we are being constituted with Christ, and this is how He builds Himself into our being!

The way the Lord builds up His Body(as He promised in Matt. 16:18) is by continually supplying us, the members of His Body, with spiritual drink and by feeding us with spiritual food, which are uniquely Christ Himself as the Spirit. In this way, the more we enjoy Christ, the more the Body is being built up!

The Body of Christ is the spiritual organism of the Triune God, constituted with the divine element and the human element. We are human and, the more we eat, drink, and breathe in Christ in our personal contact with Him, the more the divine element is being added to us, making us living members of His Body(2 Peter 1:4)! When we exercise our spirit, we absorb the divine substance contained in the Spirit into our constitution – we are being filled and reconstituted with God!