LABORING ON THE ALL-INCLUSIVE CHRIST TYPIFIED BY THE GOOD LAND FOR THE BUILDING UP OF THE CHURCH AS THE BODY OF CHRIST, FOR THE REALITY AND THE MANIFESTATION OF THE KINGDOM, AND FOR THE BRIDE TO MAKE HERSELF READY FOR THE LORD'S COMING
Message Eight
Experiencing and Enjoying the All-inclusive Christ as the Good Land— a Land in Which We Do Not Lack Anything
Scripture Reading: Col. 1:12; 2:6-15, 19; Deut. 8:9; Gen. 17:1; Phil. 1:19
I. Christ as the preeminent and all-inclusive One is the allotted portion of the saints in the light for our experience and enjoyment—Col. 1:12:
A. The allotted portion refers to the lot of the inheritance, as illustrated by the allotment of the good land of Canaan given to the children of Israel for their inheritance—Josh. 14:1.
B. The New Testament believers' allotted portion is not a physical land; it is the all-inclusive Christ as the life-giving Spirit—Col. 2:6-7; Gal. 3:14:
1. The riches of the good land typify the unsearchable riches of Christ in different aspects as the bountiful supply to His believers in His Spirit—Deut. 8:7-10; Eph. 3:8; Phil. 1:19.
2. By enjoying the riches of the land, the believers in Christ are built up to be Christ's Body as the house of God and the kingdom of God—Eph. 1:22-23; 2:21-22; 1 Tim. 3:15; Matt. 16:18-19; Rom. 14:17.
C. We must be in the light in order to enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the good land; light is the presence of God—Col. 1:12; 1 Pet. 2:9; Isa. 2:5; 1 John 1:5:
1. God is light—v. 5.
2. The word of God is light—Psa. 119:105, 130.
3. Christ is light— John 8:12; 9:5.
4. The life of Christ is light—1:4.
5. The believers are light—Matt. 5:14; Phil. 2:15.
6. The church is a lampstand shining with light—Rev. 1:20; Psa. 73:16-17.
II. Colossians 2:6-7 reveals that Christ as the good land, a land in which we do not lack anything (Deut. 8:9), is the rich soil in which we have been rooted so that we may grow with the elements that we absorb from the soil (Eph. 3:17b):
A. God is the real Farmer, and Paul was one of His co-workers (1 Cor. 3:6-9; 2 Cor. 6:1a); Paul planted the believers into Christ as the soil.
B. Day by day we need to take time to absorb Christ, the One into whom we have been planted; we must take time to enjoy the Lord as the all-inclusive land so that all the elements of Christ as the rich soil may be absorbed into us for us to be made full in Him in our experience—Col. 2:10a; 4:2:
1. If we would absorb the riches of Christ as the soil, we need to have tender, new roots— 2 Kings 19:30; Isa. 37:31; Jer. 17:7-8; cf. Mark 4:16-17; 2 Cor. 4:16.
2. We need to forget our situation, our condition, our failures, and our weaknesses and simply take time to absorb the Lord; as we take time to absorb Him, we grow with the growth of God in us for the building up of the Body of Christ—Luke 8:13; Matt. 14:22-23; 6:6; Col. 2:7a, 19.
C. Our contact with the Lord should not be rushed; we must exercise our spirit to stay in the Lord's presence to absorb Him; we must spend more time to absorb the Lord—to adore Him, to praise Him, to offer thanks to Him, and to speak to Him freely—Psa. 27:4; Exo. 33:11, 14; Matt. 6:6; 14:22-23; Mark 1:35; cf. Eph. 4:20-21.
D. The growth of the Body depends on the growth of God, the increase of God, within us in a very subjective way; the growth of the Body is the growth of God's building; the actual building of the church is by the believers' growth in life—Col. 2:19; Eph. 2:20-22; 4:16.
III. Colossians 2:8-15 presents a full description and definition of Christ as the soil, in which we do not lack anything; as we take time to absorb Him as the all-inclusive land, the facts in these verses become our experience; the facts are in Christ, and the experience is by Christ and with Christ:
A. Christ as the soil is the One in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily—v. 9:
1. Fullness refers not to the riches of God but to the expression of the riches of God; what dwells in Christ is not only the riches of the Godhead but the expression of the riches of what God is—v. 9; 1:15, 18; 3:10-11.
2. When we are rooted in Christ as the soil, we are made full in Him; we are filled up with all the divine riches to become His expression—Eph. 3:8, 19.
3. In Christ as the soil we are filled, completed, perfected, satisfied, and thoroughly supplied; we do not lack anything—cf. Phil. 1:19.
B. Christ as the soil is the Head of all rule and authority—Col. 2:10.
C. In Christ as the soil there is the killing power, which puts the flesh to death—v. 11.
D. In Christ as the soil there is an element that causes us to be buried—v. 12a.
E. In Christ as the soil there is an element that causes us to be raised up—v. 12b.
F. In Christ as the soil there is an element that vivifies us—v. 13.
G. In Christ as the soil there is the wiping out of the handwriting in ordinances—v. 14.
H. In Christ as the soil there is the victory over the evil spirits in the atmosphere—v. 15.
IV. Furthermore, Christ as the soil is the history and mystery of God with all the riches of His person and processes—v. 2:
A. Christ is God— John 1:1; 20:28-29; Isa. 9:6; John 14:9-10; 2 Cor. 3:17; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Acts 2:36.
B. Christ is man—1 Tim. 2:5:
1. He is the Apostle—Heb. 3:1.
2. He is the Prophet—Acts 3:22-23.
3. He is the Counselor—Isa. 9:6.
4. He is the Teacher—Matt. 23:8, 10.
5. He is the Leader—Heb. 2:10.
6. He is the Master—Luke 5:5.
7. He is the Slave—Isa. 42:1.
8. He is the Shepherd— John 10:11.
9. He is the Witness—Rev. 1:5.
10. He is the Priest—Heb. 7:25-26.
11. He is the Mediator—8:6.
12. He is the surety—7:22.
13. He is the King—Matt. 2:2.
14. He is the Bridegroom— John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2.
C. Christ is our necessities— John 14:6:
1. He is our light—8:12.
2. He is our air—20:22.
3. He is our water— 4:14.
4. He is our food—6:35.
5. He is our clothing—Gal. 3:27.
6. He is our lodging— John 15:5.
7. He is our enjoyment and rest—Col. 2:16-17; Matt. 11:28.
D. Christ is our divine provision—1 Cor. 1:30:
1. He is our power—v. 24b.
2. He is our wisdom—vv. 24b, 30b.
3. He is our righteousness—v. 30b.
4. He is our sanctification—v. 30b.
5. He is our redemption—v. 30b.
E. Christ is to the church:
1. He is the Head of the Body—Col. 1:18.
2. He is the Body of the Head—1 Cor. 12:12.
3. He is the foundation of the church—3:11.
4. He is the cornerstone of the house of God, the church—Eph. 2:20.
5. He is all the members of the new man—Col. 3:10-11.
V. Christ as our allotted portion, our unsearchably rich good land in which we do not lack anything, is our All-sufficient God and the great I Am, whom we can experience and enjoy day by day; what He is meets our every need in order to meet His need for the building up of His church as His Body and the preparation of His church as His bride for His coming back—1:12; Deut. 8:9; Gen. 17:1; Phil. 1:19; John 8:58; Heb. 11:6; Matt. 16:18; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2.