BEING ENLIGHTENED TO KNOW THREE THINGS
We need a spirit of wisdom and revelation, and we also need the eyes of our heart to be enlightened (v. 18). Once the light of God shines in us, we will be enlightened to know three things. First, we will know the hope of God’s calling. We all have been called by God, and this calling is a calling of grace. The hope of our calling is related to the hope of the Lord Jesus’ coming again. When He comes, He will transfigure us and bring us into His glory. Our hope is the glorious Christ, who is the hope of glory in us (Col. 1:27). At His coming we will be glorified together with Him.
Second, we will know the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. The inheritance spoken of here is not what we inherit but what God inherits. God desires to gain an inheritance in all the saints. This inheritance is also a mystery. God wants to gain an inheritance in us because the Lord Jesus is in us. He is mingled with us, and He will transform us. Second Corinthians 4:7 says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels.” We are earthen vessels, and the treasure in us is the Lord Jesus. Nevertheless, God cannot inherit vessels that are merely earthen; He can only inherit earthen vessels that have been transformed. Transformation is not a change in outward form but an inward change.
Outward change is like a woman putting on makeup. If a woman’s complexion is not fair, she can put on some powder, and if her complexion is not radiant, she can put on some rouge. However, after putting on makeup, her complexion is [482] fair and radiant only outwardly. In contrast, inward change comes from eating healthy food. When a woman receives proper nutrients, there will be an inward change that produces a healthy complexion. Christ is in us as a treasure, and this treasure is transforming us. The more we are transformed, the more God will inherit in us. God will not inherit a natural, earthen vessel but a vessel transformed by the treasure. The riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints come out of the treasure in us. Glory is God expressed. The shining of the lights in a meeting hall is the glorification, the expression, of electricity. As the saints are transformed, God is expressed. This expression of glory can be seen in many aspects, including the expression of God’s love, God’s power, God’s patience, God’s holiness, and God’s mercy. The saints’ expression of the riches of God’s glory is what God desires to inherit in the saints.
Third, we will know the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the operation of the might of His strength, which He caused to operate in Christ (Eph. 1:19-20). The surpassingly great power in us can be likened to a powerful engine. After we are saved, there is an engine within each of us, supplying us with great power. We need to let this engine run in our being. If we do not, we will become weak. If the operation in our being does not stop, we will experience the surpassingly great power that operated in the Lord Jesus.
EXPERIENCING THE OPERATION OF CHRIST’S FOURFOLD POWER
The surpassingly great power that operated in Christ is a fourfold power. First, this power raised the Lord Jesus from the dead (v. 20). This is resurrection power. Resurrection power causes the dead to rise up. Second, this power caused the Lord Jesus to be seated at God’s right hand in the heavenlies, far above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come (vv. 20-21). This is transcending power. Third, this power subjected all things under His feet (v. 22). This is subduing power. Fourth, this power caused Him to be Head over all things to the church (v. 22). This is ruling power.
When these four aspects are manifested—resurrection power, transcending power, subduing power, and ruling power—the church [483] is produced. This fourfold power ushered in the church; the church was produced through this fourfold power. The church is the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all (vv. 22-23). The One who fills all in all is Christ. The church as His fullness was produced through His fourfold power. We need this fourfold power because it is easy for us to be troubled and deadened by many things related to our living. For example, it is easy to be bothered by the words and actions of our spouses. Similarly, we can be troubled and deadened by things related to the church. For example, when we were first saved, our sense of the love of the brothers and sisters for one another and our fellowship with all the saints was very sweet. After a period of time passed, however, the old problems of our flesh surfaced. Whereas we previously loved one another without any consideration, it is now easy to criticize the saints. This shows that we are deadened within and in need of Christ’s fourfold power.
Many things inwardly deaden us. When a brother has an argument with others related to his business, he becomes deadened. When a young person watches television, the programs poison him, and he is deadened. Many saints in the church are deadened, and some are barely alive. Such a situation does not display the reality or the testimony of the church. However, if all the brothers and sisters had a strong spirit, nothing in our family life or church life would keep us from saying, “O Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!” This is the resurrection life. Resurrection life causes the husbands and wives to rise out of death. In fact, with resurrection every situation becomes an opportunity to praise the Lord. When we experience the resurrection power of Christ, we are also transcendent and above all things with every form of oppression being under our feet. With our experience of the transcendent power of Christ, all things are subdued, and we rule over all things. In our experience of Christ’s fourfold power, the church comes forth. The church comes out of Christ’s resurrection power, transcending power, subduing power, and ruling power. The church that comes out of this fourfold power is the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.
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