TAKING CHRIST AS OUR PERSON FOR THE CHURCH LIFE
EXPERIENCING THE POWER OF CHRIST AND THE PERSON OF CHRIST
Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:17-23; 3:16-21; 2:15-16, 18
THE TWO PRAYERS OF PAUL Ephesians is a book on the church. The church is profound, wonderful, and mysterious. Just as the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—is a mystery and just as the person of the Lord Jesus—the One who is both God and man—is a mystery, the church is also a mystery. In writing Ephesians Paul included two wonderful prayers, the first in chapter 1, verses 17 through 23, and the second in chapter 3, verses 16 through 19. Both prayers are very deep.
The prayer in chapter 1 is related to our need for revelation in order that we might see the church as the Body of Christ, whereas the prayer in chapter 3 is related to our need for experience. Recently, however, the Lord has shown me something more, something deeper, related to these prayers, namely that Paul’s first prayer is related to the power of Christ and that his second prayer is related to the person of Christ. The difference between the power of Christ and the person of Christ can be illustrated in relation to redecorating a house. In order to redecorate a house, there is a need to move furniture. In order to accomplish this, a woman will need help from those who have strength and power. When they move the furniture for her, she will experience the power of these helpers. All the decisions that she makes related to moving the furniture, however, should be based on her being one with her husband and on taking him as her person.
The prayer in chapter 1 concerns the power of Christ; the prayer in chapter 3 concerns taking Christ as our person. In addition to experiencing the power of Christ, we need to experience His person. We should not merely seek His help in certain matters; rather, we should let Him make His home in our heart.
THE SPIRIT AS AN ORGAN AND THE SPIRIT AS A PERSON
The proper organ for us to experience the power of Christ is our human spirit. When I want to drink water, I do not use my eyes, ears, or nose, because these are the wrong organs to receive water. Just as my mouth is the proper organ for drinking, my spirit is the proper organ to enjoy the power of Christ. Some think that the phrase a spirit of wisdom and revelation in 1:17 refers to the Holy Spirit, but this is not correct. Our mingled human spirit should be a spirit of wisdom and revelation. In order to receive wisdom and revelation, we must exercise our spirit.
In the prayer in chapter 3, however, our spirit is associated with the phrase the inner man (v. 16); that is, it is referred to as a person rather than as an organ. In chapter 1 our spirit is an organ, but in chapter 3 our spirit has become a person. The person of our inner man, however, is not ourselves but the Lord. We need our spirit as an organ to experience the Lord’s power, and we need our spirit as our inner man in order to experience the Lord as our person. In chapter 1 the power of Christ is experienced through our spirit as an organ, but in chapter 3 the person of Christ is enjoyed through our spirit as our inner man.
EXPERIENCING THE FOURFOLD POWER OF CHRIST IN OUR SPIRIT
In order to experience the power of Christ, we must turn to our spirit and exercise our spirit. If we do not turn to our spirit but always remain in our mind, we will never touch the reality of the church. The church is something in spirit (2:22). In order to touch the church, we must be in spirit. In order to enjoy the power of Christ, we must turn to our spirit. When we remain in our mind, we cannot enjoy the power of Christ. As soon as we turn to our spirit, however, we enjoy the power of Christ.
We need to practice calling “O Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!” because this helps us to turn from our mind to our spirit. If a sister does not learn to call “O Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!” Satan will utilize trivial things to hold her in bondage, causing her to linger in the considerations of her mind. The more she thinks about her husband’s faults, the more she will feel justified in criticizing his words and actions. Instead of lingering in these thoughts, she should quickly call “O Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!” After calling a few times, she will turn from her mind to her spirit, and she will forget about her husband’s condition. As soon as she turns to her spirit, she will experience the power of Christ.
The first step in our experience of the power of Christ involves our experience of His resurrection power (1:20). A wife whose mind is focused on the faults of her husband is fully in death. The more she thinks about his faults, the deader she will become. If she stays in her mind when she comes to a meeting, she will be as silent as a person who is buried in a tomb. If, however, she begins to call “O Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!” she will experience the resurrection power of the Lord.
While it is easy for husbands and wives to be abrasive in their dealings with each other, the same is true for parents and children. Children can bring their parents rather easily into death. Often when a child makes a fuss, the mother’s response is one of anger. When she is alone, her mind will be filled with thoughts about her child’s disrespect. The more she thinks in this way, the deeper she will descend into death. It is also easy for parents to bring their children into death. It is easy for a child to become angry with his parents when he is restricted in some way, and in some circumstances he can become quite angry and even throw things. If the child is saved but remains in his anger, he will experience only death. However, if parents are willing to call “O Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!” they will return to their spirit, and if children are willing to call “O Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!” they will be in their spirit, no matter how much they are misunderstood. Once we turn to our spirit, we spontaneously experience the power of Christ’s resurrection. His resurrection power delivers us from death.
If we call “O Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!” all day long, we will experience not only the resurrection power of the Lord but also His transcending power (vv. 20-21). In such a condition, it is easy for a wife to be transcendent over every fault of her husband. To be transcendent is to be on the throne, above all persons, matters, and things. If we continue to call “O Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!” everything will be subdued, and we will enjoy the subduing power of Christ (v. 22). Then if we call “O Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!” we will live in the spirit all the more, experience His ruling power, and reign in our spirit (v. 22). We will be able to say, “O Lord, I am seated with You on the throne. May You rule in our family so that the flesh has no ground.” This is the way to experience the resurrecting, transcending, subduing, and ruling power of Christ.
If a person experiences Christ in this way, he will surely desire to be in the meetings. Whenever a person experiences the power of Christ, he is ushered into the church. In contrast, a wife who is focused on the faults of her husband or a child who is angry with his parents will have no desire to be in the meetings. The church is in resurrection, and it is transcendent. All things are under the feet of the church as it reigns with Christ. If we are experiencing the power of Christ’s resurrection, transcendence, subduing, and enthronement, we will spontaneously desire to be in the meetings. I often say that if we touch Jesus in the morning, He will bring us to the meeting in the evening. The experience of the power of Christ brings us to the church. The church is not an organization or simply a gathering of people with similar interests. The church is the joining together of people in spirit. As those who have received mercy, we have experienced the Lord’s power and have been delivered out of death in order to transcend everything, subdue everything, and rule over everything. If a brother is subdued by money in his business, he will be only an observer in a meeting of the church, and if he is oppressed by money, he will have little thought of even coming to a meeting. However, when he turns and calls, “O Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!” he will rise above the power of money, be transcendent over money, subdue the influence of money, reign over money, and come to the meetings. In order to experience the church, we need to experience the fourfold power of Christ. Once we experience the power of Christ, we will be ushered practically into the church. The church is produced by the resurrected Christ, the transcendent Christ, the subduing Christ, and the ruling Christ.
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