CHRIST IS ALL AND IN ALL FOR THE CHURCH AS THE NEW MAN
Message Four
Christ is the Way, the Reality, and the Life
Scripture Reading: John 14:6; 1:14, 29; 12:24; 7:39; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Tim. 4:22; 1 Cor. 6:17; 12:12-13; Eph. 3:16-17a; 1 Cor. 1:22-24; Matt. 3:13; Heb. 10:19-20
I. “Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”—John 14:6.
II. Christ is the life: (CWWN, vol. 36, “Central Messages,” msg. 1)
A. Christ is the Lamb of God for redemption and the grain of wheat for reproduction—John 1:14, 29; 12:24. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 2)
B. Christ becoming the Spirit: (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 2, “The Issue of the Union of the Consummated Spirit of the Triune God and the Regenerated Spirit of the Believers,” ch. 1)
1. The Spirit of reality—14:16-17. (Life-study of John, msg. 31)
2. The life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b. (Life-study of John, msg. 31)
3. The Spirit—John 7:39. (Life-study of John, msg. 31)
4. The compound Spirit—Exo. 30:23-31. (Life-study of Exodus, msg. 161)
C. Our experience of Christ as the Spirit: (Life-study of Colossians, msg. 13)
1. The Lord is with our spirit—2 Tim. 4:22. (CWWL, 1968, vol. 2, “Various Meetings in San Francisco,” ch. 9)
2. We are one spirit with the Lord—1 Cor. 6:17. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 1, “The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church,” ch. 7)
3. Christ making His home in our hearts—Eph. 3:16-17a. (CWWL, 1981, vol. 1, “The Great Mystery—Christ and the Church,” ch. 9)
D. The Body of Christ is the corporate Christ—1 Cor. 12:12-13. (CWWL, 1973-1974, vol. 1, “The Enjoyment of Christ for the Body in First Corinthians,” ch. 3)
III. Christ is the reality: (CWWL, 1968, vol. 1, “Turning the Age and Living in the Spirit,” ch. 9)
A. In 1 Corinthians, Christ as the reality is revealed in many items: (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 3)
1. Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God—1:22-24. (CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “The Lord’s Recovery of the Church Life,” ch. 2)
2. Christ is righteousness, sanctification, and redemption—v. 30. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, “A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church (Part 2—Romans through Philemon),” ch. 12)
3. Christ is the depths of God—2:9-10. (CWWL, 1968, vol. 2, “Speaking Christ to Build Up the Church for the Accomplishment of God’s Eternal Purpose,” ch. 4)
4. Christ is the foundation—3:11. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 1, “The Kernel of the Bible,” ch. 13)
5. Christ is our Passover and our Feast of Unleavened Bread—5:7-8. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 1, “The Kernel of the Bible,” ch. 2)
6. Christ is the spiritual food, the spiritual drink, and the spiritual rock—10:3-4. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 1, “Various Lord’s Day Morning Meetings,” ch. 1)
7. Christ is the Head and the Body—11:3; 12:12. (CWWL, 1963, vol. 2, “God’s Intention Concerning Christ and the Church,” ch. 9)
8. Christ is the Firstfruits, the second man, the last Adam, and the life-giving Spirit—15:20, 47, 45. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The Ten Great Critical “Ones” for the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” ch. 3)
B. The way to experience and enjoy Christ as the life-giving Spirit is by remaining one spirit with the Lord—6:17. (CWWL, 1971, vol. 3, “Enjoying the All-Inclusive Christ as the Life-Giving Spirit for the Fulfillment of God’s Eternal Purpose,” ch. 10)
IV. Christ is the way: (CWWL, 1965, vol. 3, “The Enjoyment of Christ,” ch. 2)
A. Christ must first become life to us, and then He becomes our reality and our way. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 4)
B. The crucified Christ is our way: (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 4)
1. The proper way to preach the gospel and minister life to people is the crucified way—the way that puts us to death. This way is a person—the crucified Christ—1:22-24; 2:1-4. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 4)
2. The Lord Jesus began His ministry by being buried through baptism—Matt. 3:13. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 4)
3. The four gospels reveal that He continued to live and walk to carry out His ministry by remaining under death. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” ch. 5)
4. Christ was dying to live from His baptism all the way to Calvary. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 4)
C. The Spirit of God, after Christ’s death and resurrection, has been compounded with Christ’s death (myrrh), the sweetness of His death (cinnamon), His resurrection (calamus), and the power of His resurrection (cassia) to become the life-giving Spirit—Exo. 30:22-33; John 7:39; 1 Cor. 15:45b. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification,” ch. 3)
D. The crucified Christ is a new and living way for us to draw near to God—Heb. 10:19-20: (CWWL, 1959, vol. 5, “Synopsis of Leviticus,” ch. 23)
1. The way to shepherd the saints or to be a good elder, brother, sister, husband, wife, father, or mother is simply to die with Christ, taking the crucified Christ as the way. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 4)
2. Christ crucified is the way of carrying out the ministry. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-Study of the Epistle to the Romans,” ch. 24)
3. The crucified Christ is the prevailing way for us to have our daily Christian walk and do everything in the Christian life—2 Cor. 4:10-12. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 4)
E. The arrangement of the tabernacle reveals the way of the cross: (CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 3, “The Functioning of the Believers to Bring in the Kingdom,” ch. 1)
1. The burnt offering altar—washing away of our sins. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 4)
2. The laver—washing away the dirt of the world. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “The History of God in His Union with Man,” ch. 12)
3. The table of the bread of the Presence—receiving life supply and nourishment. (CWWL, 1963, vol. 1, “Spiritual Applications of the Tabernacle,” ch. 9)
4. The lampstand—receiving light and enlightenment. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, “The Central Line of the Divine Revelation,” ch. 7)
5. The incense altar—offering prayers as a sweet-smelling savor to God. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 4)
6. The Ark of the testimony—God meeting and speaking with His people at the throne of grace (the expiation cover). (Life-study of Numbers, msg. 12)
F. The way of the cross is the way to the Father, the way to the enjoyment of the presence of God, the way to live our Christian life, family life, and church life. The crucified Christ is our way in everything. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church,” ch. 4)
G. “We were baptized into the death of Christ once for all at the beginning of our Christian life (Rom. 6:3). Now we are continuously being conformed to His death (Phil. 3:10); this is the continuation of the Christian life. According to the arrangement of the tabernacle, as soon as we enter into the realm of the Christian life, we are being conformed to the cross. Our entire Christian life is the way to Calvary. When we are on this way, we are being conformed to Christ’s death. This is what it means for Christ to be our way.”—CWWL 1978 Vol. 3 ‘The Recovery of Christ as Everything in the Church’ Chapter 4.
