EXCERPTS FROM THE MINISTRY

A VISION OF THE PRECIOUSNESS OF CHRIST

It is one thing to have a doctrinal understanding of being found in Christ; it is quite another thing to be found in Christ in our daily living. If I were to visit you in your home, where would I find you? Would I find you in your good behavior or in Christ? Where we are when others observe us indicates the realm in which we live. If we live in our culture, we shall be found by others in culture. If we live in our good behavior, we shall be discovered by others in our behavior. In whatever realm we live, that is where we shall be seen, observed, and discovered by others. When Paul was still living by the law, he was found in the law. But one day he began to have the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. He saw the vision that Christ must be his everything: love, kindness, humility, wisdom, patience, intention, attitude, and even his words, utterances, and expressions. On account of this excellency of the knowledge of Christ, he was willing to count all things to be loss. Furthermore, he suffered the loss of all things and counted them refuse in order to gain Christ and be found in Him.

We need to have a vision of the preciousness of Christ. Then we need to gain the very Christ we have seen. For example, suppose a person visits a jewelry store and sees many valuable items on display. To see these items is one thing, but to gain them is another. To know Christ is not merely to have the knowledge concerning Him, but to gain His very Person. Christ is the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead (Col. 2:9) and the reality of the shadows of all positive things (Col. 2:16-17). To gain Him is to experience, enjoy, and take possession of all His unsearchable riches (Eph. 3:8). As we gain Christ, we should also live in Him and become those who are in Him in experience. Then when others see us or observe us, they will find us in Christ. We shall not be found in our own virtues—we shall be found in Christ and in Him alone. Oh, that we may gain Him and be found in Him! May we be willing to suffer the loss of all things and count them refuse in order to be found in Christ.

If we gain Christ and live in Him, He as our righteousness will become our expression before both God and man. Then we shall not simply be found in Christ in a general way, but we shall be found in the very righteousness which is Christ Himself lived out of us. Only when we are found in Christ will the Lord be satisfied. Likewise, those who serve the Lord will be pleased and satisfied only when the believers are found in Christ.

THE SIX-THOUSAND-YEAR TRADITION

If you visit another country and stay in a brother’s home, you will probably find it impossible to avoid the national flavor prevailing there. The reason for this is that we are all still under the influence of six thousand years of tradition. When Paul wrote Philippians 3, deep within him was the realization that the traditional forms of human living occupy everyone. Whether a person is sinful or not sinful, moral or immoral, that person is occupied by something other than Christ, by some element of the thousands of years of human history. We may call this the six-thousand-year human tradition.

The building up of the church has been hindered by this tradition for more than nineteen hundred years. The Lord Jesus said, “Behold, I come quickly” (Rev. 22:12). But more than nineteen centuries have passed, and still He has not come. How can the Lord come back when His purpose on earth has not been accomplished? Satan, the subtle one, is lurking behind the six-thousand-year human tradition. Due to his influence, we live in this tradition instead of in Christ. With the exception of Paul, hardly anyone has ever touched this powerful stronghold. No matter how spiritual we may be, others rarely find us in Christ. Rather, they find us in something other than Christ, in some aspect of man’s six thousand years of traditional living. During times of prayer, we may be released temporarily from this tradition. But even in the prayers of the saints it is sometimes possible to sense the flavor of the six-thousand-year tradition. What a serious situation this is!

If we would be found in Christ instead of in the thousands of years of tradition, we must be willing to forget our past, even our past Christian life, humble ourselves before the Lord, and ask Him to have mercy on us. In the Lord’s recovery we have come to the place where we are facing a huge rock standing in our way. For many of us, there seems to be no way to go on. Furthermore, many of us have come to a stage where it seems difficult for even the Lord to get through in us. This is very much related to the fact that when others see us, it is very probable that they will find us in something other than Christ.

Should you visit a certain brother, you may not find him doing anything sinful or wrong. But, instead of finding him in Christ, you may find him in his good behavior or in his habitual way of living. I do not have the assurance that if you visit me at home, you will find me in Christ. On the contrary, you may observe that, as an elderly person, I live simply in my natural goodness. You may find me in so many things other than Christ.

The book of Philippians was written by Paul in his later ministry, not long before he was to depart from this earth. Hence, when Paul wrote this Epistle, he was quite mature. Nevertheless, he still did not have the assurance that he would be found by others in Christ. For this reason in verses 8 and 9 he used the present tense, saying, “I count also all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord...and count them to be refuse that I may gain Christ and be found in Him.”

If we would be found in Christ, we need to be watchful moment by moment, continually on the alert to live in Christ. If we are not alert, we shall immediately be distracted from Christ and live in something other than Christ. Our living may be very good, but in our experience we are not in Christ.