Knowing And Experiencing The All-Inclusive, Extensive Christ
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Message Three
The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Having the Preeminence in All Things
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Col. 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation.
18 And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things.
Rev. 2:4 But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love.
Word of Appetizer
How can we let Christ have the preeminence in our personal universe?
As those who have been chosen by God to be His people for Christ’s preeminence, we are under His heavenly rule. Christ, the preeminent One, must be the centrality and universality in our church life, family life, and daily life. In our personal universe many things happen day by day for the purpose of making Christ preeminent; we need to realize this and be submissive to God’s heavenly rule. In order to give Christ the preeminence in all things, we must be willing to be adjusted, to be broken, and to be made nothing so that the Lord can have a way in us, through us, and among us for the building up of His organic Body.
Spiritual Burden
Christ has the first place, the preeminence, in God’s economy. Both in the old creation and in the new creation, both in the universe and in the church, Christ occupies the first place, the place of preeminence.
Christ, the preeminent One, must be the centrality and universality in our church life, family life, and daily life; in order to give Christ the preeminence in all things, we must be willing to be adjusted, to be broken, and to be made nothing so that the Lord can have a way in us, through us, and among us for the building up of His organic Body.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
God’s intention in His administration is to give Christ the preeminence in all things, to cause Christ to have the first place in everything.
Christ has the first place, the preeminence, in God’s economy.
Christ should have the preeminence in our personal universe.
Christ should have the preeminence in our love.
Christ should have the preeminence in our tripartite being.
Christ should have the preeminence in our spiritual experiences.
Christ should have the preeminence in our human living.
The Experience of Life
Christ should have the preeminence in our tripartite being; we experience, enjoy, and partake of the indwelling Christ in our spirit; we are one with Him in a very subjective way; because Christ is our life, all He has and all He has attained and obtained become subjective to us.
Christ should have the preeminence in our spiritual experiences; in the organic union with Christ, whatever Christ passed through has become our history.
Practice and Application
In order to give Christ the preeminence in all things, we must be willing to be adjusted, to be broken, and to be made nothing so that the Lord can have a way in us, through us, and among us for the building up of His organic Body.
Christ should have the preeminence in our love; to give the Lord the first place in all things is to love Him with the first love; we need to maintain and develop our first love toward the Lord; our love for the Lord must be absolute; we should not love anyone or anything above Him.
Christ should have the preeminence in our human living; in our living we need to be one with Him.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
Phil. 2:9 God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.
Eph. 1:22 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church.
Col. 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation.
18 And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things.
I. God’s intention in His administration is to give Christ the preeminence in all things, to cause Christ to have the first place in everything
II. Christ has the first place, the preeminence, in God’s economy
- The entire world situation is under the rule of the heavens by the God of the heavens to match His intention in His economy, of which Christ is the center.
- For Christ to have the preeminence in all things, God needs a people.
- Christ is the preeminent One, the One who has the first place in everything.
- Christ is preeminent in the triune Godhead; Christ is preeminent in God’s exaltation of Him.
- Both in the old creation and in the new creation, both in the universe and in the church, Christ occupies the first place, the place of preeminence.
- For Christ to be the first means that He is all.
Key Verses (2)
Col. 3:17 And whatever you do in word or in deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
1 Cor. 10:31 Therefore whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Rev. 2:4 But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love.
III. Christ should have the preeminence in our personal universe.
IV. Christ should have the preeminence in our love.
- Christ, the preeminent One, must be the centrality and universality in our church life, family life, and daily life.
- In order to give Christ the preeminence in all things, we must be willing to be adjusted, to be broken, and to be made nothing so that the Lord can have a way in us, through us, and among us for the building up of His organic Body.
- To give the Lord the first place in all things is to love Him with the first love; we need to maintain and develop our first love toward the Lord.
- Our love for the Lord must be absolute; we should not love anyone or anything above Him.
Key Verses (3)
Col. 1:27 To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,
3:4 When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory.
17-21 And whatever you do…in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things….
V. Christ should have the preeminence in our tripartite being
VI. Christ should have the preeminence in our spiritual experiences
VII. Christ should have the preeminence in our human living
- We experience, enjoy, and partake of the indwelling Christ in our spirit; we are one with Him in a very subjective way.
- Because Christ is our life, all He has and all He has attained and obtained become subjective to us.
- The history of Christ is the experience of the Christian, and the experience of Christ is the history of the Christian.
- God desires that Christ be expressed through human life. The living of the believers must be in union with Christ; this means that in our living we need to be one with Him.
- We should do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 God is using the environment to make Christ the centrality and universality to us. (Col. 1:15, 18)
(Please illustrate that how Christ become our centrality and universality by His appearing in two aspects.)
T2 Under God’s heavenly rule everything is working together for our good (Rom. 8:29)
(Please illustrate with experiences that many things happen day by day for the purpose of making Christ preeminent .)
D2
T1 Christ has the first place in all things. (Col. 1:15, 18)
(Please illustrate that both in the old creation and in the new creation, Christ occupies the place of preeminence.)
T2 Christ has the first place in all things (John. 15:26; Eph.1:22)
(Please illustrate that Christ is preeminent in the triune Godhead and in God’s exaltation of Him.)
D3
T1 In both the old creation and the new creation Christ is the first and occupies the place of preeminence (Col. 1:15, 18)
(Please illustrate that in the Bible to be the first is to be all.)
T2 Christ have the preeminence in our personal universe. (Col. 3:27)
(Please illustrate with experiences that how this understanding of Christ can help you in practice .)
D4
T1 Christ should have the preeminence in our love. (Rev. 2:4)
(Please illustrate with experiences that we need to maintain and develop our first love toward the Lord.)
T2 Exalting Christ is the way for revival, for restoration. (Col. 1:18b)
(Please illustrate that as regenerated people how can we exalt Christ by praising, singing in the meeting of the church.)
D5
T1 Christ has the preeminence in our tripartite being (Col.1:27)
(Please illustrate with experiences that how can we exercise to allow Christ to be everything to us in our daily living.)
T2 Christ has the preeminence in our spiritual experiences. (Col. 2:9-13, 20)
(Please illustrate that we know Christ according to doctrine, but also according to subjective experience.)
D6
T1 God desires that Christ be expressed through human life (Phil. 1:19-21a)
(Please illustrate that in order to express Christ, we need to have proper and normal human life.)
T2 In our living we need to be one with Him. (Col. 3:18～4:1)
(Please illustrate that Christ should have the preeminence in our human living.)
