Eph. 2:6, And raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.
What does it mean, according to the Bible and according to our Christian experience, to be full of the stature of Christ? First of all, being full of the stature of Christ can be something we attain only in the Body and with the Body.
Secondly, being full of the stature of Christ means that we are full of the life of Christ and the nature of Christ (see Gal. 4:19; Eph. 3:17; 1 Thes. 5:23). This means that Christ is slowly permeating all the inward parts of our being, and His life and nature is filling us to the brim.
When our mind, emotion, will, and every part of our inner being are filled and saturated with Christ – a process which involves the breaking of the cross and the filling of the Spirit – we are full of the stature of Christ.
Also, when a believer arrives at the full stature of Christ, he is in the same position of Christ – seated in the heavens on the throne with Christ, both in fact and in reality (see Eph. 2:6; Col. 3:1-3). This means that in experience, a mature believer is seated in the heavens on the throne one with Christ, and he is unshakable (as Christ is unshakeable) and unchangeable in his position.
Such a mature one is not changed or affected by the environment or the people around him – he is on the throne, in ascension, stable and steady.
How much we need to grow in life unto maturity so that we may be full of the stature of Christ by being filled with the life and nature of Christ to be with Him in ascension, on the throne! Amen! Now, let’s see what this means practically in our daily life and experience of the Lord.
Being Full of the Stature of Christ is Being Full of the Life and Nature of Christ
The stature of Christ is Christ Himself, His fullness, His life and nature; being full of the stature of Christ means that we are full of the life and nature of Christ. When we as believers in Christ grow in life unto maturity and reach the highest stage, Christ’s life and nature permeates all the inward parts of our being.
When we were regenerated, God’s life came into our spirit, and from our spirit as the beachhead He wants to spread into all the parts of our inner being.
Today we are in the process of growth in life, the process of Christ with His life spreading from our spirit into our mind, emotion, will, conscience, and every inward part. This is our being sanctified, renewed, and transformed.
Christ wants to make His home deep down in our heart, into every inward part, so that He may permeate us with His life and nature and our mind would be the mind of Christ, our emotion would be Christ’s emotion, and our will would be Christ’s will.
How much Christ do you have in your thoughts and concepts? Maybe your thoughts are not evil, immoral or filthy, but there may be little of Christ in them.
How much Christ is in your emotion? Maybe you don’t love the world or things against God, but you love yourself, your soul life, and there’s very little of the stature of Christ in your thoughts.
How much Christ is in your will? You may not be rebellious against God, you may not oppose Him or seem wrong in any way, but your will is largely your own and there’s very little of Christ in there.
This shows us that in our Christian life we have very little of Christ in our inward parts. Our concepts, ideas, viewpoints, opinions, thoughts, judgement, choices, preferences, decisions, delights, pleasures, angers, loves, sorrows – are they permeated with Christ?
We exercise the faculties of our soul in the daily matters of our life, but how much are they filled with the life and nature of Christ? Do you have arguments and fight with other brothers and sisters? Do you refuse to fellowship with certain ones in the church? Do you still blame others?
We definitely lack the stature of Christ – we lack growth in life. We need to open to the Lord and let Him deal with our soul life through the cross and by the Spirit, and then He will enter into our inner parts to fill them with Himself.
The more our mind, emotion, and will are dealt with and broken by the cross, the more Christ as the life-giving Spirit can enter into these parts to fill them with the divine life. We need to tell the Lord again and again in our daily walk with Him,
Lord, saturate me with Yourself. Fill my mind, my emotion, and my will with Your life and nature. Lord, I open my thinking, judgement, opinions, concepts, and thoughts to You. Fill my likes and dislikes, my sorrows and joys, my angers and loves, and all my preferences. Permeate my decisions, my choices, my judgement, and all my will with Your element. Lord, grow in me unto maturity, and fill all the inward parts of my being with Your life and nature! Make Your home in all my heart for the Body!
Being Full of the Stature of Christ means we Have the Same Position as Christ – Ascension
When a believer arrives at the full stature of Christ in and with the Body, he is in the same position as Christ – in ascension, on the throne – both objectively (in fact) and subjectively (in experience).
Christ is right now in the heavens, seated at the right hand of God on the throne – so is one who is full of the stature of Christ (see Eph. 2:6; Eph. 1:20-21; Heb. 1:3; Rev. 5:6). Such a one cannot be easily shaken, neither can he fall easily.
He is in ascension on the throne with Christ whether you welcome him or you speak evil of him. He shares Christ’s position in experience, and he is not easily excited, distracted, or disturbed. A person who attained unto maturity is stable, steady, and unshakeable – just like Christ.
No matter the environment, the persecution, the evil speaking, and the people around him, he remains seated in the heavens on the throne with Christ.
He doesn’t rule outwardly over people, but he rules inwardly over his being, and he is on the throne with Christ by being under Christ’s rule. Such a one is one with Christ in His heavenly ministry to build up the Body of Christ.
The reason we are shakable, easily distracted, and disturbed, and so changeable is because we have not yet arrived at the full stature of Christ. We need to let the Lord grow in us, make His home in us, and rule in us so that we may arrive to maturity.
However, don’t think this is not attainable – maturity is relative, it is a stage, and even Paul (a very mature apostle) said that he thought he didn’t yet arrive. We need more relatively full-grown saints to bless the churches with their living of Christ and being in ascension! We need to arrive to the full stature of Christ for the Body of Christ!
Lord Jesus, grow in us unto maturity. Cause so many of the saints in the local churches to grow unto maturity in the divine life! We want to be on the throne with You in all the aspects of our daily life. Lord, our aspiration is to attain unto maturity, being stable and steady, unshaken and undisturbed by anything or anyone around us. Lord, You need such ones in all the churches for the building up of the Body – gain many who would cooperate with You to grow in life unto maturity!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Minoru Chan’s speaking in the message for this week, and portions from, The Experience of Life (pp. 375-378), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Entering into the Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life to Arrive at a Full-Grown Man for the Fulfillment of God’s Purpose, week 6/ msg 6, The Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life (5) – Full of the Stature of Christ .
- Hymns on this topic:
# Oh Lord, make home / In all my heart. / Lord, saturate and fill each part. / Oh Lord, make home / In all our heart. / Lord, constitute Your counterpart.
# Spread into my heart, O Lord Jesus, / Spread into my heart, I pray; / Spread into my heart from my spirit, / Spread into my heart today.
# It is God’s intent and pleasure / That His Christ be wrought in me; / Nothing outwardly performing, / But His Christ my all to be.
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