Christ and the Church is the Meaning of the Universe and the Meaning of Human Life

The great mystery – Christ and the church – is the meaning of the universe and of the human life (Rev. 4:11; Eph. 5:32); the mystery of Christ and the mystery of the church should be our daily life, for without this mystery, our life would merely be the life of a human being and not the life of a Christian. Amen!

This week we have been prayerfully considering the mystery of the church as seen in the book of Ephesians. God’s hidden purpose is the mystery, and the unveiling of this mystery is revelation. Ephesians speaks of the revelation of the mystery.

The mystery of Christ – the church – was hidden in other generations but has been revealed to us today in the New Testament age.

For us to see the revelation of the hidden mystery, we need to be strengthened into our inner man and allow Christ to make His home in our heart.

The first ones to see the mystery of Christ were the apostles and prophets in their spirit by revelation.

We can also see the mystery of Christ and the church in our spirit by exercising our spirit to contact the Lord and pray over the word of God.

May we see the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept in silence in the times of the ages but has now been manifested.

One day, at the seventh trumpet, the eternal economy of the processed Triune God will be finalised.

In reading the Old Testament we see that, from Moses to Christ, everything was unveiled and open, but today in the New Testament everything is a mystery, hidden.

The incarnation of Christ, Christ Himself, the church, and everything related to God is a mystery; the only way we can see and enter into the mystery of God and the mystery of Christ is by being in our spirit.

The ultimate mystery in the universe is the mystery of the church; the church is the hidden mystery in God’s eternal economy.

We believers in Christ are part of the church, but the church is much more than the believers gathered together; the church is the mystery of Christ.

Today Christ is building up the church to obtain His bride, consummating in the New Jerusalem. When the seventh trumpet will sound, the age of the mystery will be finished, and Christ will obtain His bride.

The church built up becomes the bride of Christ to match Christ for the eternal marriage between the processed and consummated Triune God and the transformed and glorified man as the New Jerusalem. Amen!

The Great Mystery – Christ and the Church – is the Meaning of the Universe and of Human Life

On the one hand, we need to see that we live in an age of mystery, and that Christ and the church are the deepest and ultimate mystery in God’s eternal economy, which also is a mystery.

On the othe rhand, we need to realize that the great mystery – Christ and the church – is the meaning of the universe and of human life (Rev. 4:11; Eph. 5:32).

There has to be one point in our Christian life in which we see the great mystery – Christ and the church – and we realize that this is the meaning of our human life and the meaning of the universe.

When we see that Christ and the church are the meaning of our human existence, we will live a life for the fulfilment of God’s eternal purpose no matter where we are and what we do.

Everything that God did in the past and does in the present is for the church. God created all things for the church. God created the heavens, the earth, and many items in the heavens and the earth in order for Him to obtain the church.

His intention in creating so many things, including man, was that He would come into man and mingle Himself with man so that God would gain the church. This is a matter in the spirit.

God stretched forth the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him (Zech. 12:1). The heavens God created are for the earth, the earth with all the things on it are for man, and man has a human spirit for God to come in, mingle Himself with man, and be man’s life and everything.

God created so many things and does so many things for one purpose: to gain the church as the Body of Christ, the corporate expression of God.

The mystery hidden deep in God (Eph. 3:9), who created all things, is for Him to gain the church. God has a will and plan (Eph. 1:10-11), and based on this, He created many things in order to have the right setting and environment to gain the church.

All things were created according to God’s will so that He may gain the church (Rev. 4:11).

According to His will, He conceived a plan so that He might have the church. His heart’s desire is to have the real expression of Christ, the Body of Christ, the increase of Christ.

The Body of Christ is also the ultimate satisfaction of man’s spiritual experience. As believers in Christ, the highest and ultimate spiritual satisfaction is to build up the church and be built up as the church.

Many of us may attain some level of satisfaction through some spiritual seeking and exercise, but after we achieve this satisfaction, we still feel we’re short of something.

We will never be satisfied until the Lord brings us to the ultimate point for us to realize we are members of the Body of Christ.

It is only when we practically function in the Body of Christ as perfected and mature members of the Body that we are satisfied, for Christ and the church are the meaning of our human existence and the meaning of the universe.

The desire of God’s heart is to have the mystery of Christ – the Body of Christ as the increase and expression of Christ (Eph. 1:5, 9, 11, 22-23).

When we realize this, when we see that Christ and the church is the meaning of our human existence, we will open to the Lord fully to receive the power of the Spirit to reject ourselves and let Christ live in us.

We will attain the highest level of satisfaction spiritually when we continually receive the power of the Holy Spirit to reject ourselves and give Christ as the Spirit the ground, chance, and opportunity to live in us and through us (Eph. 5:30).

This is the genuine church life being realised by us in a practical way. When we reach this point, when we truly live our Christian life and church life with Christ and the church being the meaning, we will touch God’s heart’s desire and really enjoy what we have been looking for.

His need is met and our need is also met. The economy of the mystery hidden in God throughout the ages is the mystery of the church as the Body of Christ (Eph. 3:9-11).

May we all realise what we are here for; we are not here merely for our education or human living but for Christ and the church.

Wherever we are, whatever we do, and whatever we are involved in, even when we don’t have anything to do but take some rest, we live for Christ and the church.

As the Lord is recovering the last of the divine things, we all must go along with Him to give Him a free way, realising that He wants to live in us for the building up of the church.

We are not here merely as redeemed people waiting for the Lord to come and take us to heaven; rather, we have seen the vision of Christ and the church, and we know the meaning of the universe and the meaning of our human life. We live for Christ and the church today!

Lord Jesus, unveil us to see that the great mystery – Christ and the church – is the meaning of the universe and the meaning of our human life! Hallelujah, all things were and were created because of God’s will to have the church! Thank You, Lord, for creating us in Your image and likeness and putting a spirit in us. We exercise our spirit today to come to You, enjoy You, and partake of Your riches in spirit. Amen, Lord, we take Christ and the church as the meaning of our human life. We want to attain the highest level of our spiritual experience by living Christ in and for the church! Hallelujah, we are members of the Body of Christ, and we are fully satisfied to grow in life and function in the Body! We open to You, Lord, and we want to continually receive the power of the Holy Spirit to reject ourselves and give Christ as the Spirit the ground to live in us and through us. Live in us, Lord Jesus! Live in us for the building up of the church. This is what we need: we live for Your heart’s desire, the church today!

The Mystery of Christ and the Mystery of the Church should be our Daily Life

As believers in Christ, we need to have the mystery of Christ and the mystery of the church as our daily life. If we want to know how we should live as Christians, we need to know about the mystery of Christ.

Christ wants to be our daily life, and He has come into us to be our life today. The mystery of Christ should be our daily life. The mystery of Christ and the mystery of the church should be real to us in our daily life and should be our daily life.

If we do not live in the mystery of Christ and the church, our human life will merely be the life of a human being and not the life of a Christian.

The life of a Christian is a life in which Christ lives in us; He indwells us, He is expressed through us, He lives in us, and He is formed in us (Col. 1:27; Gal. 2:20; 4:19).

He is already in us as our life, and we are learning to take Him as our life and everything in our daily living. We are not the ones who are living – Christ is the One who lives in us.

This is a mysterious life with a mysterious living, for here we are, human beings, who do not live by our own natural life but by the divine life in our spirit, and Christ lives in us.

We are not the ones living but Christ, the mysterious One, is living in us.

Everyone around us lives to themselves and for themselves, and when something good happens to them, they are happy, but when they have sorrow and pain, they are sad.

There’s no mystery with them. But with us as believers in Christ things are very different. No matter whether we go through a sad or a happy situation, we live Christ.

When the circumstances are smooth, we give thanks to the Lord. When the circumstances are adverse, we offer praise to the Lord. Others look at us and, knowing our situation, are bewildered to see that we still praise the Lord even though we are suffering and have many tribulations.

We may be on a long flight and, instead of trying to get a rest or read something, we share about the Lord with those around us.

We are on a flight not just to get to our destination but for Christ and the church, and the mystery of Christ and the mystery of the church are our daily life.

We may want to get married and have children, and even as we do this, as we take care of many normal, routine things in our daily life, we live in the mystery of Christ and the church.

The mystery of Christ and the mystery of the church should be our daily life; without this mystery, our life would be merely the life of a human being, not the life of a Christian (1 Tim. 3:15-16).

Day by day we practice coming to the Lord’s word with much prayerful consideration so that the sword of the Spirit would cut through and divide our soul from our spirit (Heb. 4:12).

Then, throughout the day, as we live in the outward human realm, we live in the inward, divine realm, the mystery of Christ and the church.

As we wait for the bus or for the cars in front of us at the traffic light, instead of getting worried about being late to our destination, we contact the Lord by calling on His name. Christ dwells in us.

He is the mystery of God, and He indwells us. Now we learn to live one spirit with Him, and He lives in us. Again and again, we contact Him.

Our outer man is being consumed, but our inner man is being renewed day by day. We don’t live merely according to right or wrong; we live one spirit with the Lord in all things.

Christ and the church are the meaning of our human life and the meaning of the universe, and we treasure His indwelling. The mysterious story of Christ is being continued in us today.

Lord Jesus, teach us how to live our Christian life. We want to know how we as Christians should live. May the mystery of Christ and the mystery of the church be our daily life. Save us, dear Lord, from merely living the life of a human being and not the life of a Christian. Our life is for Christ and the church. We take You, Lord Jesus, as our life. We take You as our person. In all the daily things of our living, we want to contact You and enjoy You. Oh Lord, live in us today. Thank You for being in us; we open to You and we want to remain in the touch with You. We want to take every opportunity to contact You and enjoy You. Oh Lord, we love You! We praise You. We thank You in all things and at all times. Continue to live in us today. Be expressed through us. Make us Your continuation. May our daily living be the continuation of the mysterious story of Christ as we take Christ and the church as the meaning of our human life. Amen, Lord, may the mystery of Christ and the mystery of the church be our daily life today!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The Mystery of God and the Mystery of Christ,” ch. 2, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2) (2024 December Training), week 21 (msg. 9), The Mystery of the Church.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – The church being Christ, a portion from, The Life for the Preaching of the High Gospel, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee.
  – The Way Christ is Building the Church, via, Living to Him.
  – A Life Full of Meaning, a testimony via, The Church in Anaheim.
  – Ephesians (Program #48) – A Mysterious Type of Christ and the Church, via, Bible study radio.
  – Christ, the Cross, and the Church, via, Shepherding Words.
  – What Does God Want? More via, Bibles for America blog.
  – God being the meaning of the universe, a portion from, Five Great Mysteries in the Bible, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – Godliness: Christ Living in & through Us, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – The mystery of man, a portion from, Five Great Mysteries in the Bible, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee.
  – The Key to the Meaning of Life and the Meaning of the Universe, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – The Mystery of Human Life, a pdf gospel tract via, LSM.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – The Church the image has of Christ, / She is His increase and His spread; / Christ’s very self is found in her / The Body, she, to Christ the Head. / Thus, in the Son the Father is, / And now the Spirit is the Son; / The Spirit of the triune God / Is in the Church and with her one. (Hymns #818 stanzas 6-7)
  – As Christ is God’s true mystery, / God to explain and God express; / So is the Church Christ’s mystery, / Christ to explain and manifest. / The members of the Church of Christ / Are all primarily of clay; / They need to be transformed and made / Transparent, precious day by day. (Hymns #821 stanzas 3-4)
  – Now we know the purpose of our God, / Visible the mystery became: / Christ, the church, together now we see, / And together put the enemy to shame. / For this cause we pray the Father God— / Strengthen Thou with might our inner man; / Make Yourself at home in all our hearts, / Root us, ground us in Your love and for Your plan. (Hymns #1232 stanzas 3-4)