Experience Christ and the Cross – the One Person and One way given to us by God

Today we need to experience Christ and the cross – enjoy the all-inclusive Christ and allow the cross to operate in us – to live in the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.

In the kingdom of the Son of God’s love, there is only one person – the all-inclusive Christ – and one way – the cross; God doesn’t give us many things and many ways but one thing and one way in His economy – Christ and the cross (1 Cor. 2:2). Amen!

As we live at the time of the consummation of this age and we see the signs of the Lord’s coming being more visible, we aspire to be those who live in the reality of the kingdom of God today.

We want to live in the reality of the kingdom today so that, when the Lord returns with His kingdom, we will be rewarded with the manifestation of the kingdom.

What is the kingdom of God? One aspect of the kingdom is that it is the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.

Oh, in this kingdom we are loved by God, for it is not just the kingdom of God but the kingdom of the Son of God’s love!

The Father loves the Son. The Father has given all He has and is to the Son.

The Father is expressed and embodied in the Son. The Father’s delight is in the Son.

The Father and the Son are fully one, and we have been brought into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.

On the negative side, we were delivered out of the authority of darkness. On the positive side, we have been transferred into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.

And many times throughout the day, as we find ourselves in darkness and as we touch death, we simply can turn to the Lord and come into the light, where God is.

God is light and in Him there’s no darkness at all. In His light we see light.

As we come to the Lord day by day, contacting Him, calling on His name, and just opening our being to Him, He shines on us and dispels all our darkness.

We have been transferred into this lovely kingdom of the Son of God’s love, where God rules in us and over us in love, by light, and with life.

His life within us reigns in us, for we enjoy His life, we live by His life, and we let His life grow in us and spread into every part of our being.

His love has been poured out in our heart through the Holy Spirit, which God has given to us, and now His love is perfected in us.

His light shines on us, and our whole being is brought into the light so that we may become light in the Lord, even to be luminaries shining forth with Christ. Amen!

This is God’s will, the will of the Father, that we live in the reality of the kingdom of God as the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.

In the Kingdom of the Son of God’s Love, there’s only One Person – the All-inclusive Christ – and one way – the Cross

The general subject of the New Testament is Christ Himself; the New Testament introduces Christ, speaks of Christ, manifests Christ, and leads us to the wonderful person of Christ.

The entire New Testament concerns Christ. From Christ, there are three items being produced or related to Him: the cross, the church, and the kingdom.

Christ accomplished an all-inclusive, all-terminating, work on the cross, the cross produced the church, and the church brought in the kingdom.

Christ came to preach the kingdom of God, and whoever came to Him and followed Him, He told them that they needed to take up their cross and follow Him (Matt. 16:24).

The way for us to live in the kingdom of God today, the church, is through the cross, that is, by taking up our cross and following the Lord so that He may live in us for the church as the kingdom of God.

In the kingdom of the Son of God’s love (Col. 1:12-13) there is only one Person – the all-inclusive Christ – and one way – the cross (Col. 2:9, 14-15).

God in His economy gives us only one way, which is the cross, and only one person, which is Christ.

The one person, Christ, is the center, the focal point of the universe (1:15-17). He is also everything to us.

God gives us only one person – Christ Himself, who is the reality of every positive thing in the universe.

Christ is the reality of God and man, and He is the reality of all the things that God wants to give us.

God doesn’t give us many things – He gives us just one thing, Christ Himself, the unique person in God’s economy.

When Christ was on the earth, many of the disciples appreciated Him but they also appreciated the law and the prophets, and they were amazed at the temple with all its practices.

But God testified from the heavens that Christ, His Beloved, is His delight, and we should focus only on Him.

We should not focus on any matter, thing, or person other than Christ. God has given the all-inclusive Christ to be our salvation.

Christ is the center of the universe, and He upholds and bears all things by the word of His power.

Through Christ, God has created all things, Christ is the center of all things.

In both God’s old creation and new creation, Christ is the center and circumference.

It is easy, however, for us to replace Christ with good things or good practices, and therefore miss Christ.

The Epistles show us how different things can come in to replace Christ.

In Galatians, we see that the law can come in to replace Christ.

In 1 Corinthians we see that many things can come in to replace Christ, including spiritual gifts, outward practices, sin, division, and preferences.

In Colossians, we see that the ordinances of the law, observances, mysticism, and philosophy can come in to replace Christ.

God’s way to deal with all the replacements of Christ is the cross. God gives us one person – Christ – and one way – the cross.

How does God deal with the ordinances of the law?

He wiped out the handwriting in ordinances, which was against us, and He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross (Col. 2:14).

He stripped off the rulers and the authorities, making a display of them openly, triumphing over them in the cross (v. 15).

The way God deals with anything in this universe is the cross; what remains after passing through the cross is acceptable to God.

Even Christ had to pass through the cross; He willingly took the cross, denying Himself and living for God by doing the will of God in all things, obeying God even unto the death of the cross physically.

Now we follow in His footsteps today to take up our own cross and follow the Lord.

God’s unique way is not asceticism or trying to humble ourselves, to abase ourselves, or to treat ourselves severely.

God’s way is the cross, for through the cross God deals with all the negative things in the universe.

God governs everything through the cross; He crosses out everything that is not compatible with Himself.

For us to be pleasing to God, for us to live in the kingdom of the Son of God’s love today in the church life, we need to enjoy the one Person – the all-inclusive Christ – and take the one way – the cross.

Christ is the focal point of the universe and the cross is the center of God’s government.

Lord Jesus, we want to live in the kingdom of the Son of God’s love by taking God’s one way – the cross – and by focusing on God’s unique way – the cross! Hallelujah for Christ and the cross, the unique person and the unique way in God’s eternal economy and in the kingdom of the Son of God’s love! Oh Lord, we come to You to enjoy You today as the all-inclusive Christ! May nothing and no one replace You in our being and in our experience today. We want to enjoy You as the reality of God and man, as the all-inclusive One, and as the reality of all the positive things in the universe! Amen, Lord, we take Your way, even Your unique way, the cross. Thank You for taking up Your cross and for dying on the cross. We want to follow in Your footsteps to take up our own cross and follow You. May the cross operate in us to remove and terminate anything negative and even everything positive that replaces Christ. Oh Lord, we want to experience Christ and the cross in our daily living, enjoying Christ and taking the way of the cross!

Experience Christ and the Cross – the One Person and One Way given to us by God

Thank the Lord for unveiling us to see that God gives us only one person – Christ – and only one way – the cross!

To us in the church life it may be quite familiar that we have the all-inclusive Christ and that we need to take the way of the cross, but we may not experience this in our daily living.

How can we experience Christ and the cross today?

Do we cooperate with the Lord to allow Him to cross out anything that He is not?

Do we take the way of the cross in all the things we do, in the way we speak, in the way we behave, and in the way we decide things?

Is Christ the all-inclusive One to us in the church life?

We should not be introspective but rather, we should come to the Lord’s light again and again and allow the Lord to shine on us to show us where we are and what is our way.

In our daily lives, we need to learn to enjoy all-inclusive Christ.

To God, Christ is everything, and He gives us only Christ, He focuses only on Christ, and Christ is His Beloved, the One in whom He finds His delight (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; Matt. 3:17).

But do we have Christ as our center and circumference, as our life and person, in our daily living?

Do we enjoy Christ as we do our daily chores, as we travel, and as we do this and that in our daily life?

Do we choose to enjoy Christ as the all-inclusive One when we take a rest? What is Christ to us in our experience?

The manifestation and outflow of our enjoyment of Christ is seen in the Lord’s Table meeting and in the prophesying meeting, where we come together not just to enjoy the Lord but also to flow Him out and praise Him for what He is to us.

Sometimes we may come to the meetings and realize that we don’t have that much Christ in us, and even though the saints are praising the Lord and speaking Him forth, there’s not much of Christ that we have enjoyed.

Day by day we need to redeem the time and take the opportunity to enjoy Christ as our life, our person, our food, our drink, and our everything.

We need to labour on Christ by seeking to enjoy Christ in all things.

God gives us one person and one way – Christ and the cross, and we need to enjoy Christ and experience the cross in our daily living so that we may live in the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.

What is the way that we take in doing things? When we’re about to say something to our spouse or have a chat with a workmate, what is the way that we take?

Do we exercise our spirit and contact the Lord so that we may be crossed out and Christ may speak in us and live through us?

We need to realize that we need to take the Lord’s way, the cross, in our daily walk with the Lord, and we need to allow the cross to operate in us to cross out our natural being, our natural man, our self, and our flesh (Matt. 16:24-26; 10:38; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; 14:27).

As we drive on the road, we come to many intersections; every intersection is a cross.

We pass through many intersections, that is, we pass through many crosses, to get to our destination.

We progress spiritually only by passing through the cross; we pass through the cross until we reach our destination, the New Jerusalem.

Only in the New Jerusalem all the negative things will have been terminated and eliminated; until then, we need to pass through the cross day by day in our walk to the Lord.

When we wake up in the morning, we need to open to enjoy the all-inclusive Christ and allow His cross to work in us.

When we go to bed, we need to apply the cross to every problem and every negative thing, everything that is natural and sinful so that we do not go to sleep with anything of the enemy in our being.

May we see a clear vision of Christ and the cross and realize that Christ is the one person in God’s economy and the cross is His unique way in His administration.

And may experience Christ and the cross in our daily living today.

When we exercise our spirit, we enjoy the all-inclusive Christ and the cross is applied to our being.

Lord Jesus, we give ourselves to You today to experience Christ and the cross so that we may live in the reality of the kingdom of God. Amen, Lord, we choose to enjoy You today! We open to You. Grant us the experiences we need today for us to know, enjoy, and experience You as the all-inclusive One. Reveal Yourself to us. Dispense Yourself into us. We don’t want to focus on ordinances, observances, mysticism, religion, or anything positive apart from Christ. You are the reality of all the positive things and we just want to enjoy You! Amen, Lord, may all the negative things in our being and in our experience pass through the cross. We don’t want to remain in anything that is natural, sinful, negative, or worldly; we allow the cross to terminate anything negative in us. We exercise our spirit to enjoy and experience Christ and the cross today. Hallelujah, Christ with the cross is in our spirit, and when we turn to our spirit, we enjoy the all-inclusive Christ and the cross is applied to us!

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, 1957, vol. 2, “What the Kingdom Is to the Believers,” chs. 4-6, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living in the Reality of the Kingdom of God (2024 October ITERO), week 7, Spiritual Warfare to Bring In the Kingdom of God and Living in the Kingdom of the Son of God’s Love.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Jesus Christ, and this One crucified, a portion from, The Crucified Christ, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – To be blended means that we are touched by others and that we are touching others by going through the cross, doing things by the Spirit, and doing everything to dispense Christ for His Body’s sake (Matt. 10:38; 16:24; Gal. 3:2, 5; Eph. 4:12). More via, Living to Him instagram page.
  – The vision of Christ and the church, article via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – The Unsearchable Riches of Christ, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Message 7: The Ministry of Christ in His Ascension (1), video via, LSM youtube channel.
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  – Applying the cross of Christ, a portion from, General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, A – Part 2: Romans through Philemon, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee.
  – Colossians (Program #22) – The Experience of Christ’s Death Versus Asceticism, via, Bible study radio.
  – Christ, the Cross, and the Church, via, Shepherding Words.
  – Life-study of Ephesians, Message 18: The Church Being the Body of Christ, via, LSM youtube channel.
  – An Effective Way to Enjoy Christ’s Riches, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – The all-inclusive Christ, the pdf version of the book by, Witness Lee.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – This life self-glory doth renounce / And ever for God’s kingdom prays; / It trusts in God for every need / And seeks His kingdom first always. / ’Tis strict with self, with others kind, / And always dealing with the Lord; / It ever does the Father’s will / And acts according to His word. (Hymns #944 stanzas 5-6)
  – Deeper, deeper, in the cross of Jesus; / Deeper let me go; / Death and life, they always go together; / Deepen, Lord, the flow. / Oh, deeper yet we pray, / Do work in us each day; / Go deeper, through and through, / Till in Thee we’re wholly new. / Higher, higher, in the life of Jesus; / Lord, we are so low. / By Thy life we all can go much higher— / Higher let us go. / Oh, higher yet we pray— / Transform us every day— / And richer in the flow; / May Thy life be all we know. (Hymns #1240 stanzas 1-2)
  – On the cross ordinances slain, / That He might form just one of twain. / Reconciling us to God, / Thus on the serpent’s head He trod. / He breaks down the middle wall / As upon His name we call; / On the cross ordinances slain, / That He might form just one of twain. / For this cause Your Person, Lord, / We take and stand in one accord; / All the members self forsake, / And of the Body-Christ partake. / We in Christ as one new man / Now come forth to take this land. / For this cause Your Person, Lord, / We take and stand in one accord. (Hymns #1230 stanzas 2-3)