As believers in Christ, we need to be those experiencing God’s central work and taking Christ as our person in and for the church life. God’s unique work, His central work, is nothing else but to work Himself into us and become our very inward constitution so that we may live the church life, having the corporate living of the perfected God-men.
We all need to be dealt with and perfected so that our very being would be a channel of supply to the saints in the church life, and it should matter to the saints and to the Lord whether we are alive or with the Lord.
Paul said that it was better for him to be with the Lord, but for the progress of the faith of the saints he made the choice of being with the saints, so that they would enjoy Christ, be perfected, and be conformed to the image of Christ.
Some saints are channels of supply, and simply being with them supplied you with life and causes you to go on with the Lord.
We need to ask ourselves, though, as we grow and age humanly, What is it that grows in us – is it Christ or is it our self, our disposition, our peculiarity, and our personality?
Instead of us experiencing the central work of God, something else may take place – if we are not broken by the Lord, if we are not intrinsically gained by Him, if we don’t learn to take Christ as our person, and if we don’t cooperate with the central work of God, eventually our person nullifies the work we may do for the Lord.
We need to realise that something is growing and developing in us all the time; our being is not static, but we have either Christ or something else growing in us.
We can have Christ making His home in our heart, we can have Him formed in us, we can actually learn little by little what it means to live Him and take Him as our person, and as this happens, our natural man is diminishing, our self and disposition are being diminished, and Christ is being formed in us.
But if our church life and Christian life is something mainly on the exterior, as a form, and we don’t have an ever-deepening life relationship with the Lord, then nothing will check the development of our peculiarity, our self, and our disposition. God really cares more for what we are than for what we do.
His work is not for us mainly to do many things for Him but to gain our person. God’s central work is to work Himself and build Himself into us to become our very inward constitution, and when this happens, He will live and work in us and through us.
However, if we don’t cooperate with God’s central work, we may build something for God through our work, and yet tear it down by what we are in our person.
May we be those who are learning to take Christ as our person and live Him for the church life, and may we daily experience God’s central work and take Christ as our person in and for the church life.
God’s Central Work is to Work Himself in Christ into His People to be One with them
In and for the church life, we all need to experience the central work of God. It is easy to read the Bible and be attracted to or distracted by the many things that God speaks and He does; however, if we read the Bible under God’s light, we will realize that He has an economy, a plan.
God’s economy is centered on one thing – His unique work, which is to work Himself in Christ into His chosen people, making Himself one with them.
This is the unique work He is doing. He wanted to do this with Adam in the garden of Eden – He offered Adam the tree of life, which is God Himself as life.
But man failed, so God Himself became a man, and He went through a process so that He may become a life-giving Spirit to enter into man.
God became a man, lived a perfect human life on earth, passed through death, entered into resurrection and ascension, and became a consummated life-giving Spirit ready to come into our spirit.
When someone hears the gospel and receives the Lord Jesus, Christ as the Spirit enters into his spirit, and He mingles Himself with him.
When we received the Lord Jesus at the time of our regeneration, God wrought Himself into us to be mingle with our spirit; this was the beginning of the process of God being mingled with man.
God’s central work – His unique work in the universe and throughout all the ages and generations – is for Him to work Himself into His chosen people, making Himself one with them.
The Father reveals Christ into us, Christ comes into us and makes us one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17), Christ is making His home in our heart (Eph. 3:17), and Christ is being formed in us (Gal. 4:19).
Should we not therefore, in a simple way, cooperate with the central work of God by turning our heart to Him and opening our being to pray and cooperate with Him?
God desires not mainly to do things for us but to work Himself into our being. However, in our spiritual seeking many times we may be more concerned with what God can do for us or with our own needs and situations, caring for our intentions rather than caring for God’s central work (Phil. 2:21).
Often our spiritual seeking goes in the opposite direction to God’s central work; therefore, we need to see a clear vision of God’s intention, His central work, and pray to cooperate with the Lord in our daily living so that He may carry it out.
We need to realize that what is happening in our being affects the church; if we daily and personally cooperate with the central work of God, then what is in our being will overflow in the church. If Christ is being formed in us, this will build up the church.
Lord Jesus, we want to cooperate with Your central work of working Yourself into us and becoming one with us. Save us from having a spiritual seeking that differs from the central work of God. May we realize that what happens in our being affects the church, and may we cooperate with You through prayer. Amen, Lord, work Yourself into us for the church! Strengthen us with power into our inner man so that You may make Your home in our heart a little more today! May Christ be formed in us, and may He grow in us more and more each day!
God’s Purpose is to Work Himself into us and Make Himself our Inward Constitution
There is so much emphasis today on doing things for God or doing things in the name of God, and all of this may be based on verses in the Bible.
But who pays attention to the central work of God, the unique work He wants to carry out today? God’s intention is not primarily that we go preach the gospel, raise up churches, manage the church, and edify the saints; His main purpose is to work Himself into us so that He becomes our very constitution, our inward elements.
This may not be as exciting as doing an outward work for God, but it is vitally necessary for our Christian life and work. God’s intention is to make Himself us; He wants to work Himself and build Himself into our being until He becomes our very inward constitution.
He doesn’t want to merely correct our mistakes or improve our behavior – God’s intention is to work Himself into us and fill us up, so that day by day He may live in us and be expressed through us.
Both in creating man and in redeeming man God has a specific purpose, which is the center of the universe; if we don’t see this purpose and we don’t live in God’s purpose, our life is empty and meaningless.
Even as believers in Christ, if we don’t see God’s central work and purpose, and if we don’t live according to His purpose, we leave an empty and meaningless life.
God’s purpose from Genesis to Revelation is to work Himself into man so that God would be in man and man would be in God, and God and man – man and God – would become a corporate entity, which is the church in this age and the New Jerusalem for eternity.
We are not destined to “go to heaven” – we are destined to have God wrought into our being and to be built into God so that we become fully one with God. And for this, God wants to work Himself into us, making Himself our inward elements (Eph. 3:11, 16-19).
God wants to strengthen us into our inner man through His Spirit so that Christ may make His home in our heart through faith. For the one new man He wants us to put on the inward parts of Christ (Col. 3:12).
The highest purpose of God, His ultimate purpose, is to work Himself into man; He chose us, predestinated us, redeemed us, and regenerated us so that He would work Himself into every part of our being.
God works Himself into us by first regenerating our spirit, then by renewing and transforming our soul, and finally by transfiguring our body with His life. Eventually, He will gain the New Jerusalem, the holy city, a mingling of God with man, the fulfillment of His highest purpose.
May we give ourselves to the Lord for His purpose and live a life in this purpose on earth today!
Lord Jesus, we give ourselves to You for Your purpose: work Yourself into us and make Yourself our inward elements. We put on the inward parts of Christ, and we want to be inwardly reconstituted with You for the fulfillment of Your purpose. We open to You, Lord, and we give You access to our inward being. Carry out Your highest purpose in us. May we daily cooperate with Your inward operation so that You may gain in us what You are after – the mingling of God with man for the building up of the church as the one new man!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message given by Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, Messages Given during the Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry, vol. 1, pp. 122, 27, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Taking Christ as our Person and Living Him in and for the Church Life (2018 spring ITERO), week 1, Experiencing the Central Work of God and taking Christ as our Person in and for the Church Life.
- Hymns on this topic:
# It is God’s intent and pleasure / That His Christ be formed in me; / Not the outward forms to follow, / But Christ growing inwardly. (Hymns #538)
# Grant me by the riches of Your glory to be strengthened / With power through Your Spirit into my inner man, / That Christ may make His home in all of my heart through faith. / Lord, Your purpose and Your heart’s desire / Is to build Your church, Your temple. / For this purpose You created man / As a vessel to contain You. (Song on, God’s Central Work and Purpose)
# Into our innermost / Intrinsic constitution, / Come, Lord, Yourself dispense / By constant, fresh infusion; / Transform us, Lord, and work Yourself, / As God’s embodiment, / Into our heart, and life each part, / With Your reality. (Song on, Recall how David swore)
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