In order to complete the word of God in our experience, we need to have a clear vision of what and who Christ is. It is God’s delight and pleasure to reveal His Son in us (Gal. 1:15-16).
No matter how low we are, how far away from God we are, or even how good we are in our natural man, God’s pleasure is simply to reveal the all-inclusive Christ to us. He wants to shine the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and this brings into us a treasure, God Himself.
The focal point of the Scriptures is not teachings, history, or doctrines, but the living person of Jesus Christ the Son of God. God’s heart is fully occupied with the Lord Jesus, and we need to return to the Lord from any distracting thing, teaching, doctrine, work, etc and take Him as our everything.
This Christ is the corporate “Me” revealed in Acts 22:8. Saul was persecuting the believers in Christ, but they were joined organically by faith to Christ, therefore they were in reality, Christ.
Hallelujah, we as believers are not only called to enjoy Christ but also to be a part of the corporate Christ, Christ’s corporate expression, the Body of Christ! We need to see such a glorious revelation of Christ as the desire of God and as the corporate One today, so that in our experience the word of God would be completed.
It Pleases God to Reveal His Son in Us
Who today knows, cares for, and speaks about the desire of God’s heart? Who cares for God’s pleasure? The Apostle Paul did, and he said, But when it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me (Gal. 1:15-16). What makes God happy is to reveal His Son in man.
Even though Saul had such a negative background, it pleased God to reveal Christ in him. This Christ is the Son of God, the embodiment and expression of God the Father (see John 1:18; 14:9-11; Heb. 1:3) to be our life and life-supply (see John 10:10; 1 John 5:12; Col. 3:4).
Nothing brings more pleasure and happiness to God than the unveiling, the revelation, of the living person of the Son of God into us. This living Person is the focal point of the Bible. He is such a wonderful One! God’s heart is fully occupied with Christ, and Christ is His beloved Son to which we should listen and pay attention to.
Though we as fallen men are so easily distracted both by negative things (sins, mistakes, the world, the flesh, the self, etc) and by positive things (natural goodness, personal spirituality, kindness, working for God without the enjoyment of Christ, etc), we need to return to the Lord and take care of only Christ. Christ is the reality of all the positive things in the universe, and Christ is the only thing that God wants us to pay attention to.
We see this in Paul, the apostle commissioned with completing the word of God (Col. 1:25-26) – he completed the word of God both in his writings and in his experience. To Paul Christ was a living Person, and he cared only for Him and not for religion, tradition, the law, etc.
We need to pray to have a vision of the living person of the Son of God and care for nothing else. If we don’t see Christ in a fresh way, even good things such as our reading the Bible, going to meetings, and the church life can become routine and tradition.
The living person of Christ as the focal point of the Bible and as the centrality and universality of God’s economy needs to be real to us in our daily living. This One is the embodiment of the Triune God and is realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit in our spirit for us to enjoy Him, partake of His riches, and live Him (1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17; Phil. 1:19; Gal. 6:18).
Father of glory, please reveal Your Son in me! May it be pleasing to You today, Father, to reveal Your Beloved Son, the all-inclusive Christ, into me! Unveil me to see You face to face so that as I behold You I also reflect You to be transformed from glory to glory! Save me from being distracted with other things, works, or persons. Father, may Your Christ become my first priority and my only focus. Reveal more of Your Son in me today and make Your Son real to me today!
Seeing a Wonderful Revelation of the Corporate “Me”
Before Saul became Paul, he was a zealous Jew 100% for the law of God and fully involved in persecuting the Christians, the disciples of Jesus.
But one day when he was on his way to arrest more Jews who were following “the Way”, a blinding light shone on him from the heavens, and a voice asked him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” (Acts 22:6-8). Saul asked Him, Who are You, Lord? and the voice responded, “I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you persecute”. What a wonderful revelation of this “Me”!
First of all, people can argue with the truth and with doctrine, but they cannot argue with light. When God’s light shines on us, we are defeated. We need to be willing to allow the God of glory to shine on us and in us so that we may see the revelation of this “Me”, Jesus Christ.
Saul thought he was persecuting the Christians, the disciples of Jesus, those “of the Way” (Acts 22:19; 8:3; 26:10), by consenting to Stephen’s stoning, barging into people’s homes and getting the saints into prison, and breathing out murder against the disciples.
He thought he is persecuting a sect, a bunch of heretics, but here is Jesus from heavens saying, You are persecuting ME! This ME is Christ Himself, a corporate Me, Christ as the Head and the believers on the earth as the Body of Christ!
Today all the genuine believers of Christ on earth are part of the great corporate “Me”, the wonderful corporate Christ, and whoever touches them or persecutes them touches and persecutes Christ Himself. We need to see this unique revelation in the universe, the corporate “Me”, the collective Christ, the Body of Christ.
This revelation of the corporate “Me” must have impressed and affected Saul for his future ministry concerning Christ and the church as the great mystery of God, and it laid a solid foundation for his future ministry (Eph. 5:32).
As we enjoy Christ, have Him revealed in us, allow Him to make His home in our heart, experience Him daily, know Him and the power of His resurrection by being conformed to His death, and allow Him to be formed in us, we are the members of Christ, the corporate “Me” in the universe.
Hallelujah, in this universe there’s such a great mystery, the “Me”, Christ – the embodiment of God – as the Head and the many believers in Christ as the Body of Christ! Hallelujah!
Lord, thank You for making us a part of the corporate “Me”, the Body of Christ. We are one with You through faith, our organic union with God. We are not only the disciples of Jesus, the followers of Christ, the Christians, and the believers in Christ, but we are Christ Himself on earth as the Body of Christ. Remove any veil of religion and tradition and natural understanding that we may see the great corporate “Me” in the universe!
References and Further Reading
- This article is inspired from brother Ron Kangas’ sharing in this message and portions in, Life-study of Galatians (msgs 3-4), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, “The Completing Ministry of Paul“, week 1 entitled, The Vision and the Commission.
- Further reading:
# Life-study of Acts (msgs. 25-26).
# Acts 9:4 and footnote 1 about “Me” (Recovery Version). - Hymns on this topic:
# Oh how sweet it is just to know my Christ! / Knowing Him’s the goal of my whole life. / Gaining Him supplies me, day by day, / He’s rich, He’s excellent in every way.
# Lord, to know Thee as the Body, / Is my desperate need today, / Oh, to see Thee in Thy members, / ’Tis for this I long and pray. / No more just to know Thy headship / In an individual way, / But to see Thee incarnated, / As the Body-Christ, I pray.
# It pleases God to rescue us / Out of this present evil age, / And to reveal His Son in us— / Most peerless One of all!
