May we Live Christ to Magnify Him today by Expressing Him in His Unlimited Greatness

May we believers in Christ be those who live Christ to magnify Him today by expressing Him in His unlimited greatness!

We need to be saved from the failure of not living Christ and from the defeat of not magnifying Christ; may we live a life in Christ’s ascendency, a life that is fully dignified and with the highest human virtues expressing the divine virtues, a life that resembles the life that the Lord Jesus lived on earth.

The apostle Paul lived such a life; he magnified Christ in his body. To the Roman guards and those around him, Christ was small, even insignificant; they thought that Jesus is one of the rebels in Palestine, in the Jewish land.

But by seeing Paul and his living, they saw the magnification of Christ, and many of them believed in the Lord.

For example, when he was in Philippi in prison, Paul and Silas were singing hymns during the night, and even though an earthquake came and opened the prison doors, they remained calm and joyous.

Later when he was in prison in Rome, some of the household of Caesar also believed in the Lord, most likely due to his living Christ to magnify Him.

Paul testified that even in that situation he was in, he was assured that it will turn out to salvation through the petition of the saints (the supply of the Body) and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19).

We may not be in prison today but we may think that the situation we’re in, the marriage and family life we’re in, and the job we are in, all these are a prison to us, and those around us may seem to be the jailers and guards keeping us there.

We may want to “break free” and “get out of there”, but all we need to do is turn to the Lord to contact Him.

When we contact the Lord in the midst of our situations, there’s a bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ waiting for us.

The supply is in our spirit; when we turn to our spirit, contact the Lord, we receive the bountiful supply, and we can not only get through that situation, but even overcome and live Christ to magnify Him.

The Lord doesn’t want to merely supply us a little so that we may survive and not be crushed in our situation; He wants to bountifully supply us with the Spirit of Jesus Christ so that we may live Christ and magnify Him.

Who can express and magnify Christ where we are, in our situation? It is us; Christ lives in us, and we need to live Christ where the Lord put us.

He must be enlarged, made great, and magnified to those around us. May we be those who cooperate with the Lord for this.

May we Live Christ to Magnify Him by Experiencing Him and Expressing Him in His Unlimited Greatness

Though Paul was in prison, being held captive in a Roman prison, he magnified Christ, making Him appear great in the eyes of his captors and guards; regardless of the circumstances, Paul was full of joy and rejoicing in the Lord (see Phil. 1:4, 18, 25; 2:2, 17-18, 28-29; 3:1; 4:1, 4).

When he wrote the book of Philippians, Paul was an elderly person in prison; most likely, the guards were expecting that he would be exhausted by his imprisonment, but instead of this, he was rejoicing.

Instead of being exhausted and tired of being in prison, instead of being discouraged or anxious concerning his imprisonment, Paul was full of joy and rejoicing in the Lord.

We need to be such ones by the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ in our spirit. In whatever situation we’re in, we need to live Christ to magnify Him by experiencing Him and rejoicing in the Lord.

Christ is unlimitedly great and inexhaustible, and we can express Him to magnify Him.

Though our outward circumstances may not seem to be very positive, though we may be limited and many troublesome things are happening around us and to us, we can enjoy the bountiful supply and simply rejoice in the Lord.

This is not mere positive thinking or self-help advice on how to get through and improve yourself; rather, this is our Christian life, a life of living Christ to magnify Him.

May we live in the Divine Trinity, dwelling in Him as our home, making Him our home, and allowing Him to make His home in us. No matter where we are, we can rejoice in the Lord.

No matter what happens, we can call on His name and enjoy His bountiful supply.

There may be a war going on around us, like the war taking place in Ukraine these days, but we can still rejoice in the Lord.

There may be a pandemic raging and many may get infected and hospitalized, and we may lose some of our loved ones, but the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ is still with our spirit.

Our natural patience and endurance are limited, and there’s only so much that we can bear; however, Christ as our patience is without limit.

We have the capacity to be patient, but it will run out at one point, and we become provoked and even angry; though our natural patience is limited, Christ as our patience is inexhaustible and immeasurable.

Our shining forth and expressing Christ in our joy and rejoicing are a declaration of the unlimited greatness of Christ, for we declare to all that Christ is inexhaustible (Eph. 3:8, 18; see Isa. 9:6).

When we see the faces of the dear brothers and sisters in Ukraine these days as they enjoy the Lord, even though war is raging in their country and their life is in constant danger, we see Christ being magnified, and He is made great.

Even in our situation, where we are at home or at work, as we do this and that, we can turn to our spirit and shine the Lord forth.

For our proper marriage life we need submission and love – true submission and true love; our submission and love, however, have limitations and run out, for they are stretched beyond our capacity.

But praise the Lord, Christ’s submission and love are inexhaustible, for He lived a life of submission and love to the Father when He was on the earth, and that love and submission are in the bountiful supply of the Spirit.

May we be those who participate in Christ’s salvation in life so that we may be saved from the failure of not living Christ and from the defeat of not magnifying Christ (Rom. 5:10).

May our daily life be filled with experiences of being saved in Christ’s life so that we may live Christ to magnify Him, being saved from the failure of not living Him in our situations.

Lord Jesus, we want to experience Christ with the topmost enjoyment so that we may live Christ to magnify Him in all our situations! Amen, Lord, may we be those who shine forth and express Christ in our daily living, declaring to all the unlimited greatness of Christ and showing forth how inexhaustible He is! Hallelujah, the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ is with our spirit, and by this bountiful supply, we can magnify Christ in our daily living. Keep us turning to our spirit, dear Lord, so that we may be inwardly supplied to live Christ and magnify Him to all those around us. Save us from the failure of not living Christ! Save us from the defeat of not magnifying Christ in our situations. Be enlarged through us in all our situations and circumstances for others to see You!

Living a Life in Christ’s Ascendency a Life that is Fully Dignified, expressing the Excellent Divine Attributes in the uplifted Human Virtues to Magnify Christ

The apostle Paul was a pattern to us in the matter of living Christ to magnify Him, to make Him great and enlarged, in whatever situation he was in.

After being imprisoned in Judea, he appealed to Caesar, and the Lord had a way to preserve his life in a sovereign way.

When they finally embarked on a journey to Rome, they encountered a great storm on the sea and were lost at sea.

Seventy verses in Acts are dedicated to this long and unfortunate voyage of Paul toward Rome, and what we see here is how Paul lived a life in Christ’s ascendency, a life that was fully dignified, for he lived Christ to magnify Him.

Paul lived a life with the highest standard of human virtues expressing the most excellent divine attributes; he lived a life that resembled the one that the Lord Himself had lived on the earth years before (see 1 Tim. 1:16; Acts 27:21-26; 28:3-6, 8-10).

In Acts 1 the Lord told His disciples that they will be His witnesses, those who testify of the Lord whom they have seen, heard, and enjoyed; here in Acts 27-28, we see a witness of Christ who lived Christ for His magnification.

Paul was in a very contrary environment, which was absolutely against him every step of the way; the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners, but the Lord had a way to preserve their life.

Then when they finally got to the land, Paul was helping to bring wood for the fire, and a viper bit his hand; he simply shook it off and had no problems.

In his life we see a life that was actually the reproduction of Christ; Paul was the Lord’s living witness.

May we not be distracted by times and seasons and may we simply live Christ to magnify Him in all our situations by living in Christ’s ascendency, a life that is fully dignified, a life that expresses the excellent divine attributes in our uplifted human virtues to magnify Christ.

On one hand, we need to know the times we live in and be ready for the Lord’s return; on the other hand, we need to simply live in the Divine Trinity by living Christ for His magnification, and we will be ushered into the Lord’s manifestation when He returns.

May we not be distracted by the times, seasons, and the fulfilment of prophecies; may we live in and with the Divine Trinity to abide in Him and have Him abide in us.

Though our outward circumstances may not be so positive, though our condition may not be that good, we need to simply rejoice in the Lord; our being happy in the Lord shows forth the immeasurable Christ we experience and enjoy.

May we be those who exhibit Christ, express Christ, exalt Christ, and extol Christ in all our circumstances.

Our daily living needs to be an expression of what we speak, and in every situation, we need to be the expression of the Christ whom we announce.

Footnote 1 on verse 9 in Acts 28 in the Recovery Version Bible says,

On the sea in the storm, the Lord had made the apostle not only the owner of his fellow voyagers (Acts 27:24) but also their life-guarantor and comforter (Acts 27:22, 25). Now, on the land in peace, the Lord made him furthermore not only a magical attraction in the eyes of the superstitious people (vv. 3-6) but also a healer and a joy to them (vv. 8-9). All during the apostle’s long and unfortunate imprisonment-voyage, the Lord kept the apostle in His ascendancy and enabled him to live a life far beyond the realm of anxiety. This life was fully dignified, with the highest standard of human virtues expressing the most excellent divine attributes, a life that resembled the one that the Lord Himself had lived on the earth years before. This was Jesus living again on the earth in His divinely enriched humanity! This was the wonderful, excellent, and mysterious God-man, who lived in the Gospels, continuing to live in the Acts through one of His many members! This was a living witness of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and God-exalted Christ! Paul in his voyage lived and magnified Christ (Phil. 1:20-21). It is no wonder that the people honored him and his companions with many honors (v. 10), that is, with the greatest respect and highest regard! An ambassador sent by God should be treated by men with such respect and regard. (Acts 28:9, note 1, RcV Bible)

Amen! The book of Acts ends with an account in detail of one witness of Christ who is our pattern; in common life, in the storms, when things were against him, he magnified Christ.

As we live our daily life and trouble after trouble comes our way, as we experience things that are against us and storms rise up, we need to still enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

May we all learn to live in and with the Divine Trinity in such a way so that we may be those who live Christ to magnify Him in all our circumstances.

Lord Jesus, we want to live a life in Christ’s ascendency, a life that lives Christ for His magnification in all the situations in our daily life. Amen, Lord, may we have a life that is fully dignified, a life with the highest standard of human virtues expressing the most excellent divine attributes. Keep us enjoying the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ so that we may live a life that resembles the one that the Lord Jesus Himself had lived on earth many years ago. Dear Lord Jesus, we want to learn to live in the Divine Trinity today by living Christ for His magnification; live in us today, Lord, and be expressed through us! Hallelujah for the bountiful supply of the Spirit in our spirit! Praise the Lord!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ricky Acosta, and portions from, Life-study of Acts, msgs. 70-72 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living In and With the Divine Trinity (2021 Thanksgiving Day Conference), week 3, entitled, Living in the Divine Trinity (2) – Living in the Divine Trinity by Enjoying Christ as Our Life Supply, by Living Christ for His Magnification, and by the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in Our Spirit.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – In the holiest place, live before His face, / Light of glory thru me will shine; / In the holiest place, live before His face, / Light of glory thru me will shine. (Hymns #770)
  – Oh, what a life! Oh, what a peace! / The Christ who’s all within me lives. / With Him I have been crucified; / This glorious fact to me He gives. / Now it’s no longer I that live, / But Christ the Lord within me lives. (Hymns #499)
  – Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted, / Not I, but Christ be seen, be known and heard; / Not I, but Christ in every look and action, / Not I, but Christ in every thought and word. (Hymns #591)