The Experience and Enjoyment of Christ in the Local Churches
The Experience and Enjoyment of Christ in the Local Churches |
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Enjoying Christ in the Local Church1. Knowing Him in the Way of Life and Enjoyment Witness Lee speaks of his experience of knowing and enjoying Christ in the local church in a simple and living way: One day the Lord brought me to the local church. In a very short time I came to know the Lord Jesus, not in a doctrinal way, but in a living way, in the way of life, taste, and enjoyment. Although I have been in this way for more than forty years, I cannot exhaust the enjoyment of the Christ revealed to me in the local churches. Nevertheless, I am still concerned that some of the dear ones may remain wise and intelligent in a religious way. If so, they will have no real knowledge of Christ and no genuine enjoyment of Him. We need to follow the principle that the revelation of the kingdom is given to babes. (Witness Lee, Kingdom, 218) 2. Enjoying Christ as the Crumbs under the Table One of the best ways to enjoy Christ is to take Him in as our nourishment. Christ is so available to us—The Bible tells us that He is as small as the crumbs for us to eat. (Matt. 15:1-27) Here, Witness Lee compares futile outward correction and improvement, signified by the ritual of hand washing, to the simple eating of Christ as the crumbs, which brings about a metabolic change of our inward being: We should eat the crumbs of Christ, but we should not accept any leaven. Do not wash your hands outwardly; that means nothing. The washing of hands represents outward correction, improvement, and adjustment. To change, improve, and correct our behavior is signified by the washing of hands. The Lord Jesus is not concerned about the outward change. He is concerned about your inward being. What is within you? What is in your heart? That is what really matters. Whatever we perform outwardly will never change us. But we have the Lord Jesus who is good for our eating. He can come into us. Although we are not qualified to eat the children’s bread, we are fully qualified to eat the dog’s crumbs. If the dogs eat the crumbs, they will be transformed into children. However, don’t eat any leaven. While you are eating the crumbs, there is the danger you may take in the leaven. We should separate these two things. We should take the bread, but reject the leaven. We look to the Lord that in the local churches there may be many crumbs of Christ….May there be the Spirit, the life, the reality, and the sincerity. These are the crumbs for us to enjoy. This is for the kingdom life. While we are following the Lord Jesus in the wilderness during the time of His rejection, we must take care of our eating. (Witness Lee, Kingdom, 248-249) The enjoyment of Christ—and not behavioral improvement—must be primary in our experience in the local church. And, as Witness Lee indicates, we may best enjoy Christ by receiving Him as our spiritual nourishment. Even our smallest experiences of Christ become a great supply to us in the local churches. | ||||