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The all-inclusive Christ is typified by the good land, a land in which we will not lack anything—Deut. 8:9:
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Christ as the allotted portion of the saints (Col. 1:12) refers to the lot of the inheritance, as illustrated by the allotment of the good land of Canaan given to the children of Israel for their inheritance (Josh. 14:1):
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The New Testament believers' inheritance is not a physical land; it is the all-inclusive Christ; He is the pledge of our inheritance—Eph. 1:14.
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He is the allotted portion of the saints as our divine inheritance for our enjoyment—Acts 26:18b.
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God's intention is to bring all His people into the good land, which typifies Christ as the goal; in the Old Testament God's people journeyed and then arrived at the goal, but in the New Testament we, the believers, having been baptized into Christ, are already in the goal—Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 1:30; Col. 2:6-7 and footnotes.
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The good land today is Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit (v. 6; Gal. 3:14), who dwells in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:16) to be our enjoyment; to walk according to this Spirit (v. 4; Gal. 5:16) is the central and crucial point in the New Testament:
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Colossians 2:6-7 reveals that Christ as the good land is the rich soil in which we have been rooted so that we may grow with the elements that we absorb from the soil—cf. 1 Cor. 3:6, 9; Col. 2:19.
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If we have been rooted in Christ, we shall spontaneously walk in Christ—living, acting, moving, and having our being in Christ.
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The only way to become deeply rooted in Christ is to contact the Lord and spend time with Him in the Word with much prayer; we first grow downward and then bear fruit upward—Eph. 5:26; 6:17-18; Isa. 37:31.
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While we walk in Christ, we will be built up in Christ to live out Christ; this living out of Christ will produce the corporate expression of Christ, the church life—Col. 2:6-7.
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Every morning we need to take adequate time to absorb the Lord; although even ten minutes is good, it is best to spend thirty minutes to enjoy Him at the start of each new day; as we spend time contacting the Lord in the morning and throughout the day in our spirit, we will spontaneously absorb into us the riches of Christ as the soil.
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We must take time to enjoy the Lord as the all-inclusive land so that all the elements of Christ as the rich soil may be absorbed into us for us to be made full in Him in our experience—v. 10a; 4:2:
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If we would absorb the riches of Christ as the soil, we need to have tender, new roots; we should not let ourselves get old but be fresh and renewed every day—2 Cor. 4:16; cf. Deut. 34:7; Luke 11:34-36; Acts 3:19-20; Psa. 16:11.
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We need to forget our situation, our condition, our failures, and our weaknesses and simply take time to absorb the Lord so that we may be built up in Him for the building up of His Body, His corporate expression—Luke 8:13; Matt. 14:22-23; 6:6.
Morning Nourishment
Deut. 8:9 A land in which you will eat bread without scarcity; you will not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and from whose mountains you can mine copper.Col. 1:12 Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light.
[Christ as the allotted portion of the saints] refers to the lot of the inheritance, as illustrated by the allotment of the good land of Canaan given to the children of Israel for their inheritance (Josh. 14:1). The New Testament believers' inheritance, their allotted portion, is not a physical land; it is the all-inclusive Christ. He is the allotted portion of the saints as their divine inheritance for their enjoyment. (Col. 1:12, footnote 2)
In the eternal economy of God, the Father has allotted the Son, the all-inclusive Christ typified by the good land, to us as our eternal portion and has transferred us into Him that we may partake of Him (Col. 1:12-13; 1 Cor. 1:30, 9). We need to stand on the proper ground of the oneness of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:3-6) and keep the proper faith as Paul did (2 Tim. 4:7). We also need to live and walk in Christ (Col. 2:6), conducting ourselves according to God to be His expression (see footnote 1, par. 2, on 2 Chron. 16:12). Then we will enjoy Christ, and the border of our enjoyment of Christ as the good land will be enlarged (1 Chron. 4:10). (2 Chron. 33:9, footnote 1)
Today's Reading
If we have been rooted in Christ, we shall spontaneously walk in Christ. For example, if a sister becomes deeply rooted in Christ, eventually the way she does her shopping will be affected. But if a sister undergoes a sudden change in her way of shopping, I would not have much confidence in that change. It may indicate a mushrooming type of growth, not the growth which comes from being deeply rooted in Christ and walking in Him. Remember, being rooted in Christ is the condition for walking in Him.If the saints contact the Lord and spend time in the Word with much prayer, they will become deeply rooted in Christ. If a sister does this for a period of time, her shopping will be done in Christ, not in something other than Christ. I do not have any confidence in a change of behavior which results from making a decision after hearing a message. My confidence is in what issues from becoming deeply rooted in Christ through contacting the Lord and spending time in the Word with much prayer. When we are rooted in Christ, there is no need for us to make up our minds about certain things, for spontaneously we shall walk in Him. The only way to become deeply rooted in Christ as the soil is to contact Him as the soil and to daily absorb the water in the Word. The more we contact the soil and absorb the water, the more we shall grow. First we grow downward, then upward. After we have grown downward for a period of time, we shall automatically cease to walk in things other than Christ. Instead, because we have been deeply rooted in Christ, we shall live, walk, act, and have our being in Christ.
As we walk in Christ, we are built up in Him. We have already been rooted in our culture and built up in it. Even children are deeply rooted in their culture. But as they walk in their culture, something of this culture is built up within them. Everyone is built up in certain things. On the one hand, we are rooted in our culture; on the other hand, we are built up in certain aspects of our culture.
If we take time to enjoy the Lord, we shall take adequate time to absorb Him. We have heard a number of messages concerning who the Lord is, what He is, and where He is. We have also learned how to exercise our spirit to contact Him. But now we must take sufficient time to absorb Him. We should not be lazy or indolent in this matter. From my experience I can testify strongly that when we take time to enjoy the Lord, all the elements of the rich soil are absorbed into us. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 405-406, 467)
Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 46-47