Scripture Reading: Col. 2:16-18a; John 14:6a, 17; 1 John 5:6; John 16:13

DAY 1 & DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 4　DAY 1　»

　　Col. 2:16-17 Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath, which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ.

　　[Colossians 2:16-17 indicates] that the reality of all that we need is Christ. We need food, drink, and the feasts. A new moon indicates a new start, and the Sabbath is for rest. However, all these are simply a shadow; they are not the real things. Christ Himself is the reality of all these things.

　　When a person stands in the light, he casts a shadow, but the shadow is not the real person. The real person is the body of that shadow. All things in the entire universe are only a shadow; Christ Himself is the reality. The clothes that we wear are not the real clothes; they are shadows. Christ is our real clothing. If we do not have Christ to clothe us, we are still naked before God. The light we see is not the real light.... Even if we have the best light, without Christ we are still in darkness. The sun is not the real sun; it is a type. The reality of the sun is Christ, the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2). Even the house in which we dwell is not our real dwelling place. Our real dwelling place is Christ. Everything we need is a shadow; the reality of all things is Christ. To be sure, Christ is not the reality of the negative things in the universe, such as sin, the world, self, Satan, and the evil spirits. Rather, all the positive things in the universe are shadows of Christ. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, “A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, Part 2—Romans through Philemon,” pp. 331-332)

　　Colossians shows us that God has made Christ to be everything. He is God Himself; and He is man. He is the Creator, and He is a creature. He accomplished redemption, and He is the Firstborn from the dead. He is the Head of the church, and He is even the Body. Christ is everything! In order to see this, we need Colossians. If we remove this book from the Bible, no one could understand Christ in such a profound way.... If some would try to discover all the items mentioned in the Scriptures about Christ, they may not be able to finish the list in their lifetime. If we do not have Christ, we have nothing. Although we do have the shadows, they are vanity, because it is easy for shadows to depart. Even if we had a palace, in only one night it could burn up in a fire or be brought down by an earthquake. Everything soon fades away because it is all a shadow. Only Christ is the reality. Only He exists forever without change.

　　I can say from my heart that I love nothing else. Only Him do I love. All night and all day I love Him. Nothing is so dear to me as He is. During the past half century from my teenage years to the present time, I have noticed all the changes in international and national affairs, in families, and in society. Everything is a shadow that passes away quickly. From this I have learned that nothing on earth is lovable or trustworthy. Only One is so dear to me, and He is so real to me. In nothing or no one else can I put my trust; I can trust only Him. He is the reality, and He is our portion.

　　I hope that we all would learn to realize Him and love Him. Simply love Him, and do not seek anything else. Everything else is merely a shadow. Of course, while we are still on this earth, we need many things. However, we must use these things in the way of realizing Christ as our reality. The only portion that God gives to us is this wonderful Christ. We must learn to know Him, to live Him, to take Him, to experience Him, and to realize Him. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, “A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, Part 2—Romans through Philemon,” pp. 332-333)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, “A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, Part 2—Romans through Philemon,” ch. 19

«　WEEK 4　DAY 2　»

　　Matt. 11:28-29 Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you...and you will find rest for your souls.

　　1 Cor. 10:3 And all ate the same spiritual food.

　　Christ is not only our life and everything; He is also the reality of every positive thing in the universe. All the physical things that we see, taste, and touch are not real. They are merely figures and shadows, the reality of which is Christ Himself. The food that we eat every day is not real. If we do not have Christ, we are surely hungry and without food.... Christ is the real food for our spirit, our soul, and our body. The Scriptures reveal that man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God and also that Christ Himself is the Word of God (Matt. 4:4; John 1:1)....According to the same principle, we know that Christ is our real life. The physical life that we received from our parents is not the real life. If we do not have Christ, we do not have life; we are just dead people. This is clearly stated in 1 John 5:12, which says, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” In His eternal plan God has made Christ to be our real food, our real life, and the reality of all positive things in the universe. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The Mystery of God and the Mystery of Christ,” pp. 157-158)

　　The fact that Christ is everything cannot simply be a doctrine to us; it must be realized in our experience....We need the realization that Christ is our real mind (1 Cor. 2:16).... We may think that we have wisdom, but we have to realize that our wisdom is nothing. Christ is the real wisdom (1:30).... We may have some knowledge, but Christ is the only real knowledge (Col. 2:3)....We may have love, but we have to realize that Christ is the real love (Rom. 8:39; 2 Cor. 5:14; Eph. 3:19; 1 Tim. 1:14)....We may think that we have patience, but real patience is Christ Himself (cf. Gal. 5:22)....There is a God, but this God is in Christ....There is man, but this man is in Christ (John 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:47)....There is a Son, and this Son is Christ....There is life, but only Christ is the real life (John 14:6)....There is light, and this light is Christ Himself (8:12). Every morning when we put on our clothes, do we have the sense that Christ is our real covering and our real clothing (Rom. 13:14; Gal. 3:27)? When we are preparing to lie down on our bed, do we have the realization that Christ is our true rest, our real bed (Matt. 11:28)? When we are on our way home, do we have the feeling that the Lord is our home, our dwelling place (cf. Psa. 90:1; John 15:4)? When we are walking upstairs, do we realize that Christ is our real stairs and that apart from Him we can neither go up nor down (cf. 1:51)? When we are going out of a door, do we tell the Lord, “Lord, You are my door, my entrance and my exit” (10:9)? Do we experience Christ as the reality of all these items? Can we tell the Lord, “Lord, You are my sun, my moon, and my way” (Mal. 4:2; Col. 2:16-17; John 14:6)? Our goal is not merely to understand the Bible according to the printed black and white letters. Rather, we are coming to the living Word of God to gain the deep sense that Christ is everything and to be brought into this experience. This is what God planned in eternity past, and this is what God is doing today. Although very few of the Lord’s children realize this, God’s intention is that Christ would be everything to us. Since this is God’s intention, we must learn the practical way to experience, contact, and apply Christ. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The Mystery of God and the Mystery of Christ,” pp. 158-159)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The Mystery of God and the Mystery of Christ,” chs. 2, 6; CWWL, 1965, vol. 1, “The Experience of Christ in Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians,” ch. 1

«　WEEK 4　DAY 3　»

　　John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

　　8:12 ...Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

　　In the Gospel of John, there are six major items of the enjoyment of Christ in the spirit. These include life (1:4; 10:10), which is the first and most basic matter; the food supply (6:35); the living water for drinking (4:14; 7:37); the breath of life (20:22); the light of life (8:12); and the dwelling place (15:4-5)....In order for life to exist, food, water, air, and light are needed. These four items are for the maintenance of life. Without sunlight in the universe, all the living things would die.... Similarly, man cannot live without air for a long period of time, perhaps less than three or four minutes. If we do not breathe, we will die within a short period of time. We also must eat and drink in order to sustain our life. (CWWL, 1966, vol. 1, “Christ Our Portion,” p. 93)

　　Many Christians may have the knowledge, the doctrine, and the teaching that Christ is their life, their spiritual food, their living water, their fresh air, their light, and their abode. However, many do not know the proper way, the practical way, to enjoy Christ as their food to eat, their living water to drink, their fresh air to breathe, their light to walk in, and their abode, or dwelling place, in which to abide. The practical way to enjoy Christ as all these items is in our mingled spirit, which is our human spirit mingled with the divine Spirit (Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17).... After the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption through His work on the cross and passed through death into resurrection, He became the Spirit, the life-giving Spirit (John 20:22; 1 Cor. 15:45b). As the Spirit, the Lord Himself dwells in our spirit (2 Cor. 3:17; 2 Tim. 4:22).

　　In order to maintain life, the first item is light....We must realize that whenever we are not in spirit, we are in darkness. Regardless of how much knowledge we have or how much we read the Scriptures, as long as we are out of the spirit, we are in darkness. The place of light is in our human spirit (Prov. 20:27), regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. In our soul is darkness, and in our flesh, our body, is sin (Rom. 7:17-18). Outside of the spirit, we are either in darkness or in sin. If we are in our soul trying to seek the guidance of the Lord, regardless of how much energy or effort we exercise, we will still be in darkness. On the other hand, if we turn to the spirit and remain there, immediately we will sense the light, and everything will be clear and transparent.... In the morning we can be so clear, and later in the day we can be in darkness. The reason for this is that perhaps in the morning while we were praying, we prayed ourselves into the spirit. But after the prayer we came out of the spirit. If we simply turn back to the spirit again, the sky will be clear, and everything will be transparent. However, if we turn to the mind to analyze or consider, we will again be in darkness....Whenever we have a problem, the best way to handle it is to turn back to the spirit. If we turn to the spirit, everything will be so clear. To be in the light is easy. Our problem is that we do not practice to be in the light by turning to our spirit. Most of the time when we have problems, we exercise the mind to solve them, or we go to other people to help us solve them....The best way is to simply turn quietly to the spirit. This is so easy that even a new believer can practice it.... Christ, the living Lord, is so real; He is the dynamic center of the Christian life because He is the life-giving Spirit. Whenever we turn back to our spirit, we meet Him. (CWWL, 1966, vol. 1, “Christ Our Portion,” pp. 94-96)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990,” ch. 18; CWWL, 1966, vol. 1, “Christ Our Portion,” ch. 3; Life-study of Colossians, msg. 55

«　WEEK 4　DAY 4　»

　　John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life;.. .the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

　　Eph. 6:17-18 And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.

　　There are six major categories of types in the Old Testament. The first category is human beings; the second, animals; the third, plants; the fourth, minerals; the fifth, offerings; and the sixth, foods. All these six major categories contain types of Christ.

　　[In] the category of animals,...Christ is a lamb, an ox, a lion, an eagle, a dove, and a turtledove. As a lamb, He became an offering to deal with our sins for our redemption. As an ox, He was not only made an offering but also became lowly to bear our burdens as a slave of God for us. As a lion, He is the victorious One overcoming Satan on our behalf. As an eagle, He is the transcendent and heavenly One who carries us in order that we may rise above everything. As a dove, He is beautiful and guileless, and as a turtledove, He is lowly and poor. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 1, “The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church,” pp. 146-147)

　　God has never promised us a smooth environment that we may sail smoothly from the earth to heaven and from this age all the way into the kingdom age. Human beings will always have problems. However, the difference between Christians and unbelievers is that we Christians can still rejoice in our afflictions and not be anxious. Actually, it is not that we can rejoice; rather, it is the Spirit in us who rejoices. To have a life that is anxious for nothing but always rejoicing, we need to experience Christ and know the Spirit.

　　We thank the Lord that He has given us the Bible, which is very precious. Its essence and sphere are Christ, and this Christ of whom it speaks eventually became the Spirit.... Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit.” This means that the Spirit is in us and speaks together with us. Revelation 2:7 says, “The Spirit says to the churches,” and 22:17 says, “The Spirit and the bride say.” The Spirit is the speaking Spirit. Therefore, the Lord Jesus said, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). This indicates that the Lord’s words, the Lord’s Spirit, and the Lord Himself are one and can never be separated....We should daily exercise our spirit to pray-read the words of the Lord and take in the rich supply from Him, because His words are spirit and are life....We should not read the Bible with our mind. Whenever we come to the Lord’s word, we should open up our entire being and exercise our spirit to draw from the riches of the Spirit in the Bible. If we pray-read the word of God in this way, every word of the Bible becomes spirit and life to us....The speaking Spirit who dwells in us will lead us through every circumstance to encounter every person, event, and matter and deal with every problem.

　　Today this speaking Spirit is Christ. To know Christ, we need to earnestly study the six major categories of types in the Old Testament—human beings, animals, plants, minerals, offerings, and foods. These types are very rich....We have already received all these riches in reality. The elements of the reality of all the types are in the Spirit, and the Spirit transfuses and dispenses all these riches into us through the Lord’s words. Therefore, day by day we need to eat the Lord’s words and receive the Spirit’s dispensing. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 1, “The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church,” pp. 159-160)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 1, “The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church,” ch. 4; The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 48-49; Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 30

«　WEEK 4　DAY 5　»

　　Col. 2:19 And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.

　　1:4 Because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have unto all the saints.

　　In Colossians 2:19 Paul speaks not of Christ, but of holding the Head. The reason for the change in terminology from Christ [in verse 17] to the Head is that our enjoyment of the Lord causes us to become conscious of the Body. If we are those who enjoy Christ continually, we shall not continue to be individualistic....The more we enjoy Christ, the more we become Body-conscious.... It is not normal to enjoy the Lord during the day and neglect the meetings of the church, which is His Body. Even if your environment does not allow you to attend all the meetings, inwardly you should have the sense that your whole inner being is with the saints in the church meeting. This consciousness of the Body comes from the enjoyment of Christ. (Life-study of Colossians, p. 491)

　　The more we enjoy Christ, the more intense is our desire for the Body. However, if we fail to contact the Lord for a period of time, we shall automatically neglect the church life or lose interest in the meetings....This shortage of the enjoyment of Christ opens the door for the enemy, Satan, to come in to make us critical of other members of the Body. But if we begin again to enjoy the Lord, the door will gradually close. Eventually, if we are constant in our enjoyment of Christ, the door will be completely shut. Then, instead of criticizing the church, we shall praise the Lord for the church life, and we shall testify how much we love it. What brings about such a change is not admonition or correction, but the recovery of the enjoyment of Christ.

　　The dear, precious One whom we enjoy as our food, drink, and breath is the Head of the Body. Because Paul had a thorough realization of this, he could leap from Christ as the reality of all positive things for our enjoyment to the matter of Christ as the Head. Since the Christ we enjoy as our everything is the Head of the Body, the more we enjoy Him, the more we become Body-conscious. This indicates that the enjoyment of Christ is not an individualistic matter. It is a Body matter. We need to enjoy Christ as members of the Body in a corporate way.

　　In Colossians 2:19 Paul speaks of “all the Body.” The enjoyment of Christ keeps us one as members of the Body. The more we enjoy Christ, the more we love the other members of the Body. The enjoyment of Christ causes us to love everyone in the church life. Even those whom we find it difficult to love become dear and precious to us. However, if we do not keep on enjoying Christ, we shall despise certain ones in the church. Actually, the church and the saints remain the same; it is our attitude that changes. But if the supply of Christ is ministered to us and we begin to enjoy Him again, all the members of the Body will once again become lovable to us. We shall have the pleasant realization that, as members of the Body, we love all the other members.

　　Because Christ’s headship is in resurrection, the enjoyment of Christ spontaneously brings us into resurrection and saves us from our natural being. We all are natural. If we are not brought into resurrection through the enjoyment of Christ, we shall remain in our natural person. Praise the Lord that the enjoyment of Christ brings us into resurrection! The more we enjoy Him, the less natural we are. Once again, this is not a mere doctrine, but a fact of Christian experience. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 491-493)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 15, 24-25, 35, 45, 56-57

«　WEEK 4　DAY 6　»

　　Col. 3:1-2 If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things which are above, not on the things which are on the earth.

　　2:7 Having been rooted and being built up in Him, and being established in the faith even as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

　　The enjoyment of Christ also brings us into the ascension. The more we enjoy Him, the more we are in the heavenlies experientially. This means that through the enjoyment of Christ, we become heavenly. Not only are we no longer natural, but we are no longer earthly. The enjoyment of Christ causes us to be both in resurrection and in ascension. The more we enjoy Christ, the more we are in the heavens. Therefore, to hold Christ as the Head is to be in the heavens in our experience. It is also true to say that to be in the heavens is to hold the Head. Experientially, holding the Head and being in the heavens are one and the same.

　　If in our experience we temporarily abandon Christ and do not continue holding Him as the Head, we shall sense that we are earthly. For example, suppose a sister does not hold Christ as the Head in the matter of shopping. Then at least temporarily, during the time she is shopping, she has given up the Head. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 493-494)

　　When a husband and wife are exchanging words, they certainly are not in the heavenlies in their experience. To say the least, they are earthly, for when they are arguing, they are not holding Christ as the Head. Whenever we are earthly, we are not holding the Head. But if in our married life we consistently enjoy Christ, we shall hold Him as the Head and be in the heavens in our experience. Then we shall be a heavenly people. Nothing will be able to pull us down from the heavens to the earth. Unfortunately, in our experience we quickly make this descent. Even a single word or unpleasant look can cause us to fall from the heavens to the earth. How quickly in our daily living we may cease from holding the Head!

　　According to Colossians 3:1-4, our living should be in the heavens, where God’s throne is. On the one hand, Christ as our Head is in our spirit; on the other hand, He is in the heavens, not on earth. Only when we are in the heavens do we hold Him as the Head. To enjoy Christ is to hold the Head, and to hold the Head is to be in the heavens. How in our experience can we be in the heavens? We can be experientially in the heavens only by enjoying Christ, the Head, as the life-giving Spirit in our spirit.... In the heavens, Christ is the Head, but in our spirit, He is the Spirit. Therefore, to hold Christ as the Head is not only to enjoy Him and to be in the heavens, but it is also to be in our spirit. If we would hold the Head, we must be in spirit.

　　As we enjoy Christ and hold Him as the Head, we absorb His riches. According to 2:19, something proceeds out from the Head which causes the Body to grow with the growth of God. When we enjoy Christ in the heavens and in our spirit, we hold the Head and absorb His riches. Then out from the Head something will proceed to produce the growth of God in us. This means that more of the element of God is added into our being and thereby into the Body. This causes the Body to grow with the growth, the increase, of God.

　　As we hold the Head, we absorb the riches of the extensive, all-inclusive Christ. These riches are the elements of God, the very elements that proceed out from the Head and become in us the increase of God by which the Body grows. Eventually, the Body will be the one new man in which Christ is all and in all. Because Christ is the unique constituent of the new man, He is every member of the new man and in every member. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 494-496)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 55-56