«　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