«　WEEK 2　DAY 1　»

　　Eph. 1:10 Unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.

　　3:9 …To enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things.

　　God’s eternal economy is to gain a group of people that He may dispense Himself into them to be their life and everything so that they may be joined to Him as one, be filled and occupied with Him, and be one entity with Him on the earth to be the Body of Christ, the church, for His expression. This expression begins in the church today, proceeds to the millennial kingdom in the next age, and continues in the New Jerusalem in eternity. For this, God created the universe. In this universe there is the earth, …and there are various living creatures upon the earth. All these things were created for the existence of the man whom God created. Hence, man is the center of God’s created universe. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 3, p. 146)

　　The Christian life is the life in which the Christians live Christ and magnify Him corporately in their locality as a local church to be a local expression of Christ as a part of the universal Body of Christ…The Christian life should not be just an individual Christian life.

　　The Christian life is not just to live an ethical life with the human virtues, as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, for the glory of God (Matt. 5:13-16), but to live a life that is Christ Himself with His divine attributes expressed in His human virtues to be a part of His organic Body for the universal consummation of the eternal economy of God (Eph. 3:8-11).

　　In the church life we live a life that is Christ Himself with His divine attributes expressed in His human virtues. His attributes are divine, but His virtues are human. The human virtues are to manifest the divine attributes, and the divine attributes are to be expressed in the human virtues. This is for us to be a part of His organic Body. We live a life that is Christ Himself, not just for the individual Christian life but for the Body life. We live as parts of His organic Body for the universal consummation of the eternal economy of God.

　　We have seen that Psalm 1 is not concerning God’s economy. It concerns only the personal benefit of the individual godly man. But Psalm 2 is altogether concerning God’s economy. This psalm says that God made Christ His Anointed (v. 2). God set up Christ as His King (v. 6) to inherit all the nations and to possess the earth to gain a great kingdom on the earth for God’s economy (vv. 8-11). We have to believe in such a Christ, taking Him as our refuge. We also have to love Him, to kiss Him (v. 12). This concerns God’s economy. All that most Christians think about is their personal benefit. To them salvation is only a matter of either going to heaven or perishing in the lake of fire. There is no consideration about God’s economy. But Psalm 2 reveals that Christ is altogether for God’s economy. We have to believe in Him, to take refuge in Him, and we have to love Him, to kiss Him.

　　We also have to admit that much of our consideration is for our personal benefit. We may consider whether we will receive a reward from Christ when He returns or will be punished by Him. We do not consider God’s economy that much. The entire book of Psalms, from the first point to the last point, reveals that Christ is altogether for God’s economy. He died for us in order to accomplish God’s economy. He saves us in order to accomplish God’s economy. He also lives in us that we may live in Him for God’s economy. This is why we are not only the church, the Body of Christ, but also the kingdom of Christ, of God. The kingdom of God is the accomplishment of God’s economy. We all have to realize that the Christian life is a life that is for God’s economy. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, “The Christian Life,” pp. 348, 354-355)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1987, vol. 3, pp. 143-149