«　WEEK 5　DAY 6　»

　　Deut. 12:5-7 But to the place which Jehovah your God will choose…to put His name, to His habitation,… shall you go. And there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices and your tithes and the heave offering of your hand and your vows and your freewill offerings and the firstborn of your herd…; and there you shall eat before Jehovah your God, and you and your households shall rejoice…

　　To see that God wants us to enjoy Him and that He does not want us to do anything for Him is to see that the Christian life is a matter of enjoyment. Our salvation is for us to enjoy God, and our spiritual growth depends on our enjoyment of God. Even our service and labor depend on our enjoyment of God. God has no intention for us to do something for Him; He only wants us to enjoy Him. Moreover, He is not outside of us. He has entered into us to be our enjoyment as our food and drink.

　　If we realize that God wants us to enjoy Him and that He does not want us to do anything for Him, we will be able to enjoy, absorb, and appropriate God. If our concept is changed so that we see these two points, it will be easy for us to live a life of enjoying God. (CWWL, 1958, vol. 1, “The Vision of the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,” pp. 625-626)

　　There are two aspects of the enjoyment of Christ. The one is the common aspect. Wherever we are, no matter the time or the place, we may enjoy Christ…The other aspect of the enjoyment of Christ is the enjoyment of the top portion, the choice portion, the firstfruit or firstborn, of Christ. We can only have this aspect of the enjoyment of Christ in the proper church life… Although Christ always remains the same, He nevertheless has a choice portion and a common portion…You may enjoy Him in this way while you are driving your car. However, you will never enjoy the top portion of Christ alone. Even if you were to fast, pray, and call on Him night and day for three days alone in your home, you would still not be able to enjoy the choice portion of Christ. If you want to enjoy this portion, you must come to the church, the place God has chosen.

　　The children of Israel could enjoy the rich produce of the good land in two ways. The common way was to enjoy the common portion of the rich produce of the good land at any time, in any place, and with anybody. The special way was to enjoy the top portion, the firstfruit and the firstborn, in the unique place chosen by God. The distinguishing features of this place were the name of God and the habitation of God. All this is a clear picture of our enjoyment of Christ. Our enjoyment of Christ is also of two aspects—the common aspect of enjoying Christ at any time and at any place, and the specific aspect of enjoying Christ in the place God has chosen. This unique place has the name of God and the habitation of God.

　　We have experienced the special enjoyment of Christ in the proper church life. Whenever we come to a meeting of the church, the enjoyment of Christ is high and rich. We all need to enjoy Christ both in our private life and in the church life. Although the enjoyment of Christ in the church life is wonderful, it cannot replace our enjoyment of Him in our private life. Likewise, the enjoyment in our private life cannot replace the enjoyment in our public life, in our church life.

　　There is no comparison between the enjoyment in the church life and the enjoyment in my private life. This does not mean that I no longer enjoy Christ in my personal life, but the taste is not as sweet as the taste in the church life. I am always eager to attend a meeting to enjoy the top portion of Christ… Many are rather poor in the enjoyment of Christ because they spend too much time trying to enjoy Him privately and little time to enjoy Him corporately. (CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 3, “Young People’s Training,” pp. 453-456)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1971, vol. 4, “Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ,” ch. 17