«　WEEK 41　DAY 5　»

　　Eph. 2:10 For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them.

　　2 Cor. 4:5 …We do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.

　　[In Ephesians 2:10] “good works” are just Christ. The goal of God's work is Christ, and we should walk in this work…We often work because of our interest, not because of Christ. Many times men run to and fro to work for a name for themselves. They have worked, but they have not served God. God’s work from eternity to eternity has always been with the view that His Son would have the first place in all things. Therefore, our work should also be for Christ. If God does not purify our intent and motive, we cannot receive God's blessing. We work not for sinners but for Christ. How successful our work is depends on how much Christ is in it…Our work should not be for our own increase, our own group, or our own message; rather, we should work for Christ. As long as God gains something, we should rejoice. When we see God gaining something, even if it is not through our hands, we should be happy for it. (CWWN, vol. 11, pp. 750-751)

　　Christ should also have the first place in our messages. We “preach… Christ Jesus as Lord” (2 Cor. 4:5). “For I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Christ is the center of God’s plan and the center of God’s goal. The cross is the center of God’s work. The work of the cross is to accomplish God’s goal. The cross works to eliminate all that issues from the flesh in order that Christ may have the first place. Our central message should not be the dispensations, the prophecies, the types, the kingdom, baptism, forsaking denominations, speaking in tongues, keeping the Sabbath, or holiness, etc. Our central message should be Christ. The centrality of God is Christ.

　　After a person is saved, we should help him to consecrate himself to be a slave of Christ, so that he receives Christ as his Lord in all things. All the truths in the Bible are related like a wheel with spokes and a hub, having Christ as the center. We are not neglecting the truths outside the center; rather, we need to link these truths with the center. Concerning any truth we should know two things: (1) we should know about this truth, and (2) we should know how this truth relates to the center. We should pay attention to the center. Of course, this does not mean we do not speak of other truths. Paul said, “I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Later he also said, “But we do speak wisdom among those who are full-grown” (v. 6). It is only after a person has consecrated himself and received Christ as his Lord that we can speak to him the truths concerning his building up. In our work we should continually draw people back to the center and let them see that “Christ is Lord.” We cannot do this work in an objective way. We ourselves must be the first to be broken by God and allow Christ to have the first place in us, before we can lead others to receive Christ as Lord and allow Christ to have the first place in them. We must live out a life of giving Christ the first place before we can spread this message. Our message is just our person. We should allow Christ to have the first place in the small things in our daily life before we can preach the message of the centrality of Christ. I only wish that every one of us would give the Lord Jesus His place on the throne!…The Lord's “well done” surpasses all the praises of the world. The smiling face of heaven surpasses all the angry faces of the earth. The comfort of heaven surpasses the tears of the earth. The hidden manna is enjoyed in eternity. (CWWN, vol. 11, pp. 752-753)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1964, vol. 1, “The Centrality and Universality of Christ,” ch. 1; CWWN, vol. 4, pp. 291-308; CWWN, vol. 11, pp. 731-753; Life- study of Daniel, msg. 12