The Pattern of the Life of Christ

"He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his kind intention which he purposed in him"
(Ephesians 1:9).

"The mystery of his will" is the phrase that summarizes the whole epistle to the Ephesians. And this is the theme for all our conference. Now I imagine you know this letter to the Ephesians very well so we will try to give some review, so that the Holy Spirit would speak to our hearts once again through His Word. Now as you know Paul had written 13 epistles and these 13 epistles can be divided into four groups.

First group: First and second Thessalonians.
Second group: Romans, Galatians, first Corinthians and second Corinthians.
Third group: Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon.
Fourth group: First Timothy, second Timothy and Titus.

So all together they are 13 epistles. Now God indeed reveals His heart through these 13 epistles by Paul. For us to understand the mystery of His will, we need to know that God's will is not only God's will; we discover that there is also a mystery to God's will. So we need Paul's letters to explain what that means. Now as you know, Paul's life can be divided into two stages. His whole spiritual life from his conversion to his martyrdom was about 33 years. Now if we try to study the life of Paul, how he grows in the life of God, from one stage to another stage, then immediately you will discover in that 33 years, it can be divided into three periods of 11 years.

Now in his first 11 years, he went through the infanthood of Christian life. In the second 11 years he grew from infanthood to the adolescence of Christian life. Then his last 11 years now his life matured in Christ, from adolescence to adulthood. So if we study Paul's life, we should be able to find out how our Christian life should grow from babyhood to adulthood.

Now why did Paul grow in this way? Because Paul said, No longer I who live but Christ lives in me. (Gal. 2:20) So the life which was in Paul, grew according to a certain pattern of growth. Now the problem is this: Paul said, no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, which indicates that this life is no longer the life of Paul. If it was Paul's life, then the mode of life would be according to the pattern of Paul's life. However the life he lived was not his own but Christ's. So the way he grew is actually according to the pattern of Christ's life, which is the life you discover in the four gospels.

The pattern of Christ's life according to the gospel of Luke

When you study the gospel according to Luke, you discover it through the writing of a physician. Luke was the only Greek writer among the 27 books in the New Testament. Now physicians are very familiar with life. Through the physician Luke's experience, he had witnessed the birth and decay of life; how our natural life from birth grows and then decays; how a life which is birthed in the cradle finally ends up in the tomb. Just as Genesis tells us, from dust to dust. This is a pattern of the natural life.

Now when you watch the process of a life, all doctors will tell you that that life began from birth. Now when that life reaches 30 years of age, it has almost reached its prime, then from roughly 30 years of age that life begins to decline and finally it ends up in a tomb - from dust to dust. So that's the observation of the physician Luke.

And more than that, Luke was a Greek. According to Greek philosophy, every man is supposed to have a goal in their life, that one day they will become a perfect man. They know that in this life, as their life goes on, they are aiming toward perfection. Now what is perfection for the Greek world? Greek philosophy tries to explain it to us. If you want to become a perfect man, then you must be well versed in literature, you must become a poet. And not only that, you must become a good lawyer, and not only that, you must become a very good priest. And more than that, you must be very good at sports, (that's why they have the Olympic Games;) because they want to make every man as perfect as possible. So perfection is the goal for every Greek.

Now as a Greek, Luke knew all the literature in the Greek world, and as a physician, he had a wonderful knowledge of life on the earth. Now he had something to say; he had something to say to the world, and in the beginning his gospel was mainly addressed to those in the Greek world.

Now how would one preach the gospel to the Greek world? They are intellectual people, they think they are going toward perfection. Today we know what the Greek contribution to our modern world is; how Greek thinking has influenced modern thinking. Today we live in a secular modern world. Now we owe much to Greek thinking. However, Greek thinking was not the gospel. Now Luke had something to say. From his observation, he wanted to tell us what his discovery was. So the gospel according to Luke was actually a wonderful report by a physician, who had carefully observed this life, and knew that the goal of the Greeks was that one day they would reach perfection.

In this report, the gospel according to Luke, he tries to tell us that he discovered a life, a unique life, which was the only perfect life in the history of mankind. And he discovered the pattern of growth for that life. It is not from the cradle to the tomb. Here you will find a life that is altogether different. You will probably not know how to classify that life.

Many years ago, in a country in South America, there was a pestilence and the government tried to deal with the situation thoroughly. So they burned the whole stretch of that huge land. So if you visit that area, you don't find any life there. All you can find are the ashes. Now ashes are the final stage of death. You cannot go any further than that; you can never go any further than ashes. So the process of death was most complete in that part of the land. So it was impossible to find any life existing in that land. So if you travel for many hours you know that this is the most thorough destruction; it is impossible for you to find any life. Nobody hoped to find life in that piece of land, but something strange happened. Two years later they found a flower; a very, very beautiful flower. So the botanists tried to analyze why this life was so beautiful. Now this life actually came out of death. That's why this life was different from any other type of life. The botanists tried to determine which class of life this flower belonged to. They went through their books, they went through their old records, but to their surprise they just could not find which class of life this flower belonged to. So finally, they came to the conclusion that that flower formed its own class.

Now brothers and sisters, when the life of Christ appeared on this earth two thousand years ago; when our Lord walked on this planet, remember that that life was different from your life and mine. You discover that that life actually formed a class of its own. That life is called the life of God; that life is called eternal life. Thank God, that after we receive Jesus as our savior, then we receive that eternal life. So that unique life today lives in your heart and mine. And for that reason, Paul said, No longer I but Christ who lives in me. It's a unique life. You never find such life in this world.

I remember a story about St. Augustine. If you study history, he was probably one of the great sinners in history, but finally he became one of the great saints; from a sinner to a saint. What a transformation! Now when he used to live in sin, he was actually a very intellectual person; he was a university professor and well respected by all his students. Yet he was a sinner. He committed all the kinds of sins that young people are inclined to do. And his mother prayed for him. Thank God. One day he was wonderfully saved. He discovered he was indeed a sinner. So he wrote psalm 51 on the wall; the psalm of David's confession. And after he was saved, before he went to sleep, he always read psalm 51, and remembered that he was a great sinner, yet what wonderful salvation had reached him and had transformed him. So that was his daily life.

One day he was walking along the street, and he unexpectedly encountered a woman who he had known while he was still a sinner. Augustine tried to avoid her but he had no way of escape because the street was too narrow. The woman greeted him but Augustine responded by saying, "It is I, yet it is no longer I." Now you understand what he meant. "It is I, I was a sinner, that woman will prove I was a sinner, yet no longer I". Now we know the rest of the verse. "No longer I, but Christ who lives in me." Now brothers, this is the life of Christ in Saint Augustine. This life is altogether unique. You cannot put it side by side with any other life. This is life out of death. And this is life that forms its own class.

So brothers, Luke tried to describe that life and how that life was born. So you discover, among the four gospels, that the physician Luke made a wonderful observation. So if you want to know the earthly life of our Lord on earth, you only find the full picture of how that life begins in this wonderful gospel; of how the Word became flesh. Now if you study the gospel of Mark, in the first chapter, Jesus was already presented as an adult. And it is the same with any of the other gospels. So if you want to find out how the life of our Lord began on this planet, you discover it is only Luke who tells us how that life began from a manger.

In other words, that manger was his cradle. That's how his life began. Throughout the whole gospel of Luke, he wants to tell us how that life grew with a certain pattern. There you will discover that the same life that is in you and me, will grow with the same pattern. That's why we have to study the four gospels. You don't just want to know the history of our Lord on the earth,but we also want to find out how that life began from the cradle and finally grew into maturity. The way in which he grew from the manger will be the same way in which this life will grow in us.

Three stages in the life of our Lord

Therefore, by studying the gospel of Luke, it is very interesting to see that the life of our Lord was divided into three stages. How do we know? Because in that gospel, we have two phrases from heaven. Now that's very important. Today, for us, heaven is closed. But one day when our Lord was on earth, heaven not only opened, but heaven also spoke. If you study the gospel of Luke, you have to listen carefully to what heaven spoke.

On two occasions, Luke tells us that heaven spoke. Heaven had something to say. Heaven could no longer keep silent. God is a God of patience. God is a God of silence. When God is keeping His silence, He can keep that silence for ages. But brothers, something happened on this planet because when heaven saw the development of a life on earth, which was different from any other type of life, and when it reached a certain stage, when it came to a crisis, now heaven had to say something. Heaven could no longer be silent. For that reason, on two occasions in Luke's gospel, we are told heaven somehow broke its silence. What did heaven say? The bible tells us that on these two occasions, it's almost the same phrase: "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." (Luke 3:22, 9:35).

Brothers and sisters, do you see that? When the Heavenly Father saw how the Word became flesh, how that life grew from the manger all the way to maturity; when that life reached a certain crisis, it was something wonderful, something delightful to the heart of the Heavenly Father. Because of that, the heavens really had to say something. The Father had a testimony for His Son. He wanted to introduce His Son. He wanted to present His Son in a very proud way, in a very glorious way, and why? Because something happened in the history of mankind, something that had never happened before. Only the physician Luke, after his marvellous observation, reported the development of that wonderful life to us.

So brothers, it is very clear, only on two occasions did the heavens speak. "This is my beloved Son." Now brothers, it is very clear, that through these two phrases, we can divide the thirty three and a half years of our Lord's life into 3 stages. When our Lord finished the first stage; when he fulfilled the purpose of God, now heaven had to say something, This is my beloved Son. Then he went through another stage and heaven spoke once again, This is my beloved Son. But when you come to the third stage, when finally our Lord concluded his life on this earth, heaven did not speak anymore. Now, formerly God spoke, but this time God was doing something even more than speaking. God took action this time; He received Jesus Christ into His presence. So brothers, remember, the first stage ends up with God speaking, the second stage again with God speaking, then finally God's action; God received His Son into heaven.

Now brothers, you see what the pattern of growth for our Lord's life was when he was on earth. Then you discover that this life did not grow from the manger to the grave; not from dust to dust. The pattern for the growth of that life began with the manger but ended up on the throne. So brothers and sisters, the life which is in us is not from dust to dust. Yes, we start with the manger, for that reason we have to take up our cross and follow Him. This is our beginning. That's how we begin our journey.

But remember that when our Lord was born, the bible says, when those shepherds wanted to look for the Christ, it was an angel who informed them of where they could find Him. Now according to the Jews, the Messiah would be found in the palace, He was to be the king, so that's the reason why the wise men went to Jerusalem, because if the King of the Jews was born, it had to be in Jerusalem. But something very interesting happened in Bethlehem. Many children were born that night, but how would you know which one was the Christ? The angel gave them a signal, he gave them a symbol. Now if you find a baby wrapped in cloth and in a manger, then you can be pretty sure you have found the Lord Christ. That contradicted all Jewish thought about the Messiah. While the Messiah ought to have come with glory, with majesty, just imagine, the Messiah began life as a helpless, frail baby. Can you believe that? This was the beginning of the life of Christ.

Now brothers and sisters, don't forget, that was the beginning of the life of Christ, and more than that, that life began from the manger. But then that life will grow. So brothers and sisters, for that reason, especially according to the gospel of Luke, the bible tells us that in the first thirty years he grew in the presence of his Father, like a root out of dry land. You remember that that is the description of our Lord in Isaiah chapter 53. He grew in the presence of Jehovah. For thirty years, actually for thirty silent years, he lived in the presence of the Father, just like a root from the ground.

There is a background here; if you travel to Mount Sinai or the Sinai desert, you will find that there is only one type of tree. From a distance it looks like an umbrella. They never form a forest; every tree is alone. So if you are driving in the Sinai desert, after almost 20 minutes you will find a huge tree like an umbrella, then another 20 minutes later, yet another tree like an umbrella. Now in the bible, this tree is called an acacia tree. Now the acacia tree is a very interesting tree because it was designed to be the food of camels. The camel was very tall, so for this reason this kind of tree in the Sinai desert was very tall. In this way, the camel was able to feed on this tree. But more than that, this tree was not only very tall, but also full of thorns. Now the reason is very simple, because God knew very well that all the other animals would probably also want this tree as their food. Now very interestingly, when God created the camel's tongue, it was given such a structure that they can digest the thorns without being hurt. Now this is not so with any other animal. So because of that, this tree is specially preserved for those animals.

Now this is called the acacia tree. The problem is this: in the Sinai desert, during the daytime, the heat of the sun was tremendous. No-one can bear that heat. So during the daytime, the whole land of Sinai is like something placed in an oven at a high temperature; it is baked. It is a very hot land. So think about it, when the root was in that piece of land, that root would never receive anything from the land. Normally the root tries to get something from the soil because there you can reach the source of water. That's how a tree grows. But remember, the reason this acacia tree can survive in that dry land is not because of its roots. Its roots are there but it is in dry land. So the land will have no contribution to the growth of this life. But there's something interesting about this tree; it has many, many small leaves and every leaf becomes a receiver. So how can this tree survive? How can this tree grow? After sunset, that piece of land will immediately go to another extreme. During the daytime, it is almost in the equator but at night, it is almost in the pole. So in the evening, when the temperature drops, then the water vapor in the sky begins to condense into water, and then all these leaves become receivers to receive this water from the sky. This tree always receives something from the sky. And that's how that tree survives in the Sinai desert.

Now brothers, if you study your Old Testament, you will remember the story of the tabernacle. Now what is the centre of the whole tabernacle? I think you will all say that the ark is the centre of the whole tabernacle. If you want to understand the ark in the language of the New testament, it refers to Christ because Christ is the centre of the presence of God. The ark was in the Most Holy place, and that is why the ark in the bible was called the footstool of God. So you remember that when the ark was in the Most Holy place, that is why the ark in the bible was called the footstool of God. Now remember when David in his psalms said I will worship at your footstool he was trying to tell us that he was coming into the presence of God. Now a footstool is a piece of furniture on which one can rest their feet. When you come to God's footstool, you are just like Mary sitting at the feet of Christ. In the Old Testament, the ark in the Most Holy place represented the footstool of God, as if God had very long legs. His throne is in heaven, but he would extend His presence to this earth. So then, he needs a footstool upon which He can rest His feet. And according to the Old Testament, that footstool was the ark of God.

So when you come to the footstool of God, it means you have come into the presence of God. Just like Mary sitting at the feet of our Lord. Above the ark you had a mercy seat, and the high priest would bring the blood once a year and sprinkle that blood upon it. The bible tells us that that is the place where God met Moses. So this is the meeting point between God and man. Now you understand that the ark is most important, because the ark is the centre of the whole tabernacle and temple of God. The tabernacle or the temple is a type of the church but the centre of the church is Christ Himself. So remember, Christ is the ark. Now the ark here really typified Christ. Now there is something very interesting here: if you study the Old Testament, that ark was made by acacia wood.

So remember, that's how we understand the life of Christ. Now in the first 30 years, he lived in the presence of God, like a root out of dry land. However, he still grew in the presence of his Father where he opened himself to the heavens like the receivers, so obtaining his supply from the heavens. So when the whole world rejected him it was the smile of his Father which encouraged him to go on. That's how our Lord spent his first 30 years.

Sometimes when we see a tree that is very prosperous, we admire the life of that tree, however we always forget that that life has two parts. The part you see is only the visible part but then there is an invisible part: the root. While our Lord was on the earth he lived his hidden life for 30 years; he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he came to this earth with a vision; he knew the Will of God and he was ready to be used by God at any time. But brothers and sisters, he was willing not to be used by God for 30 years.

It is a wonderful thing to be used by God. Now brothers, if you want to be used by God, what is the secret? You have to learn to not be used by God. Do you understand? You have to live the hidden life before the Lord. For that reason, for those 30 years, he was ready to be laid aside by God. At every moment he was ready to be used by God, yet if it was God's pleasure that he should live a hidden life, being forgotten, without any applause from the world, he always had a smile from heaven, and that was enough. That is how that life was lived in the presence of God. Now brothers and sisters, how are we going to live our lives today? Can we live without applause from this world?

When we consider that our Lord began his life hidden for those 30 years, sometimes we think that it was a waste. Why couldn't our Lord have preached the gospel when he was 18? Why 30 years? Brothers and sisters, if you have nothing to contribute then you can wait for many centuries but if you have a great deal to contribute, if you are full of the power of the Holy Spirit, if you know the Will of God, can you wait? Now remember, that life is always a dependant life. That life always depends on the Father. Only when he received the signal from the Father did he begin to move. But for 30 years he had no signal from heaven. But thank the Lord, he lived in the presence of His Father, like a root out of dry ground.

You discover that this is the only tree in the history of mankind where the invisible part is much greater than the visible part. In thirty three and a half years, Christ only manifested himself for three and a half of them. He was only made known to the world for three and a half years. But brothers, the secret to those three and a half years, the strength of those three and a half years is because of that invisible part.

Brothers and sisters, I remember a wonderful evangelist in Scotland, he was not gifted, like Billy Graham or D.L. Moody, however, he really was an evangelist, he really had the spirit of the gospel. He may not have been very gifted, he may not have been very eloquent, but he won many people to Christ. He was a very simple person, he was a miner, his father was a miner, and he did not receive much education. So as far as gifting was concerned, he was not as gifted as Billy Graham. But thank the Lord, in Scotland, God really used him to win many people to Christ. Then one day, someone asked him, "what is your secret?" Now listen to his secret. He said, "The time I spend before God is much greater than the time I spend before men." That was his secret.

So brothers and sisters, why are we powerless today? Why when we preach the gospel or are used by God is it always in a very limited way? Brothers and sisters, remember; the life of Christ begins in that way. So remember, this is the life of Christ.

After those thirty years, we now come to the important crisis. Now God is going to do something. Our Lord was like living water. That living water could have flowed out at any time but God placed a dam before it. So you see that life always goes on accumulating in increasing measure. But then one day, after our Lord went through the first stage, heaven spoke. This is my beloved. Now, brothers, what does that mean? The Heavenly Father was so satisfied. That kind of life had never appeared on the earth before. That was the first time, after 30 years, and our Lord was so obedient; how he depended on the Father, so finally God could no longer keep silent. The heavens opened, This is my beloved Son. This was someone who had the life of God. He is the Son of the living God.

It was God who gave testimony of His Son. So now you know that the Lord has concluded the first stage of his life. Then God lifted up that dam. Now you can imagine how that life, the river of life, flowed out like a flood and how that life conquered the world. So then another stage in our Lord's life began: three years traveling here and there and bearing much fruit. He didn't just visit the synagogues. Being rejected there, he withdrew to the wilderness and to the seashore. Yet in all places, he bore much fruit. So brothers, in the second stage of his life, Christ manifests himself in public. And there you discover that he was doing the work of God. In the first stage, we witnessed the life of Christ. In the second stage we witness the work of Christ.

Before he became our savior, he actually became a friend to every one of us. That's what happened in those three years. He was the friend of the sinners and the tax collectors. So we know that before he became our savior, he became our friend. And because of that he knows our sorrow, he knows our need, and he will supply that need. In those three years our Lord was very busy. If you study the gospel according to Mark, the bible constantly uses the word immediately. When heaven had a commandment to give, our Lord immediately put it into action. He was so busy he did not even have time to eat.

For that reason, during those three years, if everything that our Lord had done was recorded, as John tells us at the end of his gospel, the whole world could not contain those records. Why? Because three years with Christ is three million years for you and me. We are sinners, and we do everything very slowly. For example, you want to study your bible, and you say Lord I want to spend one hour just studying your Word. So you sit down to study the letter to the Ephesians, wanting to spend one hour on it. Now the first ten minutes are wonderful. You concentrate and you read almost every word. But after ten minutes, your mind begins to wander around the whole world, through Santiago, New York, then Tokyo. Then if I ask you what you studied you must have much to share with me. But if you're honest, you actually only took in the first ten minutes of that hour. So brothers and sisters, because the Lord was without sin and is the Son of God, he was able to do in three years that which would take fallen sinners like us more than three million years.

One day our Lord and His disciples went to the mount of Transfiguration and heaven spoke once again. This is my beloved. What does that mean? Now our Lord had accomplished the second stage. The dam had been lifted up. Now you find living water everywhere. And there you discover one fruit after another. So as far as the work of God is concerned, our Lord was an obedient servant of God. So after those three years, let us remember that he again fulfilled the will of God. And because of that, heaven was satisfied. And that's why heaven said, this is my beloved.

Now you remember on that Mount of Transfiguration, our Lord talked to Moses and Elijah. According to the bible, we were told that the Lord was actually talking to them about his exit. So he was going to exit from the Mount of Transfiguration. Now that word is almost like Exodus. You remember how the people of Israel came out of Egypt. So now he talked to the two servants of God about his exit. In other words, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the days of our Lord's life and work were accomplished and he was able to ascend to heaven from that very place. That's why they talked about the exit. But brothers and sisters, our Lord could not ascend to heaven that time, and yet if the Lord had ascended to heaven, He would have deserved it. Why? Because his life was from the cradle to the throne. He had obeyed the Word of God.

Look at the first 30 years of his life and look at the 3 years of his work. Both are the life and work of Christ. He so pleased God that heaven then spoke. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well delighted. "I am well delighted with His life; I am well delighted by His work. Everything is perfect." It is almost like a ceremony of graduation. Through the first stage, and through the second stage, you discover that this life truly fulfilled the purpose of God. This was the only life in the history of mankind with a purpose, and not just that, but also a life with a fulfillment. That life finally fulfilled the Will of God.

Since he had already fulfilled the Will of God, he was no doubt able to ascend to heaven. But brothers, he did not do that. If he had done that, he would have been the only man in history to have ascended to heaven and really pleased God. Thank the Lord, that was the life of Christ. But then what would have happened to you and me? What about your sins and mine? Do you see that? Because of your sin and mine, Christ could not ascend to heaven from there. Instead we discover that he descended from Mount Hermon going through the valley of Jordan and finally to Mount Golgotha where he died for us on the cross. He could not ascend to heaven before that time. He had to work redemption for us on the cross.

From that time on, he always said to his disciples, Let us go to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the place where he was to die for the will of God. So these were the last six months. Now it is very clear, his life consisted of thirty three and a half years, firstly thirty years, then three years and finally six months. Now brothers and sisters, for the last six months, our Lord walked a path all the way from Mount Hermon, the highest peak, continually descending until finally dying for us on the cross. And the bible calls this, the way of the cross.

If you want to know what our Lord did in Galilee, read Matthew and Mark. If you want to know what our Lord did in Jerusalem, read the gospel according to John. If you really want to know how our Lord walked the way of the cross, study the gospel according to Luke from Chapter 9 to 19. There it will tell you what happened; how our Lord descended from Mount Hermon all the way to Golgotha. For six months, our Lord truly walked under the shadow of death. Even though the moment of death occurred when he was on the cross, before that, there was a path that led all the way to the cross. Do not forget, for the last stage of our Lord's life, for 6 months, 180 days, he walked under the shadow of the cross.

The way of the cross

So then brothers, what is the way of the cross? You remember that when our Lord was on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter said let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah? What does that mean? That means that the feast of the tabernacles was near. That's why he talks about tents, because in the days of the feast of the tabernacles, people stayed in tents. Now the feast of the tabernacles is the season in which grapes ripen on the vine and each grape represents the maturity of life. So you understand that when a vine bears its fruit, it represents the fullness of life. How beautiful!

But don't forget, the Will of God for the vine is not the grapes but wine. So around the time of the feast of the tabernacles, many Jewish families would be going to the vineyard and picking the grapes, in order to gather them into a winepress. Now once the grapes were in the winepress, those people trampled on them with their feet. Then, not long later, all the grapes would have been crushed and disfigured, and the wine would have been produced. It would then travel from the upper winepress to the lower winepress, by means of a pipe and the wine would end up there.

So brothers and sisters, do you see the picture here? These grapes are very beautifully formed and represent the maturity of life. But remember, if you want to fulfill the purpose of its life, then this fruit has to go through the winepress and be disfigured, broken and even forgotten. All the feet would be trampling upon them, so for the grapes, it's as if God has allowed all the chariots of the world to pass over their heads. Now that is the experience of the winepress. Do you see that? The world is on top of us. We are under that chariot and we become broken, forgotten, crushed, and we cannot be recognized any more; we have lost our identity. But remember, when we are at the point of death, life begins to operate. And there you discover wine is being produced. From the upper winepress to the lower winepress. So brothers, the upper winepress means death, and the lower winepress mean resurrection.

Now that's what happened around the time of the feast of the tabernacles. So what does that mean? When our Lord reached the Mount of Transfiguration, he had reached the peak of his maturity. He is able to ascend to heaven, but in order to impart his life to every one of us, he had to go through suffering; he had to go though a winepress. And the cross was that winepress. On that cross he was disfigured. On the one hand, he solved our problem of sins, because we are sinners. On the cross, he had to work that work of redemption. But on the other hand, he is going to impart His resurrection life to every one of us. In order to release that life, he had to go through that suffering. Now when grapes go through the winepress, it is for one purpose; so that wine can be imparted, and that life can be imparted into the world. That life then is a life that is being poured out so that the world can drink of that wine.

So remember brothers and sisters, that our Lord was able to ascend into heaven from the Mount of Transfiguration. On the one hand he had to die for us as the savior of mankind. But on the other hand, he, on the cross, wanted to impart his life to us. So for that reason, he went through suffering, and finally life was given out. It is just like a mother, when her baby is born, must go through suffering. That suffering is a suffering that will impart new life to younger generations. So when the baby is born, the mother's heart is full of joy. So it is very clear, brothers and sisters, that on the Mount of Transfiguration, our Lord was able to ascend to heaven, but in order to give his life to us, he had to walk the way of the cross.

Now we understand, the cross is actually the path to the harvest. The cross is the way of life. It not only leads to life, but also to abundant life. For that reason, our Lord walked the last mileage, during the last six months he walked the way of the cross. Finally, he died for us on the cross; that winepress. And because of that, our sins are forgiven, but more than that, he has given us to drink of this wine. Just like that wine in John chapter 2, he has changed our water into wine. Thank the Lord, it is all because he went through the winepress for us. So finally, brothers and sisters, he concluded his life on this earth. Heaven no longer spoke like in the first two stages, but rather, heaven acted, the Father received Jesus into heaven.

So here you find a life that grew from one stage to another, and on to another; from the manger all the way to the presence of God; all the way to the throne. So the pattern of growth is from the manger to the throne. Now we come into this world horizontally, and we also go out of this world horizontally. We all know the procedure. But this life was different. This life came into this world horizontally, but went out of this world vertically. Do you see that? That is the pattern of this life. Vertically means this: you will grow unto the presence of God. So thank the Lord, this is the pattern of the life of Christ; the only life.

The spiritual life of Paul in three stages

Now when Paul said, it is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me, it means he has no life to live; he cannot live a life according to himself. He can only live a life according to Christ. Just as Christ lived on this earth, now Christ lived in him. Now brothers, because that life grew in such a way, it is no surprise that the life of Paul can be divided into three stages. Each of these consisted of eleven years. In his first eleven years, we discover that Paul was hidden; he lived eleven hidden years. Now brothers, Paul was just like his master because our Lord said, the student can never be greater than his master. When the Lord lived his life in the first stage, he was hidden, and the same thing happened to Paul. Then God lifted up the dam from the river of life. So in the second eleven years, Paul made three missionary journeys.

He almost visited all of Asia Minor and half of Europe and his mileage almost equaled a half circle of the equator. He did not use cars; he actually walked all the time, from one place to another. And many people were won to Christ. He not only brought the gospel to the Hebrew world, but the gospel also reached the Greek world, and finally the Roman world. He had conquered the world for Christ. Those eleven years were most fruitful years. Then when he reached the peak of his career, he was just like his master on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Despite the life of Paul, or the work of Paul which really pleased the Father, when he was at the peak of his life, then we discover Paul was chained. From that time on, he lost his freedom; he was limited. We know that, aside from our Lord, the hand of Paul was the most useful hand in the history of mankind. For twenty years the servant of God had been prepared and so those hands were now useful. God ought to continue using them for many more years, and then the whole world would be evangelized. But God's way is always higher than our way. Now when Paul was at the peak of his life, all of a sudden he was placed in prison, in chains and constrained. Now brothers, that's how Paul lived his last eleven years. Always under the shadow of the cross.

Brothers, what does "no longer I but Christ," mean? It means the life of Christ will grow in you, according to that heavenly pattern. Because of that, in the first stage of Paul's life, when he was in childhood, he grew in the presence of the Father like a root out of dry ground. That's hidden life. But at the same time, the river of life was accumulating. Finally, God lifted up the dam and when that water ran out, like a river of living water, you find that God used Paul in a wonderful way. We know that when he reached the peak of that second period, it was as if he was brought to the Mount of Transfiguration, yet in the last eleven years he walked the way of the cross.

Now why have I spent so much time to explain this? Without this understanding we simply cannot understand the letter to the Ephesians. We have to know when he wrote this book. In other words, he must have experienced a lot in Christ. Vision is costly. Everybody knows the letter to the Ephesians is the highest book in the bible as far as vision is concerned. Remember, if you really see something in the Lord, that will cost your life. So brothers and sisters, sometimes we think that we know Ephesians when actually we don't. The reason is very simple, in order to see that vision, it will cost us our life. For that reason, we have to understand how Paul received that revelation; how he came to understand the Will of God. So thank the Lord, his vision was always in proportion to his life. So for that reason, we ought to grow in Christ. The more you grow in the Lord, the more your vision becomes clear.

Now the vision is not just about proclamations. I have heard people shouting proclamations. Now when you shout these, you only shout the letters whether you understand them or not. It is the Lord's will that everyone ought to understand it and that everyone ought to walk the way of the cross. Now we have to live a life "no longer I, but Christ who lives in us." Now brothers and sisters, it is easy to shout a proclamation, "not I but Christ," but if you really live that life, you will discover that that life will grow from the manger all the way to the throne. Finally we will grow into the presence of God.

Now from the context of the 13 epistles, we want to find out when Paul wrote Ephesians, and what stage of life he was in at that time. It pleased the Father to reveal the Word to Paul. Now brothers, based on this background, when you come back to Ephesians again, you will discover that this sheds much light on this letter. Then we begin to understand the mystery of His Will. May the Lord speak to our hearts.

Remember, the life which is in you is the life of Christ. That's why Paul said, "Christ in you, the hope of glory". Because of that life, we are full of potential and one day we will reach it. We are staring from the manger, we are starting as a babe of Christ, we are starting from the cradle, but one day we will reach the throne, we will reign with Christ. So brothers and sisters remember that this is always the pattern of our growth. But our understanding, our vision is proportioned to our life. Now that's very important.

For that reason, if you want to help your brothers or sisters to see something, the secret is to help them to grow. Sometimes people say, "We have seen the church, we have the life of the church. Others don't see it; they are denominational, they are not the church, we are the church." Brothers and sisters, you don't see the church. If you really see the church, brothers, if you see other brothers and sisters who don't see it, don't try to conquer them with your intellectual capability. Don't try to convince them with your biblical doctrine, the secret is to help them grow. Now brothers, when they are still babes in Christ, how could they understand the things which belong to adults? So for these people, all they can do is come to the kindergarten and play. They enjoy themselves all the time, they become so self-centered and all the parents enjoy them very much, but they are waiting that one day they will grow; that one day the Father will give all the inheritance to the Son. Do you see that? By that time the Will of the Father will be satisfied. So that's very, very important. We thank the Lord, and by His grace we will occupy ourselves with the theme of the mystery of God's Will. But we have to remember the basic issues.

Paul had received light. Strictly speaking, while he was on his way to Damascus, he already saw some light, but remember it took the Word of God to explain the light which he had received from the very beginning. So in this letter to the Ephesians, we not only have the light but also the Word. Do you see that? On the way to Damascus, he only saw the light, and not much of the Word. Yet when the life grew in Paul, then the Word of Christ also grew in Paul. Only that Word can explain the light of Christ in a much clearer way.

We thank the Lord for Paul. Without Paul we wouldn't even know what the church is and brothers, when Paul told us that the church is the body of Christ, remember, for him to tell this, do you know how much was on the back of his experience? Do you know how many tears Paul had shed? Do you know how much suffering Paul had gone through? And do you know how often Paul was in great danger? He was in danger of misleading the church of Christ. Thank God, somehow, Paul was corrected; Paul was adjusted. But through all this experience he presents the light to us. So brothers and sisters, thank the Lord if you know how costly this vision is; if you know how costly that statement is: The church is the body of Christ. Shouting a declaration is easy, but to experience that reality takes your whole life; it will cost your life, it will lead you to the way of the cross. But the result is that at the end of that way, you will find a harvest, a golden harvest. So brothers and sisters, this is what the Lord wants to teach us.

May the Lord speak to our hearts.

Copyright © AGUAS VIVAS | CHILE 2003