hymnal.net

Add a comment

Mar. 9, 2010Hymnal.Net...Paul clearly says in Galatians 2:20, "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." In Philippians 1:21 he also says, "To me, to live is Christ." On the other hand, the Lord says in John 15:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches." The branches of a vine are part of the vine. Likewise, we as branches are part of the Lord as the vine. This is the meaning of "Thou become me, I become Thee."

Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, "As the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ." Here we see that Christ is the Body. Hence, in Thou become me, I become Thee, the I may not refer only to an individual. In writing poetry I can also mean we. On the other hand, it is sometimes necessary to eliminate certain words, because poetry is limited by word usage. Nevertheless, we should all understand that we are the Body of Christ and that as the Body, we are Christ and Christ is we.

Source: The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1968, vol. 2, Fighting for the Truth, chapter 3. (LSM)

Apr. 7, 2008Hymnal.NetFinally, since Christ is all, Christ must be the real me. Let me ask you, "Is Christ you?" You must say, "Yes, Christ is me because Christ is all, and I am included in all!" I am not something negative. As a human being, I am something positive, so Christ is surely the real me. Thank and praise the Lord that Christ is the real us! In Him we see God, and in Him we also see ourselves! Do you have the boldness to say that Christ is the real you? The last two lines of stanza 4 of Hymn #130 in the Chinese hymnal say, "Thou became me, and I became Thee: / 'Tis Thy love to the uttermost!" Since the first part of that line says, "Thou became me," it naturally follows that the second part should say, "I became Thee." Some have opposed this, saying, "To say that Christ became us may be all right because Christ became flesh. However, if we say that we have become Christ, that means that we have become God. Is this not blasphemy?" I do not know what kind of mind those opposing people have. Would it not be ridiculous for someone to say that four plus four equals eight but that eight does not equal four plus four? The Bible says that we are members of the Body of Christ. Suppose I said, "This arm is a member of this brother, but it is not this brother himself. Therefore, when I hit this member, I am not hitting this brother himself." This kind of logic does not make any sense. We have all become members of Christ, so how can we not be Christ? Not only so, 1 Corinthians 12 says explicitly that the Body is Christ: "For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ" (v. 12). The Christ here is the Body. Therefore, to say "Thou became me, and I became Thee" is not heresy. Furthermore, the Lord Jesus said that He is the vine and that we are the branches (John 15:5). The branches are included in the vine. We may even say that the branches are the vine.

This is the wonder of wonders and the mystery of mysteries—that Christ is all. If we all would know Christ to such an extent, how noble we would be! Christ is me, and I am Christ! He is Christ in me. Is God in the Bible? Then who is God? God is Christ. Is Jehovah in the Scriptures? Then who is Jehovah? Jehovah is Christ. Is the Father in the Bible? Then who is the Father? The Father is Christ (Isa. 9:6). Is the Son in the Scriptures? Then who is the Son? The Son is Christ! Is the Spirit in the Bible? Then who is the Spirit? The Spirit is Christ (1 Cor. 15:45b). Is man in the Scriptures? Then who is the real man? The real man is Christ. Are you in the Bible? Then who is the real you? The real you is Christ! Hallelujah! Christ is all. Christ is not only all in the new man but also all in the whole universe.

Source: The Revelation of the Mystery, chapter 2. (LSM)

Mar. 25, 2008Hymnal.NetThis hymn says that the Lord's love has blended us with Him and made us one with Him. This is the highest plane of love. The real blessing in God's New Testament economy is that Christ has made Himself one with us and has made us one with Him. First Timothy 3:16 speaks of the great mystery of godliness, which is the manifestation of God in the flesh. We are the flesh, yet God made us, the flesh, His expression. The church is the Body of Christ, and the Body of Christ is the fullness of the One who fills all in all (Eph. 1:22b-23). This fullness is Christ's expression. What a wonder it is that God made us men of flesh His expression!

Source: Life-study of Psalms, chapter 14. (LSM)