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Mar. 9, 2010Hymnal.NetIn Colossians Paul shows that the Lord is everything (1:18-19; 3:11). He is not only God but also man; He is not only the Creator but also a creature (1:15-16). Through His incarnation He became the last Adam, a creature (1 Cor. 15:45). He became a man, a created one (John 1:14; Heb. 2:14a). If He were merely the Creator but not a creature, we would not be able to say that He is everything. However, since He is the Creator and a creature, He is everything.
Whether or not we can thoroughly comprehend this matter, we need to accept the facts in the original text of the Bible. The Firstborn of all creation and the Firstborn from the dead mentioned in Colossians (1:15, 18) represent the two creations—the old creation and the new creation, respectively. Christ is the Firstborn in the old creation, and He is also the Firstborn in the new creation. Thus, He is all-inclusive; He is everything.

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

Mar. 31, 2008Hymnal.Net...but Paul was different. In Colossians, a book of only four chapters, he exalted Christ as the preeminent One in the old and new creations (1:15-18) and as the embodiment of the Triune God (2:9). Hymns, #189 is a marvelous song on the Christ unveiled in Colossians.

Source: The Crystallization-study of the Epistle of James, chapter 4. (LSM)

Mar. 24, 2008Hymnal.NetWhat a Christ we have within us! The Christ who indwells us has all the aspects covered in this message. He is the portion of the saints, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, the firstborn from among the dead, the One in whom God's fullness dwells, the mystery of God's economy, the mystery of God, the reality of all positive things, and the constituent of the new man. Although all these aspects of Christ are revealed in the book of Colossians, we did not see most of them because they are not according to our natural concept. What corresponds to our concept is Paul's teaching about wives submitting to their husbands, and husbands loving their wives. Even without reading the Scriptures, we have concepts about these matters. Instead of taking Paul's word in Colossians for granted, we should dig into this book in order to discover for ourselves all these aspects of Christ. Then we need to praise the Lord and worship Him according to these aspects. We should say, "Lord, I worship You that You are the portion of the saints. I praise You that You are the image of the invisible God." How good to worship the Lord in this way!

If we know Christ in all these aspects, the praise we offer at the Lord's table meeting will be uplifted. I have been attending the meeting for the Lord's table for more than forty-seven years, and in all these meetings I have listened to the saints praising the Lord. Most of the praises have been on an elementary level. For example, in meeting after meeting the saints may praise the Lord for the blood. This certainly is not wrong. But if we remain on this level, our praise will be shallow. We need to remember the Lord and to praise Him according to the revelation contained in the book of Colossians. We need to use expressions such as those in this stanza from hymn #189 in the hymnal:

Thou art the Son beloved,
The image of our God;
Thou art the saints' dear portion,
Imparted through Thy blood.
Among all God's creation
Thou art the firstborn One;
By thee all was created,
All for thyself to own.

At the Lord's table we need to remember the Lord as the portion of the saints, as the image of God, as the mystery of God's economy, and as the reality of all positive things. May the Lord enrich our praise!

Source: Life-study of Colossians, chapter 15. (LSM)