The apostle Paul was a pattern of living Christ, magnifying Christ, doing all things in Christ, and pursuing Christ to be found in Christ; he lived such a life when he was on his ministry journey and also in his imprisonment journey.
Whether in good situation or in persecution, whether in outward success or imprisonment, Paul lived Christ, magnified Christ, did all things in Christ, and he pursued Christ so that he may be found in Christ all the time (Phil. 1:19-21).
His expectation was that in nothing he would be put to shame but even now, even in prison or in his ministry journey, he would magnify Christ, express Christ, and live Christ, so that he may be found by others in Christ.
What encourages others and shepherds them is not just our words but even more our life and our living, our living Christ, magnifying Christ, and pursuing Christ is a shepherding to others.
We need to be a pattern to others in our living and in our work, and our living Christ, doing all things in Christ, and pursuing Christ should be visible for others to love the Lord more and pursue Him together.
When we care for others, we need to do so with all humility and tears, even when we go through trials.
We shouldn’t control others, threaten them, or demand things from them, but we should visit the saints, care for them with the Lord’s heart, and seek to impart something of the Lord into them.
And if the saints are not so open or they don’t want to receive, we should be before the Lord concerning this, and even tears may be shed so that others may be shepherded.
We need to realize that what we impart to others is not mere teachings or doctrines but a Person and a living – Christ Himself and His God-man living in us.
We need to be filled with Christ and see the preciousness of the church, realizing that the church is exceedingly precious and worthy in the Lord’s eyes, for He died for the church and purchased her with His own blood.
The goal of our shepherding is not only to minister Christ to others or recover the saints to loving the Lord with their best love; it is the building up of the Body of Christ.
The unique goal of God’s calling is the building up of the Body of Christ, and Christ builds the Body by the Body; therefore, we need to be perfected to function in our measure, and we need to function to perfect others to enter into their organic function in the Body of Christ. Oh Lord Jesus!
All saints need to grow in life and function according to their measure of life to be a supply of life to cause the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.
Being a Pattern of Living Christ, Magnifying Christ, and Pursuing Christ to be Found in Him
Paul’s fourth ministry journey in Acts 27-28 shows in a particular way his life of living Christ, magnifying Christ, doing all things in Christ, and pursuing Christ in order to be found in Christ (see Phil. 1:19-21; 3:8-9, 14; 4:13).
Paul’s expectation was that anything that was happening to him – whether the missionary journey, preaching the gospel, meeting with the saints, being in prison, being persecuted, or being brought to judgement before the king – would turn out to salvation.
Our earnest expectation and hope should be that in nothing we will be put to shame, but with all boldness – as always – even now Christ would be magnified in our body, whether through life or through death (see Phil. 1:19-21).
Our expectation should be like Paul’s, to be found in Christ, to be a man in Christ (2 Cor. 12:2), so that all those who observe us – whether those around us, the angels, or the demons – would see us in Christ, living Christ, magnifying Christ, and pursuing Christ to be found in Christ.
Our whole being needs to be immersed in and saturated with Christ, so that all those who observe us would find us fully in Christ; only then is Christ expressed and magnified.
When Paul was on his last ministry journey, he was travelling to Rome in a chain to testify before the king; on the sea, there was a storm, and all those around him lost heart and were scared, but Paul was not.
On the sea in the storm the Lord made Paul not only the owner of his fellow voyagers (see Acts 27:24) but also their life-guarantor and comforter (vv. 22, 25).
Then, when they landed and a viper bit him but he didn’t die, Paul was not only a “magical attraction” in the eyes of the local superstitious people (Acts 28:3-6), but also a healer and a joy to them (vv. 8-9).
All throughout his long and unfortunate imprisonment-voyage Paul was kept by the Lord in His ascendancy, and he was enabled to live a life far beyond the realm of anxiety.
He had a life that was fully dignified, a life with the highest standard of human virtues expressing the most excellent divine attributes. Paul’s life resembled the life that the Lord Jesus Himself had lived on earth years before.
Paul was Jesus living again on earth in His divinely enriched humanity – this time in a member of His Body who, even though he was a prisoner taken to the king to be heard, he was living Christ, magnifying Christ, and pursuing Christ to be found in Him.
This is what the Lord wants to gain on earth today – the mysterious, wonderful, and excellent God-man who lived in the Gospels wants to be expressed by many of His members who continue to live the same kind that He lived.
The Lord wants to gain many living witnesses of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and God-exalted Christ who are living Christ, magnifying Christ, and are found in Christ!
We need to be kept by the Lord in the realm of the ascendancy so that we may live Christ and magnify Him in our daily life, so that He may live in us again in His divinely enriched humanity.
God doesn’t want merely the Bible to be preached or Christianity to be spread, but Jesus to live again in all His members in His divinely enriched humanity!
In our living and ministry the true God, who in Jesus Christ went through the processes of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection, and who, as the all-inclusive Spirit, lives in us and through us, this One wants to be expressed through us.
Lord Jesus, may our life be of living Christ, magnifying Christ, doing all things in Christ, and pursuing Christ in order to be found in Christ. May the wonderful, excellent, and mysterious God-man, who lived in the Gospels, would continue to live in us as His continuation today! Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to be men in Christ, those who are found in Christ by all those who observe us. May Christ live in us the same kind of life He lived when He was on earth, and may others find us in Christ, expressing Christ and magnifying Christ!
Being those who are Living in a Beautiful Body Life enjoying the Church Life in the Kingdom of God
When Paul arrived to Puteoli, somewhere south of Rome (close to Naples today), there were some brothers there, and they came to see him, and they had a good fellowship together, refreshing Paul’s spirit.
The warm welcome that Paul received from the brothers in Rome and the loving care of those in Puteoli (Acts 28:13-15) show the beautiful Body life that existed in the early days among the churches and apostles.
Apparently the apostle was a prisoner in bonds, and he entered the region of the dark capital of the Satan-usurped empire; actually, Paul was an ambassador of Christ with His authority, and he came into another part of participation in the Body life of Christ’s church in the kingdom of God on earth.
This should be our reality and experience today; apparently we may live in a Satan-usurped country and city, but actually, we as ambassadors of Christ are enjoying the beautiful Body life in the church life and among the churches, enjoying the Lord together, living Christ, and magnifying Christ corporately for the advancement of His kingdom on earth.
And when we visit other countries, we can meet with the saints; we can go to Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Egypt, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon, and there are saints there. Hallelujah, in this Satan-usurped world God is spreading His kingdom!
While Paul was suffering outwardly from the persecution of religion in the empire of Satan (the satanic chaos in the old creation), he was enjoying the church life in the kingdom of God (the divine economy for the new creation); this was a comfort and an encouragement to him.
While we outwardly live in a place where there’s so much satanic chaos in the old creation (see the situation in today’s society where we live), we need to enjoy the church life in the kingdom of God, the divine economy for the new creation!
This gives us comfort and encouragement. The ultimate issue from our living Christ, magnifying Christ, pursuing Christ to be found in Him, and living the church life will be the New Jerusalem in eternity future as God’s full and eternal expression!
This should be the reality and goal of all our gospel preaching today as we follow the pattern of the apostle Paul – we should be proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered (see Acts 28:31).
The Christ who lived a God-man life in the gospels was reproduced and continued in the apostle Paul, and He wants to live in us today in the church life as the development of the kingdom of God!
Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to enjoy the church life in the kingdom of God and not pay attention or be distracted by the satanic chaos in the old creation! May we be immersed in the beautiful Body life by enjoying the church life in the kingdom of God with all the saints. Make us those who are daily living Christ, magnifying Christ, and living the church life as a pattern for the shepherding of all the saints in the church. Oh Lord, may we be those who proclaim the kingdom of God and teach the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by James Lee for this week, and Phil. 3:9 with footnote 1, Acts 28:19 with footnote 1, Acts 28:15 with footnote 2, and Acts 28:31 with footnote 2 in the Recovery Version Bible, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Propagating the Resurrected, Ascended, and All-inclusive Christ as the Development of the Kingdom of God (2018 fall ITERO), week 4, Shepherding the Flock of God according to God by Being Patterns of the Flock.
- Hymns on this topic:
# O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit, / Holy and harmless, patient and brave; / Meekly enduring cruel reproaches, / Willing to suffer, others to save. (Hymns #398)
# Oh, what a thought! Oh, what a boast! / Christ shall in me be magnified. / In nothing shall I be ashamed, / For He in all shall be applied. / In woe or blessing, death or life, / Through me shall Christ be testified. (Hymns #499)
# Lord, we’re expecting that we’ll be given / Boldness with every breath. / Christ must be magnified in our body / Whether by life or death. / We hope in nothing to be ashamed, / For us to live is Christ— / He is the Person in all our living, / Our everything, our life. (Hymns #1295)
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