A Vision of Christ as the Stories of God and the Church as the Stories of Christ

In Ephesians, mystery is a crucial word, for in it we see the mystery hidden in God being unveiled and revealed to us in spirit, and Christ and the church as the great mystery; we need to know the great mystery of Christ and the church, the stories of God in Christ and the stories of Christ in the church. Amen!

Lord, unveil us today and every day so that we may see the stories of God and the stories of Christ! May we know, see, and live in the great mystery, Christ and the church! Amen!

The Bible is a wonderful yet mysterious book, for in it we see history but not the full history, prophecies but not prophecies about everything, and exhortations but not all the exhortations.

What we mainly see in the whole Bible is God Himself and His relationship with man. God is a mystery, and He is revealed in His word; in particular, God is revealed in Christ as the Word of God.

God dwells in unapproachable light and He is very mysterious and hidden. He created all things, He sustains all things, and yet He hid Himself and cannot be visibly seen.

But praise the Lord, one day Jesus Christ came as God incarnated, and He expressed God. The mystery of the entire universe is God Himself, and the mystery of God is Christ.

The purpose of the universe and the meaning of the universe is God Himself. We may study the universe with all its wonderful features and we may be amazed at what we see. But the meaning of the universe, the mystery of the universe, is God.

Unless we see God, know God, and touch God, the universe is empty.

And how can we touch God? The mystery of God is Christ. Christ came to express God, manifest God, and make God real to man. In Christ all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell.

And Christ today can be seen both in His word, the Bible, and in the church, for the church is the mystery of Christ. If we want to know God today, we need to come to Christ; if we want to know Christ, we need to come to the church.

The church is the mystery of Christ. When we are in the church, when we see the saints of God properly functioning and living out Christ, we are amazed, for we can see Christ living again! Amen!

We all can testify to this; we may have come to the church meetings after a long day of work, and just a few minutes after arriving, we touch Christ, enjoy Christ, and see Christ in the saints.

Praise the Lord for Christ, who is the mystery of God and the church, who is the mystery of Christ!

Mystery in Ephesians: God’s Hidden Purpose is a Mystery Revealed to us in Spirit, and Christ and the Church are a Great Mystery

In the book of Ephesians, a book on the church, we see the word mystery again and again; this word is crucial in this book. Ephesians 1:9 tells us that, in eternity, God planned a will; however, this will was hidden in Him – it was a mystery.

In eternity past, God had a will, which He planned in Himself; however, this will was a mystery, for it was hidden in God.

God’s hidden purpose is the mystery, and the unveiling of this mystery in the mingled spirit is the revelation of the mystery (3:3, 5).

On one hand, God’s will and purpose are hidden; on the other hand, to us today in the New Testament, this was revealed in spirit.

God is Spirit, and to know Him, enjoy Him, experience Him, and know the mystery of His will, we must be in spirit. When we are in spirit, we see the revelation of God’s mystery.

In 2 Corinthians 3:16, Paul tells us that, whenever the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. We can simply tell the Lord,

Lord, I turn my heart to You right now. Unveil me. Remove any veil so that I may see the mystery of God!

When we read the Bible and we don’t see what it speaks of, we can simply be honest with the Lord and tell Him,

Lord, I don’t see it; unveil me. Speak to me. Cause me to see the mystery of God and the mystery of Christ!

We need to come to the Lord as we come to His word, for we want to receive not just spiritual knowledge but even more, have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Christ (Eph. 1:17-18).

May the eyes of our heart be enlightened so that we may see the mystery. We can tell the Lord,

Oh Lord, I want to exercise my spirit. I want my spirit tonight to be a spirit of wisdom and revelation. I’d like to see something in my spirit with the eyes of my heart! Enlighten the eyes of my heart to see the mystery!

When we open to the Lord in this way, He has a way to turn our heart to Him, remove any veils from our eyes, and cause us to see the mystery of God and the mystery of Christ.

God’s mystery is His hidden purpose, and with this mystery there’s an economy – the economy of the mystery (Eph. 3:9).

Christ is a mystery, and the church as the Body of Christ to express Him, is the mystery of Christ (v. 4; Col. 4:3).

We can see these mysteries in our spirit, by exercising our spirit and turning our heart to the Lord. Christ and the church as one spirit are the great mystery (1 Cor. 6:17; Eph. 5:32).

For us to see the great mystery, Christ and the church, we need to be in spirit; we need to have revelation.

The revelation of God’s mystery began in Matthew 16:18, where the Lord Jesus revealed not only Himself as the Christ, the Son of the living God, but also the church, His Body, which He builds up.

Peter received the revelation from the Father that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and the Lord Jesus agreed, then proceeded to say, I also say that on this rock I will build My church.

Seeing Christ as the Son of the living God is only one half of the great mystery; we also need to see the church as the mystery of Christ, the other half of the great mystery.

The vision of this great mystery was given in Matthew 16:18, which is also a prophecy.

The fulfilment of this prophecy was in Acts 2, when the Father poured out the Spirit of the resurrected Christ upon the one hundred twenty who prayed in one accord, and the church was produced.

And the consummation of this will be the New Jerusalem, where God and man, man and God, are fully one, living together and being mingled together for eternity! Hallelujah!

Lord Jesus, we love You and we open to You. Cause our heart to turn to You. Amen, Lord, whenever the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away, and we can see what is in the Lord’s heart! Unveil us to see the mystery of God, Christ! Oh Lord, may we see that Christ manifests God, expresses God, and makes God real to us! Enlighten the eyes of our heart so that we may see Christ. Amen, Lord, grant us to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Christ! May we see Christ and know Christ as the mystery of God! Amen, Lord, even more, may we see the mystery of Christ, the church! Hallelujah, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and this One builds up His church upon the revelation of Himself! Praise the Lord, Christ and the church are the great mystery, and we are part of this mystery today! Amen, Lord, unveil us and grant us a spirit of wisdom and revelation for us to see Christ and the church as one spirit being the great mystery!

Seeing a Vision of Christ and the Church: Christ as the Stories of God and the Church as the Stories of Christ

When we look at the universe, we are amazed, for it is wonderful, ever-expanding, and great. But the true meaning of the universe is a story of God and His relationship with man; this story has two sections.

The meaning of the universe is Christ and the church, the great mystery.

First, the mystery of God is manifested in Christ; Christ is the mystery of God (Col. 2:2). Christ is the stories of God. Apart from Christ, we cannot see God, nor can we know the story of God.

In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). Everything concerning God is in Christ; all His stories, all the mysteries which man cannot understand, everything related to God is in Christ, for Christ is the mystery of God.

This is the first half of the great mystery, the meaning of the universe. The second half is the mystery of Christ, which is the church (Eph. 3:4-6).

The stories of Christ, all that Christ is, and all the contents of the mystery which is Christ, is now in the church; the church is the mystery of Christ.

There is a distinction between these two – the mystery of God is Christ and the mystery of Christ is the church. In one sense, these two are one, but in another sense, there are particular details concerning each of them.

In the book of Colossians, we see a revelation of Christ, the Head, as the mystery of God, and in the book of Ephesians, we see a revelation of the church, the Body of Christ, as the mystery of Christ.

These two are one and should be put together, for when the Head and the Body are one, there’s one complete person, the corporate Christ; this is a great mystery.

When we read the Gospels and also the Epistles, especially Colossians, we see Christ as the mystery of God. All the stories of God are in Christ as the Head and are related to Christ.

Do you want to know God? Do you want to see God? Do you want to know what God is like and what He does? You need to look at Christ, for all the stories of God are in Christ.

Do we want to know Christ? Do we want to see what He is like, what He does, and how He acts? We need to look at the church, for the church is the mystery of Christ, and all the stories of Christ are in the church.

1 Timothy 3:16 puts these two together when it says, Great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh.

This is indeed a great mystery: God, who is hidden and mysterious, was embodied in Christ, and even more, Christ is expressed and manifested through the church!

If we want to know the mystery, story, and matters of God and man, man and God, we must know Christ and the church, the great mystery.

Christ is a mystery; the church is a mystery; Christ and the church are a great mystery. All the stories of God are in Christ, and all the stories of Christ are in the church.

When we read the Bible and see Christ, we understand God; when we come to the meetings of the church and see Christ, we understand Christ, for Christ is manifested in the church.

May the Lord enlighten the eyes of our heart to see the great mystery, Christ and the church.

If we see this great mystery, we have everything; if we do not see this great mystery, if we don’t see the stories of God in Christ and the stories of Christ in the church, we have nothing.

If we need patience, we don’t need to ask God for more patience; we simply need to see the great mystery, Christ and the church.

When we see that God is embodied in Christ and Christ is expressed and manifested through the church, we will know the meaning of the universe and the meaning of the human life, and all our needs will be met.

All the good and important things in the Bible depend upon this mystery, Christ and the church. The great mystery has two parts: Christ as the expression of God and the church as the expression of Christ.

We need to see this mystery ourselves and we also need to bring others into the seeing of this mystery.

What we need to do is not just exhort others to be better, serve the Lord more, or have more patience and be more kind.

Rather, we simply need to bring many into the seeing of the vision of the great mystery – Christ as the stories of God and the church as the stories of Christ.

When we see this vision, when anyone sees this vision, love, patience, kindness, and a fervent spirit to serve the Lord will be our portion automatically.

When we see Christ and the church, the great mystery, we will love the Lord and love others, and we will serve the Lord in spirit.

Lord Jesus, we come to You in Your word to see the mystery of God, Christ. Amen, Lord, unveil us to see Christ as the stories of God! Wow, all that God is, all He has, all He has done, and all He will do is all embodied in Christ, for Christ is the mystery of God! Amen, Lord, may our heart be turned to You and may our spirit be exercised to see a vision of Christ! Unveil us further, Lord, to see the church as the mystery of Christ! Wow, in the church we can see the stories of Christ, for all that Christ is, all He has, and all He is doing is in the church! Hallelujah for Christ and the church, the great mystery! Amen, Lord, may we see the mystery of Christ and the church and may we bring others also into the seeing of this mystery! May we focus on nothing else but on the meaning of the universe and the meaning of our human life, Christ and the church! May a clear vision of Christ and the church govern us in our daily living and supply us in all things!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brother Ricky Acosta in this conference, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1956, vol. 2, “Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church,” ch. 1, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (part 3 – 2025 Summer Training), week 28, The Mystery of God – Christ – day 2.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – The extracts of the Bible being Christ, the Spirit, life, and the church, a portion from, Four Crucial Elements of the Bible, The—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, Chapter 10, by Witness Lee.
  – No Thought of Independence in the Bible, via, Shepherding Words.
  – Watchman Nee’s ministry – Christ and the church, a portion from, Watchman Nee—A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, Chapter 22, by Witness Lee.
  – What Is the Church according to the Bible? More via, Bibles for America blog.
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• Hymns on this topic:
  – Christ is the mystery of God; / God is invisible, unshown, / His image man hath never seen, / But Christ the Son hath made Him known… / The Church the myst’ry is of Christ, / For He is now to man unshown; / No man on earth may see Him now, / But thru the Church He is made known. (Hymns #818 stanzas 1 and 4)
  – As Christ is God’s true mystery, / God to explain and God express; / So is the Church Christ’s mystery, / Christ to explain and manifest. (Hymns #821 stanza 3)
  – Is the Church to Christ, and thereby / God in Christ may be / Glorified thru His redeemed ones / To eternity. / Thus the Church and Christ together, / God’s great mystery, / Is the mingling of the Godhead / With humanity. (Hymns #819 stanzas 8-9)