THE LABOR OF LOVE (4)
[Our visiting people should be a response to Christ’s transcending]. Today our Lord is prevailing. No one in Hades, on the earth, in the air, or even in the third heaven can defeat the Lord Jesus. In His ascension the Lord Jesus transcended and surpassed Hades, the earth, the air, and also the third heaven (Heb. 4:14). The Lord needed to transcend even the third heaven because the third heaven was polluted by Satan’s presence (Job 1:6). Because Satan still has a place in the third heaven, even the third heaven needs to be under the feet of Christ. Hence, Hebrews 7:26 tells us that today Christ, our High Priest, is higher than the heavens. He is not only higher than Hades, the earth, and the air, but also higher than the heavens. He is at the peak of the universe. According to Ephesians 1:20-23, Christ’s transcendence is for Him to form the church.
In Ephesians 1:3-14 the threefold dispensing of the Triune God only produces the materials to constitute the church; it does not form the church. Before the transmitting of the transcending Christ in Ephesians 1:22, there were the materials, such as Peter and the one hundred twenty in Acts 1, but there was no church. On the day of Pentecost the church was formed not by the crucified Christ or the resurrected Christ but by the transcending Christ who passed through and surpassed the power of darkness in Hades, the opposition on earth, the rulers and authorities in the air, and even God’s abode in the third heaven. He is the One who has the power to overcome all kinds of circumstances to form the church. When He formed the church, He was the transcending One. Caesar, the high priests, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the elders were all opposing Him. Jesus did not care for these opposing ones. He is transcending. When He poured out Himself on the earth, the church was formed. Peter and the one hundred twenty became one. On the day of Pentecost, when Peter stood up to speak, he did not stand up by himself; he stood up with the eleven (2:14). It was not Peter who spoke; it was the church that spoke. The church had come into existence; hence, from Acts 2 the church is mentioned specifically (5:11; 8:1, 3; 9:31; 11:22, 26; 12:1, 5; 13:1; 14:23, 27; 15:3-4, 22; 18:22; 20:17, 28).
The unique transmitting of the transcending Christ is not for producing materials to constitute His Body but for forming the materials into one Body. Today we need to realize that our going out to visit people belongs to Christ’s transcending. Hades is opposing, the whole earth is opposing, and the rulers and authorities in the air are opposing. Even God’s abode in the third heaven was polluted by the presence of Satan. Christ has transcended and surpassed all of these. No one can compete with Him in His transcendence. He is the One who has every kind of power. In Matthew 28:18 He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Then in verse 19 He said, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations.” Our going out to visit people is a response to Christ’s transcendence, in which He received all authority. This is for the forming of the church. If we do not go, the church cannot be formed. (Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and Practice of the Vital Groups”, ch. 12, pp. 363-365)
The church in Zamboanga 