God’s Need for Us to Enjoy the All-Inclusive Christ

God has a need, and His need is that we would enjoy the all-inclusive Christ. It may seem strange to say that God has a need since He is omnipotent. Yet the Bible reveals that there is a great universal struggle between God and Satan. Although God has the ability in Himself to deal with Satan, He has chosen to limit Himself in this struggle. He limits Himself to man. If we read the Bible carefully and thoroughly, we will see that it is through human beings that God defeats Satan and undoes his works. As The All-inclusive Christ points out, in the Old Testament there is a marvelous all-inclusive type of Christ that shows how man can cooperate with God in this endeavor. This type is the land. All the battles in the Old Testament were related to the land. In this article, we will present a brief overview of The All-inclusive Christ while discussing how to use this book to appropriate what it reveals regarding Christ in one’s daily Christian life.

The first chapter introduces the land of Canaan as an all-inclusive type of Christ. This land was the center of God’s plan. It was an exceedingly rich land that God gave to His people for them to live in, labor on, and enjoy. It was spacious, elevated, and full of water, food, and minerals typifying the unsearchable riches of Christ. Out of this land and on this land, a city and a temple were built to be the fullness of this land, typifying the church as the fullness of the all-inclusive Christ. The temple was the center of God’s presence, and the city was the center of His authority. Throughout the Old Testament, we can see that Satan was actively working to frustrate God’s people from enjoying this land. Today, Satan is actively working to frustrate God’s people from enjoying the all-inclusive Christ. When God’s people do not enjoy this Christ, they do not have God’s presence or His authority, and thus God’s purpose in using man to defeat Satan is frustrated.

To thoroughly dig into the richness of Christ, we invite you to read slowly, carefully, and prayerfully chapters 2-8 of The All-Inclusive Christ. These chapters present the goodness of the land. After having seen this land and discovered this Christ, chapters 9-13 present how to possess this land. Again, it is worthwhile to take the time to read these chapters slowly, carefully, and prayerfully in order to possess and experience this all-inclusive Christ in your daily Christian life. The final three chapters speak of entering the good land, life in the land, and the issue of the land - the temple and the city. The final chapter is particularly crucial as it underscores that our enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ is not ultimately for our personal satisfaction but to meet God’s need and satisfy His desire. It is our prayer that through this book the Lord would gain many who would know and experience the all-inclusive Christ in their daily Christian life.

Book Spotlight - The All-Inclusive Christ

Do you have Christ? Yes, you have Christ. But what kind of Christ do you have, a lamb or a land? All the people of Israel had the lamb on that passover day in Egypt, but very few, I am sorry to say, got into the land. Very few took possession of that piece of land...

I deeply feel that most of the Lord’s children are still remaining in Egypt. They have experienced only the passover; they have just taken the Lord as the lamb. They have been saved by the lamb, but they have not been delivered out of the world. Yes, some have come out of Egypt, some have been delivered from the world, but they are still wandering in the wilderness. They enjoy Christ a little more; they enjoy Him as their daily manna. They can boast that they enjoy Christ as their food and they are so satisfied. But, brothers and sisters, is this good enough? I think when we meet those who enjoy Christ as their daily manna, we are very happy. We say, “Praise the Lord, here are some brothers and sisters who really enjoy the Lord as their manna day by day.” But we must realize that this falls far short of God’s purpose. God’s purpose is not just that we enjoy Christ a little but that He should be the all-inclusive One to us. Look at this verse: “As therefore you have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, walk in Him” (v. 6). He is a sphere, a realm for us to walk in. He is not just some food or water but a realm, a land within which we can walk. We must walk in Him. He is our land; He is our earth; He is our kingdom. Walk in Him. (The All-Inclusive Christ, pp. 13-14)