They Rejoiced Greatly Because They Understood

In the summer of 1993 I read the Bible out of a deep desire to know the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Lord whom I loved, but whose Word I had not yet explored. Through out the course of that summer, each day’s reading brought fresh light, genuine revelation, and renewed vigor—proofs that God’s Word truly is “living and operative” (Heb 4:12). There were, however, portions of the Scripture which either made me feel uncomfortable or flatly baffled me. One such portion was Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul’s famous discourse on human marriage being a type that finds its fulfillment in the union of Christ and the church. However, I would not be mystified for long; clarity would come through the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and fellowship with believers in the local church in Irvine, California.

I moved from Long Beach to Irvine at the end of that summer to attend college. One of the first meetings I attended was a noontime seminar/fellowship that was held on campus. The subject of the meeting was Christ and the church as the universal couple. That day I saw for the first time that God has a desire in the universe, and that desire is to have a wife composed of all of His redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified believers (Revelation 21:2,9-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19,3; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:17,30). This vision was confirmed and enlarged two months later at a college mountain retreat, where I saw that, just as Eve was built from the rib which came out of Adam’s side, the church, the wife of the lamb, is built from the two elements which flowed out of Christ’s side when He was pierced on the cross: blood for redemption and water for the imparting of the divine life into the believers (John 19:34). As Eve was brought to Adam to be his counterpart, so the church will be brought to Christ to be His eternal counterpart. I saw that the Bible was the unfolding of this divine romance, which will consummate with the glorious union of Christ and His believers who have been conformed to His image (Romans 8:29) to be His corporate expression and His wife for His satisfaction in love for eternity.

I had never heard such a clear and revelatory teaching from the Bible. Like the captives who had returned to Israel from Babylon and who greatly rejoiced “because they understood the words [of the Law] that were declared to them” (Nehemiah 8:12) in the teaching of Ezra, so I rejoiced greatly because I understood the words of the Bible through the teaching of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. Praise the Lord for opening up His Word through these brothers! God has shown me through His Word what is on His heart, and my life will never be the same! God has a heart’s desire, and He needs my cooperation to fulfill that desire. May His heart’s desire be satisfied! O Lord Jesus, quickly come!

T.E.