Will you please turn to the book of Acts, Acts Chapter 20? We will read from verse 17.
From Miletus, having sent to Ephesus, he called over to him the elders of the assembly.
And when they were come to him, he said to them, “Ye know, from the first day that I arrived in Asia, after what manner I was with you all the time, serving the Lord with all lowliness and tears, and temptations which happened to me through the plots of the Jews;
how I held nothing back of what is profitable, so as not to announce it to you and teach you publicly and in every house, testifying both to Jews and Greeks repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now, behold, bound in my spirit, I go to Jerusalem, not knowing what things shall happen to me in it;
only that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and tribulations await me.
But I make no account of my life as dear to myself, so that I finish my course, and the ministry which I received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the glad tidings of the grace of God.”
“And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
Wherefore I witness to you this day that I am clean from the blood of all, for I have not shrunk from announcing to you all the counsel of God.
Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock wherein the Holy Spirit has set you as overseers, to shepherd the assembly of God, which He has purchased with the blood of His own.
For I know this, that there will come in amongst you after my departure grievous wolves, not sparing the flock;
and from among your own selves shall rise up men speaking perverted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
Wherefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, I ceased not admonishing each one of you with tears.”
“And now I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give to you an inheritance among all the sanctified.
I have coveted the silver or gold or clothing of no one.
Yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my wants and to those who were with me.
I have shown you all things: that thus laboring we ought to come to the help of the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Let us go back to Acts 20:27:
“For I have not shrunk from announcing to you all the counsel of God.”
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee that it is by Thy grace that we are this morning brought into Thy very presence. We know, Lord, that Thou art here with us.
Lord, we do desire to remove our shoes because we are standing on holy ground. We are in Thy presence.
Lord, speak to us. Thy servants hear. In the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
The Apostle Paul, in his farewell address to the elders of the church in Ephesus, shared his very heart with them. He told them that for three years, from the very beginning to the very end, he announced to them and testified to them with tears and with faithfulness.
He announced to them and testified to them repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. He testified to them all the glad tidings of the grace of Jesus Christ. He preached to them the kingdom of God.
He said that during those three years, in public and in private, he had not withheld anything that was profitable to them. He had not shrunk back from announcing to them the whole counsel of God.
So now, the whole counsel of God, to the Apostle Paul, was not only a duty, but it was his delight.
Unfortunately, while he was in Corinth—and there he was a year and a half—during that whole time he was not able to share with the Corinthian believers that which was dearest to him.
He was determined, while he was with the Corinthians, to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. But because of the carnal condition of the Corinthian believers, he was never able to tell them the wisdom of God in a mystery.
You remember in 1 Corinthians 2 how he said that among the perfect—that is, among those who grow up—then he was able to share with them the wisdom of God in a mystery.
It concerns the things that God has given to us. It is something that the world does not know. It is something that ears have not heard, eyes have not seen, and that has not even come into the mind of man; but it is something that God has prepared for those who love Him. It is concerning our glory.
Now, that is the thing that Paul desired most to share with God’s people. But unfortunately, because of the condition of the Corinthian believers, he was held back.
When you read 1 Corinthians, you can see that even though he was not able to share with them fully the whole counsel of God, yet you still find that he was trying—trying to break out—but he could not get through it.
But thank God, with the Ephesian believers, he was able to share what was dearest in his heart.
Brothers and sisters, here the Apostle Paul represents our God. It is the very heart of God, the desire of God, to share with His children that which is closest, nearest, and dearest to Him.
Parents would like very much to share with their children what is uppermost in their heart: their purpose, their plan, their desire, their wish. But when the children are little, they are not able to share with them what they would like to do.
But when the children are growing up, then you find that the parents will try every means to share here a little and there a little with their children, that they may be able to understand what is in the heart of the parents—their desire that the children will become part of the parents’ wish.
How much more is this true of our heavenly Father? It is His desire to share with us all that is in His heart. He does not want to withhold anything from His own.
You see, brothers and sisters, to know the whole counsel of God is our birthright. Everyone who is born from above has the right to know the whole counsel of God.
But unfortunately, you find many of God’s people despise their birthright, just like Esau.
Esau was born first. He had the birthright, but he despised it. He despised it for the things on earth, and because of this he lost the blessing of the birthright.
Many of God’s children do the same thing. We have a birthright. We ought to know the whole counsel of God, and yet we despise it. We neglect it.
Because of this, we are in the dark. We do not know what our heavenly Father’s desire is, what is purposed for us, what is His will, or what is His plan. We do not know.
To know the whole counsel of God is a privilege. On the one hand, it is our birthright; yet on the other hand, it is a privilege. It is the privilege of those who are growing up. It is the privilege of those who love the Lord. It is the privilege of those who are really seeking.
Hopefully, by the grace of God, when we are gathered here at this time, we will be the privileged ones, and He will reveal to us the whole counsel of God.
When we talk about the counsel of God, I think we have to go back to the very beginning. So will you please turn to Ephesians Chapter 1? We will read three verses, Ephesians 1:9-11.
“Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, for the administration of the fullness of times; to head up all things in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth;
in Him, in whom we have also obtained an inheritance, being marked out beforehand according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His own will.”
Now, in these three verses, we have three things:
Brothers and sisters, our God is the supreme will in the universe. Even before the foundation of the world, He willed a will, He exercised His will, and made a purpose.
What He has willed, what He has purposed, is according to what He is. His will is as glorious and immense as He is in Himself.
He wills according to His good pleasure. He can will anything He wants to, and He only wills according to what He really is. So, brothers and sisters, we can be sure: when God wills His will, when He purposes His purpose, that must be tremendous.
It is called the mystery of His will. Why a mystery? Because God is a mystery.
God is beyond our human comprehension. Unless He reveals Himself, He is forever hidden from us. And that is the same thing with His will and with His purpose.
His purpose, His will, is a mystery. It means that it is something hidden, very deep in the heart of God. No one can understand it unless He reveals it.
When He reveals that mystery, then it becomes known to man. That is the reason why, brothers and sisters, when we come into this matter of God’s purpose and His will, revelation is a must.
Let God reveal what is in His heart. Unless we receive that revelation, we will always be in the dark, and it will always remain a mystery to us.
But thank God, it pleases Him to reveal His Son in us. It is the delight, the pleasure, of God to reveal. If we are open, if our hearts are turned towards Him, certainly He will reveal the mystery of His will to us.
Now, after God has willed a will, then you find there is a counsel of His will. Counsel is the result of determination.
When God wills a will, He is determined to see that purpose fulfilled. And with that determination, there is a counsel.
In the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—they held a counsel. They talked the things over. They laid down a plan: all-inclusive, airtight, to make sure that the purpose would be realized.
That is the reason why you find the Apostle Paul, in Romans 11, when he reviewed the counsel of God, concluding with an exclamation:
“O depth of riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and untraceable His ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?
Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be rendered to him?
For of Him, and through Him, and for Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.”
When God made His plan, His counsel, He did not ask for help from anyone. Nobody was there. Nobody was His counselor. He alone made this perfect plan.
After the plan was made, then you find God began to work. He began to work through time, with all His power, until all His plans were accomplished and His purpose achieved.
So that is the whole counsel of God: His will is perfect, His plan is complete, and His power is almighty.
What is the whole counsel of God? The whole counsel of God must be all-inclusive.
But as we study the Word of God, we can see that the whole counsel of God is focused upon three areas. His counsel is focused upon Christ, upon Christians, and upon the church.
Without doubt, the whole counsel of God is centered upon Christ. God so loved His Son, His only begotten Son, that He has made Him heir of all things.
In order that He be heir of all things, He created all things in His Son, by His Son, and for His Son.
When all things began to disintegrate because of sin, again it would be His Son who would come to reconcile all things back to God. Everything is centered upon His Son, Christ Jesus. I think that is heaven.
But it also pleases the Father to give His Son a life companion, His counterpart, to help Him in His work and to share with Him His glory.
So you find that in the whole counsel of God, there is the church, the bride of Christ. God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will give him a helpmeet, his like.” That man is Christ, and that helpmeet is the church.
Now, brothers and sisters, the church is not another center. In the whole counsel of God there is only one center, and the center is Christ.
The church is not a center, but the church is joined to Christ. So it is still Christ at the center. But without the church, Christ is not complete.
Now, in the process of bringing about the church, you find our Lord Jesus came into this world. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among men, full of grace and truth.
As a matter of fact, the Lord came to this earth to seek for His bride. But He could not find the bride anywhere.
You know, just like Adam: when God brought all the animals before Adam, Adam looked at all these animals and gave them names, but he could not find his like.
For that reason, God had to put him to sleep, to take out of him something to make him a counterpart.
Now, the same thing is true with our Lord Jesus. He came to this world to seek for His bride, but all He could find were sinners and rebels.
For this reason, He had to lay down His life. He had to go to the cross. He had to complete the work of redemption in order to redeem a people out of every nation, every tribe, every tongue, and every people.
He would redeem this one and that one. You know, brothers and sisters, salvation comes upon us individually. No one can be saved for another person. We are saved individually.
The Lord came to seek one after another. He gave us life. He transforms us. He conforms us to His own image. Now, these people are Christians.
With these Christians gathering together under His head, He finds His church. So He said, “I will build My church upon this rock, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
“You are Peter. You are a stone.” There are many, many stones. We will be built up together on this foundation, and that is His dwelling place.
So, brothers and sisters, here you have Christ, Christians, and the church. As a matter of fact, the whole Bible teaches nothing but these three things: Christ, Christians, and church.
For this time, we would like to focus especially on the three prison letters of the Apostle Paul.
There is a divine order among these three. Christ is first. He is followed by Christians, and it ends with the church.
In other words, Christ is the origin. Everything that is of God must originate in Christ. Whatever is not originated from Christ, whatever does not come from Christ, is something that God will not accept.
Because it is the will of God that Christ shall be all and in all. Everything must be Christ. Everything must manifest Christ. He is the origin.
You cannot have Christians without Christ. You cannot have the church without Christ. He has to be the origin.
Now, if we apply this to Christians, everything that is Christian must originate from Christ. Or, to put it another way, anything that is Christian must be Christ.
Or you can turn it around and say, if it is not Christ, it is not Christian.
You know, our definition of a Christian is so loose. We even call people who are not saved Christians.
When we say, “Well, if you are saved, you are a Christian,” that is correct. But in another sense, it is not adequate, because a Christian is one in whom Christ is all.
Anything that is in the life of a Christian which is not Christ Himself is unchristian.
A Christian has his origin in Christ. Whether it is the beginning of our Christian life or the growth of our Christian life, you find that from the very beginning to the very end, it has to originate in Christ.
But Christian is a process. It originates in Christ, but it is not the destiny.
You find that in this world the Lord gathers stones out of dust. When we come to the Lord, we become living stones, as you find in 1 Peter 2. We become living stones because we have the life of Christ in us.
But, brothers and sisters, we are very rough stones. Even though we are living, we are very rough. That is the reason why you find the Lord, as the Polisher, has to cut us, saw us, smooth us, and finish us.
He takes away all these rough spots and makes us smooth stones, precious stones.
But even with these precious stones, it is not the will of God that we should just remain as precious stones. If you go to a museum, you will find exhibitions of precious stones there. Now, that is not God’s will.
God does not want to make Christians merely as monuments. No. He wants to build these precious stones together into a house, a church. That is the destiny.
So, brothers and sisters, so far as Christians are concerned, remember: a Christian has his origin in Christ, but a Christian is not the destiny. A Christian is the process.
We are processed into the final destination, which is the church, because the church is what Christ is looking for.
Furthermore, you will find that Christ, Christians, and the church are a unity. You cannot separate these three. They either stand together or fall together.
Christ does not stand alone. Why? Because if you have only Christ and you do not have Christians or the church, then the very meaning of Christ is lost.
Why was the Son of God anointed Christ? Why was He sent into this world? It was because of Christians. It was because of the church. Then why did He come at all?
Christ does not stand alone. His very coming is to have us as Christians. His very coming is to have His church, His bride.
So we see here that Christ does not stand alone. If you have Christ, you have Christians; you have the church. That is the will of God.
Now, can Christians stand alone? Of course we know we cannot. What is a Christian? A Christian is a Christ-one, one who has Christ.
A Christian is one in whom Christ dwells, and he also dwells in Christ. That makes him a Christian.
Without Christ, there can be no Christian.
My brothers and sisters, do you know that today we try to make Christians without Christ?
In some state churches, if you are born in that country, you are automatically a member of the church—a Christian.
Or, in some cases, if you are baptized, whether you really believe in the Lord or not, it does not matter. As long as you are born in a so-called Christian country and you are baptized when you are an infant, then you are a Christian.
So you find that man can make Christians without Christ.
If we think a little deeper, you will find that there are many Christians who are without Christ. Maybe you come from a Christian family. Because your parents are Christians, therefore automatically you become a Christian.
Or because you are studying in a Christian school, or working in a Christian organization, that makes you a Christian. But without Christ.
Or, if we can go a little deeper, you may believe mentally in a historical Christ, but you do not really believe into Him or have a living relationship with Christ.
Nominally, you have Christ, but really, you do not know Him. Yet you find multitudes of people like that who are called Christians. They are Christians without Christ.
Of course, you know they are nominal Christians, not real Christians. I was one like that for a long time, until, by the grace of God, He saved me.
So, dear brothers and sisters, you find that Christians cannot stand alone. You cannot be a Christian without Christ.
Now, can you be a Christian without the church?
You know, in the early days, if you read the book of Acts—for instance, if you read Acts 2—you will find that on the day of Pentecost three thousand people came to the Lord.
They believed in Christ. They became Christians. But if you look at these Christians, you find that they were not merely isolated, scattered, individual Christians.
You find that they all persevered, continuing in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in prayer, and in the breaking of bread.
In other words, you find that these Christians did not stand alone. They assembled together. They gathered together. They loved one another. They lived a church life, a body life.
They were one body. That is the situation you find in the early church. Everyone was not only committed to Christ, the Head; everyone was committed to one another.
A Christian cannot stand alone without the church.
It was not until the commencement of the Dark Ages that you find a man by the name of Anthony of Egypt. He was considered the first monk, the first Christian monk, in this world.
Of course, before him there were hermits already. But he was considered the first monk because he was the first one who lived an ascetic life and retired, separated from the world.
In other words, a monk, a hermit, is one who is alone with God, separated.
Yet even with Anthony, you find that during the time of persecution, he came out of his retirement and shared the dangers with other believers.
You know, we often hear a term: “My Lord and I.” When people say that, they say it out of pride: “My Lord and I. All my relationship is with the Lord. I do not need any brothers and sisters. I do not need to commit myself to any group. It is my Lord and I.”
It sounds very spiritual, but it is pseudo-spirituality.
The mystics seek for a union life with God. But even with the great mystics, you will find that they did not isolate themselves from other believers. It is only those extreme mystics who are like that.
Brothers and sisters, a Christian cannot stand without other believers, without the church. Why? Because we are just one member. We are not a whole body.
Now, if you see a limb here, a limb there, it will frighten you.
I still remember very vividly: once I was visiting a friend of mine, and we were eating together at the table. I saw a picture hanging on the wall. It was a picture of a table, and there was bread there, there was fruit there, and yet in the midst of the table a hand came out.
When I looked at it, I was puzzled. So I asked my friend, “What does that mean? Why is it that on the table there is suddenly a hand?”
He said, “My daughter drew that picture, and after she drew the bread and the fruit, she said, ‘Well, something is missing,’ so she put a hand there.”
Brothers and sisters, it was a real hand. I was frightened by the table.
That is how many Christians are. You want to be just “my Lord and I.” You are just like a limb standing there, like a foot standing there, or like a piece of a body on the stairway. It is terrible—frightening.
Oh, you say, “Yes, I go to the meeting. I join a church.” But, brothers and sisters, the question is: are you committed?
The older you grow, the wiser you become. You may have been burned somewhere when you were with other brothers and sisters, serving together. Because you were burned, you become very clever.
You know you have to go to a meeting. You have to have other brothers and sisters. You have to do this. Yet you always keep a distance.
You will never be committed to your brothers and sisters. Because you keep a distance, you are very safe. And many Christians are doing that.
If you are doing that, it simply shows that you are trying to separate Christians from the church. If you do that, you will never reach your destiny.
It is therefore very important, brothers and sisters, for us to see the whole counsel of God. We need to see God’s purpose. We need to understand His plan. And we need to know the power of God.
Finally, you remember two disciples of our Lord Jesus. On the day of resurrection, they left Jerusalem and were on their way to Emmaus.
Why did they do this? Because they were disappointed. They were disillusioned to a certain degree, because they said, “Jesus, we considered Him as the Messiah, as our hope, but He was crucified. He was buried.”
They could not understand. On that very day of resurrection, they left and went down to Emmaus.
But thank God, the risen Lord walked with them. Because He appeared to them in a different form, they did not know Him.
During their conversation, our Lord Jesus began to open up the Scriptures to them. When they heard the Scriptures opened to them, their hearts were warmed.
They urged the Lord Jesus to stay on at Emmaus. During the supper, when our Lord Jesus broke the bread, suddenly their eyes were opened. They saw the Lord.
And you know what happened? They returned to Jerusalem.
I believe they were among the one hundred and twenty together in that upper room when the Holy Spirit came, and they were baptized into one body.
Now, brothers and sisters, our hope, our prayer for this time, is that the Lord will walk with us; that He will open the Scriptures to us; that understanding will be given to us; and that our hearts will be warmed.
But more than that, that our eyes will be opened to see Him. Brothers and sisters, if we see Him and understand the Scriptures, what else can we do but return to Jerusalem, be with the others, waiting for the coming of the Lord?
So may the Lord help us. Let us pray.
Dear Lord, we have introduced this theme to Thy people. And now, Lord, we just depend utterly upon Thee to open the Scriptures and to reveal Thyself to us.
Lord, that we may rise up and return to Jerusalem, be with Thy people who wait for Thy coming. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.