Living in the Central Line of the Bible

As a reader of the Bible for many years, I can truly say that I love the Bible!  As the Psalmist said, “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey to my mouth.” (Psa. 119:103). I feel washed and refreshed as I read its pages—even for just a few minutes, especially when matched with heart-turning prayer to the One revealed in it pages. It is my desire to continue reading (Acts 17:11) and eating (Jer. 15:16) God’s wonderful words daily until I meet the Lord.

 Yet, as believers who frequently read God’s Word, what should our focus be? To answer this question, I am very grateful to have received the help from a Christian conference earlier this month on “The Central Line in the Bible.” From the speaking from this conference, I feel freshly enlightened by the Lord as to what my focus as a believer should be. I desire to be one whose entire Christian life and service is according to the central line of the Bible so that I and all those believers whom I contact, will always be kept in this focus.

You may ask me what is this central line in the Bible and how can I distinguish it from other lines of doctrine or practice? The central line includes: God’s eternal Word, the Triune God Himself, God’s eternal economy (or plan), the all-inclusive Christ, the life-giving Spirit, the Body of Christ and the holy city, New Jerusalem.  This line in the Bible is altogether eternal and in actuality is nothing less than the living Person of Christ Himself. For example, Christ is the eternal Word of God (John 1:1, 1 John 1:1) and the content of God’s written word (John 5:39-40). And He is also the embodiment of the entire Triune God (Col. 2:9). Such items are not merely objective matters of the Christian faith, for which we as Christ’s believers should contend. They are the eternal, divine realities of this wonderful Person Himself, Whom we should daily experience, enjoy and express in our Christian life and service. I desire that every one of these divine realities would be the taste and savor (2 Cor. 2:14-15) manifested in my Christian life and church life.

The second line in the Bible is the line of supplemental matters that should lead us to this central line such as the Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ and types concerning Him. Even the church in its physical existence with its outward practices is something supplemental becoming the procedure to bring us into the reality of the Body of Christ. Finally, there are the many other matters of Christian experience and church practice which should be the “leaves and branches” manifesting the organic nature of this central line or being the channels of supply to carry out the matters in the central line. All the practices of the believers, as helpful as they may be, must be viewed as such “leaves and branches,” which, if wrongly emphasized, may lead to division and emptiness.

How can we apply this central line to our daily Christian experience? Since knowing by experience the reality of this central line requires an apprehending with all the saints (Eph. 3:18-19), I invite you to join me on this journey into the vast territory of revelation and experience, appreciating some of this divine scenery together.

In my coming posts I would like to explore some of the great matters in the central line of the Bible: 1) to strengthen our vision of them, 2) to digest and apply them to our Christian experience a little bit at a time and 3) to blog about them so as to encourage myself and others to advance in this worthwhile pursuit. I believe that such a life in the central line of the Bible is one that has its source in God’s good pleasure in eternity past and its consummation in the fulfillment of God’s purpose for eternity future. Such a life is one that redeems the time, understands what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 5:16-17), and is filled with the joy of the Lord.