I.　The divine economy is God's household administration to dispense Him?self in His Divine Trinity into His chosen and redeemed people so that He may have a house, a household, to express Himself, which household is the church, the Body of Christ, consummating in the New Jerusalem—1 Tim. 1:4; 3:15; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:16; Rev. 21:2.

II.　In the divine economy Christ is God's Anointed, the Messiah—John 1:41; 20:31:

A.　In John 20:31 we see that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God:

1.　The Christ is a title of the Lord Jesus according to His office—Matt. 16:16, 20:

a.　This title refers to the Lord's commission for the accomplishment of God's purpose to have the church; for the carrying out of God's adminis?tration, the Lord Jesus is the Christ, the anointed One—v. 18.

b.　Christ's commission is to accomplish God's eternal purpose through His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and second advent—vv. 21, 27; Eph. 1:22-23.

2.　The Son of the living God is a title of the Lord Jesus according to His per?son—Matt. 16:16; John 20:31:

a.　His commission is a matter of God's work, and His person is a matter of God's life—3:15-16; 1 John 5:11-12.

b.　The Lord's person embodies the Father and issues in the Spirit for a full expression of the Triune God—John 14:10-12, 16-18.

B.　The Lord Jesus is the anointed One to accomplish God's purpose to dispense Himself into us; through the function of God's Anointed, the Triune God is dispensed into us for the producing of the church—2 Cor. 1:2, 21; 13:14.

C.　As the One anointed by God, Christ is the appointed One—the One who has been commissioned by God to carry out the desire of His heart—Eph. 1:5.

III.　In the divine economy Christ is the One having the preeminence in all things—Col. 1:18:

A.　God's purpose is to give Christ the preeminence in all things; thus, God's intention in His administration is to make Christ preeminent, to cause Him to have the first place in everything—v. 18.

B.　Both in the old creation and in the new creation, both in the universe and in the church, Christ occupies the first place, the place of preeminence—vv. 15, 18.

C.　For Christ to be the first means that He is all; since Christ is the first both in the universe and in the church, He must be all things in the universe and in the church—3:10-11.

D.　For Christ to have the preeminence in all things, God needs a people; apart from God's having a people, there is no way for Christ to be made preemi?nent—Eph. 3:21; 1 Tim. 3:15.

E.　Christ must have the preeminence in our personal universe, where many things are happening to make Christ preeminent—Col. 3:17; 1 Cor. 10:31.

IV.　In the divine economy Christ is the Head and center of all things—Eph. 1:10, 22:

A.　God has seated Christ at His right hand in the heavenlies, subjected all things under His feet, and made Him Head over all things to the church—vv. 20-22.

B.　Through all the dispensations of God in all the ages, all things will be headed up in Christ; this will be God's eternal administration and economy—v. 10:

1.　The entire universe is under Christ's heading up; at the economy of the fullness of the times everything will be headed up in Christ—v. 10.

2.　"In His Christ to head up all things / Is our God's economy; / Taking Christ as Head and Center, / All is one in harmony"—Hymns, #981.

C.　Christ is not only the Head of all things but also the center of all things; Christ is the center for the heading up of all things in Himself—v. 10.

V.　In the divine economy Christ is the One who fills all in all—v. 23; 4:10:

A.　Through the enjoyment of Christ's riches, we become His fullness to express Him; this is the fullness of Christ as the One who fills all in all—3:8; 1:23.

B.　"He who descended, He is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things"—4:10:

1.　Christ descended from heaven to earth in His incarnation; He descended farther, from earth to Hades, in His death; and eventually He ascended from Hades to earth in His resurrection and from earth to heaven in His ascen?sion.

2.　Through such a journey Christ cut the way so that He might fill all things.

VI.　In the divine economy Christ is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, and the Alpha and the Omega—Rev. 22:13:

A.　The First indicates that nothing is before Him, and the Beginning means that He is the origination of all things—1:17; 2:8; 22:13.

B.　The Last indicates that there is none after Him, and the End means that He is the consummation of all things—1:17; 2:8; 22:13.

C.　For Christ to be the Alpha and the Omega means that He is the complete content and continuation of God's operation; He is able to accomplish every?thing in the divine economy—1:8; 22:13.

VII.　In the divine economy Christ is the portion of the saints—Col. 1:12:

A.　The Father has qualified us for a share of the all-inclusive Christ as our portion for our enjoyment—cf. Deut. 8:7-10.

B.　As our portion, Christ includes all the other aspects of His person in the divine economy: God's Anointed, the One having the preeminence in all things, the Head and center of all things, the One who fills all in all, and the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, and the Alpha and the Omega; such a Christ is our portion.

C.　All the aspects of Christ in the divine economy are applicable in our daily life, and they should all become our subjective experience and enjoyment—Col. 3:17.