In everything we do, we need a pattern, a model, an example. Even in the experience of Christ and the enjoyment of Christ, we need a pattern. This pattern is Christ Himself. Chapter three indicates that Christ should be our goal, our aim. We who love the Lord and seek Him are not aimless. Our aim is Christ Himself. He is the goal toward which we press. Finally, in chapter four, Christ is our strength.
In 4:13 Paul says, “I can do all things in Him who empowers me.” Christ is not only the pattern and the goal; He is also the strength, the power, the dynamo. As the dynamo within us, he empowers us to live Him, to magnify Him, and to press on toward Him as the goal. In the four chapters of Philippians, we see Christ as the One lived out and magnified, Christ as the pattern, Christ as the goal, and Christ as our inward strength. This book on the experience of Christ covers four major points: the expression, the pattern, the goal, and the strength.
Born in 1905 in northern China, Witness Lee was raised in a Christian family and educated in English-speaking schools. At the age of 19 he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and consecrated himself to preach the gospel. Early in his service, Witness Lee met Watchman Nee and began to labor together with him. In 1949 Witness Lee was sent by Watchman Nee to Taiwan to ensure that the things delivered to them by the Lord would be preserved. In 1962 Witness Lee came to the United States and began to minister here. He ministered in weekly conferences, delivering several thousand spoken messages until 1997. He gave his last public conference in February 1997 at the age of 91. His major work, Life-study of the Bible, comprises over 25,000 pages of commentary on every book of the Bible from the perspective of the believers' enjoyment and experience of God's divine life in Christ through the Spirit.