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The Lord came so that we may have life (John 10:10). If He had become flesh and died on the cross as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world without becoming the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), He would have been able to redeem us, but He would not have been able to give us life. After His death and resurrection, the Lord stood in the midst of His disciples in the evening of His resurrection, and He breathed into His disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). The Spirit gave them life. Life is a matter of the Spirit. The Lord said, “It is the Spirit who gives life;...the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (6:63). The Lord is the Spirit who gives us life, and His words, the words in the Bible, are spirit and life.
We should not receive the Bible as a book of teaching. The words in the Bible convey the Spirit. The Lord is the Spirit, and the words in the Bible are spirit and life so that we may have life. The Lord became the Spirit to give us life, and when we receive His word into us, it becomes the Spirit to give us life.
First Corinthians 15:45 says, “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” The last Adam refers to the Lord as the Lamb of God, as the Redeemer, and as a man. As the last Adam, the Lord redeemed us. Then He became a life-giving Spirit. Redemption is a procedure, and its goal is to give us life. We receive life when we receive the Spirit, because it is the Spirit who gives life. Romans 8:2 combines the Spirit and life and speaks of the Spirit of life. The life we receive from the Lord is altogether in the Spirit.
It is in this life that we are being saved in our daily living. Eternal salvation, which refers to our being saved from God’s punishment, from perdition, and from the lake of fire, is accomplished through the redemption of the Lord Jesus on the cross. However, we need to be saved daily in our living by the Lord’s life. Our daily salvation is through the Lord’s life and in His life. We are not only saved in His life, but we also reign in His life (Rom. 5:10, 17) until all our actions are in newness of life (6:4). Hence, we should walk in the Spirit and by the Spirit (Gal. 5:25).
Even though we have followed the Lord for many years, we need a fresh view of the divine life because in our concept life is something outward. We do not have a deep appreciation of life being a matter in the Spirit. Our outward changes are not life. The changes we help others make are not life. For example, a brother with a bad temper, who regularly attends the meetings, listens to messages, and contacts the saints, will spontaneously be influenced to improve his temper. This desire to improve his temper is not life; it is the cultivation of his character. It is the issue of being in an atmosphere of spending time before the Lord, fellowshipping with the Lord, and reading His Word. Such an atmosphere naturally subdues his anger so that he does not readily vent his anger. However, this is not life. This is the result of an outward influence on the cultivation of his character.
Life is in our spirit, where the Spirit of life dwells. The Lord is the Spirit, and the Spirit is life. This life is in the deepest part of our being; hence, we need to call on the Lord and breathe His Spirit. This is the life that subdues our anger. Even if everything in our environment is provoking us to anger, the anger vanishes when we call, “O Lord! Amen!” This is life.
If we are still focused on helping others to improve their behavior and their character, we have not seen that life is entirely a matter of the Spirit; it has nothing to do with outward things. When we receive life, there is a result. Although the result may be visible, it is an expression of the life within us.
We have been speaking concerning this truth for more than twenty years, but we have still not entered into the reality of this truth. We are still helping others, correcting others, and advising them to improve. This is the cultivation of character. This is also the reason that in recent years we have rarely given messages concerning outward matters related to improvement or cultivation of character. We must speak concerning the Spirit. There is no need for us to speak of outward changes, because they are not life.
As members of the Lord who serve Him for the testimony of His church, our urgent need is the divine life. May the Lord have mercy on us and give us a vision of life. Life is not outward, nor is life an activity. Life is the Spirit. Life is the Lord lived out of us. In all the churches we must turn away from methods and turn to life so that we lead and supply the saints in life.
