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Scripture Reading: Phil. 1:19-21; 2:12-13, 16; 3:7-8, 12-15; 4:12-13
The Triune God is the Spirit who lives in our spirit today, and we are one spirit with Him. Hence, we must live and walk by the Spirit in our spirit. Although this matter is quite mysterious, it is very simple; it is so simple that even an elementary-school student can understand it. Therefore, our problem is not related to hearing and understanding this matter but rather to not giving heed to this matter and practicing it. This is a thick veil to us.
We are veiled by thoughts of how to carry out the things that we have heard. I do not have a method of how to practice this, because the Bible does not give us methods. A baby knows how to cry and breathe as soon as he is born. A doctor, nurse, or mother does not need to present a method to the baby, saying, “You have two lips, a throat, and lungs. You must learn to breathe and cry.” As long as a baby is alive, he will breathe and cry; there is no need for instruction.
Since we have heard many messages concerning this mystery, we should simply live in the spirit. According to my observation, however, we are still living according to our natural habits. In our daily living we are not accustomed to living in the spirit, nor are we accustomed to living one with the Lord. The Lord is not merely outside of us in the heavens; He is in us so that we may live by Him. Since we confess that the Lord Jesus lives in us, we should not ignore Him in our daily living. Even when someone just visits us, we need to spend time with him and talk to him. Wives often seek a divorce because their husbands are away from home for long periods of time or because their husbands ignore them even when they are home. This is very hard on a wife. The best husband works eight hours a day to support his family and then immediately goes home to be with his wife. Such a husband lives by his wife. On the other hand, if a wife is not at home much of the time or ignores her husband, caring only for her life, the husband will have regrets. The best wife accompanies her husband and cares for his needs. When her husband is about to leave for work, for example, she prepares a lunch and walks with him to the door. She also greets him when he comes home. Such a couple will not have thoughts of divorce, because the husband and wife are one in their living and walk together.
We have given many messages on this mystery; we cannot say that we have not heard it or seen it. We have heard the messages, but we have not given heed to them. We are still focused on our own things. This is our condition. Many of the leading ones in the churches in the United States were seminary students, pastors, and preachers who came out of Christianity. They touched many denominations and sects before they began to meet with us. They did not turn easily, but once they turned, they turned absolutely. They dropped their old ways, abandoning them completely. Before taking this way, some had to confer with their family, but they did this according to the Lord’s grace. Some had a wife who did not agree and who was reluctant to follow. Nevertheless, the brothers were peaceful within and determined to take this way. Now their wives know that this way is right, and they have inwardly turned in a full way. These couples no longer want anything from the past; they follow in an absolute way. When a message is released, they practice it immediately, and we quickly see fruit.
The situation in the Far East is not like this. We nod and take notes as we listen to the messages, but the messages do not remain in our being. Our prayers and meetings are old and routine because we have four thick veils that keep us from living by the Lord. The first veil is our disposition. Everyone has a particular disposition that causes many problems. The second veil is our culture. The Shanghainese and the Shandongnese each have their unique culture. The Chinese, Japanese, and Americans also have their particular culture. The third veil is the teaching that we received after our salvation. On the one hand, teachings help us, but on the other hand, teachings hurt us. For example, I studied English for almost sixty years, and my English teacher was a great help to me. Without his teaching, I would not know English. However, his Chinese accent has hurt my speaking. Even now, I speak with a similar accent. I have seventeen or eighteen grandchildren, and they all speak like native English speakers. My grandson can even correct my English. Similarly, it is very difficult for a person with the Foochow dialect to speak Mandarin. In regard to the teachings in Catholicism, we cannot say that they have not helped anyone, but this “help” has brought in much harm as well. This is true of the teachings in Protestantism and even of some of our former teachings. On the one hand, the teaching that we received after our salvation was positive, but we have also been hurt because we are unwilling to change and advance. The fourth veil is personal experience. If we do not pursue or love the Lord, we will not be veiled by our experience, because we will have no experience. However, as soon as we begin to love the Lord and pursue Him, our past experiences can become a present problem, even a veil. We all have these four veils; hence, it is difficult to receive the truth of this mystery.
Recently, when two brothers from a local church came to fellowship with me about their problems, I could tell from their conversation that they were not living in the spirit. One wanted to reason with me, and the other wanted to justify his actions. Those who live by the Lord do not reason or vindicate themselves; they simply live by the Lord. If we dwell on the past when we gather together, including on how we have been mistreated, we are not living in the spirit. We should live in the spirit. When we are in the spirit, we are the new man. The things of the past are the things of the old man, and there is no benefit from talking about them. We should not talk about things that occurred in the past. We should live by Christ, because the Lord is one with us. We can live and walk in Him. When we are about to speak, we should ask the Lord what He is speaking. If He has nothing to say, we should not speak. He is living in us today, and we can live one with Him.
When I fellowshipped with these two brothers, I knew that they had not received the content of the messages on living by Christ. One wanted to continue to reason, and the other wanted to justify himself. I said to the first brother, “You may win the argument,” and to the other I said, “You may be justified.” To both of them, however, I said, “But even if all the angels in the universe were on your side and would vouch for you, it would mean nothing. Without the Lord’s mercy, nothing that I say will matter, because you will still be in your reasonings and self-justification when you leave. You need the Lord’s mercy to see that you have not been living by Christ.” I encouraged them to pray, “Lord, I have been crucified and buried, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. I do not want to consider things in the past in order to determine who is right or wrong. Whether or not others approve of me, I want only to live by You because You are in me. Thank You that there is no place for murmurings or reasonings because You are not murmuring and reasoning, and I am one with You.”
I do not go dancing because it is wrong to go dancing but because I live by the Lord Jesus. He is not going, so neither am I. I do not lose my temper because it is wrong to lose one’s temper but because I live by the Lord. He is my life, and I live by Him. I do not lose my temper because He does not lose His temper. Furthermore, I open my mouth in the meeting because the Lord Jesus is opening His mouth to pray and praise. Such a living is extremely simple. The Lord Jesus is not old or routine. We must drop our habits. Our disposition, culture, and past experiences have been buried; today the Lord Jesus is living in us. We live by Him and are one with Him. We do not need to consider whether we can overcome, whether we are right, or whether we can improve; none of this should be our concern. The Lord Jesus lives in us, and we live by Him. Furthermore, we do not need to focus on dealing with ourselves or on learning lessons related to being broken. We do not even need to understand what is of our spirit and what is of our soul. We do not need to worry about these things, we simply need to live by the Lord. Our problem is that we are carrying around too much “baggage” from the past, and the leading brothers are only looking for improved methods. We should forget about methods and simply live by the Lord.
I hope we will genuinely experience the Lord living in us. We should live by the Lord from the start of our day. We should do what the Lord is doing. When this is our focus, we can spontaneously pray and share in a meeting. We do not need to focus on whether we are loud or quiet. Such considerations are based on our natural man and our habits. Living in the spirit is very spontaneous. Actually, everything related to the human life is quite spontaneous, including breathing, drinking, and eating. We should not let our habits direct us. If we truly receive this word and live by it, we will have no desire to argue about anything, because Christ will be living in us.
We must live by the spirit. If a brother listens to a message but still goes home and argues with his wife, this is a proof that he did not hear the message. If he truly heard, he would not argue. However, it would not be he who is not arguing, it would be Christ, the One living in him, who is not arguing. Satan is very clever; he wants to keep us from living by Christ and instead living by ourselves. First John 5:21 speaks of guarding ourselves from idols. The word idols refers to everything that replaces the true God, including our disposition, culture, doctrines, and past experiences. Everything that replaces the Lord is an idol. The leading in the past few years in the churches has been on the line of living by Christ. The co-workers and responsible brothers may have seen a little, but they still want to try new tricks. Consequently, the churches have missed this leading on the central line.
Whether the condition of the church has been high or low over the past twenty years, we have always been on a central line. For example, in recent years we have stressed that we must not rely on doctrine and knowledge and that, instead, we should turn to our spirit. However, there has been a lack in our experience of turning to the spirit because there has been a lack of response from the co-workers. This procrastination has brought us close to the point of death. We should not be concerned whether the goods are “firsthand” or “secondhand,” as long as they contain the riches. We do not need new tricks in our speaking. Even if we could come up with something “new,” what would be the benefit? The church, as the new man, is produced only with Christ as life; hence, to live by Christ is our true need.
What is the benefit of speaking different messages? There is an abundant source of supply in the ministry of the Word for the saints to gain Christ, enjoy Christ, and experience Christ. In Philippians 3 Paul says that he pursued but that he dared not say he had already obtained (vv. 12, 14). He counted all things as refuse in order to gain Christ (v. 8). We must see the vision of Christ and take Him as our center in our work and living. We are not just dealing with doctrines but living by Christ in our daily living. This is what God desires. Our problem is that we have not entered into such a living, despite what we have seen and heard. Being able to lead others based only on our past godly accomplishments shows that we have not entered into the central vision of God. We must see the central vision of God, which is to enjoy Christ, to live by Him, and to take Him as our goal in our living and service.
Many of the co-workers, who have served in various places for many years, still do not know this vision or how to carry out this vision. Using tricks in our messages is of no use. Rather, we need to know and study the vision that we have been given. Christ and the church are the central vision. If we explore it thoroughly, enjoy its riches, and experience it deeply, we will be on the right track. None of us are qualified to say that we have explored this matter fully, because we have not entered practically into what we have seen. For this reason, we must endeavor to enter into what we have seen and then take a further step to see even more. We must know the basic matters and then advance. If we are studying mathematics, for example, we first must know basic arithmetic, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division before we can advance. Preachers throughout the history of Christianity have not been able to produce anything of much value because they did not see or follow the central vision in the Bible, the vision of Christ and the church. If we see this vision and work according to it, something of value will be produced. However, if we do not see it or are not willing to practice it, nothing of value will be produced no matter how much we “sacrifice.”
Others can be excused if they have not seen or heard the vision, but we cannot be excused. The riches of the Lord are here for us to enjoy. If I were leading the church in Taipei, I could lead the saints for a year just on the matter of singing hymns. I would spend an entire week on Hymns, #499, which says, “Oh, what a life! Oh, what a peace! / The Christ who’s all within me lives,” until the saints know that both Christ and life are in them. The hymns cannot be exhausted by singing them or by speaking of them in a light way; they are too rich. Furthermore, we also can speak concerning Christ and life from the Bible.
We should not depend on tricks in serving the church; such tricks are irrelevant because they cannot satisfy people’s hunger or quench their thirst. We must speak continually concerning Christ, life, the Spirit, and the church; we must express this burden from the beginning to the end of the year. It may be that not every saint will want to pursue the real thing, but at least half will be attracted to these riches. We do not need to give messages that do not matter in order to accommodate those who do not care; if we do this, we will only gain people who do not care. If we want to gain people who care, we must give messages that matter, messages that show the meaning of life, that is, Christ, life, the Spirit, and the church. If we speak of these things in a thorough way, we will attract some weighty people into the church life. Our center and goal are Christ and the church, but our work and testimony in the churches today have lost this center and goal. We cannot let this condition continue; otherwise, we will become even more desolate.
Things from the past, whether right or wrong, are part of the old man and are the issue of not living in the spirit, not living by Christ. From this point forward we must live by Christ and not talk about the past. After believing in the Lord, our unique sin is to not live by the Lord. We need to confess this sin, saying, “Lord, from morning to evening I do not live by You, I do not speak by You, I do not pray-read by You, and I do not even meet by You. Lord, forgive me for living in myself.”
No one can learn in a quick way; if we want to learn, we must be serious and practice. A child does not learn to walk by learning teachings; instead, he practices to walk and learns by walking. Since we have seen this vision, we must get up and walk. If we see that Christ is living in us, we must live by Christ from morning to evening. If we do not live by the Lord, we must confess and say, “Lord, forgive me. I loved people today but not by You; I prayed today but not by You. Lord, forgive me.” Actually, if we are willing to learn, we will be able to walk tomorrow and walk even better the next day. It is regrettable that we have not yet learned to walk by living in the spirit.
We must practice this and forget about everything old. We must say, “Praise and thank the Lord! In my living, it is no longer I who live. It is my gracious Lord, the all-inclusive Spirit, who is living in my spirit, and I am living one with Him.” It is simple to live one with the Lord, but it often seems difficult because we are unwilling to drop our routines. Christ is new every day, and as long as we live by Him and not by our routines, we will grow in life, the church life will be blessed, and others will be helped.
We do not need to engage in idle words, murmurings, or reasonings. We should just live by the Lord. The Lord Jesus never spoke idle words based on reasonings; He did not blame others, engage in power struggles, or rely upon diplomacy. Such a Christ is our center. While there are many teachings in the Bible, such as teachings on holiness, the cross, victory, and spirituality, a singular pursuit of these teachings proves that we are not living in the spirit. If we are truly living in the spirit, we have everything that we need.
The Holy of Holies in the Old Testament typifies our spirit. The altar and the laver in the outer court point to our need of dealing and cleansing, and the table of the bread of the Presence, the lampstand, and the incense altar in the Holy Place were tended to by the priests. God’s presence, however, was in the Holy of Holies, and to enter into the Holy of Holies was to be one with God. The central mystery in the New Testament is the Holy of Holies, and Paul’s ministry brings us into the reality of the Holy of Holies. In Galatians 5:24 Paul says, “They who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts.” Then, in the following verse, he mentions a crucial point, saying, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (v. 25). In Romans 6:6 Paul mentions a similar point, saying, “Our old man has been crucified with Him.” Based on this fact, Paul says that every Christian should reckon himself to be “dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus” (v. 11). We need to confess this fact: Since we are in Christ, we have been crucified with Him. Thus, according to the fact, we are dead. In Romans 8:4 Paul addresses our practical living, speaking of the righteous requirement of the law being fulfilled in us, “who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.” This is a word according to the central vision. In Ephesians Paul does not speak about reckoning ourselves as dead but, instead, of the Father strengthening us with power through His Spirit into our inner man so that Christ may make His home in our hearts through faith so that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God (3:16-17, 19). This is the positive expression of Christ being in us.
Although messages related to these points have been shared, the messages have been ignored. This indicates that we have left the Holy of Holies and gone back to the outer court. We should stay in the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies has equal dimensions related to its breadth, length, and height (Exo. 26:2-8; 1 Kings 6:20). According to the revelation of the Bible, the New Jerusalem is an enlargement of the Holy of Holies, because the dimensions of its breadth, length, and height are the same (Rev. 21:16, 22). Today the church is the Holy of Holies, and our spirit is the Holy of Holies. In the Holy of Holies there is only God. When we have God, we have His presence, and when we live in the Lord and abide in the Lord, we are delivered from the world and the self.
We must see that the church needs “meals” that actually benefit the saints. Children grow gradually by receiving nutrients through their daily meals. The church is not like a candy store that provides only sweet-tasting things. The church is like a family that relies upon healthy, nutritious food day after day. The church does not need eloquent messages, and those who can only speak eloquent messages ruin the church. In contrast, some who can only stammer through their speaking can supply the Christ whom they have experienced. The church does not need slogans based on eloquence, doctrines, or even Bible knowledge. The church is the Body of Christ, and the Body needs food; the church is the new man, and the new man needs nutritious food.
Christ is our life, and the church is our living. Christ is the all-inclusive Spirit living in our spirit, and our spirit is the Holy of Holies. We must live in the spirit and help the saints to live in the spirit. Then we will be the Lord’s testimony, the Lord’s bride. The Lord has not come back because He has not gained what He is after. Revelation 19:7 says, “His wife has made herself ready.” The Lord will come back when His wife is ready.
After we have seen the central vision, we must practice to live in it. Since the Lord is in us, our living must be one with Him. We must flee our routine, disposition, culture, religious knowledge, and godly accomplishments. In Hebrews 6:18 the apostle speaks of fleeing for refuge because Satan goes to great lengths to keep us from living one with the Lord, and he can use anything, even the Bible, our spiritual gifts, and our life experiences, to keep us from living one with the Lord. We should be those who flee from our routine and disposition and from our formal prayers, godly spiritual experiences, and scholarly accomplishments. We must flee and not let Satan use these things to hold us back. We may not be able to immediately distance ourselves from these things, but it does not matter. The only thing that matters is seeing the vision and determining to take this way. If we do this, we will flee from the old things in our being little by little until they are no longer a part of our living.
Brother Watchman Nee once said, “The discovery of God’s truth is progressive; the more it advances, the more complete it becomes” (God’s Overcomers, p. 138). Because there is a progressive discovery of God’s truth, “changes” are not shameful, and it is only natural that we would change. When we see more, we will change yet again. The extent to which we see the many revelations in the Bible is the extent to which we will change. The more we see, the more we will live by Christ and the more we will change. The way among us is a way of change, but there are no set forms or regulations. In taking the way of the Lord’s recovery today, our ground cannot change and our fundamental beliefs cannot change, but the way forward will change. The more we see, the more we will change and go forward. We cannot adhere to the old, but neither should we rely on new tricks. We should not be limited by anything that we have come to know or experience; rather, we should live and walk by the Lord in our spirit in order to receive His moment-by-moment leading.
In addition, we should fellowship with one another in order to go on together, never depending on any one person. In the co-workers’ meeting I have noticed that there is not much fellowship in spirit, but there is much talk related to right and wrong. This results in a great loss of blessing. If we do not fellowship with one another in our living, in our work for the Lord, and in our supplying of the church, we are making a grave mistake. If the saints cannot fellowship with one another, they will be defeated, even devoured, by Satan. In order for us to escape Satan’s devouring, we must fellowship. We cannot live and work without fellowship. There must be fellowship for the leading of the church. The ones bearing the yoke together must have fellowship. The Lord’s testimony in the West is under the blessing because the saints, regardless of how long they have been saved, have no desire for anything old, and they have opened their spirits to fellowship.
In the church in Los Angeles no one knows what will happen tomorrow, but there is fellowship every day. Through fellowship many new things have been opened up. We must have fellowship. If those who are serving here cannot get through in this matter, we will have problems. Everyone who is involved in the coordination of the service should be in the fellowship. Any lack of fellowship is an indication that we have fallen into Satan’s hand.
According to my observation, there has been more accusation and condemnation than fellowship among the co-workers here. Nevertheless, we are polite and do not make a scene even though we are divided from one another. As a result, there is a subtle condemning attitude among us, and this prevents us from having fellowship in spirit with one another. Instead, we are rigid in our ways, and we act according to our own view and will. Thus, there is no blessing from the Lord. No matter how much an individual can do, everything depends on the Lord’s blessing. A farmer can till, water, and prune, but the growth of his crops depends on whether God sends the rain and protects them from natural disasters. If God does not send rain and protect the crops, what can a farmer do? No matter how much we can do, everything depends on the Lord’s blessing. Thus, we should serve and fellowship together in order to have the Lord’s blessing.
I have absolutely no opinion when I am with the saints in the church in Los Angeles. There are many different views, but everyone is in fellowship in order to touch the sense in the spirit. We have no opinion about how the Lord should lead or about His ultimate direction. No one knows what will happen when we gather for fellowship. When the Lord moves in our fellowship, we simply follow, and there is much blessing. He sends the rain and covers us, and sweet fruit is produced. If we do not fellowship, we will suffer loss from a “plague of locusts” that will eat up our work and leave us with little result.
There is only one central vision in the Bible. When I took part in the Lord’s work in China, I never gave my own messages; I followed Brother Nee. Even though I learned many things after my salvation and I could have said much concerning biblical types and prophecies, I saw the central vision that the Lord had shown Brother Nee. From that point forward, I did not speak anything different from Brother Nee even if I saw something. Even if I had tried, I could not have thought of a new trick or new way to lead the churches other than Brother Nee’s way. We have only one Bible, and there is only one central vision in the Bible. Furthermore, God has only one purpose, one way, in the universe. I followed Brother Nee because he did not deviate from this central vision. Today I have an absolute assurance related to our way. Even some brothers in the United States, who felt that they could do things by themselves, eventually saw this vision and began to take this way.
I am not afraid of letting people compare our goods; I am only afraid of people not having an eye for the goods. If we have gold, but someone else has only brass, it is foolish for him to insist that brass is better. A wise person will drop the brass and take the gold. The saints who have entered into the Lord’s recovery in the United States have an eye for the goods. They want only what is real and genuine. We must see that there is only one Bible, one mystery, one purpose, and one way. We cannot say that God has not given us a clear vision. We have many books and messages; we are rich indeed. If we set these things aside and look for something new, we will find only “fig leaves” that cannot satisfy our hunger, quench our thirst, or cover our nakedness (cf. Gen. 3:7). This will only waste our time and be a disservice to ourselves and others. Eventually, we will still need to turn and be under this vision.
Since we have so many truths and have published so many messages, the co-workers should fellowship with the elders in every locality and pray and pursue these messages together. By spending time to work the content of these messages into us and by leading the churches according to this content, the churches in every locality will be able to take this vision as their way and goal.
Educational programs throughout the world are developing in comparable ways. After a century of experience, a practical system of education has been discovered. Today everyone learns by passing through an elementary, high school, and college program. In different countries the system of learning is quite similar because there is no system superior to this. Though countries may be different, their system of educational progression and their educational content are similar. Thus, it is possible for one to graduate from a high school in Taiwan and study at a university in the United States. In both developed and underdeveloped countries, there is a consistency in their educational programs. In order to bring the church into the Lord’s desire so that the Lord can accomplish His purpose, we must be consistent and faithful to the truth of the central mystery that the Lord has entrusted to us. Even if food is cooked differently, the ingredients must be the same. Beef can be cooked in different ways, but we still must eat beef. If we have beef, we should not prepare the bark and roots of a tree as food. This will result in death due to malnutrition. We should feed the saints healthy food, such as beef, bread, rice, vegetables, and fruit.
I hope that the co-workers will see that we must lead the church according to the Lord’s desire. The Lord has had mercy on us for many years by clearly showing us the central line of His desire. Thus, the elders and co-workers must come together to study the Bible and our books little by little to supply the saints. New tricks are useless. We must provide beef, bread, rice, vegetables, and fruit every day of the year so that the saints may have healthy meals. Once the church is richly supplied and well nourished, every “germ” will be killed, and the church will be strong.
I hope that the co-workers and the elders accept this fellowship and go on steadfastly and practically. Not only have we been giving these messages for nearly fifty years; we have published almost all of them in books. Hence, we must spend the time to enter into them in order to know our way. If we can only speak the words of these messages, they will be of little use. We must be the first ones to enter into the practicality of these words by living according to them and by releasing the riches in them through fellowship. This will supply the church by dispensing the riches into the saints.
