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Scripture Reading: John 6:63; 1 Cor. 1:18; Phil. 2:16a; 1 John 2:27; John 7:39; Exo. 30:23-25
The New Testament clearly reveals that God’s economy is to dispense Christ into all His believers. God’s economy is a dispensing work to dispense Christ into our very being, making Christ our life and even our person. In the previous chapter we saw that the Christ who is being dispensed into us is God, the Spirit, and life. Christ, God, the Spirit, and life are all mysterious, abstract, intangible, and invisible. However, these four mysterious items are all embodied in God’s word in the Bible.
The Bible, the Word of God, is not a human writing composed according to human logic. It is absolutely different from a textbook, newspaper, or magazine. The Bible is God’s breathing (2 Tim. 3:16), and Christ is embodied in this breathing. Christ as the Spirit is the real element, essence, and constituent of the Bible (John 6:63). The Bible is tangible, for we can see it and read it, yet the reality, the living, prevailing element, within the Bible is Christ Himself, who is God (Rom. 9:5), the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), and life (John 14:6). Therefore, whenever we come to the Bible with a sincere heart and an open spirit, we immediately have the deep sensation that we have come into the presence of God. When we take the words of the Bible into us, we immediately have the sensation and the conviction that we have received Christ into us, because Christ is embodied in God’s word.
In this chapter we will see that the word of God is the Spirit. We should not separate the word from the Spirit or the Spirit from the word. In John 6:63 the Lord Jesus said, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Thus, the word is the Spirit. Newspapers, textbooks, novels, and other such writings can never be the Spirit, but the word in the Bible is the Spirit. When the word is outside of us, it is the word. When it enters into us, it immediately becomes the Spirit. When the Spirit is spoken out of us, He becomes the word once again. Then when the word enters into the person to whom we are speaking, it becomes the Spirit again. This process is repeated when any person receives the word and speaks the word. Thus, the word and the Spirit are actually one. We can never receive the word of the Bible yet not receive the Spirit. Whenever the word is received into our being, it immediately becomes the Spirit.
It is through the word, which is the Spirit, and through the Spirit, who is the word, that we contact Christ and remain in Christ. In other words, it is through the word and the Spirit that we abide in Christ. In John 15:4-5 the Lord Jesus told us that He is the vine, that we are the branches, and that as the branches we need to abide in Him as the vine. Just as our arms need only to remain attached to our body, so the branches need only to abide in the vine. In life and nature our arms are exactly the same as our body. Likewise, the branches are exactly the same in life and nature as the vine. Actually, the branches are part of the vine and are one with the vine. If the branches simply abide in the vine, the life-juice of the vine flows into the branches. This is the reason the Lord Jesus told us that we as His branches need to abide in Him as the vine. When we abide in Him, His life, His nature, and all that He is flow into our being, just as the life-juice of the vine flows into all the branches.
The key, the crucial point, that we need to see is how to abide in Christ. We can abide in Christ by two means — the word and the Spirit. Although Christ is real and living, He is altogether mysterious and abstract. We believe that He is present and lives within us, but we need to know the way to contact Him. We may illustrate this matter with electricity. Electricity is real and powerful, but we cannot see electricity. The distribution of electricity from a distant power plant into a building requires at least two wires. Christ as the divine electricity is mysterious yet real and powerful, and He is brought into our being by two “wires” — the Spirit and the word. By touching the word, which then becomes the Spirit, Christ is transmitted into us. Just as electricity is transmitted from a distant power plant into a building, Christ is transmitted from the heavens into our being through the word and the Spirit. When we touch the word and the Spirit, there is a transmission within us; something moves within us. This is the transmission, or moving, of Christ within us through the word and the Spirit.
Because Christ is transmitted into us through the word in the Bible and the Spirit, we Christians must daily come to the Bible and the Spirit. Our two great inheritances are the Holy Bible without and the Holy Spirit within. These inheritances are our real riches. The value of money and property cannot compare to the value of the Word and the Spirit. The Bible is more valuable than gold (Psa. 119:72, 127). We are the richest people because we have the Word and the Spirit. Our true wealth is the word of God in the Bible and the Spirit because these are the two “wires” that daily and hourly transmit the rich Christ into our being. Within us there is always a current, a transmission, of Christ through the word and the Spirit. For this reason we must daily contact and receive the word and the Spirit. If the Bible were only letters printed on paper without the Spirit, it would be an empty book with no reality. However, the living word of the Bible is the Spirit, and the Spirit is the reality of the word.
Now we need to see what the real content of the word is. In order to see the content of the word, we may use the illustration of food. Although there are many different kinds of food with many different vitamins and minerals, our food consists of two main kinds of elements — killing elements and nourishing elements. We have many germs in our body. If we do not eat for a few days, the germs in our body will multiply, and we will become sick. In all the food that we eat, there is an antibiotic, killing power that kills the negative germs. At the same time there is also a nourishing element in the food we eat, which nourishes the positive cells. In the word of God, which is our spiritual food, there are the same two kinds of elements — killing elements and nourishing elements. The contents of God’s word are mainly Christ, the death of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ. Some may point out that in the Bible there are many items, such as the heavens, the earth, animals, plants, human beings, and history. However, these many items are like the many different foods we eat with the many different vitamins and minerals. In all these different items in the Bible, there are actually only two main elements — a killing element and a nourishing element. These elements are Christ’s death and Christ’s resurrection, both of which are in Christ.
The killing element in the Bible is referred to in 1 Corinthians 1:18 as the word of the cross. The word of the Bible crosses us out. The more we receive the word, the more certain things within us will be crossed out. The word crosses out our temper, our ambition, our natural life, our pride, our hatred, and even our hating self. The young brothers sometimes experience jealousy not only in school life and family life but also in the church life. If the elders mention one young brother’s name in a meeting, other young brothers may immediately become jealous. This jealousy can never be corrected outwardly, but if we take in the word every morning by coming to the Bible, our jealousy and our jealous self will be crossed out. The word in the Bible has killing power.
There is a great difference between the teachings of Confucius and the Bible. In the word of the Bible there is a killing element. In the teachings of Confucius, however, there is no killing element. Rather, the more we study the teachings of Confucius, the more we may become proud, thinking that we are more ethical, humble, and honest than others. In contrast, we will not be proud after pray-reading a few verses of the Bible. The word of the Bible kills the proud self. Although there is a killing power in the food we eat, this killing power is completely digested and depleted after several hours. At that time we need another meal. Our pride will be killed if we pray-read in the morning, but because our pride may return in the afternoon, we will need another meal of the word of the cross.
There were many problems in the church in Corinth. Therefore, the believers there needed the word of the cross. In every chapter of 1 Corinthians there is a killing word, a word of the cross. Some in Corinth exalted tongue-speaking, but in 1 Corinthians 12:10 and 28 Paul ranks it last among the aspects of God’s operation in the church. This was a killing. Paul says, “The word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1:18). Because the word of the cross kills all the negative germs, it is able to rescue and heal the believers.
To be a young brother in the church is not easy. In the church life the young brothers are very competitive. Without competition in academics and business, there would be no growth. Nevertheless, in the church life competition needs to be killed. However, if the elders rebuke the young brothers, this will not kill their competitiveness. The only thing that works is for the young brothers to come to the Word every morning to pray-read a few verses. In this way they will spontaneously and unconsciously receive a killing element. After pray-reading, it is impossible to be proud because the word kills our proud self. As long as there are germs within us — negative things such as competition, pride, and jealousy — the word will carry out its killing work within us every time we come to the Bible. The word in the Bible will spontaneously become the word of the cross, which is the death of Christ.
Philippians 2:16 says, “Holding forth the word of life.” The word of life is the nourishing element in the Bible. Every morning when we pray-read a portion of the Word, we receive a killing element and a nourishing element at the same time. The nourishing element in the word sustains, satisfies, waters, and supports us. It brings many positive riches into us. The word of life is the resurrection of Christ.
The word in the Bible is composed of Christ, His death, and His resurrection. Regardless of the page of the Bible that we read, we will receive these three things. We should not study the Bible as we would study a book of ethics. The Bible is not a book of ethics; it is the word of God, composed of Christ as life, His death as the killing element, and His resurrection as the nourishing element. These three main items are in every portion of the Scriptures, regardless of what the subject matter is. There are many stories in the four Gospels, but either Christ, His death, or His resurrection is in every story. Whatever portion of the Bible we read, something always kills us, and something always supplies us with the riches of Christ.
Whenever we read or study the Bible, if we do not receive Christ, His death, and His resurrection, our reading or our studying is vain. Regardless of the kind of food we eat, we always need to receive a killing element and a nourishing element from our food. Likewise, regardless of the book, page, chapter, or verse we read in the Bible, we need to receive some killing element and some resurrecting power to meet our spiritual need. Science has discovered that the content of healthy food exactly matches our physical needs. The various vitamins and minerals that our bodies need are all found in our food. Some are in meats, and others are in grains, fruits, and vegetables. Under God’s sovereignty all our necessities are included in our food. When we eat food, we receive all the elements that we need. In the same way, whatever we need in our spiritual life is all included in the word of God. We need Christ, His death, and His resurrection. These items constitute the word of God in the Bible.
Because we all are fallen, old, and corrupted human beings, every day we need some killing. We are all part of Adam and are therefore six thousand years old. We are old and full of corruption. As fallen, old, and corrupted people, we daily need a killing element, and this element, this antibiotic, is found in the Word. We receive certain antibiotic elements by taking in three healthy meals every day. Likewise, we receive spiritual antibiotics by taking in the word every day. We need to come to the Word two or three times each day to receive the killing element. The Bible is a killing book. Many saints, both young and old, have experienced the killing element in the Bible.
Under God’s sovereignty all the necessities of our physical life are found in natural foods. In the same principle, all that we need for our spiritual life is in the word of God. We need both the killing and the nourishing. Every morning I receive nourishment from the Word. Even if I do not have much time, I always come to the Word for nourishment. We always receive nourishment when we come to the Word.
We have seen that in order to touch Christ, we must touch the word. When we touch the word, we receive Christ in reality, not only in name, doctrine, or theology. We also receive the killing element of His death and the nourishing element of His resurrection. Now we will see that the content of the word and of the Spirit are exactly the same.
Few Christians know that today God’s Spirit is no longer simply the Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2). God’s Spirit today is a compound Spirit, compounded with the same elements that are the constituents of the word of God in the Bible. The Holy Spirit today is compounded with Christ, with His death, and with His resurrection. There is a wonderful type in the Old Testament, a picture, showing that God the Spirit has been compounded with Christ’s divinity, humanity, death, and resurrection (Exo. 30:23-25). Today the Holy Spirit is a compound Spirit. The Spirit of God in Old Testament times can be compared to a cup of pure water with no other elements, but the Spirit of God today can be likened to a rich drink in which tea, milk, and sugar have been added into the water. The Spirit today is a compound drink, composed of God’s divinity compounded with other elements. This drink is an all-inclusive drink. When we drink this compound drink, we receive all the elements that have been compounded into it. The Spirit of God in the New Testament age is no longer only the Spirit of God; He is also the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19).
Exodus 30:23-25 describes the ingredients of the holy anointing oil. These verses say that four spices were added to one hin of olive oil. A hin is a measure of liquid. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, oil typifies the Spirit of God. The holy anointing oil in Exodus 30 was a compound with four spices — myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. Myrrh, a spice used in burials, signifies death. Calamus, a reed that shoots up from muddy places, signifies resurrection. Cinnamon signifies the sweetness of Christ’s death. Finally, cassia, which was used in ancient times to repel insects and snakes, signifies the fragrance of the resurrection of Christ, which repels the demons and Satan. Thus, myrrh and cinnamon signify Christ’s death with its sweetness, and calamus and cassia signify Christ’s resurrection with its sweet fragrance and repelling power. This indicates that the Holy Spirit has been compounded with Christ’s death and Christ’s resurrection.
The quantities of the ingredients are also significant. There were five hundred shekels of myrrh, two hundred fifty shekels of cinnamon, two hundred fifty shekels of calamus, and five hundred shekels of cassia. These measurements form three units of five hundred shekels each. The number three signifies the Triune God. The middle unit of five hundred shekels was split into two halves of two hundred and fifty, signifying that Christ, the second of the Triune God, was “split” on the cross. There were four spices. The number four signifies God’s creatures, for Ezekiel 1:5 and Revelation 4:6 mention four living creatures. Among God’s creatures, man is the head (Gen. 1:26). Thus, four signifies humanity, and the one hin of olive oil signifies the unique Spirit of God with divinity. This picture shows that humanity, divinity, the death of Christ with its sweetness, and the resurrection of Christ with its fragrance and power have all been compounded into the Spirit. Through such a compounding, the olive oil became a compound ointment. It was no longer simply pure oil but became a compound with several ingredients.
The compound ointment was the holy anointing oil that was used to anoint the tabernacle, all its furniture and utensils, and the priests (Exo. 30:26-30). The word anointing in 1 John 2:20 and 27 corresponds directly with Exodus 30. John uses the word anointing in reference to the Spirit of God, who has been compounded with Christ’s humanity, His death, and His resurrection.
The compound Spirit corresponds to the word of God. The word of God in the Bible is composed of Christ, His death, and His resurrection. As we have seen, the compound Spirit is composed of these same elements. This compound Spirit is the Spirit mentioned in John 7:39, who was not yet. Before Christ’s death and resurrection the compounding of the Spirit had not been completed. However, when Christ resurrected, His death, His resurrection, and His being were all compounded into the Spirit of God. Therefore, from that day the Spirit of God became the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19). Formerly, the Spirit of God was only the divine Spirit, but He has become the Spirit of Jesus Christ — a compound Spirit, compounded with Christ’s divinity, humanity, death, and resurrection.
Our need is not to know the doctrine of the content of the word and the Spirit. Rather, our need is to take in the word, touch the Spirit, and thereby receive Christ, the killing element of His death, and the nourishing element of His resurrection. If we receive only doctrine when we come to the Bible, it will mean nothing. However, what we actually receive is an antibiotic and a supply — the killing element and the nourishing element.
We all have two statuses. On one hand, we are the old man, the fallen man; on the other hand, we are the new man, the regenerated man (Eph. 4:22-24). The old man needs to be killed, and the new man needs to be nourished. Our Father is very wise. He prepared the word and the Spirit in such a way as to kill our old status and nourish our new status. Every day through receiving the word and the Spirit, we are being killed, and we are also being nourished. The word and the Spirit are the two means by which Christ, His death, and His resurrection are transmitted into our being.
A physical metabolism operates in our body every day to process the food we eat. As a result, there is a killing and a supplying in our body every day. The germs within us are killed, and our healthy cells are able to grow. Likewise, a daily spiritual metabolism occurs within us through the word and the Spirit. As a result, the old man is killed, and the new man is nourished so that we may grow spiritually. We cannot grow if we do not come to the Word, just as a child cannot grow physically if he or she does not eat. If we mean business with the Lord for His recovery and for His church, every day we must contact the Lord through His word and through His Spirit. We must take in His word and touch His Spirit.
Stanza 4 of Hymns, #501 says, “The Spirit of life causes Thee / By Thy Word to transfer to me. / Thy Spirit touched, Thy word received, / Thy life in me is thus conceived.” By the word and by the Spirit, Christ’s life is conceived within us. Therefore, we need to daily spend time in the Word. When we spend time in the Word, we need to exercise our spirit to touch the Spirit within by prayer. We need to not only read but also pray by exercising our spirit. In this way we will have the two “wires” for the spiritual transmission of Christ with His death and resurrection into our being. Then we will daily experience the killing and the nourishing that we need. This is the way to grow spiritually, and this is the way to abide in Christ. This is not a mere doctrine; we all need to put this into practice every day. Until the Lord comes back, we all need to daily contact Him by taking in the word and by touching the Spirit in order to receive Christ with His killing and nourishing elements. Then the spiritual metabolism within will cause us to grow.
