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The Christian life is a life in the principle of incarnation. Because many Christians have not seen the principle of incarnation, there have been many debates concerning the nature of the Christian life. Some have said that the Christian life is an exchanged life. This understanding of the Christian life, however, is not correct. As Christians, we have a dual nature. We are no longer merely men. We are God-men. Before the incarnation of Jesus the New Testament had not come into being. The New Testament would not be possible without the incarnation. The incarnation of Jesus initiated and ushered in the New Testament. Now we, the New Testament believers, are wonderful persons who have God in us and have been made one with God. How glorious it is to be one with God, to be a God-man!
In the Old Testament when the prophets prophesied for God, their prophecies many times began with, “The word of Jehovah came to me” (Jer. 1:4; Ezek. 3:16; Isa. 38:4) or “Thus says the Lord” (7:7; Jer. 2:2; Ezek. 2:4). This indicates that the Lord was separate from the prophets. The word of Jehovah came objectively upon the speakers, and they declared that it was not their word but the Lord’s. However, in 1 Corinthians 7:25 Paul says, “Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who has been shown mercy by the Lord to be faithful”; and in giving his opinion he says, “But I think that I also have the Spirit of God” (v. 40). Paul indicates that what he spoke was not a word from the Lord; it was his opinion. Yet in the giving of his opinion was the speaking of God. God lived in Paul and spoke in Paul’s speaking, even in his opinion, because God had become one with Paul and had made Paul one with Him. While we are speaking, it is not only we but Christ, the embodiment of God, who speaks with us and speaks in our speaking. This is the principle of incarnation.
Hebrews 1:1-2a says, “God, having spoken of old in many portions and in many ways to the fathers in the prophets, has at the last of these days spoken to us in the Son.” On the one hand, the book of Hebrews was written anonymously. In this book the Old Testament is quoted without mentioning the names of the speakers (1:5-13; 2:6-8a; 3:7-11; 4:3-5; 8:8-12; 10:5-7, 15-17). On the other hand, Hebrews is the speaking of God in the Son. Hebrews 3:7 says, “Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says,” and 10:15 says, “And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us.” The speaker in Hebrews is not merely Paul, the psalmist, or Jeremiah but the Spirit.
The entire New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation, is God’s speaking in the Son. In the four Gospels God spoke in the Son, and in Acts through Revelation God continued to speak in the Son. In the four Gospels He spoke through Jesus Christ, but in Acts through Revelation the outward form of His speaking changed, and He spoke in the Son through the apostles. The speaking of the apostles was the Son’s speaking because the apostles had become one with the Son. Christ is the firstborn Son of God, and we are the many sons of God (Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10). God has many sons, and the many sons have been incorporated. The Firstborn plus the many sons are the collective, corporate Son. For this reason God’s speaking through the apostles is referred to as God’s speaking in the Son.
When the Lord Jesus as the Spirit spoke through Peter, that was God speaking in the Son because Peter was one with the Son. Paul wrote more than Peter, having received the commission to complete the word of God concerning His mystery in His economy (Col. 1:25-26), but Revelation, the conclusion of the holy Word, was written by John. However, the entire New Testament is the speaking of the processed God in the person of the Son (Heb. 1:2). Moreover, the Son is not the Son alone, but the Son with all His members. We are the members of the Body of Christ, and the Body is composed of all the sons of God. God begot many children to become His sons, and these sons are the components of the Body of Christ. Therefore, we are the members of the Son. Today God is still speaking in the corporate Son in the principle of incarnation.
The Christian life is a life in which God’s chosen, redeemed, regenerated, and saved people live together with the processed and dispensing God. The Christian life is something particular. Not everyone can live such a life. Only we who have been chosen, redeemed, and saved by God can live together with the processed and dispensing God. This is a life in the principle of incarnation, and it is a mingled life, a life in which God and man are mingled together.
In whatever we do, we have to realize that we are persons mingled with the processed and dispensing God. We are not alone. When we are exchanging words with our spouse, we must realize that God is within us. This will stop the exchange of words. When we are going to a certain place, we must remember that we are persons mingled with God and that God is going with us. When we are reminded that we are mingled with Him, it seems that it is we who are remembering. However, our remembering at this time does not actually come from us. It comes from Christ as our Partner, who is one with us. When an unbeliever goes to a movie theater, he does not have the thought that God is going with him because he does not have Christ as his Partner. However, wherever we go, we have a Partner.
We are particular, peculiar persons. Wherever we are, we are not alone. Another One is with us all the time. Many Christians can testify of their experience of God in this way. Certain persons used to gamble before they were saved, but after being saved, they were no longer able to gamble. As an unbeliever I spent much time playing soccer. After I was saved, I continued to play soccer because I felt that it was not sinful. However, one day when the ball came to me on the soccer field, I felt as if I could not use my foot to kick it. I turned and walked off the field. From that time on I never went back to play soccer. Even at that time I did not consciously realize that I was not alone and that the Lord Jesus was with me. I thought that it was I alone who was walking off the field. Many Christians have had a similar experience. We did not realize that it was not merely we who acted but the processed and dispensing God, who is Christ consummated as the Spirit.
The Christian life is a life that we, the God-chosen, redeemed, and saved people, live together with the processed and dispensing God, a life lived by two persons mingled together and living together as one. Whether or not we intend to live such a life, as long as we are Christians, especially seeking Christians, we are living with Christ as the all-inclusive embodiment of the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the life-giving Spirit. Even if we would repent of being Christians, it is too late. Something has gotten into us, and we can never be rid of it. The Lord’s recovery is to recover such a life, that the God-chosen, redeemed, regenerated, and saved people may live together, consciously or unconsciously, intentionally or unintentionally, with the processed and dispensing God. When we live such a life, we declare that we are chosen, redeemed, regenerated, and saved. We are not persons of ourselves. We are persons of the choosing, redeeming, regenerating, and saving God. We declare that the processed and dispensing God lives with us. Not only do we live with Him, but He lives with us.
Before we were saved, we may have rarely asked ourselves if what we were doing was proper. We may have thought that everything we did was right. Today, however, the Lord often interrupts us and questions us about what we are doing. We may think that we are asking ourselves this question. However, we must realize that it is not merely we but our Partner who is asking it. Our Partner is one with us and sometimes appears to be us. Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” In the first part of this verse, the “I” is the old man; in the second part, the “I” is a new person who is one with Christ as his Partner.
There is always One within us who reminds us that we are one with Him. Before I was saved, I could do things without limitation. Now, however, I am a different person. Sometimes when I have laughed too much, my Partner questioned whether my laughter was of the Spirit, and my laughter stopped. Before I was saved, when I lost my temper, I lost it without constraint. However, after I was saved, I experienced that while I was losing my temper, there was something within me restraining me. Experiences such as these prove we are saved. God is here, not only with us but one with us. He lives with us in our living, and He is waiting for our cooperation so that our living would be one with His.
In John 14:19 Jesus said, “Because I live, you also shall live.” Apparently, the Lord lives by Himself, and we live by ourselves. However, John 14:16-20 tells us that we live together. When He lives, we live in His living, and when we live, He lives in our living. This is a deep mystery. Apparently, John 14:19 is a simple word, but its significance is very deep. The very God lives together with man, the sinful and dirtied man who has been chosen, redeemed, regenerated, and saved. This is the Christian life.
Hallelujah, we were chosen, redeemed, regenerated, and saved. We did not choose Him. Rather, we may have rejected Him. We cannot explain what happened to cause us to believe in the Lord. It was not up to us. We simply changed our mind and called on His name. Now we are persons who are mingled with the Lord. When we go along with Him, we are happy. When we do not go along with Him, we have no rest. Christians are not always a people of rest. Many times we are bothered by something within. We may even spend more time being troubled than resting. The One who troubles us is our Partner. Because of our Partner, we are here in the church and have dropped many things to concentrate ourselves on the Christian life.
If we realize what the Christian life is, we are truly blessed. We are one with Him. This is our rest and our testimony. Unconsciously and spontaneously, we are living a life with God. When we live, He lives. When we speak, He speaks. Wherever we go, He goes also. We cannot deny this reality, and we cannot reject it. This is the Christian life. The Christian life does not need our strife and struggle to do good. Struggling in this way can produce results for only a short time. We simply should live a life with God. Paul says, “To me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). In his living he was one with Christ, living Christ and expressing Christ. Eventually, it will be no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us.
