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Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:23; 4:1-6; Col. 3:4a; John 15:4-5; 1 Cor. 6:17; Exo. 30:23-25; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:11; 15:16b; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rev. 4:5; 1 Cor. 1:30; John 14:17; Phil. 1:19-21a
I. The church — the emphasis being that the believers are on the ground of oneness to be the testimony of the Body of Christ — Eph. 1:23; 4:1-6.
II. Christ — the emphasis being that Christ is the believers’ life and is united and mingled with the believers — Col. 3:4a; John 15:4-5; 1 Cor. 6:17.
III. The Spirit — the emphasis being that the Holy Spirit of God has been compounded with Christ’s divinity, humanity, crucifixion, and resurrection to be the compound, life-giving, indwelling, sanctifying, transforming, and sevenfold intensified Spirit — Exo. 30:23-25; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:11; 15:16b; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rev. 4:5.
IV. Life — the emphasis being that God in Christ as the Spirit of reality is the believers’ life that they may live Him out as the processed Triune God — 1 Cor. 1:30; John 14:17; Phil. 1:19-21a.
The Bible was written by men under God’s inspiration. Compared to God, man is simple; hence, the way that the Bible was written is also simple. In particular, the Bible presents the divine and mystical matters in a way that is easily understandable to us. For this reason the Bible seems to contain some “bark” and “branches.” In their reading of the Bible, many Christians touch only these superficial things. They do not penetrate the Bible to touch its kernel. They do not touch the spirit and life in the depths of the Bible or know the real, crucial elements in it. We must go beyond the superficial branches and bark and enter into the depths of the Bible in order to touch its spirit, its kernel, and to know its crucial elements.
A nut consists of a shell, the meat, and the kernel, which is the center. Man is also of three parts: the outer part — the physical organs; the inner part — the soul; and the innermost part — the spirit (1 Thes. 5:23). Of these three parts — spirit, soul, and body — the most important part is the innermost part, the spirit, which is the breath of life in man (Gen. 2:7). Without such a breath of life, it would not be possible for man to exist, and man thus would cease to be man. Likewise, the Bible has its kernel, its life, its center, which is constituted with the church, Christ, the Spirit, and life. These four items are the contents of the true substance of the Bible. The revelation of the Bible, particularly the New Testament, stresses these four matters: the church, Christ, the Spirit, and life. If we remove these four items from the New Testament, all that remains is merely dead letters. These four crucial elements are also the four important items in the Lord’s recovery today. Hence, we must all have a deep impression, a fresh light, and a renewed understanding concerning these four crucial elements.
The first crucial element of the Bible is the church. The Greek word for church is ekklesia, which is composed of two words: ek, meaning “out of,” and kaleo, meaning “call.” Hence, in Greek the word for church means “the called-out ones.” The early translators of the Chinese Bible rendered this word as “a religious assembly.” This term fits man’s natural thought, but it spoils the original meaning. Ekklesia does not denote a religious assembly; it refers to a called-out congregation. Therefore, the most precise rendering is “assembly.” We are a group of people called out by God; we are the church.
God has called us out of the world — out of every nation, tribe, people, and tongue (Rev. 7:9) — and has gathered us together to be the church. Today, regardless of our nationality or race, we have been called to become the people of the kingdom of the heavens. Hence, we have the heavenly citizenship. An American of Chinese descent is Chinese according to birth, but he becomes an American citizen by naturalization. Today we have become the people of the kingdom of the heavens by “naturalization,” by being called by God, and also by birth, by being regenerated by God. God not only has called us but also has regenerated us with His life. We were not adopted by God; we were begotten of Him with His life. We all have God’s divine life in us, and we are brothers and sisters of one another because we have been born of the same Father. Regardless of our color, race, or nationality, God has called us and regenerated us so that we may become people of the kingdom of the heavens and brothers and sisters in His universal family. This is the church.
God’s life is God Himself. Therefore, when God regenerates us with His life, He begets us with Himself. Furthermore, He is within us today. The church is an entity of life, and as such, it has a life and a person. The church is not an organization; it is a life entity, an organism, with a life and a person. This life and this person are the Triune God Himself. He is the element of the oneness of the church (Eph. 4:1-6); hence, the church cannot be divided. Since we all have one God, one life, and one person, there is no factor that can divide us.
Since we have the Triune God in us as our life and person, we must live and walk by Him in our daily life (Gal. 5:25) and grow up in all things into Him, who is the Head (Eph. 4:15). It is difficult for husbands and wives not to quarrel in their married life. By the Lord’s grace, I have been with my wife for close to thirty years, and although I dare not say that we have never disagreed, I can say that I have never quarreled with her. This is because I have another person in me, the heavenly God Himself, who is my person. When I am displeased or unhappy and try to speak something unpleasant, this person who is in me says, “You may speak, but I won’t speak; you may go to quarrel, but I won’t go.” Thus, I can only say, “Lord, if You won’t go, then I won’t go either.” Then the Lord may say, “Wonderful! Since you won’t go, stay here and I will be with you.” In this way I have a sweet fellowship with the Lord. Instead of quarreling, there is only prayer, the prayer of two persons praying together. I pray, and He prays with me; He prays in my prayer. What an enjoyment this is! This is to live and walk by the person in us.
According to what we are naturally, we are from different countries and different races. We may even be enemies of one another because of our cultural backgrounds or for historical reasons. However, in the church life all enmities have been resolved. Regardless of what kind of people we are naturally, we all have one life and one person through regeneration. We have all been born of the heavenly Father; therefore, we are one. This is a characteristic of the church. In the church there are no differences among colors or races, and neither is there any separation due to language or culture. We have all become one in Christ. We were all baptized into one Body, and we all have one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:4-6). Now we must stand on the ground of oneness in each locality to be the unique testimony of the Body of Christ and live the practical church life.
The second crucial element of the Bible is Christ. Generally, the initial knowledge of Christians concerning Christ is that He is the Savior (Luke 2:11), the One who is full of love and compassion to save them from hell. After a little reading of the Bible, they may know Him further as the Redeemer (Matt. 20:28), who died and shed His blood on the cross as a ransom for many to satisfy God’s righteous requirements (1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rev. 1:5b). However, it is not enough to know Christ only to this extent. In addition to knowing Christ as the Savior and Redeemer, we must know Him to a deeper degree, that is, that He is our life and that He is in us to be united and mingled with us. In John 15:5 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit.” It is a mystery that we abide in the Lord and He abides in us. It is difficult for human language to describe this mysterious union. Just as we abide in the air, and the air also abides in us, today because the Lord is the Spirit, we can abide in the Lord, and the Lord can also abide in us. What a miracle! What a mystery! The Lord abides in us and is united and mingled with us! Stanza 1 of Hymns, #233 says, “O what a miracle, my Lord, / That I’m in Thee and Thou in me, / That Thou and I are really one; / O what a wondrous mystery!”
The Bible clearly reveals that the Triune God not only coexists but also coinheres; the Son is in the Father, and the Father is in the Son (John 14:10-11). Likewise, we also coinhere with the Lord; we abide in the Lord, and the Lord abides in us (v. 20; 17:21). This is the mingling of the Lord with us. This is a matter not only of the divine life but also in the divine life. Our being united and mingled with the Lord can transpire only in our spirit. Hence, this mingling results in our being joined to the Lord as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). We need to know Christ to such an extent. Eventually, He becomes us, and we become Him — He and we are one. He is the Head of the Body, and we are the members of the Body (12:12-13; Eph. 1:22-23). After His resurrection Christ ascended to the heavens and sat down on the right hand of God (Heb. 1:3; 10:12). Moreover, today He is also the Spirit dwelling in us. He is our life (Col. 3:4a) and our person and is always united and mingled with us. He is also working in us to transform us until He becomes us and we become Him (2 Cor. 3:18). This is the Christ revealed in the holy Word.
The third crucial element revealed in the Bible is the Spirit. Traditional Christianity holds an inaccurate concept concerning the Holy Spirit, considering the Holy Spirit to be merely a power or an inspiring force. It was not until the nineteenth century, when the Brethren were raised up in England, that some went further to see that the Holy Spirit is not merely a power but God Himself. In the Lord’s recovery, after many years of studying the Bible, we have seen clearly that the Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God after passing through various processes. Therefore, in the Spirit there are the elements of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
The holy anointing oil in Exodus 30:23-25 typifies the Triune God being processed and eventually consummated as the Spirit. The holy anointing oil contained not only one element; it was compounded with a number of elements. Exodus 30 says that the olive oil and the four kinds of spices added to it were mingled together and compounded to become the holy anointing oil for the anointing of the tabernacle and all its furniture so that the tabernacle with all its furniture might become most holy, fit to be God’s dwelling place.
In the Bible olive oil typifies the Spirit of God, God Himself. The four kinds of spices signify humanity in God’s creation, and oil signifies divinity in the Godhead. Four kinds of spices being mingled with the olive oil to become the holy anointing oil indicates that the Spirit of God does not merely possess divinity but has been mingled with certain elements. Concerning this, in John 7:37-38 the Lord cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” Then verse 39 explains, “But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” At the baptism of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit was already present (1:32), but when the Lord cried out to the people, the Spirit was not yet. In the type the olive oil was already there, but the holy anointing oil was not yet. It was not until the Lord Jesus was glorified in His resurrection (Luke 24:26) that the Holy Spirit became the Spirit of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and life-giving Jesus Christ, having both the divine element and the human element, including Christ’s divinity and humanity with all the essences and realities of His incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. All these items were compounded in this Spirit. Hence, this Spirit is now the flowing, living water for us to receive.
Today the Spirit is the reality of all spiritual things. The reality of God is the Spirit; without the Spirit we do not have God. The reality of resurrection is also the Spirit; without the Spirit we do not have the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. The Spirit was ultimately consummated by Christ through His processes. As God in eternity with divinity, Christ became a man with humanity and lived the human life on earth for thirty-three and a half years. Then He entered into death, came out of death in resurrection, and ascended to the heavens. These are the processes that He passed through. By passing through all these processes, He became the consummated life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). We may illustrate the compound Spirit with a beverage that is a compound of water with honey, lemon, tea, and salt. When we drink this beverage, we take in not only the water but also the honey, lemon, tea, and salt. Likewise, today the Spirit is the compound Spirit, compounded with the Holy Spirit of God and Christ’s two natures — the divine nature and the human nature — with His death and resurrection to be the compound, life-giving, indwelling (Rom. 8:11), sanctifying (15:16b), and transforming (2 Cor. 3:18) Spirit. Such a Spirit has the bountiful supply and even is the bountiful supply for our experience and enjoyment (Phil. 1:19). Eventually, this compound Spirit has even become the seven Spirits of God to supply us in a sevenfold intensified way so that we may accomplish God’s divine economy concerning the church in this age of degradation (Rev. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6). Today the Triune God is in the church as a person, and Christ is in the believers as a person. The Triune God as a person in the church and Christ as a person in the believers are nothing less than the Spirit. Hallelujah, we have such an all-inclusive Spirit!
The fourth crucial element revealed in the Bible is life. Life is the Spirit, of whom we have spoken previously and who is the Triune God Himself. Furthermore, this life is also Christ. God in Christ passed through His various processes and was consummated as the Spirit. Now as the Spirit of reality (John 14:17), He is life to the believers in order that they may live Him out as the processed Triune God. When we believe in the Lord, this Lord in whom we believe immediately comes into us to be our life and person and to live and move with us. Once we believe in the Lord and receive Him, He also expects us to hand ourselves over to Him. Hence, as the Lord and we receive one another, He and we are mingled with one another. Before we were saved, we were alone in ourselves, but after being saved, we are no longer merely ourselves but are united and mingled with the Lord as one. This may be likened to a married life. Before a person is married, he is alone, but after he is married, he is no longer one person living alone but two persons living together. However, a couple living together is an outward matter; the Lord Jesus and we live together by being united and mingled as one. Hence, this is a great mystery (Eph. 5:31-32).
We all must clearly see these four crucial elements — the church, Christ, the Spirit, and life. The church is a group of people who have the life of the Triune God. Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, who has come into us to be our life and to be united and mingled with us. The Spirit, as the consummation of the processed Triune God, comes into us to be our reality. When we have Him, we have Christ’s divine nature and human nature, and we also have Christ’s incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Such a One is now in us as our life.
Therefore, concerning our living today, we should be able to say as Paul said, “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” (Gal. 2:20). The life we live today is not a life we live by our natural old man. Instead, it is a life we live by faith, a life we live by believing that the invisible Triune God is in us as our person and our life so that we may become members of the church as the Body of Christ, coordinating with all the saints on the ground of oneness as the testimony of the oneness of the Body of Christ.
