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John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and 6:63 says, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Both verses speak of the word. Chapter 1 speaks of the Word that was in the beginning, and chapter 6 speaks of the words which the Lord has spoken to us. What is the difference between the two? How does the Word in chapter 1 become words in chapter 6? Is there a difference in their function? This matter surely requires much study.
John 1 starts with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then chapter 6 says that the words the Lord speaks are spirit and are life. In chapter 1 the Word is God Himself, and in chapter 6 the words are something that comes out from God. The Word in chapter 1 is a complete entity; however, the words in chapter 6 are in smaller parts. We can say that Word, logos, in chapter 1 denotes “great words,” like an entire lamb, but words, rhema, in chapter 6 denotes “small words,” like many pieces of meat cut from the lamb. This illustration is very expressive. It shows that the Word in chapter 1 is the Lord Himself and that the words in chapter 6 are something that comes out from the Lord. This is the difference between the two.
John 1:1 says, “The Word was God,” and verse 14 says, “The Word became flesh”; flesh refers to Christ. This means that the “great words” in chapter 1 refer to God who became flesh, that is, God in Christ. On the one hand, the Word is God; on the other hand, it is Christ. In chapter 6 Christ became the Spirit through death and resurrection to be “small words” for us to receive. Hence, the words in chapter 6 are Christ who has become the Spirit; they are Christ on the one hand and the Spirit on the other.
The great Word in chapter 1 is God manifested among us as life, but He still cannot enter into us to be our life. When He becomes the small words in chapter 6, He enters into us as life. Here we see the function of the Word and the words: the former manifests Him among us as life, and the latter enters into us as life. A whole lamb can only be displayed among us, but it cannot be eaten. Only when a lamb is slaughtered and processed can it be cut into many pieces in order for it to be eaten. In chapter 6 this “meat” is placed before us for our enjoyment. The “great Word” is displayed for us to see in chapter 1, but the “small words” are for us to eat and enjoy in chapter 6.
The Lamb we see on display outside of us has become “meat” on the table for our enjoyment; these are the different functions of the word. The Word in chapter 1, through the Lord’s death and resurrection, has entered into resurrection to become words in chapter 6, which can be eaten and received by us and can enter into us to be our life and supply.
How do we know that the words spoken of in chapter 6 have passed through death and resurrection? According to 6:55, the Lord said, “My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.” The separation of blood and flesh indicates death. In verse 63 the Lord also said, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” The Lord becoming the Spirit indicates resurrection. Instead of merely reading the black and white letters in the Bible, we need to find their spiritual significance. The Lord can enter into us to be our enjoyment and life because He has passed through death and resurrection, experiencing the separation of blood and flesh. He not only has been manifested among us as life; now He can be eaten, received, and digested by us to become life in us.
In the Gospel of John there are two great turns. The first great turn is the Word becoming flesh, and the second is the Lord becoming the Spirit through death and resurrection; hence, death and resurrection is a great turn. John 14 speaks of the Lord’s going and coming. The Lord’s going is His death, and His coming is His resurrection. The Lord’s coming after His resurrection is His coming as the Spirit into us. In His death He was crucified in the flesh, and in His resurrection He became the Spirit. As the Spirit, the Lord can come into us.
In 14:18 the Lord said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.” The preceding verse says, “The Spirit of reality...abides with you and shall be in you.” This shows that the Lord comes as the Spirit to be in us. Then verse 20 continues, “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” We know that the two references to in refer to the Lord’s resurrection since He also said, “Because I live, you also shall live” (v. 19). Both instances of live refer to His resurrection.
The Lord was referring to His resurrection when He spoke these words in 14:19-20; in particular, the phrase in that day in verse 20 refers to the day of resurrection. In verse 19 He said, “Because I live [implying resurrection], you also shall live.” He spoke of us living because as the “I,” He is living in us. The Lord lives in us so that we may live; therefore, because I live, you also shall live is a matter of resurrection. Verse 20 continues, “You will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” After resurrection He can come into us instantly. Verses 16 and 17 show that in His resurrection He became the Spirit to enter into us. This is the reason we say that the Lord as the Word in chapter 1 became flesh and was manifested among us but that He had not yet entered into us. It is not until chapter 14, when He spoke of passing through death and resurrection and becoming the Spirit, that we can see how He can enter into us.
When the Lord was manifested, He was shown and displayed, but He could not be enjoyed by us because He had not yet become our life. It is only after He enters into us that He can become our life. Then it is possible to say that because He lives, we also shall live. He has made it possible for us to also live with Him. It is because He lives in us so that we also can live with Him.
The Spirit is the Spirit of resurrection. This Spirit includes God, Christ, incarnation, death, resurrection, and humanity in resurrection; hence, the Spirit of resurrection is an aggregate Spirit. In other words, in the Spirit of resurrection are God, Christ, incarnation, death, resurrection, and humanity in resurrection. This is to say that the Spirit of resurrection is the aggregate of God, Christ, and all that the Triune God has passed through, attained, and accomplished. Today in the New Testament age this is the Spirit who has entered into us. According to John 14 through 17, this Spirit has at least six functions.
John 14:16 shows that the Comforter, whom the Father would give to us, is the Spirit of resurrection who would live in us and be with us forever. Thus, the Spirit of resurrection is also the indwelling Spirit, the Spirit who dwells in our spirit. All the guidance, help, shining, and strength that the Spirit gives us does not come from outside but from within; thus, He is the indwelling Spirit. We should not expect the Spirit to grant us power outwardly. Today the Spirit is the Spirit of resurrection, the indwelling Spirit, the Spirit who lives in us. His presence with us is inward, and the strength, shining, guidance, and comfort that He gives are inward. All that He gives us and does for us comes from within. The Spirit’s first function is to indwell us and to be with us inwardly.
Verse 17 says that the Spirit of reality abides with us and shall be in us. This means that the Spirit of resurrection is for Christ to live in us. The Spirit of resurrection is Christ in another form; therefore, when the Spirit is in us, Christ is living in us. This is carried out by God’s salvation.
Verse 26 shows that the Spirit in us explains Christ to us. We know Christ not only through the Bible outwardly but also through the sense of the Spirit inwardly. The Spirit in us explains Christ to us. Many stories about the Lord Jesus cannot be understood by unbelievers or comprehended by those who read the Bible merely with their eyes. It is the Spirit who explains Christ to us, especially concerning how Christ was God who became flesh, how He was a man, how He became our Savior, how He is the King, and how He is the Most High God. The Spirit explains all that Christ is and has and all the words He spoke on earth. This is the emphasis of John 14:21-31.
Chapter 15 shows that the Spirit in us testifies concerning Christ; this is related to the preceding point. The Spirit explains Christ to us and testifies concerning Christ. These are actually two related matters; however, there is still a difference. Everything concerning Christ — what He was, what He did, and what He said — is made clear to us by the Spirit in this third function. The emphasis on the Spirit’s function in regard to testifying concerning Christ is related to what Christ has obtained and attained, how He has the first place, how He was glorified, and how He was exalted by the Father and made Lord and Christ; all these matters are testified to us by the Spirit.
We know that the Christ who was on earth is now in heaven, that the lowly Christ is now glorified, and that the despised Jesus is now exalted by God and made Lord and Christ, because the Spirit testifies to us concerning these things. The Spirit’s explanation of Christ to us is regarding what He did, what He said, and what He was in the past, but the Spirit’s testifying to us concerning Christ is regarding the high and glorious position that He attained and obtained after His death and resurrection. All these things concerning Christ — how He was glorified, how He was exalted by God, how He ascended to heaven and was made Lord and Christ, and how He is above all — are testified to us by the Spirit.
The Spirit in us makes all that God is in Christ real to us; this is shown in chapter 16 — God in Christ has come to be everything to us. If we did not have God in Christ as everything to us, we would still be void and empty inwardly. However, if we have God in Christ as everything to us, we will be full of reality inwardly. God in Christ is everything to us, and this matter is made real to us by the Spirit. For example, in the matter of God being our life, it is the Spirit who becomes the reality of this life, and in the matter of God being our power, it is the Spirit who makes this power real to us. If we do not have the Spirit of resurrection in us, God as life would only be terminology, mere sayings to us, but not a reality. It is the Spirit of resurrection in us who makes the matter of God coming to be our life real to us. God coming to be our life, power, and comfort is God in Christ coming to be everything to us. Without the Spirit of resurrection entering into us, all these matters would be empty terminology. All these matters can become our inward reality and be received, touched, and enjoyed by us because the Spirit of resurrection has accomplished these things in us. Once the Spirit of resurrection enters into us, He makes all that God is in Christ real to us.
The Spirit of resurrection in us glorifies Christ so that He may always have the preeminence in our being, so that He may have the full ground in us, and so that everything of ours will be in submission under His authority. This is revealed in chapter 17.
The totality of these six points is the work that the Spirit of resurrection does in us, and this is also the content of life. When we speak of life, the story of this life is contained in these six points. The sum total of these six points is the content of the story of life in us. The full story of this life within us, the life of God, is contained in these six points. In brief, the story of life in us is for us to know Christ, see Christ, experience Christ, and glorify Christ.
Before the Spirit enters into us to carry out these six things, He must first do one thing. John 16:8 shows that the Spirit causes man to repent, to rebuke himself, and to confess his sin. Verses 9 through 11 say, “Concerning sin, because they do not believe into Me; and concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father...and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.” Concerning sin, the Spirit shows people that they will be condemned if they remain in Adam and do not believe in the Lord. Concerning righteousness, the Spirit shows people that they can be justified by believing in Christ because God has accomplished redemption. Concerning judgment, the Spirit shows people that they will be judged in the future if they follow Satan because Satan has been judged by God.
When people see these matters concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment, they are convicted to repent and receive the Savior. Then the Spirit enters into them to regenerate them, and from this time onward, the Spirit carries out these six things continuously within them.
At the end of the Gospel of John, on the first day of the week, the Lord in His resurrected body came into the midst of the disciples and breathed into them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (20:22). This may be considered the last thing spoken of in the Gospel of John. The entire Gospel of John ends here: the incarnated Christ has been transfigured into the Spirit, becoming the Spirit of resurrection to enter into our spirit.
At the end of the Gospel of John there is a story of the Spirit. John begins with life and ends with the Spirit. From this we can see that the story of life is in the Spirit. In order to know life, we need to know the Spirit; if we do not know the Spirit, we cannot touch life. Today in the church life many people know biblical teachings but do not know the Spirit. If we ask them to give some teachings, many can, but if we ask them to touch the Spirit, they cannot. Without even speaking of the Christians who are not among us, many saints who meet with us have a shallow and limited knowledge of the Spirit. Consequently, few saints live in the fellowship of life. This shows that it is very difficult to touch life without knowing the Spirit. Without touching life, it is not possible to live in the fellowship of life. If we would practice living in the fellowship of life, we must know the Spirit.
The Gospel of John speaks especially of God being our life and emphasizes the Spirit, because life can be received, experienced, and enjoyed by man only in the Spirit. Since the Spirit is life, we cannot know life unless we touch the Spirit. In the Gospel of John we can see that life and the Spirit, the Spirit and life, are one; they are joined together and cannot be separated.
In order to see the story of the Spirit, we must first know the Spirit. There are two portions in the Gospel of John that speak of the Spirit and the spirit: the first Spirit is the Spirit of God, and the second spirit is our human spirit. These two are involved in the Spirit begetting our spirit. John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” The first Spirit in this verse refers to the Spirit on God’s side, and the second spirit refers to the spirit on man’s side. John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit.” The first Spirit in this verse refers to the Spirit on God’s side, and the second spirit refers to the spirit on man’s side. This verse also speaks of two spirits.
The Spirit spoken of in Romans 8:16 is a mingled spirit, that is, the Spirit on God’s side and the spirit on man’s side mingled as one. It is hard to say whether the spirit in Romans 8 is the Spirit of God or the spirit of man because it is the Spirit of God mingled with the spirit of man to be one spirit. Hence, when we focus on the story of the spirit, we should not focus merely on the Spirit of God or the spirit of man. We should not focus on only one aspect of the spirit but on the one spirit from two viewpoints; that is, we must focus on the spirit that is the mingling of the Spirit of God and the spirit of man.
To experience life is to experience God, which is to experience Christ and the Spirit. Why do we say that to experience God, Christ, and the Spirit is to experience life? God is life, so to experience God is to experience life. Christ is life, so to experience Christ is to experience life. The Spirit is life, so to experience the Spirit is to experience life. God, Christ, and the Spirit are life.
What is the result of experiencing God, Christ, and the Spirit? Experiencing God causes us to touch God inwardly; therefore, to experience God is to touch God. To experience Christ is to experience His living in us and ultimately His being formed in us. When the element of Christ increases in us, He will be formed in us and expressed through us. Then we will have the stature of the fullness of Christ, and in the end, we will be transformed into His image. To experience the Spirit is to experience God in Christ as our life; in other words, it is to experience the Spirit operating in us.
To experience God is to touch God inwardly and to be touched by God. To experience Christ, in brief, is to experience Christ living in us. To experience the Spirit is to experience God in Christ as our life, that is, to experience the Spirit operating in us. This is the experience of life.
