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Scripture Reading: Phil. 1:21; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 8:4
In the past few years we have seen the matter of living Christ (Phil. 1:21; Gal. 2:20). Recently, based on Romans 8:4, we have seen the matter of walking according to the spirit, which is the practical way to live Christ. We are often distracted from walking according to the spirit. We may be distracted even by apparently positive things, such as preaching the gospel. We need to pay our full attention to walking according to the spirit in order to live Christ.
The church fathers taught much about the person of Christ, but most neglected to live Christ. The more they taught about Christ, the more they were divided and fought one another because of different interpretations and doctrines. Christians have emphasized various kinds of works and teachings throughout the past nineteen centuries, but few have lived Christ.
The Lord has revealed much to us today, but we need to be those who earnestly desire to walk according to the spirit. As elders, we may help the saints to preach the gospel and exercise their spirits in the meetings, but our primary concern should be to help them to live Christ by walking according to the spirit in their daily life. We all need to consider our own situation. If we are honest, we will humble ourselves before the Lord and repent to Him for our lack of walking according to the spirit in our daily life.
When we face serious problems, we often pray desperately to seek the Lord’s leading. Before we give a message, it is easy to pray. However, walking according to the spirit is different from praying in difficult situations or before spiritual activities. To walk according to the spirit is to do everything in our daily life according to the spirit. We need to walk according to the spirit moment by moment not only in big things but also in small things, such as writing a letter or talking with our family at the dinner table. If we cannot do or say something according to the spirit, we should not do or say it. We must admit that we are short of such a living. To pray only during the meetings or when we face a great problem is not to walk according to the spirit. Our walking according to the spirit in our daily living should be like our breathing. If we do not live Christ or walk according to the spirit, our spiritual activities may be a performance. We should not act one way in the meetings and another way in our daily life.
When we are not walking according to the spirit in our daily life, we are walking according to the flesh. According to Romans 8:4-9, anything that is not according to the spirit is according to the flesh. There are only two sources and two conditions of our living — the spirit and the flesh. Outward behavior, such as whether we are loving or hating others or praising or criticizing others, does not determine whether we are living according to the spirit or the flesh. Even our love is according to the flesh if it is not according to the spirit. We may rarely speak negatively, but even our positive speech that is not according to the spirit is still according to the flesh.
Perhaps it is difficult to know the spirit, but it is easy to know what is not the spirit. For instance, we know when our speaking is not according to the spirit, even when it is positive. In order to be able to live according to the spirit, it is sufficient for us to know when our speech and actions are not according to the spirit. However, we do not practice such a life. During the meetings we may conduct ourselves according to the spirit, but after the meetings we often feel free to speak and do things according to the flesh. It is not sufficient merely to live morally or ethically or even to decide what to do based on the Spirit’s leading, for we may be led by the Spirit to do something but then do it according to the flesh. We need to do everything according to the spirit, thinking, speaking, and acting moment by moment according to the spirit.
Other aspects of the Christian life, such as preaching the gospel, should be the result of our living Christ. If all the saints live Christ by walking according to the spirit, there will be a great increase in the church. Much gospel preaching will spontaneously issue from our walking according to the spirit. Several years ago I proposed that the saints in a certain locality go out at least once a week to contact others. Everyone listened and agreed, but eventually no one practiced it. I found that it does not work to charge the saints to go out regularly to preach the gospel. However, if the elders in a locality take the lead to walk according to the spirit, and they minister such a life to the other saints, the saints in that locality will also walk according to the spirit and regularly preach the gospel. When the meetings are dismissed, the saints tend to talk only with those whom they already know, and new ones are often neglected. When we choose whom we will talk to based on our natural preferences, we are not walking according to the spirit. If we have the time, strength, and desire only to do things that are according to our natural taste, it is because we are not walking according to the spirit.
Our primary concern should not be how to do things such as preaching the gospel and shepherding the new believers. Instead, we need to see that God wants a people who live Christ by walking according to the spirit. If we practice to continually walk according to the spirit throughout the day, everything else will spontaneously issue forth from such a living. The real impact of the Lord’s recovery comes from our living. Our gospel preaching and shepherding should not be activities but should be the issue of a daily life of walking according to the spirit. Such a living will also issue in holiness, victory, and spirituality. All such aspects of the Christian life should be part of our living. For instance, a daily life of walking according to the spirit will issue in our functioning with a released spirit in the meetings. If we do not live Christ in our daily life, we will have no surplus of Christ to bring to the meetings. In order to exhibit Christ, we must gain Christ in our daily life by walking according to the spirit. If the saints are living Christ, they will spontaneously function in the meetings.
If there were no clergy or organizations for mission work or Bible teaching in Christianity but instead all the genuine believers were walking according to the spirit and living Christ, thousands would be brought to the Lord every day as a result. Moreover, the believers would spontaneously come together in every place to praise and worship the Lord. This is the situation that the Lord desires, and such a situation would have real impact. Within a short time, the entire earth would be gained for the Lord. The subtle enemy uses religious organizations and activities to distract the believers from living Christ. If the saints are helped to walk according to the spirit, the churches will be prevailing. We must not allow our religious background to distract us. We need a clear view from the heavens to see that what the Lord wants is a group of people who walk according to the spirit. The Lord’s desire is not for many co-workers, elders, or activities, or much organization. As leading ones, we primarily need to walk according to the spirit in our daily life and help other saints to enter into this kind of living.
We do not need to worry about the result or practical issue of a daily life of walking according to the spirit, because genuine life spontaneously bears fruit. Life means everything. Genesis 1:27-28 says, “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.” Man filled the earth not by doing but simply by living. The way for man to fulfill God’s purpose is through a proper living. However, because God’s enemy Satan knows this, he uses many things to distract the Lord’s people from a proper living. Therefore, we need to come back to a daily life of living Christ and walking according to the spirit.
When we walk according to the spirit daily and moment by moment, the Triune God as the Spirit will have the opportunity to make His home in our entire being. This is our greatest need. We need a living to match the vision we have seen. The great teachers did not clearly see the central vision concerning living Christ. The famous book The Imitation of Christ by Thomas &?agrave; Kempis does not emphasize living Christ. Even the mystics like Madame Guyon, who saw much, did not emphasize living Christ. Today we stand on their shoulders to see and practice the matters of living Christ and walking according to the spirit.
Question: In my experience the most enjoyable times have been times of corporately seeking the Lord. How does the matter of living Christ relate to the corporate experience of Christ?
Answer: The corporate aspect of the Christian life is certainly helpful, but what we often lack is a daily life of walking according to the spirit. The saints in a local church may experience a high corporate life for a time, but if they do not enter into the practice of walking according to the spirit, their enjoyment will eventually diminish. Many of us have experienced a high corporate life in the past. Today we need to enter into the actual practice of walking according to the spirit, and as leading ones, we need to help others to balance their corporate enjoyment of the Lord with a personal daily life of walking according to the spirit. Whether or not there is a high atmosphere of corporate enjoyment in our locality, we need to personally walk according to the spirit. Corporate exercise of the spirit helps our walking according to the spirit but cannot replace it. Our walking according to the spirit is our spiritual breathing, which is what enables us to endure. To stop breathing is an indication of death. We need to pay our full attention to walking according to the spirit, because our breathing is what matters.
Many saints need to practice walking according to the spirit in order to become less dependent on corporate help. The Lord may place us in an environment in which we do not have much opportunity to meet with others. The apostle John did not receive corporate help when he was in exile on the island of Patmos, but he was still in spirit (Rev. 1:10). We need to practice to be in spirit when we are alone.
Question: Many times I have experienced being led by the Spirit to do something, but while I am doing it, I am not walking according to the spirit or living Christ. Therefore, I do not minister Christ to those I contact. Could you say something further about living Christ?
Answer: Paul could say, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). We need to consider whether we can say this according to our experience. We may have this teaching and perhaps even this revelation and vision, but we must admit that we do not adequately have this living, even if we say and do many good things. Deep within we realize that it is mostly we who are living and not Christ, perhaps even when we are speaking about the Lord. This shows our lack.
The Bible reveals that the kind of people God desires to gain is a people who live Christ. Because we are still influenced by many other things, such as our background, knowledge, and environment, we miss the mark of living Christ and walking according to the spirit. Because the matter of living Christ pertains to life, which is mysterious and abstract, it is easy for us to miss and neglect this matter. Nevertheless, the Lord has shown us His desire, and He will not let us go. Once we have seen the matter of living Christ, there is nothing else to which we can give ourselves. We must practice this, pay our full attention to this, live this, and minister this to others. Living Christ and ministering such a life to others may seem to be a slow work, but it is the most effective work because it is a matter of life. Life is never defeated; it always prevails. We need to realize that any kind of organizational work will not last. We must minister life, because life endures.
Our lack today is a daily living of walking according to the spirit. In order to see this matter, we need to be unloaded by setting aside what we think we know. After mentioning walking according to the spirit in Romans 8:4, Paul goes on to describe such a walk. In verses 5 through 17 he does not correct the believers or give them a charge or a command; instead, he explains the genuine Christian walk, which is a walk according to the spirit. This walk involves the Spirit and our spirit, and it affects our mind and our mortal body. The Spirit is in our spirit, forming a mingled spirit, and when we walk according to this mingled spirit, life is imparted to our spirit, mind, and body (vv. 10, 6, 11). After the Triune God in Christ was processed and achieved and attained everything for His purpose, He became the life-giving all-inclusive Spirit, who is the Spirit of God the Father, the Spirit of Christ the Son, and the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead (vv. 9, 11). Therefore, the Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God. This Spirit is in our spirit, witnessing with our spirit (v. 16). These two spirits are one. The Triune God mingles with the tripartite man in the spirit. Therefore, what we need is simply to walk according to the mingled spirit. Romans 8 does not teach that we should try to improve ourselves through ethics, morality, or religion; instead, it teaches that we need to walk according to the mingled spirit. The focus of Romans 8 is walking according to the mingled spirit, which is the practical way to live Christ. Such a living is our need today. The outward results of our work may pass away; therefore, what really counts in the eyes of God is our living of Christ.
