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Scripture Reading: Psa. 36:7-9; John 1:4; 8:12; 10:10; 6:63; Rom. 8:2
We have already seen that God’s goal in creation and redemption is life. God created man so that man would obtain life. Furthermore, the story of the entire universe is related to life in living creatures, with God’s life being the highest life. The source of all life in the universe is God. Hence, the story of the universe comes from God’s life. If we want to know and understand God’s salvation, we must see that God’s only goal is life; life is God’s only purpose, and everything that happens in the universe is because of life and originates from life.
Now we need to see two crucial points: what does the life that we speak of refer to, and how do we contact and touch this life? The Bible shows that the source of life is God; God is the origin of life. Psalm 36:9 says, “With You is the fountain of life.” In other words, life is in God. In verses 7 through 9 there are some related points that we must consider. Verse 7 speaks of God’s lovingkindness and says that His precious lovingkindness enables the sons of men to take refuge in the shadow of His wings. Verse 8 speaks of the fatness of God’s house and of the river of His pleasures for man’s enjoyment. Verse 9 has two special points: “for with You is the fountain of life” and “in Your light we see light.” Let us examine these four points: first, man can take refuge in God’s lovingkindness; second, man enjoys the fatness of God’s house and the river of His pleasures when he takes refuge in God’s lovingkindness; third, man enjoys God’s fatness and the river of His pleasures in God’s life; and fourth, man can touch God’s life in His light.
In the New Testament we can see more clearly that life is the incarnated Christ (John 1:1, 4, 14). In John 14:6 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the way and the reality and the life.” He Himself said that He is life. God’s being life means that life is not simply something that comes from God, but life is God Himself. John 1:4 says that life and light are one. John 8:12 connects life and light and speaks of the light of life. In 10:10 the Lord Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly.” In 6:63 He said, “It is the Spirit who gives life...the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Verse 63 begins by saying that the Spirit gives life, and it ends by saying that the words the Lord spoke to us are spirit and life. Romans 8:2 refers to life, Spirit, and law when it speaks of “the law of the Spirit of life.”
In Psalm 36 God’s lovingkindness, the fatness of His house, and the river of His pleasures all refer to God’s riches; all the riches of God are in His life. When man touches God’s life, he touches God’s riches. We can enjoy, taste, and touch God’s love, sweetness, and riches in His life. From this psalm we can see that the riches in God’s nature can be touched by us in His life. Life is God’s nature, God’s substance. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily (Col. 2:9). Christ is life, that is, the divine life. He came to the earth so that man could obtain God and obtain His life (John 10:10). This proves that life is God Himself. Revelation 22:1-2 shows that the river of water of life and the tree of life proceed and grow out of God. Life originates with God because life is God. Therefore, when God flows out and is enjoyed by man, it is called life.
Steamed rice and raw rice are a good illustration. Steamed rice comes from raw rice; the two are essentially the same. If raw grains of rice are placed in front of us, they cannot be enjoyed or eaten by us, and they cannot satisfy our hunger. In order for raw grains of rice to be eaten and enjoyed by us and to satisfy our hunger, they need to be steamed. When God is alone in heaven, He has no relationship with us and cannot be enjoyed by us. In such a condition, He can only be called God. But when He dispenses Himself into us for us to eat and enjoy, then He can be called life. Life comes out of God, and life is God. If we understand these words, we will know why the Lord said to the Jews, “I am the living bread which came down out of heaven” (John 6:51). He is the bread of life. He is the God who existed from the beginning, and He stepped into time to be obtained and enjoyed by man on the earth and to fill up man’s hunger for satisfaction.
The Lord is the bread of life, and He is life. When we eat steamed rice, we are not eating rice grains that have been taken directly from a rice bag or a rice bin. Steamed rice is rice grains that have been cooked, prepared, and placed on a table for us to eat. The One in heaven is actually the God in eternity. One day He stepped out of eternity, like rice grains being poured out from a rice bag. Then He entered into time and came to the earth to become “steamed rice” on a table to be enjoyed by man. At this point He is called life, and He is the bread of life.
The Gospel of Matthew records that a Canaanite woman came to the Lord and cried out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David!” but the Lord did not say a word to answer her. She tried again and said, “Lord, help me!” The Lord answered, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” Although this Canaanite woman was a Gentile, she was quite blessed and knew God, so she replied immediately, “Yes, Lord, for even the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (15:22-27). The bread on the table is for the children, but even little dogs eat crumbs that fall from the table. This means that the Lord came down out of heaven as the bread of life for man to eat. The Jewish land can be compared to the dining table, and the Jews were God’s children, but they wasted their bread and threw it under the table. They drove the Lord away from the land of the Jews toward the land of the Gentiles. The Canaanite woman’s word indicates that even though she was a dog, the Lord Jesus was not on the table but under the table so that she could eat and enjoy Him as bread. She admitted that she was a dog, but a dog also has its portion. The bread under the table was her portion. Because of this, the Lord praised her: “O woman, great is your faith!” (v. 28). Our God is not only the God of heaven; He is also the bread of life. Furthermore, He is not only the bread of life; He is also the crumbs that fall from the Jewish land so that He can inwardly satisfy us, the Gentiles. Hence, life is God Himself.
If God does not have a relationship with man, He would remain high in the heavens where man could not touch Him or contact Him. God would be God, and man would be man. However, God came down from heaven and came to the door of man’s heart. Now our God is the bread of life. When we open our heart to Him, He becomes our life as soon as He comes into us. This is the reason Paul says that Christ is our life (Col. 3:4). Life is God Himself.
We often hear people say that a certain brother or sister’s life is truly wonderful and rich. If I heard such a word ten years ago, I would have believed it without a doubt. However, gradually God has opened my eyes to see that a certain brother’s humbleness or a certain sister’s gentleness may not be the issue of being rich in life. In 1948 when we were in Nanking, a sister came from Hopei, and the saints told me of her spirituality, suggesting that she was rich in life. I immediately asked them what their view was based upon. They could not answer. I told them that if outward appearances, such as the pace of her walking, the propriety of her speech, and the frequency of her smiles, were the basis for their consideration, then the statues of Mary in Catholic cathedrals should also be considered as being very spiritual because they are quiet, stationary, and never get angry. Whether or not a person is rich in life is not determined by outward appearances.
Life is God Himself, and life is Christ. There truly are such things as humility, gentleness, and quietness in life. However, the humility of many people is not life, and the gentleness of many people is not life. Instead, these characteristics are mere behavior. Genuine life is God Himself; behavior is man himself. Every time we speak of life, we are referring to the God whom we enjoy. He is the God who comes into us to deal with our problems and to solve our difficult situations. If we need satisfaction, He becomes our satisfaction; if we need gentleness, He becomes our gentleness. God is life, and life is God Himself. Behavior is man himself, and it is produced by man’s working and doing.
When we live out life, God comes out of us and is expressed in us. Sometimes when we contact a saint, we touch pride, and with another we touch humility. These are two different kinds of people. However, when we contact yet another saint, we cannot tell if he is proud or humble; instead, we sense that we are touching God, and it is as if we have come before God. We do not sense pride or humility; we sense only God and His presence. This is life.
Life is God Himself; life is God being lived out and expressed. When God is expressed, life is lived out. Many times man’s humbleness is full of human flavor, not the divine flavor. On the contrary, sometimes we meet people who speak a frank and straightforward word to us. The frank and straightforward word may cause us to feel sad and hurt, but in the depth of our being, we sense that we have touched God and experienced His presence. This is life. Life is God Himself. When life is lived out, God is lived out.
This is not our theology or the result of our research; this is the revelation of the Bible. The Old Testament tells us that life is in God (Psa. 36:9). The New Testament speaks clearly about the Word who became the incarnated Christ. He is life, and He comes that man may have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). God wants man to gain Himself.
If we want to know God, we have to know life. If we want to obtain and touch everything of God, we need to touch God’s life because all the riches of God’s nature are in His life. This can be compared to beef containing a great amount of nutrients. If we want to receive the nutrients of the beef, we must eat it. Similarly, God is so rich and so sweet, and all His riches and sweetness are in His life. Psalm 36:7-8 says, “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! / Thus the sons of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. / They are saturated with the fatness of Your house, / And You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures.” The fatness and the river of life are to be enjoyed by man in the shadow of God, that is, in His house, in Himself.
At the end of the Bible, Revelation 21:22 says, “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” In the New Jerusalem there is no temple, because the temple is God Himself. To enjoy the fatness of God’s house is to enjoy God’s riches in God Himself, for with Him is the fountain of life. We need to realize that God’s fatness and riches are in His life. Unbelievers do not know life and cannot touch life. If they do not have life, they do not have the fatness because everything of God is in His life. All the riches of the rice grains are in the cooked rice, so if we want to receive the benefit of the grains, we have to eat and receive the cooked rice. Because God’s riches are in His life, if we want to receive God’s riches, we must touch life because God Himself is life.
Since life is God Himself, how can man touch and obtain life so that this life can come into him? One of the disciples made a very interesting request of the Lord Jesus, saying, “Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us” (John 14:8). This indicates that they knew of God the Father but had never seen or touched Him. Was He fat or thin? Was He tall or short? What exactly did He look like, and what was His content and disposition? The disciples had no clue and were puzzled. They had heard of the Father, but they had never seen Him. Thus, they asked the Lord to show them the Father, and they would be content.
The Lord answered, saying, “Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how is it that you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?” (vv. 9-10). This means that the Lord is the Father, and the Father is the Lord. This can be compared to a person asking someone to show him what rice grains look like, even though he eats rice every day; this is very odd.
So where is God? God is in Christ. The Me in the Father is in Me is the Christ who is the incarnated Word. Where is Christ? In John 14 the Lord Jesus said that the Father is in Him, and then He said that He would leave the disciples in a little while. Although the Father is in Him, He did not want the disciples to treasure this and hold on to Him. The Lord told the disciples that they should not let their heart be troubled or be afraid, because He would leave them in a little while but would come again (vv. 18-19, 27-28). He came as the Spirit, “even the Spirit of reality, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him” (v. 17). This shows that God is in Christ, and Christ is the Spirit.
Where is the Spirit? The Spirit has a very special name; He is called the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), which means that the Spirit gives life to people. John 6:63 says that the words that the Lord speaks are spirit and are life. The Spirit is life. Some of us may be confused and feel that I am speaking in circles. We started speaking concerning life, and now we are speaking about the Spirit; it seems that speaking of life, God, Christ, and the Spirit is just like going around in a circle. Actually, the Spirit is the Spirit of life. In other words, life is God, God is in Christ, Christ is the Spirit, and the Spirit is life.
Where is life? Life is in those who believe into Him. This is absolutely true, but how does life enter into man? We need to see that life is the light of man. Psalm 36:9 says, “With You is the fountain of life; / In Your light we see light.” Please remember, life is in the light, and this life is the light of man. Wherever the light shines, life comes in. Wherever life comes, the Spirit is also there. Wherever the Spirit is, Christ is there. Wherever Christ is, God is there. Wherever God is, life is there. Life is in the light.
Where is the light? The light is in the word of God. The words that the Lord speaks to us are spirit and life (John 6:63). We minister God’s word because we hope that God’s word will enter into everyone. As soon as God’s word enters into man, it becomes light. As soon as we receive light inwardly, we have life. When light is received by man, it becomes life. Moreover, life is the Spirit, the Spirit is Christ, and Christ is God. This is not a theory but a spiritual reality. Everyone who has experienced this will bow in worship and say Amen.
Whenever we touch the Lord’s word, the word becomes light in us, and the word becomes life to satisfy our hunger. We feel that we are eating of the fatness and drinking of the river of His pleasures, and we are full of God’s presence, full of Christ’s supply, and filled with the Triune God inwardly. Therefore, when God’s word operates and starts to have an effect on us and if we willingly obey, we are immediately filled with light, life, the Spirit’s presence, Christ, and God. In this way people sense God, Christ, the Spirit, life, light, and God’s word in us when they contact us. We should always remember that life is God, God is in Christ, Christ is the Spirit, the Spirit is life, life is light, and light comes from God’s word.
When we fellowship with the Lord in the morning, we may sometimes get a sense of receiving a word from God. Sometimes the word seems tangible, and it speaks clearly in us; sometimes the word seems more intangible, as if it is just a feeling. Regardless of its form, it is God’s word. As soon as we receive such a word inwardly, we immediately have light. This light is the moving of the Spirit, and it issues in the filling of life. In this way we inwardly sense God, Christ, and the Spirit, and we are inwardly filled with life and light. When people contact us, they have the sense that they are touching God, Christ, the Spirit, life, and light. Therefore, whether or not we can touch, contact, and obtain life all depends on how we handle God’s word and how we contact God’s word.
Often there is a word of God in us; it is the speaking through the moving of the Spirit in us, and its purpose is for us to contact and touch life. But how do we handle this word? Many people listen to messages, but they do not touch God’s word. Many people read the Bible, but they do not hear God’s word. Some people read spiritual books, but they never touch the Lord. This is because they disobey, ignore, and even reason and argue with the Lord. This is the reason that their light is lost and the reason that life and Christ disappear.
This is true not only in our daily living; we frequently have this kind of experience in the bread-breaking meeting. If the Spirit in us gives us a word or a feeling to open our mouth and praise the Lord, we should receive this word and open our mouth to praise the Lord. Thus, we will have light within, and this light is life, the Spirit, Christ, and God. When we respond to this feeling and offer a prayer of praise to the Lord, we sense the satisfaction of life, the sweetness of Christ, the presence of God, and the moving of the Spirit. Even after we go home, we will still sense God’s sweet presence inwardly.
Regrettably, many people have a feeling, a word without form, but they are not willing to obey. Instead, they reason inwardly, thinking, “The Lord wants me to get up to praise and pray, but if my prayer is not good, I will lose face and become a laughingstock.” As they begin to reason, the light in them disappears, and life, Christ, and God also disappear. As a result, they inwardly feel empty and unsatisfied in the bread-breaking meeting. When they go home, they are still empty within and cannot touch God, and they go to sleep with this empty feeling. When they get up the next morning, they feel that God is far away from them. Their inward fellowship will not be restored until they confess before God: “O Lord, forgive me. On that day You gave me a word in the bread-breaking meeting, but I did not obey You.”
Thus, if we want to touch life, we need the word, the feeling given to us by the Spirit. Such a feeling is the living word of God. Although it is silent, it is indeed a living word. We should accept and obey it. If we do this, the word in us will become light. This light is life, Christ, God, and the Spirit. If we would all practice in this way, we could touch God every day. This is the way for us to touch God, and whoever touches God in this way is blessed. To be blessed is to have God’s life as a spiritual reality.
