Search
Scripture Reading: Isa. 9:6; 2 Cor. 3:17; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:10; 2 Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:4; Gal. 5:16, 25
Many of the saints in the Lord’s recovery today still have not dropped their human concepts, cultural influences, and religious thoughts, not to mention the traditional teachings of Christianity. This is why there has not been much result even though we have released many things that God has shown us. The saints have heard what we have released, and they have seemed to receive it, yet there has not been much response in the church life in reality.
Suppose we told people that we were once fallen, but that God, who loved the world, came to be our Savior, and as our Savior died on the cross and shed His precious blood for the redemption of our sins. If we spoke in this way to people, it would be easy for them to comprehend because this kind of speaking not only corresponds to the Scriptures but also matches their natural concept. This kind of thought is very similar to the concept in the human mind. Hence, when we speak in this way, it is easy for people to understand, receive, and respond to our speaking. Suppose we also told them, “Since you have been saved, you need to have a change in your behavior. Before you were saved, your conduct was very poor, and it did not glorify God. Today, however, you have been saved and have become children of God, and now you need to behave yourself in a proper way. If you cannot do it, you need to pray. Then God will lend you a hand and will enable you to be a good person.” This kind of teaching also conforms to man’s frame of mind, so man easily receives it and is stirred up by it. This kind of teaching is also found in the Bible.
However, everything has two sides — a surface and an inside — and what is on the surface is often different from what is on the inside. The concepts described in the previous paragraph can be said to be on the surface of what is revealed in the Bible. They are not on the “inside.” Then what is on the inside? Intrinsically, the Bible shows us that God is Spirit. God is not only Spirit in His essence, but He is also the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in His economy. God’s being the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is not merely so that we can have the doctrine of the Trinity but is for God’s economy. What is God’s economy? God’s economy is to work Himself into man. In order to dispense Himself into man, God has to be the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Traditional Christianity teaches the doctrine concerning the Trinity, saying that God is one yet has three persons. This teaching is not wrong, but it can be understood in a wrong way. In degraded Christianity many people who teach this doctrine have the hidden concept that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three Gods. It is a very serious mistake to have this kind of concept. Apparently these ones believe that God is uniquely one, but if we converse with them at length, eventually they will disclose what they truly believe. They believe that the Father is a God, the Son is a God, and the Spirit is a God. They believe that there are three Gods. Of course, most will not say this explicitly, but when we speak with some believers, we realize that inwardly they do not believe that the Son is the Father or that the Son is the Spirit. If we were to ask them how many Gods they believe in, they would eventually have to confess that they believe in three Gods.
This matter has been an issue of great controversy in theology throughout the years. However, we must realize that God in His trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — is not for doctrinal study but for the dispensing of God into us. We should be very careful not to think that there are three Gods — the Father being one God, the Son being another God, and the Spirit being still another God. This is altogether a traditional concept that must be cast into the Pacific Ocean. This traditional concept is prevalent not only in China but also in America. In fact, most of the traditional Christian concepts came to China from the Western world. Today we are still fighting this battle in America. I have been challenging Christianity both privately and publicly concerning the traditional Christian concepts. For instance, I have challenged many of the Christians in America to explain how they understand Isaiah 9:6. That verse says, “A child is born to us, / A Son is given to us;... / And His name will be called / Wonderful Counselor, / Mighty God, / Eternal Father, / Prince of Peace.” Most Christians do not have a problem with the names Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, or Mighty God. They only have a problem with the name Eternal Father. Isaiah 9:6 speaks about One who is so wonderful that His name is called Wonderful. Furthermore, He is so wonderful that even though He is a child, His name is called Mighty God. Fundamental Christians today all believe that the child who was born in the manger in Bethlehem was the mighty God. That child was called Jesus, and He was God. If someone does not believe in this, we cannot acknowledge him as our brother. Instead, we would have to consider him an antichrist. Judaism believes in God but does not believe that that child was the mighty God. We, however, believe this.
In Isaiah 9:6 there are two lines — one line is the line of the child, and the other is the line of the Son. A child was born to us, and His name was called Mighty God, and a Son was given to us, and His name was called Eternal Father. Today, however, those in Christianity believe the first line but not the second line. If we were to ask them whether the child born in the manger was the mighty God, they would strongly answer that He was. If, however, we asked them whether the Son given to us was the eternal Father, they would not dare to answer. Even many pastors would not dare to answer, because many of them are under the influence of traditional teachings. Therefore, when I visited America, I strongly asked, “Should we believe only half of Isaiah 9:6, or should we believe the whole verse?” If we believe that the child is the mighty God, we should also believe that the Son is the eternal Father.
If anyone condemns us of being heretical because we say that the Son is the Father, we should show them Isaiah 9:6 and read it to them. When I was in the United States, I taught the brothers and sisters there a very simple strategy of how to deal with these ones. First, we should ask them whether they believe that the Bible is true. If they do, we should ask them whether they believe that the book of Isaiah is true. If they do, then we should ask them whether they believe that Isaiah 9:6 is true. If they say that they do, then we should ask them whether they believe that the child is the mighty God. If they still say yes, we should ask them whether they also believe that the Son is the eternal Father. In this way we will stop all their arguments. We should not argue with such people, because the more we argue, the more they will become confused, and the more they will argue with us. We do not need to say anything except to ask them these few questions. Then they will be unable to do anything except acknowledge that the Son is the eternal Father. There are many deep things pertaining to God that are beyond our understanding. However, every Christian must accept the plain words of the Bible. This is the first step.
The second step is to show them 2 Corinthians 3:17, which says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” We should ask them whether the Lord in this verse refers to the Lord Jesus. They will surely say yes. No one would say that the Lord in this verse is not the Lord Jesus. The Lord mentioned here is the Lord Jesus (cf. 4:5). Then we should ask them who the Spirit in this verse refers to. They would have to admit that the Spirit mentioned here is the Holy Spirit. There would then be no need for further argument. We could also show them 1 Corinthians 15:45b, which says, “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” This is also irrefutable.
The critics will surely ask many other questions. They may ask, “If you say that the Son is the Father, then how could the Son pray to the Father? And how could the Father hear the Son’s prayer?” We can tell them that we do not know how to answer, and neither do we want to. However, we can ask them to explain John 14, where the Lord said to Philip, “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;...I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” (vv. 9-10). We should not try to explain, because eventually we will become confused and will be unable to fight the battle. However, Isaiah 9:6 is very clear, as is 2 Corinthians 3:17. One verse says that the Son would be called the Father, and the other verse says that the Lord is the Spirit.
In one of his hymns, Brother Nee said, “Thou, Lord, the Father once wast called, / But now the Holy Spirit art” (Hymns, #490, stanza 5). This shows that Brother Nee saw this matter a long time ago.
I am not here to argue about doctrines but to give you an impression. We all need to see that our God is one and that this one God, as the mysterious One, is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. He is the Father for a reason, He is the Son with an intention, and He is the Spirit for a purpose. The reason, intention, and purpose are that He would fully work Himself into us.
We must look to the Lord that He would enable us to see clearly that today our God, our Redeemer, is the Spirit. In His essence He is Spirit, in His economy He is ultimately the Spirit, and in His resurrection He actually became the Spirit. Not only did He become flesh to accomplish redemption for us; He also became the Spirit to come into us to be our life. We must see that today our God, our Redeemer, is the wonderful, all-inclusive Spirit. This wonderful Spirit is not only in the third heaven but is also dwelling specifically in our spirit.
Romans 8 says that Christ is in us, and that as a result, our spirit is life (v. 10). Today Christ as the Spirit is in our spirit, so our spirit, which contains Him as life, is life. We may use electricity to illustrate this. When electricity enters into a light bulb, the light bulb becomes light. This revelation of our spirit being life is made crystal clear in the New Testament. The Lord who became flesh, who died and shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins, and who was resurrected is now the Spirit. He is not only with us in our spirit but is also mingled with our spirit as one spirit. This truth has been taught among us for many years, and this message has been released numerous times. However, there has not been much response or practical application because we are still very much limited by old concepts, old backgrounds, and other teachings.
Recently, I attended a Lord’s Day meeting in which a message was given on the topic of “pressing on” based on Philippians 3:13-14 (ASV). The message was about pressing on, the saints sang hymns about pressing on, and many of the saints were shouting, “Press on!” However, much of the shouting was natural and without revelation, and thus, the brothers and sisters who attended that meeting left without receiving any help. In that meeting there was much talk about pressing on, yet no one explained how to press on, where to start pressing on, and where to press on to. There was much shouting of words but no revelation. As I was listening there, I wondered, “Where are the ones sharing these things going to lead the church? Are they going to lead the church into the matter of pressing on?” It is true that Philippians 3:13-14 contains the thought of pressing on. However, we need to read through Philippians 3 before we can understand what it means to press on. To press on is to put away religion. Paul said, “Beware of the dogs...beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God...and have no confidence in the flesh...If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I more: circumcised the eighth day;...a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to the righteousness which is in the law, become blameless. But what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ...I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ” (vv. 2-8). Instead of merely shouting about forgetting the things behind, we need to realize what the things behind are and what the things we need to forget are. If we had the revelation, we would realize that the things which are behind are things such as our religious concepts, our keeping of the law, and our zeal. We need to forget about our service as a responsible one in a small group, in a home meeting, or in a meeting hall. We need to forget about being so busy and working so hard to carry out those responsibilities. From where do we start to press on? We need to start by forgetting about our responsibilities in the home meetings and our busyness. We should not turn Philippians 3:13-14 into mere slogans, shouting things such as, “Forgetting the things which are behind,” “Stretching forward to the things which are before,” and, “Press on toward the goal.” What is our goal? Our goal is Christ, who is in our spirit. In that Lord’s table meeting, why is it that no one declared, “Press on to the spirit! Our goal is the spirit!” The goal is not in our responsibility or in our service. The goal is Christ, who is in our spirit. We may have heard this message many times, yet in our practical application we have failed. We have heard the truth, but we have not seen the revelation.
If we have truly seen the revelation, we should be able to give ten thousand messages, each with a different subject yet with the same principle. However, if we speak about pressing on without having seen the revelation, then the church will not be edified, because our leading of the church will have no direction or goal. What should our direction be? Our direction and our goal should be the Christ who lives in our spirit. We can speak this message and apply it to thousands of matters, even to the way we cut our hair. Whether we should leave our hair long or cut our hair short is not a matter of regulation. We should not inquire of the elders or search the Scriptures concerning such a matter. Instead, we should inquire of our spirit and turn to our spirit. We should not promote short hair or long hair. Instead, we should turn to our spirit! Whatever message we speak, this should be the principle.
Those without this vision are groping in the dark and speaking nonsense. We may speak about prayer — how to pray and what to pray — but unless we have seen this vision, our prayers will be nonsensical prayers. Before he was saved, Saul of Tarsus probably prayed more than any of us. After receiving the letters from the high priest and while he was on his way to Damascus to arrest the saints, he must have intensified his prayers and prayed thoroughly. Yet his prayers were in cooperation with Satan. He was praying to God, yet he was being utilized by Satan. Whoever has not seen this vision is liable to fall into the scheme of Satan, no matter what he does.
We need to see this vision. We need to see that the Triune God, the almighty God, who is Jehovah — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, has become our all and has been wrought into us. Today He is in our spirit. The key to everything is found in this wonderful Spirit who is in our created and regenerated spirit and who has become one spirit with our spirit. This is the key and the starting point. If we do not turn to our spirit and pray out of our spirit, our prayers will be improper. If we do not enter into the mingled spirit and love others out of the mingled spirit, our love will be worthless. Anything that is not of the spirit is of the flesh and will not yield the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of life will not confirm anything that is of the flesh.
We should forget about old religion. Having morning watch is worthless and praying is useless if we are not in the spirit. It is possible that our prayers have been in cooperation with Satan, that our morning watch has been infiltrated by Satan, and that even our service as an elder has been for Satan. This is not to say that we have brought idols into the church or have brought the brothers into sin. On the contrary, we may be very pious and diligent in leading the saints to have morning watch, to endeavor in this practice, and to endeavor in reading the Word. However, we may not realize that Satan has infiltrated all these things. There is only one place that Satan cannot invade — our spirit.
May the Lord be merciful to every one of us and grant us the heavenly vision. Do not think that merely being zealous and serving God is sufficient. Saul of Tarsus was also zealous and also served God, yet he was under the authority of Satan. His service to God, his zeal, and his keeping of the law were all under Satan’s authority. Can we say that our zeal, our having morning watch, and our endeavoring in doing many things are not under Satan’s authority? Whether or not we are under Satan’s authority is not determined by the things we do. Rather, it is determined by whether we are in the spirit or in the flesh. Do we have morning watch in our natural being or in our spirit? If we have morning watch in our natural being, then even though we may rise at 5:30 A.M., our morning watch can be utilized by Satan. However, if we have morning watch in the spirit, there will be a different flavor.
We need to turn to our spirit. Being holy, victorious, or freed from sin is not what matters. The only thing that matters is that we live in the spirit where the Lord dwells.
In the history of Christianity there have been many doctrinal teachings on matters such as bearing the cross, dealing with the flesh, pursuing holiness, living a victorious life, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. However, if we calmly and objectively read through the New Testament, then we would see that the crucial point of the New Testament is ultimately to be in the spirit. The book of Romans presents a general outline of the Christian life and the church life. Although chapter 6 mentions the cross, chapter 6 is not the end of the book. Chapter 8 repeatedly mentions the spirit. Chapter 6 directly refers to the cross only once (v. 6), but chapter 8 mentions the spirit over twenty times. Galatians also mentions the cross. However, Galatians also says, “Walk by the Spirit and you shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh” (5:16). If we attempt to deal with the flesh and crucify it while neglecting to be in the spirit, then the more we try to crucify the flesh, the more alive it will become. It is clear from Galatians that if we walk by the Spirit, we shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh. If we walk by the Spirit, we will be crucified without trying to be crucified, and we will be holy without trying to be holy. We will be victorious without trying to be victorious, we will love others without trying to love them, and we will have light without trying to obtain it. This is possible because the all-inclusive Spirit dwells in our spirit and has become one spirit with our spirit.
Today we all need to see this heavenly vision. If we see this, we will no longer care about being holy, being victorious, bearing the cross, and various other matters. We will care only to live in the spirit. In addition, if we live by the spirit, we should also walk by the spirit. As long as we walk in the spirit, nothing is impossible. However, if we do not walk in the spirit and try to crucify ourselves by exercising our will, then the more we try to crucify ourselves, the more alive we will be. If we practice dealing with the world by ourselves, then the more we try, the more we will love the world.
We should look to the Lord to have mercy on us and to open our eyes that we may see a heavenly vision. We need to see that the great God — Jehovah, the One who is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and who is also the Lord Jesus, the Redeemer, the Creator, and the Holy Spirit — is the all-inclusive Spirit who dwells in our spirit and is being mingled with our spirit as one spirit. This is where we should live and walk today. This should not be our performance but our daily living. We should live our daily life in the spirit. We should not be concerned with knowing what humility is or what love is. Neither should we be concerned with knowing what patience is, what submission is, what zeal is, what worship is, or what prayer is. We should not be concerned with anything other than living in the spirit. We should walk in the spirit day by day, simply being in harmony with our Lord and one with Him in the spirit. We should have our life, nature, living, and walk with our Lord. We do not need to know what prayer is or what to pray about. We do not need to know what gospel preaching is or what kind of gospel to preach. We do not need to know what it means to love our wife or to submit to our husband. Neither do we need to know what it means to be humble or patient. All these words and phrases are expressions used by moralists. The only thing we need to know is that the God and Savior whom we love is the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit who is dwelling in our spirit and has become one spirit with our spirit. We are joined to Him, and He is our life, our living, and our walk. He and we are one.
If the Lord is merciful to open your eyes and show you this matter, your entire Christian life will have a great turn. We should all read the Bible again. Ultimately, the entire Bible requires only one thing of us — to walk according to the mingled spirit, which is the all-inclusive Spirit mingled with our regenerated spirit. First Corinthians 6:17 tells us, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” If our disposition is manifested, this proves that we are not in spirit. If we criticize and judge carelessly, this also proves that we are not in spirit. If we gossip freely, always hold on to our opinions, or insist on our views, then we are not in spirit. If we insist on having morning watch while others are not having morning watch, we are not in spirit. Then what does it mean to be in spirit? To be in spirit is simply to be in spirit, and to not be in spirit is simply to not be in spirit. We need to see that the reality of all spiritual things is in the spirit. The church itself is in the spirit, the building of the church is in the spirit, and the eternal testimony of the church is in the spirit. This is the hinge, the secret, and the key to our Christian life and our church life.
In the New Testament nearly no other item is mentioned more than the spirit. The New Testament speaks of the Spirit and the Spirit of life. It also mentions our regenerated spirit, and even more, it speaks of the spirit that is the mingling of the Spirit with our spirit. The New Testament repeatedly refers to this spirit. Nearly every book speaks about this spirit. Revelation, the last book of the Bible, especially shows us that we need to be in this spirit (1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10). We must see that today in the church we also need to emphasize the spirit. The more we speak about other things, the more deadened and empty we will be, and the more others will not want to listen. The age we are in today is the age of the spirit, an age in which there is the flow of the spirit.
May the Lord be merciful to us that our eyes may be opened to see the spirit. I have seen many different things in Christianity. I was with the Brethren assembly for seven and a half years, I have been with the Pentecostal movement, and I have been in the line of the inner life. I know with assurance that there is no other way besides this. This is the Lord’s way today. Only in the spirit can we enter into the riches of the Lord, and only in the spirit can we be delivered from everything outside of the Lord. May the Lord have mercy on us that we would all see this spirit.
