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Scripture Reading: Eph. 2:1-5; Col. 2:13; John 1:14; 3:3, 6; 6:63; 14:16-20
In the previous chapter we saw that God wants man to serve Him in spirit and that only the service that is in spirit can enable man to touch Him. Therefore, God created man with a spirit by which man may serve Him.
The spirit, as the innermost part of man, is the kernel of man. Man’s being man lies in his spirit. Man is not for the existence of the body or for the enjoyment of the soul but for the service of God in spirit.
The function of the spirit within man is to enable man to know God, serve God, contact God, and have fellowship with God. Just as man cannot contact God with the five senses of his body, neither can he touch God with the mind, emotion, and will of his soul. Neither the body nor the soul can get through to God; only the spirit of man can. Man can only contact and touch God in, through, and with his spirit.
Because man sinned and became fallen, the spirit in man became dead. When Adam sinned, not only did it cause him to have a record of sin before God and to have the nature of sin within him, but it also caused the spirit in him to become dead. God told him that in the day he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would surely die. But after he ate of it, outwardly he did not die. Even though outwardly his body did not die and his outward man was still alive, the spirit within him was deadened and lost its fellowship with God. In other words, it lost its function and feeling. From that time on, due to sin, the spirit in man was deadened to God and had lost its function with respect to God.
The spirit within man is deadened and “deflated”; therefore, it has lost its function and its consciousness. This may be compared to the deadness of the ears of someone who is deaf. A deaf person is not without ears. He has ears, but his ears have lost their function and their sensation; thus, his ears have died. Today although there is a spirit in man, it is dead. Originally, the spirit within man enabled him to sense and contact God, but now because the spirit has been deadened, it has lost its function and its sense. Therefore, it cannot sense or contact God, just as the ears of a deaf person are unable to sense or contact sound. To a deaf person, it is as if there were no sound. Likewise, to a person whose spirit is dead, it is as if there were no God.
Today man’s fall not only has caused the spirit of man to lose its sense and function and therefore become dead; it has even caused man not to realize or know that he has a spirit. Man does not know how to use his spirit to contact God, nor is he even aware that he has a spirit. Man only knows that he has a body and a soul with the mind, emotion, and will; he is not aware that he has a spirit. Man realizes that he has a body to contact the physical things and a soul with the mind, emotion, and will to contact the psychological things. He does not realize, however, that he has a spirit to contact the spiritual things, the things of God. Because man does not know that he has a spirit, he basically does not use his spirit to contact God. Thus, he is unable to contact God or sense God. Consequently, he feels and thinks that there is no God. This is similar to a blind person thinking that there are no colors. Although colors exist, he cannot touch them with his hands, smell them with his nose, or hear them with his ears. In his sensation it is as if colors do not exist, because his faculty for perceiving colors has been lost. Likewise, God does exist, but man does not sense God’s existence because man is ignorant of the fact that he has a spirit and therefore fails to use the proper faculty, the spirit within him, to contact God.
The spirit of man has lost its feeling and function, and it has become dead to such an extent that even its existence is not felt. This is due to the fact that man has fallen into sin and lives in sin. Therefore, the Bible says, “You, though dead in your offenses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) and “You, though dead in your offenses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh” (Col. 2:13). Sin causes the spirit of man to lose its feeling and function and to become dead. The more one lives in sins, the more his spirit loses its sense and function and becomes more deadened. The more one lives according to his flesh, the more he does not sense that he has a spirit.
Because the spirit of man has lost its sense and function and therefore has become dead, and because man does not sense that he has a spirit, man lives according to the soul and the flesh. The spirit of a fallen man is dead, but his soul and his flesh are still living. Furthermore, because his spirit has been deadened, his soul has gained a greater position. Formerly, his spirit was taking the lead within, but now since his spirit is dead, his soul has assumed the leading position. His spirit could be connected with God, could contact God, and could be under God’s ruling. But now it is different with his soul. His soul cannot be connected with God but can only be connected with itself. It cannot contact God but can only remain in itself; it does not like to be under God’s ruling but likes to act according to its own will. Since his soul has assumed the leading position to rule over him and to control him, which was previously occupied by his spirit, this makes him unable to contact God and causes him to dislike being under God’s ruling. Thus, he can only remain in himself and walk according to his own will. Consequently, this gives his flesh the opportunity to indulge in lust. Therefore, a person who is deadened in his spirit is dead in offenses and sins and conducts himself in the lusts of the flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts, which are the result of the operation of the mind in the soul (Eph. 2:3).
The spirit of man is the core and the center of man. Man ought to let the spirit take the lead and walk according to the spirit. Under normal circumstances man ought to live in the spirit and be controlled by the spirit. After contacting God and receiving His commands, the spirit directs the soul. The soul in turn directs the body, and the body takes action. In this way whatever man does is according to the will of God and is pleasing to Him.
But man fell and man’s spirit became deadened. Man’s core became “deflated” and man’s center lost its function. Now man’s soul rises up to replace the spirit. Because the spirit is deadened, the soul rises up. When the soul rises up, it causes man to act according to whatever he likes.
Due to the fall Satan’s life, that is, the satanic nature, entered into man’s body. This satanic nature becomes the lust in man’s body that causes man to sin, and this lust is referred to in Romans 7 as “the law of sin which is in my members” (v. 23). Since the lust for sinning is present in man’s body, man’s body becomes the flesh. This flesh of man is very cooperative with man’s soul. Since the soul, after rising up to take the place of the spirit, causes man to do according to whatever he likes, the flesh comes to help the soul to do evil. Man’s soul represents man’s self, while man’s flesh represents sin. The union of man’s soul with man’s flesh is thus a marriage between man and sin. The result is that man does many different things to offend and oppose God. All the evil things done by man are the issue of the union of these two. Since man walks according to these two, the soul and the flesh, instead of allowing the spirit to take the lead and walking according to the spirit, man becomes “soulish” (1 Cor. 2:14) and “fleshly” (3:3).
All the things that the soulish and fleshly man does according to the soul and the flesh are against God and are not pleasing to God, yet they may not appear sinful or bad outwardly. In fact, some of them may seem to be quite good. Nevertheless, they are carried out by the body under the direction of the soul; hence, they are not of the spirit. Therefore, they are also not of God, and they are not pleasing to God.
Although the spirit of man has been deadened, his soul and his flesh still have their desires and works, and although these desires and works are not of his spirit, outwardly they are not necessarily bad. Even though they come out of the preferences of his soul and his flesh, some of them are good on the surface.
Some people are cruel by nature and delight in hating others. Thus, their living and their behavior exhibit their hatred for others mostly according to the desire of their inborn nature of hate. But others are kind by nature and readily love people. Thus, their living and their behavior show their love toward others mostly under the direction of the desire of their inborn nature of love. According to these two things—love and hate—loving others is better than hating others; loving others is right, and hating others is wrong. But from the spiritual viewpoint, just as hate comes from man’s self, love also comes from man’s self. One who hates others surely has not touched or contacted God. Likewise, one who loves others may also have not touched or contacted God. In others words, both the one who hates and the one who loves do not hate or love out of their contact with God in their human spirit. Just as the hatred of that one is not the issue of his contact with God in spirit, so the love of this one is also not the issue of his contact with God in spirit. That one’s hating others is his behavior; it is not his service to God. Likewise, this one’s loving others is his behavior and is not his service to God.
Christians ought to love, but there are at least two kinds of Christian love. One kind of love is of God and is by the spirit; another kind of love is of the Christian himself and is by the soul and the flesh. The former is spiritual; the latter is natural. While the former requires the Christian to contact and touch God, the latter does not. The Christian with the second kind of love was born with a love for others; his natural disposition is to love others. Whomever he meets, he has to show at least some amount of love; otherwise, he does not feel good. If he can show some love and render a little help, then he feels contented and happy. Many Christians have this kind of love. They love not because of their contact and touch with God but because of their natural disposition. They have this kind of love without having to contact or touch God, and even without having to confess the existence of God. Even before they were saved, before they knew God, and before they confessed that there is a God, they already had such a love. They were born with this kind of love. Then after they were saved, they brought this love into the church. The brothers and sisters who do not know the spiritual matters adequately would say that this kind of love is spiritual and that the Christians who love in this way are also spiritual. However, brothers and sisters, if this is being spiritual, then these ones were already spiritual before they were saved. Someone may have been saved for only two years, yet before he was saved, he was already like a sheep, and he liked to love others, sympathize with others, and help others. If we say that this is being spiritual, then this person would have become spiritual without the need to be saved and made alive in the spirit. Therefore, this kind of love is not spiritual. Rather, it is what one possesses naturally. One does not need to contact or depend on God in order to have this kind of love. One can have it by birth.
This kind of love and, in the same principle, this kind of goodness and virtue are right, proper, and good, as far as human behavior is concerned. But brothers and sisters, the Lord’s salvation is not merely for us to behave well and be an outstanding, respectable person. Rather, it is for us to serve God and to contact God in all things in our daily life so that we may live and express Him. Therefore, in the church there is another kind of Christian whose love and virtue come from his contact with God and trust in God. Some of these believers might have been cruel and wicked previously, but now they love God, draw near to God, and contact God with their spirit. God is love, and God is rich in virtues. Therefore, when they contact God and touch God from within, they contact love and touch virtue. They allow God to fill them up in their spirit so that their spirit is strengthened to overcome their soul and their flesh. Therefore, God’s love and virtue are lived out through them spontaneously. This kind of love and virtue is not of themselves but of God and yet through them. They are not the source; the source is God. This kind of love and virtue is not only their deeds toward others but also their service to God. Although this is their living, it is even the more their service to God. Because they draw near to God, contact God, and have fellowship with God, they are able to live in their spirit and allow God to pass through them and be manifested in them. This kind of living allows God to obtain their service and worship. Actually, this kind of living is their service and worship to God. Apparently, this is merely their conduct or behavior, but tracing back to the origin, this is their contact with God that allows Him to pass through them and be manifested in them so that He may receive their service and worship.
Some of the brothers and sisters live this way in the spirit so that God may receive their service and worship. However, most Christians do not live like this. The Christians who are defeated and who indulge in their lusts surely do not live like this. However, even many Christians who live cautiously and who are full of love and virtue do not live this way. Their love and virtue are what they naturally delight in. They can live out love and virtue by themselves without contacting God or allowing God to pass through them. Therefore, this love and virtue, which are natural and not spiritual, are the good living that comes out of the Christians themselves, not the spiritual service that comes out of God.
Therefore, a person who is deadened in spirit does not and cannot live by the spirit. Rather, he lives by the soul and according to the flesh. Nevertheless, all that he lives out and all that he does may not appear to be bad. In fact, some of it may even appear to be quite good. However, even though it is good, it is not by or of the spirit. Instead, it is by the soul and according to the flesh. No matter what is being expressed in his outward living, inwardly he is always living by and according to the soul and the flesh.
Man is already fallen, and man’s spirit is already deadened. Now man lives in the soul and in the flesh; he lives by the soul and according to the flesh. Originally, man should have lived by and according to the spirit. But since the spirit of man is deadened, man lives by the soul and according to the flesh. Although sometimes the things he lives out appear to be good and nice, they are still lived out of the soul and the flesh and not out of the spirit. What is lived out by a fallen man, regardless of whether it is good or bad, is lived out by his “doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts” (Eph. 2:3). He has fallen into the soul and the flesh, and he also lives in his soul and his flesh. Therefore, he cannot contact God or serve God.
The Bible shows us that because man has fallen into the flesh and lives in the flesh, if God wants to save man, He must save him out of the flesh. For this reason God Himself became flesh, and this God who became flesh was the Lord Jesus. He came to the place into which we have fallen. We have fallen into the flesh, so He came into the flesh. He came into the flesh to save us out of the flesh.
Although God prepared a body for us when He created us in the beginning, His intention was not for us to live according to the body and be controlled by the body. Rather, His intention was that we live according to the spirit. The body is just a vessel to contain the spirit. But since our spirit is deadened, we live according to the body and have fallen into the flesh. Therefore, God became flesh and came into the flesh to save us.
Although He became flesh, He Himself was Spirit. What He put on outwardly was the flesh, yet what He was inwardly was Spirit. The reason that He put on the flesh is that He might save us out of the flesh. The reason that He came as the Spirit is that He might save us into the spirit. Because of sin we have fallen from the spirit into the flesh. Through redemption He saved us from the flesh into the spirit. By His Spirit He put on our flesh and was put to death on the cross, on the one hand, crucifying and dealing with our flesh so that we might be freed from our flesh, and on the other hand, through His resurrection, releasing and imparting Himself as the Spirit into us so that our spirit can be made alive, and we can enter into our spirit.
Brothers and sisters, this is the center of God’s salvation. God’s salvation is to save us out of our flesh into our spirit. The Lord Jesus became flesh and died on the cross in order to attain this goal. Through His death in the flesh He dealt with our flesh, and through His resurrection He imparted Himself as the Spirit into us. When we receive Him as our Savior, we receive Him as such a Savior. We do not merely receive Him as our Redeemer to deal with our sins, much less as a rabbi, a teacher, to teach us, as Nicodemus thought. He did not come merely to solve the problem of sins for us, much less to teach us. Instead, He came to save us from our flesh and impart Himself as the Spirit into us to make our spirit alive. Of course, He also dealt with our sins, but this is only on the negative side. On the positive side He came to impart Himself as the Spirit into us to save us from our flesh.
The salvation of God is absolutely not an outward teaching, nor is it only an objective redemption. In His salvation, on the one hand, God dealt with our flesh and, on the other hand, as the Spirit, He entered into us, saving us and making us alive in our spirit. Therefore, God’s salvation is to save us inwardly in our spirit, thereby causing us to be freed outwardly from our flesh. Such a salvation is very subjective to us.
We must not receive the Lord Jesus only as an objective Savior, a Savior who was put to death on the cross. We need to know that He came in order to impart Himself as the Spirit into us and enter into us as the Spirit. Therefore, we must also receive Him as a subjective Savior, a Savior who is in our spirit. He saves us not by teaching us or by correcting and adjusting us outwardly, as Nicodemus thought. Furthermore, He did not merely make redemption for our sins outwardly. Rather, He wants to come into us as the Spirit so that we may be saved inwardly.
It is true that the Lord Jesus was once in the flesh outwardly and was able to be with man so that man might receive His teaching, but even more as the Spirit, He wanted to enter into man in order to enliven the spirit of man. It is true that in His crucifixion He bore our sins on the cross to solve the problem of sins for us, but even more He dealt with our flesh and released and imparted Himself as the Spirit into us. He wants to enliven our deadened spirit by Himself as the Spirit. He wants to be our Savior inwardly to save us from within.
People always thought that the Lord’s intention was to teach them or save them in an outward way. They knew the Lord outwardly and knew Him according to His outward doings. According to what the Lord was outwardly, Nicodemus regarded Him as a rabbi who came from God as a teacher to teach us. Many who saw the Lord casting out demons and healing the sick thought that He was the One who came particularly to heal them physically. Many who saw the Lord feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish thought that He came to do miracles to sustain them physically. The disciples who followed the Lord knew Him only outwardly as the Savior and the Christ; they did not know Him inwardly as God and the Father. They only knew and appreciated the fact that the Lord was with them outwardly. They did not know that the Lord wanted to enter into them and be with them. All their contacts with the Lord in those days were outward. They did not know that the Lord’s intention was to enter into them so that they might have a subjective and more intimate contact with the Lord within them. They hoped only that they would have the Lord’s salvation and presence outwardly. They did not know that the Lord wanted to enter into them as the Spirit to be their salvation and to be with them. They knew Him only as a Savior outside of man; they did not know that He wanted to enter into man to be a Savior within man.
People always knew the Lord outwardly, thinking that the Lord’s intention was merely to teach them, save them, heal them, and be with them outwardly as a Savior outside of them. People had this kind of understanding and consideration because they thought that their problems were merely outward. Nicodemus thought that his problem was that he lacked better teachings for his outward conduct, his outward behavior. Those who came to the Lord for healing thought that their problem was only their physical sickness. Those who came to the Lord to be fed with bread thought that their problem was their physical livelihood. The disciples who followed the Lord thought that their problem was that the Lord was going to leave them outwardly and that they were about to lose His outward presence, the presence of a visible Lord outwardly.
In the early days all those who contacted the Lord and followed Him thought that man’s problems are all outside of man. They thought that man needs to be taught, saved, healed, and cared for outwardly. They did not know that the problems of man are within him. Man needs to be saved and healed within. Nicodemus saw that his outward manner of life and his behavior were not good, but he did not realize that the life and the spirit within him were not good. Those who came to ask the Lord for healing saw that their outward body was sick, but they did not see that the spirit within them was deadened. Those who came to be fed with bread saw the need of their body outwardly, but they did not see the need of their spirit within. In those days the disciples saw the need for Christ outwardly; they did not see that they needed a Savior within them.
Therefore, the Lord spent a considerable amount of effort to lead those who contacted Him and followed Him in those days to realize the problem and the need within them. The Lord showed Nicodemus that what he needed was not to be taught or corrected regarding his outward conduct or behavior, but to be born again in his spirit. No matter how much he was taught and corrected in his outward conduct or behavior, he still could not be saved inwardly. Only by being regenerated in his spirit could the spirit within him be made alive. His spirit was deadened, and he was living according to his soul and his flesh; his conduct and his behavior all were of his soul and his flesh. Since this was the case, no matter how he could be taught regarding his outward conduct and how he could be corrected in his outward behavior, his conduct and behavior would still be of the soul and the flesh. No matter how he could be taught and corrected, his spirit within him could not be enlivened within him, nor could his conduct or behavior be turned into a conduct or a behavior that is of the spirit. Therefore, the Lord showed Nicodemus that he needed to be regenerated in his spirit, that he needed to allow the Spirit to enter into his spirit so that his spirit might be made alive. Then he could be of the spirit, could understand the spiritual things of God, and could participate in the kingdom of God.
The Lord expressed His distrust and displeasure with the crowds who came to Him for healing. They came to Him outwardly for the healing only of their body. They did not have the intention to receive Him within to be their Savior so that the spirit within them might be healed and saved. The Lord came that man might have the life of God and the Spirit of God so that the spirit of man might be made alive and man might be saved from within. Even when man came to Him outwardly and was healed physically, if he did not receive Him inwardly so that his spirit was made alive, then he still could live only in the flesh and not in the spirit, and he could live only according to the flesh and not according to the spirit, because his spirit was still dead. Therefore, if one only hopes to be healed outwardly and does not want to be saved inwardly, then the Lord cannot entrust Himself to him or be pleased with him.
To those who came to Him to eat of the bread and be filled, the Lord said, “Work not for the food which perishes, but for the food which abides unto eternal life” (John 6:27). He showed them that the food which perishes could sustain only their flesh but could not give life to their deadened spirit and make it alive. Only the words of life that He spoke to them were able to give life to their spirit and make it alive. They paid attention to nourishing and sustaining their outward flesh. However, the Lord told them that “the flesh profits nothing” (v. 63), that only the Spirit can give life to man and make man alive, and that the words of life that He spoke to them are spirit and are life. If they only outwardly received from Him the food for the body and did not inwardly receive His spiritual words of life, then the deadened spirit within them still would not have His life and would not be made alive. The real need that they had and that the Lord would supply was not the outward food of the flesh but the inward spiritual life. The real problem that they had and that the Lord would solve for them was not how to sustain their outward flesh but how to enliven their inner spirit.
Furthermore, to the disciples who followed Him, the Lord showed them how He would enter into them as the Spirit so that they might live with Him. Previously, while He was with them outwardly, they were able to receive some teachings, help, and consolation from Him outwardly, yet even more they needed to receive life and salvation within them. Therefore, He had to enter into them as the Spirit to be their life and salvation.
To those who contacted Him or followed Him, the Lord not only showed them their inner needs but also led them to contact Him and have dealings with Him inwardly. He showed Nicodemus that He is the One who is able to regenerate man, and then He led him to receive Him by exercising his faith inwardly. Previously, Nicodemus outwardly regarded Him only as a teacher who came from God; he did not know that in Him was the Spirit of God and the life of God. Therefore, he contacted the Lord outwardly, merely according to his outward knowledge of Him. But the Lord showed Nicodemus that He had the Spirit of God and the life of God in Him and that if he would like to receive the divine Spirit and the divine life, then he must receive Him from within by exercising his faith. It seemed that He was saying to Nicodemus, “You are contacting Me outwardly to receive My teachings, but I don’t want to teach you outwardly. You only see what is outside of Me, but you don’t know what is inside of Me. I have the Spirit of God and the life of God within Me. I want to come into you so that you may have the Spirit of God and the life of God. It is not good enough that you merely contact Me outwardly according to your sight. You still need to contact Me and receive Me within by faith; then you will receive the regeneration of the Holy Spirit and the life of God in your spirit. As the Spirit, I will enter into your spirit. You must not only contact Me outwardly with your body, but you must contact Me with your spirit within. If you receive Me within by faith and contact Me with your spirit, I will enter into you as the Spirit so that your spirit may receive the life of God.”
Those who came to the Lord for healing only contacted the Lord with their body outwardly, but they did not contact Him inwardly with their spirit. Therefore, they could not please Him or be entrusted by Him. No one who merely contacts the Lord outwardly will be able to please Him and be entrusted by Him. Only by contacting Him with the spirit and receiving Him with the heart can one allow Him to accomplish what He wants to do in him, that is, to give him the life of God.
Those who came to Him to eat bread and be filled also contacted the Lord only outwardly with their body. But He showed them that it is in His words that He would impart the Spirit and life into man. If man wants to receive the Spirit and life, he must receive His words by exercising his faith within. The Lord is now the Spirit of life in resurrection, and the Spirit is embodied in His words for man to receive. But how can man receive His words? Man cannot use outward things to receive them; he can only use his faith within. Our words, which come from within us, are expressions of our inner being. The Lord’s words are expressions of what He is within. He is Spirit and life within; hence, His words as His expressions are spirit and life. When man receives His words by faith within, man receives the Spirit and life. Therefore, in order to receive the Spirit and life, man must not merely contact Him outwardly; rather, man must contact Him inwardly. Although man cannot see the Spirit or life outwardly, he can believe His words inwardly. His words are spirit and are life. Therefore, when man receives His words inwardly by faith, the Spirit enters into man and touches the spirit of man, enlivening the spirit of man and causing man to have the life of God within.
Man knows only to contact the Lord outwardly and not inwardly. Not to mention others, even the disciples who followed Him in those days were also like this. They just wanted to see and touch Him outwardly. They knew only His outward doings and not His inward being. One day, one of the disciples, Philip, asked Him to show God to them. He was surprised and said to him, “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” (John 14:8-11). They did not know what He was inwardly; they did not know that inwardly He was God. Therefore, He made known to them that God was in Him, that within He was God, and that they should not just know Him and contact Him according to what He was outwardly but even the more according to what He is inwardly, thereby touching God, who is in Him.
Furthermore, He told them later that He was going to ask God to send the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit would come, He (the Lord) would enter into them as the Spirit to be with them. He said that He was not leaving them as orphans and that He was going away, but He was coming to them (vv. 16-20). How did He go? He went to die on the cross. How did He come? Through death and resurrection He became the Spirit, and as the Spirit He entered into them. Therefore, on the evening of the day of His resurrection He came into their midst and breathed into them so that they might receive the Spirit. At that time they knew that He was in God, they were in Him, and He was in them. Because He entered into them as the Spirit, they then knew that He was in union with God, they were in union with Him, and He was also in union with them.
From that time—the evening of the day of the Lord’s resurrection—the Lord led His disciples to know and appreciate His presence within them. Previously, He came into their midst in His flesh to be with them outwardly. Now He wanted to come into them as the Spirit to be with them inwardly. Previously, His presence with them was at specific moments, was limited by time and space, and was visible. Now His presence with them would be at every moment, would not be limited by time or space, and would be invisible. Therefore, since the evening of the day of His resurrection, every time He came into their midst, it was puzzling to them. The doors of the room they were in were all shut tight, but suddenly He came and stood in their midst. Then He went away without their knowing how it happened. It seemed that His coming and going were untraceable. It was always like this in all His dealings with them during the forty days after His resurrection. Once on the road to Emmaus, He drew near to the two disciples in a mysterious way and walked with them for a distance, but they did not recognize Him. It was not until they came to the village, entered into a house, and reclined at the table with Him that they recognized Him. But when they recognized Him, He suddenly disappeared again. It seemed that He came suddenly and went suddenly. In fact, it was not so; rather, it was that His presence with them was sometimes manifested and sometimes hidden. He dealt with them in this way to let them know that His presence with them now was different from what it was before. His intention was to lead them to know that He was with them inwardly as the Spirit. He also wanted to train them to inwardly enjoy His constant presence, which is not limited by time and space, and thus to learn to deal with Him and contact Him inwardly, not by sight but by faith.
From the time of His resurrection the Lord entered into His disciples as the Spirit to be with them. Although He later ascended to the heavens, He was still the Spirit indwelling His disciples to be with them. To this day it is still like this, and until He comes again, it will be like this. Today He is sitting in the heavens, yet on the earth as the Spirit, He enters into all those who contact Him by faith in spirit so that He may be with them. This presence is not visible outwardly, but it can be sensed within. Today He cannot be seen outwardly, but He can be contacted in the spirit. When a person contacts Him by faith in the spirit, immediately he touches Him. Once a person receives Him within, immediately by His Spirit He enters into him, not into his mind, emotion, or will but into his spirit.
Once He enters into the spirit of man, He makes it alive. A person is saved when the Lord enters into him as the Spirit imparting His life—the life of God—into him and thus enlivening his deadened spirit. This is what man needs today, and this is also what the Lord wants to do today. The spirit within man has been deadened, and man has fallen into the soul and the flesh. Now what man needs is for the spirit within him to be made alive. This cannot be accomplished by outward teachings and improvements. No matter how you try to teach his soul or improve his flesh outwardly, you cannot cause the spirit within him to be made alive. This is just like the electric fan. If it is short of electricity within, any repair or assistance you render outwardly is useless. The so-called sages all taught people how to cultivate and reform themselves outwardly. Their outward teachings and improvements cannot cause the spirit within man to be made alive, just as the repairs done outwardly to an electric fan that is short of electricity cannot cause the fan to be supplied with electricity within. No outward method, be it ethics, education, or even religion, can be of help to the deadened spirit within man. Only the Lord of life, the One in whom is life and in whom is resurrection, who enters into man as the Spirit can cause the deadened spirit to have life and be made alive.
The way of the Lord’s salvation does not start from the outside. It does not correct and control man outwardly as ethical teachings and educational instructions do. The way of the Lord’s salvation starts from within man, from the deepest part of man, which is the spirit within man, by imparting His life to it and making it alive. As the Spirit, He enters into man’s spirit and thus causes it to be saved. When the Spirit enters into man and contacts the spirit of man, the spirit of man is made alive. When the spirit of man is made alive, man is able to know God and to serve God. Furthermore, when the spirit of man is made alive, man delights in serving and worshipping God. Once our spirit is made alive due to the entrance of the Lord as the Spirit, it then has the nature of knowing God, serving God, and worshipping God, and it has the desire and the ability to know God, serve God, and worship God. Previously, because our spirit was deadened, and we lived according to our soul and our flesh, we were neither willing nor able to serve God. Now since our spirit has been made alive, we live according to the spirit, and therefore, we are willing and able to serve God.
