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Scripture Reading: John 1:1, 14, 29, 32, 34; 3:8; 16, 4:24; 6:35, 57b, 63; 7:37-39; 14:16-18, 20; 16:13-15; 20:22; 1 John 2:20, 27; Exo. 30:22-26, 30-31
The truths in the Holy Scriptures are always of two aspects: the objective aspect and the subjective aspect. We have to be clear that all the objective doctrines are for the subjective experience. If we pay attention only to the objective doctrines and neglect the subjective aspect, we will not be able to fulfill God’s eternal purpose, which is that He be expressed through the church. The objective doctrines are for the subjective truths, and the subjective truths are for the producing of the church. Because today’s Christianity has neglected the subjective truths, it does not have the practical church life. The practical church life is an issue of our experience of the subjective truths. When we have the experience of the subjective truths, the church is spontaneously produced.
Furthermore, all the subjective truths are linked to the Spirit and life. The Spirit and life are the substance of the subjective truths. If you take away the Spirit and life, there will be no subjective truths. Objective doctrines are composed of letters, whereas subjective truths are constituted with the Spirit and life, not with letters. Without the Spirit and life you do not have subjective truths. Therefore, it is by the Spirit and life that the church is produced. Because we live by the Spirit and in life, we have the experience of the subjective truths and therefore have the church life.
At this time we will look at the subjective truths in the Gospel of John. Actually, the Gospel of John is entirely about subjective truths. I have spoken a little regarding this in the previous chapter; in this chapter I would like to speak further to show you the subjectivity of the matters covered in the Gospel of John.
First, John 1:12 says, “As many as received Him...” How do we receive Him? We should not expound the Bible by taking verses out of context. We must explain a verse at least in the context of the book to which it belongs. When we ask about how we can receive Him, we must look at John 4. There we see that we receive by drinking. The Lord said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever” (v. 14a). Therefore, to receive the Lord is to drink the Lord as the living water. Then in chapter 6 the Lord said, “I am the bread of life...He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (vv. 48, 57b). This tells us that the receiving in chapter 1 is not only the drinking in chapter 4 but also the eating in chapter 6. When we drink the Lord as the living water and eat Him as the bread of life, we receive Him.
We all know that eating food and drinking water are definitely not objective but absolutely subjective. When I take in food and drink in water, the food and the water become one with me. Whatever has been taken in will be digested in a few hours to become my living, organic components. In other words, what I eat becomes me. Eating is a very subjective matter. Therefore, the Gospel of John tells us about subjective experience, not objective doctrines. We have to receive the Lord by eating and drinking Him.
Then chapter 7 says, “He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water...the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive” (vv. 38-39). The Spirit is a particular title. From this portion of the Word we see that what we have received into us becomes rivers of living water flowing out of us.
This is even clearer in chapter 14: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever, even the Spirit of reality,...He abides with you and shall be in you...In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (vv. 16-17, 20). What is this? This is the subjective mingling. We are in Him, and He is in us.
I will never forget how once in a certain place while I was releasing a message, a middle-aged sister stood up and asked, “Brother Lee, can you tell me how we can abide in the Lord and how the Lord can abide in us? This is confusing to me.” I said, “Sister, please be patient. At a certain time you will easily understand.” So I continued to speak, and then at a certain point I said, “The Lord today is just like the air that we breathe. When you inhale air, the air comes into you. Thus, you abide in the air, and the air abides in you.” When I said this, she was clear. This morning in this big meeting place we all abide in the air, and the air abides in us. Therefore, we are living. Likewise, our Lord is the spiritual air; we abide in Him, and He abides in us. The Lord said, “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” Is this a doctrine? This is not a doctrine; this is a practical and subjective experience.
The Lord’s word is not so simple. Some people who have a smart mind consider the Bible to be too simple to be counted as religious writings. However, I would like to ask you what John 1:1 means. It says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” To say that the Word was with God means that there are two. To say that the Word was God means that there is one. Then is there one or are there two? This is not simple. The book of John is an exceedingly mysterious book. What is the beginning? How early was the beginning? What is the meaning of dao (Word)? Does it denote daoli (doctrine), daolu (way), daode (morality), or daomen (doorway to truth)? The Word was with God. This God is a mystery. So the beginning is a mystery, the Word is also a mystery, and God is still another mystery. There are mysteries upon mysteries; eventually, the Word who was in the beginning was God.
God is the beginning. The beginning means the starting point. The starting point of the universe is neither space nor time; rather, it is God. If there is God, there is the starting point. If you do not have God, you do not have a starting point. Some say that human life begins at forty, while others say that it begins at seventy. However, I would like to tell you that you may live to be four hundred years old, but without God, you have yet to have a start. Only when you have God can you have a beginning. Many of us can testify that we were living in a muddled and befuddled way; we had no beginning of our human life. Then one day we believed in the Lord, and when we called, “O Lord,” God came in, and we had a beginning. Therefore, God is the beginning. With God, there is the beginning; without God, there is no beginning.
Then who is the Word? Who is daode (morality)? Who is daoli (doctrine)? Who is daolu (way)? Who is daomen (doorway to truth)? All are God. Only God is the Word. This is very good. But, not only so, one day the Word became flesh. Tell me, is the flesh good or bad? The thing I hate most is my flesh, for it has given me a lot of trouble. I hate it, yet Hallelujah, the Word became flesh, even though the flesh is not good! “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...The Word became flesh” (1:1, 14a). What is precious is not the flesh but the Word becoming flesh. Did He become flesh, full of doctrines, knowledge, and theology? No! Instead, “the Word became flesh...full of grace and reality” (v. 14). Grace is God Himself. That God came to be our enjoyment is truly grace. Reality is also God Himself. Only God is truthfulness, and only God is reality. Without God, everything is empty; with God, everything is real.
Therefore, you can see that the beginning is God, the Word is God, God is God, grace is God, and reality is God. This is wonderful! However, no matter how wonderful it is, this wonderful thing cannot be in us. Why then must the Lord become flesh? After He became flesh, while He was walking on earth in His flesh, one day suddenly a voice said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (v. 29). Therefore, you have to know that the flesh is not good. The Lord became flesh not because the flesh is good; rather, He became flesh so that He might become the Lamb to take away our sin. If He did not become flesh, He would not have blood to shed for us. The Bible says, “Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22b). In order to have forgiveness of sins, there must be the shedding of blood, and in order to shed His blood to make redemption for our sins, the Lord had to become flesh. Thank the Lord that He indeed became flesh! He became flesh to become the redeeming Lamb to bear our sins—to have flesh and blood so that He might shed His blood for us to receive forgiveness.
Not only do we see the Lamb in John 1, but we also see the dove descending on the Lamb (v. 32). The dove is wonderful. The Lord is not only the Lamb, who takes away our sin, but He also has the dove descending on Him. He is the One who was baptized in the Holy Spirit. In other words, this Redeemer will baptize us in the Holy Spirit. This is truly wonderful.
The Gospel of John is not simple, but by the Lord’s grace we will make it simple. I believe that now you are all absolutely clear. The beginning is God, the Word is God, and God is God. God became flesh, and even though the flesh is not so good, He had to become flesh. Without the flesh He could not have blood to shed in order to accomplish redemption for our sins, and therefore we could not be forgiven of our sins. Hallelujah! He became flesh, He died, and He shed His blood. Then He had the Spirit upon Him, and He can baptize us, not in water but in the Spirit.
In chapter 3 the Lord told us, “The wind blows where it wills,...so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (v. 8). This tells us that if you receive the Lord, you are regenerated of the Spirit. To be born of the Spirit is not something physical but spiritual; it is just like the wind. In Greek, wind, breath, and spirit are all the same word—pneuma. Therefore, the translators of the Bible had difficulty here since in this one verse the word pneuma is used twice. In the first instance the pneuma blows where it wills, and in the second instance one can be born of pneuma. How these two instances of pneuma should be translated could not be resolved even after much debate. In any case, what it means is this: One who is born of his parents is a person of the flesh, a physical person; whereas one who is born of the Spirit is a spiritual person. Although this is invisible and seemingly intangible, there is the blowing. This is just like the wind that cannot be seen or touched, yet you can feel it blowing. Today we have been saved and regenerated; within we have become another person. This other person is not physical but spiritual. How do we know that we have the other person, the spiritual person? It is not by seeing or touching but by sensing.
A person might have quarreled with someone last night, yet this morning without knowing why, he says, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Amen!” The wind has blown upon him, and he no longer has any desire to scold others or do anything bad. Instead, he desires to pray, praise, and meet with the saints. This is “the wind” blowing where it wills, and this blowing has made him different. This is not a physical blowing but a spiritual blowing.
Chapter 4 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness” (v. 24). What is it to worship Him? In this chapter we are told that the real worship of God is not to bow down, to prostrate, before Him but to drink of Him. God is Spirit. If you really want to render true worship to Him, you need to drink Him. To drink Him is to receive Him into you. God is Spirit; to drink Him and receive Him are the real worship of Him.
In chapter 6 we see that after the Lord Jesus fed five thousand with five loaves and two fish, the people marveled and were trying to “take Him by force to make Him King.” The Lord Jesus, knowing their thoughts, “withdrew again to the mountain, Himself alone” (v. 15). This is because the Lord Jesus came not to be King but to be food to man. The next day the Lord came back and told the people, “I am the bread of life” (v. 35). The Lord seemed to be saying, “I am not a king; I am bread. Don’t make Me a king. It would be better if you eat Me. I am the bread of life, and he who eats Me shall live because of Me.” At first neither Peter nor John, the Lord’s disciples, understood this, but gradually they did. I tell you, on the day of Pentecost Peter ate and was truly full. This Galilean fisherman was filled with Jesus. He ate and drank Jesus to such an extent that he was full of Jesus; all that he had within him was Jesus.
We have said that the living water is the Spirit. The bread of life is also the Spirit. The Lord said, “It is the Spirit who gives life;...the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (v. 63). The living water is the Spirit, and the bread of life is also the Spirit. Then chapter 7 says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me,...out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet” (vv. 37-39). This is an extraordinary word. At that time, there was the Holy Spirit, but there was not “the Spirit.” Many Bible readers are not clear about this. Gradually, we have seen that there is a difference between the Spirit and the Spirit of God. The Spirit was not yet, because the Lord Jesus had not yet been glorified; that is, He had not yet resurrected from the dead. Then when did the Spirit come into being? The Spirit came into being when the Lord Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
Then in chapter 14 the Lord Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter...even the Spirit of reality” (vv. 16-17). This Spirit of reality is the Spirit. The Spirit of reality came; now He is not only with us forever but also in us. When He is in us, the Lord is in us because the Lord is He, and He is the Lord. Therefore, the Lord said, “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (v. 20). This is a mysterious thing. The Lord Jesus is in the Father, we are in Him, and He is in us. This is a matter entirely in the Spirit.
After His death and resurrection the Lord was different when He came into the midst of the disciples. According to the record in the Bible, when He came, the doors were shut where the disciples were (20:19). Wondrously and mysteriously, although the doors were not open, this physical body entered. He asked the disciples to touch His side, which was physical. As the Spirit He came with a resurrected body. As a matter of fact, He did not enter; rather, when the disciples were meeting there, He stood in their midst, and then He breathed into them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (v. 22). This indicates that when our Lord was breathing into the disciples, He was the Spirit. He entered His disciples through breathing. From that day on, the Lord was with them. Therefore, in John 20 there is no record saying that the Lord left after He breathed into them. Neither is there a record in the Gospel of John of the Lord’s ascension. This is because from that day onward the Lord was always with them. When the disciples were in the house, so was the Lord; when they were at the seaside, so was the Lord. The Lord was in them.
Now we understand that the Gospel of John begins with the God who was in the beginning and ends with the Spirit. The God who was in the beginning went through incarnation, the death of the Lamb, and resurrection to become the Spirit. Today the Spirit is just like air. In this Spirit full redemption for sins was made, death was dealt with, and the flesh and the old creation were both nullified. In this Spirit there is God, there is redemption, there is power, there is resurrection, and there is life. In Him is all in all. Today everything has been completed and accomplished. As the Spirit, He is on earth as well as in heaven; He is omnipresent. To Him there is no limitation of time or separation of space; He is right here. How wonderful! Do not ever think that this is superstition. This is the truth of the Bible. This is not the objective truth but the subjective truth. Oh, our God passed through redemption and entered into resurrection, and in resurrection He is the all-inclusive Spirit! On the one hand, He is sitting on the throne; on the other hand, He comes to the earth.
This may be likened to electricity in a light bulb. On the one hand, electricity is in this meeting hall, but on the other hand, it is also in the power plant far away outside of town. The electricity in the power plant can be transmitted into our homes. Without the transmission of electricity, electricity is not practical. If there is merely objective electricity but no subjective experience, electricity is worthless to us. In the same way, we can also tell the Lord, “Lord, if You only sit on the throne, but You do not transmit Yourself into me, You are not of much value.” Perhaps you will say, “Whether or not the Lord transmits Himself into me, I know that He is a priceless treasure.” Yes, He is a priceless treasure. However, He is of not much value to me unless He is transmitted into me. If He is not transmitted into me, of what use is He to me? What does He have to do with me?
This is exactly the situation in today’s Christianity. Many there still think that the Lord is high above, so they do not experience the Lord in them. On Sundays they go to their worship service in the morning and then play cards and watch movies in the afternoon. This is to have only the objective doctrines without the subjective truths. Thank the Lord that it is not so in the Lord’s recovery today. We want both the objective doctrines and the subjective experience. We want the electricity in the power plant, and we also want that electricity to be transmitted into our homes. We want electricity at both ends, not just at one end. May the Lord be merciful to us!
We need to know that today the God in the Gospel of John is no longer just the God who was in the beginning. He became the Lamb, died on the cross, and resurrected, and today in resurrection He is the Spirit, the all-inclusive Spirit. He is not only in heaven, but He is also here. Therefore, Romans 10:8 says, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” If you are willing to open your mouth to say, “O Lord,” He will enter into you, and the Word who was in the beginning will become the Word in your heart. Let us all say, “O Lord! O Lord!” Immediately, He is no longer only the Word in the beginning but the Word in our heart. The Word in the beginning is good, but it has no effect on us. Hallelujah, the Word in our heart is effective! After you have the Word in your heart, if you go again to shuffle the mah-jongg tiles, He will “shuffle” your heart. If you argue with your wife again, He will “argue” with your heart until you say, “Forget about it! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” Hallelujah! What I have today is not just the Word who was in the beginning. Rather, the Word who was in the beginning has also become the Word in my heart. This Word in our heart is the Spirit, and this Spirit who is in us is all-inclusive.
Now for the sake of the young people and the brothers and sisters who have recently come into the church, I want to say something about the history of the Holy Spirit. Those who know typology in the Bible all know that there is the olive oil that typifies the Spirit of God; it is the olive oil with which the kings, prophets, and priests were anointed. In the Bible this olive oil typifies the Spirit of God. Before the tabernacle came into existence, there was only the olive oil. After the tabernacle was built, God told Moses to add four kinds of spices to the olive oil. What were the four spices? First, there was myrrh; second, cinnamon; third, calamus; and fourth, cassia. These four spices were added to the basic element—the olive oil—to make the oil into an ointment. The oil was not an ointment; it became an ointment only after the four spices were added. Then from the day the tabernacle came into existence, the tabernacle, along with all its utensils, and the priests had to be anointed with the holy anointing ointment for their sanctification. This record is in Exodus 30.
Later, when the apostle John wrote his Epistles, he referred to the anointing mentioned in Exodus 30. The anointing, mentioned twice in 1 John, was not John’s invention; rather, he took it from Exodus 30. When John mentioned the golden lampstands in Revelation, he also quoted from Exodus. Let me tell you, both the anointing and the golden lampstand refer to the all-inclusive Spirit. However, in this chapter we want to touch only the matter of the anointing.
We are speaking not of the anointing of oil but the anointing of ointment. The oil consists of only one element, the olive oil. The ointment, however, is one element, the olive oil, plus four kinds of spices. If you study the type carefully, you will discover several points. First, in number the spices are four. In the Bible the number four signifies the creatures. According to our creation, we are all number fours. Second, these four spices are all plants. In biblical typology, plants refer to the Lord’s humanity. Since four refers to the creatures and plants refer to humanity, this tells us that the four kinds of spices refer to the created man. The created man is mingled with the number one. The one single element is the olive oil; it is unique. In the Bible the number one denotes the unique God. Here in this type we see that the created man is mingled with the unique God to become five.
In the Bible five is the number for responsibility. Look at your hands. One thumb plus four fingers can bear responsibility to do many things. However, if the thumb or any of the four fingers is missing, it is hard to accomplish anything. God without man has no way, and also man without God has no way. “Four,” the created ones, plus “one,” the Creator, become “five.” This five is very good. Today the condition of some people is such that God is “one” and they are “four,” but the two have not become “five.” However, today we are all number fives. Hallelujah! Originally, we were number fours, but now, since there is the number one added into us, we have become number fives. I am really happy that today I am number five because I have God so that “I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me” (Phil. 4:13). We were originally the created men, but now the Creator God has been added into us.
Originally, the holy anointing oil was solely oil, but with the addition of the four kinds of spices, the ingredients in it increased, and it became an ointment. All the four kinds of spices signify the created man, and each item is full of significance. The Lord Jesus is myrrh. This refers to His being a man who was sweet in His suffering and in His death. He suffered His whole life on earth; He was obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross. Both His suffering and His death were so sweet. This is myrrh. He was a man who suffered and who died. He was a sweet suffering One and a sweet dying One. He truly is the sweet myrrh.
He is also the fragrant cinnamon, which is a very good seasoning. Westerners often use cinnamon in their cooking because it is such a good seasoning. The Lord’s human living with His behavior is really a seasoning, and it causes our human life to be full of fragrance. When the Lord Jesus is added to you, you will become fragrant cinnamon.
He is also calamus. According to the meaning in Hebrew, calamus is a reed that grows out of a marsh or a muddy place. This signifies His resurrection. He was not only a man who died but also a man who resurrected. He grew out of the marsh of death.
Finally, He is cassia. According to the ancient Jews, cassia has the power to repel snakes and poisonous insects. In ancient times the sanitary conditions were not very good. There were many poisonous insects, but if cassia was placed in the room, all the poisonous insects, and the snakes in particular, would not come. This signifies the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus. The resurrection power of the Lord Jesus repels the devil, the real “snake” and “scorpion.”
Therefore, you can see that these four spices signify the Lord Jesus who suffered death, who was fragrant and sweet, who resurrected, and who drove away the devil. This One was added to the unique God. In other words, before the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the Spirit of God had only divinity—the unique olive oil. However, after His incarnation, death, and resurrection, He compounded His humanity, which was a dying and sweet humanity, with divinity. He also compounded His resurrection and the resurrection power that drove away the devil with divinity. Today this Spirit is the all-inclusive Spirit. Today in the Spirit of God, there is not only divinity but also humanity. There are also the power of the Lord Jesus’ suffering, His resurrection, and the power of His resurrection, which is the power to drive away the devil. Therefore, this is not merely oil but an ointment; this is not merely the Spirit of God but “the Spirit.” Before the Lord’s death and resurrection, the Spirit was not yet. After the Lord’s resurrection, the Spirit came into being. Today this Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This Spirit is the all-inclusive Spirit.
The measurements of the four spices also have their significance. The first, myrrh, and the last, cassia, both weighed five hundred shekels. Five hundred, composed of one hundred times five, signifies a hundredfold responsibility. However, the two in the middle, cinnamon and calamus, measured two hundred fifty shekels each, and together they formed one unit. There were three units of five hundred; the first and last units were not split, but the middle unit was divided in half. Here you can see that not only “one” and “four” are here, but “three” is also here. This three is the Triune God, and the middle One of the Triune God was indeed split. He was divided and split on the cross.
This is so wonderful! Here we have the unique God, the “three” of the Trinity, and the “four” of the created man all compounded together to become the holy anointing ointment. In this ointment there are God, man, the Lord’s death, the effectiveness of His death, the Lord’s resurrection, the power of His resurrection, the sweetness of death, and the fragrance of resurrection. This is the Spirit today. This Spirit is the Spirit of reality in John 14. Also in John 20 this is the Spirit whom the disciples received when the Lord breathed into them. This Spirit is the all-inclusive Spirit. Hallelujah! Today in the universe this Spirit has been consummated.
For an analogy, I will call this Spirit the all-effective ointment that can cure all diseases. Not only does this Spirit kill the germs, but He also supplies life. I speak this out of my own experience. In 1954, in Hong Kong, I released messages saying that the Lord’s death is in the Holy Spirit. With a good intention a brother advised me to change the expression the Lord’s death is in the Holy Spirit to the effectiveness of the Lord’s death is in the Holy Spirit. But this is actually so; the Lord’s death is in the Holy Spirit. Not all deaths are the same. The death of Adam is different from the death of Christ. When Adam died, we were finished; when Christ died, we were all made alive. In the Holy Spirit there is not the death of Adam but the death of Christ. Adam’s death is detestable, but Christ’s death is so sweet. If He did not die, how could we live? Today the death of Christ on the cross has been included in the Spirit. We know this from the two types of death. First, myrrh signifies death. Second, the numbers in the type of the ointment signify death. Of the three units, the middle unit of five hundred shekels was split into two halves, each half being of two hundred fifty shekels.
Oh, the Spirit today is too mysterious, too abstract, and too difficult to express in words! However, in His wisdom God has shown us a picture in the Old Testament—the holy anointing ointment. At one time olive oil was used to anoint kings for God. However, in the tabernacle, which signifies the church, the oil alone was not enough; it had to be compounded with four kinds of spices, which typify the Lord’s person, His death, the effectiveness of His death, His resurrection, and the power of His resurrection. All that He experienced was compounded with the olive oil. In this way the olive oil became an ointment.
The apostle John did not say, “The oil which you have received from Him.” Instead he said, “The anointing which you have received from Him” (1 John 2:27). I hope that you, the young people, will realize that today the Spirit who is in you is the ointment, not just the oil. These four spices—the Lord’s death, the effectiveness of His death, His resurrection, and the power of His resurrection—are compounded in the Holy Spirit. Your experience can testify that you do not have to exert any effort to reckon yourself dead. You just need to call on the Lord more often. When you call from deep within, “O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus!” your flesh is put to death. This is our experience.
When we apply the Spirit as the holy anointing ointment into us, this ointment, as an all-effective ointment, can kill all kinds of germs and supply us with all the nutrients. Hallelujah! This is the Spirit, and today this Spirit is with us.
This is the Gospel of John. It starts with the God who was in the beginning, and at the end it is the Spirit who has entered into us to be our breath, our living water, our spiritual food, our life, and our life supply. We can eat Him, drink Him, and live by Him.
