Search
Scripture Reading: John 10:10b; 11:25a; 1 John 1:2; 3:9; 5:12; Col. 3:4a; Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:2; Col. 1:19; 13, Eph. 4:15; 2 Pet. 1:3-4
The Lord’s recovery is mainly founded upon four pillars: the truth, life, the church, and the gospel. The reason Christianity is degraded is that it has lost the truth and is short of life. The Bible tells us that the Lord Himself is the truth and the life. In John 14:6 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the way and the reality and the life.” In this verse the reality is the truth. Thus, the Lord said that He Himself is the life and the truth.
Both the truth and the life are the Lord Himself, but they are two different aspects of what He is. The difference is that the truth is an outward definition and explanation, and life is the inward and intrinsic content. The Lord is in us as our life, but the experience of life needs an explanation. This explanation is the truth. If we receive the Lord according to this explanation, we have life. Hence, in order to experience and enjoy the Lord as life, we must know the truth. The experience of the Lord as life is contained in the Lord as the truth. If we are not clear about the truth and do not understand or know the truth, we will have no way to enjoy the Lord as our life. For this reason we must spend an adequate amount of time to learn the truth.
The Lord has not left us in darkness. Today all His truths are contained in the Bible, which He has given to us. We must realize that the Bible is a book of life. The reason the Bible is a book of life is that its entire content is truth. All experienced Christians confess that no one can enjoy Christ as life if he does not know the Bible or understand the truth in the Bible. We need to go to the supermarket to buy food for our physical body in order to be fed and sustained. In like manner, we must come to the Bible to receive the truth that is in it if we want to receive and enjoy the Lord as life. All the truths in the Bible are food for our spiritual life.
The Bible is not merely a book of knowledge. All the knowledge contained in the Bible is in fact truth, and in this truth, life is concealed. When we read the Bible, if we study only the letter but not the intrinsic truth within, we will not receive life. Hence, every Bible reader has to see the truth that is conveyed through the letter of the Word. Once we see the truth, we will spontaneously touch life. The Life-studies have been published to help us enter into the depths of the letter of the Word. Therefore, all those who carefully study the Life-studies will surely gain a certain amount of experience. The Life-studies bring us into the biblical truths, from which we may receive the genuine life supply.
Today the Lord’s recovery is a recovery of the truth and of life. We all know that the decline of Christianity is due to the fact that it has lost both the truth and life. This loss of the truth and life eventually produced many human methods and worldly organizations, which are not what the Lord wants. The Lord does not want any organization or human method. Instead, He wants His church to know Him as the truth and to receive and enjoy Him as life. The entire content of the church must be the growth of Christ in us as truth and life. This may be likened to an orchard, the entire content of which is the fruits of life produced from the fruit trees. In an orchard we cannot find any organization or behavior. We can only see the fruit trees growing and bearing fruit as the issue of their growth in life. This should be the situation of the churches in the Lord’s recovery today. In the churches we do not want to have any organization or human methods. Rather, we want to minister to God’s people for their growth by planting and watering as the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:6 and 9.
We must realize that the church is different from human society and distinct from all the different Christian organizations. The difference or distinction is that human society and Christian groups rely on organization and human work, but the church relies solely on the light of the truth for the enjoyment of the Lord’s life. Truth and life are nothing less than the living Lord. The Lord told the disciples, “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly” (John 10:10). He even said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25). He is not only the life but also the resurrection. This means that the life, which He is, is resurrection life. The fact that this life is resurrection life means that this life is able to swallow up death. If this life is put into death, death will not be able to overcome it. Instead, because this life is resurrection, it will swallow up death. This resurrection is the Lord Jesus, the One we believe in and receive. Today the Lord Jesus is the Spirit of life who is living and who enlivens and strengthens us. Hence, He is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). He is in us to give us life and to supply us day by day that we may grow.
In the six thousand years of human history, there have been many famous philosophers such as Confucius of China and Socrates of Greece who were exceedingly wise and who had many deep and profound thoughts. None of them, however, had the boldness to say that they were life. The statement I am the life is very simple yet exceedingly great in its significance. Who can say such a word? If today someone were to tell us, “I am the life,” we would surely think that this person was either a fool or insane. What kind of a person can make such a statement? We cannot find a statement like this in all the books and classics throughout human history. Who said such a word? Jesus Christ did. He would not have been able to speak such a word unless He possessed exceptional wisdom and extraordinary reality.
The Lord not only said, “I am the life,” but He also said, “I am the resurrection.” Moreover, He said, “I have come that they may have life.” If He were not God and the ever-living Spirit, and if He did not possess supreme and extraordinary wisdom, how could He have said such a word? This word is simple but mysterious. Just by this word we ought to believe that the Lord Jesus is extraordinary and far superior to Confucius and Socrates. No one has ever had the boldness to say that he is life. Only the Lord Jesus said it, and He even said it repeatedly. He could say this because only He is really the life. He is so great and so transcendent.
After the Lord said this word, He fulfilled it. After He said, “I am the life,” Peter, one of His disciples, heard this word and received it. From that time on, Peter had the transcending life. He was a fisherman from Galilee, an uneducated man and a layman (Acts 4:13), but after he received this transcendent life, he became a transcendent person. Later, in 2 Peter he wrote, “His divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness...through which He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature” (1:3-4). If Peter had not experienced all these things, he would not have been able to write such a word. He was a Galilean fisherman, yet he was able to say that he was one who received God’s life and partook of God’s nature.
Today many families like to have dogs and to play with them. However, I do not like dogs, because no matter how good they are, they do not have the human nature. I like my grandchildren. Some of them are seven or eight years old, and others are just two or three years old. They scream and crawl on the floor. I enjoy seeing them, playing with them, and letting them lean on me. However, if I saw a puppy in the house, I would immediately drive it out because we are not of the same species. I am a man, and it is a dog. It does not have my human nature, and I do not have its dog nature. The two of us cannot communicate. However, my grandchildren and I are of the same nature. When they call me, “Grandpa!” my heart leaps with joy. When I embrace them, they are happy. As Christians, we have the divine nature and are able to fellowship with God. This is truly a marvelous matter.
The reason we have God’s life and nature is because Jesus Christ came into us and dispensed God’s life into us. From that time on, we have had the sense that we are very close to God and may spontaneously call Him, “Abba, Father!” When we call on Him in such a way, we sense sweetness, joy, and comfort within. The more we call on Him, the more we sense that He is living in us and that we belong to Him. This is because we have His life and nature. We can live by His life and enjoy His divine life.
We are human beings, yet we have God’s life and God’s nature. Although we are humans, we have become children of God by the life of God. Unfortunately, Christianity has lost this truth and does not teach this truth. Rather, it teaches many insignificant minor items. The United States is the most superior and powerful nation in the world. It is first class in almost all concepts except in the matter of the truth. Twenty years ago I came to America and spoke using the diagram of the three circles. This diagram covers the three parts of man—the spirit, the soul, and the body. When I spoke about the human spirit, many American Christians and even some preachers said that they had never seen in the Bible that man has a spirit. They knew that there was the Holy Spirit and the evil spirits, but they did not know that man has a spirit. For this reason I spoke to them everything that is related to the human spirit from Genesis to Revelation. As a result, they were fully convinced.
Some people say that no one ever told the American Christians that man has a spirit. This saying is in fact not accurate, because in the last one hundred years in America a few famous spiritual authors have mentioned the human spirit in their writings. For example, the diagram of the three circles is taken from the book God’s Plan of Redemption, written by an American sister, Mary E. McDonough. When you open this book, you will see the diagram of the three circles. Although the author of this book was an American, the American Christians never read her book. However, I, a Chinese, read it and quoted it to them in my teaching.
There is a Christian group in Anaheim that strongly opposes our preaching that Christ dwells in us. They say, “Christ is so great, and we are so small; how could He dwell in us? There is no such thing as this. Christ today is sitting on the throne and is not in us. Instead, He has sent the Holy Spirit as His representative to be in us. To say that Christ dwells in us is altogether heretical.” The truth they teach is completely distorted because they think that the Holy Spirit in us is merely the representative of Christ. They do not see that the Holy Spirit is the Triune God.
In Galatians 2:20 the apostle Paul clearly says, “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” How can people say that the Christ mentioned in this verse is not Christ Himself but a representative of Christ? In saying this, they are altering the Bible. Paul clearly says that Christ was not only in him but was living in him. This means that Christ was moving and working in him. The New Testament does not say that the Christ who is sitting in the heavens has sent merely a representative to be in us. Instead, the New Testament emphasizes that the Christ who is sitting in the heavens is also within us, that is, in our spirit (Rom. 8:10, 34; 2 Cor. 13:5; Col. 1:27; 3:1; 2 Tim. 4:22). Since He is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b), the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), and the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), He is omnipresent. Therefore, He can be at the right hand of God and in our spirit simultaneously. He can be in heaven and on earth at the same time.
The Lord Jesus said, “I am...the life” (John 11:25). Then Paul says, “Christ our life” (Col. 3:4). This is a more personal way of saying what the Lord said. Christ is not only the life, but He is also our life. We should have the boldness to say that Christ is our life, that He lives in us, and that it is no longer we who live, but it is Christ who lives in us. This Christ, who is our life, lives in us as the Spirit of life. If Christ were not the Spirit, He would have no way to come into us.
The English word pneuma is an anglicized Greek word denoting “spirit,” “wind,” or “air.” Some tires have the word pneumatic printed on them, indicating that the tires must have pneuma, air, for the car to move. If you drive carelessly and one of the tires is punctured by a nail, you will have a flat tire, and your car will stop moving. Today there are many “deflated” Christians. We need to ask ourselves all the time, “Am I full of pneuma, or am I deflated?” We must always be filled with pneuma. If we have a flat tire, we have to go to the gas station to pump it up. Similarly, if we are “deflated” inwardly, we have to turn to our spirit to contact the Lord, who is pneuma, so that we will be filled with pneuma, which is the Holy Spirit.
On the evening of His resurrection the Lord Jesus came into the midst of His disciples. He did not teach them with a lengthy speech or instruct them on how to conduct themselves. He did only one thing—He breathed into them. Formerly, all the disciples had been discouraged and disappointed, “deflated” to the uttermost. They had entirely lost heart, thinking that the Lord was dead and that they were altogether hopeless. However, when the Lord Jesus came, He breathed into them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). This is the holy breath, through which the Lord dispensed Himself into them to be their life and everything.
Most people in Christianity completely ignore this kind of truth. They focus only on the outward practices and neglect the inward reality. For example, in wedding ceremonies the pastor often teaches the wife to be subject to her husband and the husband to love his wife, and both the bridegroom and the bride nod their heads in agreement. Then they go on their honeymoon. Perhaps on the third day the wife thinks to herself that her husband is unreasonable and wonders how she can be subject to him. The husband may feel that his wife is inconsiderate, but on the first day he restrains his anger and says nothing. He continues to grit his teeth on the second day, but on the third day he can no longer stand it and loses his temper. If we give people only doctrines without giving them the life supply, they will be powerless.
We can never be subject to our husband or love our wife by ourselves. If we try to do this, we will definitely lose our temper by the third day. We have to realize that since we are Christians, we have the Lord Jesus in us. He is our life because He is the Spirit of life indwelling us. When our husband or wife gives us a difficult time, we should not look at them, because at that time they will seem very ugly. Rather, we should turn to the Lord and behold Him. We should not try to reason with our husband or wife but should talk to the Lord Jesus inwardly. We can tell the Lord that if He had not given us our husband or wife, we would not have married him or her, but since He did, He should see how unreasonable they are. I believe that as long as we have a little conversation with the Lord, our anger will be dissipated. After He has completely dissipated our anger and infused us with His fragrance, we will surely be filled with joy. Eventually, not only will we not be angry with our husband or wife, but we will also love them very much.
We all know this truth, but unfortunately, most of the time in our practical daily life it is not Christ who lives but we who are living. When our spouse stares at us angrily, we stare back at him or her. At these times we forget that we are Christians. We are living instead of Christ. When this happens, we should not be surprised and ask how we could lose our temper so badly. Our “I” is no good; it is a gopher, a scorpion, and a serpent. This is why our living is so weak and feeble. Stanza 1 of Hymns, #499 says, “Oh, what a life! Oh, what a peace! / The Christ who’s all within me lives. / With Him I have been crucified; / This glorious fact to me He gives. / Now it’s no longer I that live, / But Christ the Lord within me lives.” A couple may sing this hymn with uplifted spirits and resounding voices in the meeting, but once they go home, they may quarrel about the matter of opening or closing the windows. One may say, “The air circulation is not good in the house, so it is better to open the windows.” However, the other one may answer, “We should close the windows, or else I may catch a cold.” While they are arguing, their eyes look fiercer and fiercer. They have both forgotten that Christ is their life. Thus, it is no longer Christ who lives but the “I” who lives.
I believe that in every Christian home there are many unnecessary things that should be given away. In the United States the department stores advertise their sales every Saturday, and many sisters love to read these advertisements. No matter how loudly they sing in the meeting—“Now it’s no longer I that live, / But Christ the Lord within me lives”—when they read the advertisements, it is “no longer Christ but I.” A sister may notice that her favorite fabric is being sold at a fifty percent discount and that she has a good amount of savings in her bank account. She may decide to drive to the store and buy it. At this time the Lord may say, “Don’t do it. You have enough clothes already.” However, she is still “no longer Christ but I.” When she arrives at the department store, the Lord may say again, “Do not buy the fabric. Go home!” Nevertheless, she remains “no longer Christ but I.” After she enters the store, she may pick up a piece of fabric, thinking that its color is beautiful and its quality is very good. At this time the Lord may say again, “Put it down and go home.” However, she may reply, “O Lord, please allow me just this once, and I will never do it again. Just allow me this one time to be no longer Christ but I.” Many of us have experiences like this.
In how many of the things in our practical daily living can we definitely say, “It is no longer I but Christ”? Sometimes when the telephone rings, the sisters’ ears become attached to the telephone just like a piece of metal attracted to a magnet. They cannot get off the telephone until they have talked for half an hour to an hour. If you ask them to read a Life-study message, they will excuse themselves by saying that they do not have time. If you ask them to pray over and read the Bible, they will say that they cannot do it because they are busy with their housework. It is actually not that difficult to experience Christ as life as long as we first converse with the Lord and fellowship with Him in every matter. He is not far from us; He is right inside of us. We should inquire of Him, “Lord, what would You do? Do You want me to do that? If You will do it, I will do it with You. If You will not do it, I also will not do it.” Then we will know what we should do immediately. This is to enjoy Christ as life and to enjoy God’s nature. In this way we can experience the clear leading of Christ within us in every single matter. We will know that He does not want us to do this thing and that He also does not want us to do that thing. In the end we will spontaneously live out love, light, holiness, and righteousness. In other words, God’s divine attributes will be expressed in our human virtues. This is to live Christ and to express Christ.
Christ is the Spirit, and this Spirit is in you and me and in our spirit all the time. If we want to talk to our spouse, we should not do it right away. We must first have a little conversation with the Lord, saying, “O Lord, my spouse is here. Do You want me to talk to her? Do You want to talk to her? If You would not talk to her, I would not talk to her either.” The Lord can testify that many times this is my practice when I talk to my wife. Quite often when I want to talk to her about something, I have this feeling in my spirit that says, “You should first converse with the Lord and ask Him if He wants to talk.” When I inquire of the Lord in this way, eight out of ten times He does not want to talk, so eventually I also will not talk. By this kind of practice we can avoid gossiping and wasting our time, and we can also keep ourselves in spirit. We have to practice this even in our dressing. You should not decide by yourself what you should wear. Instead, you should first ask the Lord, “Lord, do You want to wear this shirt? If You will wear it, I will wear it; but if You will not wear it, neither will I.” When you do this, you are living Christ, and the issue is that “it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”
When people come to debate with me concerning certain doctrines, sometimes when my words are on the tip of my tongue, inwardly I am reminded that I must first turn to the Lord. Then I fellowship with the Lord, saying, “Lord, do You want to speak? If You speak, I will speak; if You will not speak, I will not speak either.” Eight out of ten times the Lord does not want to speak, so I do not speak either. In the end many troubles are avoided. This is to live Christ and to enjoy Christ as life. This is a fact, not an empty doctrine. The Lord is real and living, and He is right inside of us. We must always contact Him and have fellowship with Him. Whenever we speak or do anything, we should not do it according to our own decision. Rather, we should first contact the Lord and have fellowship with Him. Even if you have been wronged and want to cry and shed tears, you still have to fellowship with the Lord first, saying, “Lord, will You cry? If You will cry, I will cry. If You will not cry, I will not cry.” If we all practice this, the result will be that we will live Christ, and we will experience Christ as life.
The Christ in whom we believe is God, the Lord who created the heavens and the earth. He is the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—while at the same time He is our Redeemer and Savior. Today He has become the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit of life, and even the sevenfold intensified Spirit who is in us. We should not neglect Him at any time, but we should always practice having fellowship with Him. Even when we are about to get angry, we should first ask Him, “Lord, I am getting angry. Are You angry? I want to punish my children; do You think I should beat them? I want to scold them; would You scold them?” Once we fellowship with the Lord, we will be enlightened right away. We will see that we do not have any love, light, holiness, and righteousness at all. We will also realize that He is in us as love, light, holiness, and righteousness. When the husband wants to scold his wife, the Lord will immediately be unhappy, and often when the wife wants to buy the merchandise on sale on Saturday, the Lord will withdraw right away. Surely we all have had this kind of experience. Many times although He does not say anything, we know His feeling. Sometimes we may be having enjoyable fellowship with Him, but at a certain point He turns His face away from us. As a result, we realize that He does not agree with us. This is because He is love, light, holiness, and righteousness, and we are not love, light, holiness, and righteousness at all. Eventually, we will be subdued by Him and will do things according to His will. This is the secret of experiencing Christ as life.
The Lord Jesus is the all-permeating Spirit. He is not only on the throne in the heavens but also in us at the same time. Ephesians 3:17a says that He is even making His home in our hearts. Our heart is composed of all the parts of our soul—our mind, emotion, and will—plus our conscience, the main part of our spirit. For Christ to make His home in every part of our heart, He must spread outward, permeating us part by part, and He must also go downward, taking root in us step by step. He is “invading” us all the time. He first enters into our spirit and waits for the most opportune time. Once He has a chance, He enters into our mind. Sometimes we struggle with Him, trying to push Him out, but He is very patient. He keeps struggling to move on, and eventually He “invades” our mind. Then He waits for another opportunity to enter into our emotion and will. We may tell Him, “Lord, don’t go so fast. Please slow down.” However, the more we say this, the faster He comes. In the end He “invades” our emotion and will also.
I have been “invaded” by the Lord for more than fifty years. Today there is nearly no room in me left for myself; almost all the room has been occupied by Him. Even though I may not want to say, “It is no longer I but Christ,” I still have to say it because He has already occupied my entire being. I do not have any room for myself. Sometimes when I want to do something, immediately the Lord who is in me will say, “You do it yourself; I am not doing it.” Ultimately, I also cannot do it, because “it is no longer I but Christ.” In our practical daily living, is it “I” or is it Christ who lives? May this short and simple fellowship be a constant reminder to us.
