The Bible reveals that God’s eternal intention is to have many sons and to make all these sons the same as He is. Since God is divine and we are human, how can we become God’s divine sons, becoming the same as He is in both life and nature? In order to have many sons, God in the Son firstly took the step of incarnation. By incarnation, He put on human nature. Before His incarnation He had only divinity, not humanity. But by being incarnated, He put on human nature and became a man. Although He became a man, He was still the very God, for He did not put off His divinity to become a mere human being. He was the God-man having both divinity and humanity. How wonderful that our God, the unique God, the Creator, became a man with flesh and blood! As far as human nature is concerned, He became exactly the same as we are. He was a real man with flesh and bones. Never forget that this real man, named Jesus Christ, was also God. He was the real God and the genuine man. Before He could make us like Him, He had to become like us.
Having become a man in the flesh with human nature, Christ was crucified on the cross, was buried, and was resurrected. In resurrection He then took another step: as the last Adam, He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). This is mysterious. On the day of His resurrection, the Lord appeared to His disciples. “When the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, Peace be to you.” (John 20:19, Recovery Version). The doors had been tightly closed, but, to the surprise of the disciples, Jesus came. When the disciples were terrified, supposing that they had seen a spirit, the Lord Jesus said, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:39). Speaking to Thomas eight days later, the Lord said, “Bring your finger here and see My hands, and bring your hand and put it into My side,” and Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:27-28, Recovery Version). The Lord seemed to be saying to the disciples, “Don’t think that I am a spirit. I am standing here with a body of flesh and bones. Look, the marks of My crucifixion are still upon Me. You can even touch the prints in My hands and feet.”
The Lord was not only the Spirit; He was the wonderful One with a body of flesh and bones in which could be seen the prints of the nails. The wonderful Christ today is the life-giving Spirit; yet He has a body of flesh and bones. Furthermore, the New Testament reveals that this wonderful Christ is in us (Col. 1:27; 2 Cor. 13:5); He is in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22; 1 Cor. 6:17). Christ in resurrection still possesses a body of flesh and bones and He is in us. We cannot explain how He, having flesh and bones, can be in us. This is beyond our knowledge. Although we cannot understand Him, He is real and wonderful.
According to the New Testament, Christ has had two “becomings.” John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh,” and 1 Corinthians 15:45 says, “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” Through these two becomings, Christ has become a wonderful Person. He is the very God, the very man, and the life-giving Spirit. As the Son of God, He became a man, and after becoming a man, He became the life-giving Spirit consisting of divinity and humanity. In Him we see the real God and the genuine man. Today this God-man is also the life-giving Spirit. If He were not the Spirit, He could never have come into that locked room to meet with the disciples. Nevertheless, He still has a body of flesh and bones. I cannot explain this because I am limited, but I do know that He lives in me, and I cannot deny that He has done many things for me. Even now, He is living in and for me.
After Christ became the same as we are in His incarnation, bringing divinity into humanity, by becoming the life-giving Spirit He brought humanity into divinity. Through incarnation and resurrection, He mingled divinity and humanity, humanity and divinity, into one. This is our Lord Jesus Christ. Not many Christians have this concept of the Lord Jesus. But this is the very Savior whom we received into our being when we believed in Him and called on His name. The Christ who dwells in us is such a wonderful One. Now He is not only the Savior and the Lord; He is also the wonderful life-giving Spirit with two natures. Most Christians have missed the mark, having never heard that the very Christ who dwells in us has the two natures of divinity and humanity, and that both these natures are in the life-giving Spirit. As the wonderful life-giving Spirit, He is now working all that He is into our being, transforming our being into His.
In its concern with miracles, teachings, and behavior, Christianity misses this mark. In Christianity, there are two main religions: the religion of teachings and the religion of miracles. Many Christians are obsessed with miracles. The basic revelation of the New Testament, however, is focused on one crucial point: that Christ is one with the Father; that He sends the Spirit, who is just Himself, that He might abide in us and that we might abide in Him; and that Christ is living, moving, and working in our spirit, even transforming our very being that we might be His expression. Although this matter is found again and again in the New Testament, not many Christians pay attention to it.
Fundamental Christianity stresses teaching, but at least two verses in the Bible, Hebrews 8:11 and 1 John 2:27, say that we do not need anyone to teach us. Hebrews 8 reveals that because we have the law of life within us, we do not need anyone to teach us. Not even the smallest among us needs anyone to teach him. First John 2:27 says that because the anointing abides in us, we do not need anyone to teach us. Since we have the law of life and the anointing working and moving within us, we do not need the outward teachings of man. Some may oppose this point, but where do they put Hebrews 8:10 and 11 and 1 John 2:27? We should take the clear and pure Word of the Bible.
In so-called Pentecostal Christianity, people stress the exercise of the gifts, especially speaking in tongues. If they come to a meeting where there is no tongue speaking or manifestation of the so-called gifts, they are unhappy. But only a very small percentage of the verses in the New Testament is devoted to speaking in tongues. A far greater percentage of the verses speak of the indwelling Christ. Here we see the subtlety of Satan. On the one hand, fundamental Christianity stresses the teachings; on the other hand, Pentecostal Christianity stresses tongues. Even when the tongues are false, they still enjoy them, and even if their prophecies are not fulfilled, they are still addicted to them. More than twelve years ago, some people prophesied that Los Angeles would fall into the ocean. Although that prophecy was not fulfilled, so many of the Pentecostalists are still addicted to their prophecies. I am not against these things, but I do have a burden for the children of God.
When Christ came into us to be our life, He brought His nature, the nature of His wonderful being, into us. Before we were regenerated, we had only the base, corrupted nature of fallen humanity. But when we were regenerated, the highest nature was added into our being. Now there is in us the very nature of the Person of Christ. As an illustration of this wonderful nature, let us take the example of a baby. When something sweet is put into a baby’s mouth, he will spontaneously swallow it. But when something bitter is put into his mouth, he will spit it out. Who teaches the baby to do this? No one. As long as the little baby is living, he does not need anyone to teach him about what is sweet and what is bitter. The baby’s reaction to sweet and bitter substances is not a matter of knowledge; it is a matter of the taste of nature. A baby has a human nature, and human nature does not like the taste of anything bitter. Our nature knows what it likes and dislikes. In like manner, however babyish we may be in spiritual things, as long as we are in Christ, we have a special life nature. By coming into us, Christ brought into our being a wonderful life nature. This is not merely the divine nature; it is the divine nature with the uplifted human nature.
The function of this life nature, or the nature of life, is the working of the law of life. Every life has a law. The law of a certain life is the innate ability of that life. This ability is inborn, spontaneous, automatic, constant, and instant. It always works. As long as you are a living person, this innate ability of the human life is in you. If a baby dies, it no longer has any response to sweet- or bitter-tasting substances. But a living baby has the taste of nature which comes from the innate ability of life. When Jesus Christ our Lord came into us, He brought His wonderful nature into our being. The work and function of this nature are the working of the law of life. This nature functions automatically. Its function does not depend on teaching; it depends on life.
Before we were saved, we all did things which were not good, things such as gambling, drinking, smoking, dancing, and going to movies. But from the very moment we were saved, we have had something within us which troubles us and disagrees with our doing certain things. You may still go dancing, but within you is a taste which does not feel good about it. Before you were saved, the taste always felt good, but not now. We all have had this kind of experience. If you have not had this experience, I doubt whether you have been saved. This experience is the function of the life nature, which is Christ Himself wrought into our being. This function is simply the working of the law of life. There is no need for anyone to teach you. In fact, because you have Christ’s nature working in you, you do not even need Him to speak to you. For example, because a mother has given her nature to her baby and because this nature works in the baby, he does not need to be taught how to react to a bitter-tasting substance. The baby’s human nature functions automatically. This function is the working of the law of human life. Likewise, the function of Christ’s life nature in our being is the working of the law of the divine life. It is not a matter of teaching or miracles.
When Christ came into us, He not only brought His nature, but also Himself as a Person. Nothing troubles us more than a person. I do not like to live alone. I like to have at least two or three others living with me. But it is troublesome to have another person living with you. When Christ came into us, He came in to be a Person. Do you realize that Christ is in you as a Person, as the living One who “bothers” you all the time? His bothering, of course, is the best bothering, for it is very profitable. Nevertheless, it is still a bothering. Before you were saved, you were free to do what you wanted. For example, you were free to go dancing. But after you were saved, especially after coming into the church life, you began to be troubled by the living Person of Christ. Daily, He bothers us from within.
The Bible gives the moving of this Person a special term — the anointing (1 John 2:27). This term, the anointing is difficult to understand. The anointing which abides in us is the moving of a Person, the Person of Christ. This anointing teaches us. We all have something within us called the anointing teaching us in our very being. Thus, within us we have both the nature of Christ and the Person of Christ.
The anointing is the moving of the ointment within us. In typology, the ointment is composed of olive oil and some of the finest spices (Exo. 30:22-25). The main element in this composition is the oil, into which are added a number of ingredients. When the tabernacle, the utensils in the tabernacle, and the priests were anointed, all the components of the ointment were upon that thing or person which was being anointed. In typology, this ointment is Christ. The very Christ who is now indwelling our spirit is the ointment composed of the Spirit of God and other elements. As this ointment, He is moving and living in us day by day. This inward moving of the ointment affords us a living teaching. Christ teaches us in this way.
When Christ came into us, He brought His wonderful nature into our being. The function of this nature is the working of the law of life. Christ is also in us as the ointment which constantly anoints us. This anointing gives us a comfortable, soothing sense. Whenever the Lord Jesus teaches us from within, His teaching is that of His anointing which gives us this comfortable, soothing sense. As Christians, we all have the automatic, spontaneous, constant, and instant working of the law of life, the law which works according to Christ’s wonderful nature, and we have the anointing which moves in us according to Christ’s Person.
Let us use the illustration of shopping once again. Going shopping is like going to hell. After not going shopping for more than two years, I recently had to shop for a lamp. In the store I saw some very fancy lamps, but my wonderful nature did not like them. Those lamps were bitter to my taste. Some of the other lamps were like garlic to my inner taste, and my inner sense could not tolerate them. When the sisters are in a department store, many times their inner taste forbids them to purchase a particular item. This taste comes from the wonderful nature within them. Fifty years ago, I might have been able to purchase a fancy lamp. But if I did this today, I would be unable to sleep at night because of the function of the nature of life. We all have this nature with its automatic function. If you try to suppress this function, it will spring up all the more, for the more it is suppressed, the higher it rises. We all have experienced this working of the law of life.
As we have seen, we not only have this nature within us, but also a Person. Whether I should go shopping today does not depend upon the working of the nature; it depends upon the teaching of the anointing. A living Person is constantly living and moving within us. This living and moving is His teaching. If we are about to go shopping, we should open ourselves to the Lord, saying, “Lord, I’m one with You, and I know that You are one with me. Lord, do You want to go shopping this morning?” When we do this, we shall sense the anointing within. This is the moving of the living One within us. As this lovable One works in us, we sense the comforting and the soothing. How pleasant this is! Whether or not we go shopping is secondary. The primary thing is that as we look to Him and fellowship with Him, we enjoy His anointing. Whenever we are under His anointing, we know what to do. If we take a step which He does not want to take, the anointing will stop, and the soothing, comforting sense will diminish. By this we know that we should not do that particular thing. At such a time we should say, “Lord, I’m one with You. If You don’t want to go, I won’t go either.” If we do this, the anointing and its comforting sense will return.
The living and moving of the anointing is Christ’s inward teaching. We have a living Person in us teaching us all the time. Sometimes in our fellowship with the saints we may sense that the inner anointing has stopped. When we have this sense, we should stop talking. You might have spoken half a sentence, but, sensing that the anointing has ceased, you should not speak the remainder of that sentence. Simply be one with the inner anointing. Many times, however, we disregard the anointing and do whatever we want. When I was young, I told the Lord a number of times, “Lord, please forgive me and let me do this just one more time.” Later I said to Him, “Lord, let me do it just once more.” Many of the young people have done the same thing. Some sisters might have said, “Lord, I know that You don’t want me to go shopping, but let me go this one time.” Whenever you do this, you kill yourself, and it may be several days before you are living again.
What we are talking about here is neither a matter of teaching nor of miracles. It is the normal living of this wonderful One. I live absolutely according to the law of life, and I move, act, and behave according to the anointing. I do not need anyone to teach me. The wonderful nature of the life of Christ and the very anointing of the Person of Christ are more than adequate for us to live a normal Christian life. Here we have fellowship and here we grow in life. Here we have the spreading of the indwelling Christ into every part of our being and we undergo the process of God’s transformation. Here we also have the church life and the real building up. And here we prepare ourselves for the Lord’s coming back.
