Scripture Reading: Phil. 1:19-21; John 14:17-20; 6:57, 63; 2 Cor. 3:6b, 2 Cor. 3:17a; Gal. 5:25; 1 Thes. 5:17-19
During my early years as a Christian, no one told me what was the goal of being a Christian. Of course I was taught that we were saved in order to go to heaven. The impression I received was that the purpose of being a Christian was simply to go to heaven. Heaven supposedly is the destiny ordained by God for all who believe in Christ. However, I eventually came to see that the goal of being a Christian is to live Christ. Furthermore, the destiny God has ordained for us in His economy also is that we might live Christ. Christ is our way, our goal, our destiny, and our destination.
I do not believe that even as recently as 1970 Christians were familiar with the term “live Christ.” This expression was not known even among us in the Lord’s recovery. We had heard of living for Christ, living out Christ, and living by Christ, but not of living Christ. This is a new term. To live by Christ and for Christ and to live Christ out are all somewhat different from simply living Christ.
We can be helped to know what it means to live Christ by reading the Gospel of John. This Gospel reveals that Christ, the Word, is God (1:1). One day, the Word became flesh (1:14); that is, God was incarnated. Referring to the Word made flesh, John the Baptist declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29). The third chapter of the Gospel of John speaks of regeneration. Here we see that we must be born of God through the Spirit in our spirit.
In John 14 the Lord Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (v. 9). The Lord also went on to say, “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” (v. 11). The Lord Jesus was one with the Father. To see Him was to see the Father. In this chapter the Lord Jesus also spoke of the Spirit of reality, telling the disciples that the Spirit of reality abode with them and would be in them (v. 17). The Lord Jesus indicated that when the Spirit of reality came, He Himself would come also. Verse 19 says, “Because I live, you shall live also.” Verse 20 continues, “In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” Here we have our living together with Christ. We are in Christ, and Christ is in us. This means that we and He live together. He lives, and we live also. We live in Him, by Him, and with Him, and we even live Him.
In John 15 the Lord gives the very impressive illustration of the vine and the branches. He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches” (v. 5). The branches are the very living of the vine.
After the Lord Jesus entered into resurrection, He came to His disciples. According to John 20:22, “He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.” The Greek word for “Spirit,” pneuma, also means “breath.” This indicates that the Lord Jesus was telling the disciples to receive the holy breath. The Gospel of John begins with the Word and goes on to speak of the Lamb and the vine. Finally, in John 20:22 we see that the very One who is the Word, God, the Lamb, and the vine is also the breath for us to receive. On the one hand, He breathed out; on the other hand, the disciples breathed in.
In 20:22 the Lord Jesus told the disciples to receive the holy breath, the Holy Spirit. We should not analyze the breath, but receive it by breathing it into us. Unfortunately, many of today’s Christians know only to reason and consider; they do not have any experience of breathing the holy breath. A. B. Simpson was one who knew the experience of breathing in of Christ. The opening lines of one of his hymns read: “O Lord, breathe Thy Spirit on me, Teach me how to breathe Thee in” (Hymns, #255).
In the Gospel of John we have a record of the divine process. The Word, who was God, became flesh. Eventually, having passed through crucifixion and resurrection, He became the holy breath for us to breathe in.
If we see the steps of this process, we shall have a proper and thorough understanding of the Gospel of John. According to John 1:1 and 14, the Word, who was in the beginning with God and who is God, became flesh. In verse 29 we see that this Word become flesh is the Lamb of God. On the one hand, He is the Lamb for accomplishing redemption; on the other hand, He is the tree for imparting life. Therefore, we may speak of Him as the Lamb-tree. According to John 15, the branches of the vine are the living of the vine. Ultimately, the Lamb-tree becomes the holy breath. Hallelujah! In our experience we have Christ as the Word, the Lamb, the tree, and the breath. The Word is for expression, the Lamb is for redemption, the tree is for the impartation of life, and the breath is for our living.
We cannot live without breathing. Instead of saying that a certain person has died, the Chinese say that he has stopped breathing. No doubt, to stop breathing is to die. However, to keep on breathing is to live. No matter how many schools we may graduate from, we can never graduate from breathing. No one can say that because he has become so knowledgeable or mature, it is no longer necessary for him to breathe. Rather, the older a person becomes, the more concerned he may be about his breathing. How marvelous that for our spiritual life we have the holy breath for our living!
The Gospel of John reveals that, as those who believe in Christ, we need to live Christ. John 6:57 says, “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me shall also live because of Me.” Just as the Lord Jesus lived because of the Father, we should live because of Him. As we have pointed out, the Lord Jesus, referring to the day of His resurrection, said, “In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20). He also said that because He lives, we shall live also (v. 19). According to John 14:19 and 20, we live in Christ in the way of coinherence. He lives in the Father, we live in Him, and He lives in us. We not only coexist with Christ — we coinhere with Him. This means that He lives in us and we live in Him. How wonderful is this life of coinherence!
We have a life of coinherence with Christ because He is not only the Word, the Lamb, and the tree, but also the breath, the Spirit. If He were only the Word, the Lamb, and the tree, we could not live in Him, and He could not live in us. Praise Him that today He is not merely the Word, the Lamb, and the tree, but also the pneuma,the breath, the Spirit!
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul charges us to pray without ceasing. What does it mean to pray unceasingly? Although we may eat several meals a day and although we may drink many times during the day, no one can eat and drink without ceasing. But we certainly breathe unceasingly. Paul’s command to pray without ceasing implies that unceasing prayer is like breathing. But how can our prayer become our spiritual breathing? How can we turn prayer into breathing? The way to do this is to call on the name of the Lord. We need to call on the Lord Jesus continually. This is the way to breathe, to pray without ceasing. Because we are not accustomed to this, we need to practice calling on the Lord’s name all the time. To live is to breathe. Spiritually speaking, to breathe is to call on the Lord’s name and to pray. By calling on the name of the Lord Jesus, we breathe the Spirit.
After Paul charges us to pray without ceasing and to give thanks in everything, he tells us not to quench the Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19). This indicates that if we do not pray and give thanks, we quench the Spirit. To stop praying is to stop breathing. Thus, to quench the Spirit is to cease from breathing.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Paul speaks of the Spirit, not of the Spirit of God nor of the Holy Spirit. We have seen that, according to the New Testament, the Spirit is the Triune God processed to become the life-giving Spirit. If we do not call on the Lord’s name, we shall quench the Spirit.
Just as we must breathe in order to live physically, we must breathe spiritually in order to live Christ. The way to breathe spiritually is to call on the name of the Lord. From my experience I have learned that the way to live Christ is to call on Him continually. It is not sufficient simply to pray several times during the day, in the morning, in the afternoon, and at night. If we pray at these times but do not call on the Lord continually, we shall quench the Spirit. All day long, no matter where we are or what we are doing, we need to call on the Lord. Whatever we are doing, we should call on the Lord Jesus. I can testify that even when I speak for the Lord I call on Him and breathe of Him deep within.
Call on the Lord’s name in every situation, even when you are about to lose your temper. By calling on the Lord, you will live Christ. However, if you make up your mind not to lose your temper, you will be defeated. Your temper will be worse. Instead of trying to control your temper, turn to the Lord and call on Him. Say, “Lord Jesus, I love You. Lord, I am going to lose my temper. Be one with me in this.” If you do this, you will be saved from your temper, and you will live Christ.
To pray without ceasing by calling on the Lord’s name is to live Him. By calling on the Lord, we automatically take Him as our life and spontaneously live Him. If we pray, we shall not do things by ourselves, apart from Christ. Instead, by praying without ceasing, we shall live Christ.
Christ is not only our life, but also our breath. Have you ever realized that Christ is your breath? If you breathe Him all the time, you will live Him. After years of groping, I have discovered that the way to live Christ is to breathe Him, and the way to breathe Him is to call on Him without ceasing.
In 1 Timothy 6:12 Paul says, “Lay hold on the eternal life to which you were called.” We have been called to eternal life. Now we must lay hold on this life by calling on the Lord all day long. By calling on Him, we breathe Him.
The Bible reveals that our God today is very wonderful. He created the universe and all things in it according to His plan. One day Christ, who is the very God, was incarnated, born of a virgin. After living on earth for thirty-three and a half years, He was crucified on the cross to redeem us by taking away our sins. On the cross, the Lord Jesus also destroyed His enemy, the Devil. Then He was buried in the tomb and went into Hades. After touring the region of death, He came forth in resurrection. According to Acts 2:24, Hades exercised its power to hold Him, but to no avail. As the very resurrection life, He could not be held by death. When He entered into resurrection, His physical body was transformed into a glorious spiritual body. It is a fact that Christ in resurrection still has a body. Nevertheless, the Bible also reveals that in resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit: “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45). This Spirit is now our breath.
Second Corinthians 3:6 says, “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.” According to Darby’s New Translation, verses 7 through 16 are in parentheses. This indicates that Darby regards verse 17 as the direct continuation of verse 6. Verse 17 declares, “Now the Lord is the Spirit.” The Lord is the Spirit who gives life, and this Spirit is our breath.
On the one hand, the Lord is on the throne in heaven. We worship Him, adore Him, and praise Him as our ascended and enthroned Lord. On the other hand, He is with us on earth. Whenever a person believes in Him, He comes into that one and seals him. This seal is actually the Lord Himself. This means that when we call on the Lord and believe in Him, He attaches Himself to us and causes us to be attached to Him. From that time onward, He and we are one. “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17).
Due to their lack of knowledge, some Christians have done strange things in order to experience the Spirit. Some have taught that to receive the Spirit we should jump, cry, quake, or even shake chairs (as practiced by a group of Christians in Taiwan). There is no need to do such things to receive the life-giving Spirit. We simply need to exercise our spirit and call on the name of the Lord Jesus. We may also share in this enjoyment by pray-reading the Word. Again I say, no matter what you are doing, call on the name of the Lord Jesus. If you call without ceasing, you will not quench the Spirit.
I can testify from my own experience that if I do not call on the Lord, I cannot live. But if I call on Him, everything is fine. Often when you greet a person and ask him how he is, he will answer, “Oh, I’m fine.” Actually, for the most part, people are not fine. Only those who call on the Lord Jesus without ceasing can truly say that they are fine. Often we are troubled by little things in our daily life. The car may not start, or a shoelace may break. Such things can be aggravating and make us angry. When you are angry over a car that will not start or over a broken shoelace, can you honestly say that you are fine? I repeat, only those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus truly are fine.
There is no need always to call on the Lord purposely or deliberately. We may call on Him subconsciously, unconsciously, and unintentionally. This is true breathing. Breathing is unintentional. Let us practice to build up a habit of calling on the Lord’s name until we call unconsciously and unintentionally.
We should be those who do not care for systematic theology, but care for the proper and rich enjoyment of our living Lord. He is God, the Word, the Lamb, the tree, and the life-giving Spirit as our breath, so present and available. He has redeemed us through His blood, and now, as the Spirit, He dwells in us. We abide in Him, and He abides in us. As branches of the vine, we are one in life with the vine and experience the inward flowing of the life of the vine. How marvelous is the salvation we enjoy today! The very Triune God has passed through a process to become our breath. Now by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus, we breathe Him in.
When we receive Him by calling on His name, we apply Him to ourselves. Then we have a deep sense that we are enjoying Him. I cannot deny the fact that whenever I call on the Lord Jesus, I have a sweet sense within. Oh, He waters, refreshes, nourishes, strengthens, and enlightens me! He is so enjoyable that sometimes I am beside myself with joy. The processed God is so great, yet He is so enjoyable and obtainable.
I encourage you to call on the Lord, saying, “Lord Jesus, I love You.” As you enjoy the Lord in this way, you may weep out of a sense of His sweetness, loveliness, and preciousness. When we call on Him, He touches us inwardly. This is the true experience of living Christ by breathing the holy breath. May we all exercise ourselves more and more to receive and enjoy the holy breath.
