Scripture Reading: Col. 2:9; Eph. 3:8; Phil. 1:19; Col. 3:16; John 16:13-15; 6:63
God’s desire is that we who have been redeemed, saved, washed by the blood, and regenerated by the Spirit, and have received the life and nature of God should live Christ. It is not adequate simply to improve our behavior or the standard of our living. In a way that is very experiential and practical, we need to live Christ.
In order to live Christ, we must realize who Christ is and what Christ is. From the book of Colossians we have seen that Christ is not only all-inclusive, but also extensive. He is both the mystery of God and the mystery of God’s economy. Christ is God, man, and the reality of every positive thing in the universe. This, of course, is not pantheism. It is to testify according to Colossians 2:16 and 17 that Christ is the body, the reality, of all positive things.
In Colossians 2:16 and 17 Paul says, “Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ.” According to the principle set forth in these verses, Christ is the real holiday, or holy day. As our holiday, Christ is our rest, joy, and enjoyment. With Christ every day is a holiday. Without Him, every day is miserable. Even during difficult times, we may experience a true holiday if we have Christ as our joy, enjoyment, and rest.
Christ is also our new moon. Again and again we all need a new start, a new beginning, as signified by a new moon. Christ is such a new moon to us. Every day in our contact with Him, we may experience a new moon, a new start.
According to these verses from Colossians, Christ is also our eating, drinking, and feast. Words cannot exhaust what Christ is in His extensiveness and all-inclusiveness. Although Christ is so extensive and all-inclusive, He is our enjoyment and experience, and we can live Him.
Along with all genuine Christians, we believe that Christ is our Redeemer and Savior. He is God incarnate, and He lived on earth as a man for thirty-three and a half years. Then He died on the cross, shedding His blood to cleanse us from our sins. Now He is our Savior in resurrection. Although we emphatically believe that Christ is our Redeemer and Savior and have experienced Him as such, we have come to realize that Christ is also our life. On the one hand, as life He has been supplied once for all; on the other hand, He is supplied to us continually as life. Life requires a continual supply. If we have life but lack the means to maintain it, we shall die. Breathing, for example, is a necessary matter of life. As such, it must go on continually. Although we may graduate from school, we cannot graduate from breathing and remain alive. Graduation from the matters of life can only mean death. We praise the Lord that Christ is our Redeemer, Savior, and also our life and life supply!
As those who have been redeemed, saved, and regenerated, we have God’s life and nature. How marvelous that fallen human beings can declare that we have the life and nature of God! We have the nature of God because we have been born of Him. God is not only our Creator; He is also our Father. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God” (1 John 3:1, lit.). In His love for us the Father has imparted His life and nature to us. Now we are children of God possessing the divine life and nature.
Have you ever realized what kind of status you have as a Christian? You are a son of the almighty God. God is actually your Father. If your father were the President of the United States, you would be very proud. How much more proud we should be of having the almighty God as our Father! We have the right to declare, “Hallelujah, we are sons of the almighty God!”
As sons of God, we should live Christ, not ethics, morality, or behavior. Ethics may be very good and a high standard of morality is no doubt excellent, but there is no comparison between these things and Christ. The standard of the Christian life is Christ Himself; it is not ethics, morality, or high character. In the book of Philippians Paul wants to impress us with the matter of living Christ. Paul could say, “To me to live is Christ” (1:21). It was his expectation that whether by life or by death, Christ would be magnified in him. What a standard! The standard of the Christian life far exceeds that of ethics, morality, or any kind of philosophy. To repeat, the standard of the Christian life is Christ, and we must live Him and magnify Him.
Christ was Paul’s goal, and his desire was to be found in Christ (Phil. 3:9). It should also be our desire to be found by others in Christ. Wherever we may be, we should be found in Christ. What a shame to be found in our natural life or in our culture! But how good it is if others could testify of finding us in Christ! Our goal is Christ, and our standard also is Christ. Wherever we are, the people we meet should be impressed with Christ. Then, because we live Christ, we shall be found by others in Him.
If we live a certain thing, we shall no doubt be found in that thing. For example, if we live our culture, others will find us in culture. Likewise, if we live Christ all the time, we shall always be found in Christ. If we want to be found in Christ, we must first live Christ. Instead of living in a natural way as a young person, middle-aged person, or elderly person, we should live Christ. Oh, it is a great matter to live Christ and to be found in Him!
Living Christ is abstract and mysterious. To live Christ is to live in a mysterious way. On the one hand, this kind of living is real and substantial; on the other hand, it is indefinable. When others find us in Christ, it will be difficult for them to describe us. We shall seem to be quite mysterious. Although as human beings we are not very different from others, there is something mysterious and even special about us. Christ is mysterious, and those who live Him also are mysterious. Because Christ is abstract and mysterious, it is not easy to explain how to live Him.
According to the central thought of the Bible, the Triune God is to be our life, and we need to be in Him. In Matthew 28:19 the Lord Jesus charged the disciples to baptize believers into the name of the Triune God, that is, into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. To baptize the believers into the Triune God is to place them into an organic union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Before we were saved, the Triune God was altogether objective to us. But through redemption, salvation, justification, and regeneration, He has become subjective. Now we are in Him, and He is in us. The Triune God is in us to be not only our Redeemer and Savior, but also our life and life supply. God’s desire is not that we do certain things for Him, but that we be one spirit with Him and live Him. To live the Triune God is to live Christ. It is to magnify Christ, to glorify Him, and to express Him. It is to magnify Christ in the eyes of the people with whom we are in contact. The focal point of the Bible is related to living Christ.
Although living Christ is mysterious, it is not so mysterious that we cannot understand it at all. As we shall see, living Christ has much to do with the riches of Christ realized in the bountiful supply of the Spirit, and the bountiful supply of the Spirit embodied in the rich Word of God. Not only is the Bible God’s Word; it is also His speaking, even His breathing. In 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul says that all Scripture is God-breathed. By God’s speaking, by His breathing, many wonderful things are revealed.
If we did not have language, there would be no way for God to speak to us. As the speaking God, He speaks to us through our human language. Language was given to man as a preparation for God’s speaking.
We praise the Lord that, as Christians, we have both the Holy Bible in our hands and the Holy Spirit in our spirit and heart. Now we need to consider what the Holy Spirit is and also what the Holy Bible is.
When Christians are asked about the Holy Spirit, they often say that the Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. They point out that the Godhead includes three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Although it is true to say that the Holy Spirit is the third of the Godhead, this understanding is not adequate. It is very important to see that the Father and the Son are fully realized in the Spirit as the third of the Godhead. This means that we cannot separate the Holy Spirit from the Son or the Father.
The three of the Godhead not only coexist, but They also coinhere. Hence, among the Father, Son, and Spirit there are both coexistence and coinherence. God is triune; He is three-one. Coexistence means to exist together at the same time. Coinherence is much more difficult to define or understand. Applied to the Triune God, this term means that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in one another. The Bible reveals clearly that when the Son came, the Father came with Him. Likewise, when the Spirit comes, He comes with the Son and the Father. Furthermore, when the Son came, the Father came with the Son not in an outward way, but inwardly, subjectively, within the Son.
Regarding the relationship between the Father and the Son and between the Son and the Spirit, the Gospel of John uses a particular Greek preposition, a preposition which can be translated “from with” (6:46; 16:27). The Son came not only from the Father, but even from with the Father. He came from the Father and also with Him. This indicates that when the Son came, the Father came also. The Father came in the Son. Therefore the Lord could say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). He could also testify, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me” (John 14:10). On the one hand, the Father and the Son are two; on the other hand, They are one. Because the Father came not only with the Son but also in Him, the Son, the Lord Jesus, could say, “The words which I speak to you, I do not speak from Myself; but the Father who abides in Me, He does His works” (John 14:10). Furthermore, according to the Bible, if we have the Son, we have the Father also (1 John 2:23). Because the Father is with the Son and even in Him, we receive the Father when we receive the Son. Moreover, when the Spirit comes, He comes with both the Son and the Father. Therefore, to have the Spirit is to have the Son and the Father.
The Holy Spirit is the ultimate and consummate reaching of the Triune God to us. Do not think that when the Holy Spirit reaches you, only He, the third of the Godhead, comes, and that the Father and the Son remain in heaven. Some Christians have such an understanding. Instead of believing that Christ is in us, they claim that Christ sent the Holy Spirit to function as His representative in us. This concept is altogether wrong. The Bible does not speak of the Spirit representing the Son in the believers. On the contrary, according to the Scriptures, when the Holy Spirit comes, the Son comes with Him and in Him. The Father also comes with the Son and the Spirit. This means that when the Holy Spirit comes to us, the entire Triune God comes. According to the Bible, we may say that the Father is the source, the Son is the course, and the Spirit is the flow. How marvelous that the Holy Spirit is the consummate reaching of the Triune God to you and me!
As those who believe in Christ, we may have the full assurance that the Holy Spirit dwells within us. However, concerning this there is much confusion among Christians today. Some insist that after a person has become a Christian, he must still pray to receive the Holy Spirit. Some go so far as to claim that speaking in tongues is the unique sign of receiving the Spirit. According to the Bible, when we believed in the Lord Jesus, called on His name, and received Him as our Savior, the Holy Spirit entered into us. From that time onward, we have been indwelt by the Spirit. We do not need to speak in tongues as a sign that we have received the Holy Spirit.
One definite indicator that we have received the Holy Spirit is that we have a sweet sense within when we call on God our Father. One day a young man asked Brother Nee about Romans 8:16, a verse which says that the Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God. He wanted help to understand what it means to say that the Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit in this way. Since that young man was married, Brother Nee asked him if he sensed the same sweetness when he called his father-in-law “Daddy” as he did when he addressed his own father in this way. The young man testified that he did not have the same sense of sweetness in both cases. Brother Nee pointed out to him that he could call his own father “Daddy” in a sweet way because he had been born of him. Brother Nee then asked him if he had a sense of sweetness within when he called God his Father. The young man said with assurance that he did experience this sweetness. Brother Nee replied, “You are certainly saved. The reason you sense this sweetness is that you have the Spirit within. You now have the spirit of sonship. The sweetness you experience when you call on God the Father is a sign that you have received the Spirit.” Whether or not we ever speak in tongues, we may have the assurance that we have received the Holy Spirit and are now children of God.
In the New Testament we see that the Spirit and the Word are one. The Lord Jesus said, “The words which I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). We should not separate the Holy Spirit whom we have within us from the holy Word which we have in our hands. These two are one divine reality. Apart from the Holy Spirit, the Bible is empty, altogether without reality. The reality of the Bible is the Holy Spirit. However, if we did not have the Bible, we would not have the embodiment of the Holy Spirit. Apart from the Word, there is no embodiment of the Spirit. On the one hand, the Bible is the embodiment of the Spirit; on the other hand, the Spirit is the reality of the Bible. We should never separate the two.
We thank the Lord for two wonderful gifts, the Holy Spirit within and the Holy Bible without. We have seen that the Holy Spirit is the Triune God reaching us in a consummate way. When the Holy Spirit reaches us, the Triune God is with us. The Spirit, however, is abstract and mysterious. Hence, it is important to see that the Spirit is embodied in the Word. Now if we would live Christ, we need to experience the Spirit within and enjoy the Word without. In our experience, the Spirit and the Word must be one. Whenever we read the Bible, we should also pray. This is to pray-read the Word. By pray-reading, we exercise our spirit to contact the Holy Spirit. In this way, we combine the Holy Spirit with the Holy Bible. As a result, in our experience the Spirit and the Word are one enjoyment, and this enjoyment is the Triune God.
Four basic verses in the New Testament are Colossians 2:9; Ephesians 3:8; Philippians 1:19; and Colossians 3:16. In these verses we have four strategic terms. First, in Colossians 2:9 we see that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily. Here the crucial term is fullness. Second, in Ephesians 3:8 Paul says that he preaches the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel. Paul’s gospel was the riches of Christ. The crucial matter here is the riches of Christ. Third, in Philippians 1:19 Paul speaks of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Fourth, Colossians 3:16 tells us that the word of Christ should dwell in us, inhabit us, richly. For the word of Christ to dwell in us richly means that it inhabits us in its riches and also in a rich way. Therefore, in these four verses we have the fullness, the riches, the bountiful supply, and the Word dwelling in us richly. The fullness is related to the Godhead, the riches are related to Christ, the bountiful supply is related to the Spirit, and the word of Christ indwelling us richly is related to the Word. In brief, we have the Godhead, Christ, the Spirit, and the Word. I strongly recommend that at the first opportunity you pray-read these four verses, enjoying the fullness of the Godhead, the riches of Christ, the bountiful supply of the Spirit, and the word of Christ inhabiting you richly.
The fullness, the riches, the bountiful supply, and the Word are mutually related. The fullness of the Godhead is actually the riches of Christ, and the riches of Christ are the bountiful supply of the Spirit. With the Godhead, there is the fullness; with Christ, the fullness becomes the unsearchable riches; and with the Spirit, the riches become the bountiful supply. Furthermore, this bountiful supply of the Spirit is embodied in the Word. When the Word of God inhabits us with the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, it truly inhabits us richly.
When I was young, I could easily recite many Bible verses. However, although I could recite a verse like John 3:16, this verse did not inhabit me in a rich way. On the contrary, it dwelt in me in a poor way. But now I can testify that this verse, along with a great many others, inhabits me with all its riches. It dwells in me richly. Whenever I muse upon certain verses, I am filled with the enjoyment of the Triune God. My experience today is very different from what I used to have. Then I could recite Colossians 2:9, but I did not have much enjoyment of the fullness of the Godhead. But when I muse upon this verse today, the enjoyment is exceedingly rich.
It is crucial for us to see that the fullness of the Godhead embodied in the Son becomes the unsearchable riches of Christ, that the riches of Christ, the Son, are realized as the bountiful supply of the Spirit, and that this bountiful supply is now embodied in the Word. When we read the Word and pray-read it, we can touch the essence and substance of the Word: the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. If we merely read the Word without prayer, we may not get anything more than objective knowledge. But by praying with the Word we touch the Spirit. As a result, we enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit, the riches of Christ, and the fullness of the Godhead. Perhaps now you can understand why this message has such a long title: “The Riches of Christ Realized in the Bountiful Supply of the Spirit and the Bountiful Supply of the Spirit Embodied in the Rich Word of God.”
If we would live Christ, we need to read the Word and pray-read it in such a way that we partake of the fullness of God, the riches of Christ, and the bountiful supply of the Spirit. Oh, we need to be immersed in and saturated with the fullness of the Godhead, the riches of Christ, and the bountiful supply of the Spirit! Then, having been permeated with the Triune God, we shall live Christ.
We all need to be permeated with the bountiful supply of the Spirit, the riches of Christ, and the fullness of the Godhead. All this is in the Word and in the Spirit. Thus, we must come to the Word constantly and pray unceasingly. By pray-reading the Word, we shall touch the supply of the Spirit, the riches of Christ, and the fullness of the Godhead. Then we shall partake of all that the Triune God is, and spontaneously we shall live Him. This is to live Christ.
Living Christ is not a matter of making up our mind to have a change in our way of living. We should not say, “Now I have learned what it means to live Christ. I make up my mind to live Him, and I pray that God will help me do this. O God, help me to live Christ.” This way does not work. If you pray like this, you will find that immediately after praying you will continue to live yourself. The way to live Christ is to first be permeated by Him with all His riches. Again and again we have pointed out that these riches are in the Spirit and in the Word.
We may liken the bountiful supply of the Spirit to electricity, which reaches us by means of an antenna and a ground wire. The Spirit Himself is like the antenna, and the Bible is like the ground wire. When we have both the antenna and the ground wire, both the Spirit and the Word, functioning together, we receive the bountiful supply of the Spirit as the heavenly electricity. Our experience testifies of this. When we exercise our spirit to pray-read a verse, we have the sense within of being supplied, refreshed, enlightened, watered, nourished, comforted, and strengthened. This is the enjoyment of the divine electricity. Use the antenna and the ground wire, the Spirit and the Word, and you will receive this bountiful supply.
The principle is the same with coming to know the will of God. The way to know God’s will is not to pray, “O Lord, You know how foolish I am. Show me Your way.” This kind of prayer does not work very well. Instead of praying like this, simply enjoy the Word and the Spirit, allowing the heavenly electricity to infuse you with the Triune God. As you receive the infusion of the bountiful supply of the Spirit, the will of God will become clear to you automatically and spontaneously. You will know that you should not do certain things, for they are not the will of God. You will also know that you should do certain other things, for they are God’s will. You will not need others to tell you what to do. The divine infusion you enjoy inwardly will make you clear. Furthermore, as you are immersed in the Triune God and permeated with the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, you will spontaneously live Christ.
Praise the Lord for showing us the way to live Christ! The way is to enjoy the Triune God by reading and pray-reading the Word. When we touch the bountiful supply of the Spirit, we shall live a life that expresses Christ, a life which actually is Christ Himself.
