THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians
Message Three—Being One Spirit with the Lord
Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 6:17-20; 7:17-25, 40
I. The essence of the New Testament is the two spirits—the divine Spirit and the human spirit—mingled together as one spirit—6:17; Rom. 8:4:
A. The word joined in 1 Corinthians 6:17 refers to the believers’ organic union with the Lord through believing into Him—John 3:15-16; 15:4-5.
B. The expression one spirit indicates the mingling of the Lord as the Spirit with our spirit:
1. The spirit, which is the mingling of our spirit and the Lord’s Spirit into one spirit, is both the Spirit of the Lord and our spirit—Rom. 8:4; 2 Cor. 3:17; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 6:17.
2. All of our spiritual experiences, such as our fellowship with the Lord, our prayer to Him, and our living with Him, are in this mingled spirit.
C. The union of God and man is a union of the two spirits, the Spirit of God and the spirit of man (2:11-14); the union of these two spirits is the deepest mystery in the Bible.
D. The focus of God’s economy is the mingled spirit, the divine Spirit mingled with the human spirit; whatever God intends to do or accomplish is related to this focus—Eph. 3:9, 5; 1:17; 2:22; 4:23; 5:18; 6:18.
E. By being one spirit with the Lord, we can experience Him as the all-inclusive One—1 Cor. 1:2, 24, 30; 2:8, 10; 3:11; 5:7-8; 10:3-4; 11:3; 12:12; 15:20, 47, 45.
F. The spirit of faith (2 Cor. 4:13) is the Holy Spirit mingled with our human spirit; we should exercise such a spirit to believe and to speak the things that we have experienced of the Lord.
G. The Holy Spirit is in our spirit (Rom. 8:16), and our spirit is within our body; hence, our body becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit—1 Cor. 6:19-20:
1. Our organic union with the Lord makes it possible for our bodies to be members of Christ—v. 15.
2. Because we are organically united with Christ and because Christ dwells in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22) and makes His home in our heart (Eph. 3:17), our entire being, including our purified body, becomes a member of Christ.
3. We urgently need to see the vision that our bodies are members of Christ, that we are one spirit with the Lord, and that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit—1 Cor. 6:15, 17, 19.
H. The mingled spirit is a spirit that is one spirit with God and that is the same as God in His life and nature but not in His Godhead—1 John 5:11; 2 Pet. 1:4:
1. The divine Spirit and the human spirit are mingled as one within us so that we can live the life of a God-man, a life that is God yet man and man yet God—Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:19-21a.
2. The God-man living is the living of the two spirits, the Spirit of God and the spirit of man joined and mingled together as one.
II. First Corinthians 7 conveys the spirit of a person who loves the Lord, who cares for the Lord’s interests on earth, who is absolutely for the Lord and one with the Lord, and who in every respect is obedient, submissive, and satisfied with God and the circumstances arranged by Him:
A. Paul was absolutely one with God, and he wanted the Corinthian believers to be one with Him and not to initiate anything—vv. 17-24.
B. Because Paul was utterly one with the Lord, in his instructions and answers he spontaneously and unconsciously expressed an absolute spirit.
III. Because Paul was one with the Lord, when he spoke, the Lord spoke with him; thus, in 1 Corinthians 7 we have an example of the New Testament principle of incarnation—vv. 10, 12, 25, 40:
A. The principle of incarnation is that God enters into man and mingles Himself with man to make man one with Himself; thus, God is in man and man is in God—John 15:4-5:
1. In the New Testament the Lord becomes one with His apostles, and they become one with Him and speak together with Him; thus, His word becomes their word, and whatever they utter is His word.
2. The Old Testament principle of speaking for God was “Thus saith the Lord” (Isa. 10:24; Jer. 2:2); the New Testament principle of incarnation is “I [the speaker] charge,” for the speaker and the Lord are one.
B. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 7 in the principle of incarnation:
1. The principle in verse 10 is the same as that in Galatians 2:20: the principle of incarnation—two persons living as one person.
2. Because Paul was one with the Lord, he knew the Lord’s heart and mind.
3. Paul was one with the Lord to such a degree that when he gave his own opinion, he thought that he also had the Spirit of God—1 Cor. 7:40.
4. In verses 25 and 40 we see the highest spirituality— the spirituality of a person who is so one with Message Five (continuation) the Lord and permeated with Him that even his opinion expresses the Lord’s mind.
5. If we are saturated with the Spirit, what we express will be our thought, but it will also be something of the Lord because we are one with Him— 6:17.
Ministry Excerpts:
In 6:15, 17, and 19 there are three crucial matters: first, that our bodies are members of Christ; second, that we are one spirit with the Lord; and third, that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. In the context of dealing with the abuse of freedom in foods and in the body, Paul opens up these matters in a marvelous way.
MEMBERS OF CHRIST
Verse 15 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” Because we are organically united with Christ (v. 17), and because Christ dwells in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22) and makes His home in our heart (Eph. 3:17), our entire being, including our purified body, becomes a member of Him. Hence, to practice such membership we need to offer our body to Him (Rom. 12:1, 4-5).
ONE SPIRIT WITH THE LORD
In verse 17 Paul says, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” The word joined in this verse refers to the believers’ organic union with the Lord through believing into Him (John 3:15-16). This union is illustrated by that of the branches with the vine (John 15:4-5). It is a matter not only of life, but also in life, the divine life. Such a union with the resurrected Lord can only be in our spirit.
The expression “one spirit” indicates the mingling of the Lord as the Spirit with our spirit. Our spirit has been regenerated by the Spirit of God (John 3:6), who is now in us (1 Cor. 6:19) and is one with our spirit (Rom. 8:16). This is the realization of the Lord who became the life-giving Spirit through resurrection (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17), and who is now with our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). This mingled spirit is often referred to in Paul’s Epistles, as in Romans 8:4-6.
A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
In verse 19 Paul says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” The Holy Spirit is in our spirit (Rom. 8:16), and our spirit is within our body. Hence, our body becomes a temple, a dwelling place, of the Holy Spirit.
In verse 20 Paul concludes, “For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” The price mentioned here is the precious blood of Christ (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rev. 5:9). To glorify God in our body means to let God who dwells in us (1 John 4:13) occupy and saturate our body and express Himself through our body as His temple, especially in the two matters of eating and marriage, according to the context of this section from 6:13 through 11:1. For this, we need to exercise a severe and strict control over our body, bringing it into subjection (1 Cor. 9:27) and presenting it to God as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1).
THE NEED FOR THE PROPER CAPACITY
These verses in 1 Corinthians 6 are the only verses in the New Testament which tell us that our bodies are members of Christ, that we are one spirit with the Lord, and that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. When we read these verses, however, we may take them for granted and may not spend adequate time to study them and the important matters revealed in them. How much time have you spent on verse 15, which says that our bodies are members of Christ? Very few believers have paid the proper attention to this verse. Yes, messages have been given on verse 19, messages on the believers’ body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. But before you came into the Lord’s recovery, did you ever hear a message on being one spirit with the Lord? Did you ever hear a message on being joined to the Lord as one spirit? These three matters deserve thorough study. I do not mean merely the study of the black and white letters of the Word, but a study in the light of experience.
We also may be very limited in our capacity to receive God’s revelation. Due to the drugging influence of religion and tradition, we may not be able to take in Paul’s word about being one spirit with the Lord, or his word about our bodies being the members of Christ. We may be like a person who eats garlic or who stays in a room filled with the smell of garlic, and thus becomes insensitive to the taste and smell of garlic. Such a person’s sense of smell may become so accustomed to garlic that he regards this smell as normal. In the same principle, our spiritual senses of smell and taste, in fact, our whole inner being, may be so much under the influence of traditional Christianity that we do not have the ability to perceive certain crucial matters of God’s economy. If this is our situation, we may read 1 Corinthians 6 again and again without being impressed by verses 15 and 17.
In 1947 and 1948 Brother Nee often stressed the need to exercise the spirit and release the spirit. He often said that in all we do, preaching the gospel, contacting the saints, and ministering the Word, we must exercise our spirit and release our spirit. He also pointed out that the part of our being which we use the most is the part that we emphasize. For example, if a person lives in the mind, his mind will be prominent whenever he speaks. Likewise, a person who lives in the emotion will express his emotion. I was greatly helped by this fellowship, and from that time onward, I endeavored to exercise the spirit and to release the spirit. However, I had not yet been impressed with 6:17.
In 1958 the Lord began to open the matters of eating the Lord, drinking the Lord, and enjoying the Lord. At that time I began to see John 6:57, where the Lord Jesus says, “He who eats Me shall also live because of Me.” I also realized that if we would eat the Lord, drink the Lord, and enjoy the Lord, we must know our spirit. Apart from knowing the spirit, we cannot contact the Lord. In one message I pointed out that only when we know the nature of a particular food do we know how to eat that kind of food. In like manner, if we want to eat the Lord, we must know the nature of the Lord. Today the Lord is the life-giving Spirit. This means that the nature of spiritual food is spirit. We can contact the Spirit only by means of our spirit. John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and reality.” According to this verse, only spirit can touch the Spirit, and only spirit can worship Spirit.
In 1960 the burden, the light, and the utterance concerning the spirit became intensified. As a result, message upon message was given on the spirit. When I began the ministry in this country, I also emphasized the spirit. If you read the early issues of The Stream magazine, you will see many of the messages are centered on the spirit. I can testify that seeing 1 Corinthians 6:17 has greatly affected the ministry given to me by the Lord.
A GREAT MYSTERY
We the believers are joined to the Lord as one spirit. This is a great mystery, perhaps the most mysterious matter revealed in the Bible. Who can explain such a mystery? Can you explain how it is possible for us to be one spirit with the Lord? Although we cannot explain it, we can surely experience it. Often I pray in the morning, “Lord, thank You for another day in which to practice being one spirit with You.” What a wonder that sinners such as we can be one spirit with the Lord! The more we consider this matter, the more we realize how wonderful it is.
In 6:17 Paul plainly declares the fact that we are one spirit with the Lord. But few of us have paid adequate attention to this. We need much time to study this verse and explore it in an experiential way. We need to experiment and learn how to be one spirit with the Lord in our speaking and in all that we do. As we do various things, we need to consider whether or not we are one spirit with the Lord.
Because I have seen the vision of being one spirit with the Lord according to 6:17, I have come to realize that what Brother Lawrence practiced was altogether an Old Testament matter. He exercised to be in the presence of God, but he did not practice being one spirit with the Lord. There is a great difference between being in the presence of God and being one spirit with the Lord.
We have seen that in chapter six Paul covers three vital matters. These matters are so great that it takes much exercise of the spirit for us to assimilate them adequately. How marvelous that our bodies are members of Christ, that we are one spirit with the Lord, and that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit! The vision concerning this is becoming so clear that sometimes I can hardly contain myself. The burden of this vision is so heavy that I can hardly bear it. I cannot bear to think that some churches and some saints may go on in an old way, carrying on a Christian work but neglecting the central vision of Paul’s completing ministry. We urgently need to see the vision that our bodies are members of Christ, that we are one spirit with the Lord, and that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
SEEING THE CENTRAL VISION
I am troubled by the situation among Christians today and also by the situation among us. Everywhere Christians are listening to sugar-coated sermons, sermons that distract and even drug them. Even some among us have been distracted by scriptural messages. Certain brothers may use parts of the Life-study Messages as materials for speaking, but still not see the central vision. As a result, both the speakers and the listeners may miss the mark. The meetings may seem very good and even helpful, but are the saints being helped by the central vision of Paul’s completing ministry or by John’s mending ministry? In some cases this is doubtful. It is possible that we are missing the mark in our ministry, work, and effort to help the churches. If we pay attention to things other than God’s economy, there is the danger that we would actually help the saints to be distracted. What the Lord desires today is a remnant who see the vision He has shown to his faithful steward, the apostle Paul, and who carry out the completing ministry concerning Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ. However, these matters should not be presented to the saints as mere doctrines; they must be ministered as a reality. If we would minister the reality of these things to others, we must first touch the reality ourselves.
Because of the vision and the burden, I have no heart for messages that contain nothing but doctrine. The three crucial matters covered in this message should not remain doctrines to us. I am deeply concerned that some among us have not yet touched the reality of these things and thus do not have an experiential realization concerning our bodies being members of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit and of being one spirit with the Lord. If the brothers who minister in the churches see this vision, their speaking will be radically changed. They would never again speak in a way of giving mere doctrines to others. Spontaneously they would determine not to know anything other than Christ and His Body.
It is not my burden in these messages to teach doctrines. Forty years ago I would have given many messages on subjects such as the reward, the suffering of loss, being saved through fire, and the various categories of people who should be excommunicated from the church. But I have no burden to give messages on these things. Instead, I am burdened that the saints enjoy Christ as their feast of unleavened bread. I am especially burdened for those who have been in the recovery for years and still do not see the central vision. Instead of grain, these ones only have husks, and they minister these husks to others. Those under their training do not receive any nourishment, any life supply, and as a result do not grow. If we would all see the vision, our situation will be altogether different. We shall testify that we are one spirit with the Lord and that our bodies are members of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit. However, we are still short of experience, still very limited in our capacity to receive these things and understand them. Thus, we all need to humble ourselves before the Lord and say, “Lord, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to repent, I don’t know how to confess, and I don’t know how to pray. Lord, I am simply here before You. Have mercy on me. I need to see a clear vision of Your economy. Have mercy on me, Lord, that I may touch the reality of this vision and help others to do the same.” Let us all look to the Lord for His mercy that we may see the vision shown to Paul. Only when we see such a vision can we be kept from the abuse of freedom in foods and in the body. (Life-Study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 39)