There is a very close relationship between the anointing and the fellowship of life. The fellowship of life is the flowing of life, the flowing together of God and all those possessing His life. The anointing is the mingling of God with all those belonging to Him. The purpose of the flowing of life is to flow God into us, while the purpose of the anointing is to anoint God into us. These two are two aspects of one thing; they are very closely related and difficult to separate.
Let us now see why the anointing and the fellowship of life are two aspects of the same thing. We know that God is life, and God is the Spirit. Concerning God as life, He flows in us unceasingly-this is the fellowship of life. Concerning God as the Spirit, He moves in us continually-this is the anointing. However, life and the Spirit are inseparable, for the Spirit includes life, and life is in the Spirit. Life is the content of the Spirit, and the Spirit is the reality of life. These two are the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), which is two-in-one and indivisible. Therefore, the fellowship of life and the anointing are also inseparable, being two aspects of one thing.
For this reason, we can see that in the entire Bible, the anointing is mentioned in 1 John, a book which especially speaks about the fellowship of life. If we want to know the fellowship of life, we must first know the anointing. People often speak about the fellowship of life and also about the anointing mentioned in 1 John, but very few connect these two together. Even fewer have discovered the reason the anointing is mentioned in John’s book on the fellowship of life. The reason is that both the fellowship of life and the anointing are two inseparable aspects of one thing. As life is in the Holy Spirit, so the fellowship of life is in the moving of the Holy Spirit as the anointing. For a person to obtain the life of God, he must first have the Spirit of God; likewise, for a person to have the fellowship of life, he must first have the moving of the Holy Spirit, that is, the anointing. Only when we have touched the anointing can we experience the fellowship in life in a practical way. Therefore, when 1 John mentions the fellowship of life, the anointing is inevitable, because the anointing is for the fellowship of life.
We can also find proof in the types of the Old Testament that the anointing is for the fellowship of life. In Old Testament times, three groups of people were required to be anointed: the priests, the kings, and the prophets. Of these three groups, the kings were sent from God to men to rule for Him, and the prophets were sent from God to men to speak for Him. As for the priests, they went from man into God’s presence to have fellowship with Him. It was absolutely necessary for them to be anointed. Every priest must be anointed. The anointing is necessary in order to enter into the presence of God, to have fellowship with God, and to be mingled with God. In other words, a man must first be anointed before entering into God’s presence for fellowship. This is why the matter of being anointed was especially significant in relation to the priests. This proves to us that the purpose of the anointing is to anoint man into God, thus enabling him to have fellowship with God and be united with God as one. To have the fellowship of life, the anointing is absolutely essential.
In order to have a clear understanding of the relationship between the anointing and the fellowship of life, we shall speak more concerning the significance of the anointing in 1 John, according to the light of the Scriptures. We know that in the New Testament, the Apostle John wrote one Gospel and three Epistles, all of which speak of the mutual relationship between God and man. However, there is a great difference between his Gospel and the Epistles. His Gospel speaks of God coming to man, while his Epistles speak of man going to God. His Gospel says that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. One day, the Word became flesh to live among men, and this was the Lord Jesus. When men beheld Him, they saw the Father, because He and the Father are one (John 14:9; 10:30); He is God coming to man. His Epistles reveal that such a God, who was manifested, came into our midst, and entered into us, is eternal life. Once this life is preached to us and received by us, it brings us back into the fellowship of the Father and His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:2-3). This is man going to God.
When God came to man, He brought with Him grace and truth: “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), and “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (v. 17). When we received grace and saw the truth, we returned to God and met love and light. Therefore, 1 John says, “God is love” (4:8, 16) and “God is light” (1:5). Grace comes from love, and truth issues from light. That which is hidden in God is love, and when this love comes forth from God to us, it is grace. Likewise, that which is hidden in God is light, and when this light comes forth from God to us, it is truth. Therefore, when God comes to man, He brings grace and truth, and when we go to God, we touch love and light. When God came to man, He brought with Him His grace; when we received this grace and returned to Him, we met His love. Likewise, when God came to man, He brought His truth; when we saw His truth and returned to Him, we met His light.
This story of God’s coming to us to impart grace and truth and our returning to Him to meet love and light is the story of the fellowship of life and the function of the anointing. The ointment anoints God into us and us into God. In other words, the ointment anoints God’s grace into us and then anoints us into God’s love; further, the ointment anoints God’s truth into us and then anoints us into God’s light. This coming as grace and going as love and this coming as truth and going as light causes us to be in God’s grace as well as in His love, in God’s truth as well as in His light. Thus, we are more deeply united and mingled with God.
Therefore, the anointing and the fellowship of life are inseparable. If the work of the anointing in us is shallow, our fellowship with the Lord will be shallow; if the work of the anointing in us is deep, then our fellowship will also be deep. If the anointing in us is sporadic, then our fellowship with the Lord will also be sporadic. Thus, the anointing is very important for the fellowship in life.
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