Not only do we need the fellowship of life; we need to experience the light of life. Whereas the fellowship of life is the current, the flow, of Christ as life within us, the light of life is the shining of the divine life within us. We should not separate the light from the life and think that the life and the light are separate matters. When the life within us shines, it is the light. Here is yet another indication of whether or not we are living by Christ. When we live by Christ, something within us shines, enlightening us within and bringing us into a realm of light. When the light of life is shining within us, there is no darkness in us. We know whether we are living by Christ by checking whether we are in the light or in the darkness.
When we are in the darkness, we can quarrel with the brothers, even to the point of losing our temper, yet not feel that we are wrong. In fact, if we quarrel and become angry yet have no sense of wrongdoing, this proves that we are in darkness and that there is no light within us. In such a situation, not only has the current within us stopped, but the light has gone. Not only is there no flowing; there is no shining. If we are experiencing the shining of the light of life within, when we go to quarrel with a brother, we will realize that we are wrong.
The shining of the light of life not only enlightens; it also governs. Wherever there is light, there is ruling. Light itself is even a ruling power. If tonight the city in which you live were to have no light, confusion would engulf the entire city, and many lawless activities and crimes would take place. This indicates that light is a ruling power. The Lord’s light, as often as it shines within us, always rules us and keeps us in order. Our having the flow of life and the shining and ruling of light within is proof that we are living by Christ, that we are in Christ, and that we are taking Christ as our life. It is urgent that we all realize this matter. I pray that the Lord in these days will enable us to realize this and have more experience of living in Christ by experiencing the fellowship of life and the light of life.
This is the key, the secret, of experiencing Christ as life in a practical way. If we take care of the flowing and shining of life within us, we will have need of nothing else. Of course, we will still need to pray, read the Scriptures, attend the meetings, and fellowship with the saints. But we have to realize that all these proper Christian activities are actually the result of the flowing and the shining. At the same time, all these practices are the instruments, the means, by which we experience more flowing and shining. The basic thing we must realize is that the secret of living by Christ, living in Christ, and taking Christ as our life is to always take care of the inward flowing and the inward shining. If you do not have the inward flowing and shining, you must go to the Lord to deal with Him and be dealt with by Him, for that is a strong indication that something is wrong within. If all the saints among us would take care of this matter day by day, what living, shining, and flowing Christians we would be! Then whenever we come to the meetings, everyone would come with something flowing and shining within their being. The enjoyment of the fellowship of life and the light of life must be our day-by-day and moment-by-moment experience.
I beg of you to practice one thing: take care of the inward flowing and inward shining. As a Christian, you must have the inward flow and shining. If you do not have the inward flow and shining, you are a dead Christian—one who has lost the fellowship, the inward current, of life. If this is your case, you have to recover the fellowship of life by going to the Lord, dealing with Him, and being dealt with by Him. If you take this way, you will immediately recover the fellowship.
Question: How do we know that we are experiencing the flowing and the shining of life?
Answer: When you have the inward shining, it is very easy for you to recognize any hint of darkness. From the perspective of the Christian experience, this is very real. As believers, we have something living within us, flowing within us, and energizing and “heating” us. However, these kinds of experiences have been very much neglected by Christians today. We pay too much attention to other things and as a consequence have neglected this matter. Let us forget about the other things and care for this one thing, that is, for the inward flowing and the shining. When you are going to pray, you have to pray in the flow. When you speak, you must speak in the flow. In the midst of ministering, I have often had the sense that the flow has stopped. Whenever I experience this, even in the midst of ministering, I have to cry to the Lord. I have to be adjusted by Him and be recovered to the inward flow of life.
The divine life, with its flowing and shining, is a living matter. With anything that is living, there is always some amount of registration, feeling, sense, or consciousness. When the Lord within us is flowing and shining, we sense it; we have a deep feeling that there is something flowing and shining within us. We especially have a sensation when we do not have the flow and light of life. When we are surrounded by air and are breathing, we may not have any particular sensation. However, when there is no more air, our sense is awful and very acute.
I stress once again that this is the proper way for us to experience Christ as life. Christ, who is God Himself, is profound, great, and almighty, yet He is so available and real to us. This is a great mercy and grace to us. It is impossible for us to imagine and understand how wonderful this is. The unbelievers do not know of these things. When we talk about the fellowship of life and the light of life with them, they think that we are superstitious. However, we know the reality. We know that the Lord is as real and available as the air. The air is very easy for us to breathe. It needs no preparation for us to assimilate it. If we had to prepare the air in the same way we have to prepare food, we all would have died long ago. There is no need for us to go to the supermarket to purchase air, no need to store it in the refrigerator, and no need to cook it. Wherever we go, the air is ready for us to breathe. The air is vital to our existence, yet it is so obtainable. Our Christ is just like the air that we breathe. This is the simple and practical way for us to experience Christ.
If we all practice this, we will be victorious Christians and spiritual persons, and we will enter into the real church. When we experience Christ in this way, we experience the cross, we are controlled, we are ruled, we are nourished, we are refreshed, and we are strengthened. This is the simple secret whereby we can experience Christ.