There are five aspects to the one sense of life. First, the sense of life comes from the life of God; second, it comes from the law of life; third, it comes from the Holy Spirit; fourth, it comes from Christ; and fifth, it comes from God. Although the sense of life comes from these five sources—the life of God, the law of life, the Holy Spirit, Christ, and God, it is only one sense, not five. In other words, these five aspects collectively comprise the one sense of life.
These five different sources produce only one sense instead of five, because the Spirit, Christ, and God are actually the Triune God—the three are one. Because the life of God is also God Himself, the four are one. Moreover, because the law of life comes out from the life of God and is the function of this life, the five are one. Hence, only one sense is produced from these five sources. Actually, the five sources are not five, but one. These five—the Holy Spirit, Christ, God, life, and the law of life—are one, which is revealed in five aspects.
These five sources have one designation—life—and they produce one sense—the sense of life. Why is it called the sense of life instead of the sense of the Holy Spirit, the sense of Christ, the sense of God, or the sense of the law of life? The Triune God is in us to be our life; He is life in us. This life involves the Holy Spirit, Christ, and God, and the law of life is the function of the life of God in us. Since these five items are of life, the sense they produce can only be called the sense of life, not the sense of anything else.
The main purpose of the Triune God in us is to be life to us, and the function of this life is the law of life. Therefore, the Holy Spirit, Christ, God, and the law of life are all matters of life. Hence, the sense produced from these five is only one sense, which is the sense of life.
This sense of life is comprised of five aspects—life, the law of life, the Holy Spirit, Christ, and God. Being of life refers to its nature being life; being of the law of life refers to its function as a law. With life, the emphasis is on nature. With law, the emphasis is on function. With the Holy Spirit, the emphasis is on the anointing. With Christ, the emphasis is on living. And with God, the emphasis is on operating.
Galatians 2:20 says that it is no longer we who live, but it is Christ who lives in us. First John 2:27 says that we have the anointing in us, which is the moving of the Spirit as an ointment. Philippians 2:13 says that God operates in us both the willing and the working. From these verses, we see that the Spirit is related to anointing, Christ is related to living, and God is related to operating. The Spirit’s anointing us is to anoint us with God Himself so that the element of God can increase in us by being added into us. Christ’s living in us focuses on His being our life and, thus, becoming our supply. God’s operating in us emphasizes His working in us. God desires to add more of His element into us, to live in us as life, and to work in us. With respect to adding His element into us, He is the Spirit. With respect to His living in us as life, He is Christ. With respect to His working in us, He is God.
Now we need to see the relationship between life and the fellowship of life. The life of God that we receive is a flow. It is neither confined nor static but a flow. Since life is a flow, the meaning of the fellowship of life is the communication of life, the flow of life. The fellowship of life and life are not two separate things but one. The fellowship of life is not something separate from life. When life flows, it is called the fellowship of life. One is the thing itself, and the other is its flow. Life in itself is life, and when it flows, it is called the fellowship of life.
Consider water and water current; there is no difference between the two. Water in itself is water, but when it flows, it becomes a current, a flow, of water. Hence, we cannot say that water is separate from its current; rather, the two are inseparable. In the same way, blood and blood circulation cannot be separated. When the blood in our body circulates, the blood cannot be separated from the blood circulation. Blood refers to the substance itself, and circulation refers to its motion. The motion cannot be separated from the substance. While they are seemingly two, they are actually one; they are two aspects of the same thing.