If we consider these various items covered in John, we realize how vital they are for our existence. Without drinking, eating, and breathing we could not live.
These three means for our physical existence are all used by the Lord Jesus to illustrate how we may take Him. He is our water, more refreshing than the best earthly drink. We must drink Him!
He is our bread. We must eat Him! Bread is not merely to be looked at. Its purpose is to be eaten. Christ as the living bread must be eaten. Do not think that to say this is uncultured and wild. He says Himself that we must eat Him.
He is our breath, imparting Himself as life to us. We must breathe Him!
This enjoyment of Jesus is God’s economy. It is this that He would recover among His people. Jesus is the living water, the living bread, and the living breath. We must drink of Him, eat Him, and breathe Him.
There are two ways by which we may drink, eat, and breathe Jesus. These are the Word and the Spirit. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). This verse mentions both the Word and the Spirit. The very Word revealed in John 1:1 eventually became the Spirit. It is this Spirit who is the water, the bread, and the breath.
John 20:22 reads, “Receive the Holy pneuma.” This Greek word pneuma may be translated either as “spirit” or as “breath.” It is equally correct to say, “Receive the Holy Spirit” or “Receive the holy breath.” The Spirit today is our breath. This breath is Jesus, the incarnate Word who went to the cross, entered into resurrection, and ascended to the heavens. He then returned to us as the life-giving Spirit.
We have the Word outside us and the Spirit inside us. Day by day we must come to the Word, not only with our mind but also with our heart and spirit. As we open the Bible, we must open our whole being. We must read not only with our understanding but also with prayer. The Bible is not an ordinary book. In this holy Word there is life, the Spirit, God, and Jesus Christ. These are all contained in the Word and are conveyed to us as we open ourselves and pray. This prayerful reading of the Word is the eating, drinking, and breathing in of the Lord.
How would you answer if someone asked you where God is? Do not say that God is in the heavens. Heaven is too far away. How could one get there to find Him? God, you must tell him, is in the Bible. Where is Christ? He too is in the Word. Where is the Spirit? Where is life? The answer to these questions is also “in the Word.”
Spend time with this book. Besides your ten minutes in the morning, take a few more minutes at noon, and a few more in the evening. As you open this book, open yourself also. Read, understand, and pray. As you pray, you are drinking the water, eating the food, and breathing the air. You will grow. The more you take Christ into you in this way, the more Christ you will have growing in you. You will become another person. Do not expect quick results; growth takes time. It does not come about from a few concentrated days of praying and fasting and then having something fall upon you from the heavens. Take time to water the little seed of life sown into the soil of your heart. Not only will you grow; the church will also grow and be built up in this way. In the church meetings Christ will come forth in the teaching, the preaching, and the testifying. Such riches in the church life will convince and attract new ones.
Do not be concerned about how much you understand of what you read. What matters is that you faithfully open the Word, open yourself, and read and pray. This is not a once-for-all procedure. It is not like being born, but like breathing. Growth, like breathing, is continual, day by day and even minute by minute. You will grow by coming regularly to the Word. Carry a pocket version of the Word with you. Wherever you are, when you have a few minutes, open it and read a chapter or so, then pray over what you have read. There is little need for you to pray over your grades at school, or for your business to be successful, or for guidance when you go shopping. Simply pray the Word. In this way you will receive and enjoy God Himself.
What do you think makes you healthy and strong? It is by eating, drinking, and breathing. When it gets close to meal time you probably feel weak; you need to eat to regain your energy. The same is true spiritually. You are weak if you have not been eating, drinking, and breathing Christ in the Word. In fact, it is a mercy that you are still here. Do not try to run the race without food, drink, and air any longer! Come to the Word. Open to the Lord. Speak to Him the words you read. For example, you may pray the words of John 1:14 and 16: “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. Lord, thank You, You are the Word. You became flesh. Thank You that You tabernacled among us. Among us! Amen. Full of grace. Hallelujah, grace! Grace and reality. Amen, grace and reality! Of His fullness we have all received. We have all received. We have received, Lord, and we are receiving even now. Praise the Lord!” Does praying the Word in this way seem like foolishness to you? I tell you, it is the way to eat, drink, and breathe Christ. This is how we can live Christ, rather than living morality or ethics. Read and pray the Word!3
1The Stream, pp. 20-22.
2Life-study of John, Message Fifty-one, pp. 609-612.
3Life Messages, pp. 22-26.
By Witness Lee, published by Living Stream Ministry.