Every doctrine is a shell; the reality, the truth, is the content. For instance, we may learn all the verses concerning sinners needing God’s forgiveness. We may even teach others concerning the forgiveness of sins. However, we may have never experienced the reality of the doctrine of forgiveness. Like justification by faith, forgiveness of sins is Christ Himself. If we have received the Lord, even if we do not know that our sins are forgiven, we have received the gift of forgiveness. Real forgiveness is not a doctrine but a gift (Acts 5:31).
In every doctrine there is the reality. However, many Christians care mainly for doctrines and neglect the reality. But others who do not have much knowledge concerning doctrines have opened themselves and received Christ. This Christ is all-inclusive—He is forgiveness, redemption, justification, and reconciliation. He is the reality of every proper doctrine.
The Gospel of John concerns not doctrine but truth, reality. John 1:14 does not say that the Word who became flesh was full of grace and doctrine. Verse 17 does not say that grace and doctrine came through Jesus Christ. Most Christians understand truth to be doctrine, but it would not make sense to substitute the word doctrine for the words truth and reality in John. A brother may teach a certain outward practice as a doctrine, but the doctrine alone has no reality. The reality is Christ. Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” We are crucified with Christ, and it is no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us. The reality of every virtue is Christ. Christ is real humility, real kindness, and real love.
John 1:17 says, “Grace and reality came through Jesus Christ,” and 8:32 says, “The truth shall set you free.” No doctrine can set us free; it is the reality contained and conveyed in the truth, the reality that is Christ Himself, that sets us free. There are many doctrines, but there is only one reality, the person of Jesus Christ. He is the living Lord, and He is the reality of every doctrine. However, because few Christians realize this, many do not have much experience of Christ as the reality.
We need the Lord to unveil to us the truth, the reality, of the doctrines concerning practices such as the Lord’s table and baptism. We may keep the doctrines yet miss the reality. It is possible to have the Lord’s table according to the Bible and thus be scriptural but still miss the reality. When we participate in the table, we should realize deep in our spirit that we are participating in the Body of Christ, of which Christ is the Head, and that we are enjoying and sharing in the all-inclusive and all-accomplishing death of Christ as well as His resurrection. We need to have such an inner apprehension of the reality, the truth, of the Lord’s table. Whenever we come to the Lord’s table, we need to experience the reality.
We first receive Christ as our life, and as we experience this life, it becomes reality. Every genuine virtue is Christ. Our love and our humility should be Christ. We are able to have these virtues by experiencing Christ as our life.
Most Christians realize that Christ is enthroned in the third heaven to be our Lord and our Master. However, Christ today is also the all-inclusive Spirit in our spirit for our experience. Although we may know this, we may not daily experience it or live by it. Every morning after we rise up, we need to thank the Lord for another day to live Him. Then we may pray, “Lord, remind me throughout the day to reject my self, to not trust in my self, and to not live by my self. Lord, strengthen me to live by You. Thank You, Lord, that You are within me to be my life. Lord, make this day a day for me to live You, to live by You, and to live You out, taking You as my everything.” Such a prayer will never be in vain. We do not need to pray much for outward things, such as our job and the safety of our children. The Lord takes care of all these things. As branches in the vine, we need to have prevailing prayer each day for the Lord to strengthen us to live Him, grow Him, and produce Him.
In Philippians 2:12 Paul says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” According to the context of this verse, Paul is saying that it is possible for us to move out of Christ and live in our self, speak by our self, and even do good and love others by our self. We should be in fear of this danger, this risk. The salvation mentioned in verse 12 is not salvation from hell but salvation from everything outside of Christ. We need to be saved daily, hourly, and instantly from anything other than Christ. We need to always be kept in Christ. This is to work out our own salvation, our instant salvation, to be saved from things other than Christ and to be preserved in Christ. This is the daily salvation that we need. We need to be in fear and trembling to work out such a salvation.