God’s children must realize that in God’s eyes, every spiritual thing and matter has its reality. If we merely touch the outward appearance without touching the reality, what we touch has no spiritual value. What is the reality of a spiritual thing? The reality of a spiritual thing is spiritual; it is not physical. Although spiritual realities must be expressed in words, words alone are often not the reality. Although spiritual reality is expressed in our daily lives, legalistic formalities are not realities. Although spiritual reality is manifested through our behavior, human performance is not reality.
What then is spiritual reality? The Lord said that “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness” (John 4:24). The word “truthfulness” can be translated as “reality.” The Lord also said, “But when He, the Spirit of reality, comes, He will guide you into all the reality” (16:13). First John 5:6 says, “The Spirit is He who testifies, because the Spirit is the reality.” This shows us that God is Spirit, and everything related to God has to be in spirit. The Spirit of truth is the Spirit of reality. Hence, spiritual reality must be in the Holy Spirit. Spiritual reality is something that transcends people and things. Only that which is in the Holy Spirit is spiritual reality. All spiritual things are sustained in the Holy Spirit. Once a spiritual thing moves away from the Holy Spirit, it becomes letter and form, and it is dead. All spiritual things must be in the Holy Spirit before they can be real, living, and organic. The Holy Spirit leads us into all reality. Hence, any experience that we can acquire without the guidance of the Holy Spirit is surely not spiritual reality. Anything that we acquire through our ears, our mind, or our emotion alone is not spiritual reality. Only the things that the Holy Spirit guides us into are spiritual reality. We have to remember that the Holy Spirit is the Executor of all spiritual things. Whatever God is doing today is executed by the Holy Spirit. Only that which the Holy Spirit does is real, and only that is reality.
Everything that is in the Holy Spirit is reality. When man touches reality, he touches life. Life and reality are joined together. If a man wants to take care of the spiritual life, he has to take care of spiritual reality. If a man touches spiritual reality in the Holy Spirit, he will immediately respond when others touch spiritual reality; he will immediately say amen. When others who have touched spiritual reality touch him, they will also have an inward response and an amen. This is the meaning of Psalms 42:7, which says, “Deep calls unto deep.” We can say that reality invokes others to touch reality. We will give a few concrete examples in the following pages to explain what spiritual reality is.
The Lord told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Paul wrote to the saints in Rome, “Or are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life. For if we have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death, indeed we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection” (Rom. 6:3-5). Both the Lord Jesus and Paul spoke of the reality of baptism.
However, some only view this matter from the physical point of view. Their eyes see only water. They say that once a man is washed in the water, he is regenerated. They have not touched the spiritual reality. Some tackle the subject with their mind. They realize that water alone cannot regenerate a person. Therefore, they assert that the baptisms of some are real and inward, and that these ones can enter God’s kingdom. However, the baptisms of others are false and outward, and these ones cannot enter God’s kingdom. They have not touched the spiritual reality either.
The baptism that the Lord mentioned to Nicodemus was a reality. The baptism that Paul saw was a burial with the Lord, with the result of one walking in newness of life. To the Colossian believers, he spoke of being “buried together with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised together with Him” (Col. 2:12). Paul saw that baptism and burial are one and the same thing, and he also saw that baptism and resurrection are one and the same thing. Paul knew what it meant to be buried with the Lord and to be raised up together with the Lord. He did not only see the baptismal water. Nor was he merely concerned with whether a baptism was true or false. He was speaking of the reality of baptism.
Brothers and sisters, if you see that baptism is a reality, you will spontaneously know what baptism is. In your mind, there will not be a distinction between real and false baptism, and there will be no question of an outward or inward baptism. You will see that baptism is being buried with the Lord and being raised up together with Him. Once you see this reality, you will exclaim, “Baptism is a great matter. It is too real and too all-inclusive.” Once a man sees this reality, false things can no longer remain in him. If a man says, “I have been baptized, but I wish that I could be buried and raised up together with the Lord,” he has not touched spiritual reality. Baptism is one thing to him, and burial and resurrection are another. Yet those who know spiritual reality know what burial is and what resurrection is. They know that baptism is burial and resurrection. Baptism is these very things to him.
Brothers and sisters, have you seen this? A man will never see spiritual things if he tries to see them with his physical eyes. A man will never understand spiritual things if he tries to understand them with his mind. All spiritual things have their realities. Once we touch the realities, all problems will go away.
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