Such a processed and consummated Triune God is the grace enjoyed by all the believers in God’s New Testament economy, even for eternity (Rev. 22:21). In the Gospel of John there is neither right and wrong nor good and evil. In the garden of Eden, before man had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, man had no concept of good and evil. Man had only one concept—to receive God. The man created by God had God’s inward image and outward likeness. In creating man, God gave man a thought, that is, to have God. God is man’s unique concept. It is not a matter of doing good or doing evil, but a matter of having God or not having God. However, Satan came in and tempted man to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is anything other than the tree of life. As soon as man ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the concept of good and evil entered into him. From that time to this day, fallen human beings, including Christians and even those who are in the Lord’s recovery, are often concerned about good or evil and right or wrong. We like to ask, “Is it right? Is it right for the elders to do this? Is it right for the deacons to do that?” Whether it is right or wrong, it does not matter; it is just a “photo.” The Pentateuch is full of what is right, what is wrong, what is good, and what is evil, but the Gospel of John is not. The Gospel of John tells us that the Word, who was in the beginning, became flesh in time that divinity and humanity may be united and mingled together into a God-man. This God-man does not care about right or wrong, nor about good or evil. All He cares about is that you receive the grace that He brought. Today it is not enough to say, as the inner-life people do, that what God wants is neither good nor evil but Christ. This kind of speaking is very good, but it does not touch the main point. Actually, God does not want you to live; He wants you to take Him as life and live by Him.
In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God.” This means that now I live, but it is not I living alone, not I living by myself; it is Christ and I living in union. I now live, but it is no longer I, yet I still live; and the life which I now live is the life I live in union with Christ. Concerning this matter, even the inner-life people do not have a clear vision. It is not that we do not move; we still move and therefore we can live Christ and magnify Christ. If we are no more, how can we magnify Christ? It is not that we are no more; we still live. However, we do not take the initiative; we take Him as our initiative. It is in this way that we live Christ and magnify Christ.
The Christian life is Christ living and I also living, yet it is not I bringing Him along to live with me, but His bringing me along to live with Him. I am living along with Him, taking Him as my life and person. Dear brothers and sisters, if you take Him as your life and person, that is, He lives and you live along with Him, can you still lose your temper? Will you still try to do good? Will you still try to love others? All these concepts will vanish. You will have only one concept—He moves, and you move along with Him; He is your life and your person; you take Him as your life and your person; He is your inward life and your outward living. There is no concept of whether or not to honor your parents, nor any concept of whether or not to steal. You are altogether in another world. This is a world in which the Triune God is your life and your person, a world in which you live by Him—He is taking the lead and you are going along—and a world in which He lives and you live with Him, not living by yourself. I hope that we all can see this. If the older ones, the younger ones, the elders, the deacons, and the co-workers in the church all can see this, there will be no more arguments.
The arguments in the church all come from being right or wrong, from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We can find out concerning what is right and what is wrong in the Pentateuch but not in the Gospel of John; all that the Gospel of John has is life. Christ is my life and my person—He lives and I also live; He moves and I also move; it is not I but He who takes the initiative. I am His counterpart; I am a part of His Body. What is right or what is not right is not the concern of the Body of Christ.