In 15:45 Paul says that as the last Adam Christ became a life-giving Spirit. If Christ were not the life-giving Spirit, He could not be power and wisdom to us. Neither could He be our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Those who claim that it is heretical to teach that Christ is the Spirit have no way to experience Christ. Because they do not know Him as the Spirit, they do not experience Him as these nineteen items. Although Christ has been installed in them, they do not experience Him. We may use electricity once again as an illustration. Although electricity may be installed in a building, if there is no flow of electricity the installation does not mean anything in a practical way. Likewise, even though we have Christ in us, if we do not experience Him as the Spirit, there is no way for us to experience Christ. If Christ were not the life-giving Spirit, how could He be the Head and the Body? How could He be our food, our drink, and the rock which follows us? The key to experiencing Christ in all these aspects consists in the fact that He, the last Adam, became a life-giving Spirit.
We have pointed out again and again that in 1:9 Paul says that God has called us into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. This fellowship is actually carried on by the Spirit. In 2 Corinthians 13:14 Paul says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” This fellowship is a wonderful, excellent mutuality. Since it is carried out by the Spirit, if we do not have the Spirit, we do not have the fellowship. This fellowship is called not only the fellowship of the Son, but also the fellowship of the Spirit, because after passing through a marvelous process, the Son has become the life-giving Spirit. Therefore, in our experience the fellowship of the Son eventually becomes the fellowship of the Spirit. If we are one spirit with this Spirit, we may have the enjoyment of this fellowship.
According to 1 Corinthians we have Christ in nineteen aspects, including the aspect of His being the all-inclusive Spirit. The first eighteen items of Christ’s riches are embodied in the life-giving Spirit. In our study of this Epistle, we need to pay our attention to these crucial matters. Do not spend too much time studying the details of the various negative things. Rather, concentrate on the many aspects of Christ. Pray concerning them and have fellowship about them. Christ is the unique center of God’s economy, He is the unique portion of all the saints, and He is the all-inclusive One to be our all.
After pointing out many aspects of His riches, Paul declares that this Christ has become the life-giving Spirit. Now the Spirit makes all the aspects of Christ’s riches real, applicable, and prevailing in our experience. When we touch Christ as the Spirit and are one spirit with Him, we apply all the aspects of His riches.
Whenever I consider the pitiful situation among Christians today, my heart is broken. Instead of the riches of the all-inclusive Christ, most believers have only husks or lumps of clay. Yes, they have Christ in name, but they do not have Christ as their enjoyment in their experience. Because I daily experience Christ and enjoy Him, my heart aches for all the believers who do not have Christ in this way.
We in the Lord’s recovery need to consider our situation with respect to the enjoyment of Christ. How much do you enjoy Christ daily? Do you enjoy Him in all the nineteen aspects revealed in 1 Corinthians? I hope that more and more the saints will be able to declare, “Lord Jesus, I enjoy You and I am very happy in You. Lord, You are everything to me. You are God’s power and wisdom. You are my righteousness, sanctification, redemption, and even glory for my glorification. Lord, you are the depths of God. I pray that You will bring me further into the enjoyment of Yourself as these depths.”
Some have asked me how I receive light from the Word. Others wonder how I am able to give so many messages. I am able to receive light and give messages because I daily enjoy Christ. Not even the members of my family know how much I enjoy Him. I fellowship with Him, I pray to Him, and I ask Him to reveal Himself to me in the Word. I have prayed, “Lord, show me how You Yourself are the depths of God.” I can testify that He did answer my prayer and show Himself to me in this way. Actually, this kind of experience is not unusual. As a result, when it is necessary for me to give a message, I have something fresh to say. Furthermore, it is not unusual for new light to come even while I am speaking. I am not the source myself—the source is the very Christ I enjoy day by day.
In the first message in this Life-study, we saw that 1 Corinthians is an illustration of the Christian life, the church life, and the Body life. The light regarding this came not when I was writing the notes on 1 Corinthians, but when I was resting during the afternoon of the very day I gave that message. Spontaneously I prayed, “Lord, what should I say in the message tonight?” Then I began to sense that I should open the message with the word about 1 Corinthians being an illustration of the Christian life, the church life, and the Body life. I had the impression from the Lord that I should tell the saints that Paul, after presenting a full sketch of the Christian life and the church life in Romans, gives us an illustration in 1 Corinthians. This realization did not come as an accident; it came as a result of my past experience of the Lord and my present enjoyment of Him.
I encourage all the saints to concentrate on Christ in their reading of the Bible. For example, when you come to the book of Revelation, do not be preoccupied with things such as the ten horns and seven heads. Instead, focus your attention on the Christ revealed in this book and on such matters as the golden lampstands, the enjoyment of the tree of life, and the drinking of the water of life. In this way you will enjoy the many aspects of the riches of Christ.