Long after God accomplished the work of creation, the first step toward the dispensing of Himself into us, God took the second step—incarnation. One day, the infinite God, the very God who created the universe, became a man. According to John 1:1 and 14, the Word, who is God, became flesh; that is, God became a man. In the words of Isaiah 9:6, a child has been born to us whose name is called the mighty God. The baby born in a manger in Bethlehem was actually the mighty God. The Lord Jesus lived on earth in a lowly way. He was raised in the home of a carpenter, and He Himself worked as a carpenter. Who would have thought that the very God dwelt in Him? At the age of thirty He came forth to minister. Certain of the things He did caused people to wonder about Him. His words were far more philosophical than anything uttered by the greatest philosophers. Some of those who heard Him marveled and said, “How does this man know letters, having never learned?” (John 7:15). Others were offended and claimed to know His mother, brothers, and sisters. Eventually, the Lord Jesus went to the cross and died.
By incarnation the Lord took on humanity. Man is the head of the old creation. When Adam, the representative of the entire creation, fell, the whole creation fell and became old. When God put on humanity, He put on the entire old creation. Thus, when Christ was crucified, the creation was crucified also. Therefore, by His death on the cross, the Lord terminated the entire creation, including you and me. Through this wonderful, all-inclusive death, Christ redeemed us; He brought us back to God. Not only did He terminate us and bring us back to God, but in resurrection He replaces us with Himself. Therefore, the Lord has terminated us, brought us back to God, and is replacing us in resurrection with Himself.
In John 11:25 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” The Lord as resurrection is the element with which we are replaced. Furthermore, in resurrection Christ became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Resurrection is actually the living Person of Christ, the One who is God incarnate, who lived on earth as a man, who died on the cross for our redemption, and who in resurrection has become the life-giving Spirit. Thus, Christ is both the resurrection and the Spirit. He has become the Spirit, and the Spirit is resurrection. Now He as the Spirit and as the resurrection is our replacement.
After Christ became the life-giving Spirit in resurrection, it was possible for Him to come into us. He, the divine electricity, can come into our receiver. However, it is necessary for us to receive Him by repenting, believing in Him, and calling on His name. A sinner may pray, “Lord Jesus, I am sinful. But, Lord, You are my Savior. Now I open myself to You and receive You.” Whenever a person prays in such a way, this dear, excellent, wonderful One, the very One who is the Spirit and resurrection, enters into him. This is not mere theology—it is a marvelous fact. Every genuine Christian can testify that when he believed in the Lord and called on His name, something unusual happened to him. The Lord as the life-giving Spirit came into him. Once we have received the Lord into us, He will never leave, even if we sometimes regret that we have become a Christian. After you have believed in the Lord Jesus, you will not be able to stop believing in Him. Once He has come into you, He will never leave. Now we can see by what way God dispenses Himself into us.
Do you realize what kind of God is dispensing Himself into you? He is the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The One whom we have received is Christ, the Redeemer, the Savior, the life-giving Spirit, and the resurrection. All these are different aspects of one Person.
The One in whom we believe, whom we have received, and who has entered into us should also be the One upon whom we call. However, many Christians today pay no attention to this matter of calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. As we have seen, Paul speaks of this in 1:2, when he refers to “all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place.” Here the Greek word for call is epikaleo. This word means to call aloud. To pray in a soft, gentle way is very different from calling aloud on the name of the Lord Jesus. Suppose a sinner hears the preaching of the gospel and is persuaded to believe in the Lord and call on Him. He may pray quietly, “Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I thank You for dying for me. I believe in You. Your blood cleanses me. You give me eternal life.” A person who prays like this can be saved, but he may not be saved in a strong way. Suppose another person is convinced that he should believe in the Lord Jesus. But instead of praying quietly, he calls aloud on the name of the Lord, declaring that he believes in Him and receives Him. If he calls on the Lord in this way, his experience of salvation will be very strong.
When we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, the One whom we have received, He becomes ours. This means that He becomes our portion, even our all-inclusive portion. As our portion, Christ is our life, our life supply, and everything to us. He is whatever we need: comfort, patience, righteousness, holiness, power. Then He becomes wisdom to us from God. This Christ who is our portion is both theirs and ours.