In 19:1-9a we see that Elijah was threatened by Jezebel, the wife of Ahab (cf. Rev. 2:20). When Ahab told her all that Elijah had done and how he had slain all the prophets of Baal, she sent a message to Elijah, saying, "The gods do so to me and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them!" (v. 2).
Elijah was afraid and escaped for his life (vv. 3-8), first to Beer-sheba and then to the wilderness, where he requested to die and said to Jehovah, "It is enough; now, O Jehovah, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers" (v. 4). Through the refreshing and encouraging by the angel, Elijah went further, to Horeb the mount of God, and there he lodged in a cave (v. 9a).
In chapter eighteen Elijah had a great victory, but in chapter nineteen he was fearful and escaped for his life. How could such a strong prophet be so weak after such a victory? In answering this question, I would like to compare Elijah with Paul. Nothing could threaten Paul. On the contrary, Paul was bold and ready to be martyred (2 Tim. 4:6-7, 17-18). He took his martyrdom as an opportunity to magnify Christ (Phil. 1:20-21). The power of God was upon Elijah at times, but the Triune God Himself was continually wrought into Paul, constituting him to be God in life and in nature (but not in the Godhead).
Peter is another example of one who became weak. Concerning eating with the Gentiles, Peter did not keep the truth of the gospel due to his fear of his countrymen (Gal. 2:11-14). Paul was bolder than Peter. Although Peter was under the Lord Jesus for three and a half years and received power from on high on the day of Pentecost, he did not have the Triune God wrought into him to the degree that Paul did. Paul was thoroughly constituted with the Triune God.
We all have Christ in us, but to what degree do we enjoy Christ constituting Himself into us day by day? Every day, moment by moment, the embodiment of the Triune God, our dear Lord Jesus Christ, is making His home in our hearts, constituting Himself into our being. However, in a matter such as talking with our spouse, we may fail to practice to enjoy Christ constituting Himself into us.
The forty kings of Israel and Judah were in the highest position, but they were not careful in their enjoyment of the good land. Not even David enjoyed the good land in full. We should apply their example to ourselves. After hearing many messages on the enjoyment of Christ, have we become careful in enjoying Christ? The words "the enjoyment of Christ" may merely be a teaching or a slogan to us. There is too little reality among us of the enjoyment of Christ.
This shortage can be seen in our contact with one another. We try not to be wrong and we stay away from sinful things, but we are not careful in our enjoyment of Christ. I can testify that during the twenty years I worked together with Watchman Nee, we never joked with each other and we were always kept in oneness, without arguing even a little. We were kept in this way because we both saw the vision concerning God's economy and the Lord's recovery, and we both learned how to live and have our being in the spirit and according to the spirit for our experience of Christ.
We have pointed out that what we are, what we desire, what we intend to do, what we want, and how we behave ourselves have very much to do with our enjoyment of Christ. My burden in these messages is not merely to expound the Word but to learn the lessons from the history in typology. We must learn to be watchful and careful in taking care of the enjoyment of Christ. It is hard to find one Christian who is really living in the spirit and according to the spirit. May the Lord be merciful to us. We should not try to be today's Elijah. Rather, we should endeavor to be today's Paul. Paul could declare that he had been crucified with Christ and that he lived no longer but Christ lived in him (Gal. 2:20). He could also say that he magnified Christ and lived Christ, even in prison, through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19-21). Our life today should be like this.