Our God today truly is the processed God. In the Old Testament there is no indication that God has been processed. This process began at the time of Christ’s incarnation and continued throughout His human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. Some Christians object to the expression “processed God,” with the argument that God is eternal and never changes. Yes, we definitely believe according to the Bible that God is eternal and that He is not subject to change. Nevertheless, we believe and teach, also according to the Bible, that God has passed through a process of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. God has not changed, but He has passed through a process. God does not change in His nature or substance. But He has passed through a process. According to John 1:1 and 14, the Word which was in the beginning with God and which was God became flesh. The use of the word “became” in John 1:14 indicates a process. Likewise, 1 Corinthians 15:45 says that the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. This is another indication of God’s process.
Some may object to our use of the word “process” because this term is not found in the Bible. However, the same objection could be made with respect to the word Trinity. The word Trinity cannot be found in the Bible either, but the Bible nevertheless reveals the fact that God is triune. In the same principle, although the Bible does not have the term “processed,” it does reveal the fact that God has passed through a process. God Himself became a man by incarnation and lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years. Then He was crucified, descended to Hades, and came out from among the dead and entered into resurrection. Furthermore, He ascended to heaven with a glorified body of flesh and bones. Even now, the Lord is on the throne with such a body. Before Christ’s incarnation, did the Lord on the throne in heaven have a body of flesh and bones? Certainly not! But for eternity He will be enthroned with such a body. Does this fact not indicate that God in Christ has passed through a process? Hallelujah, our God today is the processed Triune God! The all-inclusive life-giving Spirit is the ultimate expression of this processed God.
In the book of Galatians Paul asks the believers in Galatia if they received the Spirit by works of law or by the hearing of faith (3:2). From Paul’s tone we can learn that receiving the Spirit is a very significant matter. Receiving the Spirit is not a matter of having an experience of speaking in tongues. To receive the Spirit is to be born of the Spirit (John 3:6). Balaam’s donkey miraculously spoke a human language, but that donkey was not born of the Spirit. This illustration indicates that to be born of the Spirit is far greater than to speak in tongues. It may be that we never speak in tongues, but we can declare to the whole universe that because we have been born of the Spirit, we are sons of God. Moreover, we are not mere adopted sons or sons-in-law; we are sons in life born of God. We who have been born of God are divine. We have experienced a divine birth, and we have the divine life and partake of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). Surely this is the greatest miracle in the universe. Often when I consider this matter of the divine birth, I am filled with wonder and beside myself with joy. How marvelous that we are sons of God and that the Triune God is in us as the Spirit!
In his Epistles Paul charges us not to walk by a particular doctrine or instruction, but to walk by the Spirit. Recently the Lord has shown that He does not want us simply to live in His presence, but to live Christ by being one spirit with the Lord. Many years ago I was helped by the well-known book by Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God. When I was young, I loved that book very much. However, I have come to see that the practice of the presence of God is actually an Old Testament matter. In the New Testament there is not a word about practicing God’s presence. Instead, in the New Testament it is revealed that we should live Christ by being one spirit with Him. In Genesis 17 we read that Abraham walked before God, that is, in the presence of God. But in the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 6:17 Paul says, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” This is more than simply walking in God’s presence; it is to walk in oneness with Him. Paul’s word about being one spirit with the Lord is not an illustration; it is a statement of fact. Furthermore, Paul did not say, “To me to walk is to be in the presence of the Lord.” Rather, he said, “To me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). There is a tremendous difference between walking in the presence of God and living Christ!
During the last few years the Lord has shown me how much my practice has been the Old Testament way of walking before the Lord. I can testify that over the years I have been quite successful in walking before the Lord and living in His presence. But now I am practicing to be one spirit with the Lord. Again and again I confess my shortage to Him concerning this. Usually in the morning I pray, “Lord, I thank You for another new day to live You, another day for me to practice being one spirit with You. Lord, grant me this day’s portion of grace that I may live one spirit with You.” Although I may pray such a good prayer early in the morning, during the day I may fail again and again to be one spirit with the Lord. Sometimes I have asked myself how much time during the day I have spent truly one spirit with the Lord. I have seen how much I live according to ethics instead of according to the Spirit. But to be ethical is one thing, and to be one spirit with the Lord is another.
To walk by the Spirit simply means to be one spirit with the Lord. The first kind of walk by the Spirit, that mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5:16, is the walk in which we are one spirit with the Lord. From my experience I have learned that it is much easier to live in the presence of the Lord than to live one spirit with Him. Often in speaking with others I am in the Lord’s presence; however, I may have the sense that I am not one spirit with Him. Therefore, I need to pray, “Lord, forgive me. My speaking is before You, but it is not by You. It is simply my speaking carried out with a good intention. But I am the one speaking, Lord, not You.”
In ministering to the saints, my desire these days is to point out that the requirement in the New Testament is that we live one spirit with the Lord. This is to walk by the Spirit. In all that we do and say we need to have the assurance that we are one spirit with the Lord. I can testify that when I ask myself how much of my living is actually one spirit with the Lord, I am defeated time and time again. Even as I am giving a message, I need to ask if I am truly one spirit with the Lord or just speaking with power from the Lord. I have given many messages on walking according to the Spirit. Now I wish to emphasize the fact that to walk according to the Spirit means to walk in one spirit with the Lord. As long as we are one spirit with Him, we are automatically according to Him. Paul could say, “To me to live is Christ,” because he walked in one spirit with the Lord. When we are one spirit with Him, we truly live Him.
Walking in the presence of God easily fits in with our natural concept. However, it is not according to man’s natural concept that believers would be one spirit with the Lord. It is easy to understand the word in Exodus about the Lord’s presence going with the children of Israel. We may apply this word to ourselves and realize that as we go to a particular place, the Lord’s presence will go with us. However, it is not according to our natural concept to think that we should live one spirit with the Lord. Some Christians have gone so far as to say that it is blasphemy to claim that we can be one spirit with the Lord. According to them, it is simply not possible for sinners ever to become one spirit with the Lord. Nevertheless, the Bible says clearly, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” Although we may read this word, we may have no response to it, because we are veiled by religious, natural, and traditional concepts. We may not even have any concern about such a vital matter. But recently the Lord has brought us to the point where we simply must pay attention to the New Testament requirement to be one spirit with Him. Yes, according to the Old Testament practice, Abraham could walk in the presence of the Lord. But we are in the New Testament. According to God’s New Testament economy, the Lord desires to come into us, to become one with us, and to make us one with Him. He wants us to be one spirit with Him. His economy today is that we walk in this one spirit with the Lord.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He walked in one spirit with the Father. When He spoke, the Father spoke in His speaking. He was one with the Father, and the Father was one with Him. The Lord lived by His Father. He wants those who believe in Him to live in the same way. Therefore, He said, “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me shall also live because of Me” (John 6:57). The Lord desires not simply that we live in His presence, but that we live by Him. To live by Him actually means to live one spirit with this living One. This is the New Testament requirement, and this is the first kind of walk by the Spirit covered by Paul in the book of Galatians.
I hope that many will be impressed with this word concerning living in one spirit with the Lord and will pray, “Lord, from now on I would not be satisfied simply with Your presence. Even if I could be as successful in practicing the presence of God as Brother Lawrence was, I would not be satisfied, because I know, Lord, that You would not be satisfied. You want to be one spirit with me. Lord, grant me the grace to be one spirit with You.” In all that we say or do we need to exercise to be one with the Lord. The more we are one spirit with Him in our daily living, the more we shall enjoy salvation, sanctification, and transformation.