Do you think you can express God? Do you think you can exercise God's authority? You need a higher life, even the highest life. You need Christ. Christ is the life (John 14:6; Col. 3:4), not the teaching. No teaching can make you turn your other cheek to your striker. But there is One who is the life and who is able to do it in you. This One is Christ. "Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Once we have been born again and have Christ as life, we see the kingdom, the dominion, the authority, of God. Spontaneously, whatever we are, do, and say expresses God.

Therefore, without Christ everything is empty. Without Christ everything is vanity. Man is the meaning of the universe, and Christ is the meaning of human life. Although man is the meaning of the universe, without Christ man has no content or reality. Without Christ man is merely an empty vessel. Man as an empty vessel needs Christ as the content. This is why we have to open up ourselves to Christ and receive Him as our life. Praise the Lord that many of us have done this. But the problem is this—after receiving Christ, we do not live by Christ. We still live by ourselves. Suppose you go to the beach and are rejected and persecuted by someone. If you reason in your mind, you will get into the law of Moses. Instead of reasoning in your mind, you need to say, "O Lord." When you call on the Lord's name, you get into the Gospel of John. The very Christ who is your life will become so vital to you.

Hence, we all have to practice one thing, that is, not to live by ourselves but to always live by Christ. To live by Christ you need to forget about being religious and spiritual. You need to open up yourself all the time and call on His name. Do not keep anything religious or spiritual in your mind. Then you will see that He is the instant, present, up-to-date, moment-by-moment Christ. He is the Christ at this moment. At the moment when people reject and persecute you, He is the Christ. Do not keep so many doctrines in your mind. Doctrines do not work. Only Christ works. This Christ is the living Christ. He is not the doctrinal Christ nor the Christ in teachings, but the Christ who is so present, real, and practical as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). Simply call upon Him.

In conclusion, we need to keep in mind that for us to express God and to exercise His authority, we need Christ as life. We also need to realize that Christ today is the life-giving Spirit. He is the living Spirit who is with us all the time. He is present, prevailing, available, and instant. No matter where you are, no matter what situation you are in, whether you are dealing with someone or you are being dealt with by someone, forget about yourself and your reasonings; simply open to Him and call, "O Lord Jesus." Just enjoy Him. He is your life and your content. He is the meaning of your human life.