In the two previous messages we covered two kinds of living. The first kind of living is one which is out of the Holy Spirit and through the human spirit. The second kind of living is one which walks solely according to the spirit. In this message we come to the third kind of living. Actually, these three kinds of living are just three aspects of the one living. In the two previous messages we did not see the constituents of this living. This is like saying that a certain kind of tea is good, thirst-quenching, and invigorating without telling people what elements are in the tea.
In this message we want to go deeper to consider the normal Christian living. No doubt the normal Christian living is one which is out of the Holy Spirit and through the human spirit, and no doubt it is a living that walks according to the spirit. But that is not enough. We need to go on to see what the constituents of this living are. This is my burden in this message. Hence, the subject of this message is “A Living That Is Outwardly Baptized in and Inwardly Saturated with the Holy Spirit, and in which Our Whole Being Is Constituted with the Elements of Christ.”
The proper service in the church is based on Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Romans 12 speaks of service to God in the church, that is, in the Body of Christ. In this service, the first thing is that we must present our bodies (12:1). To present our bodies is to present our time. If your body comes, your time comes also. This is very practical. But when the body comes, problems also come. This is because when the body is here, opinions are here as well. There is no one in the world who does not have an opinion. Everyone, whether he is old or young, has his opinions. Opinion is a great problem to the church. For this reason Paul says that we need to present our bodies and not be conformed to this age (12:2).
Recently I was holding a conference in a certain city. One sister in the congregation was a medical doctor. When she heard my message, she was very impressed. After the meeting she came to see me and said, “Brother Lee, our church is very good. Only one thing is lacking. I feel that we should have a hospital.” You see, her body came, and her opinion came also. This is to be conformed to the age. If we allow a hundred people to speak in the meeting, there may be a hundred opinions. Some may suggest putting house plants all over the meeting hall. Others may suggest having a four-part choir. This is conformation to the age, that is, to the world.
The church is heavenly and spiritual. This is why, immediately after Paul mentioned the presenting of the body, he went on to say that the mind must be renewed (12:2). This renewing of the mind is a turn in our concept. We are not a social club, nor are we a society or an association. We are the children of God meeting together in spirit. For this reason, when we come to serve in the church, we should take our concepts from the Bible, and not from the world. It is right for you to present your body, but the opinions in your mind should not come along with it. Your mind should be renewed and be transformed. Furthermore, your spirit must be burning (12:11). Our service to God in the church should be one where the body is presented, the mind is renewed, and the spirit is burning. This is the service described in Romans 12.
The service mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 has a foundation. This foundation is the constituents of a Christian’s spiritual life. These constituents can be found in verses 12 and 13 of that chapter. The section from 12:12 to the end of the chapter covers only one subject—the Body. There we see that the church is a body. The church is not an organization; it is an organism. An organization has no life, while a body has life because it is organic. For example, a chair may be considered as an organization. It is very orderly, but it has no life. Our body, on the contrary, is not merely orderly; it also has life. The church is the Body of Christ. It is not an organization, but an organism.
First Corinthians 12 also talks about the service of the members of this Body in the church. In this service everyone functions according to his part. However, this service of the Body has a foundation. This foundation is seen in verses 12 and 13. In this foundation we see the constituents of the daily life of those who serve. This is a deeper point. To talk about the outward function is easier and more readily understood, but to talk about the inward constituent is deeper and more difficult, because man does not have this concept within him.
These two verses show us the constituents of the living of those who love the Lord, follow Him, and serve Him. The first constituent is the Spirit, and the second is Christ. Verse 12 says, “For even as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of the body being many are one body, so also is Christ.” This Christ is not merely the Head; He is the whole Body. Hence, this Christ is not the individual Christ, but the corporate Christ. This verse reveals that Christ is not only the Head but the Body as well. Here we have Christ and the church. Christ and the church together make one universal man. The Head of this man is Christ Himself, and the Body is the saints who are the members. Paul says that this Body which is composed of all the saints is also Christ.
After this, in verse 13 Paul said, “For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.” On the one hand, we were all baptized into one Body. This is outward. After being baptized, we were all given to drink one Spirit. This is inward. We were baptized into the water once, but we drink water every day. This does not mean that the water into which we were baptized and the water which we drink are two different kinds of water. They are the same kind of water, but this water has two functions. Today the Lord is only one Spirit; He is not two Spirits. But this one Spirit has two functions. One function is to baptize us. This Spirit has baptized us into one Body. After we are baptized, we go on to drink this Spirit. To drink is to take something into your being. Baptism is the outward function, and drinking is the inward function. We get into the water, and the water also gets into us. All these are illustrations. Because spiritual matters are too deep, the Bible uses illustrations to describe them to us.
When we drink water into us, it quenches our thirst. Moreover, it has the function of moistening and dissolving our food. After you have eaten some solid food, the only way for the nutritious elements in the food to get into your cells and blood stream is to dissolve them with water. This also is an illustration. Please do not think that because the Spirit is mysterious, He is therefore abstract. Although the Spirit is mysterious, He is not abstract. Rather, He is very practical. We must daily drink this Spirit. Only then will we be able to live a proper Christian life.