We have to be clear that even before man became fallen, there was no life in the spirit of man. When we called on the name of the Lord, He came into our spirit to be our life. When He came into our spirit, He immediately became life to our spirit (Rom. 8:10). In the Bible this is called regeneration, which is a new birth. In John 3:6 the Lord said, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." To be born of the Spirit means to be born of Christ as the life-giving Spirit. When we call upon Him, He comes into us as the life-giving Spirit. Then our spirit is born of Him, so we have a rebirth in our spirit. This rebirth is a new start of our being, a new start of our history, a new start in Christ as the life-giving Spirit. This start is something in our spirit.
The teachings in today's Christianity cause people to pay attention to outward activities. But today in the Lord's recovery, He has brought us back to the inward aspect. The inward aspect is the life in our spirit. We need to forget about outward activities, outward improvement, outward correction, outward behavior, etc. We have to turn back all the time to the spirit. The Christian life and the church life are a matter of us being in our spirit. Do not try to do anything outwardly. Instead, always return to your spirit, where the Lord Jesus is.
The start with the Lord Jesus in us is from our spirit as the center. The spirit of man is the very center of our human being. We have our physical body and within the body is our soul. Our heart is composed of all the parts of our soul (the mind, emotion, and will) plus our conscience. In 1 Peter 3 our human spirit is revealed as the inner man hidden in our heart (v. 4). This means our spirit is surrounded by the heart. When the Lord gets into us, He starts His life in the very center of our being, that is, in our spirit. By reading all the verses in the Scripture reading at the beginning of this chapter, you can realize that Christ is always seeking and even hunting for opportunities to spread Himself from your spirit into your mind, emotion, and will, that is, into every part of your inner being.
I want to say again that you need to forget about outward correction, outward improvement, and outward activity. Always pay your full attention to the inner part of your being where Jesus is. Do not try to serve the Lord, work for Him, or do anything for Him. You have to look unto Him so that He would show you all His beauty, His sweetness, and His fairness. This will attract you to love Him. We should say, "Lord Jesus, to me You are so sweet. To me You are so loving and so lovely. Whenever I call on You, I have a sweet sense deep within my being." We should have a love toward Jesus which is sweet to our inner sense. We should tell the Lord all the time, "O Lord Jesus, I love You."
Many dear Christians have been distracted by trying to do something for the Lord. This is because Satan in his subtlety would like to distract us from the very center of our being. Do not pay attention to outward activities but always return to the spirit. From within your spirit you have to tell the Lord a thousand times a day, "Lord Jesus, I love You." The name of Jesus is the sweetest name on earth. By telling the Lord that you love Him, you will spontaneously give more space, more room, within you to Jesus.
To say, "O Lord Jesus, I love You," is not just a saying. This is spiritual breathing by calling on His name. When you say, "Lord Jesus, I love You," you have a sweet sense within you. When you say this, you afford Him more space within your being. He will spread Himself in your being and saturate your being with all that He is, with all His riches. If you do this day and night, you will be thoroughly saturated with Jesus. This is to have Jesus revealed in you (Gal. 1:16a), living in you (2:20a), formed in you (4:19), and making His home in your whole being (Eph. 3:17a).