The fullness involves a measure. Our measure today is not enough, so we need to enjoy and experience Him every day. When we enjoy Him and experience Him every day, the measure of the stature gradually increases until one day we will arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness. Praying, reading the Word, meeting, and coming together to read the life-studies all help in this matter, but it is not these things that cause us to grow. Rather, it is the life-giving Spirit-Christ Himself-who causes us to grow. When we pray, we must touch Him; when we read the Word, we must touch Him; when we read the life-studies, we must touch Him-Christ as the living Spirit. It is not a matter of your coming to read human words, nor is it even a matter of your coming to read the black and white letters of the Bible. Rather, it is a matter of your inwardly touching the Lord and being supplied in spirit through reading the Word, praying, and reading the life-study messages. It is not to have more doctrines; it is to be fed inwardly and to have more life in your spirit. This is to grow to the stature of the fullness of Christ.

The brothers have told me that because in all the localities the brothers and sisters enjoy the life-study messages, many of them have been inwardly supplied, have been nourished, and have experienced the inner growth of life. In this visit I also have certainly sensed a difference here. This shows that it is not a matter of doctrines, knowledge, or outwardly reading the Word and praying, but it is a matter of truly touching the Lord inwardly.

Do not forget, however, that as soon as we touch the Lord inwardly, the Lord begins to operate in us. In the Bible this operation is called transformation. Once He begins to operate, we are being inwardly transformed. This transformation is organic and metabolic. If you make up your mind and decide to change yourself, I would tell you not to believe in your change. Your decision is not trustworthy, because the Bible says, “To will is present with me, but to work out the good is not” (Rom. 7:18). Romans 8 says that we should walk according to the spirit. It is not a matter of willing to do good, but a matter of walking according to the spirit. How do you walk according to the spirit? You do not need to study; you just need to open yourself up to read the Word, to pray, and to fellowship together with others about the life-study messages. Then you will touch Christ inwardly, and He will enter into you to saturate every part of your being. Thus, you will unconsciously be transformed and will spontaneously live out a condition that you might not even be aware of, but others will say that you have really changed. If you were to set your will to do this, you might succeed for three and a half days or even for a week, but when you succeed, you will be proud of your accomplishment and will feel that you are not so bad. However, when Christ nourishes and transforms you within, you will not feel it. To you, it will be something spontaneous, but others will sense that you have changed. This is the increase of Christ within you.

The increase of Christ within you is not an objective matter. If we add water to an empty bottle, that is objective. But the increase of Christ is the issue of an organic, metabolic transformation. Therefore, the Bible illustrates our experience and enjoyment of Christ as eating Christ. In John 6 the Lord says that He is edible and that he who eats Him shall live because of Him (v. 57). We all know that whatever food we take into us causes an organic function within us, which is called metabolism. The food that you eat is digested and absorbed into your cells to become you. This is not an objective addition, but a subjective growth. In other words, you eat Christ and eventually you become Christ. This is why Paul could say, “For to me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21a).
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