After a Christian has been saved, he should at least have some knowledge concerning several fundamental matters: first, Christ; second, the Bible; third, the church; and fourth, Christians. Besides knowing Christ, the Bible, and the church, a good Christian should also have a clear understanding of what a Christian is, how to be a Christian, and what kind of living a Christian should have. Therefore, we may say that Christ, the Bible, the church, and fellow Christians are four things in a Christian’s possession. All these four items are indispensable.
A Christian possesses these things not just in his mind; rather, he has these four things because he has the Lord Jesus living in him. Many are not clear about this point and thus do not know what a Christian is. A Christian is man plus God. Christians have not only the human element; their element is man plus Christ. Only those who have God added into them are called Christians. The fundamental difference between Christians and non-Christians lies only in the elements within them. A non-Christian is merely human; he is purely a human being. A Christian, however, is not just a human but has Christ, the incarnated One, within him.
We all know that the church as the Body of Christ is the enlargement of the principle of Christ and that Christians are the constituents of the church. Every Christian is a member of the Body, and the Body is the sum total of all the members. Thus, in terms of the Body, its element is the enlargement of Christ; in terms of the members, their element is also Christ. The element of the church is the enlargement of the principle of Christ. The principle of Christ is God being added into man. Therefore, Christians are those who have Christ within them. If a person calls himself a Christian yet does not have Christ as an element in him, then he is a Christian in name but not in reality.
A Christian is one who has Christ in him. The Greek word for Christian is Christianos, a word formed from Latin. The ending ianos, denoting an adherent of someone, was applied to slaves belonging to the great families in the Roman Empire. Later, some began to call the followers of Christ Christianoi (Christians), adherents of Christ. Strictly speaking, Christians are simply “Christ-men”-those who belong to Christ.
Most people think that to be a Christian is to be a disciple of Christ, just as to be a Confucianist is to be a disciple of Confucius and to be a Socratic is to be a disciple of Socrates. Actually, being a disciple of Confucius or Socrates is different from being a disciple of Christ Jesus. All those who desire to follow Christ and be His disciples must have Christ. Only those who have Christ can be disciples of Christ. If we do not have the life of Christ, there is no way to learn Christ. If we have His life, then we can be His disciples and learn from Him. Disciples of Christ are those who have Christ within them as their life, their power, their preferences, and their everything. Such people are the expression of Christ.
Therefore, a Christian is one who contains Christ. If a cup does not contain tea, we cannot call it a teacup, and it would be deceiving to call it as such. A Christian is a Christ-man, a man with Christ. During the war, I met a French brother who could speak a little Mandarin. On the day we met, the person who introduced us said to me, “This is a French brother.” The brother from France replied immediately, “I am not a Frenchman but a heavenly-kingdom-man.” Of course, a saved person is a person of the heavenly kingdom. However, this is merely an objective knowledge. We must know that we are just like teacups and we have Christ as the tea in us. When others see us, we are just “cups” outwardly, without any flavor, yet after a few sips of us, they have drunk of Christ as the “tea.”
Anyone who does not have Christ is not a Christ-man. If someone claims that he is a Christ-man yet does not have Christ in him, then he is the greatest deceiver in the world. This is just like a person who is penniless yet exclaims, “I am a wealthy man! I am very rich!” Today, the same thing also happens in Christianity. Many do not have Christ in them yet claim they are Christians. Then how should a person who has Christ within conduct himself, and how should he live? The answer is very simple. In all things he should inquire of the Lord and have fellowship with Him. In particular, the new believers should have such a practice. In your daily contact with others, whether with your spouse or the brothers and sisters in the church, you should often ask, “Lord, are You happy with what I am going to do? Are You pleased with what I am about to say?” These words are simple yet precious.
Since we have been saved and have become Christ-men, we should ask ourselves often in our daily living, “When I say this word, does it please the Christ who is within me? When I do this thing, does it make Christ, who is in me, happy?” Before two people are married, they are independent of each other. Each one can decide according to his or her preference when to wake up, when to go to bed, what to eat, and when to come home. They are free from each other’s control. Once they are married, however, they have to take care of each other’s feeling. The wife has to consider whether her husband will be unhappy about her coming home so late and about the clothes she wears; likewise, the husband has to take his wife into consideration in the same matters. If the marital relationship is such, how much more should our walk and living be, since the Lord has entered into us and become united with us.
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