Following the book of Galatians is the book of Ephesians. The Spirit in Galatians is for us to have Christ, live by Christ, and live out Christ, or we may say, for us to have the Son of God, live by the Son of God, and live out the Son of God. We should not merely speak about Christ and the Son of God. Unless we know the Spirit and live in the Spirit, everything we say about Christ is doctrinal, not experiential. All our speakings concerning Christ must be in the Spirit. If we want to receive Christ and let Him come into us, and if we want to live out Christ, express Him, and let Him become the outward fruit, then we must have the “story” of the Spirit and be in the Spirit.
The Spirit in Galatians is for us to live by Christ and live out Christ, whereas the Spirit in Ephesians is for us to have the Body life, the church life. Many people know that Ephesians is a book on the church, the Body of Christ. Please remember, however, that the church is not a doctrine. In church history there was a group of people, the so-called Brethren, who had a great many discussions and writings concerning the church. They said that the church is heavenly, is seated with Christ in the heavenlies, and has received every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. These truths are accurate. Yet it is a pity that they have become doctrines because their emphasis is merely on the objective aspect of the church. May I ask you, How can the fact that the church is in the heavenlies be fulfilled in you? How can you experience the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies that were given by God to the church? This requires you to live in the Spirit. If you do not live in the Spirit, the fact that the church is in the heavenlies has nothing to do with you. There is an abundant supply of electricity in the power plant, but unless the electrical current is transmitted to your electric fan, the electricity in the power plant has nothing to do with you. Therefore, the reality of the church is not a matter of doctrine or a matter of interpretation but a matter of having the life-giving Spirit connected to your spirit. Once you live in the Spirit, you have the reality of the church, and you have the church life.
The spiritual life, the church life, and the reality of the Body all hinge on the Spirit. The key to knowing the Lord, following the Lord, fellowshipping with the Lord, contacting the Lord, having the church life, and having the reality of the Body is the Spirit. Only when you have the Spirit can you have a spiritual goal. Regrettably, many Christians have lost the goal. Some of them care only for studying the Bible and learning the doctrines, while others pay attention to rituals and ordinances. Still others want to receive a surge of power from on high, so they pray continually hoping that one day this surge of power from on high will be poured upon them. Their reasoning is based solely on the book of Acts, without caring for the other aspect revealed in the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John shows us that this power flows out from within instead of from on high. The Lord Jesus said that if anyone drinks of the water that He gives, the water will become in him a fountain of water gushing up all the time (John 4:14). He also said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me...out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water” (7:37-38). Here it does not speak of only one river but many rivers, a variety of rivers, such as the river of love, the river of patience, and the river of humility. These rivers are abundant, rich, and multifaceted.
There are two brothers with us in these meetings who are from America, and both of them are Texans. The western part of Texas, where one of the brother’s hometown is, is famous in the world for its cotton production. I have been to his hometown for a short stay. The place is a vast plain spreading out beyond the horizon with cotton fields everywhere. I asked them about a little shed that was built in the field and was told that it is used for irrigation equipment. I learned that underneath there is a subterranean river flowing wide and deep, so the people dug a deep well to draw the water up to irrigate the region. Therefore, the cotton fields there do not depend on the rain from heaven, yet they have an abundant harvest yearly because they never lack water.
Oh, brothers and sisters, there is also a river flowing richly within us Christians, yet we neglect it and are ignorant of it. We forget that when the Lord Jesus was resurrected, He breathed into the disciples. Then at the end of the New Testament, it is still John’s message that shows us a river of water of life proceeding from the throne. If anyone drinks of this water, the water will become in him a fountain flowing continuously. If this water cannot flow out, it is not because the river has no water, but because it has been shut up. The Lord Jesus is already in you, but if you do not open to Him, He cannot flow freely. Dear brothers and sisters, if you say that prayer is the secret of power, then let me tell you that the secret of prayer is to dig the well so that your inner being will be opened through prayer. The more you pray, the deeper your digging is, and the result is that the living water within you will flow out.
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