The constituents of the vital groups are six categories of persons. In this message we will cover the first three categories: the believers in Christ, the disciples of Christ, and the witnesses of Christ. In the next message we will fellowship concerning the members of Christ, the brothers of Christ, and the prophets of God.
We may feel that the believers in Christ is a common term, but actually we do not fully realize what a believer is.
The believers in Christ (John 3:15-16) have been transferred from Adam into Christ (1 Cor. 15:22). Before we were regenerated, we were in the Adamic realm. The entire world with billions of people is in Adam. Adam is a big realm, but our regeneration has transferred us out of Adam and into Christ. Christ today is our realm. Physically, we are in the United States, but actually we are in Christ.
We also have been regenerated to be a new creation in Christ and all the old things have been washed away (2Cor. 5:17; Titus 3:5). Not only has our outward realm changed, but also our inward nature has been changed through regeneration. I was generated to be Chinese ninety-one years ago, but one day I was regenerated. We have to emphasize the syllable "re-". We have been regenerated to be a new creation in Christ. If we see these truths, we will realize that we are abnormal in our experience. We have been transferred out of Adam, but we still do many things in Adam and not in Christ. We were regenerated to be a new creation, but we still remain in our living as the old creation. When we became a new creation, all the old things were washed away. But this washing is also a continual process throughout our Christian life. I am concerned that many of our old concepts have not been washed away. Titus 3:5 reveals that regeneration is a great washing. We have been saved by the washing of regeneration, which is a kind of reconditioning, remaking, or remodeling with life to make us altogether new.
Our group meetings are not vital because much of the time we meet in the way of the old creation. The things of the old creation can remain with us prevailingly. Many of us come together as a "free" group instead of a vital group. We are free to talk about many things. One brother may ask another brother who cuts his hair. We should not talk about the cutting of our hair but about the cutting, the crucifying, of the flesh. We should not be so free in our group meetings. We must be restricted to the Spirit. Vital groups are composed of people in the new creation who speak about the new creation, not about the old creation.
The believers in Christ have been united with Christ in His eternal life, which is a union in the divine life. This is an organic union.
We are also joined to Christ to be one spirit with Him (1Cor. 6:17). Many Christians today do not realize that Christ is the life-giving Spirit and that we are joined to Christ to be one spirit. This means that we become spirit. "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6b). We have been born of the Spirit to be spirit. When we come to the vital groups, we should come in this status.