Although there are thousands of places on earth, there is just one place—the church—where God’s name and God’s habitation are. Some of you were formerly in the Catholic Church. Did you enjoy the top portion of Christ while you were there? You probably did not even enjoy the bottom portion. One day, by the mercy of God, you were born again in Babylon. Recently, someone said to me, “After coming into the church life, I have heard a lot about being in captivity. I don’t understand this. I was never captured and taken into captivity.” I replied, “You didn’t need to be captured because you were born in captivity. You were born in Babylon, in captured Christianity.” Those who were reborn while they were in Catholicism were reborn in captivity. After they were saved, some began to realize that not even the smallest portion of the enjoyment of Christ is available in the Catholic Church. Hence, they left Catholicism and became a church traveler, journeying from one place to another. Although in some places they may have heard a little regarding the enjoyment of Christ, what they heard was not very satisfying. Eventually they came to the unique place, the church. After taking a sample of the enjoyment in the church, they may have said, “What is this? The way these people carry on the meeting surely offends my religious concepts, but I can’t deny that there is something sweet and satisfying here.” Then they may have gone back to some other places. But by comparison they came to know which place had the top enjoyment of Christ. The enjoyment they tasted in the unique place spoiled them for any other place. Thus, they had to return to God’s chosen place. This proves the reality of the special enjoyment of Christ.
When, by the Lord’s grace, we say that we are the church, some criticize us and condemn us as heretical. They ask, “Why do you say that you are the church and that others are not?” I would dismiss their accusation of heresy and ask them if they have the top enjoyment of Christ in their experience. If they are honest, they would have to admit that they do not have this enjoyment. Whenever they criticize the church, they lose whatever enjoyment of Christ they have. Even the common enjoyment of Christ will be lost. As some tried to argue with me, many times I simply smiled and said, “Friend, you are speaking one thing with your mouth, but your conscience tells you something else. While you are arguing with me, your conscience is saying that you have lost everything. The more you try to fight with me, the more you will lose. Please take care of your conscience, of your real feelings and inner sense, and of your enjoyment of Christ.” To tell you the truth, the more I fight for the Lord’s recovery, the greater is my enjoyment of the top portion of Christ. Whenever I minister in the meetings, my enjoyment of Christ is supreme. This is not a matter of doctrine; it is a matter of fact. If this were not the fact, I would not dare to say these things. It is a fact that there are different aspects to the enjoyment of Christ.
Now we must concentrate on the two crucial matters of the name and the habitation. These are deep matters. In Deuteronomy 12:5 the Lord said that He would choose a place out of the tribes of the children of Israel to put His name there. Surely there was not a sign in front of the temple, “Jehovah Elohim.” But have you ever considered how God actually put His name there? It certainly was not His way to put up a sign with His name on it. In order to understand how God put His name in His chosen place, we need to know what the name signifies.
John 14:26 connects the name to the Spirit: “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name.” This verse says that the Father will send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Son. Here we see that the Spirit is related to the name, and the name to the Spirit. By our experience we have come to realize that the name is the title and that the Spirit is the person. The Spirit is sent in the name of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, whoever calls, “O Lord Jesus” immediately receives the Spirit. When we call on the name of the Lord, we get the person, the Spirit. No one can say, “Lord Jesus” except in the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3, Gk.). This means that whenever we say, “Lord Jesus” we immediately are in the Spirit. This is also proved by Joel 2:32 and Acts 2:21. Acts 2:17 says, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh,” and Acts 2:21 says, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The Spirit has already been poured out, and the way to gain the Spirit is to call on the name of the Lord. When we call, “Jesus,” we receive the Spirit. When I call a certain brother by name, that brother comes in person. Likewise, when we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, the Spirit comes. The name is the title, and the Spirit is the person. Hence, the name is the title of the person, and the person is the Spirit.
Because the name in Deuteronomy 12:5 is not merely a title but a person and because the person is the Spirit, for God to put His name there means that His Spirit was there. Whenever God’s people call on the name of the Lord, the Spirit is there. This is our experience today. There must be a reason some Christians oppose our calling on the name of the Lord. The reason is that the subtle enemy knows that when we call, “O Lord Jesus” the Spirit comes. Do not argue with me about this—try it. Also, I would ask you to try to receive the Spirit by sitting silently for fifteen minutes. Do this and see how much of the Spirit you receive. I can testify that the quickest and most prevailing way to gain the Spirit is to call on the name of the Lord Jesus. When we call on His name, the person, the Spirit, comes.