Abiding in the Lord to Enjoy His Life : CHAPTER TWO LIVING BY THE LORD IN SPIRIT

CHAPTER TWO

LIVING BY THE LORD IN SPIRIT

Scripture Reading: John 14:19-20; 6:57; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:21a; Rom. 8:4

ABIDING IN THE LORD BEING A CRUCIAL TRUTH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

In the preceding chapter we said that to abide in the Lord is to enjoy the Lord’s life. I remember that not long after I was saved, I was helped to know that the Lord was in me and I was in the Lord. Although I knew this, I was very puzzled by it. Like today’s young people, I did not want to be one who just says what others say and follows mindlessly; I wanted to understand clearly. Therefore, I sought to understand what it is for me to be in the Lord and for the Lord to be in me. At the time, however, I did not know how to seek, and I felt that this would be very difficult because to me the Lord was vague, incomprehensible, and abstract. I lived in a house, and after eating I would have food in my stomach. These matters were easy to understand, but how could I say that I am in the Lord? What was the Lord really like? How could I be in Him? In addition, the most mysterious part was how could He be in me? I truly could not figure these things out.

I pondered over these kinds of questions, and I also prayed to the Lord. However, the more I pondered and prayed, the more I was confused. I also studied the Bible, but I felt that it was hard to understand; the Bible gives us only facts without any explanations. It tells us only that we are in the Lord and the Lord is in us, but it does not give any explanations. I spent much time and effort in this study. Gradually, however, I began to understand a little. The New Testament uses the word in many times. This little word is insignificant in Chinese, but the mysteries and the main truths in the New Testament all hinge on it. This word is en in Greek, and it is used mainly to speak of our being in the Lord.

THE FOUR STEPS OF “ABIDING IN THE LORD” ACCORDING TO THE TRUTH

Actually, in the Chinese language we do not use the expression in…. For example, we say that we should walk by love; if we were to say “walk in love,” it would sound to us like a foreign language formed with Chinese words. This kind of expression does not sound Chinese at all. Strictly speaking, the Greek does not have words for by or depend upon; it has only en (in), and dia (through). Furthermore, the Chinese words for in and through are mostly used as verbs, but in Greek the words en and dia are always used as prepositions, having the same meaning as the English words in and through.

When the Western missionaries were translating the Chinese Union Version of the Bible, although they were bold to coin a few new expressions, they were not bold enough to properly translate in… in many places. For example, Philippians 4:13 says, “I…in Him who empowers me.” Because this sounds too much like a foreign language, the Chinese Union Version translated it, “I…by Him who empowers me,” again using the word by. This sounds Chinese, but the meaning is wrong.

The more I studied this truth, the clearer I became. However, I also felt that this matter became more complicated. Later I made another discovery, that the New Testament not only mentions the word in but also uses the word abide. John 15 says that we should “abide” in the Lord, but the Chinese Version says that we should “always be” in the Lord. This disregards the main verb. Here it does not mean to be in the Lord always; it means to abide in the Lord. In John 15 the word abide is not a light word but a very important one; it means to dwell, not merely to stay awhile. In Greek the words for home are oikos and oikia. When Paul wrote Romans and 1 Corinthians 3:16, the word he used for dwells has the noun oikos as its principal root, and it was made into the verb form oikeo which means “makes home.” Then in Ephesians 3:17, Paul strengthens the meaning of this word by adding the preposition kata (meaning “deep down”), making it katoikeo, which means “deeply make home.” This shows us that the matter of abiding mentioned in the Bible is not so simple. There are altogether four steps: the first is “in,” then “abiding in,” then “making home in,” and finally “deeply making home in,” that is, making home by sinking in deep roots.

THE EXPERIENCE OF ABIDING IN THE LORD

Although I studied the truth of this matter until I became clear, I still did not understand the factual and experiential aspects. How could we be in Christ? I understood these words in the original Greek, but I still did not know what they meant in reality because I lacked the experience. I could only do my best to read spiritual books, hoping to obtain an answer. In the 1930s I purchased Andrew Murray’s book Abide in Christ, but after studying it, I still did not get the explanation. Andrew Murray did not present the matter in a thorough manner. At the end of 1941, because of the world situation, I had an opportunity to buy many Greek dictionaries and spiritual books to study. However, after reading them, I still did not get the answer.

Later I went to Taiwan, and I continued to pay much attention to this subject, but because I lacked the experience, I was not able to speak on this aspect of the truth. From 1935 until today, nearly fifty years, I can say that I have thoroughly studied the commentaries and language of the Bible concerning this matter of “abiding in the Lord,” but I was unable to find a book that clearly and deeply explained this truth. In the beginning the best book I could find concerning this experience was the biography of Hudson Taylor. From what this book describes about his experiences of John 15, we can say that up to that time he had the deepest experience of anyone in the history of Christianity. Regretfully, though, the language in this book is not clear enough, so I myself could not find the way in. Thus, for the whole of thirty-five years I always felt that I had a lack whenever this matter was mentioned.

Finally when I came to America, I touched on this basic and central truth in the Bible yet again, and because I had more experience, I was able to understand it a bit more clearly. Now, nearly twenty more years have passed, and I can say with assurance that it is easy to speak on this matter because I feel that I completely understand it. For example, in the past I did not know that to abide in the Lord is to enjoy the Lord’s life, nor did I know that the real enjoyment of the Lord is to abide in Him. Now, not only do I know this, but I also can speak about it clearly.

For example, when electric wires are connected with the electric power, the lightbulbs and the electrical appliances all “abide” in the electricity. To say “abide” may not be so clear, but if we change the word to “enjoy” or “apply,” then it becomes clearer. Whenever the electrical appliances “enjoy” or “apply” the electricity, they can operate. When the electrical appliances “enjoy” or “apply” the electricity, they “abide” in the electricity. In the same way, we, the saved believers, have not joined a religion but have been “connected” with the Lord. The Lord is the spiritual electricity, the electricity of life. We are the electrical appliances, and the word of the gospel is the electrical wire. When we hear the gospel and by the Lord’s mercy believe and receive the Lord as the electricity, immediately, just like electrical appliances, we are connected with the “electricity,” and we are saved. Therefore, to be saved is to be connected with the “electricity” after the wires have been laid and the appliances have been installed. After the electrical connection has been made, we, the appliances, should take another step to “enjoy” and “apply” the electricity. In other words, Christ has already entered into us, so we should take another step, which is to abide in the Lord.

TO ABIDE IN THE LORD BEING TO LIVE BY THE LORD

We have said that to abide in the Lord is to enjoy the Lord. We can take this one step further by saying that to abide in the Lord is to live by the Lord. When we speak of this, there are not many doctrines involved. We can speak only about the practical experience. Here I would like to ask the young people: You have all been saved, the electrical connection has been made, and you all know that today the Lord is in you; you understand all these doctrines, but do you have the experience? The Lord Jesus said, “He who abides in Me and I in him” (John 15:5). How do you practically abide? Here is an example. Every morning as soon as you rise up, when you enter the bathroom, you should first shut the door and for half a minute pray, “O Lord, thank You for giving me a new day. O Lord, give me the grace to wholly live by You today. Even as I wash, I do not want to wash by myself; I want to wash by You.” Just pray a simple prayer like this. Then when you turn on the water, you can pray, “O Lord, I live by You, and I wash my face by You.”

Some elderly ones have been saved for a longer time, and perhaps they are thinking inwardly, “I am already a person who is successful and famous, and here I have to listen to this preacher teach me how to wash myself.” But this is really practical. I have now passed the age that the Chinese call “ancient,” that is, seventy years of age. I am almost to the age Moses spoke of when he said, “If because of strength, eighty years” (Psa. 90:10), and I have had a rich experience of human life. However, I am here testifying to you that I am like a little child every day. For example, this morning I woke up before six o’clock. Because I had received an inspiration, I immediately rose up and quickly sat down, praying to the Lord silently, “O Lord, it is a new day, and I still would live by You.” It is very difficult to describe my feeling, but it was in such a spirit, such a heart, that I began to write the footnotes to the Gospel of Mark. As I wrote, I looked to the Lord, saying, “O Lord, I am not writing by myself, I am writing by You.” This is the way I practice living by the Lord.

Suppose my wife saw me writing there and said, “A little over a month ago you were so tired that you could not speak. This morning why can’t you stay in bed and rest until 7:00?” How should I react? I could get angry and answer, “What? What are you trying to do?” Or I could follow Confucius’s moral theories and try to hold my temper and keep quiet, saying in my heart, “Forget it, you are always like this.” Or I could neither react nor be annoyed; rather, I could be tolerant, considering myself to be a strong hero, a manly person who should not act like a woman, so I should forgive her and let her go. However, we Christians have the Lord in us, so our reaction should neither be to get angry, nor to behave in a cultured manner, nor to be tolerant. Our reaction should be that “the Lord abides in me.” Not only is the Lord abiding in me, but I also live by Him. When I come to my desk, I do not write footnotes first; instead, I first pray to the Lord, saying, “Lord Jesus, thank You for a new day; I want to live by You.” Then when my wife comes, it is not I but Christ who lives in me. No matter what she says, I do not get angry, nor do I live according to culture or forbearance. This is because it is no longer I who live, but it is the Lord who lives. In this way I live by the Lord.

When I live by the Lord in this way, the result is that I abide in the Lord. If I do not live by the Lord in this way, even though I am a saved person, I am neither in the Lord nor abiding in the Lord, but I am totally in myself. In the end I will react by being polite, by getting angry, by being tolerant, or by arguing until I am red in the face. Whether I am polite or angry, whether I am tolerant or quarrelsome, I am still in myself. If we are in the Lord, then we will not have these kinds of reactions. We are in the Lord, and the Lord is in us, so we can live by Him.

A PROPER CHRISTIAN LIVING BEING A LIFE IN WHICH WE LIVE BY THE LIVING PERSON WITHIN US

For this reason, the Lord Jesus in John 14 told His disciples, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever, even the Spirit of reality;…He abides with you and shall be in you” (vv. 16-17). The disciples heard the word but were unable to understand the mystery of this word. Therefore, the Lord Jesus continued by explaining, “Yet a little while and the world beholds Me no longer, but you behold Me; because I live, you also shall live. In that day you will know that…you [are] in Me, and I in you” (vv. 19-20). This means that after a short while the worldly people would not see the Lord any longer because He was going to be crucified, but the disciples would see Him because He was going to be resurrected. After His resurrection He entered into His disciples to live in them. Hence, “in that day,” He lived, and they also lived. Furthermore, they knew that they were in the Lord, and the Lord was in them.

The teachings of Confucius and Mencius can touch people in a way that their conscience is activated. Wang Yang-ming, a Chinese philosopher, said that man must develop his instinctive moral sense and innate ability to do good. He said that if man’s actions are only a response to outward teachings and ethical regulations but are not from his inner conscience, moral sense, and ability to do good, then those actions are trees without roots and water without a fountain. We see by this that Wang Yang-ming also taught the doctrines related to the inward aspect of man. But such teachings merely develop the potential ability in the God-created man. As Christians, we do not act according to the function of our conscience or according to the influence of any teaching. We have the living Lord Jesus living in us. We who are saved surely have this kind of experience and know that there is One who lives in us. There are some people who are not very clear about this truth; nevertheless, they can vaguely feel that there is another One who lives in them. When they want to do certain things, it seems He always disapproves and prohibits them.

The story of a Christian’s inward being is not a matter of being moved in the conscience by some teachings but a matter of having a real Person living in him. Before we were saved, we did not have this kind of experience; we only had the struggle in our conscience between reason and lust. However, after we were saved, even though in the beginning we were not very clear that there is One living in us, gradually we became clearer that we truly have a Person inside of us. Now, if we would live a normal Christian life, we must live by this One who is living in us. When we live by Him, we enjoy Him and spontaneously abide in Him. If we speak and act by Him, then we remain in Him, and that is our abiding in Him.

When the electrical appliances remain in the current of electricity to enjoy the supply of electricity, they abide in the electricity. In the same way, when we live by the Lord and experience Him, we abide in the Lord. If we neglect living by the Lord in our daily life but only try to pursue abiding in the Lord according to its literal meaning, our efforts will be in vain.

TO ABIDE IN THE LORD BEING TO LIVE BY THE LORD WITHIN US

We cannot understand this truth merely according to the literal, doctrinal meaning of the words; instead, we must understand it from our experience. According to the letter, it is “to abide in the Lord,” but according to experience, it is “to live by the Lord within us.” We must live by the Lord in both big things and small things. This is not easy. According to my experience, it is easy for us to be in the Lord when we encounter big or difficult things, but when we encounter small things or fine details in our living, we often neglect to abide in the Lord or live by Him. For example, when the elders fellowship about the affairs of the church, they are very watchful, in fear and trembling before the Lord and not daring to speak loosely. However, in their daily living with their spouses and children, they do not first inquire of the Lord. We often have this kind of old ailment, because we pay attention to abiding in the Lord only in big things but not in small things. This is where we fail.

May the Lord have mercy on us to show us that today we are one with the Lord, and we should live together with the Lord. We have already been married to the Lord, so we should live the marriage life with the Lord. If a husband and wife do not argue about big things but always quarrel about little things, their marriage life is not normal. In a genuine marriage life, there should not be any arguments about big matters or even about little things. The husband should be the head in both the big things and the small things, so the wife should live by him. In the same way, we cannot pay attention to abiding in the Lord only in big things but not in little things. Instead, we should ask our Husband about all things, taking Him as our Head, living by Him.

To abide in the Lord is to live by the Lord. Whenever we live by the Lord, we are abiding in Him. Many brothers have testified that they gain much benefit when they enjoy the Lord every morning because this gets them into the Lord, but as soon as they get to the office, they may not be in the Lord anymore. The sisters are also like this; it is so good for them to rise early to pray and fellowship with the Lord and really get into Him, but once they leave the house to go shopping, they may no longer be in Him. Thus, abiding in the Lord should not be just a matter that happens when we have morning watch, pray, or fellowship with the saints; abiding in the Lord should be a living. When the brothers put on their ties and when the sisters comb their hair, they should pray, “O Lord, I do not want to do this by myself; I want to do this by You.” In this way, they will experience abiding in the Lord.

TO LIVE BY THE LORD BEING TO LIVE AND WALK BY THE SPIRIT

Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20a). To be crucified does not mean to suffer, as most people would say; that is wrong. To be crucified does not mean to suffer, but it means to die and be terminated. Crucifixion does not cause you merely to suffer; instead, it is to terminate you. However, many Christians today do not understand what this means, and they explain that to be crucified is to suffer. Therefore, they say that to suffer all the time is to “bear the cross daily.” Husbands, wives, and children consider one another as crosses which they have to bear, and even landlords and tenants consider one another in the same way. In the church life, you consider the elders, the brothers, and the sisters as your crosses; they all appear to be joined together to give you trouble. However, this is not the cross. A person who is truly crucified does not feel troubled, because he has no more feeling. Thus, crucifixion does not make you suffer; it terminates you.

The result of being crucified with Christ is that “it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (v. 20b). I have been terminated, and now it is Christ who lives in me. Thus, I can say, “To me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). This experience equals to live and walk according to the Spirit. Where is the Spirit? The Spirit is within us. We do not need to be taught how to experience this; every saved person knows this. Every saved person knows that the Spirit is living within him. This Spirit is the Lord Himself (2 Cor. 3:17) living in the human spirit. Thus, to live by the Lord is to live and walk by the Spirit. Romans 8:4 says, “Do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.” In Greek, the word walk here means “live and move.” It is not only to move and walk but also to live. This means that our living and moving should all be according to this Spirit within us. To walk according to the Spirit is to live by the Lord. When we live by the Lord, we abide in the Lord, and we enjoy the Lord Himself.

When we view it from this angle and understand it from this kind of experience, we can realize more the meaning of “abiding in the Lord.” If you reason even just a little with your spouse, then you know that you are not in the Lord because you have not lived by the Lord. This is just like the lightbulb with a switch that is not securely installed. When the switch is turned on, the lightbulb flickers and gets in and out of the electricity. In the same way, if your inward lightbulb does not shine but is flickering, it means that you are not in the Spirit, nor are you abiding in the Spirit; you are a “flickering” Christian who is not firmly in the Lord. If you want to be in the Lord firmly, then your inward switch must be firm, and it must be always switched on. As a result, you will remain in Christ as the “electricity” to enjoy His supply, and you will shine brightly. This is the proper living that we Christians should have.

Thus, to abide in the Lord is to live by the Lord in all things. Even little things, such as combing our hair and washing our face, we should do by the Lord. We who are saved have not received merely another life within; in reality this life is a Person, who is the embodiment of the Triune God and who is the eternal living Lord abiding in us. This is God’s salvation. After we receive God’s salvation, we should learn to let the Lord live in us, and we should allow Him to be magnified in us. When we live by the Lord who lives in us, we abide in the Lord. Hallelujah for God’s salvation!