INVISIBLE YET REAL
Christ lives in us, yet we cannot see Him. How can we prove He is real? In the early days of my ministry I did a lot of gospel preaching. Once a professor came to me and said, “Mr. Lee, your preaching is good, and your doctrine is quite philosophical. What you say is logical, but how can you prove that the Christ you preach is real?” I replied, “Do you have a life inside you?” “Yes,” he replied. “Is it real?” I further asked. “If so, show it to me. Otherwise, don’t say any more.” He could not show me his life. I went on, “Mr. So-and-So, you are not as philosophical as you think. You may have a doctorate in some area of science, but you are surely not a doctor of yourself. Tell me, how many hearts do you have?” “Mr. Lee,” he answered, “What are you talking about? Everybody knows we have only one heart.” “Sorry, you are mistaken. You have two hearts,” I told him. “Besides a physical heart that pumps your blood, you have a heart that can love. Isn’t this true?” He was subdued. He had a life, yet he could not show it to me. I have a real and living Christ, but I could not show Him either.
As a person He may be invisible, but He is also the Word. This book called the Bible differs from all other books. When we read it with an open heart, we find something moving within us. This is because it is God’s Word. In it the mysterious, invisible Christ is embodied. When we take this Word into us, it becomes the Spirit. Then when we speak this Spirit out, it again becomes the Word. The Word and the Spirit, God’s two gifts to us, are one, Christ Himself. We cannot touch Christ, but we can touch the Word; we cannot sense Christ, but we can sense the Spirit. The Spirit and the Word are the two means by which we abide in Christ.
THE ALL-INCLUSIVE SPIRIT
In this New Testament age, whenever we touch the Spirit of God, we touch the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus Christ. This enriched Spirit is pictured for us in the compound anointing ointment described in Exodus 30:23-25. You may remember the meaning of the spices that were added to the hin of oil; we discussed this in Life Message Eight. Myrrh signifies death; cinnamon, the sweetness of the death. Calamus is a plant which grows out of the mud high into the air; it speaks of resurrection. Cassia is an aromatic plant, used in ancient times to repel insects and especially snakes; it represents the sweet fragrance of resurrection. In this ointment, portraying the Spirit, are the death of Christ, His resurrection, His divinity (one, the measure of oil), His humanity (four, the number of spices), the trinity (three units of 500 shekels), and the Godhead. When we have this ointment, we have an all-inclusive dose.
Thus every time we touch the Spirit properly, we experience this death and resurrection. In the Holy Spirit there is a killing factor and a resurrecting factor. I may find, for example, that my wife is bothering me too much; I get tired of her tight control over my eating. I want forty dumplings, but she restricts me to thirty, telling me that is all she has made. It is so aggravating. Well, when I get into the Word and truly touch the Spirit, what happens to my precious dumplings? My appetite for them is killed. What happens to all the bad feelings toward my wife? The negative thoughts are all gone. When I touch the Spirit, there is first a killing, and then there is something rising up, bringing me into resurrection. Once I am in resurrection, however much she restricts my eating will not affect me. But, sad to say, the sense of resurrection seems to vanish after a couple of days. I feel low. When I look at my wife, I can see she hasn’t changed at all. I have changed, but here she is, still the same. (Actually, I am still the same!) Then again I must seek the Spirit, experience the killing, and be brought into resurrection. This is the way to grow in life.
(Life Messages, Vol. 1 (#1-41), Chapter 13, by Witness Lee)
