LIVING CHRIST BY FELLOWSHIP
We live Christ by fellowship; that is to say, we live Him by His moving in us. Before we were saved, we were alone. We may have had lots of schoolmates and relatives, but we were actually by ourself. Even after we were married and had our spouse with us, we were still by ourself. Once we got saved, however, we were never again alone. Now wherever we go and whatever we do, we have another Person with us. Sometimes we are pleased with Him and love Him. Other times we are annoyed with Him and secretly wish He would go away and leave us alone.
There are times when we want to be alone. Once in a while we like to go off by ourself and take a little break. When it comes to other people, we can do this. This One, however, our Christ, we cannot escape from. After we are saved, we may still want to go to a movie. Even if we do go, we do not go alone. Christ accompanies us. No Christian is single. We may not yet be married, but if we are saved, the Lord Jesus is always with us. It is impossible to be alone.
Christ wants to be our life. Formerly we were one person, but now we are two. With one person there is no fellowship, but with two there is the possibility. If we want to live Christ, we must not do anything by ourselves. To do even the best thing by ourselves is to fail to live Christ. We live Him by fellowship, which includes mutuality. We are not single. There are two of us; between us there is a mutuality.
NOT ACTING ALONE
When I say that the way to live Christ is by fellowship, I am referring to this mutuality between Him and you. Never do anything by yourself. If you keep this one principle, it will be easy for you to live Christ. If you are about to talk with your wife, you must do so with another Person. Brothers, let us all learn not to talk to our wives by ourselves. Sisters, you must not go shopping by yourselves. Do not write a check by yourself. Do not talk to others by yourself. Do everything by fellowship. Always have this other Person with you in whatever you do. Then you will live Christ, not yourself.
This is especially important in your talk. Do you want to pass on the news that a certain sister is pregnant? You may find that before the words can leave your mouth, that other One will not agree. You do not realize how accustomed you are to doing things by yourself. As soon as you meet someone you know, you begin to talk about who is about to get married or who is having what kind of trouble. This is gossip. By whom? By Christ? Never. It is by you when you are living yourself.
You would not think of stealing. You know this is sin. You need to realize that in the Lord’s eyes to do things by yourself is ugly. It may not be sinful, but it is ugly.
Always keep in mind that you have a Partner who is with you; in fact, He is in you. He says, “Abide in Me and I in you.” This is your position and your status, but you neglect it. In your daily life, you would not tell lies, but it may not bother you to gossip. You may think of it as common to pass on information to others. You may look at such things in that way, but what does your Partner say
You may be encouraged to love others. It is right to have love for others, but you must check whether you love them by yourself or by fellowship. It is not a matter of love or of hatred; it is a matter of living Christ or living yourself. Either you live, or Christ lives out of you.
(The Mending Ministry of John, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee)
