RECEIVING THE TRIUNE GOD
In addition, something related to the Lord Himself also took place in us. God the Father came into us, God the Son came into us, and God the Spirit also came into us. Now the Triune God is abiding in us. God makes an abode with us. This is not a small, temporary abode; rather, it is His dwelling place. Philippians 2:13 proves that God the Father is in us. It says, “For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure.” Moreover, Galatians 2:20a says, “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” Then 1 John 2:27 says, “And as for you, the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you.” This shows that God the Spirit as the anointing abides within us. The Father works in us, the Son lives in us, and the Spirit is always anointing in us.
The Holy Spirit of God is constantly anointing us. An anointing is like a cream which we apply to our face to soothe it with a pleasant feeling. Moreover, the Son is alive and living inside of us. Likewise, the Father is the God of His plan, the God of His will, so He operates within us the willing and the working. In this way, the Triune God makes an abode with us, that is, He dwells within us. We have become the resting place of the Triune God. Do we realize that such a wonderful thing has happened to us? The three persons of the Triune God are now within us. If we truly realized that the Triune God is abiding in us, we would be ecstatic.
The three persons of the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—are living and dwelling within us. This is not a small matter. If today the President of the United States came to our house, we would be ecstatic. But do we realize that the Triune God is now practically dwelling within us? You may say that you realize this, but how many times have you praised and thanked the Lord about this until you were beside yourself? Have you ever praised the Lord in this way? The very Triune God dwells within us! This is something wonderful and beyond our imagination.
We need to realize the two aspects spoken of above. Something related to ourselves happened to us, that is, a new heart and a new spirit were given to us. In addition, something related to God happened to us, that is, the three persons of the Triune God—the Father, the Son and the Spirit—are now dwelling within us. If we realize these two aspects, these wonderful facts, we will have the standing to know how to experience life. We have a new heart, a new spirit, and the Triune God living, abiding, and dwelling within us.
The very life that we have received is the Triune God. We often say that this life is the life of the Lord or the life of God. However, only once does the New Testament speak of the life of God (Eph. 4:18). It also does not speak of the life of Christ; rather, it speaks of Christ as life. There is a difference between the life of Christ and Christ as life. A person has the life of his mother and father, but he may not have his mother and father themselves. However, we cannot have the life of Christ without having Christ Himself. This is impossible. The life we have of Christ is Christ Himself; the life that we have received of God is God Himself. If we do not have God and Christ, we do not have life. We must realize that the life we have received and enjoy is the very Triune God Himself—God in Christ through the Spirit—who is living, dwelling, and working within us.
THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE
Now we may see the way to experience the life which we have received. Romans 8:2 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.” This verse speaks of four matters: a law, the Spirit, life, and Christ Jesus. The law is of the Spirit, the Spirit is of life, and this law has freed us in Christ Jesus. Christ is the Spirit, the Spirit is life, and with this life there is a law.
With any kind of life there is a certain law. A kind of law always accompanies a life. With the physical life there are many laws. After we eat a meal, there is a law within our body, especially in our stomach, to carry out the digestion. This is an automatic, unconscious action. If something operates unconsciously in us, it is a law. When we have trouble with our stomach, we are conscious of our digestion, but if we are normal and healthy, there is no consciousness of digestion. Rather, there is an automatic working in our stomach, which is a law. Gravity is also a law. If someone throws a book into the air, there is no need to beg it to come down. It always comes down according to a law.
There is always a law within us. We have Christ in us, Christ is the Spirit, and this Spirit is the Spirit of life, even life itself. Within this very life there is a law. In order to know how to experience life, we must know that this very life within us has a law, which is called the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. With such a law it is so easy to experience life.
(Basic Principles of the Experience of Life, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee)
