TERMINATION AND RESURRECTION
In the foregoing message we pointed out that to be in Christ is to be in His death, the death which terminates all negative things: sin, the world, the old creation, the old man, the flesh, the self, and Satan. When the Lord Jesus was crucified, He terminated all these negative things. This all-inclusive termination brings in resurrection. In the Bible there is a strong principle that death ushers us into resurrection. If there is no death, there can be no resurrection.
In resurrection Jesus is the Christ. Hallelujah, His crucifixion is still effective! Praise Him that He has been resurrected and that in resurrection He has become the Christ. Now as believers we are in Christ; we have entered into an organic union with Him.
Some Christian teachers speak of being in Jesus. This expression is not accurate. We can be in Christ, but we cannot be in Jesus. When the Lord was Jesus in the flesh, no one could be in Him. But after He was crucified and resurrected and had become the Spirit, we could be in Him. By the Spirit, with the Spirit, through the Spirit, and in the Spirit, we can be in Christ. Christ is the heavenly, spiritual air, and we are now in Him.
THE ANOINTED ONE AND THE ANOINTING ONE
The word Christ is an anglicized form of the Greek word christos. This Greek word is an equivalent to the Hebrew word for Messiah, meaning the anointed One. For the Lord Jesus to be the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed One, means that God’s Spirit was poured upon Him. Today our Christ is not only the anointed One, but is also the anointing One. He Himself has become the life-giving Spirit. In resurrection Christ is both the anointed One and, as the anointing Spirit, the anointing One.
In experience we can know that Christ today is the anointing One. Suppose someone is suffering and is deeply sorrowful and depressed. According to his feeling, life is not worth living. Then he hears the gospel and learns of God’s love for him. He hears how the Lord Jesus died for him, has been resurrected, and is waiting for him to receive Him by calling, “O Lord Jesus.” Then he says, “Lord Jesus, I thank You.” He finds that his sorrow has gone away. Within he has the sense of being watered. This watering is the Lord’s anointing that results in peace, in rest, and in the sense of being loved by the Lord and being cared for by Him. This is the experience of Christ as the anointing One.
When we call on the Lord’s name, the Person of the Lord comes to us. Just as a person responds when we call his name, so the Lord Jesus Himself responds when we call His name. The Lord’s name is Jesus Christ, and His Person is the Spirit. For this reason, when we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, it is the Spirit who comes.
Our concept may be that the Lord is only in the third heaven. Therefore, when we call on Him, we may be surprised that He comes so quickly. Actually, as the Spirit He is already within us. Our intention may be to say, “Lord Jesus Christ, You are in heaven.” But before we have finished saying the Lord’s name, He has already responded. The Lord can respond so quickly to our calling on Him because in resurrection He is now the life-giving Spirit.
In Genesis 1 we have God, and in the four Gospels we have a record of the life of Jesus on earth. But today for our experience we have the Lord Jesus Christ as the Spirit. The moment we begin to call on His name, He comes to us from within us. This is Christ in resurrection.
(Life-Study of 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Chapter 9, by Witness Lee)
