Romans 5:10 says, “If we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled.” In this verse two important things are mentioned: His death and His life. Through the fall of Adam we became enemies to God, but through the death of Christ we were reconciled to God. Now, having been reconciled, we will be saved more and more in the life of Christ. The death of Christ was sufficient for us to be reconciled to God, and the life of Christ is good for us to be saved from many negative things.
Christ in you is the central point of the book of Romans. Romans 8:9-10 says, “You are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.” The book of Romans tells us that Christ was put on the cross in order to accomplish redemption (3:24; 4:25), He was then resurrected from the dead (v. 25), and then He ascended to the heavens (8:34). Here in Romans 8:10 the Christ who was put on the cross, resurrected from the dead, and ascended to the heavens is in us. Today Christ is in us. This is the central point of the whole book of Romans.
In addition, Romans 8:9-10 reveals three divine titles: the Spirit of God (v. 9), the Spirit of Christ (v. 9), and Christ (v. 10). This simply means that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ is Christ Himself.
In order to understand the book of Colossians, 1 Corinthians and Colossians must be combined together. Without 1 Corinthians there is no entrance to the book of Colossians. There is the need to combine these books because both of them reveal that Christ Himself is our divine portion (1 Cor. 1:2, 9, 30; Col. 1:12). First Corinthians tells us that Christ, the portion allotted to us, is our wisdom as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1:30). Righteousness is for our spirit to be regenerated, sanctification is for our soul to be transformed, and redemption is for our body to be transfigured. The day we received Christ as our Savior, He became our righteousness, we were justified through Him, and by this justification, our spirit was regenerated (Rom. 5:18). The regeneration of our spirit has been accomplished through the righteousness of God which is just Christ Himself (3:22, 24). From the time we were regenerated until the present day, we have been in the process of sanctification, which is the transformation of the soul. Our spirit has been regenerated. Now our soul must be transformed. Ultimately, in the future when the Lord returns, our body will be redeemed. Our body will be transfigured not only by Christ but with Christ. Christ is regeneration to our spirit, Christ is the transformation to our soul, and Christ is the transfiguration to our body. Christ has been allotted to us by God as our unsearchably rich portion.
If 1 Corinthians revealed only this much to us, we would still need a door, an entrance, in order to enter into and realize all of these wonderful things. Therefore, in 15:45 we are told that this Christ, who is the portion allotted to us by God, became a life-giving Spirit. This word concerning Christ being the life-giving Spirit is one of the most crucial truths in the entire New Testament.
We must realize that Christ is not so simple. No one can exhaust telling us what Christ is because He is so much. The New Testament shows four main items concerning Christ: what He is, what He has accomplished, what He has obtained, and what He has attained. All of what Christ is, has accomplished, has obtained, and has attained has been concentrated into the life-giving Spirit. The life-giving Spirit is the very embodiment of these four main items of Christ.
As the life-giving Spirit, Christ is everywhere. We may have the human concept that formerly Christ was on the earth, and now He is in the heavens sitting at the right hand of God (Rom. 8:34). This is true, yet we must also realize that this very Christ became the life-giving Spirit. As the life-giving Spirit, He is everywhere today, and because we have received Him, He is also in us (v. 10). Although we cannot understand this in full, it is nevertheless a reality. He is beyond our concept and understanding.
When we preach the gospel of Christ, we must realize that at the very moment we are preaching, Christ is present. Therefore, in Romans 10:6-8 the unbelievers do not need to go to the heavens to bring Christ down or to Hades to bring Christ up (vv. 6-7). Christ as the living Word is near them, in their mouth and in their heart, waiting for them to receive Him. If they would just open their mouth and say from their heart, “Lord Jesus, I believe in You,” Christ would enter into them.
The Christ we believe in is a real, living person who is the life-giving Spirit; He is not a system of religion or a set of teachings. Since we have received Him and believed into Him, this wonderful all-inclusive Christ as the life-giving Spirit is now indwelling us, mingling with us to be one spirit with us (1 Cor. 6:17; 2 Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:16). Being one spirit with the Lord is the key for us to enjoy Christ. All of what Christ is, has accomplished, has obtained, and has attained is concentrated into this one life-giving Spirit. Christ as the life-giving Spirit has come into our spirit and mingled Himself with our spirit. Now we are joined to Him. He is such a life-giving Spirit, we have a regenerated spirit, and these two spirits are mingled as one.
(Christ our Portion, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee)