THE COMPOUNDED NEW TESTAMENT
The Spirit, as we have said, is compounded with the death and resurrection of Christ. What is true of the Spirit is also true of the New Testament. The death and resurrection of Christ are both compounded in the Word. Abiding in the Lord is according to the anointing’s teaching, which is based upon your knowledge of the Word. Since the Word is mainly compounded with death and resurrection, this is the teaching of the anointing. You need knowledge concerning His death and resurrection. Then you will find that the more you abide in Christ, the more you experience His death and participate in His resurrection. This kind of abiding is the real release of the spirit, based upon the termination of everything natural. The spirit we release should not be mixed with our natural ability, our flesh, our self, or anything else of the old creation. Our spirit needs the imprint of the death of all these natural things.
Abiding in Christ, then, is according to the working of His death and resurrection in you. All your natural being, all the old creation, must be put on the cross. When you experience this killing, your abiding in Christ will be genuine and deep. On the positive side, you will also experience the resurrection, and your release of the spirit will be without any mixture.
A THOROUGH KILLING
To experience more of this putting to death of whatever is of your self, your flesh, and the old man, read the Word, pray, and breathe in the compound Spirit. If anything of the old still remains, it becomes an insulation between Christ and you, making your abiding superficial. Abiding in Christ in a thorough way depends upon a thorough killing, carried out by the Word and executed by the Spirit. With this killing comes resurrection. Then whatever comes forth from you will be from a crystal pure spirit.
Herein is the way for the living, growing, and producing of Christ. This will make us shining lights individually (Phil. 2:15) and a shining lampstand collectively (Rev. 1:20). The Lord will be expressed and God’s economy fulfilled.
(Life Messages, Vol. 1 (#1-41), Chapter 8, by Witness Lee)
