In the Gospel of John, there are six major items of the enjoyment of Christ in the spirit. These include life (1:4; 10:10), which is the first and most basic matter; the food supply (6:35); the living water for drinking (4:14; 7:37); the breath of life (20:22); the light of life (8:12); and the dwelling place (15:4-5). As human beings living on this earth, we need life, food, water, air, light, and a dwelling place. In order for life to exist, food, water, air, and light are needed. These four items are for the maintenance of life. Without sunlight in the universe, all the living things would die. Light is needed to maintain life. Similarly, man cannot live without air for a long period of time, perhaps less than three or four minutes. If we do not breathe, we will die within a short period of time. We also must eat and drink in order to sustain our life.
In the Gospel of John, the Gospel of life, the Lord Jesus said that He came that we may have life and may have it abundantly (10:10). In order to maintain this life given by the Lord Jesus, light, air, food, and water are needed. Yet even with all of these items, there is still the need of a dwelling place (15:4-5). This dwelling place is the Lord Jesus Himself. Not only is He our life, light, air, food, and water, but also He is our abode (14:23). Each of these items is definitely and clearly mentioned by the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John. While other things are mentioned by the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John, none are as vital or as basic as these six items. In chapter 10 the Lord Jesus told us that He is the good Shepherd (vv. 11, 14), the door (vv. 7, 9), and the pasture (v. 9). But as far as the matter of life is concerned, the Lord as the Shepherd is not as vital as these six items. Christ being our life, food, water, breath, light, and abode shows us how vital He is to us.
Many Christians may have the knowledge, the doctrine, and the teaching that Christ is their life, their spiritual food, their living water, their fresh air, their light, and their abode. However, many do not know the proper way, the practical way, to enjoy Christ as their food to eat, their living water to drink, their fresh air to breathe, their light to walk in, and their abode, or dwelling place, in which to abide. The practical way to enjoy Christ as all these items is in our mingled spirit, which is our human spirit mingled with the divine Spirit (Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17). If we read the Gospel of John carefully, we will discover that after the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption through His work on the cross and passed through death into resurrection, He became the Spirit, the life-giving Spirit (20:22; 1 Cor. 15:45b). As the Spirit, the Lord Himself dwells in our spirit (2 Cor. 3:17; 2 Tim. 4:22).
In the Gospel of John, Christ is first revealed as the Word in the beginning (1:1). As the eternal Word He is God Himself. Then He became flesh (v. 14) through incarnation in order to accomplish redemption on the cross (v. 29; 11:49-51; 19:34). After the accomplishment of redemption, He passed through death and entered into resurrection (v. 30; 20:9). On the day of resurrection He returned to the disciples and breathed into them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (v. 22). After the Lord breathed Himself into the disciples, it is difficult to trace where He went. Actually, the Lord entered into the disciples, so wherever they went, the Lord was with them. When the disciples were meeting in a room, He was in the room with them. When Peter and the disciples went to the sea, He was also at the sea. Where the disciples were, He was, because He had become the life-giving Spirit, and as the Spirit, He had breathed Himself into them. Thus, in a sense, the Gospel of John does not have a conclusion. Today there may be hundreds of chapters as a continuation of this Gospel because Jesus is still here within us as the life-giving Spirit.
In the Gospel of John, there is the line of life, and there is also the line of the spirit. The line of the spirit begins in John 3:6 where the Lord says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” This line continues in John 4:24: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.” In these verses we can see both the divine Spirit and the human spirit. Our human spirit has been born of the divine Spirit, and we must worship God, who is Spirit, in our human spirit. If we are to worship God, we must worship Him in our spirit. This means that if we are to deal with God, contact God, enjoy God, and partake of God, we must contact Him in our spirit by exercising our spirit. God is Spirit, and this God includes Christ as our life, our food, our water, our air, our light, and our abode. He is everything!
John 6:63, as a continuation of the line of the spirit, says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life.” It is the Spirit who gives life. It is the Spirit who nourishes. If you are in your spirit enjoying the life-giving Spirit, He will nourish you as food. This Spirit will also be the living water flowing out from your innermost being (7:38-39). The Spirit will be a source of life within you, in your spirit, your innermost being.
In chapter 14 of the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus reveals that He must be transfigured into the Spirit in order that He may dwell within us and be one with us (vv. 17-18). If He had not been transfigured into the Spirit, there would be no possibility for us to abide in Him or for Him to abide in us (15:4-5). In order to come into us, He had to be transfigured from the flesh into the Spirit through death and resurrection.
(Christ our Portion, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee)