THE SON BEING IN THE FATHER, WE IN THE SON, AND THE SON IN US
John 14:20 says, “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” Now we can understand the sequence here. On the evening of the day of the Lord’s resurrection, the Son breathed the Spirit into the disciples. Then 15:26 says that when the Spirit comes, He brings the Father with Him. Moreover, 14:10 indicates that since the Son is in the Father, the Father has the Son in Him. Hence, after the Spirit was breathed into the disciples, when they experienced the Spirit, they realized that the Spirit had brought the Father with Him and therefore the Father and the Spirit are one. Furthermore, because the Father has the Son in Him, the disciples also knew that the Father and the Son are one. It is the same with us; when the Spirit comes into us, the Father also comes with Him, and the Son is in the Father for us to experience and to know.
Because the Spirit is in us for our experience, we are brought into the Son to live by Him, because of Him, and with Him (14:19). Moreover, since we live in the Son, the Son also lives in us (15:4). Therefore, there are not only three in one but four in one; the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and the believers have all become one. When the Spirit comes, He comes with the Father, who is in the Son and in whom also is the Son, and lives in us so that we are in the Son. As a result, because we are in the Son, the Son is also in us. This is the Triune God becoming our experience and our blessing.
TO EXPERIENCE CHRIST BEING TO EXPERIENCE THE TRIUNE GOD
The Triune God has been consummated as the Spirit, who enters into us with the Father, in whom is the Son. Because of the Spirit’s entering into us, we are in the Son and consequently, the Son is also in us. This is the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—in us to be experienced by us as our blessing and to become our enjoyment, which is Christ in us as the hope of glory. Therefore, to experience Christ is to experience the Triune God. Unfortunately, many Christians today neither understand this matter nor have the light concerning it, much less experience it.
CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD TO TOUCH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND ENJOY THE RICHES OF THE TRIUNE GOD
Let us use prayer as an illustration. Christians’ general concept about prayer is that we pray and ask the Lord to do something for us only when we have problems. However, this is not accurate. It was only after groping for a long time that I have realized that the prayers of Christians are actually their calling on the name of the Lord. The biblical word for call means to cry out. When we pray, we surely cry out the name of the Lord Jesus. If we call out the name of the Lord Jesus from deep within, our spirit is stirred up. Sometimes even when we call on the Lord’s name softly, our spirit is stirred up. Romans 10:12-13 says, “For the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him; for ‘whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” Therefore, it does not matter whether our voice is loud or soft; what matters is that we call. The Lord is rich for our enjoyment. In order to enjoy the riches of the Lord, we need to call upon His name. Calling on the name of the Lord is the secret not only to our salvation but also to our enjoyment of the Lord’s riches. When we call upon the name of the Lord, we breathe in His riches.
Every day we need to exercise our spirit and call on the name of the Lord to enjoy Him. Whenever we are about to lose our temper, we should exercise to call on the Lord. Once we call on the Lord, our temper is gone, and when we call again, we feel peaceful inside and we rejoice exultingly. Sometimes when we are tired from working, we can call, “O Lord Jesus!” and we feel relaxed. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. When we call, we are filled with “air.” The Lord is the Spirit. In Greek, the word for spirit is the same as that for breath or air. For Christians, to call on the name of the Lord is to be filled with air. If we call sufficiently, we are “inflated”; if we do not call, we become “deflated.” Every morning you need to first call on the name of the Lord to be filled with “air,” and then go to your office. Every office is a place that deflates people. It is needless to say that you are often deflated after working hours are over; even by noon you have nearly been deflated already. Therefore, you need to call on the Lord at noon so that you may be filled with “air” again. After leaving your office, on your way home, you must again call on the Lord’s name and get fully inflated. Then when you return home, you will not feel dejected but instead be overflowing with joy. When we call on the Lord, we experience Christ, who is the Spirit. By calling on the name of the Lord, our spirit touches the Spirit, who is the consummation of the Triune God. As a result, we can enjoy the Lord’s riches. This is to experience Christ.
(Four Crucial Elements of the Bible, The—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
