Christ
Our Life

Every breath we take is invisible, essential, life-sustaining. God is Spirit, and He desires to give His Spirit to humanity in the same way. His Spirit is His invisible essence, compared to breath or wind, unseen, yet able to be felt. Like the wind or breath, it has the unseen power to sustain and move what is seen. Breathing in the Spirit by turning to Him is essential for a life in Christ. We live both in the world and in Christ. Practicing conscious remembrance is a simple way to receive the Spirit's supply each day.

Light illuminates our innermost being. The Bible uses light as a metaphor for divine presence, perceived by the eyes of our hearts. This light is accessible to everyone, not reserved for mystics alone. Connected with God as the source, the Spirit flows through our being like electricity through a light bulb, illuminating us and our surroundings. The lamp inside must be lit, and the oil of Spirit needs to be supplied to keep it burning. Fear and anxiety arise when our view is unclear. Light dispels darkness, helping us see reality more clearly.

Living water symbolizes the inner experience of the Lord as the flowing Spirit: a thirst satisfied, a flow sensed, a communion sustained. We trace this symbol from Genesis to Revelation to understand its depths. In Eden, there is a river that waters the garden. In the vision of the New Jerusalem at the end of the Bible, gold, precious stones, and a flowing river are also depicted. In the place where God and man dwell together, a flowing river exists both in the garden and in the holy city. The divine presence in our consciousness flows like water.

God offers life as both bread and breath. As the breath of life, He makes man a living soul. As the bread of life, He sustains us. The breath and the bread work together to give us life. First, there is the divine birth, and then there is the need for heavenly nourishment to support this new life as it grows and matures. We are born of the Spirit and then fed by the Spirit. Having created us in Adam as a living soul and further made us a new creation in Christ, God's concern now is with man's eating. What do we eat? What do we receive into our being?

But the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. The teaching is unambiguous: the mind set on the spirit brings life and peace. The mind set on the flesh brings death. The difference between these two outcomes hinges entirely on where attention rests. We commonly view the mind as the center of intellect and reasoning. But Scripture reveals a more fundamental function. The mind is primarily an organ of attention. What we deliberately choose to attend to, what we bring into focus, and what we allow to occupy awareness shape our lives more decisively than any other factor.

He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. Christ initiates the way to union. He brings God to man in incarnation and man to God in glorification. The spiritual union begins by receiving Christ as the life-giving Spirit into our spirit. This union deepens as we walk on this new and living way. According to the flesh, we are in Adam; according to the spirit, in union with Christ. Through this spiritual union, the benefits of Christ's self-transcendence become available to human consciousness. Union implies mutual sharing. What is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine.

God desires to dwell with man. The Bible consistently and progressively unfolds the theme of dwelling through the ages and stages. In the Garden of Eden, God is present with man. In the Good Land, there is a tabernacle so that God may dwell among His people. In Christ, as the embodiment of God, dwells the fullness of God. In our regenerated spirit is the dwelling and witnessing of the Spirit of God. While God is omnipresent, God's dwelling with man is in a specific place. The place is always one of His choosing and His design.

There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Rest is a commandment. Even during the plowing season and harvest, when the work demands are overwhelming, you must rest. There is a wakeful, attentive Sabbath, distinct from the rest of sleep. God's people have practiced this Sabbath with some diligence over generations. But Hebrews says that there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Something beyond the Old Testament realization is to be sought. To stop, be still, and remain in Him is a learned behavior.

My Father is working until now, and I also am working. Creation takes work and time. Divine work brings order from chaos, beauty from barrenness. The biblical vision is quite intimate. It is to work with God, as one spirit, participating in His creative purpose. In Eden, God assigns a job to man. Before the Fall, before sin, before toil, work already exists. This is crucial to understand. Work is not punishment; it is privilege. It is not a curse; it is a calling.

Let us judge one another no longer. We judge by appearance. False perceptions lead to errors that ripple through relationships and across generations. How things appear to us can trigger snap judgments. Our perceptions can be deceptive, tempting us to say and do things that put a rip in the fabric of human existence. Our subjective perceptions and self-will primarily drive our judgments. The deception about judgments is that we think we stand on the solid ground of righteousness. Let us take a closer look.

And you shall know the truth. Truth is divine reality sensed through our spirit. The Greek aletheia, translated as 'truth,' refers to revealed or unconcealed reality. Aletheia is more vital to life than factual correctness. The Spirit reveals or unveils reality to our human spirit, bringing truth into our consciousness. The truth that sets us free is known through consciousness. Just as physical truth can only be proven by physical sensing, so also spiritual truth can only be proven by spiritual sensing.

The good news is that man can receive the Spirit of God. The Spirit of Christ has been poured into hearts; the divine Spirit can flow into the human spirit. The gift of the Spirit was now accessible. In Christ, one could have a new beginning and experience being made a new creation. The past could be left behind. There is now a new and living way available to everyone. The essence of God is spirit. The essence of man is also spirit. The two spirits can therefore become one spirit.