Hymns 362

Scripture Reading:

Phil. 1:21     For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

LIVING CHRIST BEING A MINGLED LIVNG

Philippians 1:21 says, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” To say that we must live Christ is easy, and to understand this simple phrase is also easy, but for us to actually live Christ involves a great deal. To live Christ means that when Christ lives, we who believe in Him and who are now in Him also live. Christ lives, and we live also (John 14:19). This means that we live in Christ’s living and that He lives in our living. If we live in His living, His living will also be in our living. This is the mingled living of two lives. God and man live together. This mingled living is illustrated by the grafting of two trees. When a branch is grafted into another tree, the two live together as one. On the one hand, they are two, but on the other hand, they are one. They are one, yet their two natures remain distinct, and a third nature is not produced. (The Experience and Growth in Life, pp. 27-28)

TAKING HIM AS OUR PERSON AND BEING ONE PERSON WITH HIM

If we would live Christ, we must take Him as our person and be one person with Him. He and we must be one in a practical way. In Galatians 2:20 Paul declared, “Christ lives in me.” For Paul, this was not a mere doctrine; it was a fact. It should also be real to us that Christ lives in us. It is sad that some Christians do not believe that Christ actually lives in them. Neither do they believe that we can abide in Christ and have Him abide in us. But the Bible tells us definitely that Christ is in us and lives in us. Furthermore, we should abide in Him and allow Him to abide in us.

Paul could say not only that Christ lived in him, but also that to him to live was Christ. On the one hand, Christ lived in Paul; on the other hand, Paul lived Christ. Inwardly Christ was Paul’s life, and outwardly Christ was Paul’s living….The two, Christ and Paul, lived as one. First Corinthians 6:17 refers to such a living. In this verse Paul says that we are one spirit with the Lord. The organic union that has taken place between us and Christ causes us to be so close and intimate with Him that we are even one spirit with Him.

NOT MERELY TO HAVE A HOLY LIFE

To live Christ is not merely to have a holy life or to live holiness. To live Christ is to live a person. We admit that the expression “live Christ” is new. We use this term deliberately. In the past we have spoken of living out Christ. Although this expression is not incorrect, to add the word “out” may detract from the proper meaning. We should simply live Christ. We should live a life which is Christ himself.

THE MOST DIFFICULT THING IN OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE
BEING TO PRACTICE TO LIVE CHRIST

From my experience I can testify that the most difficult thing in our Christian life is to practice to live Christ. We may be “holy,” “spiritual,” and “victorious” without living Christ. Even though we may be “holy,” “spiritual,” and “victorious,” we are still the ones living our natural life. We are not living Christ.

By nature, I am a quick person. When my sister heard that I had turned to the Lord, she was happy and wanted to help me. In particular, she tried to help me with my natural quickness. She would not rebuke me or correct me. Instead, she would tell me about others who were slow in their speech and behavior. Realizing what she was trying to do, I told the Lord that I regretted my quickness and asked Him to enable me to slow down. But my behavior was like that of a monkey imitating a human being. Although I could deliberately be slow for a few days, eventually I reverted to my natural quickness. Because I had been born a quick person, I just could not make myself slow down. At the time my sister tried to help me, she was teaching me to be slow. But she did not help me to live Christ. Now, more than fifty years later, I can be slow and patient. I can also control my temper. In a sense, I can be holy, spiritual, and victorious. But I have come to see that it is possible to do all this without living Christ.

In order to live Christ we must take Him as our person and as our life. Although I have made progress in this matter, I admit that still my practice is not very successful. Almost every morning I pray, “Lord, I thank You for another day to practice living You. Lord, in myself, I cannot do this. I ask You to remind me to live You and grant me the grace I need for this.” I have found, however, that soon after praying to the Lord in this way, I may go back to living myself instead of living Christ. Everything about my living may be good, and yet I may not live Christ. I do not yet have the assurance to testify with Paul, “To me to live is Christ.”

CONCERNING THE MATTER OF LIVING CHRIST,
THE SITUATION OF TODAY’S CHRISTIANS BEING FAR FROM GOD’S GOAL

In the Christian life it is easy to follow certain practices. For example, we may realize that we are talkative and may adopt the practice of limiting our speech. However, we may succeed in restricting our talkativeness and yet fail to live Christ. It is one thing to follow a certain practice; it is another thing to live Christ. God does not care for how holy, spiritual, or victorious we are in ourselves. Actually, to live in this way by self-effort is to strive to keep the law. What counts in the eyes of God is Christ and the living of Christ. Concerning the matter of living Christ, the situation of today’s Christians is far from God’s goal. This is the reason we are fighting and struggling to enter into the genuine living of Christ in a practical way. God wants His people to live Christ. We should not care for holiness, spirituality, or victory as things in themselves, and we should not care for our natural virtues or attributes. Instead, we should focus our whole attention on living Christ and care only to live Christ that He might be magnified in us.

GOD’S DESIRE TODAY BEING THAT WE LIVE CHRIST

In the book of Philippians Paul encourages us to think the one thing (2:2). This one thing is to live Christ. We should care only to live Christ and magnify Him. Instead of pursuing holiness, spirituality, or victory, we should seek to live Christ and magnify Him always with all boldness, whether through life or through death. God’s desire today is that we live Christ.

Do not allow anything to distract you from the direct, personal experience of Christ. Yes, we need to understand the background of Philippians and realize what is the present religious situation. We also need to discern between the different preachings of Christ. But none of this should distract us from Christ Himself. Today we need to focus our attention on the one thing—to live Christ. (Life-study of Philippians, pp. 51-53)

Further Reading: The Experience and Growth in Life, msg. 5; Life-study of Philippians, msg. 6