Ⅵ
When we move out of ourselves and into the Triune God, we are one and are even perfected into one—John 17:11, 17, 21-23:
A
In ourselves we have the four factors of division; we cannot escape from these four things if we stay in the self.
B
To be sanctified is to move out of ourselves and into the Triune God and to allow Christ to live in us; in this way we are perfected into one—vv. 21-23.
C
This sanctification takes place by the word, which is the truth, and by the Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth:
１
As we come to the Word every morning, outwardly we touch the Word, but inwardly the Spirit touches us; by the word and by the Spirit, both of which are the reality, we are sanctified.
２
The more we touch the Word and the more the Spirit touches us, the more we move out of ourselves; we move from one dwelling place, the self, to another dwelling place, the Triune God.
３
Every day we need to make this move, for in the self there are worldliness, ambition, self-exaltation, and opinions and concepts.
４
If we continually touch the Word and allow the Spirit to touch us day by day, we will be sanctified; that is, we will move out of ourselves, our old lodging place, and into the Triune God, our new lodging place.
５
Once we are out of ourselves, we are sanctified, separated from the factors of division and separated not only unto God but also into God.
６
To have the genuine oneness, we must first move out of ourselves and into the Triune God (vv. 17, 21); then we must allow Christ to live in us (v. 23a):
ａ
This perfected oneness is the real building; it is the growth in life—Eph. 4:16.
ｂ
To grow in life means that we move out of ourselves and into the Triune God and allow Christ to live in us; if we move into the Triune God and allow Christ to live in us, we can be one with the saints in any locality.
D
“I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one”—John 17:23:
１
To be perfected into one means to be rescued from worldliness, ambition, self-exaltation, and opinions and concepts.
２
“I in them”—this means that the Son is living and moving in us.
３
“You in Me”—this means that the Father is living and moving in the Son.
４
In other words, while the Son lives and moves in us, the Father lives and moves in Him; by this twofold living and moving, we are perfected into one, and we express the Father in glory.
E
Ambition is implied in John 17:21; self-exaltation, in verse 22; and concepts and opinions, in verse 23:
１
In the Triune God there is no ambition, in the glory of the Father there is no self-exaltation, and in the place where Christ lives and reigns there are no opinions.
２
In the divine and mystical realm of the processed Triune God, ambition is swallowed up, self-exaltation disappears, and concepts and opinions are killed; here there is no evil of division in the Satan-systematized world (v. 15); instead, there is genuine oneness.
F
Genuine oneness is living in the Father, allowing Christ to live in us, and living in the Father’s glory, His expression—vv. 22, 24:
１
We need to move out of ourselves and into the Triune God and remain in Him for the Father’s expression, His glory.
２
The real building, the oneness, is possible only in the Triune God, and it is prevailing only when Christ lives in us; then we can express the Father in glory and experience the genuine oneness.
Morning Nourishment
John 17:22-23 And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.When we are in the Triune God, we are one. When we are in ourselves, however, we are divided. Outward teachings concerning oneness do not make us one. In John 14 the Lord Jesus said that He was going to prepare a place for us. This place is God the Father Himself, and the way there is the Lord Jesus [cf. vv. 3-6]…. Although unbelievers can lodge only in themselves, we have a choice between dwelling in ourselves and dwelling in the Triune God….The Lord is in the Father, and He desires that we too be in the Father. Now that the place has been prepared for us in the Father, we can move into Him by being sanctified through the truth. This involves both the Word and the Spirit. If we continually touch the Word and allow the Spirit to touch us day by day, we will be sanctified; that is, we will move out of ourselves, our old lodging place, and into the Triune God, our new lodging place. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Truth Messages,” pp. 339-340)
Today’s Reading
Not only have we moved into the Triune God, but the Lord is also in us [cf. John 17:23]. His being in us is a matter of living. We move out of ourselves in order to be in the Triune God. When we are in the Triune God, Christ can live in us. When we remain in the Triune God and when Christ lives in us, we are perfected into one.If we come together for the church service in ourselves, it will be impossible for us to be one….We serve by moving into the Triune God. However, as we move out of ourselves and into the Triune God, we need to let Christ live in us. His living in us perfects us into one. By moving out of ourselves and into the Triune God, we have oneness. However, this is not yet the perfected oneness. Only when Christ lives in us do we sense the reality of the genuine oneness.
Genuine oneness is not merely a matter of meeting together. To have the genuine oneness, we must first move out of ourselves and into the Triune God; second, we must allow the Lord to live in us. Then we are not only one but also perfected into one. Here in this genuine oneness there is no worldliness, ambition, self-exaltation, or opinions. Instead, there is just the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
This perfected oneness is the real building. In 1954 I first began to speak of the building. I told the saints in Manila that they had to know who was above them, under them, and beside them. Later, I learned by experience that this concept of building is not accurate, for it applies only to a building with lifeless material that does not move from place to place, not to us as living ones who may move from one city to another. I asked the Lord to show me what the practical building was. Gradually, mainly from Ephesians 4, I saw that real building is the proper growth in life. When we grow in life normally, we get out of ourselves and into the Triune God, and Christ lives in us. When this is our experience, we have the genuine oneness, and we are perfected into one. When we are perfected into one, there is no problem with building. Wherever we go, we are one with the saints. But if we remain in ourselves, we will have problems no matter where we may be.
Real oneness is not merely relatedness, nor is it merely coordination. It is the growth in life. To grow in life means that we move out of ourselves and into the Triune God and allow Christ to live in us. If we move into the Triune God and allow Christ to live in us, we can be one with the saints in any locality. If you have problems in the church, do not blame your environment or the saints. Instead, blame yourself for not moving out of yourself and into the Triune God and for not allowing Christ to live in you. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Truth Messages,” pp. 340-341)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Truth Messages,” ch. 8