Five Essential Aspects of Christian Life Today

 

Five Essential Aspects of Christian Life Today

2 Cor 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

1 Thess 5:10 "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him."

Rom 8:4-6 "Who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit...The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace."

 

Life Aspect	Meaning	Distinction	Examples	Application	Interrelationship	Related Scripture Verses
Life of Grace	Experiencing Christ, the embodiment of God, as grace. Grace is the essence of Christian experience and is God Himself embodied in Christ.	Not law or regulations, but a living person; not self-effort, but receiving God as life and everything.	Paul said: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20)	Daily dependence on Christ as our power, supply, and everything, relying on God rather than self.	The foundation and source of the other four aspects; grace is prerequisite for all other aspects.	John 1:16-17 "From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Holistic Life	A comprehensive, 24-hour, all-encompassing lifestyle with the Triune God as life and person.	Not a compartmentalized life (separating spiritual from secular), but an integrated life; not experiencing God only at specific times or occasions.	Paul's testimony: "For to me, to live is Christ" (Phil 1:21); walking with the Lord in work, family, rest and all aspects of life.	Allowing Christ to be Lord in every aspect of life, including work, rest, eating, etc., with no "non-spiritual" areas.	Extends the life of grace to all times and all dimensions, providing the scope for the life of a living person.	Col 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Life of a Living Person	Living with the processed Triune God as a living person, mingled with the transformed tripartite man.	Not external standards of right and wrong or good and evil, not moral or ethical standards, but internal guidance of a person.	Having Christ as our person, guiding, deciding, and acting in us; as Paul said, "Christ lives in me."	Not acting according to external standards, but by the indwelling Christ as life and person; allowing Christ to reign within us as our person.	The concrete content and reality of the holistic life, providing the subject for the mingled life.	Col 3:4 "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Phil 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
Mingled Life	The compound life-giving Spirit mingled with the believer's regenerated spirit, becoming one mingled spirit.	Not merely external union or juxtaposition, but internal mingling, like two elements mixed together inseparably.	The mingling of spirits, like two becoming one in marriage; believers becoming one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor 6:17).	Daily exercising the spirit, fellowshipping with the Lord, living and working by the mingled spirit, walking according to the spirit, experiencing Christ in all things.	The practical experience of the life of a living person, also the foundation for the corporate life.	1 Cor 6:17 "But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit." John 14:20 "On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." John 15:4-5 "Remain in me, as I also remain in you...I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit."
Corporate Life	The corporate living of the processed Triune God and believers joined together, with God as life and person.	Not an independent life, not self-autonomy, but a God-man corporate living; God initiates, we follow.	The relationship of vine and branches in John's Gospel; Christians as branches abiding in Christ, and Christ abiding in believers.	Accepting God's leading, walking, living, and working with God, acting together, living out the reality of the Body, expressing God Himself.	The culmination and highest expression of the previous four aspects, the highest experience of God-man union.

 

Summary of the Interrelationship of the Five Aspects:

These five aspects are not independent of each other, but organically connected and progressive:

1.      The Life of Grace is the foundation, indicating God Himself coming to us as grace.

2.      The Holistic Life is the scope, extending grace to all times and dimensions.

3.      The Life of a Living Person is the content, with Christ as the living person.

4.      The Mingled Life is the reality, realized through the mingling of spirits.

5.      The Corporate Life is the peak, reaching the state of God-man corporate living and God-man union.

Main Type in the Bible:

The anointing oil in Exodus 30:22-25: Fragrant olive oil mixed with four spices, typifying the compound Spirit, including the Father, the Son, the Son's all-inclusive death, the Son's human living, and the Son's resurrection and ascension as multiple components. This compound Spirit anoints believers daily, enabling them to enjoy the processed Triune God as grace.

The Promise in Zechariah 12:10:

The Spirit of grace, in the end of the New Testament age, will cause the whole house of Israel to repent and receive the Triune God as grace, showing that God's work of grace will be fully accomplished.

 

*Please refer to the July 2024 Anaheim, California, USA training Experiencing, Enjoying and Manifesting Christ (II) Week 18 God’s Grace and the All-Inclusive Spirit