Living Christ vs. Living the Out-resurrection

 

Living Christ vs. Living the Out-resurrection

The two expressions—“living Christ” and “living the out-resurrection”—can be understood as two aspects of the same spiritual reality: living Christ emphasizes Christ as our life and person, while living the out-resurrection emphasizes the manifestation and goal of this life in our entire being. The crucial issue is not merely whether something is “right or wrong,” but whether it is “in resurrection.”

Integrated Table: Living Christ vs. Living the Out-resurrection

Item	Living Christ	Living the Out-resurrection	Inner Relationship
Core meaning	Not merely imitating Christ, but allowing Christ to live in us: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).	Living a life that is absolutely outside the old creation and absolutely in God, with every part of our being progressively entering into resurrection.	To live Christ is to live the out-resurrection; the former emphasizes “who is living,” while the latter emphasizes “in what realm we live.”
Biblical center	Gal. 2:20: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” Phil. 1:21: “To me, to live is Christ.”	Phil. 3:10–11: “To know Him and the power of His resurrection…being conformed to His death, if perhaps I may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.”	Philippians 3:10–11 connects knowing Christ with His resurrection and being conformed to His death.
Source of life	Christ Himself is our life (Col. 3:4); He lives in us.	The divine life enters into us and makes us alive from the dead (Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13).	Christ is the life and reality of resurrection; without Christ, there is no out-resurrection.
Beginning	Believing into Christ, gaining Christ, and allowing Christ to live in us.	It begins with regeneration. We were dead in offenses and sins, but God made us alive with His divine life (Eph. 2:1, 5).	Regeneration makes our spirit alive; afterward God continues His work so that our entire being may enter into resurrection.
Meaning of “living”	Taking Christ as our life, person, content, and living.	Allowing our living to be separated from the old creation and filled with the divine element.	Living Christ = living by Christ as our life; living the out-resurrection = expressing the reality of Christ as resurrection life.
Relation to the old creation	We no longer live by the natural “I,” but by Christ (Gal. 2:20).	Absolutely outside the old creation; the old-creation element is excluded and the divine element is expressed.	Christ’s death deals with the old creation, while resurrection brings in the new creation; therefore, living Christ necessarily includes being delivered from the old creation.
Relation to God	Christ lives in us and causes us to live in the Triune God.	Living absolutely in God, with a living full of the divine element.	A person living in the out-resurrection causes others to sense God, because God is expressed through his living.
Practical standard	Christ Himself is our standard: “To me, to live is Christ.”	The out-resurrection is the goal we pursue and attain (Phil. 3:11).	Christ is the standard; the out-resurrection is the goal; in reality, both are two aspects of one life.
Way to attain it	Receive Christ, enjoy Christ, and allow Christ to live in us.	Be conformed to Christ’s death (Phil. 3:10), continually remaining in His death.	Remaining in Christ’s death → being conformed to His death → our entire being entering resurrection → living Christ.
Place of the cross	The cross causes the “I” to be dealt with so that Christ may be lived out (Gal. 2:20).	Being conformed to Christ’s death is the way to attain the out-resurrection.	The cross is not the destination; conformity to death brings us into resurrection living.
Principle of living	“No longer I, but Christ.”	“No longer the old creation, but living in resurrection.”	It can be condensed as: I decrease → Christ increases; the old creation decreases → resurrection increases.
Our speaking	Our words are no longer merely human expression but Christ speaking through us.	Our speaking is in resurrection and carries the divine element, causing others to touch God.	Living Christ → speaking in resurrection → others sense God through our speaking.
Our behavior	Not natural good behavior, but Christ acting through us.	Our behavior contains no old-creation element but is in God and in resurrection life.	Not ethical improvement, but the expression of Christ’s life.
Mind, emotion, and will	Christ progressively becomes the inner content of our thinking, affection, and decisions.	Not only our spirit but also our mind, emotion, and will progressively enter into resurrection.	God’s goal is not merely to resurrect our spirit but for our entire being to be resurrected.
Scope of the whole being	Christ is to spread into our entire being and saturate our mind, emotion, and will.	The “out-resurrection” means that every part of our being must be resurrected.	The spreading of Christ as life is the process by which our entire being enters the out-resurrection.
Process	Daily allowing Christ to live in us and growing in life  (Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:15).	A long process and course of Christian living, from regeneration until the whole being enters resurrection.	Regeneration → growth → conformity to Christ’s death → the whole being entering resurrection → living the out-resurrection.
Paul’s pursuit	“To me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21).	Paul pursued knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection and being conformed to His death, so that he might attain the out-resurrection  (Phil. 3:10–11).	Paul’s pursuit was not merely an abstract teaching concerning resurrection but a living of Christ.
Effect upon others	Those who contact us should contact Christ.	Those who are with a person living in the out-resurrection will sense God.	Christ becomes our living → God is expressed through our living.
Content of life	Christ Himself.	The divine life and the divine element of resurrection.	The content is Christ; the nature is resurrection; the result is the expression of God.
Relation to the Body of Christ	Living Christ is not merely individual spirituality but is for the Body of Christ  (Col. 1:18; 2:19).	Our entire being is renewed and built up in resurrection to become a part of Christ’s Body.	Individual living of Christ → the whole being living in resurrection → the Body of Christ being built up.
Ultimate result	Christ is expressed and magnified (Phil. 1:20–21).	Our entire being attains the out-resurrection, being fully separated from the old creation and filled with the divine element.	Christ is expressed → God is expressed → the new creation is consummated.
One-sentence distinction	Living Christ: Christ lives as my life.	Living the out-resurrection: I live Christ in resurrection.	Living Christ is living the out-resurrection.

 

The Most Important Spiritual Line

Regeneration → our spirit becomes alive → being conformed to Christ’s death → remaining in His death → our entire being progressively entering resurrection → living Christ → living the out-resurrection → God being expressed

This gives us a very important spiritual formula:

Christ is the life → the cross is the way → resurrection is the realm → living Christ is the living → the out-resurrection is the goal.

The Key Transitions between Living Christ and Living the Out-resurrection

From…	To…	Spiritual Significance
Right or wrong	Whether it is in resurrection	From an ethical standard to a life standard
Am I doing well?	Is Christ being lived out?	From self-improvement to Christ as life
Natural life	Resurrection life	From the old creation to the new creation
Only our spirit being made alive	Our entire being entering resurrection	From the beginning of regeneration to the goal of the out-resurrection
Being conformed to Christ’s death	Attaining the out-resurrection	The death of the cross is not the goal but the way into resurrection
Self being expressed	God being expressed	Others do not merely see human virtues in us but touch God

 

Final Integration

“Living Christ” does not merely mean outwardly imitating Christ, and “living the out-resurrection” does not merely refer to something that will happen in the future resurrection. According to the ministry quoted above, the out-resurrection is a living that we can experience and practice today.

We remain in Christ’s death and allow the natural life, the old creation, and the self to be dealt with, so that Christ as resurrection life may progressively saturate our spirit, mind, emotion, will, and entire being.

Therefore:

“Living Christ” is the inward person and life; “living the out-resurrection” is the reality and expression of this life in our entire being.

The two are ultimately one spiritual reality viewed from two sides:

Christ as life → the cross as the way → resurrection as the realm → Christ lived out in our daily life → the out-resurrection progressively realized in our whole being.

One-Sentence Prophetic Summary

We are not merely to be people who resemble Christ outwardly; rather, we should allow Christ to live as our life. Nor should we merely wait for a future resurrection; rather, today, through being conformed to Christ’s death, we should allow our entire being to progressively enter resurrection. Thus, to live Christ is to live the out-resurrection—to be delivered from the old creation and live absolutely in God, so that through our words, behavior, mind, emotion, and will, others may sense God in us.

 

*Please refer to the April 2026 Summer Training, General Topic: Believers, Chapter Ten: The Conformation into Christ's Death and the Attainment of His Magnificent Resurrection.