In 1 Corinthians 3:9 Paul says that the saints are God’s farm (Gk.). In 1 Corinthians 3:6 he says, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the growth” (Gk.). These verses indicate that the believers are God’s plantation and that Paul was a helper of the divine Husbandman. God is the real Farmer, and Paul was one of His co-workers (2 Cor. 6:1). Working together with God, Paul planted the believers into Christ. Christ is the soil. The context of 1 Corinthians indicates this. In 1 Corinthians 1:9 we are told that we have been called into the fellowship of the Son of God, and, in verse 30, that of God we are now in Christ Jesus, who has been made to us wisdom. He is righteousness for the past, sanctification for the present, and redemption for the future. To be put into Christ is to be planted into Him. Through Paul’s preaching of the gospel and ministry of the Word, many were planted into Christ. Thus, Paul could say that he planted. Later, Apollos came to water what Paul had planted. Although Paul planted and Apollos watered, it was God who gave the growth.
Now we must go on to ask in what way God gives the growth. He gives the growth by getting into us. The more God is added to us, the more growth He gives. As we have seen, without the increase of God within us, there cannot be any growth. The growth of the Body depends on the growth of God, the addition of God, the increase of God, within us. Therefore, God gives the growth by giving Himself to us in a very subjective way.
Since God gives growth in this way, we need to take time to absorb Him. A well-known hymn exhorts us to “take time to be holy.” Actually, our need is to take time to absorb God. As we daily take time to eat food, we should daily take time to absorb the Lord, take time to assimilate the riches of Christ. Our contact with the Lord should not be rushed. If we are in a hurry, we shall not be able to absorb much of His riches. We need to allow adequate time for prayer. This will enable us to absorb more of the riches of our God.
As we have pointed out, God is not simply a term nor an object of worship. He is real, rich, and substantial, and we need to absorb Him. Our God today is the processed, all-inclusive Spirit, and we have a spirit with which to absorb Him. Thus, we must exercise our spirit to stay in His presence to absorb Him. This takes time. Although we all have experienced absorbing the riches of God, our experience is not yet adequate. For this reason, we must spend more time to absorb Him. Do not spend so much time in your mind, emotion, and will, but spend more time in your spirit to adore the Lord, to praise Him, to offer thanks to Him, and to speak to Him freely. As you fellowship with Him in this way, you will absorb His riches, and He will add more of Himself into you. The more God is added into us, the more growth He gives to us. This is the way God gives the growth.
Only God can give growth. In my ministry the most I can do is to plant or water. I cannot give growth to anyone, for I cannot give God. Only God can give you Himself. Without Him, we cannot have growth. God Himself is our food, and we need to seek Him at His dining table, where we need to take time to eat Him slowly. Then more of Him will be added into us. This addition of God into us is the growth He gives. For God to give us growth actually means that He gives us Himself.
One of the greatest verses in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 6:17, says, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” The implications of this verse are marvelous and far-reaching. We, the believers, are one spirit with the Lord. How tremendous! This implies that we are in Him and that He is in us. It also implies that we and He have been mingled, blended organically, to become one in life. To be one spirit with the Lord implies that we and He are a living entity. We simply do not have words to explain the significance of this verse. To say that we are one spirit with the Lord definitely does not mean that we are deified. However, it certainly does imply the mingling of divinity with humanity. In the words of #501 in Hymns, “God mingled with humanity lives in me my all to be.” To be one spirit with the Lord means that we are blended with Him organically and mingled with Him in life. We urgently need more experience of this. We need to remain rooted in Christ and absorb all that He is into us. Then we and He, He and we, will be blended together in life organically to be one spirit. How profound! How wonderful!
When we are one spirit with the Lord, we cannot be affected by anything negative. Sin, the world, Satan, and Hades have nothing to do with us, for we are one spirit with the Triune God. This should not merely be a doctrine. In our experience this must be living and organic. Our spiritual being, our inner man, the regenerated spirit, must be permeated with the Lord and mingled with Him to form a single, living entity. This will result in growth and building.
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