1 Corinthians 15:45 So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul”; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. (Recovery Version)
Christ gave Himself up for the church so that “He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word” [Ephesians 5:26] . After the Lord Jesus gave Himself for us in the flesh, He was resurrected and in resurrection became the life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). As the life-giving Spirit, He is the speaking Spirit. Whatever He speaks is the word that washes us. The Greek word rendered word in Ephesians 5:26 is… rhema, which denotes the instant word, the word the Lord presently speaks to us. As the life-giving Spirit, the Lord is not silent; He is constantly speaking. If you take Him as your person, you will discover how much He desires to speak within you. Idols are dumb, but the indwelling Christ is always speaking. If there is no speaking, no rhema, then in our practical experience the Spirit is absent, for the Lord’s speaking actually is the Spirit. As long as we have the Lord’s present word, we have the Spirit, the life-giving Spirit. …This Spirit is the water that washes us. The more the Spirit speaks, the more we are washed, cleansed. …This cleansing is a metabolic cleansing that removes what is old and replaces it with what is new….It is by the inward, metabolic cleansing that we have transformation. …Because such an inward transformation is taking place within us, there is no need for outward correction in the church life. Through the Lord’s speaking within us as the life-giving Spirit, we are becoming a glorious church, a church holy and without blemish. Today we are waiting for the Lord’s coming back, knowing that when He comes, He will present us to Himself a glorious church, holy and without blemish. At that time, we shall experience Christ in the third stage as the Bridegroom coming for His bride. (Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 55, by Witness Lee)
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