Galatians 5:4 You have been brought to nought, separated from Christ, you who are being justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
The heavens are for the earth, the earth is for man’s existence, and man with his spirit is for God. With his spirit man must contact, receive, contain, and assimilate God so that He may be life to man, and man may be His living corporate expression. This is God’s intention throughout all the dispensations and generations. This is very clear in the Bible, but in order to see this, we must have a vision….Christianity has the Bible, but many people in Christianity do not see the eternal plan of God. In order that man may see God’s desire, God gave him the Bible. However, the enemy of God never sleeps. He came in and utilized all the points in this Holy Book to instigate man to exercise his mentality to form religion. Religion is something formed by the human mentality under Satan’s instigation and inspiration in order to oppose God’s economy. Apparently, religion is for God, but in actuality, it is fully against Him. (Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1977, vol. 1, “The Lord’s Recovery and the Present Situation of Religion,” p. 467)
Religion is something for God and for the benefit of people, yet it is apart from Christ and without the Spirit of Christ [Galatians 5:4]. As long as Christ is not in something, no matter how good it may be, it is only religion. Even if we pray or study the Bible but are not in the spirit and do not have the Spirit of Christ, we are in religion, which does not bring forth the church. The Lord’s recovery is to bring us back to the proper church life, and Christ as the Spirit is the only element that produces the church. As long as we do things in the spirit and with the Spirit of Christ, we have the church life. (Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972, vol. 3, “Enjoying Christ as the All-inclusive Spirit for the Practical, Genuine, and Real Church Life,” p. 497)
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