The Experience of Christ as Life
“Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory.” — Colossians 3:4
What Does the Bible Say
Most Christians agree that Christ is Savior. But Paul says far more — “Christ our life” (Col 3:4). Not that Christ gives us life, nor that Christ gives us teaching about life. Christ Himself is our life.
The difference is not wordplay. If Christ were only the life-giver, we could live on our own after receiving. If Christ Himself is the life, we need Him every moment; apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5).
In John 14:6 Jesus says: “I am the way and the reality and the life.” The Greek ζωή (zoe) is divine, eternal life — not bios (biological life) nor psuche (soul life), but God’s own uncreated life.
In Galatians 2:20 Paul’s testimony is more personal:
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Two “lives” appear here. First: no longer I live. Second: Christ lives in me. The Christian life is not the old man trying to do good but a new person living within. Philippians 1:21 puts it more briefly: “To me, to live is Christ.”
John 6:57 shows the way of experience: “As the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.” The relation between Father and Son becomes the pattern for the relation between Son and believer — the Son lives because of the Father, we live because of Him. How? By eating Him. John 10:10 says He came that we might “have life and may have it abundantly.”
How the Church Has Understood It in History
The Fathers
The early fathers tied the purpose of the incarnation to the communication of divine life.
Irenaeus (c. 130–202) wrote:
“The Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself.” — Against Heresies 5, Preface
“The Word of God became man, and the Son of God the Son of man, that man, having been taken into the Word and receiving the adoption, might become the son of God… We could not receive incorruption and immortality unless we were united to incorruption and immortality.” — Against Heresies 3.19
Athanasius (c. 296–373) put it more directly:
“He was made man that we might be made god; and He manifested Himself by a body that we might receive the idea of the unseen Father; and He endured the insolence of men that we might inherit immortality.” — On the Incarnation 54
When the fathers spoke of “becoming god” they did not mean becoming God in essence but partaking of divine life — incorruption, immortality, sonship.
Reformed Tradition
Calvin placed “union with Christ” (unio mystica) at the center of soteriology:
“We deem the connection of the Head with the members, the dwelling of Christ in our hearts — in short, the mystical union — to be of the highest importance.” — Institutes 3.11.10
“Christ cannot be torn into parts; so the two things which we receive in Him — justification and sanctification — are inseparable.” — Institutes 3.11.6
Calvin stressed that the Holy Spirit is the bond of union; believers receive not only the effects of Christ’s work but Christ Himself.
How the Lord’s Recovery Teaches
Comparison
| Historic Orthodoxy | Lord’s Recovery | |
|---|---|---|
| Core emphasis | Union with Christ brings justification and sanctification | Christ Himself is the believer’s life; He must be experienced moment by moment |
| Terminology | ”Union with Christ” (unio mystica), “in Christ" | "Experiencing Christ as life,” “eating and drinking Christ,” “enjoying Christ” |
| Key texts | Rom 6:3–11 (dead and alive with Christ), Gal 2:20 | John 6:57 (eating the Lord), Col 3:4 (Christ our life), Phil 1:21 |
| Agreement | Christ Himself — not only His work — is the source of every spiritual blessing for the believer | |
| Difference | Often framed in terms of position and legal union | Stresses daily, experiential enjoyment — eating, drinking, breathing Christ |
Brother Watchman Nee
Brother Watchman Nee established “Christ as life” as the governing principle of the Christian life:
“Christianity is life. Christianity is not a matter of asking whether a thing is right or wrong.” — Two Principles of Christian Living
In The Spiritual Man he taught that man’s spirit is the organ for contacting God and receiving life:
“The spirit is the part of man that has fellowship with God. Man uses this part to worship God, serve God, and understand his relationship with God. So it is called ‘God-consciousness.’” — The Spiritual Man (1) Chapter 2
The Normal Christian Life unfolds from Galatians 2:20 — the normal Christian life is “no longer I, but Christ”:
“God has only one answer to every one of our questions: He gives us more of His Son.” — The Normal Christian Life
Brother Witness Lee
Brother Witness Lee developed “experiencing Christ as life” into a full practice:
“Life is Christ, the Son of God.” — Basic Principles of the Experience of Life
“The real experience of life is the experience of Christ. God gives us life as life only in Christ.” — Basic Principles of the Experience of Life
“We should forget about imitating Christ and see that there is One within us who is our life.” — Life-Study of Leviticus, Message 10
“The burden of my messages is not to teach doctrine… My burden is to minister Christ to you, to share my enjoyment with you — one unique person, Jesus Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God.” — Life-Study of Leviticus
“Jesus is the tree of life. He is the tree, He is the life, so He is the tree of life.” — Ministry Samples
“We live day by day by eating and drinking Christ.” — Ministry Samples
The Way of Experience
“Experiencing Christ as life” is not an advanced doctrine but a daily practice. Scripture gives us concrete paths:
Eating and drinking — “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (John 6:57). We read the Bible not only for knowledge but to eat. We pray not only to ask for things but to drink. Opening the Bible each morning is not finishing a duty but enjoying a Person.
Breathing — “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:13). Calling on the Lord’s name is spiritual breathing — “O Lord Jesus” is not a ritual but a breath of spiritual air.
Walking — “Rooted and being built up in Him” (Col 2:7). Not occasional quiet times but walking in the spirit all day. Turn inward when making decisions; call on the Lord’s name when facing difficulty; give thanks and praise when rejoicing.
Back to Christ
“Experiencing Christ as life” is not a new methodology. It is Scripture’s oldest invitation — from the supply of the tree of life in Genesis 2 to the river of the water of life in Revelation 22. God has always been doing the same thing: giving Himself as life to man.
The difference is not how much we know about Christ but how much Christ is living in us day by day.