First Corinthians begins with the practice of calling on the name of the Lord, which reveals that this book is about enjoying the Lord. It tells us that Christ is our wisdom and our power (1 Cor. 1:24), and that He was made our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1:30), in addition to many other aspects of Him that we can enjoy. Finally, in the resurrection, He became the life-giving Spirit of whom we can drink (1 Cor. 15:45; 12:13). We drink of Him as the life-giving Spirit when we call on His name. So, 1 Corinthians 12:3 indicates that if we say, “Lord Jesus, ” we are immediately in the Spirit. To cry, “Lord Jesus, ” is to call on the name of the Lord. Jesus is the name of the Lord, and the Spirit is His person. When we call on the name of the Lord, we receive the very person of the Lord. When we call on the Lord Jesus, we receive the Spirit. By calling on the name of the Lord in this way, we not only breathe spiritually, but we also drink spiritually. When we call on the name of the Lord, we breathe Him as the breath of life and drink Him as the water of life. The second verse of hymn 73 in our English hymnal reads:
Savior, so powerful!
You fill my need.
To breathe, Jesus, Your name
Is to drink true life.
This is the way to participate in and enjoy the Lord. We should all do this. May the Lord bless us in this matter. May the practice of calling on His name be fully recovered in these days.
Proverbs 18:10 The name of Jehovah is a strong tower; The righteous man runs into it and is safe. - Safe: Hebrew word means set aloft, inaccessibly high, lofty
Just to breathe the name of Jesus, is to drink of life indeed. “O Lord Jesus” , mighty name, glorious name, victorious name. O Lord Jesus keep me breathing your Name.
The initiation of life begins with the Spirit, but the word is needed for the growth, spread, and expansion of life. Although the initiation of life is through the Spirit, the growth of life is through the word. We know that the Lord is the Spirit in our spirit, and we can enjoy Him by calling on His name. As we call, we are breathing; that is, we are receiving Him as air. As we breathe more, our breathing becomes our drinking. Sister M. E. Barber wrote a hymn that says, "Just to breathe the Name of Jesus, / Is to drink of Life indeed" (Hymns, #73). As our breathing increases, it becomes our drinking. However, in addition to breathing and drinking, we must eat. Our physical body needs both air and water. However, in order to receive a rich supply of nutrients for our growth, we need food. Hence, we should not only breathe and drink but also eat in order to receive the necessary nutrients. We must have the Lord's Word in order to eat. Thus, eating is related to pray-reading the Scriptures.
First Corinthians opens with calling on the name of the Lord, revealing that it is a book of the enjoyment of the Lord. It tells us that Christ is our wisdom and power (1 Cor. 1:24) and that He has been made our righteousness, sanctification, redemption (1:30), and so many other items for our enjoyment. Eventually, in resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit of whom we may drink (1 Cor. 15:45; 12:13). The way to drink of Him as the life-giving Spirit is to call on His name. Thus, 1 Corinthians 12:3 indicates that if we say, "Lord Jesus," we are immediately in the Spirit. To say, "Lord Jesus" is to call on the name of the Lord. Jesus is the name of the Lord, and the Spirit is His person. When we call on the name of the Lord, we get the person of the Lord. When we call, "Lord Jesus," we get the Spirit. This kind of calling on the name of the Lord to receive the Spirit is not only spiritual breathing, but also spiritual drinking. When we call on the name of the Lord, we breathe Him in as the breath of life and we drink of Him as the water of life. The second stanza of hymn number seventy-three in our hymnal says,
Blessed Jesus! Mighty Savior
In Thy Name is all I need;
Just to breathe the Name of Jesus,
Is to drink of Life indeed.
This is the way for us to partake of and enjoy the Lord. We all need to do it. May the Lord bless us in this matter. May it be fully recovered in these days.
Christ is not only our life to regenerate us. He is also the holy breath for our breathing. John 20:22 says that when the Lord Jesus came into the midst of the disciples, He said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." This means that every believer can breathe in the Lord through calling on His name. This breathing is the breathing in of the pneumatic Christ as air (John 20:22). Stanza 2 of Hymns, #73 says, "Just to breathe the Name of Jesus, is to drink of Life indeed."
Sister M. E. Barber wrote a hymn, Hymns, #73. The second stanza in this hymn says: "Blessed Jesus! Mighty Savior! / In Thy Name is all I need; / Just to breathe the Name of Jesus, / Is to drink of Life indeed." This is evidence that this sister truly had the experience of drinking. We need only to breathe the name of Jesus, that is, to call on the Lord Jesus, "Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus!" Then we will drink of His life. This calling does not need to be very loud. In order not to disturb others, we may at times call softly, "O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus!" In any event we must drink. When we call softly, "O Lord Jesus!" we are firstly quenched within, then we also are enlightened. After a few more minutes of calling, the inner light will become brighter, and we will end up dealing with our sins. This is truly marvelous! We must drink in this way.
As we have seen already from Lamentations, our calling, "O Lord Jesus," is our breathing. Hymn #73 in Hymns was written by Miss M. E. Barber, an older sister who helped Brother Watchman Nee very much. Stanza 2 says, "Blessed Jesus! Mighty Savior! / In Thy Name is all I need; / Just to breathe the Name of Jesus, / Is to drink of Life indeed." Three or four years ago when I told the Lord's people that to breathe is to drink, I was a little doubtful. I had never heard anyone say this, and I thought that I might be too much. However, one night in Los Angeles this hymn was called. While we were singing, I was surprised at the lines which say, "Just to breathe the Name of Jesus, / Is to drink of Life indeed." At least one other person, Miss Barber, a sister who was deep in the Lord, experienced the same thing. To call on the name of the Lord is to breathe Him, and to breathe Him is to drink of Him. The way to drink of the one Spirit is to call, "O Lord Jesus!" To call is to breathe, and to breathe is to drink, so to call is simply to drink. If you are thirsty, call on the Lord. At any time or any place, even while we are driving, we may be thirsty. Then we may call on the Lord and receive the living water. Try it; it always works. When we call on the name of the Lord, we drink of the Lord and we receive all the riches of the Lord.