I use some familiar Christian words in a particular way. Here is what I mean by them in the Dear Ray letters. These are brief companions for reading, not a test of whether you belong.
Find a term
Life: Zoe · Christ as life · The Source · Abiding · The indwelling Christ · Union with Christ · Resurrection life · Inward turning · Grace and falling from grace · Spirit, soul, and mind · The flesh · Holiness and overcoming
Pictures: Vine, branch, and fruit · Tree of life and tree of knowledge · Old and new creation · The cross · Vision and reality · Reckoning · Electrum · Outer court and outside the gates
Church life: The Recovery · Ministry · Body of Christ · God’s economy · Mingling of God and man · Life-giving Spirit · Saints
The life I am writing about
Zoe
The Greek word for life. In these letters I use it for the life of God in Christ, given to us to receive and live by. It is more than being alive or holding a correct belief about life.
Christ as life
Christ is more than the One I admire or ask for help. He dwells in us and can become the source of our living in ordinary moments. When I say “Christ as life,” I mean this inward, present reality.
The Source
Christ Himself, from whom the living must come. A meeting, a teaching, a memory, or my own effort may help me turn to Him, but none can take His place as the source.
Abiding
Remaining with Christ in living dependence. I may turn to Him in prayer, pause before reacting, or simply acknowledge Him within. Abiding is a relationship to continue, not a method to master.
The indwelling Christ
The Lord who has come to dwell within believers. I write about turning to Him because I believe He is present, not distant, and wishes to be known in the midst of actual life.
Union with Christ
Our life joined to His through His death and resurrection. This does not erase our humanity. It opens the possibility that His life can be expressed in and through people who remain fully human.
Resurrection life
The life of the risen Christ. It begins where my own supply is exhausted; I cannot produce it by agreeing with a doctrine or trying harder to appear spiritual.
Inward turning
A quiet return of attention and dependence to the Lord within. It may be a small prayer or a pause in the middle of work, conversation, or conflict.
Grace and falling from grace
Grace is God giving Himself to us in Christ, not merely assistance for our independent effort. When I speak of “falling from grace,” I mean shifting the ground of my living back to myself. I do not mean that God has abandoned me or that salvation has been lost.
Spirit, soul, and mind
I use “spirit” for the deepest place where we meet and receive God. “Soul” names our inner human life, including thought, feeling, and choice; the mind is part of that life. Thought has a good place, but understanding alone cannot generate Christ’s life.
The flesh
The self trying to live apart from dependence on Christ. It can appear in obvious wrongdoing, but also in capable, religious effort that leaves the self in charge.
Holiness and overcoming
The character and victory of Christ becoming visible in our living. These words can turn into projects of self-improvement; in the letters I return to the One whose life makes them real.
Pictures in the letters
Vine, branch, and fruit
Jesus’ picture in John 15. The branch bears fruit by remaining in the vine. I use it to say that patience, love, and other fruit are the overflow of His life, not achievements I fasten onto myself.
Tree of life and tree of knowledge
The two trees in Genesis 2 picture a choice I still face: receive God as life, or make knowing and judging the basis of my living. Even my knowledge of good things can leave me independent of Him.
Old and new creation
The old creation is the human life centered in itself; the new creation is what God brings forth in Christ. I use these terms to ask which life supplies our actions, even when those actions look religious.
The cross
Christ’s death for us, and the inward ending of the self as our source. I do not mean seeking pain for its own sake. I mean allowing His death to touch what I keep trying to supply independently.
Vision and reality
A vision lets us see something true of God’s purpose. Reality is that truth lived and experienced. I can explain a meal perfectly and still remain hungry; the letters ask how what we have seen becomes our actual living.
Reckoning
Counting what Christ has accomplished as true. I value faith in His finished work, while questioning the use of mental declarations as a substitute for turning to the living Person.
Electrum
An alloy of gold and silver that appears in Ezekiel’s vision. To me it pictures the God who redeems us and gives Himself to us. “Gaining” electrum names my longing for Him to become real in our life. Read why the publication carries this name.
Outer court and outside the gates
Images of being outside an inner place of communion. In “Politics Outside the Gates,” I use them to question how easily outward causes can claim the energy and loyalty that belong to Christ as our inward life.
Words from church life
The Recovery
The Christian movement and body of teaching associated with Watchman Nee, Witness Lee, and the local churches, in which much of my vocabulary and experience took shape. I speak from gratitude for what I received there, while asking whether any teaching has become a substitute for living contact with Christ.
Ministry
Sometimes I mean serving others; sometimes I mean the teaching and work that has helped form our church life. The letters ask whether either kind of ministry brings us to Christ Himself.
Body of Christ
Believers joined to Christ and to one another, with each member having a place. Its life is shared, not owned by one gifted person or maintained by an organization alone.
God’s economy
God’s purpose and way of carrying it out: giving Himself to people in Christ and gaining a shared expression of His life. The word “economy” here has nothing to do with money.
Mingling of God and man
A way of speaking about God’s life joined to human living in experience. It does not mean that a person becomes God in His Godhead or ceases to be human. I mean His life finding expression through our humanity.
Life-giving Spirit
The risen Christ as the Spirit who gives life to us (1 Corinthians 15:45). The phrase points to what He imparts within, beyond what we can imitate outwardly.
Saints
Believers in Christ. I use the word for ordinary brothers and sisters, not for a special class of unusually accomplished Christians.
