tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90090397647969184502024-03-08T12:42:06.716-07:00JESUS IS THE LORDRafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.comBlogger234125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-90510017016418667322007-08-07T06:34:00.000-06:002007-08-07T06:41:41.227-06:00THEORIES OF EVOLUTION ARE FOREVER DEAD PROVEN WRONG AND IRRATIONAL<span style="font-size:180%;">THEORIES OF EVOLUTION ARE FOREVER DEAD PROVEN FOOLISH AND IRRATIONAL<br />EXPANSSION, QUANTUN, THEORIES, ARE EXPOSED AS FOOLISH AND IRRATIONAL. BE THE JUDGE .We will look at the theories of evolution in their two main foundations: the expanssion of the universe, and the quantun or microorganisim. To understand it with reason,thee first subject we are confronted with is God.Let us read a few verses from the Bible. Psalm 14:1 of the Old Testament says, "The fool has said in his heart,/There is no God." This sentence may also be translated as "The fool does not want God in his heart." The result of saying this can be found in the second sentence of the same verse: "They are corrupt; they do abominable deeds."Let us also take a passage from the New Testament. Hebrews 11:6 says, "For he who comes forward to God must believe that He is."THREE KINDS OF PEOPLEWhether you claim to be a Christian, a non-believer, or a seeker after truth, we will start by examining the subject of God. In this respect the world is divided into three camps. The first is that of the atheists who do not believe in a God. The second consists of the agnostics. They have no sure knowledge about the deity. On the one hand, they dare not say there is no God, but on the other hand, they are not clear if God does exist. We belong to the third category of those who believe in God.PROSECUTIONIs there a God? I will not try to say yes or no to this question. Rather, I will make this place a law court. I will ask you to be the judge, and I will be the prosecutor. The work of a judge is to make decisions, to approve or disapprove the truth of statements; the work of a prosecutor is to present all the evidence and arguments that he can possibly gather.Before we proceed, we have to be clear about one fact: all prosecutors are not eyewitnesses of crimes. They are not policemen. A policeman may personally witness an event, whereas a prosecutor obtains his information only indirectly. He places all the charges, evidence, and arguments collected before the judge. In the same way, I shall present before you everything that I can possibly find. If you ask whether I have seen God or not, I would say "no." I am reading or demonstrating what I have gathered. My job is to search for facts and to call for witnesses. You are to arrive at a conclusion yourself.QUALIFICATIONSMany people assert that there is no God. As a prosecutor I ask you first to check the qualification of these people. Are they qualified to make such claims? Are those who assert that there is no God moral or immoral? Do not just listen to their arguments. Even robbers and swindlers have their arguments. Of course, the arguments support them as robbers and swindlers. The subject of their arguments may be very noble; they may talk about the state of the nations and the welfare of society, but their opinions cannot be seriously considered. They are not worthy of passing such judgments. If a man is upright in his conduct and moral judgment, we can give credibility to his words, but if not, his words lose their credibility. This is especially true when it relates to the question of deity. It is interesting to note that the moral standards of men are directly related to their concept about God. Those who admit their own ignorance have a passable standard, while insistent atheists invariably have a low level of moral responsibility. I do not claim to know all atheists, but of the several thousand that I know, none of them possess a notably commendable morality. You may tell me that there was once a moral atheist, but if there was one, he is dead. Or you may tell me that there will be a moral atheist, but whoever he may be, he is not here yet. At least we can say that for now, we do not know a moral atheist.NO ATHEIST IS MORALOnce at a gathering at the University of Nanking, I remarked that no atheist is moral. There were many students on the campus who did not believe in God. They were greatly offended by these words. The next day, while I was speaking, they came and shuffled their feet in an attempt to distract me and the audience. The next day when they came again, they made funny gestures and faces at me and carried on continuously throughout the speaking. On the fourth day the vice-president of the university, Dr. Williams, came and said to me, "We had better change the place of meeting. These students are infuriated by your assertion on the first day that atheists are not moral. Today they are not going to use their feet and lips only; they are going to use their fists. I heard that they will be waiting at the entrance of the hallway and will jump on you when you step in." I went along with the arrangement and conducted the meeting at another place. On the way to the meeting I walked alongside many students and listened to their conversations. Although many did not agree with me and felt uneasy about my preaching, they wanted to come back. One among them remarked, "Mr. Nee said that people who have no God have no sense of moral responsibility. This is perfectly right. How can anyone with moral decency shuffle his feet and jest while others are delivering a speech? Yesterday they caused such a disturbance in the meeting, and today they are going to come to fight. This is surely not what an honorable person would do. There is no doubt that those who do not believe in God do not have moral decency. Let us go to the meeting regardless of what they plan to do."Once a young man told a preacher, "When I was young, I seriously believed in God. But now that I am in college. I can no longer believe in Him." The fifty-year-old preacher patted the young man's shoulder and said, "My son, you do not believe in God anymore! Let me ask you a question: Since you have been converted to be an atheist, have you advanced morally? Has atheism helped you become better? Has it made your thoughts cleaner or your heart purer? Or did it make you just the opposite?" That young man felt ashamed. He admitted that he had gone downhill morally since his denial of God. The preacher pressed on: "I am afraid that you are not really saying that you believe there is no God, you are just hoping that there is no God."DO NOT JUDGE ACCORDING TO HOPEMany people are not really convinced that there is no God; they merely hope so. They would rather that there were no God in the universe. For them it would be much more convenient in respect to many things.I myself was one of those people. When I was a student I claimed that there was no God. Although I was extremely strong in my claim, something within me seemed to be protesting and saying, "There is a God." I knew deep in my heart that God exists. But my lips refused to admit this so that I could have an excuse for sinning. By declaring the nonexistence of God, going to sinful places was justifiable. If there were no God, I would become bold to sin. When you believe in God, you dare not do certain things. When you do away with God, you feel free to commit the worst sins without any fear whatsoever. If you sincerely hope to raise your moral standard by asserting the nonexistence of God, then your arguments are still plausible. However, the only reason men claim that there is no God is for an excuse for lawlessness, immorality, license, and indecency. For this reason, their whole argument is not worthy of consideration. The question is, "Are you qualified to claim that there is no God?" If your hope is merely for an escape from justice, you have lost your ground already.IS MAN THE GREATEST?One day a young man came to me and said, "I do not believe in a so-called God. Man is the greatest. He is the noblest among all creatures. There is no God in this universe; man is everything." We were sitting opposite each other. After hearing what he said, I stood up, went to one side of the room, stooped down, and gazed at him intently. I said, "You are really great!" Then I walked to the other side of the room and looked at him from another angle. "That is right," I said deliberately; "You are great! In Kiangsu province there are thirty million who are like you. There are at least four hundred million of your kind in China. The world contains only two billion who are the same as you are. Do you realize that during the last few days there has been a flood in the south? The dykes along the river are in jeopardy. The whole population in Hsing Hwa with more than two hundred thousand people have been recruited and rushed to the dykes in a panic. They are carrying earth with them to reinforce the banks. The repair work is still going on."Suppose that the world is recruited to hollow out the sun. A hole is drilled through the surface, and everyone has to remove a load from the inside. Assuming that no one will be burned to ashes, do you think that they can do the job? Even if all the people themselves were inside, they would not fill up the sun. That is not all. If you put several hundred planets the size of Earth inside and started shaking it, you would still find that the sun would be very empty inside. How many suns are there in the universe? Do you realize that the number of solar systems is in the hundreds of millions?"HOW VAST IS THE UNIVERSE?I then said to the young man, "And here you are! You have not even walked through the whole earth, and yet you consider yourself greater than the whole universe. Let me ask you, do you know how vast the universe is? Take light for example. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. Try to calculate how far light travels in one minute, or one hour, or a day, or a year. There are some stars whose light takes three thousand years to reach us. Go and work out how far they are from us! And you think you are so great! I would therefore advise all atheists and young men alike to admit the incompetency of man not only morally, but intellectually and academically as well."CAN MAN EXTEND BEYOND THE BOUNDSOF TIME AND SPACE?Another time when I was in Kaifeng, I met another one of those young, stout atheists. I walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "I saw God today!" He stared at me in curiosity and demanded a further word. I replied, "You are God! If you know that there is no God, then you have to be God." He asked for an explanation. I said, "Since you are convinced that there is no God, you must have traveled over the whole earth. If God is not in Shanghai, He may still be in Nanking. You must have been to both places. That is not all. If God is not in Nanking, He may be in Tientsin. You must also have been to Tientsin. But you cannot draw this conclusion simply by being in China; God may be in another country. So you must have been to every country on this earth. If God is not in one place, He may be in another. Therefore, you must have traveled throughout the world. One never knows if God is hiding at the North Pole or the South Pole, or in the woods or wilderness somewhere. So you must have combed through all those regions as well. If God is not found on earth, He may be found on the moon. You therefore must have been to the moon. God may also be on other planets or in outer space. This means that you have traveled through space and all the other galaxies as well. If you can say that there is no God, it must mean that you have traveled throughout the whole universe. If this is the case, you must be God yourself."This is not all. Even though you know that God does not exist in Shanghai today, how about yesterday? Perhaps God will come tomorrow. You say that you know there is no God today, but what about last year? And how do you know that God will not come next year? You say that there is no God this year, but what about a thousand years ago? Very well, you must be an everlasting one who knows everything about the past and future. You have to be a being beyond time and space. You must be in Tientsin and in another country at the same time; you must be omnipresent from the east to the west, from the North Pole to the South Pole. Who else but you can be the very God? If you are not God, you can never be qualified to say that there is no God."THE EVIDENCESome will immediately step back and say, "I have never said that I know there is no God. One can never tell whether there is a God or not." Well, if you cannot give a conclusion, I will ask witnesses whom I consider trustworthy to present arguments to you and prove the existence of God. Again let me say this, you are the judge, and I am the prosecutor. I am presenting only the evidence before you. Decide for yourself if there is a God.THE UNIVERSEFirst, look at nature, the world that is before our eyes and every phenomenon in it. We all know that scientific knowledge is the rational explanation of natural phenomena. For example, there is an observed drop in the temperature of a patient. The drop in temperature is a phenomenon, and the explanation for it is scientific knowledge. When an apple falls from the tree, it is a phenomenon. Why does an apple not fly into the air? The explanation for this phenomenon constitutes knowledge. A man with knowledge is a man who has the proper explanations.ONLY TWO EXPLANATIONSThe universe displays countless phenomena of diverse forms, colors, shapes, and nature. We cannot fail to notice these phenomena before our eyes. The explanation for all these phenomena is known as knowledge. All thoughtful persons have only two explanations as far as the origin of the universe is concerned; there is no third explanation. You have to take one or the other of them.What are these two explanations? The first says that the universe came into being through natural evolution and self-interaction; the second attributes its origin to a personified Being with intellect and purpose. These are the only two explanations presented by all philosophers of the world. There is not a third one.Where did the universe come from? Did it come into existence by itself or through chance? Or was it designed by the One from whom we derive the concept of God? You have to think and then make a decision about it. Everything that is by chance has certain characteristics. I would suggest you list all of these in a detailed way, the more the better, and then compare all the phenomena of the universe with your list. Alongside of this make another list of the characteristics which, in your opinion, would be prominent if the universe were created by an intelligent Being. Now by a simple comparison of nature with your two lists, it will be easy to draw a reasonable conclusion.CHANCE EVENTSWhat are the characteristics of things that come about by chance? First, we know that they are unorganized. At the most they can be partially integrated. They can never be totally organized. One can achieve a specified goal by chance once, but he can never achieve a specified goal by chance all the time. Anything that comes together by chance can only be integrated partially, never totally. For example, if I throw this chair to the other side of the room, by chance it may come to rest at a perfect angle. If I do the same with a second chair, it may also lie neatly beside the first one. But this will not keep on happening with the third and the fourth and so on. Chance can only provide partial organization. It does not guarantee total integration. Furthermore, all random interactions are aimless, disorganized, and purposeless. They are without order and structure; they are loose, formless, disorderly, and not directed toward any meaningful purpose. Briefly, we can say that the characteristics of chance events are disharmony, irregularity, inconsistency, purposelessness, and insignificance. We will write down these four characteristics on our list.CONSISTENCY AND ORGANIZATIONNow let us compare the things in the universe with these characteristics. Take, for example, the human being. He is carried in his mother's womb for nine months and delivered; he grows up and eventually dies. This cycle is repeated for every single individual. Consistency can be observed. It is not a wild game of chance. Again, look at the sun above your head. It does not exist purposelessly. Rather, it has its purpose and significance. Look at the moon, the stars, and the myriads of galaxies through your telescope. Some stars have their own planets. They all follow definite tracks and patterns. They are all organized. Their manner of motion can be calculated and predicted. The calendar in your hand is derived from them. Even next year's calendar can be printed before this year is past. All these show that the universe is organized, consistent, and purposeful.MICROORGANISMSLet us turn to the micro-world. Take a thin slice of wood. Put it under a microscope and observe its grain and structure, all meticulously regular and rhythmic. Even a blade of grass and the petal of a flower are finely fashioned. Nothing is unorganized or confused. Everything is disciplined and functional. All these things witness one fact to you: the universe, with its macro and micro aspects, is purposeful and meaningful. Can you say that all these came into existence by chance? Surely you cannot.IS IT OCCUPIED?Once I was preaching the gospel with a co-worker of mine in a village. On the way back we were extremely thirsty. There was neither a teahouse nor stream for us to get water. In fact the whole area was uninhabited. After walking for a while we came across a thatched hut. We went to the door quickly and knocked. For a long time there was no answer. We thought that no one lived there. When we opened the door and went in, we found that the floor was swept clean. In one of the rooms was a bed with nicely folded sheets. There was a teapot on the table, and the tea in it was still warm. I said, "Surely someone must be living here. All the arrangements indicate beyond doubt that this place is occupied by someone. We should not drink this tea. We must get out quickly or else people will think we are thieves." We walked out and waited for the owner to return.By observing the arrangements of the house, we concluded that someone was living there, without having seen the occupant. In the same way, we know that God is there by the arrangement of everything in the universe, although we cannot see Him. Every single phenomenon of nature is so balanced, organized, meaningful, and functional. You may say that they come by chance, but it is impossible for me to believe that chance is its sole originator. The Bible says, "The fool has said in his heart,/There is no God." Only foolish people can say in their hearts that there is no God.CHANCE OR DESIGNThe universe has to be created by Someone with profound wisdom, vast knowledge, and intricate design. If you cannot accept the concept of random formation of the universe, you have to admit that it was created by such a God. There cannot be a third explanation. The choice is left to you. You have to decide if the universe came by chance or whether it was created by God.A DEMAND AND ITS OBJECTOne witness may not be enough. I will call in another. This time we will consider man's heart. Before doing so, we should also observe one fact: wherever there is a desire, there must first be an object for that desire. For example, an orphan who has never seen his father naturally has a desire for a kind of paternal love. I have asked many people who were orphans, and they all have felt this irrepressible yearning. By this we can see that every desire of the heart arises out of an object in the world.As human beings we have a need for social belonging. We need companionship and mutuality. If you put a boy on a deserted island and he grows up alone, he still has the yearning for companions, for beings like himself, even though he has never seen a human being. This yearning or desire is the very proof that somewhere in the world there is something known as "man." At a certain age, man begins to think about posterity; he starts desiring children and grandchildren. This is not a mere fantasy. This desire stems out of the existence and possibility of offspring. Hence, where there is desire, there is an object for that desire.THERE IS GOD IN THE HEARTDo we have any desires other than social identity and self-propagation? What other cravings do we have? Deep in everyone there is a craving for God. Whether they are highly civilized races, such as those among the Caucasians, or the ancient civilizations, such as the Chinese civilizations, or the African natives and uncultured aborigines, they all have a common craving --God. As long as they are men, they have a yearning for God, no matter what race or nationality. This is a fact. You cannot argue against it. Everyone is seeking after God. Everywhere man is craving for God. This is very clear.By applying the principle that we just mentioned, we can see that since our heart feels the need for a God, there must necessarily be a God in the universe. Since there is a need for God in the heart, there must be the existence of God in the universe. If no God exists, we would never have such a craving in our heart. We all have an appetite for food. In the same way, we all have an appetite for God. It would be impossible to live if there was only an appetite for food but no food. Likewise, it would be impossible to live if there was a capacity for God but no God.NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT GOD?Once an atheist rudely rebuked me in a loud voice: "You said that a man has the psychological need for a God. But there is no such thing, and I do not believe in it." I said, "Well, do you mean to say that you never think about God? In fact, even while you were talking, you were thinking about Him. This indicates that you do have a capacity for God. There is no one who has never thought about God. He may try not to think much about Him. Since this thought is in you, there must be such an object outside of you."THE WORDS AND THE HEARTA young man once came to me to argue about God. He was vehemently against the existence of God. He gave me one reason after another for saying that there is no God. As he was enumerating the various reasons why God should not exist, I listened to him quietly without saying a word. Then I said, "Although you insist that there is no God and support yourself with so many arguments, you have lost your case already." He said, "What do you mean?" I went on to explain: "Your mouth can say as much as you want about there not being a God, but your heart is on my side." He had to agree with me. Although one can give all sorts of reasons in the head, there is a belief in the heart that no argument can defeat. A stubborn person may give a thousand and one reasons, but you can have the boldness to tell him, "You know better in your heart that there is a God. Why bother to look for evidence outside?"Now what would you say? After looking at nature and the universe, after checking with your inner feeling, it is up to you to decide whether or not there is a God. But you should not be irresponsible; your attitude must be sober because everyone has to meet God soon. One day you will all stand before Him. Everything concerning yourself will be laid bare. On that day you will know God. But now is the time for you to be prepared. We should all be prepared to meet our God.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-76483149843663279872007-08-04T10:16:00.000-06:002007-08-04T10:18:22.426-06:00CONSIDER THIS SCIENTIFICALLY AND OBJECTIVLY<span style="font-size:180%;">I shall begin by assuming that the issue of God's existence is settled. We all believe that there is a God. As those who desire to know the truth, we must go one step further to find out what kind of God He is. God is the greatest Unknown. We must spend some time to find out about this unknown One. The next step now is to know what kind of a God He is.In the past few thousand years man has been inquiring about the nature of God. Is He kind or is He righteous? Is He indifferent towards us, or is He extremely interested in human affairs? These types of questions are the direct cause of all human religions. What is religion? Religion is man's inquiry about God and his explanation of Him. Through these explanations, different men have arrived at different concepts about God. What kind of God is He? This is a big question. It is also a very serious question. We have all given our thought to this subject at one time or another. The question might even have occurred to our little mind when we were five years old. All men, educated or ignorant, have been intrigued by this question. It comes naturally after some contemplation and observation.But a person trying to speculate about God is like an ant attempting to understand a human being. It is extremely difficult for the little creature to try to realize our life, nature, and mind. In the same way it is impossible for us to try to comprehend God. For this reason, in the past few thousand years, all kinds of people, theologians and philosophers alike, have done much thinking about Him. What has God been doing all this time? Has He been indifferent to us or has He tried to reveal Himself to us? What is God's attitude? Do you think He would say, "I am God and have nothing to do with human beings. I do not care what you think about Me. I shall stay in heaven as God. Let the mortals be ignorant!" Or do you think He has a desire to reveal Himself to man and visit him?When I was in India, I saw some people lying naked on beds studded with nails. Some walked with bare feet on burning coals. These people devoted a great deal of energy to seeking after God. What has God done to them? Did He hide Himself and take no notice of them at all? Has He not kept Himself as a perpetual mystery? This is a great question. We have to consider it scientifically and objectively in order to find out what God is like.A few years ago I spoke on a similar subject to some medical students in an auditorium in Cheloo University. I said that man is an organism with a life. God also is a life. Man's life is higher than that of the lower animals, and God's life is even higher than that of man. I asked the students, "Since we realize that all living organisms have some common laws and express some common traits, can you name them?" Different ones then started to bring up different points. At the end we summed up the discussion in this way: all living organisms contain two common characteristics. You can call these characteristics their common expressions or their common laws. First, every life wants to preserve itself. It tends to reproduce itself. There is the ability to produce posterity, to continue its own life. Second, every life wants to have fellowship with other lives. It cannot stand being by itself. When a man cannot find fellowship with another human being, he goes to dogs, cats, fish, or birds and makes friends with animals. All living creatures desire fellowship.Based on these two characteristics of life, namely, the preservation of itself and fellowship with others, laws of human government are instituted. For example, the death penalty reflects a convict's desire to preserve his own life; punishment comes in the form of taking away and terminating such a life. This is the way to inflict suffering on a life. Imprisonment, as a less serious punishment, cuts him off from having fellowship with others. This reversal of the life principle becomes then a suffering for him. From this we see that punishment is applied according to the principles of life.With these two chief characteristics in mind, let us turn to the life of God. God is an organism of a higher order than human beings. He is naturally governed by this law of life. We can know God by the characteristics and distinctive features of His life. From this we can deduce whether or not God wants to have fellowship with man.There are two kinds of religion: religion based on natural concepts and religion based on revelation. Natural religion starts with man as the center. He is the one that is seeking after God and studying about Him. What then is revelational religion? Revelational religion comes directly from God. He is the One who comes to reveal things to us. Man's thoughts are often useless fancies. God's revelation alone is trustworthy. Christianity is different from all other natural religions in that it is a religion that comes from revelation. Christianity begins from God. It is God who comes to seek out man, rather than man who seeks after God.I will not try to persuade you to believe in Christianity or to read the Bible. I will only make a few suppositions. We will treat the subject in the same way as if we were solving a problem in geometry. We will start from the suppositions and then deduce our arguments step by step. We will examine our reasonings to see if they are sound and if our conclusions are logical. As in mathematics, with some problems we work forwards, while with others we work backwards. At any rate, in the end we should be able to tell whether or not a supposition is justified.We have to make a few suppositions. The first one is that God exists. This in fact has been covered by us already. We have agreed that there is a God. He is a Being who has a purpose.Second, we assume that God has a desire to reveal Himself to man. If God wants to reveal Himself to man and if He wants us to know Him, how does He do it? In what manner can He be made known to us? If He speaks to us through thunder or writes to us through lightning, we will not be able to comprehend His message. How then does God make Himself known to us?If He is to reveal Himself and if He wants us to know Him, He necessarily must do it through human means. What then are the common ways that men communicate with one another? First, they do it through speaking and second through writing. All means of communication, whether telegraph, telephone, sign, or symbols, are all included in these two categories. If God is to manifest Himself, these are the only two means for Him to do so. For the present we set aside the aspect of speaking; we will see how God communicates with us through writing.If God reveals Himself through writing, of all the volumes written by different people throughout the centuries, there must be one book which is divinely inspired. This is a very crucial test. If such a book exists, it proves not only the existence of God, but it contains His written revelation to us as well. Is there then such a divinely written book?In the search for such a book, let us first mention a few basic principles. Suppose I want to order a book from a publisher. If I can tell him the name and author of the book, there will be no trouble getting it. If, however, I forget the name and author of the book, I can describe the characteristics of it to the publisher, such as the contents, size, color, binding, etc. The publisher will then search through all his books and locate the volume I want. God has one book in this universe. How do we find it? We have to know its characteristics first. If there is any book that has been written by God, it must meet certain conditions or have certain qualifications before one can say that it is from God.Let me put forth a few propositions. If there is a book written by God, it must first of all mention God. It must tell you that it is from God and that its author is God. This is the first qualification. Second, it must carry a moral tone that is higher than what we commonly know. If it is a fabrication, it can at the most be on the same level as man. Third, if there is such a divine book, it must tell us about the past and the future of this world. Only God knows clearly what occurred in the past and what will happen in the future. Only by telling us these matters will we know Him as God. Fourth, this book must be simple and available so that all may be able to secure and understand it. If there were only one such book in the world, then only a very few people would be able to see it. It would not pass the test unless it is a book accessible to everyone. In the United States there is a group of people who claim to have a book from God. It is engraved in gold and contains only twelve pages. Such a book then would not be accessible to the Chinese. God would never write to us a book at which we could not look.Now the matter is simplified. Let us repeat these four conditions once more. (1) If such a book exists, it must tell us explicitly that its author is God. (2) It must carry a high tone of morality. (3) It must give a detailed description of the past and the future of the universe. (4) It must be available. Let us pick out some of the more important writings throughout human civilization and check them against these qualifications to see if any meets our requirements.We will start from books that are generally considered to be good. Let us take the Chinese classics of Confucius. They are immediately disqualified under the first requirement, for none of them claims to be written by God. They do have a high tone of morality, but they fail to give the origin and destiny of the world, the universe, and man. This does not mean that they are worthless books; it means that they do not contain the qualifications we want. They are not what we are looking for.Let us go to the classics of other cultures. There are numerous volumes of famous writings, but none of them passes the first test. They are all clearly written by man. They may be masterpieces in philosophy or morality, but they are not written by God, nor are they divinely inspired. We have to set them aside.There is a book in India called the Rig-Veda. It once dominated Hinduism. However, it does not claim to be written by God.Another book called the Avesta, written by a Persian named Zoroaster, is also extremely influential in the Middle East. It does not claim to be from God either. Moreover, its moral tone is not especially commendable.Let us come to the Koran of Mohammedanism. This is the closest one we can find. It tells us that it comes from God; it meets the first requirement. However, it does not fulfill the second requirement, for its moral tone is too low. The heaven it describes is full of lusts and flesh. God could never write a book with such licentiousness and immorality. Hence, this book does not pass the test of morality.After searching through all the books, you have to come finally to the Bible. If God desires to communicate with man, and if He does so through writing, then this is the only book that can pass the four tests. Hence, this must be the book God has for man.What does this book say? In the books of the law in the Old Testament, it says, "Thus saith the Lord," at least five hundred times. Other books in the Old Testament repeat the phrase about seven hundred times. In addition to the references in the New Testament to the speakings of God, the Bible has more than two thousand claims of divine origin. If God has no intention of communicating with man, we can forget about this book. But if He does communicate with man through writing, then this book has to be of immense value. Can you find another book where God is claimed as its author that many times?We have to see if the Bible meets the second qualification. Let us take a look at its moral tone. Everyone who has studied this book confesses that it carries the highest moral standard. Even the sins of the most noble persons are recorded and condemned without mercy. Once a strong opposer of the Bible was asked by his son, "Why are you so strong against the Bible?" He answered, "If I do not condemn it, it will condemn me." This book does not let us get by easily. The human concept is that all sexual acts outside marriage are considered as fornication. The Bible, however, says that even an evil thought is fornication. Human morality condemns an act of killing as murder, but the Bible condemns a slight hatred in the heart as murder.We consider a man who lets his enemy get by without paying vengeance as forgiving. But the Bible charges man to love his enemy. How high is its moral tone, and how low we are before its standards! You cannot help but admit that it presents the best ethical code for humanity.Furthermore, this book describes in detail the past and future of the universe. Once a friend told me that he could believe in everything the Bible says except the parts in Genesis and Revelation where it talks about the origin and destiny of the heavens and earth. I told him that if this is indeed a book from God, it must, of necessity, contain these matters. If the Bible did not contain Genesis and Revelation, it would be the same as any other book, and we would have to look for another book; it would not be the one we want. But the past condition of the world and its future destiny are recorded here. Hence, the third qualification is also met.What is the circulation of such a book? Last year (1935), more than two hundred million copies were sold. Can you name another book that has such a high circulation rate? This statistic, moreover, is not limited to just last year; every year the number has remained approximately the same. In one sense this book is very popular. In another sense it is like a thorn in your hand; it pierces you. This book gives you a headache. It creates an unspeakable uneasiness within man. It even causes man to oppose it. In spite of this, its annual sales are still over two hundred million.Furthermore, this book is translated into more than seven hundred twenty languages. In every country and among every race, there is a translation of this unique book. It is extremely easy for anyone to obtain a Bible anywhere in the world. If the Rig-Veda were God's book, then more than half of the world would perish due to a failure in obtaining it. Even if you put the Rig-Veda in my hand, I would still be unable to understand it. If only the educated ones can contact God, then I am destined to go to hell. If only the Indians have the opportunity, we Chinese, as well as other races, are out of hope. If God speaks through the Rig-Veda, then where can we find that book? Maybe we can only find the original copy in the London Museum. And even that may not contain the original meaning of God's revelation to man.This is not all. The Bible contains sixty-six books and it is divided into the Old and New Testaments. It was written by no less than thirty people. The span from the time the first book was written to the time when the last book was finished is more than sixteen hundred years. The places where they were written are also different. Some were written in Babylon, some in Italy, some at one end of Asia Minor, others at the other end of the Mediterranean. Furthermore, the writers themselves differed in their backgrounds. Some were lawyers; some were fishermen. There were princes, and there were shepherds. All these writings by men of different backgrounds, languages, environments, and periods are put together. The amazing thing is that it is still a complete book.All those who have had some experience of editing know that in order to put together a few articles written by different authors, it is necessary for the authors to be of comparable level of academic achievements and viewpoints. Even when the academic standard and viewpoints are similar, there will still be conflicts and contradictions when you put five or six articles together. But the Bible, though complex in contents, contains history, poetry, laws, prophecies, biographies, and doctrines and was written by so many different ones at different times and under different circumstances, yet when you put them together, they surprisingly run as one continuous volume. There is no conflict or contradiction. They are written in one breath.If you read this book carefully, you have to admit that God's hand is behind all the writings. More than thirty people of varied backgrounds and ideas in different times and places wrote these sixty-six books. When you group them up, they link together as if they were written by one individual. Genesis was written about fifteen hundred years before Christ, and Revelation was written ninety-five years after Christ. There is a time span of sixteen hundred years. One talks about the beginning while the other projects the end of the world. Yet whatever begins in Genesis is concluded in Revelation. This amazing feature cannot be explained in human terms. Every word of it has to be written by God through man. God is the motivating One behind the whole composition.There is another remarkable thing about this book. In itself it is a book that gives life. Yet countless numbers of people have lost their lives for its sake. There was a time when anyone who held this book in his hand would immediately be put to death. The most powerful empire in history was the Roman Empire. There was a time when this empire summoned all its forces to destroy this book. Everyone who possessed it would be inhumanly persecuted and later killed or burned. They wiped out thousands of people and burned countless copies of the Bible. They even set up a monument at a place where they killed Christians. On it was the inscription: "Christianity is buried here." They thought that when they had burned all the Bibles and removed all the Christians, they would see Christianity lying there beneath their feet. But it was not long after that when the Bible came back again. Even in a country like England, which has already accepted Christianity as its state religion, you can still find tombs of martyrs for Christ if you visit different places there. Here and there you can find places where the Bible was once burned. Or you may come across a tombstone that tells you that such and such a person tried so hard and wrote so many books in his life to oppose the Bible. One place may tell you that the Bible was once burned there, and another place may tell you that Christians were once killed there. One signpost may point you to a statue of martyrdom, and another may point to a site of Bible burning.Why is it that so many people have tried so hard to oppose this book? Why is it that men would pass by other books, but would either oppose this book with every fibre of their being or would put their whole life to the stake for it? There must be something extraordinary here. Even if you do not believe that this is God's word, you have to admit that there is something unusual about this book.This book seems to be very simple and easy. If you consider it from the historical point of view, it tells the origin of the universe, the earth, the plants, human beings, how they established their kingdoms, and how they will eventually end. This is all. There is nothing special about it. Yet it has been handed from generation to generation for centuries. Today it is still with us. Moreover, if you do not confess that it is truth, you have to conclude that it is false. You can disregard many books, but you cannot ignore this book. Nor will it ignore you. It will not let you go. It demands a verdict from you. It will not pass you by.Another remarkable thing about this book is that almost half of it is prophecy. Among the prophecies, almost half of them are fulfilled. The other half are for the future and await fulfillment. For example, it predicted the fate of the nations of Moab and Ammon and of the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Today when people talk about big cities, they mention London and Shanghai. Then it was Tyre and Sidon. They were two chief cities of the ancient world. The prophecies concerning these two cities were all fulfilled. Once I was in the Middle East. For some reason I did not visit those two places. However, I bought two pictures of those cities. It amazed me when I looked at those pictures. I could not help but believe in the Bible. It was prophesied that if these two metropolitan cities did not repent, they would be destroyed and devastated. Their land would become hills of rocks and pebbles where fishermen would come to dry their nets. In the pictures that I bought, there was nothing but fishing boats and open nets on the shore. This is only one small fact that proves the reliability of biblical prophecy.If you compare past events with the prophecies in the Bible, you will find that they all correspond one with another. For another example, take the birth of Christ. Isaiah prophesied concerning a virgin with child a few hundred years before Christ actually came. Later, He was born indeed of the virgin Mary. The prophecy was accurately fulfilled. As the prophecies concerning the past have been fulfilled, so the prophecies concerning the future must also be fulfilled.If God desires to communicate with man, He must do so through common human channels of communication. He must use the human language or human writings. In other words, there must be a book in the world that is a direct revelation from God. If such a book does exist, it must contain the four criteria we mentioned. Now we can say that such a book is found. This book tells us that God desires to have fellowship with us. He speaks to us through this book. Through it God is no longer an unknown Being. We can now know Him. This book is the Bible. I hope all of you will read it.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-51900935478845510882007-08-04T10:12:00.000-06:002007-08-04T10:15:52.436-06:00THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER.IS HE CRAZY? A LUNATIC? A LIAR? PLEASE YOUR VEREDICT.<span style="font-size:180%;">God desires to reveal Himself to us. He does so through means that are comprehensible to man. These are namely written and spoken language. We have seen how God reveals Himself through writing. Now we want to take a look at His revelation through speaking.Suppose that you have had correspondence with a person for many years; however, you have never seen him. Naturally, you would want to know him more by having some direct acquaintance with him. Full understanding of someone cannot be achieved merely through writing. Direct contact gives a better chance. It seems as if communication through speech is of a more intimate and thorough nature than writing. When spoken language is added to written language, communication becomes enhanced. If you take away either of the two, you have a gap. Of course, if you take away both, communication is completely voided. Effective communication is always carried out by these two means.If God's intention is to reveal Himself to us, He must of necessity do so through speaking. But how does God speak? Does He trumpet from the heavens? If so, we would all be frightened to death. We would all run away. No one would dare to listen. There is a chasm between Him and us. He, being so high and great, would drive us away from His holiness. How then does He speak?THE WINTER ON THE MOUNTAINLet me relate to you a story. One winter I was staying on the mountain Lu-shan, recovering from an illness. It was immediately after the war, and there was practically no one living on the mountain. In the vicinity of my dwelling, one could hardly see anyone all day long. I am a quiet person by nature. This kind of environment was very appealing to me. Not only was it quiet there, but the weather was cold as well. From morning till dusk, all I saw was a boy who came three times to deliver my meals. At the beginning I was quite at ease. But after a while, even a person like me began to feel lonely.One day after lunch I went to take a nap. There was a balcony outside my bedroom window. When I woke up I saw some little creatures gathering around the balcony. Bits of my meal had been dropped there, and the birds were busily chirping around them. As they hopped around, they chirped and made many cheerful noises. I said to myself, "All right. Since I cannot find any human beings, I will try to make friends with these little birds."I rose up and went out to greet them. But in an instant they all flew away. An idea came to me. I took some of the leftover rice and began to arrange it in rows, with only a few grains in the first row and gradually increased them towards the entrance of the doorway. I hid behind the door and watched them coming. Soon they gathered around again. I said to myself, "This is my chance." I walked out and began to make friends with them. But the minute they saw me, they all scattered. Some perched on the branches of the tree across the balcony and stared at me, as if trying to determine what my intention was. Every time I approached them, they flew away, and every time I walked away, they came back. This went on a number of times.I wanted to preach to the birds. I wanted to tell them, "Little birds, I have no special intention in doing this. This is winter on the mountain, and food is scarce. I have enough food with me, and I just want to share it with you. Please be at peace and come down. I only ask that as you eat, I can sit among you. I want to listen to your songs and watch you playing. Come. Let us be friends..." But the birds would not come. They did not understand me. I had to give up.Later I had a certain realization within. I began to preach to myself. I said, "This body of mine is too big. If I could shrink from five feet eleven inches to the size of a bird, and even change myself into a bird, they would not be alarmed by my presence. I could then tell them my heart's intention, and we could spend the winter on the mountain Lu-shan together."We have a similar problem today. If God remained God, we could never understand Him. If He talked to us in His language, we would be altogether lost. If God wants to reveal Himself through speaking and have fellowship with man, He must shrink Himself to such a degree that He and we are the same. Only then would He be able to speak to us and tell us of Himself and of the mysteries of the universe. Only then would we be able to understand Him.Has God become a man to reveal Himself through His speaking? Let us again use the method of supposition. What if God revealed Himself through the human language? What if He became a man and fellowshipped with man? The implication is tremendous here! It would mean that in this world, among all the human beings throughout history, one person was not merely a man, but God as well! If it is granted that God became a man, there must be a mortal who was also divine. We need to find out about this One.This is a thorny task. But we will employ the effective method we have adopted—namely, setting down a few principles. Then we will search according to these qualifications and directions. We want to base our evaluation on what manner of life a person should possess and what qualifications he must have if he is God.The first condition that this person must fulfill is that he must claim to be God while he is on earth. He cannot be apologetic about it. He must declare boldly that he is God. Only then can we know who he is. Without this declaration, we have no way to guess his identity. Hence, a declaration is our first qualification.Second, the way this person came into the world must be different from ours. If I said that I am God and yet was born in the same manner as every other mortal, my words would carry no force. If on the other hand, I dropped down from heaven, my assertion would be taken seriously. The way this person comes into being must be extraordinary. He must come in an absolutely different fashion; otherwise, his words will not carry the necessary weight.Third, this man must bear a moral standard that is far above that of all other human beings. He must have God's holiness, and his life must bear the mark of God's righteousness. For example, if I became a bird and lived in exactly the same way as other birds, without showing them anything extraordinary, I could not convince them that I was actually a man. If God is to become a man, His moral behavior must be of the highest quality. This is the only way that we could identify Him as God.Furthermore, if a person is God, he must necessarily be able to perform things which no mortal can do. If he can achieve what we cannot achieve and know what we do not know, we can say that he is truly God.Lastly, this person must be able to tell us the divine purpose concerning man. What was God's purpose in creating the universe and man? How does He take care of human pains and sorrows? What is the origin and ultimate solution of everything in the universe? What should our attitude towards God be? All these he must reveal to us. Unless this one shows us what we do not see, we cannot say that he has shown us any revelation.We will set down these five conditions and put the whole of humanity to the test. Let us find out if someone meets the five requirements. Such a person would surely be qualified to be God.The first person to put to the test should be yourself. Of course, you are not God, because you have never claimed to be God. Nor have I ever claimed to be. So that rules out you and me. Very well, now we will introduce Confucius. If you read his books, you will find that he did conduct a very moral and proper life. But he never claimed to be God either. Hence, he fails in the first step.What about Sakya Muni, the founder of Buddhism? Not only was there an absence of the claim of divinity, but his philosophy itself is void of deity. He did not believe in the existence of God. Since he had no God, he cannot be God either.Next, go to Mohammed. He believed in God. But he never claimed to be God. He called God Allah and himself the prophet of Allah. If you go through every person in history, you will discover that no one ever claimed to be God except One. That One was Jesus of Nazareth. He claimed to be the living God. No other person put forward such a claim.How can Jesus of Nazareth claim to be God? Before going on, we have to pause for a moment to seriously consider the matter. It is not a light thing to claim to be God. A person who makes such a claim falls into one of three categories. He must belong to one of these three categories; he cannot belong to all three. First, if he claims to be God and yet in fact is not, he has to be a madman or a lunatic. Second, if he is neither God nor a lunatic, he has to be a liar, deceiving others by his lie. Third, if he is neither of these, he must be God. You can only choose one of the three possibilities. If you do not believe that he is God, you have to consider him a madman. If you cannot take him for either of the two, you have to take him for a liar. There is no need for us to prove if Jesus of Nazareth is God or not. All we have to do is find out if He is a lunatic or a liar. If He is neither, He must be the Son of God. These are our three choices. There is no fourth.What did Jesus of Nazareth say about Himself? In John 10:30 He said, "I and the Father are one." We need some explanation here. In the Bible the invisible God is called the Father. The Son manifests and expresses the Father. What is hidden is the Father, and what is expressed is the Son. The Son is the One who can be seen and touched. Behind, you have the Father. In front, you have the Son. The two are actually one. They are the two sides of the same reality. When we talk about two, we refer to the fact that one is hidden while the other is revealed. When we talk about one, we say that the revealed One is just the hidden One in manifestation. This is the biblical interpretation of the Father and the Son.Therefore, when Jesus of Nazareth one day said, "I and the Father are one," it was a statement that no one else could make. This man was saying in reality that He and the invisible God are one entity. He is God and God is He. God is the invisible Father, and He is the manifested Son. The Father and the Son are one! Who can this One be that made such a claim? Is He a madman? Is He out to deceive us?After Jesus spoke such a word, what reaction do we see? "The Jews again took up stones that they might stone Him. Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these works are you stoning Me? The Jews answered Him, We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, are making Yourself God" (vv. 31-33). The Jews understood very well that Jesus' words meant that He claimed to be God. After hearing these words they wanted to stone Him to death. A claim was made by Jesus, and an accusation was charged by the Jews, both of which concerned His divinity. Was Jesus insane? Did He speak pure nonsense just to cause people to kill Him? Or was He a swindler setting up some kind of a scheme? If so, what was He trying to gain? Was He trying to gain death?Perhaps we will go back a little bit to the earlier parts in the Gospel of John and see what it says there. John 1:18 says, "No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." Why has no one seen God? It is because God is invisible. Jesus said that He was the only Begotten of the Father; He expressed the invisible Father. When you see the only Begotten, you see the Father.Again He spoke concerning Himself, "And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven" (3:13). Have you ever heard anyone say such words? I cannot say, "No one has been to Shanghai, but he who comes from Shanghai to Tientsin, even I, Watchman Nee, who is in Shanghai." If I say so, I would be gibbering nonsense. But Jesus was speaking a heavenly language. He said that He came out of heaven and is still in heaven. What can a person be if he can be in two places simultaneously? Either he is God or he is a lunatic or he is a liar. If you have not yet believed in Christ, please give a verdict to this issue. Who is this man?Let us read John 3:31-32: "He who comes from above is above all; he who is from the earth is of the earth and speaks out of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies, and no one receives His testimony." He said that He came out of heaven and was above all. After a while He said the same thing again. Let us see what is the purpose behind these words. He came to preach the things of heaven, but no one received His words. He mentioned words like "heaven," "above all," "out of heaven," etc. What kind of man was He? Confucius never said this. Neither did Sakya Muni or Mohammed. Was Jesus of Nazareth a madman, a liar, or the Son of God?John 5:17 says, "But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I also am working." He always put Himself in the same place as the Father. Verse 18 says, "Because of this therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath but also called God His own Father, making Himself equal with God." When we read His words now, we may consider them to be ordinary remarks. But the Jews knew what He was saying. They knew that He was making Himself equal with God. The words in fact meant that God is His Father and He came to express God. The invisible One is God, and the visible One is He. Therefore, the Jews sought to kill Him. What should we do about such an unusual person?John 6:46 says, "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except Him who is from God, He has seen the Father." Here the word is clearer. He said that no one other than Himself has ever seen God. Only He knew what the Father is like. I can only say with soberness and reverence that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. Read John 8:18. What did He say? "I am One who testifies concerning Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies concerning Me." The question in verse 19 is most interesting: "They said then to Him, Where is Your Father? Jesus answered, You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also." Have you seen what He was saying? They had seen Him, yet did not know Him. Of course they would not know the Father either, whom they had not seen. If men knew Him, they knew God. Who is He then? If knowing Him equals knowing God, is that not the same as saying that He is God and God is He?Read John 8:23: "And He said to them, You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world." The preposition "from" in this verse is ek in Greek. It means "out of." That is how it should be translated. He said, "You are out of this world, but I am not out of this world." This man claimed to be from above; He did not come out of this world. Who can He be?The Jews were confused. They were totally bewildered. Who was this man? The ancestor of the Jews is Abraham. They boasted of being the descendants of Abraham in the same way the Chinese boast of being the offspring of Hwang-ti. The name Abraham was highly venerated among the Jews. Now they brought out Abraham. Please read John 8:53: "Are You greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too. Who are You making Yourself?" How did Jesus answer them? Was He greater or smaller than Abraham? In verse 56 Jesus said, "Your father Abraham exulted that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced." What is this? Even Abraham had to look forward to Jesus! Hence, verse 57: "The Jews then said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Now please pay your attention to Jesus' answer in verse 58: "Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham came into being, I am." Tell me who this man is. If I told you that before Hwang-ti was, I, Watchman Nee am there, you would immediately write me off as a lunatic. Some of you would say that I am a liar. The words Jesus spoke made Him either a madman, a liar, or God. There can be no fourth alternative.We have to read on. In John 10:37-38 Jesus said, "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, even if you do not believe Me, believe the works so that you may come to know and continue to know..." Know what? The clause following is very crucial. It is a big statement: "...that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father." Who then is this man? He said that He was in God and God was in Him.Passages like the above are numerous in the Bible. I shall mention one more. Read carefully John 14:6-7: "Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and henceforth you know Him and have seen Him." It says clearly that if you know Jesus of Nazareth, you have known the invisible God. Why is this so? It is because He is God.One of the disciples was confused. John 14:8 says, "Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us." Philip was asking to be shown the Father who had been mentioned again and again by Jesus. Verse 9 says, "Jesus said to him, Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how is it that you say, Show us the Father?" Here Jesus made it very plain that to see Him is to see God. He made no apology about it. He is God. There is no need to see the Father anymore. If you see Him, you see God!Who is Jesus of Nazareth? What would you say? Is He merely the founder of the Christian religion? Is He merely an example of self-sacrifice and humanitarianism? Is He a social reformer? Is He an advocate for universal love, peace, and freedom? Listen to what He said about Himself. He said that He is God. What is your conclusion? Is He a lunatic or a liar? Is He a hoax, or is He God? This is a vital question.Can He be a madman? If you read His biographies in the Gospels and observe His life and manner, you will realize that not only was He sane and sound, He was very sober and firm. If there is a perfectly sound person in this world, He has to be the One. His mind was clear, and His mentality was alert. If you study His deeds and words carefully, you have to confess that His thoughts are very logical and consistent, and His manners are most comely and appropriate. To opposing ones He only needed to reply a few sentences, and their arguments against Him were defeated. He did not have a trace of madness in Him. A madman could never have done what He did.Then is He a liar? A liar always lies for a profit. If there is no profit to be gained, what is the purpose of lying? Why was Jesus crucified? For no other reason than that He claimed to be God. At the last judgment, the hour when His release or crucifixion was to be deliberated, He was examined as to who He was. What was His answer? He said that the Son of Man would be seen sitting on the right hand of the Majesty on high, descending on the clouds in glory (Matt. 26:64). Even then He claimed to be God. As a result, He was crucified on the cross. Is there a liar who would sacrifice his life for his lie?Once I met a person who wanted to talk with me about our faith. He read some books about Jesus and admitted that Jesus had a high standard of morality. He could consider Jesus as a perfect man, a model for humanity. But he could not believe that Jesus is God. I said, "If you admit that He has a high standard of morality, then He at least is not a liar. If you agree that He is not a liar, then you have to accept His claim of divinity as truth. He repeatedly asserted that He is God. If you admire His morality, you have to recognize His divinity as well. Jesus of Nazareth is God!"Please read John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Verse 14 says, "And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality." What is the "Word" mentioned in verses 1 and 14? Verse 1 speaks of the relationship the Word has with God. In reference to when, the Word was there from the beginning. In reference to where, the Word was with God. In reference to what, the Word was God. Today the Word has become flesh; He has taken on a human body and dwelt among men. As to how He dwells, it says that He is "full of grace and reality," and "we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father." Who is this One? He is Jesus of Nazareth.Here we have only seen one of the five qualifications mentioned earlier. Only Jesus of Nazareth meets this first condition. This proves that He is God. We shall go on to see the four other conditions or qualifications. Jesus of Nazareth must meet all the other four qualifications before we can conclude that He is God.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-90878204967185504192007-08-04T10:08:00.000-06:002007-08-04T10:09:25.926-06:00WHO IS HE?<span style="font-size:180%;">Our Christian faith is based upon the revelation of God. It is different from all other religions which are attained through meditation, conjecture, and searching. We believe that the Bible is God's revelation to us. In other words, it is His spoken word to us. We also believe that God has become a man, who is the very Jesus of Nazareth. God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ constitute the basis of our faith.Let us begin by looking at the position that Christ occupies in our faith, or we may say, in Christianity. However, Christianity has been altered and is not what it ought to be. At the present we will not mention what Christianity ought to be. Rather, we will only draw a comparison between Christianity and other religions in order to see the distinctiveness of our faith. We will not try purposely to exalt Christianity and debase other religions. We will only draw an objective comparison between them.First, let us consider Confucianism. Actually, followers of Confucius never formally assert that theirs is a religion. Confucianism merely exercises great influence on Chinese culture, education, ethics, and philosophy. One thing, however, is certain: the teachings and doctrines of Confucius are of foremost importance, while the person Confucius is not as crucial. I do not mean that Confucianism has no concern for Confucius. The man indeed was an extraordinary person. However, in order to be a part of Confucianism, one only needs to understand the doctrines of Confucius, abide by his teachings, and be thoroughly acquainted with his books. It does not matter whether one understands the man Confucius or not. The principles, doctrines, and teachings of Confucius are the essence of the religion.Next let us consider Buddhism. The founder of Buddhism was Sakya Muni. Once he preached to his disciples about evil persons being reincarnated through the Wheel of Rebirth after death. This is something that attracts man's attention. But in all of Buddhism, the point of emphasis is doctrines and theories. Concerning the man Sakya Muni, although he has a history and biography, they are something parenthetical. They do not form the crux of Buddhism. The center of the religion is not the man Sakya Muni. Whether there was such a person is unimportant to today's Buddhism. All that is needed are the doctrines and teachings.Other religions such as Taoism and Mohammedanism are all of the same principle. After each founder set up a religion and left his teachings, doctrines, and regulations as the content of his religion, the founder himself was disassociated from the religion and had little to do with it.But our faith is entirely different. From its outset, Christianity is built on the man Christ. It is not built on the doctrines and teachings of Christ. It is amazing that when you open the Bible, you will not find too many chapters of doctrines. Passages where pure doctrinal issues are expounded are rare and of less concern to people. What concerns one the most is the man Himself and what kind of person He is. All who have read the Bible know that the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth are not outstandingly voluminous. His person draws our attention. He alone is the foundation of our faith.The word Christ came from Greek, meaning the Anointed One. According to the Chinese, when a man takes up a task, he is given a letter of employment. The Jewish equivalent of this is anointing. When God summons a person for a work, He pours oil on the person as a seal of commission. Christ is the very God who was set apart to come to earth to be a man for the manifestation of God, in order that man may know God. Christ is the Anointed One. He is commissioned to such a task.Due to this basic distinction, Christ is different from the founders of other religions. Once He asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Over and over again He demanded that His disciples believe in Him. He said that he who believes in the Son has eternal life. Again He said, "He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me" (Matt. 10:37). Unless a man loves in this way, he is not worthy to be His disciple. Words such as these have been uttered only by Him. No other religious leader ever said anything like that. Confucius never said to Yen-weh or Tze-lu, "Believe in me," nor did he ever say, "Love me." Neither did any of the other leaders, such as Sakya Muni or Mohammed, demand of their disciples faith in them. All it takes to be their disciples is to believe in their doctrines.Hence, the true Christian faith is based on a person. It is built on Christ and not on some doctrines. The crux of the true Christian faith is a question of who Jesus is! Is He merely a Jew? Is He only a prophet? Or is Jesus the Son of the living God? The whole matter hinges upon who Jesus of Nazareth is. The difference between a genuine Christian and a false one lies not in the knowledge of the doctrines of Christ. Rather, it lies in the knowledge of who Jesus is!Who is this man from Nazareth? Since this is a crucial question related to our basic faith, we have to find the answer in the Bible. We will pay more attention to the Gospel of John and discover that only Christ Himself is the center of the Bible and the focus of the whole of Christianity.Before taking up the Gospel of John, we have to take a look at the background of the book. Prior to the coming of Christ, a forerunner was sent by God to prepare a way for Christ that men might be ready to acknowledge Christ. The forerunner was John the Baptist. Because of his powerful preaching, many people were convicted. As a result, many thought that he was the Christ who was supposed to come.But John 1:8 says, "He was not the light, but came that he might testify concerning the light." The light means Christ. He is called the light because light reveals and manifests. John was not the Christ. He was only bearing witness to Christ.Concerning this light, verse 9 says, "This was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man." In this dark world, if a person has Christ, he will know all about God. When this light shines forth, man will say, "Here is God." They will recognize the light as God.Up to verse 9, we still do not know who this light is. Read on from verse 10 to verse 15: "He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, yet those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name, who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality. John testified concerning Him and cried out, saying, This was He of whom I said, He who is coming after me has become ahead of me, because He was before me." Have you realized, after reading the above verses, that all that is recorded here are actual facts, rather than many doctrines?What did John the Baptist say about Christ? He said, "He...is...after me." And yet He who was after John would be before him. This is because Christ was before him in the first place. This is the beginning of the testimony of John the Baptist.John 1:27: "He who is coming after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." The preaching of John is the beginning of our faith. He came just to tell others who Jesus of Nazareth is. Not only was Christ before John, He was so much greater than John that he was not worthy to untie the thong of His sandal and be His slave.John 1:29: "The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"Verse 30: "This is He of whom I said, A man is coming after me who has become ahead of me, because He was before me." When John introduced Jesus, he said, "This is He"! (v. 30). The Gospel begins by showing us who Jesus is!This is the word of the forerunner. But what about Christ? What did He say? We admit that in the Bible there are a few basic doctrines. For example, regeneration is one of the basic truths. Buddhism and Mohammedanism also talk about regeneration. In their teachings they teach that whatever is past is considered as dead yesterday, and whatever is hereafter is considered as born today. But what did Jesus say about regeneration? Let us look at the record of John 3."There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This one came to Him by night" (vv. 1-2a).Nicodemus was a ruler. He was also a learned and aged person. He came to Jesus to discuss some problems with Him, and Jesus brought up the matter of regeneration."Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (v. 3).Jesus showed Nicodemus the matter of regeneration, telling him that he needed to be born again. After Nicodemus heard this, he was confounded. He wondered how an old man could be born again. Did that mean that he had to go into his mother's womb and come out again? Jesus told him that this is not a birth of the flesh, but a birth of the spirit. If a man is not born of the Spirit, even if he could go into his mother's womb again, the flesh would still beget flesh. Only the Spirit begets spirit. Here you can see that even in such a basic and fundamental matter, Jesus did not expound much doctrine. He only mentioned a very simple fact—the need to be born again.No wonder Nicodemus asked, "How can these things be?" Jesus told him that this is not an earthly matter. It is something heavenly. That is why he could not believe. How can a man be born again? "And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that every one who believes into Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes into Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed into the name of the only begotten Son of God" (vv. 13-18). Have you seen this? This is regeneration!Jesus was saying that regeneration is not a doctrine. It is believing into Him. To be born again is to believe into Him. If a man does not believe into Him, he cannot be regenerated. After saying so much, it all comes back to "Him."What is our concept of regeneration? We think that if one was a thief yesterday and returns his booty to the owner today, that this is regeneration. Or, if one thought of having a mistress yesterday, but gives up that idea today, that this is regeneration. We think that as long as we quit doing whatever was bad in the past, considering it as dead, and strive to do well hereafter, we are born again. But this is man's concept. This is not the regeneration that Christ gives.The way of Jesus depends on whether you believe into Him or not. He who believes into Him has eternal life! God gave His only begotten Son that every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life. He who believes is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned. This is not a doctrine. It is a matter of the person. It is a relationship between Him and man.Besides regeneration, there is another crucial matter, which we call Christian satisfaction. A genuine Christian feels that his hopes are fulfilled, his aspirations attained; he has no want; he is absolutely satisfied. But this satisfaction is very different from the contentment that people commonly talk about. Contentment is to see things in an optimistic way, to let things come and go by as they are without insisting on anything. There may not be much wealth or position. There may not be much honor or renown. But as long as one can live in peace and be left unbothered, that is good enough! This is contentment. But this is not satisfaction. When a person is satisfied, he feels that he has what he wants and that he has no more desires.There is an excellent record in John 4. What did Jesus say to a Samaritan woman there? "Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again" (v. 13). If you desire worldly glory, renown, wealth, position, etc., you will never be satisfied. When you have ten thousand dollars, you will want a hundred thousand, and when you have acquired a hundred thousand, you will start dreaming about a million. There will never be satisfaction. He who drinks of this water will thirst again.How do you quench this thirst? The Lord Jesus said, "But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever" (v. 14). An amazing fact is that neither Confucius nor any other religious leader ever said such a thing. The teachings of Confucius and Mencius only tell you to be content and to abide in your poverty. The person Confucius or Mencius has nothing to do with your contentment. However, the person Jesus has a great deal to do with your thirst-quenching.Naturally the woman desired to drink of this thirst-quenching water. When she asked Jesus for this living water, "Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water" (v. 10).Was Jesus preaching a doctrine? No. There was no doctrine. The only thing He did was point to Himself, as if to say, "Well, if you know who He is, you will ask of Him at once, and He will give you living water, that you may never thirst again." Have you seen this? The whole question is who Jesus of Nazareth is.The Samaritan woman was not a decent woman. The fact that she had had six husbands showed what kind of woman she was. She must have been dissatisfied with this one and that one. One husband could not make her happy; another could not make her satisfied. As a result, she changed from one husband to another, and then to a third and a fourth, until she came to the sixth. One day she came out to draw water, a symbol of her being one who drinks and is still thirsty. The remarkable thing is that on that day, her life was changed. She became satisfied! What did she do? She did not do anything! On that day she realized who Jesus of Nazareth is and she was saved. Let us look again at the process through which she came to know Jesus and believe in Him.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-46283082647548124032007-08-04T10:06:00.000-06:002007-08-04T10:07:29.509-06:00KNOWING<span style="font-size:180%;">"The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet" (v. 19). Because Christ told her everything that she ever did, she perceived that this was no ordinary man. He must be a prophet. Jesus said something more to show her that He was not merely a prophet: "Believe Me" (v. 21). The woman said, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when He comes, He will declare all things to us" (v. 25). What did Jesus answer her? He said, "I, who speak to you, am He" (v. 26). The first thing that a sinner needs to do is not to repent and change his behavior, but to realize who Jesus is. All will be well if he realizes who Jesus is.Later the woman returned to the city and told the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I have done. Is this not the Christ?" (v. 29). I do not like the words, "Is this not." Since she knew that this man was the Christ, why did she say, "Is this not"? At any rate, she believed and went to tell others that Christ had come. You can see clearly that the whole issue is not about doctrine but about a person! Our basic concern is not doctrines. Rather, it is seeing who Jesus is! Once we have the Lord Jesus, we will have real satisfaction; we will be filled with the sense of having acquired everything.We will see a little more from John 5. It seems that in chapter five the Lord Jesus spoke some doctrines. But actually not much was expounded. It was once again an invitation to receive the knowledge of who Jesus of Nazareth is. He spoke some words, but they were to lead us to believe into Him. The Lord Jesus said that the Jews searched the Scriptures. But the Scriptures, the Lord pointed out, are a witness to Him. What is written there concerns Him. It is important to know the Scriptures. But more important than that is the knowledge of who Jesus of Nazareth is. The question is not what kind of teaching He teaches, but what kind of a person He isWhen we come to John 6, the matter is brought out in an even clearer way. "Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger, and he who believes into Me shall by no means ever thirst" (v. 35). He did not preach any doctrine. He just said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger." Have you seen the implication here? If I say that I am your bread of life and that he who eats me shall never hunger, you will surely say that Mr. Nee is a madman from Shanghai. Religious leaders can only give doctrines to others. They cannot give themselves to others. But Jesus is different. He is the bread of life. He is also the thirst-quenching water. The problem is in the people's unbelief in Him. When anyone believes in Him, everything will be all right."I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die" (vv. 48-50). These are words that no other can speak. Only Jesus can say this. He is neither a madman nor a liar. And whatever He says always points back to Himself. This man is the bread of life. He who eats of Him shall not die!Hence, our Christian faith is based on the issue of who Jesus of Nazareth is. We are not spending time merely to study His teachings. We are only asked to answer one question: who is He? What Christ proclaimed persistently on the earth was not His doctrines but Himself. The focus is not on the doctrines but on the person. As far as doctrines go, the books of Confucius and Mencius are filled with philosophies, ethics, and morality; they far exceed those in the Bible. But there is only one issue: who is Jesus of Nazareth? Do you know? Who is this Jesus of Nazareth?Let us read on. John 6:51: "I am the living bread which came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread which I will give is My flesh, given for the life of the world."Here His words become more and more peculiar. It is strange enough to say that He is the bread of life which came down out of heaven. Now He says that he who eats Him, not only will not die, but will live forever. This is extraordinary. Even more intriguing are the words that say that the bread He gives is His very flesh. No wonder the Jews at that time said that it was a hard saying. Who can take this? It is right! We never heard such words before. We never heard them from Confucius, from Mencius, from Lao-tze, from Chuan-tze, or from any other sages. We never heard them in China or in any other country. No man has ever spoken such words.After Christ spoke such words, verse 52 says, "The Jews then contended with one another, saying, How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" What doctrine did Jesus preach? None. All that He said was to eat His flesh. Verses 55 and 56 say, "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him." You can see that He is only emphasizing Himself. This is not a set of doctrines. Rather, it is the eating of His flesh and the drinking of His blood. Those who eat and drink will live forever.When we come to John 7, we see the last day of a great feast. Jesus spoke some words in front of those who were attending the feast. "On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water" (vv. 37-38). Just imagine: on one of our busy festive holidays, I, Watchman Nee, stand up in the midst of a crowd and shout, "If you are thirsty, come to me and drink. He who believes in me, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water." What would you say? You would surely say that I am a senseless fool from Shanghai who is talking nonsense. But that was exactly what Jesus did and said. There was really no doctrine; there was just the person Christ.On that day when Jesus spoke those words, a dispute arose among the Jews. Some said that this truly had to be the Christ. Others reasoned how Christ could come out of Galilee. In trying to answer who this man was, an argument arose among the Jews. The argument centered around one thing: who was this Jesus of Nazareth? A genuine Christian is one who believes that Jesus is the Christ.Further on in John 8:12, Jesus told the crowd, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." You can see that again His words are not doctrinal. The emphasis here is the "light" and the "I." It is not the practice of His teachings that makes a Christian. Rather, it is a relationship with Christ that qualifies us as one. Only by believing into Him will we receive the light of life. Only by receiving Him will we not walk in darkness.John 8:21-22 says, "He said therefore again to them, I am going away, and you will seek Me and will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come. The Jews then said, He is not going to kill Himself, is He, for He says, Where I am going, you cannot come?" The Jews were confused again. Where is the place He is going that we cannot go? They thought that perhaps He was going to commit suicide. Actually if that place could be reached by committing suicide, the Jews could still get to it by killing themselves. How could the Lord go to a place to which they could not go? Verse 23 says, "And He said to them, You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world." It is because of this that where the Lord was going they could not go.Furthermore, they did not die in their sins because they were murderers and adulterers. Verse 24 is crucial, especially the latter half: "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins." The King James Version added the word "he" after "I am." Let us quote the words of the original text. The Lord said, "You will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins." The question is whether or not you believe that He is. What does this mean? It means that of the millions of people in humanity, you can pick out one and say, "This is He! This is God!" We want to examine Jesus of Nazareth to see if He indeed is! If we believe that He is, we will not die in our sins. Many are believing in a distorted Christianity, but we want to believe according to what Christianity really is. The first question we must ask is whether or not Jesus of Nazareth is.Once again the Jews retorted by asking, "Who are You?" (v. 25). Jesus' answer seemed to say, "This is not the first time that I tell you who I am. Concerning this matter I have never given in. I told you that I am; I am the One." Time after time He proved to others that He is; He is the Son of God.If we read the Gospel of John through, we will find that every passage concerns this one point: Jesus is the Christ. In John 10 the Jews surrounded Him and said, "How long will you hold our soul in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly" (v. 24). The question still hung on this one point.How did Jesus answer? He said, "I told you, and you do not believe...You do not believe, because you are not of My sheep" (vv. 25-26). All who do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is God incarnated as a man, are not Christians. Those who do not recognize Him as the Son of God do not have the life of Christ in them; they are not His sheep. Upon this issue stands the whole basis of the Christian faith.In John 11 Jesus said again, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes into Me, even if he should die, shall live" (v. 25). Can a common mortal utter such words?In John 12 Jesus cried out aloud, "He who believes into Me does not believe into Me, but into Him who sent Me; and he who beholds Me beholds Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that every one who believes into Me would not remain in darkness" (vv. 44-46). You can see that the One who sent Him hinges on Him. To believe into Him is to believe into the One who sent Him. To see Him is to see the One who sent Him. The light also hinges on Him. To be in the light is to believe into Him. Everything hinges on Him.Then in John 14 the Lord said, "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe into God, believe also into Me" (v. 1). He wants us to believe into Him in the same way that we believe into God. The one thing He always insists upon is the demand to believe in Him.John 15 speaks of some who hate the Lord. He said, "He who hates Me hates My Father also" (v. 23). Once again He reveals that He and the Father are one.In John 16, the Lord said that one day the Holy Spirit would come and convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. Why concerning sin? The explanation is in verse 9: "Concerning sin, because they do not believe into Me," because they do not believe that He is the Son of God. This is a sin, a very serious sin. When the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict men, and they will realize how serious a sin it is not to believe in Jesus being the Son of God.One further passage in the Gospel of John will suffice. 17:3: "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Him whom You have sent, Jesus Christ." Here we are shown what eternal life is. The Lord's definition of eternal life is to know God. Believing in the eternal God and believing in His sent One—Jesus Christ—is eternal life. Eternal life hinges upon this person.I hope that we would all realize who Jesus of Nazareth is. Our faith does not have any empty doctrines. It is based on the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. To receive Jesus Christ is to receive</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-28404628693457425912007-08-04T10:04:00.000-06:002007-08-04T10:05:40.190-06:00FIRST THE KNOLEDGE<span style="font-size:180%;">We have said that Christianity does not emphasize doctrines. Rather, it emphasizes the person Christ. Even when some doctrines are mentioned, they are few in number, and when you go about expounding them, they always point back to a person. If you turn to the four Gospels you will be amazed to find that everything recorded is just a description of Jesus of Nazareth. There must first be the knowledge of who He is; doctrines come afterwards. We have ascertained the person of Jesus Christ. Now we want to take a look at the doctrines of our faith.You cannot find many doctrines in the four Gospels. Neither are there many doctrines in the Acts of the Apostles. One finds doctrines only after coming to Romans. This is exactly what we have said before, that you have to know who Jesus Christ is before you can understand what His doctrines are all about.Concerning doctrines, there is also a vast difference between those in Christianity and those in other religions. I would like to mention again that the fact that I am a Christian does not mean that you have to feel and see things as I do. I will not take such a presumptuous attitude. I will only present the facts again, showing the difference between Christianity and other religions. I will not decide what is good or bad. You are asked only to examine the facts. If you think that this is right, then believe in it. Otherwise, take your choice. Emotional words are unnecessary here. I will, therefore, make no plea or invitation.Observing all the religions that are before us, you will see that all of them emphasize doctrines, not a person. Whether Confucius or Lao-tze, who they are and what they teach are two different things. They are two separate entities. Their doctrines do not have much to do with their person. You can take the person away from the religion, and it will not make much difference. The person only preached the doctrines, but he became disassociated from that which he preached.This is not the case with our faith. When did Christian doctrines come into existence? It was after the death, resurrection, and departure from the world of the person Christ that the doctrines began. All doctrines came later. Moreover, all these doctrines are centered upon Christ. The doctrines and Christ are inseparable. First you have Him, then you have His doctrines.For example, there is a doctrine in Christianity that speaks of the union of God and man. It is a very important doctrine. If you open the Bible to see how this can be, you will see that the source of such a doctrine is the fact that God became a man—Jesus. He is God mingled with man.The Bible does not present a doctrine of God becoming one with man. Rather, it shows Jesus of Nazareth, who is a sample of God being one with man. Originally, God and man were separate; there was a wide gulf between them. There was no possibility of union. But the Nazarene came. He was God coming to be a man. He was the bridge between man and God, joining the two into one. This is not a doctrine that teaches people to be one with God. Here is the fact: henceforth, when a man is in Christ, he can be one with God.THE SOLUTIONAnother very important doctrine in the Bible concerns death. The Bible depicts man as being totally corrupted, without any possibility of being reformed. The only solution is death. A man is like a piece of worm-infested wood with no chance of being carved or shaped. The only destiny for him is the fire. Death is the solution. Only dead people will not be proud if you praise them a thousand times. Only dead people will not be angry if you rebuke them repeatedly. Only dead people will not be tempted by sin and will not sin. Death solves all problems concerning sin.But how can we die? How can such a death occur? A religion will exhort you to die. Be dead! If you are dead, sin will no longer have an object to work on! But how can one die? By committing suicide? By throwing oneself into the sea? Or as the old Chinese scholars have said, by considering everything that is past as dead yesterday? No! All these are methods of common religions. They are not the Christian teaching.EXPERIENCES BASED ON A PERSONThe doctrine of death is absolutely related to Christ. His person determines His doctrines. Jesus died. What does the Bible say about this? It says that the world died with Him (2 Cor. 5:14). His death was to sin; hence, the whole world is dead to sin. Originally, the whole world was in sin, being dead in it. Only Jesus was not affected by death. He did not die of sin; He died to sin (Rom. 6:10). If we are one with Him, we are also dead to sin by His death (v. 11). Sin will not have an object to work on. All the problems of sin in us will be solved.This is the doctrine of Christianity. It is a fact that is absolutely tied to the person Christ. It is not an exhortation for people to conduct a moral life and repent from their wrongs. These are not Christian doctrines at all. Since Christ has died, whoever is in Him is also dead, thoroughly dead, to sin. Sin has no more grip on us. If Christ had not died, there would not have been any doctrine. All experiences and doctrines are based upon this person Jesus Christ.Another fact we have is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He died and was resurrected. Hence, on our side, we are not only dead to sin, disassociated from it; we are regenerated and a new creation in the resurrection of Christ. All these are bound to the person Jesus Christ. No accomplishment is by us. Everything depends on Him.The Bible is not completely void of teachings. However, all the teachings rest on the person Christ Jesus. Only when He has a certain experience can there be a certain doctrine or teaching. Every single doctrine or teaching is bound to His personal experience. His incarnation is the basis of the union of God with man. His death is the basis of our dying to sin and self and the foundation of a life of holiness. His resurrection is the basis for receiving our new life. Everything we have obtained is based on what He has attained. The doctrines are absolutely based upon the person and bound to the person. This is genuine Christianity. This makes our faith different from all other religions.MAJOR RELIGIONS DEMAND TO BE HONESTOnce when Christ Jesus was about to leave the world, He spoke of a very amazing doctrine. Of course, this doctrine is again closely related to Him. He said, "I am the way and the reality and the life" (John 14:6). Perhaps you have heard others quote this passage. He said that He is the way. He is the way to overcome sin. He is the way to overcome the temptations of the world. He is His own teaching! All the ways to victory are Him.He also said that He is the reality. We have often heard people say that there is reality in So-and-so's words. Sometimes when someone puts forth a theory, we call it reality. In geometry, when we have proved that this equals that, we say that we found a truth. But the reality that Christ Jesus speaks of is Himself. He is the reality.Moreover, He is the life. He does not merely preach a doctrine and ask you to work it out yourself; He is the very life-power to perform what He preaches. Religion tells you to be honest and not to lie. Maybe someone has come and told you, "Exercise yourself not to lie. Every time you lie just bite your tongue once." I think that if we were able to recognize every lie we told, our tongue would be in two pieces before the day was over! Since our life is a human life, there is no possibility for us to not lie or sin. The life of man is absolutely impotent in this respect. Merely to give you some nice, lofty doctrines, while leaving it up to you to work them out, is not the way of Christ.The Bible says that He makes you able. That ability is of Christ. As long as you are in Him, He is your life. He can make you not lie, no matter what kind of a person you are!No other founder of a religion is great enough to uphold these three items: the way, the reality, and the life. All of man's experiences are included in these three things. Whenever you do something, you always have to decide whether or not it is worth doing. This consideration is a weighing of the reality. After the decision is made, you have to find a way. And after the way, you must have the power. Whenever you set out to accomplish something, you always have to pass through these three steps: the way, the reality, and the life.All three are inseparable. You are not given reality first, then the way, and then left to yourself to find the life. Every one of these three items is found in one person. When you have Him, every problem will be solved. This is Jesus. This is our faith. As long as there is a way to Him, everything will follow.TEACHING USSELES WHITHOUT HIMWhen we look at a few passages in the Bible, we easily discover that when the Bible mentions a doctrine, it always says that it is "in Christ." The words "in Christ" are constantly mentioned. Some passages say, "by Christ." But "by Christ" is not the best translation. It is better in those instances to translate them as "through Christ." God does not give things to us directly; they have to go "through Christ." In addition, there are phrases like "with Christ" and "together with Christ." They show the position Christ occupies in the Bible. Everything has to be through Him. Receiving Him is receiving His doctrines. Without Him it is useless to have any of His doctrines.NO RELATIONSHIP IN THEIR CREEDSThe above cannot apply to all other religions. You can be a devotee of other religions, abiding by their every creed, without having anything to do with the founders themselves.In arithmetic, there is a table called the multiplication table. You can find the product of any two numbers from one to nine from the table. Everything is arranged neatly. Do you know who formulated this table? I am afraid that millions who use this table never know who made it. But you can use this table without knowing the person who made it. All common religions are like this: you need not have anything to do with their founders, but you can apply their doctrines. The doctrines and those who preached them have no relationship with each other.In Kaifeng I met a foreign missionary. He had heard my preaching. I discovered that he was related to the doctrines of Christ but not to Christ Himself. He told one of my former classmates, who is also now my co-worker, how to practice the teachings of Christ and expound the theologies in the Bible. My co-worker asked him, "Can you touch people by these? Has anybody repented, forsaken his sins, and had his life changed by your preaching? Do you have such power?" He was dumbfounded by my co-worker's words.RELATIONSHIPThe source of our faith is Christ. If we have no relationship with Christ, we have no power. The doctrines of Christ are absolutely joined to Christ. The gem of the doctrines lies in Christ. It is useless to merely infer and discuss in an outward way.Let us now look at the book of Romans in the New Testament. I will not give many explanations. Rather, I will merely present the facts to you. We want to see what the Bible says.Romans 3:22, 24: "Even the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ to all those who believe, for there is no distinction;...being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." These verses say that a man receives forgiveness of sins and justification before God by the redemption of Christ Jesus. They are based on a relationship with Christ. Without redemption, the sins of man cannot be forgiven.ALL IS RECIEVEDRomans 5:1: "Therefore having been justified out of faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ."Verse 2: "Through whom also we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and boast because of the hope of the glory of God."Verse 10: "For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled."Verse 11: "And not only so, but also boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation."Everything that we have received, such as justification, reconciliation, standing in grace, salvation, joy in God, etc., is received through Jesus Christ. Simply by going through Him, we inherit all these.THE GIFTRomans 5:15: "But it is not that as the offense was, so also the gracious gift is; for if by the offense of the one the many died, much more the grace of God and the free gift in grace of the one man Jesus Christ have abounded to the many."Verse 17: "For if by the offense of the one death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."Because of Jesus Christ, the grace and gift of God can be bestowed upon all men. We can also reign in life due to Him. Verse 21 says, "In order that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The receiving of eternal life is through Him. It does not depend on the good behavior of man.THE PERSONRomans 6:6: "Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves."Verse 17: "But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you have obeyed from the heart the form of teaching into which you were delivered."This is a vital doctrine in our belief: that by faith, we are crucified with Christ, and the old man is annulled. I do not crucify myself. When Christ was crucified, I was crucified with Him. By this I am set free from sin, being no longer a slave to it. In this way I can reckon myself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. This is a big doctrine that hinges on the person Christ.LIBERATEDRomans 7:24-25: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin."Here is a man who was constantly defeated by his own fleshly lusts. When he was at the end of his hopes, crying for deliverance, he saw the way of salvation: liberation by the Lord Jesus Christ. The power of liberation is also in the Lord.Romans 8:1: "There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. "Condemnation" does not refer to any ordinary kind of condemnation. According to some recently discovered old manuscripts of the Bible found in Egypt, this word has two meanings. The first is a legal term; the second is a common daily expression. In the legal context it means condemnation as a verdict. But in its ordinary usage it means impotent, powerless, bound, etc. For this reason I will translate this portion as, "There is now then no impotence..." There is no more weakness and inability.Verse 2: "For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death." Here are two laws. Originally, we were all bound by the law of sin and of death. Now the law of the Spirit of life has freed us; we are no longer under the control of the law of sin and of death. The law of the Spirit of life is in Christ Jesus. Have you seen this? Once again, our relationship with Him sets us free.Verse 10: "But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness." Since Christ is in me, I can live.MORE THAN CONQUERORS IN HIMRomans 8:35, 37: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?...But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us." Although there is so much trouble outwardly, we are still more than conquerors. Strength is obtained by going through Him. Not that we are able in ourselves. It is all by Him and through Him.In the same manner, verses 38 and 39 say, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Why can nothing separate us from His love? It is not because of our virtues, but because this love is "in Christ Jesus our Lord"! Love is tied to the person Christ. When we are in Christ, we are in this inseparable love.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-88273919475218245152007-08-02T08:05:00.000-06:002007-08-02T08:08:12.884-06:00THE CHISTIAN LIFE AND WARFARE<span style="font-size:180%;">THE CHRISTIAN LIFEAND WARFARE<br />PREFACE<br />The contents of this book were published in June 1927. The original Chinese title was, literally translated, The Details of Spiritual Cultivation. The present English title was provided by the author himself on the title page of that book. The original book was composed partly of messages translated from English by Brother Watchman Nee and partly of messages written by him in the years prior to 1927. Some of the chapters first appeared in the early issues of The Present Testimony magazine in 1923. The following is an announcement that appeared in the March 1927 issue (No. 15) of The Christian magazine. It states the nature of the book:<br />A clear book on guiding man to a pathway of spiritual edification; a required reading for all those who desire to overcome sin, the world, and the devil. The whole book is divided into eighteen chapters, with three hundred pages and over a hundred thousand words. From its beginning to its end, it has the cross of the Lord Jesus as the center. This book pays special attention to the teaching of Romans 6. It details the way to differentiate the spiritual part from the self in our life. There are also clear teachings concerning the way to pray, to overcome the devil, and to engage in spiritual works. This book should not only be read but also studied by all God's children. All those who buy this book will continue to receive fresh light, even if they read it once every month.<br />The book was published by the Bible Truth Depot, P.O. Box 323, Shanghai (also known as the Shanghai Gospel Bookroom) and sold for forty-five cents paperbound and seventy-five cents clothbound. The following is the table of contents of the original book's nineteen chapters together with the author of each chapter.<br />(1) Back to the Cross!—Charles H. Usher(2) The Distinction between the Spirit, the Soul, and the Body—Watchman Nee(3) The Flesh—Watchman Nee(4) The Soul-life—Watchman Nee(5) How to Walk by the Spirit—Jessie Penn-Lewis(6) Fact, Faith, and Experience—Watchman Nee(7) Living by Faith—Anonymous(8) How to Seek After God's Will—Watchman Nee(9) Walking in the Will of God—Jessie Penn-Lewis(10) More than Conquerors—Jessie Penn-Lewis(11) Liberty through the Cross --Gordon Watts(12) The Cross Destroying the Serpent—Jessie Penn-Lewis(13) Translated out of the Power of Darkness—Jessie Penn-Lewis(14) The Prayer That Opposes Satan—Watchman Nee(15) Prayer A Divine Necessity—Evan Roberts(16) The Chief Purpose of Prayer—S.D. Gordon(17) The Tempter and the Tempted—Watchman Nee(18) How to Bind the Strong Man—Jessie Penn-Lewis(19) Four Planes of Spiritual Life—Jessie Penn-Lewis<br />Some of the topics covered in the book were repeated again in The Spiritual Man. As such, this book may be considered the predecessor of The Spiritual Man.<br />In this volume we have included in the text the chapters that were written by Watchman Nee, i.e., chapters two, three, four, six, eight, fourteen, and seventeen. We have also included chapter seven by an anonymous writer and chapter eleven, which is attributed to Gordon Watts but is significantly different from Rev. Watt's article. These chapters occupied over sixty percent of the original book. We have rearranged the original chapter numbers to the order of the present volume. In the Appendices, we have provided the original English articles which Watchman Nee translated and excerpted from.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Throughout church history, there has never been a time when messages on the cross are as needed as today. For the present-day Christians, who, being Christians, are obviously redeemed by the blood, the most important thing is to know and to experience the deeper aspects of the fundamental truths of the cross. It is, of course, a glorious thing to know about the substitutional death of the cross, but this will not afford the believers much growth. All the things that Christ has accomplished for us on the cross must be experienced by us one by one before we can mature in life and can become a vessel of God.<br />We realize that we are already at the end of this age. The activities of Satan have become more fierce than before. God's children have been greatly persecuted, harassed, and beguiled by him, but his most serious work is his deception. Hence, now is truly the time for the saints to rise up and to learn to oppose and attack the enemy with the victory at the cross. This warfare is fierce. How can the saints overcome without putting on the armor? Arise God's saints, and stand on the victory of Golgotha, declaring the victory of Christ! Your King is near! The time for the total defeat of the enemy is also near!<br />This book contains many articles that have been published before in The Present Testimony magazine, but due to awkwardness in expression and mistakes in proofreading, many teachings were buried. Now with the strength and time afforded by God, we are able to revise these articles and add to them a few new ones to make up this book. There are quite a number of translated articles in this book. We have included the names of these writers in the table of contents. We thank God that though the writers may differ in nationality, race, and background, the message we preach is the same. The reader will find this book to be consistent in its theme.<br />I lift up my heart to thank God for the grace given to me that this book can be published. I also thank a few brothers and sisters for their help in translation and proofreading. If it pleases the Father, may He lead every reader into the abundant life that He has prepared for them in the Lord Jesus.<br />Watchman Nee</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-42182982402362875802007-08-02T08:01:00.000-06:002007-08-02T08:04:43.918-06:00SPIRIT SOUL AND BODY<span style="font-size:180%;">THE DISTINCTION BETWEENTHE SPIRIT, THE SOUL, AND THE BODY<br />Most people today consider man as being divided into two parts: the soul and the body. They think that the soul is the invisible part, the psychological part within man, and that the body is the visible part, the outward form of man. Of course, it is true that the body is the outward shell of man. But it is a question whether or not the soul is a substance. Are the soul and the spirit one thing, or are they two things? Is the soul equal to the spirit, or are the two different? Man's answer is that they are the same thing—that other than a difference in terminology, the two are identical in substance.<br />Man's answer, however, is not trustworthy. We must take a look at the Bible, the trustworthy Word of God, in order to find out the answer to this question. The Word of God does not divide man into two parts, the soul and the body. Rather, it divides man into three parts: the spirit, the soul, and the body. First Thessalonians 5:23 says, "Sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete." This verse clearly shows a distinction between the spirit and the soul. Otherwise, it would not have said, "Your spirit and soul," but rather, "Your spirit-soul." Since God has said this, we can see that there is a distinction between man's spirit and his soul. From this we can conclude that man is divided into three parts—the spirit, the soul, and the body.<br />What is the significance of distinguishing the spirit from the soul? There is a great significance. It has much to do with the spiritual life of the believers. If believers do not know the boundary of their spirit, how can they understand the spiritual life? If they do not understand the spiritual life, how can they have a spiritual living? It is because believers are negligent or ignorant of the distinction between the spirit and the soul that they never grow in their spiritual life.<br />Not only has 1 Thessalonians divided man into three parts, other passages in the Scriptures do the same. For example, Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Here again, man is divided into three parts: the soul, the spirit, and the joints and marrow (which refer to the organ related to the mind and the will), that is, the body. Since the soul and the spirit can be divided, the two must not be the same thing.<br />THE CREATED MAN<br />Genesis 2:7 says, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." "The dust of the ground" refers to man's body. "The breath of life" breathed into man's nostrils is his spirit. "A living soul" is man's soul. Hence, a complete man is composed of three parts: the spirit, the soul, and the body.<br />According to the above verse, the soul came into being when the spirit was joined to the body. When the spirit entered the body, the soul was produced. The body was dead, but when it was contacted by the spirit of life, a third entity was produced—the soul. Without the spirit, the body is dead. Only with the spirit can one live. When the spirit is in the body, something organic is produced. This organic result is called the soul.<br />God's breath of life is the source of man's life. The Lord Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life" (John 6:63). It is the breath of life that gives life. Hence, this breath is the spirit. When the spirit and the body join together, the result is the soul. The Scripture says, "And man became a living soul." This means that when Adam's spirit and body were joined together, a third part was produced, the soul. His spirit and body were both joined to this third part, to his soul. This is why the Word of God calls it "a living soul" (1 Cor. 15:45). When we believers participate in the resurrection life of the Lord, the spirit begins to rule over our whole being. This is because those who have believed in the Lord are joined to the last Adam, who is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45).</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SPIRIT,THE SOUL, AND THE BODY<br />Man is composed of two independent kinds of material: spirit and body. When the spirit entered the body of dust, the soul was produced. It is impossible for the spirit to control the body directly. Hence, it requires a medium. This medium is the soul, which was produced when the spirit touched the body.<br />The spirit mingled with the body and brought forth the soul. As such, man became a living soul. Hence, the soul is the result of the union between the spirit and the body; it is the personality of a man.<br />The body is the outer shell of the soul, and the soul is the outer shell of the spirit. Before man fell, it was the spirit that controlled his entire being. When the spirit wants to do something, it communicates this to the soul, and the soul motivates the body to obey the command of the spirit. This is the meaning of the soul as the medium. Luke 1:46-47 says, "My soul magnifies [present tense] the Lord, and my spirit has exulted [perfect tense] in God my Savior." The spirit must first exult, before the soul can magnify the Lord. The spirit first communicates the exultation to the soul, then the soul communicates to the body.<br />The body is the "world-consciousness," the soul is the "self-consciousness," and the spirit is the "God-consciousness." There are five organs in the body, which afford man the five senses. This physical body enables man to communicate with the physical world. This is why it is called the "world- consciousness." The soul includes that part known as man's intellect, which helps to make man's existence possible. The part of love generates affections toward other human beings or objects. The part that can be aroused is the part that originates from the consciousness. All these are parts of the man himself; they form the personality of man. Hence, they are called the "self-consciousness." The spirit is the part with which man communicates with God. With this part, man worships God, serves Him, and understands his relationship with God. Hence, it is called the "God-consciousness."<br />The spirit has knowledge, but this knowledge is different from the knowledge of the mind. Because the spirit is different from the mind, only a spiritual man can know himself. First Corinthians 2:11 says, "For who among men knows the things of man, except the spirit of man which is in him?" Although man knows things through the mind, his mind is actually not trustworthy and cannot know "the things of man." The mind may have knowledge, but only by man's spirit can he know the things of man and know himself. Hence, God's Word states the fact: "For who..knows the things of man, except the spirit." This spirit is the part with which man fellowships with God. "But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding" (Job 32:8). "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly" (Prov. 20:27). The spirit of man is the part with which man fellowships with God.<br />The soul can be stimulated, and it can be disquieted (Psa. 42:5). It can feel sorrowful (Matt. 26:38). In short, the soul is everything that the personality entails. Hence, we can say that the soul is the personality. Many portions in the Bible do not call man a man, but a soul. For example, when the house of Jacob went down to Egypt, there were seventy people (Gen. 46:27). But the Bible says, "All the souls...were threescore and six" (Gen. 46:26).<br />The body is like a servant; it is under man's control.<br />The soul is the meeting point; here the spirit and the body join. Man communicates with the spiritual realm through the spirit. He communicates with the world of senses through the body. The soul is in between. On the one hand, it communicates with the spiritual realm through the spirit, and on the other hand, it communicates with the physical world through the body.<br />The soul is in between the spirit and the body; it binds the spirit and the body together as one. The spirit rules over the body through the soul and subjects it under God's power. The body can induce the spirit to love the world through the soul.<br />In conclusion, the soul is the source of the personality; man's judgment, intellect, and love all are of the soul. The spirit is the part with which man communicates with the spiritual realm. The body is the part with which man communicates with the physical realm. The soul is in the middle of these two parts. It exercises its judgment to determine if the spiritual realm is to rule or if the physical realm is to rule. Sometimes the soul rules through its intellect and stimulations; this becomes the rule of the psychological world. Unless the soul yields its rule to the spirit, the spirit cannot rule. Hence, the soul has to authorize the spirit to rule before the latter can rule over the soul and the body. The reason for this is that the soul is the origin of the personality.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">MAN'S SPIRIT, SOUL, AND BODY AFTER THE FALL<br />The spirit was once the highest part of man's whole being; both the soul and the body were under it. Under normal circumstances, the spirit is like the matriarch, the soul is like the steward, and the body is like the servant. When the matriarch needs something done, she assigns the work to the steward. The steward in turn orders the servants severally to accomplish the task. Unfortunately, man fell, failed, and sinned! As a result, the original, proper order of spirit, soul, and body was upset.<br />Adam was able to live by the breath of life, which is the spirit. The spirit has the God-consciousness: it knows God's voice, fellowships with God, and is endowed with an extremely keen sense toward God. After Adam fell, his spirit died.<br />At the beginning God said to Adam, "For in the day that thou eatest thereof [the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17). After Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, they still lived for a few hundred years. This shows that the death that God spoke of was not confined to the death of the body. What kind of death was this death? The scientific definition of death is a termination of communication with the environment. Since the death of Adam was not confined to his body only, it must refer also to the death of his spirit. The death of the spirit does not mean that the spirit has disappeared. It means that the spirit has lost its sensitive awareness toward God, that is, it is dead to God. The death of the spirit means that it can no longer fellowship with God. For example, here is a dumb person. It is not that this person has lost his mouth or his throat. He cannot speak because there is something wrong with his mouth. His mouth is dead in respect to the human language. Because of Adam's disobedience, his spirit became dead. He still had the spirit, but it was dead with respect to God. If Adam had exercised his judgment to choose the tree of life, God's eternal life would have entered into his spirit and would have changed his inner man through his soul. His earthen, outer body, which was destined for death and corruption, would also have been changed. However, his inner man became disorderly and fallen. As a result, his outward body had to die and decay.<br />The fruit of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" is the fruit that uplifts man's soul and subdues man's spirit. In this world the knowledge of good and evil is the work of the soul. God forbade man to eat of this tree, not because He wanted to test man, but because He knew that within man there is the soulish life as well as the spiritual life. This is God's love. He knew that if man were to eat of this tree, his soulish life would be developed and his spiritual life would die. This means that man would lose his God-consciousness and would be dead to God. In this world the knowledge of good and evil is always wicked. Knowledge comes from the intellectual part of man's soul. When man ate of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," surely his soulish life was developed and exalted. Once the soulish life became developed and exalted, the spiritual life was suppressed, and man lost his God-consciousness, as if he were dead.<br />From this point on, his spirit and the spirits of his descendants were suppressed by the soul. Soon, through the soul's suppressing, the spirit was joined to the soul, and the two became closely interwoven. This is why Paul mentioned in Hebrews 4:12 that the word of God is sharp to the dividing of the spirit and the soul. It is because the spirit and the soul have been joined together that there needs to be the dividing. Since the soul and the spirit were so tightly interwoven together, man began to live in his speculative mind. In everything, he began to walk according to his intellect or his feeling. The spirit, having completely lost its power and senses, fell into a lifeless sleep. In Jude 19 it says, "Soulish, having no spirit." The spirit here does not refer to the Holy Spirit, but to the human spirit. Since the first part of this expression, "soulish," refers to man's soul, the spirit in the second part of the expression should be the human spirit. This can also be proved from the article in Greek. To be soulish and to not have spirit really mean that the spirit is shut off by the soul and has lost its function. Although it is alive, it is as if it were dead.<br />From this point, everything went downhill. The flesh of the body began to rule. Hence, by the time of the flood, man had become "flesh" (Gen. 6:3).<br />When man is soulish, he will often feel that this life is untrustworthy and will seek for eternal life in the coming age. However, the doctrine of life can never be secured by the human mind and theory. None of these things are reliable. Often two very clever people will disagree with each other in their opinions. Theories easily lead men to the place of error; they are the towers in dreams, only leading men to the place of eternal darkness.<br />When man is of the flesh, he is controlled by the cravings and lusts of his body. He has to satisfy his senses of sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. The vilest of all sins arise from these senses.<br />Our whole person is divided into three parts: the spirit, the soul, and the body. God's intention is that the spirit would remain on top, controlling the soul. After man became soulish, the spirit fell and became subject to the soul. After man became fleshly, the vile flesh became the king. Man fell from being "spirit-ruled" to being "soul-ruled," and from being "soul-ruled," he fell to being "flesh-ruled." This gradual fall ended with the flesh assuming the authority. What a shame this is!</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">REGENERATION<br />Concerning unregenerated man, first, his spirit became far from God and dead. The meaning of death is a separation from life. God is the ultimate name for life. Since God is life, to be dead is to be separated from God. When man's spirit became separated from God, it became as if it were dead and could no longer fellowship with Him. Then, his soul began to rule over his entire being, and he began to live in his reasonings or sensations. Finally, the lusts and cravings of his body put the soul under its subjection.<br />The unregenerated man was born of the flesh and is therefore flesh (John 3:6). This is why he has to be born again. Through regeneration man is born of the spirit; however, John 3:6 does not say that he is spiritual. He is still very soulish. Regeneration is the application by the Holy Spirit of the accomplished work of the cross to man. When man believes in Jesus as his Savior, that He has died for him and is now resurrected, he is regenerated.<br />When man is regenerated, the Holy Spirit enters into his spirit. After this, there is a step-by-step progression until perfection is reached.<br />The unregenerated man's spirit is controlled by his soul. His "self" controls his soul, and his flesh controls his body. The soul has become the life of the spirit, the "self" has become the life of the soul, and the flesh has become the life of the body. As a result of regeneration, the Holy Spirit controls his spirit; his spirit controls his soul and, through his soul, the body. The Holy Spirit becomes the life of the spirit, and the spirit becomes the life of the whole person.<br />"The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord" (Prov. 20:27). At the time of regeneration, the Holy Spirit enters into man's spirit. When He enters, it is as if a lamp is lit. This is the "new spirit" spoken of in Ezekiel 36:26. Originally the spirit was as if it were dead, but now the Holy Spirit has put God's uncreated life inside the spirit. As a result, the spirit has life, is enlivened, and becomes like new.<br />Regeneration is the darkened and fallen spirit of man being enlivened by the power of the Holy Spirit. The basis of the Holy Spirit's regeneration is the cross (cf. John 3:14-15). Jesus died for man on the cross; He paid the ransom for sin and gave life to man. All those who believe in Him have eternal life (v. 16). This eternal life is the life of God imparted into man's spirit by the Holy Spirit. Since this life is the life of God, it will never die. Because of this, when a man is regenerated and has received life, he is said to have obtained eternal life. If God's life could die, only then could we say that eternal life can be lost! Regeneration is the first step in the spiritual life. Although the spiritual life received at the time of our regeneration is complete, it is not full-grown. This is similar to fruit. When it first appears, the life within is complete, yet in form it is still green, immature. It is complete only in its organic capacities; however, it is not perfect in each of its organic parts. This is the same with man's regeneration. We must notice that regeneration is not the accomplishment of perfection.<br />THE THREE STAGES OF THE BELIEVERS' LIFE<br />When a man believes in Jesus Christ as the Savior who has died for him, he is regenerated. Regeneration is the initial step in the spiritual life. Those who are regenerated have received eternal salvation. After a believer has received the regenerated life, his Christian life can be broadly divided into three stages. The first is the stage of the flesh, the second is the stage of the soul, and the third is the stage of the spirit.<br />After his regeneration, and for a period of time, a believer may still lose his temper, become proud, become jealous, or commit other sins. Because of this, some may begin to doubt whether or not their regeneration was genuine. They do not realize that, although they have been regenerated, they are still of the flesh. When they advance further, they begin to develop an interest in reading the Bible and in praying and "feel" a new joy in their heart. At this point, the believer may think that he is already a spiritual Christian. However, he does not realize that he is still soulish, still living in the idealistic world of "feeling"! Later, when the Holy Spirit does a deeper work of the cross in him, he will be enabled not to walk according to himself or his feelings (being up or down all the time) but to live quietly in the spirit. Only then can he be considered as being spiritual.<br />When he is of the flesh, the flesh is his master. When he is soulish, the soul is his master. When he is spiritual, the Holy Spirit becomes his Lord in the spirit.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-30177161177402540002007-08-02T07:58:00.000-06:002007-08-02T08:01:17.630-06:00THE FLESH<span style="font-size:180%;">THE FLESH<br />The word flesh is used in many different ways in the Bible. Here we will mention only its two most important uses. First, it is used in reference to man's flesh. Second, it is used in reference to the lust of man's flesh. When it refers to the flesh, it means the physical body. When it refers to lust, it means the psychological flesh. What is the lust of man's flesh? The human body has five senses. These five senses have their desires. The eyes desire beauty. The sense of touch desires gratification. The "itching ear" desires sensuous sounds. The mouth desires titillating tastes. The nose desires exotic aromas. There are many other desires. Because these lusts are of the flesh, they are also called the flesh.<br />THE UNREGENERATED MAN AND THE FLESH<br />Man was born of the flesh. This means that he was born of the will of man. Hence, man is flesh (John 3:6). To say that man is flesh means that man is filled inwardly with the lusts and the things of the flesh. All day long, his thoughts are filled with evil. Man has nothing besides the flesh. This is why man is called flesh (Gen. 6:3). This means that he is a living composition of lust. Since man is flesh, he behaves "in the lusts of [his] flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts" (Eph. 2:3). Because of the utter filth of the "different flesh" (Jude 7) and the defiled flesh (v. 8), Jude charged the believers to hate "even the inner garment spotted from the flesh" (v. 23).<br />Because of the sin of Adam, man's flesh cannot fulfill the requirement of the law (Rom. 8:3). Moreover, man is according to flesh and he minds the things of the flesh. As a result, he ends up in death (vv. 5-6). "Because the mind set on the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, for neither can it be" (v. 7). The minding of the flesh comes from being according to the flesh. Those who are according to the flesh are the unregenerated ones. Those who are regenerated will not walk according to flesh but will walk according to the spirit (v. 4). Furthermore, those who "live according to the flesh..must die" (v. 13). They live according to flesh because they have not accepted the condemnation of sin in the flesh through the Son of God becoming the sin offering in the likeness of the flesh of sin (v. 3). This is why they are "debtors...to the flesh to live according to the flesh" (v. 12). "For when we were in the flesh, the passions for sins, which acted through the law, operated in our members to bear fruit to death" (7:5). Hence, "those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (8:8).<br />AFTER REGENERATION<br />"For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom. 8:3). "The Word became flesh" (John 1:14), and God "was manifested in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16). This One, dying on behalf of men and bearing the judgment on all sins, became a sacrifice for sin. When a sinner believes that the Lord Jesus has died for him and has become his Savior, he is regenerated (John 3:16). The minute he believes, the Holy Spirit enters into his spirit to regenerate him. The eternal life of God is mingled with his spirit, and he has eternal life. Regeneration is a begetting relationship between God and man. This relationship can never be annulled. For example, when a father begets a son, regardless of what he becomes or what his son becomes, the relationship—that his son has been begotten of him—can never be annulled. A believer, who is regenerated, is saved forever. Although he may fall, he still has eternal life. This begetting relationship can never be dissolved. Moreover, God's life has already been mingled with his spirit. He will lose his life only when God's life dies. If God's life can never die, his eternal life can never be lost. Formerly, he was "in the flesh" (Rom. 7:5). Now he is "in the spirit" (8:9). In this way, he is "begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). He is also "born from above" (John 3:3, lit.) and "born of the Spirit" (3:6). He is born of God because God's life is mingled with his spirit. He is born from above because this life comes from heaven. He is born of the Spirit because regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit. Now "the Spirit of God dwells in you [in your spirit]" (Rom. 8:9). Through this Holy Spirit, Christ also dwells in us. Hence, "though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness" (v. 10).</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">After a believer has believed, although he is spirit (John 3:6) and also is in the spirit (Rom. 8:9), he is not yet spiritual; he is still of the flesh. Paul told the church in Corinth, "And I, brothers [he addressed them by such a title because they had already believed in the Lord and were regenerated], was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshy, as to infants in Christ" (1 Cor. 3:1). Although they were already regenerated and "in Christ" (v. 1), "jealousy and strife" were still among them. "For when someone says, I am of Paul, and another, I of Apollos, are you not men of flesh?" (v. 4). "For you are still fleshly" (v. 3).<br />"Infants in Christ" (1 Cor. 3:1) means that they were regenerated and had become infants. They were joined with Christ and were in Christ. However, they did not go on but remained in the rudiments of the beginning of their spiritual life (cf. Heb. 5:11-14). They had not grown for a long time. In this stage, they had not been developed through practice and were not able to discriminate between good and evil (5:14). They did many things in the flesh and were truly fleshly! To be fleshly means that one is bound by the desires and lusts of the flesh; it means to make "provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts" (Rom. 13:14).<br />What are the things of the flesh? "And the works of the flesh are manifest, which are such things as fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, divisions, sects, envyings, bouts of drunkenness, carousings, and things like these" (Gal. 5:19-21). Believers should not commit these sins. Yet believers may commit these sins. When the flesh is aroused and the five senses are stirred up, the soul will produce these things. The soul is the strongest part of our being when it comes to the matter of obedience. Infant believers are strong in their flesh. As a result, the soul becomes subject to the flesh. A full understanding concerning the application of the power of the cross is lacking in the personality of such persons. Therefore, the spirit is weak and unable to rule over the whole being. Satan takes this opportunity to come in to stir up the flesh, and the person sins. If a believer has any of the above sins, he is of the flesh.<br />It is a pitiful thing for believers to be of the flesh. They repeatedly make up their minds to obey the Lord's will, only to find that they cannot do it. They are determined to please and serve the Lord in this and that way, yet there is a power in the flesh which urges them to do the things that please the flesh. "For what I will, this I do not practice; but what I hate, this I do...Now then it is no longer I that work it out, but sin that dwells in me...For to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not" (Rom. 7:15, 17, 18). When the flesh is aroused, a formidable force seems to urge man on until he is forced to unleash the lust of the flesh. Sometimes he may be urged to satisfy only some physical need and not his lust, yet even that is uncontrollable. This was the way the disciples were before Pentecost. On the night the Lord Jesus was betrayed, they were with Him in the garden of Gethsemane. The Lord wanted them to be watchful, yet they closed their eyes and went to sleep. This does not mean that they did not love the Lord, nor does it mean that they were not willing to be watchful. It was because "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26:41). Their spirits were too weak and unable to rule over their flesh. They were subdued by the flesh and were not able to be watchful together with the Lord, but all went to sleep. This is usually the case with fleshly believers who do not understand the teaching of the cross.<br />We should make one point clear: some behave one way when they are fleshly, and others behave another way when they are fleshly. In the church in Corinth, the manifestation of the flesh was in strife and fornication. In the disciples, the manifestation of the flesh was in the inability to subdue the body and be watchful in prayer. Although the results produced by the flesh were different, they were nevertheless of the flesh. The warfare Paul mentioned in Romans 7 depicts one level in the believers' experience: "For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells...I find then the law with me who wills to do the good, that is, the evil is present with me...But I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (vv. 18-25).</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">DELIVERANCE FROM THE FLESH<br />The unique way to be delivered from the flesh is the cross. An unregenerated person is regenerated through believing in the substitutional death of the Lord Jesus on the cross; he need no longer be according to the flesh or mind the things of the flesh. However, sometimes he may still mind the things of the flesh and may still commit the sins listed in Galatians 5:19-21. There is a difference between the unregenerated mind and the regenerated mind. Before regeneration, the mind is generally set on the things of the flesh. After regeneration, the mind may stumble temporarily through sudden temptations, but we do not want this to be our usual experience. If a person will take a step forward to the cross, he becomes victorious.<br />"For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom. 8:3). The Son of God has not only borne our sins on the tree and become our sin offering, but has also "condemned sin in the flesh" so that we who are joined to Him may no longer serve sin in the flesh. Because He is the Son of God, He is able to be the sin offering; this is His substitutional death. Because He was in the likeness of the flesh of sin, He was able to condemn sin in the flesh. This is the "co-death"—when He died in the flesh, He crucified His flesh together with sin. On the cross the Lord Jesus not only bore the judgment of sins for the sinner, but He also brought the sinner and sin along with Him to the cross. When He died, these died with Him.<br />Those who are infants in Christ should go on one step further to learn the truth of the cross. When one believes in the substitutional death of the Lord Jesus, he is regenerated. But for a believer to be delivered from the flesh, he has to die with the Lord. Paul said, "But they who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts" (Gal. 5:24). The flesh must be crucified. One cannot cleanse the flesh or educate it. The only way is to crucify the flesh with the Lord on the cross. The passions of the flesh love many things and are extremely powerful. The lust of the flesh has all kinds of desires and will never be satisfied unless they are all gratified. When the passions and the lusts of the flesh break loose, we see the various sins mentioned in verses 19 through 21. To remove sins, one has to remove the root of sin. Since the believers have known the substitutional death of Christ, they should go on to know the co-crucifixion with Christ. Then they will no longer be bound by the flesh but will walk according to the spirit, becoming spiritual believers.<br />Colossians 2:11 says, "In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ." This circumcision is our crucifixion with the Lord, of which baptism is a figure. The next verse says, "Buried together with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised together with Him." Formerly, we were "dead in [our] offenses and in the uncircumcision of [our] flesh" (v. 13a). God forgave us through the death of the Lord Jesus and made us alive together with Him (v. 13b). Only the death of Christ can sever us from the lust of our flesh. Some think that the keeping of ordinances will deliver a person from the flesh. Actually, these ordinances merely give men "a reputation of wisdom [which is hypocritical] in self-imposed worship [which is of man's regulation instead of God's way] and lowliness [a kind of false humility] and severe treatment of the body [treating the body harshly in clothing, food, and activity, thinking that in so doing, the lust of the flesh will be subdued], but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh" (v. 23). God's way, the effective way, is to die with Christ (v. 20). Man is flesh because he is born of flesh (John 3:6). Man inherited his flesh by being begotten. Hence, in order to be delivered from the flesh, one must look for a way that runs opposite to the way of begetting. The opposite of life is death. Man receives his flesh from birth; he must therefore lose his flesh through death. Man receives his physical flesh by birth; he loses his physical flesh through death. The psychological flesh also came by birth. Hence, deliverance from the psychological flesh must also be through death.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">"The old man" is the flesh. Sin is the chief motivating power of the flesh, because sin is in the flesh (Rom. 7:17). (In the Bible, sin in the singular always refers to the original sin or the nature of sin. First John 1:8 says, "If we say that we do not have sin..." Then verse 10 says, "If we say that we have not sinned..." "Sin" is the nature and root of sin within us, and to have "sinned" is what "sin" has done as an act.) The old man must be crucified, and sin has to be removed. We do not crucify the old man with our own strength. Rather, we trust in God for the fact that He has accomplished for us. God's fact is, "Our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves" (Rom. 6:6). We are those "who have died to sin" (v. 2) and "have been baptized into His death" (v. 3). The cross of Christ is the cross of the sinner. His cross has become the sinner's cross. The human race under old Adam is fallen and is beyond reparation. It is full of Satan's serpentine poison. God cannot improve, modify, or reform this corrupted human race. His unique way is to crucify this old human race so that it can become a new race under Jesus Christ. This work was accomplished by the Lord Jesus on the cross. There is now no need for us to crucify ourselves. All we have to do is to believe that our old man has been crucified with Him on the cross. We should accept God's word and reckon it as true. Apart from believing, there is no other way for the old man to be crucified. Believers should claim God's grace by faith in a definite way and should apply it in their experience. One should ask himself, "When the Lord Jesus died, we all died with Him; but have I personally died?" This is where faith is applied. If a person believes that we have all been crucified with the Lord, then, based upon the general expression, "we have all been crucified," he should be able to claim that he personally has been crucified. He is dead, but he must still ask himself, "I am dead to all sins, but have I died to every single, minute sin in my life?" This again is where faith is applied. Since we have believed that we have died to all the sins, then, based upon the fact that we have died to all sins, we should have the faith to claim that we have died to every single sin. We have all died with the Lord, and we have died to all sins. These are facts in God. We should believe them and should claim them. Every time the flesh is aroused, we should deal with it by claiming the Lord's death. As an illustration, in North America the white people used to keep the black people as slaves. After the struggle of a great war, the decision was made to emancipate the blacks. In one place, most of the rich men had black slaves. When the proclamation of emancipation of the black slaves reached that place, the proclamation was not announced to the slaves, because these slaves were considered their properties. If the proclamation had been announced, the black slaves would have soon been freed, and the owners would have suffered soon also. When one slave found out about the proclamation, he left his master and walked away free. Later he told the other slaves about the proclamation. Those who believed him left their masters and also walked away free. Man was the slave of sin. But the Lord Jesus came and died for men; He won the battle. Now the Word of God proclaims us free men. Those who believe and who trust in the victory of this proclamation are free; they need not "serve sin" anymore. Those who do not believe may be free legally but are not free experientially. The black slaves had to believe individually before they could be free one by one. In the same way, we have to believe individually and item by item before we can no longer be "slaves of sin." Every time something happens, we have to apply the Lord's comprehensive death and put to death that particular matter. If we do this for every matter, we will have the experience of victory.<br />"So also you, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:11). To "reckon" is an act of faith. One should reckon himself dead to sin, that is, to be dead to sin in Christ Jesus. To reckon does not mean to see. If one has to see with his own eyes that he is dead to sin, probably he will not see it in his lifetime. To reckon is not the same as to feel. If one has to feel that he is dead to sin, probably he will not be able to do so before he dies. To reckon is to believe. Reckoning is instantaneous; a man can immediately reckon himself dead to sin, believing that he is already dead to sin. There is no need to touch, to feel, or to see anything. All one has to do is to believe what he reckons to be true and factual. If we reckon moment by moment and consider ourselves dead to sin moment by moment, sin will indeed be unable to lord it over us. On the one hand, one has to reckon himself dead to sin. On the other hand, he has to reckon himself alive to God "in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:11). Death is negative, while to be alive is positive. When one dies, sin has no more dominion. When one is alive, there will be the power of God. "Reckon yourselves to be dead to sin..in Christ Jesus." This means that we are joined to Christ. As Christ has died to sin, so also we reckon ourselves dead to sin. As Christ is alive to God, in the same way we also reckon ourselves alive to God. This verse does not say that we ourselves are dead. Rather, it says that we ourselves are alive "to God." We are dead to every sin and every fleshly thing, but we are alive to God. If a believer only reckons himself dead to sin once, without reckoning himself alive again unto God, he will not have the power of life but will instead be very weak. When the temptation of the flesh comes, he will fail through the lack of the power of life in his spirit. However, if he remains on the standing of his resurrection with the Lord, his spirit will be full of the resurrection life. Although he will face temptations in his Christian life, he "by the Spirit" will be able to "put to death the practices of the body" (Rom. 8:13). If this is not the case, even after reckoning himself dead to sin once, he may often return to the standing of the flesh, being unable to put to death the practices of the body.<br />After a believer has once reckoned himself dead to sin, he must unceasingly remain on the standing of having been crucified with the Lord and must put to death the practices of the flesh, through his spirit which is joined to the Lord (Rom. 8:13). Only then will he go on gradually to submit to the Holy Spirit and be a spiritual person.<br />Although at present, believers are not yet free from the body and still "walk in flesh" (2 Cor. 10:3), they should not walk according to the flesh. Although they still "live in the flesh" (Gal. 2:20), it only means that they are in their bodies; it does not mean that they are walking according to the flesh. The believers' walk should not be "according to flesh"; they should not be entangled by the passions and the lusts of the flesh, but should walk according to the leading of the Holy Spirit in their spirit (Rom. 8:4). The Holy Spirit abiding in the spirit of the believers will work until, in experience, the body of sin is annulled, just as the Lord in the likeness of the flesh of sin was put to death on the cross.<br />This does not mean that henceforth we will no longer obey the lust of the flesh or walk according to flesh. It merely means that if we maintain the attitude of not allowing sin to reign in our mortal body (Rom. 6:12) while walking according to the Holy Spirit, the flesh will not have any ground, and we will not "fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16). By this we will be kept from becoming fleshly.<br />God's commandment to this kind of Christian is, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts" (Rom. 13:14). When at times one is unfortunately defiled by the flesh, he should "cleanse" himself (2 Cor. 7:1). "Beloved, I entreat you as strangers and sojourners to abstain from fleshly lusts" (1 Pet. 2:11).</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-79759966067819171122007-08-02T07:49:00.000-06:002007-08-02T07:57:28.411-06:00THE SOUL LIFE<span style="font-size:180%;">THE SOUL-LIFE<br />The soul is man's self-consciousness. We are conscious of our own existence. This consciousness is the soul. The soul is the organ of our personality. All of our personality is part of the soul. All of the elements that constitute us as human beings, our intellect, mind, ideas, love, sensations, judgments, will, and so forth, are all part of the soul. Everything that man's personality encompasses belongs to the soul. The Bible often uses the word heart when referring to our true self. It may be that in the Bible the heart and the soul mean the same thing. The soul is our heart, our true self. The Bible often calls man a soul, as if man is nothing but a soul. For example, Genesis 12:5 uses the word ``souls,'' and there are numerous other scriptural passages that use soul for man. This means that the soul is the personality, including all the elements of the personality. To understand a man, we have to understand his personality. The existence, characteristics, and life of a man issue from his soul. This is why the Bible calls a man a soul.<br />However, in addition to the intellect, love, will, and sensations in the soul, there is also the life of the soul. This life is man's life, the natural life of man. In the Bible, many places use the word soul interchangeably with the word life; many passages translate soul as life. For example, the word translated life in both Leviticus 17:11 and Revelation 12:11 is soul in the corresponding original languages. This is because in the original languages there is no difference between the words soul and soul-life. Hence, the various elements contained in the soul are the elements contained in the soul-life. This soul-life is man's natural life, which includes the intellect, love, sensations, and so forth.<br />THE COMBINATION OF THE SOUL AND THE FLESH<br />Before we go on, we must first understand the relationship between the soul and the flesh. In the Bible, the flesh, as far as the lust of our flesh is concerned, is our sinful nature. The soul is our life. When we speak of our new life and new nature, it is as if life and nature are the same thing, but strictly speaking, there is a difference between life and nature. It seems that life involves something more than nature. Every life has its own nature. The nature is the natural principle of that life; it is the inclination and desire of the life. While we were sinners, our life was the soul and our nature was the flesh. We lived by our soul, and the inclinations and desires of our living were according to the flesh; we walked by the flesh. More simply put, it was the flesh that decided how we walked and the soul that supplied the power to walk according to that decision. The flesh, the sinful nature, gave the suggestions; and the soul, the life, supplied the power. The flesh instigated, and the soul executed. This is the condition of every unbeliever.<br />At the time a believer receives the grace of the Lord Jesus' substitutional death on the cross, God puts His life within him and resurrects his spirit. This new life brings with it a new nature. From that point on, there are two lives within the believer, the spirit and the soul-life. There are also two natures within him, God's nature and the flesh.<br />These two natures, one new and one old, are mutually exclusive, contradictory, and incompatible one with the other. Daily the new and the old struggle with one another, vying to rule over the whole being. A Christian who is on this level is an infant in Christ; he is fleshly. His experience at this stage is very unstable and painful, repeatedly alternating between victory and defeat. Later, he begins to realize the salvation of the cross and learns that if he believes that his flesh has been crucified with the Lord on the cross, he will overcome his sinful nature, that is, his flesh will be as silent as if it were dead and will no longer harm him. Since his flesh, the sinful nature, is crucified, he will have the power to overcome sin and will realize in his experimenting the promise that says, "Sin will not lord it over you" (Rom. 6:14).<br />Through this, the believer will enter another realm. Sin will be under his feet. Although there will still be the passions and lusts of the flesh, they will not be able to attract him anymore. The believer will now think that he is completely spiritual. When he looks back, he will see many who believed at the same time that he believed, yet they are still bound by sin. He will be self-flattered, thinking that he has reached perfection, the highest plane of the spiritual life, and that he is fully spiritual. Actually, he is not so, but far from it. He unavoidably remains a soulish Christian.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">A SOULISH CHRISTIAN<br />Why is he a soulish Christian? We have seen how the cross works and how the believers' flesh, the sinful nature, has been crucified on it. However, the life of the soul still remains. Although all sins come from the flesh, and the soul is merely directed by it and acts as its puppet, the soul is inherited from Adam, and though not fully defiled, it is unavoidably affected by Adam's fall. It is true that there is a difference between the natural being and God's life. And though the filthy flesh within a believer has died, his soul remains the power behind his living. Although the nature of sin has died, the life of the self remains. Hence, inevitably, the man is still of the soul. Now, although the sinful nature, the flesh, has died, the soul remains the power behind man's conduct. In other words, although the flesh can no longer direct the soul, the soul remains the power behind man's living. Now that God's nature has replaced the flesh, naturally, all the inclinations, desires, and proposals should be righteous and no longer filthy as they once were. However, it is still the former soul-life that is executing the proposals and desires of this new nature.<br />This soul-life includes the mind, the emotion, the sensations, the will, and so forth. These functions (the mind, the emotion, and so forth) are the common possessions of the natural man. Hence, for one to depend on the soul-life to execute the propositions of the spirit is to accomplish the supernatural divine goodness through natural worldly strength. To put it plainly, it is to meet God's demand with one's self-power. At this point, on the negative side, a believer may have already overcome sin, yet on the positive side, he is still childish in practicing righteousness. There is the danger that he may fail to develop the God-given life of the Spirit which is already within him and to apply the life-power of this Spirit to execute all the dictates of the new nature. Actually, at this time, the spiritual life is still in the infant stage and is not yet mature; it is still incapable of expressing all the virtues in God's nature. This results in a believer trying by his own natural, soulish power to fulfill all the requirements God has placed upon His children. This walk and work is a mixture of the things of God and the things of man. It is to express the heavenly desire with the earthly strength! When a believer walks in such a way, he is not yet spiritual. Instead, he is soulish.<br />We have to realize that not all soulish experiences are evil or filthy. The flesh, insofar as the sinful nature goes, produces filthy and sinful things, but the soul is not necessarily like this. The soul-life is simply our original life, that is, the life that makes us a living creature. This life, once detached from the sinful nature, the flesh, may not always be evil in its thoughts. Many people have their original, inborn goodness, patience, love, and gentleness. These virtues come by birth. They are part of what the soul-life possesses. However, with some, these virtues are buried under the flesh and are not seen. Still some are not as blatant in the manifestation of their flesh. Their original virtues shine out a little more than others'. After a Christian has crucified his flesh, he is in danger of one thing: executing the new propositions of God's nature by the power of the soul-life. To speak plainly, this is to do good by our own strength. Such a one may be partially successful. This is exactly where he deviates. When believers find it effective to "exercise their self," they will think that they have reached spiritual maturity. They do not realize that they are doing good by the power of the soul. They may be doing good, but they are still soulish.<br />HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEENBEING SPIRITUAL AND BEING SOULISH<br />The answer to this question is very long. Here, we can only mention something in brief. We have seen that from the time of our regeneration there are two lives within us. One is the soulish life, and the other is the life of the spirit. With these two lives, there are two natures. One is the flesh, and the other is the nature of God. We have also seen how one of our two natures, the flesh, was crucified, and the other, God's nature, is invested with the full authority to rule over our whole being. The question of the two natures is solved. But the question of the two lives still remains. Both the soulish life and the spiritual life now live within us simultaneously. Although the spiritual life itself is very strong, the deep-rooted operation of the soulish life rules our whole being. Unless a person is willing to give up his soul-life and to allow the spiritual life to live and to operate, there will be little chance for the spiritual life to develop.<br />A spiritual Christian is one who allows the Holy Spirit to operate within his spirit. He accepts the Holy Spirit as a person dwelling in his own spirit and allows the life given by the Holy Spirit to supply him with all the strength he needs for his walk. All the principles of his living are no longer guided and affected by the mind or the emotion. Instead, he is living dispassionately in the spirit.<br />The soulish Christian is just the opposite. Although he has the spiritual life, he does not derive vitality from his spiritual life. Instead, his daily living still has the soul as its life, and he continues to be guided and affected by the mind and the sensations.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">A FULLY SOULISH MAN<br />The Bible has many things to say about a soulish man. What it says often coincides with the human experience. First Corinthians 2:14 says, "But a soulish man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he is not able to know them because they are discerned spiritually." The "soulish man" here refers to an unregenerated man. Whatever a soulish man may be, this verse clearly points out to us his deficiency. Although this refers to an unregenerated soulish man, the regenerated soulish believer has the same kind of experience. The soulish man is controlled by the soul and is suppressed in his spirit, just the opposite of the spiritual man. Although such people may be very intelligent and thoughtful and can propose wonderful theories and ideas, they are completely at a loss concerning the things of the Holy Spirit of God. The soulish Christian lacks the spiritual discernment; he is completely ignorant of the Word of God. Even when he knows something, what he knows is but book knowledge, something obtained through his own mental power. He is not able to search all things through the Holy Spirit, nor does he have any power of discernment; he cannot differentiate between right and wrong. His knowledge comes either from his memory of what others have said or from his own conjectures. He is not able to receive direct revelation from the Holy Spirit. How different this assessment is from the concept of the world! The world thinks that man's intelligence and intellect are almighty, that every truth in the world can be grasped with the brain. However, according to the record of the Scriptures, these things are vain. It is regrettable that many Christians have tried to seek after the deep things of God recorded in the Bible using the faculties of their mind. They may understand something in their mind, but God says, "A soulish man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God"!<br />James 3:15 also speaks of a soulish wisdom. "This wisdom is not that which descends from above, but is earthly, soulish, demonic." This soulish wisdom comes from the soulish believer. It seeks to expound God's truth with the intelligence of the soul. After a believer is regenerated, he will see by his new knowledge his own extreme ignorance concerning the Word of God, the Bible. Yet, most are not willing to wait patiently for God to give to them "a spirit of wisdom and revelation" to guide them into all truths. At such times, believers tend to be hastened by their own foolishness to exercise their own mental power, trying diligently to understand the teachings of God. Even those who have been believers for many years may not be free from this kind of practice. This kind of wisdom is soulish because it is secured through the power of the soul. This soulish wisdom serves mainly as a basis for criticizing and condemning others. Therefore, the apostle said that soulish wisdom causes one's heart to have "bitter jealousy and selfish ambition" (v. 14). On the contrary, spiritual wisdom is "wisdom from above" and is "first pure, then peaceable, forbearing, compliant, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, without hypocrisy" (v. 17). The wisdom given to us by the Holy Spirit in our spirit is pure in motive; it has no improper design. In practice it is peaceable; there is no rivalry. The nature of this kind of wisdom is forbearing, compliant, and merciful. In content, it is impartial and without hypocrisy. In result, it bears much good fruit. How different is this from the soulish wisdom! Yet, the disputes causing many denominations and the divisions causing many sects are advanced in the name of "bearing testimony for the truth"! The soulish Christian often exaggerates differences, creating a disparity of opinions, resulting in divisions in the church of God.<br />Jude testified of the same thing: "These are those who make divisions, soulish, having no spirit" (v. 19). This word refers to unregenerated people. However, the fact that soulish men cause separations is seen among believers also. The characteristic of a soulish believer is that he is often the instigator of separations and rivalry. We are not saying that everyone has to believe the same thing. But the distinction between a spiritual believer and a soulish one is that while the former realizes his differences with others, he will not separate himself from other children of God just because of these differences. But with the latter, a little incompatibility will cause him to separate himself and to reject others.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">THE CHARACTERISTIC OF A BELIEVER HAVING HIS SPIRIT AND SOUL MIXED TOGETHER<br />Who are the believers who have their spirit and soul mixed together? The soulish men whom we spoke of previously are those who are fully soulish. However, there are believers who are more advanced than these. They have been released from the power of sin. They are no longer minding the flesh and walking according to flesh. They have heard of the excellence of the spiritual life and may even have tasted it once or twice, yet they have not received within themselves a deep work of the cross and of the Holy Spirit. As a result, they are still looking to the natural, original life, that is, the soul, to supply them with the power for their living. They are still soulish, yet believers in this stage are often filled with gifts from God. Because they have so many gifts and so many "third heaven" experiences, they have a high esteem of themselves (however deeply hidden in their heart it may be) and consider themselves matchless spiritual men. They do not realize that they are still soulish men having their spirit mixed together with their soul.<br />Those believers whose spirit and soul are mixed together are in reality soulish. Yet in their knowledge, they seem to be spiritual. For this kind of believer, the spirit and the soul are combined as one. Although his soul has been separated from his flesh (the sinful nature), his spirit is not yet separated from his soul. Formerly, while he was fleshly, his soul was closely attached to his flesh. One was his life, and the other was the nature of his life. Now, in the same way, his spirit is attached to his soul. One contributes the propositions, and the other, the power. The body is the outer shell of the soul, and the soul is the outer shell of the spirit. We should remember this: the soul is the shell of the spirit. As such, the spirit is surrounded by the soul and is constantly affected by the soul. The soul includes the mind, the emotion, the sensations, the will, and so forth. Since the spirit is surrounded by the soul, it seems to be buried within the soul. Therefore, it is often affected by the mind and the sensations. A regenerated person should have an unspeakable peace in his spirit, but because his spirit is not yet separated from his soul, a little agitation will disturb the peace and tranquillity in the spirit. Sometimes the soul is filled with joy and influences the spirit, apparently making it joyful as well. Such a believer would think that he is the happiest person on earth! Yet when he is agitated, he would think that he is the most miserable man on earth! This is the constant experience of the soulish believer.<br />This kind of believer has a fairly, if not extremely, common characteristic: when he hears about the teaching concerning the separation of the soul from the spirit, he is very eager to know where his spirit is. Yet, despite desperate searching, he does not seem to feel the spirit. Because many believers do not have the genuine experience of being in spirit, they naturally do not know what is their spirit and what is their soul. Because their spirit and soul are so tightly interwoven and because they are unable to differentiate between the spirit and the soul, they consider their own soulish experiences, such as joy, vision, a fiery love in their heart, and so forth, as matchless spiritual experiences. Actually, it is better for them to consider that they have no spiritual experiences at all, than to suffer loss through confusing the soul with the spirit.<br />Because such a believer exercises much of the power of his soul-life in carrying out the suggestions of his new nature, it becomes possible for the soul-life to work and act without passing through any rejection. Since the believer is not aware of the inadequacy of the power of the soul-life in carrying out righteousness, he accepts everything as long as it is not from the flesh, thinking that it is from the spirit. He thinks that, other than the flesh, there is nothing else that needs to be rejected, that besides the flesh, everything is spiritual. For this reason, the soul-life is given the full liberty and opportunity to work. This is why we see so many believers seeking to overcome the flesh and sins, but few believers seeking to overcome their own life, which is the soul-life.<br />Although the soul includes many things, a soulish believer is controlled mostly by two elements, his mind and his emotion. The will controls him to a certain degree, but not as much as the mind and the emotion do. If one does not know how to control the soul, it becomes possible for the mind and the emotion to work. Those believers in this stage are controlled mainly by their own mind. They love knowledge and love to seek after the truth. They cannot be satisfied until they understand something completely in their mind. They love intriguing thoughts. They like to know more because they think that what they know is what they possess. They are also controlled by their emotion. They seek to feel the Lord's presence and to have feelings of joy. When they feel a burning fire within their heart, they can walk a hundred miles and can go on in leaps and bounds in their spiritual journey (outwardly speaking, of course). If they do not have this feeling or if they feel depressed, they will become sluggish and will not go on at all. They want good feelings. The good and bad feelings in their heart determine the highs and lows of their outward spiritual state. They are also controlled by their will. They have not received the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill in them the promise of Philippians 2:13. They think that determination is the beginning and end of all works. They make many resolutions and set many rules and regulations, only to be brought into more bondage. None of these help them to make a true advance in the spiritual life.<br />The most pitiful thing is that believers at this stage are usually self-satisfied and very stubborn in holding on to their experience. They think that all their knowledge is spiritual knowledge. They boast of the riches in their ``brain-bank.'' They think that their occasional ``third heaven'' experiences are spiritual experiences. They indulge themselves in feelings, in fiery sensations, in joy, and in the presence of the Lord; they think that besides this, there is no higher spiritual living. Yet they would not admit humbly that outward matters still distract their hearts and disturb their peace. Their conduct is an outward performance that comes from much scheming and planning and does not match their inward condition.<br />It is when God opens their eyes and makes them aware of the more abundant life reserved for them that they become willing to seek for the way to annul the soulish part of their being. But it is not an easy work to lead one to such a state, for the heart of man is deceitful above all things. Although many times a believer says with his mouth that he seeks the spiritual life and experience, nine times out of ten he is for himself, for his own fame and glory. It is extremely difficult to find those who are truly seeking to be spiritual. In order to reach this stage, the believer has to pass through much training and scourging from God so that he will come to realize that he has stolen God's glory and has used God's gift for his own self-exaltation. In everything his heart will be shown to have taken the self as the center. Such a believer will feel ashamed of himself; he will feel remorseful and sorrowful about himself. He will realize that such trust in the soul-life will only lead to failure. Since he has passed through a practical judgment before the Lord, he is now willing to ask God's Holy Spirit to annul his soul-life and to fully separate his spirit from his soul. Once the Holy Spirit is given a chance to work, He will surely work. In this way, a believer will be brought out of a state of the spirit and soul in mixture to a state of perfection in the spiritual life.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">THE DIVIDING OF THE SPIRIT FROM THE SOUL<br />Here the teaching of Hebrews 4:12 becomes crucial. It is there that the Holy Spirit teaches us to experientially divide the soul from the spirit. The dividing of the soul and the spirit is not merely a doctrine; it is an experience which all believers can and must have in their lives. In Hebrews 4 the Holy Spirit relates to us the ministry of the Lord Jesus as the High Priest. It also tells us the relationship between the believers and the High Priest. Verse 12 says, "For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Verse 13 goes on to say, "And there is no creature that is not manifest before Him, but all things are naked and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we are to give our account." The intention of the Holy Spirit here is to show how the Lord Jesus fulfills His work as the High Priest with respect to the believers' soul and spirit. Here the Holy Spirit considers a believer a sacrifice on the altar. In the Old Testament, when a man offered a sacrifice, he tied the sacrifice to the altar. The priest then killed the sacrifice with a knife and cut the sacrifice into two parts with the knife, piercing and dividing even the joints and the marrow. Everything that was inside the sacrifice, that was originally hidden from man's sight and knowledge, then became exposed and laid bare before men. After it was divided, the priest would then burn the sacrifice with fire and offer it to God. The Holy Spirit used this picture to show the Lord Jesus' work in the Christians, and the Christians' experience in the Lord. As the sacrifices of old were divided by the priests so that the joints and marrow were all laid bare and separated into two parts, in the same way the believers are now being divided in their soul and spirit through the word of God by their High Priest, the Lord Jesus. By this, the soul will no longer affect the spirit, and the spirit will no longer be controlled by the soul. Each will be separated from the other, and it will be possible to distinguish what is the soul and what is the spirit. There will not be any confusion or contamination anymore.<br />The priests of old divided the sacrifices with a knife. The present High Priest, the Lord Jesus, divides the believers' soul and spirit with the word of God. The priest's knife was very quick and sharp and was able to divide the sacrifices into halves; even the joints and marrow (which were so tightly joined together) were pierced through and divided from one another. The word of God, which the Lord Jesus now applies, is sharper than a two-edged sword. As such, it is able to clearly separate the soul from the spirit, which are so intimate within man.<br />After we examine this passage carefully, we see that it is by two things that a believer's soul and spirit are divided. The first is the cross, and the second is the word of God. The sacrifices had to be laid on the altar before the priests could cut them in half. We know that the altar of the Old Testament is the cross of the New Testament. Unless the believer is willing to come to the foundation of the cross and is willing to be crucified with the Lord, he cannot expect the High Priest to divide his soul from his spirit with God's sharp sword, His word. The laying on the altar comes first; the dividing by the knife comes afterward. A believer must first come to the cross before he can expect the Lord Jesus to fulfill His priestly ministry of dividing his soul from his spirit with His word. Hence, all those believers who desire to experience the dividing of the soul from the spirit need to take heed to the Lord's call to Golgotha. They should lay themselves down unreservedly on the altar, trusting in their High Priest to exercise His sharp sword to divide their soul from their spirit. As those who desire to offer acceptable sacrifices to God, we have to lay on the altar. It is the priest's work to cut with the knife. We should fulfill the requirement on our side and should entrust the rest of our experience to the hand of our faithful and trustworthy High Priest. At the right time, He will give us the full spiritual experience. Now let us consider how He calls us to the cross.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">THE CROSS<br />In Matthew 10:38 through 39 the Lord Jesus says, "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his soul-life shall lose it, and he who loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it." These verses call us to lose our soul-life for the Lord's sake. The soul-life spoken of here is man's original life, that is, the organic life that makes us a living creature. This life is the life commonly shared by all men created by God and is different from the spiritual life. This life is the life that we brought with us when we came out of our mother's womb. It is absolutely different from the spiritual life which we received at the time of regeneration. The spiritual life is the very life of God Himself; it is divine, supernatural, and is not possessed by man before his regeneration. For His sake the Lord Jesus calls us to give up the soul-life and to crucify it on the cross.<br />We have said that the soul-life includes our love, emotion, mind, will, and so forth. The soul-life that the Lord Jesus mentions here includes all these things, but in Matthew 10 it seems that the Lord Jesus is paying particular attention to the matter of love. In the previous verses the Lord Jesus mentions an enemy being of one's own household. He mentions how the son will be set against the father, and the daughter set against the mother, and the daughter-in-law set against the mother-in-law. When God's will is contrary to the opinion of our own household, we can do nothing except set ourselves against our most loved ones for the Lord's sake. This is a cross. It is a crucifixion. According to our soul-life, we love those whom we want to love. We like to listen to them and act according to their will. When those we love rejoice in their hearts, do not our hearts rejoice with them? But here the Lord Jesus is calling us and charging us not to disobey Him for the sake of man's love. At times, God's will may conflict with man's will. Although a certain person may be our most loved one or may be the one who loves us the most, and although hurting such a one is something that we would normally be most reluctant and unhappy to do, for the sake of the Lord we should take up our cross and crucify our love. We should never forget the meaning of bearing the cross; it is not just a suffering but an advance toward the place of crucifixion. The end of bearing the cross is crucifixion.<br />The Lord Jesus calls us this way in order to remove from us our natural love for men. Hence, in verse 37 He says, "He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me." In Luke 14:26-27 He says, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and moreover, even his own soul-life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." The Lord used the word hate to show the disciples the kind of attitude they should hold toward the love that issues from the soul-life. Strictly speaking, when believers love their kinfolks, their relatives, or their lovers, they should not love them because they are their loved ones. They should not love others just because these are their lovers or their father, mother, brothers, sisters, wife, or children. This kind of natural love comes from the soul-life. The Lord Jesus wants to remove all of our direct love toward men. The Lord has no intention that we would not love men. His intention is that we would not exercise our own love to love men, but that we would love with His love. What does this mean? It means that we should not love men because they are the ones we would love or because we have some special relationship with them. We cannot love someone just because he is a parent, wife, child, brother, or sister. This kind of natural love should be stopped. From now on when we love these people, it should be because of a new relationship in the Lord. We should love them only because the Lord loves them. We should not love them because we love them. For the Lord's sake, we should love others only through His love received from His hand. Simply put, the Lord's teaching here is that our love toward others should be under His control. If the Lord wants us to love, we should love even someone who is our enemy. If the Lord has not told us to love, we should not love even if someone is our closest relative.<br />To experience this, the soul-life must pass through death. This bearing of the cross, obedience to Christ, and rejection of our natural affection will cause the believers' natural love to suffer and to feel pain. This suffering and pain is the way to lose the soul-life with respect to its activities of love. When, on the cross before God, the soul-life loses its own love, it will indeed give room for the love of God to be poured out in our hearts. Subsequently, all of our love will be out of God who is abiding in us.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">The Lord Jesus wants us to hate our soul-life. We should hate our own life and should not allow it to have the opportunity to act freely with respect to human love. We were those who simply loved whomever we loved. But the Lord wants us to take up the cross and to hate what we love. The Lord's demand and our own intention are diametrically opposed to each other. Those whom we formerly loved we must now hate. We must not only hate what we loved, but must hate the loving organ, which is our soul-life. This is truly a cross. If we will truly take up the cross in this way, we will afford our High Priest the opportunity to divide our soul from our spirit in the matter of love. Then everything soulish will no longer control or affect the spirit, and we will love others in spirit. This is the same way that the Lord Jesus loved His own household while He was on earth.<br />In Matthew 16:24 and 25 the Lord Jesus again mentions the relationship between the soul-life and the cross. "Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it." In these verses, our Lord is calling His saints to come once more beneath the cross and to commit their soul-life to it, so that they would lose their soul-life. Superficially, what is mentioned here is the same as what is mentioned in Matthew 10. But in Matthew 10 the emphasis is on the part of the soul-life which pertains to love, while in chapter sixteen the emphasis is on the part of the soul-life that pertains to man's "self." If we read the previous verses, we will see that the Lord Jesus was telling the disciples of His coming suffering at the cross. Peter, in an earnest love for the Lord, told Him, "God be merciful to You, Lord" (v. 22). He cared for man's will and was not willing to see his teacher suffer in His flesh the pain of the cross. He did not understand that a man must first care for God's will, even at the expense of death on the cross. He did not know that one's love for God's will should far exceed his love for himself. It was as if he were saying, "Lord, if You die on the cross, You may have kept God's will and accomplished God's goal, and You may have acted according to God's plan, but what will happen to You? Are You not going to consider the suffering that You will face in keeping God's will? Lord, be merciful to Yourself!"<br />The Lord's answer to him reveals that such a thought of pitying oneself is from Satan. Then He seems to tell the disciples, "Not only will I have to go to the cross. Even you who are following Me and who desire to be My disciples must also go to the cross. As My way is, so shall your ways be. Do not misunderstand that I am the only One who has to keep God's will. You who are My disciples must keep God's will as I do. As I have not cared for Myself but have unconditionally kept God's will even to the place of the cross, in the same way you must not care for your own soul-life but must be willing to give it up and to do what God wants you to do." Peter told the Lord to "be merciful" to Himself. But the Lord's answer to Peter is that he should "deny himself."<br />There is a price to pay in keeping God's will. The flesh cannot help but tremble at this thought. When the soul-life takes a firm rule in us, we are not able to rejoice in God's will. When we hear God calling us to the cross, calling us to deny ourselves, to sacrifice, and to lose everything for His sake, our soul-life unconsciously responds with self-pity. The soul-life makes us unwilling to pay the price and to submit to God. Every time we consciously choose the narrow way of the cross and choose to suffer for Christ's sake, the soul-life takes a loss. It is through this that we lose our soul-life. Only by this, can we have the spiritual life of Christ reigning in us in a full and pure way. In this way we will be able to perform a work that is acceptable to God and a benefit to the world. If we consider the previous verses, we will understand even further the evil of the work of the soul-life. Peter spoke this word right after he had received God's revelation, understanding the mystery that cannot be understood by man. The Father revealed directly to Peter that the humble Jesus he followed was the Christ of the living God. But after he received such a revelation, he was immediately overcome by his soul-life; he exhorted his teacher to be merciful to Himself! Hence, we must realize that supernatural revelations and wonderful knowledge cannot keep us from being overcome by the soul-life. On the contrary, the higher the knowledge and the more supernatural the experiences, the more hidden is the soul-life and the harder it is to remove it. If it is not dealt with by the cross, the soul-life will continue to remain in man and will never go away.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Self-pity, self-love, the fear of suffering, and shrinking back from the cross are expressions of the soul-life. The greatest goal of the soul-life is to preserve its own existence. It is very reluctant to suffer anything. This is why the Lord calls us to deny ourselves and to take up our cross. In this way we will lose our soul-life. Every time a cross is put before us, it calls us to give up ourselves, to have no more love for ourselves, and to lay down our lives for others through the power of God. Here the Lord says that the cross is ours; we receive it individually from God. When we set ourselves to do God's will, God calls us to take up the cross and bear it. This cross is ours; it is specially prepared for us by God. But it is also joined to the cross of Christ. When we are willing through the spirit of Christ's cross to take up our own cross, the power of Christ's cross will enter into us and enable us to lose our soul-life. Every time we bear the cross, we crucify the soul-life once more. Every time we dodge around the cross, we nourish our soul-life and keep it going.<br />We should notice that what the Lord speaks of here is not something that is done once for all. In Luke the word daily is added to the expression concerning the bearing of the cross. Hence, this kind of death is a continual one. We know that our death to sin is an accomplished fact, it has been completed. All we have to do is acknowledge and receive it. But the death of our soul-life is another matter. This is not an accomplished fact. Rather, it is an experience which we have to achieve and gain day by day. This does not mean that we will never die nor that we must die slowly. It means that the death of the soul-life is not like the death to sin. Our death to sin was accomplished by Christ on our behalf. When He died, we died with Him. But the death of the soul-life is not an accomplished fact. We have to bear our own cross daily through the power of the Lord's cross. We must be resolved to deny ourselves and to put the self to death. This kind of work must be done daily by walking according to the Lord's will, by taking up our own cross. By this, the soul-life will lose its power.<br />Our Lord spoke similar words in Luke 17:32-33. But there it refers to the things of the world: "Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his soul-life will lose it, and whoever will lose it will preserve it alive." Here the Lord tells us again how the soul-life is to be forsaken. But what the Lord is emphasizing here is the attachment of the saints' heart to earthly wealth. The Lord tells us that we should remember Lot's wife. In her danger she still remembered her wealth. She did not return back to Sodom; she did not even walk back an inch. All she did was just turn back her head a little. But how much this one turning reveals. This turning of her head speaks a long story concerning her heart.<br />A saint may forsake the world and outwardly part with everything, yet within him he may still crave the things that he has given up for the Lord. This is the work of the soul-life. A saint who is consecrated to the Lord may not go back to the way of the world and may not try to gain back what he has given up for the Lord. Yet if his heart still lingers on these things, it shows that he has not seen clearly the place the world occupies on the cross. The work of the soul-life may not necessarily turn men back to the way of the world. All it has to do is cause the saints to privately hold dear in their hearts those things they need to forsake or have already forsaken.<br />When the soul-life has indeed been lost, nothing in the world will move that saint's heart anymore. The soul-life belongs to the world. This is why it cannot give up the world. Only when a saint is willing to put the soul-life to death will he be able to steadfastly obey the Lord's ``sermon on the mount.'' Although there is no explicit mention of the cross in the sermon on the mount, we know that unless the saints have genuine experience of dying with the Lord—not only to sin, but also with respect to the soul-life being put to death—there will be no seriousness in obeying the sermon on the mount. The reason for this is that unless the cross has worked deeply in the soul-life of the saints, any outward conformation to the sermon on the mount will not have an inward echo in the heart. A saint who has lost his soul-life can spontaneously and sincerely take off his outer garment and give it to him who would take away his inner garment. A saint who has committed his soul to death is one who has been cut off from the things of the world.<br />The condition for receiving spiritual life is for us to forsake certain things. Only by this will we truly gain. In the spiritual realm, we are not reckoned rich by how much we have gained; the richer we are, the more we have to lose. We should not measure our life by our "gains"; we should measure our life by our "losses." Our true measure is the measure of wine that we pour out, rather than the measure that we have kept. Those who lose the most have the most to offer. The power of love is seen in the sacrifice of love. If our hearts are not yet separated from the craving of worldly wealth, our soul-life is not yet on the cross and has not yet passed through the work of the cross.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Hebrews 10:34 speaks of a group of believers whose possessions had been plundered. Yet they "accepted [it] with joy." Not only did they accept it willingly, but they accepted it with joy. This is the result of the work of the cross. The saints' attitude toward their possessions indicates whether their soul-life is living or being put to death.<br />If we truly desire to have the soul separated from the spirit, we must allow God to work on us concerning these things. Then our heart will be truly severed from everything of the world, and we will no longer have a heart like Lot's wife. This indifference to the riches of the world is one condition for us to attain to the perfect spiritual life in Christ. It is only when the Holy Spirit reveals to the saints the reality of heaven and the fullness of the spiritual life that they can despise the things of the world. The reason for this is that there is no comparison between the two. This is the experience of the apostle in Philippians 3. At the beginning he counted "all things to be loss." In the end he "suffered the loss of all things" (v. 8) that he might gain Christ. The end result of this was Paul's knowing the power of Christ's resurrection. This is the perfect life. Many times we do not realize how strong our soul-life is. It is only manifested when we are tried in material things. Many times it seems to require less grace to lose one's life than to lose one's riches! The things of the world are indeed the acid test for the existence or death of the soul-life.<br />If God's children are too concerned about their food, drink, and dwelling, they need to receive the deeper work of the cross so that their spirit will not be surrounded and affected by their soul. In this way they will be delivered from everything worldly, and their spirit will be able to live before God unhindered. If a person is concerned for the things of the world, it means that his soul-life has not been lost, and he has not yet passed through the work of the cross.<br />In John 12:24 and 25 the Lord Jesus again mentions the question of the soul-life. "Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his soul-life loses it; and he who hates his soul-life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life." Later the Lord Jesus expounds the meaning of these two verses: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. But He said this signifying by what kind of death He was about to die" (vv. 32-33). This chapter records the greatest moment of the Lord's life. Lazarus had been resurrected. Many Jews had believed because of Lazarus. Even some Greeks were coming to see Him. It was also at this time that He entered into Jerusalem and was welcomed by the people. Hence, in man's view, at this time there seemed to be no need of the cross. It seemed as if the Lord Jesus could draw all men to Himself without going to the cross. But He knew that there was no other way to save men except by the cross. Although His work was prosperous outwardly, He knew that unless He died, He could not give His life to others. If He died, He would draw all men to Himself and would dispense life to all men.<br />Here the Lord presents clearly the lesson of the cross. He likens Himself to a grain of wheat; unless it dies in the ground, it remains one grain. But if He were indeed crucified on the cross, He would give life to many. Here the Lord Jesus presents the qualification for all fruit bearing. Unless one dies, he will not bear fruit. Other than death, there is no other way to bear fruit.<br />But our purpose is not just to study what the Lord Jesus is in Himself. What we are emphasizing is the relationship this has with our soul-life. The grain of wheat in verse 24 refers to the Lord Jesus Himself. But in verse 25 He points out that the kind of death He was to suffer and the result it was to produce would not be limited to Himself alone. All His disciples had to follow in His footsteps. He then tells us what the meaning of the grain of wheat is to a Christian. He points out that this grain is a symbol of our soul-life. As a grain of wheat will not live unless it dies, in the same way one will not bear fruit unless the soul-life dies. What the Lord emphasizes here is the matter of fruit bearing in our work. Although a believer may be quite powerful in his soul-life, this power will not help him to bear fruit. All the talents, gifts, knowledge, wisdom, and power that issue from the soul-life will not help a believer produce many grains. As the Lord Jesus had to die to bear fruit, in the same way a believer must die before he will bear fruit. To the Lord Jesus, although the soul-life is powerful, this power is useless in helping God bear fruit.<br />Here we see that the Lord Jesus was making a clear comparison between the soul-life and the eternal life, the spiritual life. He shows us that the soul-life loves itself. This means that the soul-life is self-centered. Hence, He charges the saints to take the attitude of "hating" their own soul-life. This ``hating'' is realized in the putting to death of our soul-life on the cross. There is a reason for us to handle the soul-life in this way. If we do not, we will suffer loss, an eternal loss. If the soul-life reigns within us, it will forever control the spirit, and the spirit will not be able to express the pure and divine life of Christ. This mixture of the soul and the spirit will deprive us of our fruit bearing, which can only come from one who is spiritually pure. Self-love is the greatest characteristic of the soul-life. If we do not put our self-love to death through the cross of the Lord, our spiritual life will be affected by it daily and will manifest impurities.<br />We have seen how the Lord has called us to the cross to put our soul-life to death. Unless we place ourselves on the altar in this way, our High Priest will have no way to apply His sharp knife to divide our spirit from our soul. We must allow the cross to work before we can receive the work of our High Priest. We should follow the example of our Lord Jesus. When He died, He "poured out His soul unto death" (Isa. 53:12). At the same time, He committed His spirit to God (Luke 23:46). What He did is what we must do. The soul-life must die. If we truly pour out our soul-life unto death and commit our spirit to God, we will soon experience being resurrected by God and have the fullness of the spiritual life in the glory of resurrection.<br />If we truly put our soul-life to death through the cross, our High Priest will divide our soul from our spirit with the word of God.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">THE WORD OF GOD<br />What we must do is lie on the altar. It is our High Priest's job to apply the sharp knife to us to divide our soul from our spirit. If we have truly committed ourselves to the cross, our High Priest will surely fulfill His ministry and divide our soul from our spirit. This is His work; we do not have to worry about it. When He sees us fulfilling the condition for His work, He will surely divide our soul from our spirit at the most appropriate time. Now we have to consider the practical steps by which we, in coming to the cross, allow the Lord Jesus to divide our soul from our spirit through the word of God.<br />THE PRACTICAL STEPS<br />We have spoken of the working of the High Priest as a result of our accepting the cross. Now we want to consider how, in practice, we can have our soul divided from our spirit by the Lord Jesus.<br />1. Knowing the Necessity of Having the Soul Divided from the Spirit<br />Without this knowledge, there will not be the proper seeking. A saint must seek the Lord that He might show him the hatefulness of a life with a mixture of the soul and the spirit. He must know that in God there is a higher and deeper life that is perfect in spirituality and unaffected by the soul. He should know that a life with a mixture of the soul and the spirit is a life of loss.<br />2. Seeking to Be Divided<br />Moreover, he must genuinely seek to have this joining of the soul and the spirit divided. He must have the intense intention in his heart to see these two things divided.<br />3. A Specific Submission<br />If a saint desires to have the experience of the dividing of the soul from the spirit, he must be very specific and must put himself on the altar of the cross. He must be fully willing in his heart to accept the result of all the working of the cross. He must be willing to be conformed to the Lord's death and must wait until there is a dividing of his soul from his spirit in his experience. Before he has this dividing experience, he should continually place his will on God's side and should actively and aggressively set his preference on this dividing. In his heart he should desire that the High Priest would not stop His hand until the dividing work is complete.<br />4. Standing on Romans 6:11<br />The saints must be careful not to fall into sin while seeking for the experience of the dividing of the soul from the spirit. The basis of the division of the soul from the spirit is our attitude of being dead to sin. Hence, the saints must daily take up the stand of Romans 6:11 and consider themselves "dead to sin." In their will they must specifically choose not to let sin "reign in [their] mortal body" (v. 12). Only then will they be able to stop the soul-life from continuing to sin through the flesh.<br />5. Praying and Reading the Word<br />The saints should study the Bible by prayer and meditation. They should allow the word of God to penetrate deep within them so that their soul will be purified by the word of God. If the saints will truly walk according to God's word, the activities of their soul-life will be stopped. This is what 1 Peter 1:22 means when it says, "Since you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth."<br />6. Taking Up the Cross Daily<br />If the Lord is to divide our soul from our spirit, He must make us bear the cross according to the needs in the environment. If the saints will bear the cross daily, if they will unceasingly seek to experience victory over sin and the self, not giving room to the flesh for a minute, the Holy Spirit of God will quietly divide their soul from their spirit.<br />7. Walking according to the Spirit<br />All these are the conditions for being preserved. They are also the clear conditions for the soul and the spirit to be fully separated. The saints should seek to walk according to the spirit in everything. They should distinguish what is from the spirit and what is from the soul and should resolve to follow everything that is from the spirit and reject everything that is from the soul. They should learn to know all the workings of their spirit and follow them accordingly.<br />These are the conditions that the saints have to fulfill. The Holy Spirit needs our cooperation. If we do not fulfill our part, the Lord will not be able to fulfill His part. If we have done what we should on our part, our High Priest will divide our soul from our spirit through the power of the cross and the sword of the Holy Spirit. Then all the things that belong to the emotion, the feelings, the mind, and the natural strength will be separated from the spirit one by one, and there will be no more mixture. When this happens, the spirit of the saints will be able to ascend to the heavenlies and will be joined to the Lord's Spirit as one in their experience. In this way, the saints will be used by the Lord; they will become channels of life and will bear much fruit. The saints themselves will have a peaceful spiritual life, hidden with Christ in God.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-28906543926960877582007-08-02T07:44:00.000-06:002007-08-02T07:49:23.884-06:00FACT FAITH AND EXPERIENCE<span style="font-size:180%;">FACT, FAITH, AND EXPERIENCE<br />In the present age of grace, everything is "by grace" (Eph. 2:8). Everything being by grace means that everything is done by God. Man does not have to do anything to be saved because "to the one who works, his wages are not accounted according to grace, but according to what is due" (Rom. 4:4). Because God deals with man according to grace, there are certain facts.<br />FACT<br />God has accomplished everything for man. Since everything has been accomplished, certain "facts" exist. And since they are existing "facts," man does not have to accomplish what has already been accomplished. All of God's works are complete.<br />However, God's grace is a righteous grace. This is why, with the "facts," there is still the need for human cooperation. What kind of cooperation is this? It is not to add anything to what He has finished, but to have man acknowledge that what God has done is real. This is faith.<br />FAITH<br />Faith is to acknowledge that what God has said and done is true. Faith is to accept the facts, that is, to acknowledge them as facts.<br />Faith is a "cashing in." I use the words "cashing in" in the sense of one cashing a check at the bank. Suppose someone gives you a check. That the bank has the money is a fact. For you to cash the check for money is to acknowledge the fact that the bank possesses whatever amount is written on the check. It takes faith to "cash in." With faith, one can cash in and thereby have the money to use. Now, to spend the money is the "experience." To have the money in the bank is the "fact," to cash the check is "faith," and to spend the money is "experience." In God's grace, what He has done for man are facts. But man must still experience these facts.<br />EXPERIENCE<br />To experience God's grace is to claim by faith the facts that God has accomplished for man. These facts are accomplished by God. What man needs is faith. The facts belong to God, and the experience belongs to man. Thus, faith is God's facts becoming man's experience. What the Bible shows us is simply "fact, faith, and experience."<br />SUMMARY<br />We know that the Lord Jesus is the Word become flesh. He is the consummation of all divine virtues and the grand total of all perfections. His living is God's living, for He is God Himself. Christ has accomplished salvation on the cross. All those who sincerely accept the Lord Jesus as Lord and Savior, at the moment they believe, God accepts them as He accepted the Lord Jesus. At that time, all the divine virtues and accomplishments of the Lord Jesus come upon the believers. In God's view and before God, they are the same as the Lord Jesus. God sees every Christian as He sees Christ. Christians possess all of Christ's work and accomplishments through their union with Him. This is the "fact" that the Christians have been given by God. This fact was accomplished by Christ for the Christians. This fact is that through the believers' union with the Lord Jesus, everything that belongs to Christ now belongs to His believers also. This is a fact that has been accomplished by God alone; the believers themselves have no share whatever in its accomplishment.<br />The Bible points out this fact very clearly. The writer of the book of Hebrews uses a particularly simple illustration to point out God's accomplished fact for us. In 9:15-17 what the Lord Jesus has accomplished for us is illustrated by a person's making of a will. A will is a promise of "inheritance" to those who receive the will. But before the one who makes the will dies, the will is not effective. Once the person dies, the recipients of the will can receive the inheritance left by the one who made the will. The Lord Jesus is the One who made the will. He has died. Hence, all that He has promised goes immediately under our name. This is the fact that we have received from Him. Although we may not take possession of the inheritance all at once or enjoy the benefit and sustenance from the inheritance, yet the inheritance is indeed ours; it belongs to us and is under our name already. This is an immovable fact. To have the inheritance is one thing; to enjoy the inheritance is another. The ownership of the inheritance is the "fact," and the enjoyment of the inheritance is the "experience." We have the fact of owning the inheritance, not because of ourselves, but because of the One who has left the will. The possession of the fact comes first. The enjoyment comes afterward.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">The teaching of this illustration is very simple. The Lord Jesus has died and has given to us all His righteousnesses, divine virtues, perfections, victories, beauties, and so forth. By these we become the same as He is before God, and God accepts us in the same way that He accepts the Lord. This is what He has given to us. These things are facts from the moment we become Christians. As far as the fact goes, we are already as perfect as the Lord Jesus. But as far as experience goes, we may not be this way. The meaning of this "fact" is none other than the grace that God has given to us and accomplished for us through the Lord Jesus. This grace has been given to us through our union with the Son of God. It is possible for us to have the fact of inheriting the inheritance without having the experience of enjoying the inheritance. There is a big difference between fact and experience. Many believers are very rich in fact because everything that is God's is theirs. However, in experience they are the poorest because they do not practically use and enjoy their riches. The older son in Luke 15 is a good example of this condition. As far as the fact goes, he was the child who was "always with me, and all that is mine is yours" (v. 31). But as far as experience goes, he never had "a goat that I might be merry with my friends" (v. 29). He was the son of a rich man. This was his position, a fact. Yet it was possible for him not to have enjoyed even a goat. This was his condition, his experience.<br />We should be very clear concerning the distinction between the fact and the experience. These two things are two different aspects. In the first case, it is what God has accomplished for us; it is the position that God has given to us. In the second case, it is what we practice; it is our enjoyment of what God has given to us. At present, believers tend to go to the extreme. Some (actually the majority) do not know the riches they have in the Lord Jesus. They do not know that everything that the Lord Jesus has accomplished is theirs already. They plan and scheme to secure grace. They try to work out all kinds of righteousnesses by their own strength in order to meet God's demand and satisfy the inclination of their new life. Others (not a few) think that they understand God's grace all too well. They think that the Lord Jesus has already exalted them to a matchless position. They are satisfied already and do not seek to put into practice experientially the grace that they have received from the Lord Jesus. Both kinds of people are wrong. Those who pay attention to experience and forget the facts are bound by the law. Those who pay attention to the facts and despise experience take grace as an excuse for indulgence. On the one hand, a Christian should understand through the Scriptures his lofty position in the Lord Jesus. On the other hand, he should examine under God's light whether or not his walk matches the grace of his calling.<br />God has placed us in a most lofty position. Through our union with the Lord Jesus, all of the Lord's accomplishments and victories are ours. This is our position in fact. The question now is how we can experience all of the Lord Jesus' accomplishments and victories. Between the fact and the experience, that is, before the fact can be turned into experience, before God's accomplishment can be turned into man's practice, there is still the step of faith.<br />This step of faith is nothing other than the "utilization" or "management" of the inheritance. The Lord has left us a will. He has died, and the will is now in effect. We should no longer hold an indifferent or unconcerned attitude. Instead we should rise up to "utilize" the inheritance that we have received so that we can enjoy, or experience, the blessing of the inheritance. We are God's children already. All that God has is now ours (1 Cor. 3:21-23). We should not be like the older son who vainly possessed the promises without entering into the enjoyment of them. Due to his foolishness and unbelief, he did not ask nor did he utilize. Hence, he did not have anything. If he would have asked to exercise his right as a son, he would have had not just one goat but thousands upon thousands of them!<br />What we need now is nothing other than the utilization by faith of what God has promised to us; we should "cash in" by faith what God has prepared for us in the Lord Jesus. For the one who is to inherit a will, there are two things he has to do before he can enjoy and experience the inheritance. First, he has to believe that there is an inheritance. Second, he has to rise wholeheartedly to manage this inheritance. Of course, if one does not believe that there is an inheritance, he will not rise up to manage it. Therefore, we must first acknowledge that God has indeed made the Lord Jesus our "wisdom...righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Cor. 1:30), that all of the Lord's accomplishments and victories are our accomplishments and victories. If we do not have this faith, not only can we never expect any spiritual experiences, but we are sinning against God and doubting His work! Second, those in the world manage an inheritance with their physical strength. But for us to manage our spiritual inheritance, we have to use our spiritual strength, which is faith. As this spiritual inheritance is already ours, we must advance one step further by faith to "cash in," to utilize, and to manage our inheritance in the Lord Jesus.<br />In the Old Testament we see another instance which can adequately show us the relationship between fact, faith, and experience. This is the history of the Israelites entering Canaan. In the old days, God promised the land of Canaan to the Israelites. He mentioned this to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, and even to the tens of thousands of people who left Egypt. To God, the land was already given. God promised to fight for them and that they would overcome all their enemies. It was a fact that God had given the land and the peoples of Canaan to the Israelites already. Although the fact was there, they did not yet have the experience. As far as the fact was concerned, the land was theirs already, yet in experience they still did not own an inch of it. This is why they had to "go up at once and possess it," for they were "well able to prevail" (Num. 13:30). However, due to their unbelief, despite the fact that God had given them the land, they were not able to possess it in experience. After one generation, God told Joshua, "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses" (Josh. 1:3). They were to inherit the land that God had given them with the soles of their feet. Later when they went up, they inherited the land.<br />This shows us the secret of substantiating the perfection of Christ. God has already given us what Christ "is," "has," and "has done"; they are all ours already. Now what we have to do is to experience all that He is, has, and has done. There is no other way to experience all this except to acknowledge that Canaan is good; if we will realize every inch of God's land with the soles of our feet, we will indeed find ourselves inheriting the land that God has given to us. God gives; we believe and receive. This is fact, faith, and experience.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">DEFINITIONS<br />Fact<br />Facts are God's promises, His redemption, His works, and His free gifts.<br />Faith<br />Faith denotes the way man believes in God, trusts in His work and redemption, and claims His promises. It is a kind of working and attitude through which God's facts are transformed into man's experience.<br />Experience<br />Experience is the proper living of the believers, which they secure through believing in God. It is the expression of the life of Christ practiced in the believers' living. Experience is the realization of all Christ's accomplishments and victories. It is the practical application, manifestation, and living out of God's facts. The histories of all the saints recorded in the Bible belong to this category.<br />Not only those who are teachers but all believers should know the interrelationship of these three: fact, faith, and experience. Otherwise, they will be confused in their living and in their teachings. Furthermore, they will find many contradictions and apparent disagreements in their reading of the Bible.<br />I am afraid that up to this point I have still not presented the scriptural teachings in a clear way. For this reason, I want to present a few great doctrines in the Bible as proofs.<br />We Christians have believed in the substitutional death of the Lord Jesus and have experienced the effect of His redemption. Redemption is an experience for the sinners; we Christians have already been redeemed. For us, redemption is a past experience. It seems as if we have no need to speak of it anymore. Yet for the sake of illustrating the relationship between these three things—fact, faith, and experience—and in order to show us their continuity and importance, I will first use as an example an experience that we have already had.<br />REDEMPTION<br />Redemption is a very great doctrine. It is something that we should understand. The redemption of our Lord Jesus is for the whole world. We have the following verses to prove this point:<br />The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29).<br />For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16).<br />He Himself is the propitiation...for those of the whole world (1 John 2:2).<br />Who gave Himself as a ransom for all (1 Tim. 2:6).<br />The Savior of all men (1 Tim. 4:10).<br />After reading these verses, we can see that the redemption of Jesus is for the whole world. Hence, it is possible for everyone in the world to be saved. The Lord's redemption is an accomplished fact.<br />However, the Bible tells us that not everyone in the world is saved. If a man does not understand the teaching concerning "faith," he may think that whether or not a man believes in the Lord's vicarious death, he is saved anyway. It seems to him that since Jesus has died for the whole world, the whole world need not die anymore, and there is no need to be concerned if one believes or not. This may seem very reasonable, but actually it is very unreasonable, for this would absolve sinners of all their responsibilities. If this were the case, there would no longer be the need for believers to preach the gospel.<br />Although the Bible says that Christ has died for the world, it also says that those who believe will be saved. The following Scriptures testify to this:<br />That every one who believes... (John 3:15).<br />He who believes into Him...; he who does not believe... (John 3:18).<br />Believe on the Lord Jesus (Acts 16:31).<br />Through the faith of Jesus Christ to all those who believe (Rom. 3:22).<br />Him who is of the faith of Jesus (Rom. 3:26).<br />Your sins have been forgiven you because of His name (1 John 2:12).<br />We can quote many more Scriptures, but the above verses are sufficient to prove that a man has to believe. This means that although Christ has died for the world, the world must still apply His death and reckon it their own death. Otherwise, the death of Christ will have nothing to do with them. Although the Scripture says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son," the Bible does not stop here. Following this it says, "That every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life." First Timothy 4:10 says, "The living God, who is the Savior of all men." God sent His Son into the world to die for men. Hence, He is able to be the Savior of all men. He is the "Savior..., especially of those who believe." These are the ones who have believed.<br />After believing, there must be the experience. If one believes in God's fact, there surely must be the experience of the fact. Please consider the following Scriptures:<br />He who believes into Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe has been condemned already (John 3:18).<br />He who...believes...has eternal life (John 5:24).<br />Every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life (John 3:16).<br />Justified out of faith (Rom. 5:1).<br />Hence, when man believes that the salvation God has prepared for him is a fact, and when he applies this salvation, he is saved.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">DYING WITH THE LORD<br />Let us now explain the matter of fact, faith, and experience in relation to our dying with the Lord. It is just as important for believers to know the matter of dying with the Lord as it is for sinners to know the matter of redemption.<br />Fact: When Christ died on the cross, not only did He die for the sinners, but the sinners died in Him as well. He not only died for sins, but He brought death to the sinners as well. It is a fact in God that the sinners have died with Jesus on the cross. The following Scriptures prove this:<br />One died for all, therefore all died (2 Cor. 5:14).<br />Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him (Rom. 6:6).<br />We who have died to sin (Rom. 6:2).<br />After seeing these few verses, we can realize that in God's view the believers have been crucified with Christ on the cross already. When a believer is not aware of this fact, he will try to crucify himself day after day and will find that no matter how much he tries, he does not die. Little does he realize that we are dead in Christ already. We should not try to crucify ourselves; rather, we should apply His death by faith and reckon His death as our death. Baptism is the demonstration and acknowledgement of faith. It both demonstrates and acknowledges the fact. Romans 6:3 says, "Baptized into His death." "Baptism into His death" (v. 4) is the demonstration and acknowledgement of our application through faith of this death.<br />We are dead, we have been crucified with Him, and our death and our crucifixion with Him are facts, yet the Word of God goes on to charge us to "reckon [ourselves] to be dead to sin" (Rom. 6:11). Reckoning is an act of faith. We do not consider ourselves dead, because we cannot consider ourselves dead. We may try to consider ourselves dead day and night, but how can one actually consider himself dead? The more we consider in this way, the more we will realize that we are alive and that we are capable of and even prone to sinning. The only way is for us to "reckon" ourselves dead in Christ. Christ's death is our death. If we have this faith, we will have the experience of dying with the Lord. In the Bible, Paul is a good pattern of a person who had the experience of dying with the Lord. He said, "The cross...through whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world" (Gal. 6:14). He also said, "To know...the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Phil. 3:10). Again he said, "I am crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20). If a believer is to have the experience—the life experience—of dying with the Lord, he cannot do so by his own methods. He must take God's way, the way of fact, faith, and experience.<br />It is a fact that the believers have been crucified with Christ on the cross. Do you believe this fact? Are you willing to accept this fact and to reckon yourselves dead? If you believe, you will have the same experience of dying with the Lord that Paul had.<br />All of the teachings in the Bible concerning God's way of dealing with man follow the order of three things: fact, faith, and experience. All that God has done is perfect. The way He deals with the world is to accomplish all the works on behalf of the world, so that they will not need to use any human ways, but rather, receive and claim by faith alone. Since God deals with man in grace at present, He does not need any work from man (Rom. 4:4). The same principle applies to crucial doctrines such as "sanctification" and "victory."<br />SANCTIFICATION<br />Sanctification is not a work of our own. Sanctification is accomplished for us by God. The Bible says, "That He might sanctify the people through His own blood" (Heb. 13:12). "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified" (10:14). Sanctification is an accomplished fact. Since Jesus has died, we are all sanctified. Nevertheless, 1 Peter 1:16 charges us to be "holy." Why does it charge us in this way? The reason is that though believers are sanctified, this sanctification is merely a fact with God; it is not yet an experience in the believers' lives. In order for one to be sanctified, he has to apply the sanctification accomplished through the death of Jesus, taking this as his sanctification. Only then will he live a sanctified life.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">VICTORY OVER THE WORLD<br />Concerning victory over the world, the same thing applies. First, there is the accomplished work of Christ, which is God's fact. Jesus says, "I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Second, there is our faith, for "the victory which has overcome the world [is] our faith" (1 John 5:4). When a man claims the victory of Christ as his victory, he overcomes the world. This is an experience in life that comes after we have believed. Facts are works of God; faith is our trust in God's works; while experience is the spiritual encounters in our life. Not only does sanctification follow this principle; many other major doctrines concerning God's way with man also follow this principle.<br />All of God's facts are God's own works; they do not come from man's struggle. God's facts, such as sanctification and victory, cannot be accomplished by the believers' prayer, work, self-denial, holiness, charitable donations, or planning. God's facts are accomplished by God alone. God has entrusted all His enterprises to Christ. Only by faith can we appropriate these facts; there is no other way.<br />Let us now consider an example to see the great difference between God's fact and man's experience. According to God's fact, the church in Corinth was sanctified in Christ (1 Cor. 1:2). It was the temple of the Holy Spirit (6:19). It had been washed (v. 11). Yet in experience, it was "altogether a defeat" for them, for they wronged and defrauded (vv. 7-8) and sinned against Christ (8:12). The reason for this is that they did not apply the grace (i.e., the fact) that God had prepared for them. The result was a loss. The high position that we have obtained in fact does not come through our self-effort, diligence, self-buffeting, or pretense. We do not obtain this practical experience by exerting our own effort. In order to experience the reality of the fact that God has prepared for us, all we need to do is exercise our faith to claim what the Lord has accomplished for us and to count it as our own. The perfect and genuine faith is that which daily acknowledges the works (i.e., facts) that the Lord has accomplished. The meaning of claiming is to acknowledge daily all that the Lord has accomplished for us, that is, to acknowledge that all these accomplishments are effective in us. Then, when temptation comes, we will live out these accomplishments as if we have already attained to the position (the fact) that the Lord has placed us in. If we do this, our experience will follow.<br />A believer who is high in spiritual achievement is not high in himself. Rather, it is his claiming that makes him high. The spiritual experiences of the believers are not isolated matters. This means that there is a basis to these experiences; they do not exist in themselves or evolve around themselves. The experience of the believers' spiritual life is fully based on the facts that God has accomplished for them. The facts are the basis, the experience is the accomplishment, and faith is the process. In other words, the facts are the cause, faith is the way, and experience is the result. The experience of the believers' spiritual life is just the end result, the final achievement. Before there can be any lofty spiritual life in the believers, there first must be the perfect work of the Lord Jesus as its wellspring. It is absolutely impossible for a believer to try to be sanctified, to overcome, or to die by his own effort. Sanctification, victory, death, and so forth do not come from self-effort. They come from: (1) acknowledging our sanctification, victory, and death to the self in the Lord Jesus Christ, and (2) practicing it by believing that one is joined to the Lord Jesus in life and that one will be as sanctified, victorious, and dead to the self as the Lord Jesus is. The Lord Jesus has already encountered every experience that we have and will have. To claim by faith is to reckon as ours all that the Lord Jesus has and to apply through an attitude and a conduct of faith all that we have counted as grace.<br />Here we must never forget the Holy Spirit. Why does God's fact become man's experience through his faith? It is because of the work of the Holy Spirit. When we believe in God's facts shown in the Bible and when we claim these facts, the Holy Spirit will apply to us all the graces that God has accomplished for us in Christ, making them real to us in our lives. In this way, they become our personal experiences. An acknowledging and claiming faith opens the door for the Holy Spirit to work and to apply in our lives all that the Lord Jesus has accomplished so that we will have the practical experience. The work of the Holy Spirit is based upon the facts of God. The Holy Spirit does not accomplish any fact for us; He only makes the things that have been accomplished real and living in our lives. God has accomplished all the facts in Christ. What we must do is acknowledge and claim these facts, trusting in the Holy Spirit to apply in our lives what God has accomplished so that we will have the spiritual experiences.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-40560657886526113432007-08-02T07:43:00.000-06:002007-08-02T07:44:20.252-06:00LIVING BY FAITH<span style="font-size:180%;">LIVING BY FAITH<br />"But the righteous shall have life and live by faith" (Rom. 1:17). This is the normal rule for the believers' living. We are prone to live by the excitement of the visible joys and the obvious blessings. But the Word of God says that "the righteous shall have life and live by faith." Many believers desire to have the revelation of God; they aspire to noble transformation and "third heaven" experiences. Some may encounter these at times, but the righteous must live by faith. The union in life that Madame Guyon experienced is seldom found in the present age. She said that her experience was such that she found it impossible for her to live apart from His life. She was able to attain to this state only through faith and self-denial.<br />Many believers are deeply grieved because they do not have a conscious feeling of God's presence. As a result, they cry out to God with their whole being, seeking for God as the deer seeks for a stream of water. Faith is not to touch God's presence. It is not to love Him in excitement or to express oneself in exuberance. The righteous shall live by faith—by faith alone.<br />Faith is like an anchor; it establishes a person. Faith is real; it is a "substantiating." Faith is also a "conviction of things not seen." Hence, it is touchable.<br />Those who walk by faith may have outward joy. But this is not what they are looking for; this is not their goal. A feeling of joy is merely the flowers that shine atop the dark green leaves along the path of faith.<br />Faith can do what nothing else can do. First, it can please God: "But without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him" (Heb. 11:6). This is the life of our Lord Jesus, for He said, "I always do the things that are pleasing to Him" (John 8:29).<br />Second, it bears fruit: "Who through faith overcame kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong in weakness, became mighty in war, routed the armies of foreigners. Women received their dead by resurrection..." (Heb. 11:31-35). However, even though some results are obtained, one must continue to go on steadfastly by faith. He must believe in God and have faith whether in light or in darkness. He must fulfill his duty, moving forward to do whatever is next to do. He should advance in the way of faith even though it is an ordinary path. While he gropes in darkness and walks in darkness, he should live—living and unceasingly working—by faith.<br />If he would do this, glory will be all around him. However, those who live by faith will not see this glory themselves. Many lessons of faith are very deep and essential. Moses did not realize that his face shone, but the ones who saw this glory were blessed.<br />Once a missionary returned to her country wearing a very drab dress. When a young lady there saw her dress, she felt sorry for her. The missionary turned and looked at her, but she did not say a word. However, when the young lady saw her face, she was reminded of God. That young lady never forgot that day. She was very bright and intended to study for a certain degree, but eventually, she changed her mind and became a worker of Christ. The Lord is the Victor! She is now saving many in Africa. Although that returning missionary did not see her own face, others saw it, and the Lord worked.<br />An unchangeable fact is that those who live by faith must look away unto the Lord Jesus. God says that we should look away unto the Lord Jesus as the Author and Perfecter of our faith. If one does this, he will reflect in word, countenance, and attitude the One he looks away to. This life is far beyond description—the righteous shall live by faith.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-82209769271088228712007-08-02T07:42:00.000-06:002007-08-02T07:43:07.317-06:00HOW TO SEEK AFTER GOD'S WILL<span style="font-size:180%;">HOW TO SEEK AFTER GOD'S WILL<br />The one question that troubles Christians the most is how to seek after God's will. We know that all works which are done apart from God are vanity and futile labor; they do not count before God. We are not here to do a great work, but to do God's work. Many works are great, wonderful, and beneficial, but they may not be God's work for us. We should not think that whatever is good is of God's will. If our work is apart from the will of God, the Lord whom we serve will not be happy. Although we may be busy from morning till evening, we may not reap much benefit in the spiritual realm nor receive God's praise and reward as a result of this work. We must seek after God's will in each step of our life and work. We should not work senselessly, loosely, and foolishly. Many times, in our studying of the Bible, in our prayer, and even in our preaching of the gospel, we forget to seek after the Lord's will. We may preach to others for some time without realizing why we are preaching. We have not sought after the Lord's will, yet the whole time we continue preaching! This kind of work is of little value in the eyes of God; it is worthless. Hence, it is a great matter to know how to seek after God's will. It is something all Christians must know.<br />The first step in seeking after God's will is to cast aside our own opinions. Our prejudices often hinder God from revealing His will to us. Once a man has some prejudice, even if God were to show him His will, he probably would not be able to hear it or even be aware of it. Furthermore, even if he were to be aware of God's will, he would probably not do it.<br />In my own experience, every time I do not understand God's will, it is because I already have my own will. Sometimes my own intention is hidden in the deepest part of my heart. If I do not remove my own self-will, there will be many difficulties in seeking after the Lord's will. As soon as our self-will is removed, God will show us His will.<br />I cannot overemphasize the fact that self-will must be removed before God's will can be known. This point is most crucial and deserves our full attention.<br />Our heart is very wicked. Sometimes we seek after God's will superficially, but within we are full of self-will and prejudice. Our one great goal is to please ourselves. Sometimes when we kneel down, we say with our mouth, "Lord, show me Your will. I am willing to obey Your will." But in our heart we are not willing and would not agree. Sometimes we pray with our mouth, "Father, Your will be done. I want only to seek after Your will." Apparently the heart sympathizes with the mouth and is willing to do God's will, but in the deepest part of our heart there is another intent which seeks for our own will. If this is the case, I am afraid that we cannot find God's will. This is a false seeking; it will not find. The promise of "seek and you shall find" is not given to those who are not honest. If we are not genuine in seeking after God's will, we will not receive the revelation of God's will. We may console ourselves by saying, "I have obtained God's will," but what we have probably obtained is a product of our mind and a counterfeit of His will!<br />If due to some desire in our heart we have already made up our mind concerning a certain matter, it would be vain for us to seek after the Lord's will. When one already has his own will and his own desire, his prayers will be in vain. Even if he prays and begs every day, it will be of no use. Hence, every time we want to seek after the Lord's will, we must ask ourselves in the Lord if there is self-will or prejudice or any hidden desire in the deepest part of our being. We must seek after the Lord's will with a clean and undefiled heart. Otherwise, what we do will have no effect.<br />For this reason, when two or more ways are placed before you, and you prefer one over the other, you should ask yourself if you are willing to take the way that you do not prefer, should the Lord so choose. If you are not willing to take the way that you do not prefer, what is the use for you to seek after the Lord's will?<br />Whenever you come to a crossroads, the best way is to have a heart free of preference. This is to have an unbiased heart, neither preferring one way nor being afraid of another way but considering either way to be the same. Then, whichever way the Lord may point to, you will be able to take that way. If there is no preference in our heart, the Lord can easily show us His will. Inward preferences and our unwillingness to obey are the main hindrances to the Lord's will.<br />To have no preference in one's heart does not mean that one is passive. To be without preference means that one exercises his own judgment, resolving to do God's will. To be free from preference does not mean that one no longer has "wants" or "don't wants." It means that before one is clear concerning God's will, though the heart may not prefer any way, he is determined to do God's will and is willing to carry it out once he is clear about it. We should not have the choice between "I want" and "I don't want" when it comes to our own will deciding the way we are to take. However, when it comes to deciding between God's will and our will, we must choose between the "I want" and "I don't want," which is, we should "want" to do God's will and should "not want" to do our own will. We should choose God's will and reject our own will. It is not that we do not have a will or a choice. We do, but our will and our choice is to do God's will and take His choice. We are not void of choice. We have our choice. However, we choose to want what God wants.<br />Simply put, the first step in seeking after the Lord's will is to have no inclination or rejection in our heart toward the ways ahead of us, assuming that we do not know which one is God's will. Yet at the same time, our heart should hold to the attitude that we want to do God's will. We should be willing to submit our will to the Lord's will. The reason that we do not know God's will is because we fail in this one point. The Lord is happy to reveal His will to those who are willing to do His will. For those who are not willing to do God's will, their seeking after His will is false. Hence, it cannot be found by them. Therefore, if there is prejudice in the heart, it is better not even to talk about seeking after God's will. One should first trust in the Lord's power to deal thoroughly with the inclinations in the heart before he can expect the Lord to reveal His will to him. Otherwise, even if he knows all means and exhausts all means, they will be useless to him.<br />What we have said so far concerns our side. If we have fulfilled God's requirements, how will He then show us His will? He will show us His will by the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and the environment. When the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and the environment all line up together, we can affirm that such is indeed the will of God.<br />We should seek after the Lord's will in this way in everything that comes upon us in our daily life. In the many small things in our daily life we act carelessly, according to our own will. It is not until the big things come that we try to seek after the Lord's will, but then He seems to be far away from us. This seems to be the Lord's will, and that also seems to be the Lord's will. Every way seems to be the right way. We may spend a lot of time seeking for the Lord's will without finding it. Therefore, we should seek after the Lord's will in small things as well as big things. If we are in the habit of seeking after the Lord's will in our daily life, it will not be difficult to know His will when special events happen. We should be experienced in seeking after the Lord's will and have a habit of seeking after His will. If we do, then whenever something happens we will know what the will of the Lord is.<br />Sometimes God does not reveal His will to us immediately. The Father is never wrong. If He sees that it is more profitable to reveal His will to us at a later time, He will do so. At such times we should hold the attitude that as long as we do not know, we will not act. The danger lies in our desire to move. We want to move before we know the Lord's will. The Lord wants us to wait for Him, to move on slowly together with Him, and to take our steps only when we are certain of His will. Unfortunately, we are often hurried by the circumstances; we love to act quickly. As a result, we often move away from the track of the Lord's will. I can say one thing for sure: eight out of ten things done in a hurry are not of the Lord's will. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, we do not see Him do one thing in a hurry. We should learn of Him. We should not act rashly, that is, before we are certain of the Lord's will. We should make up our mind not to initiate anything until we have found out what the will of the Lord is. It is not too slow to walk with the Lord. The quickest way to go on is to go forward on our knees with the Lord. May the Lord give us much strength to be quiet before Him and to wait for and seek after His will. May the Lord deliver us from times when we have to confess before Him the sin of acting too quickly. From this time forth, may we stop our self, leave our self, and solely seek after the Lord's will.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-11192940929816445922007-08-02T07:39:00.000-06:002007-08-02T07:41:31.312-06:00THE FREEDOM OF THE CROSS<span style="font-size:180%;">THE FREEDOM OF THE CROSS<br />(Watchman Nee attributed this chapter to an article by Rev. Gordon Watt. However, Watchman Nee's article is quite different from the original article entitled "Liberty Through the Cross" by Rev. Gordon Watt. We have therefore chosen to translate his chapter from the Chinese. Readers interested in the original article by Rev. Watts should consult The Christian magazine, September 20, 1923, published by Morgan & Scot, London, England, edited by James W. Thirtle.)<br />"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not be entangled with a yoke of slavery again" (Gal. 5:1).<br />Three words are used in the New Testament to describe the "freedom" for which Christ has set us free:<br />(1) A word for forgiveness, which refers to God's pardon.(2) A word often translated authority. This word refers to the privilege and authority purchased by the Lord Jesus through His precious blood for our freedom.(3) A word that pictures one who was formerly in prison, but has now been liberated (1 Cor. 7:22).<br />A bound life cannot deliver another bound life. Many Christians are bound; they cannot follow the Lord freely, and they are subdued by their environment. They fear men and the world. Satan does not wish to see a Christian living the liberated life. Yet all the power of darkness has been defeated by the power of Golgotha. The victory at Golgotha has secured for us our victory. God's Word (the Bible) clearly points out the way that Satan exercises his great power to frustrate God's children from experiencing the freedom they deserve.<br />THE POWER OF SIN AND OF OUR OLD LIVING<br />The power of sin and of our old living have been clearly dealt with on the cross. We should have faith concerning this fact. The reckoning in Romans 6:11 describes the attitude of our will concerning a certain matter. It is not a power in our flesh but the power in the Holy Spirit that reckons what God sees as true. We should adopt this attitude towards our old enemy.<br />SUFFERING<br />One power is continually used by Satan for his own end: suffering. In reading Romans 8:18, we see that suffering in God's will is often the pathway to light; through suffering one receives life and fruit. Many of God's children are pitiful and poor because they lack God-given trials. But here is a question: do we view all sufferings and adverse conditions to be from the Lord? Many Christians consider that they ought to submit to all adverse circumstances. They do not realize that sufferings sometimes come from the enemy. These include things such as distractions, depressions, numbness, and things that hinder our spiritual progress. As God's children, we should reject all these things. We should not accept anything that oppresses us and should not consider them to be God's will. We should differentiate between God's will and Satan's will. We should know what is from love and what is from sin. We should test all things by the spirit of the cross and by the will of God. We should identify what kind of suffering we are facing in various circumstances by the teaching of the cross. We should accept what is from God and reject what is from Satan.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">GOD'S WILL<br />Romans 8:37 says that we can "more than conquer." This means a victory among victories, the highest form of victory. To conquer means to be on top. We have to ask if the experiences of temptations, circumstances, emotions, frustrations, and depressions belong to our old man or our new man. If they belong to the old man, we have overcome them on the cross already, and they are under our feet. This does not mean that we can avoid the things mentioned above; however, it does mean that we can take control of them. The way to victory is not to develop the old man but to trust in the Holy Spirit for power to resist temptations. God's children are often unaware of the fact that spiritual depressions come from the enemy and not from God! At the needed moment, we must resist through the power of the cross. Every step of the Christian life is a wrestling. Every time that we die to the things that oppress us and hold the devil at bay by obeying the Spirit, we allow the Spirit to take a firmer hold of us, and we shake ourselves further away from the devil's grip.<br />CRUSHING SATAN<br />If we obey God's will, He will crush Satan under our feet (Rom. 16:20). The Holy Spirit will guide us to greater fellowship with God and make the victory of Golgotha real to us. The Lord has given us the authority to tread over the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). Victory is a necessary experience of the Christian life. A defeated Christian cannot bear fruit. Depressions, wavering of faith, dullness of the will, darkness in the mind, suppression in the spirit, inability to pray or control the forces that come from outside, and subjection to these forces have not been ordained by God for a Christian. Many believers fail because they do not know or realize the absolute victory that is reserved for them in Christ.<br />THE MIGHT OF DEATH<br />The devil is the one who has the might of death (Heb. 2:14). He murders God's children and runs rampant everywhere. Many of God's children die because of weakness. All those who are faithful to Christ are objects of the devil's attack. How should we deal with him? All believers who are joined to the Lord are able to withstand death. Unless it is God's will for a person to die, he should always seek for life through the perfect work of Christ. We are God's children, and we should not accept anything that is not God's will. We should not accept anything from the hand of the devil.<br />THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL<br />The Son of God was manifested for the purpose of destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). We should be careful not to take the concept of leaving everything up to fate or leaving the condition of the world and the church today to fate. We should not brush aside our responsibility just because the prophecies are already recorded in the Bible. The Bible predicts that there will be apostasies at the end time. Some Christians think that since the Scriptures have prophesied these things, they do not need to rebuke or warn others of them anymore. Sin has been restricted in this age for the purpose of paving the way for God to reach His goal. Christians are obstacles in Satan's way. We should exercise the power at Golgotha to destroy the works of the devil in the churches, the fields, and the homes. As soon as we detect the work of the devil, we should adopt the attitude that we will not stop until we see the devil's work destroyed.<br />Any opposing force that runs contrary to God's will can be trampled immediately under our feet because it has been trampled under the Lord's feet already. When we are in the Lord, this force is under our feet also.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-7068493870192192592007-08-02T07:34:00.000-06:002007-08-02T07:39:10.619-06:00THE PRAYER THAT OPOSES SATAN<span style="font-size:180%;">Scripture Reading: Luke 18:1-8<br />THE THREE ASPECTS OF PRAYER<br />There are three aspects to our prayer: (1) concerning ourselves, (2) concerning God to whom we pray, and (3) concerning our enemy Satan. Every genuine prayer must be related to these three aspects. When we pray concerning ourselves, we are, of course, doing it for our own interest; we pray because we have needs, lacks, and expectations. Prayer is for gaining what we seek, yet genuine prayer should not seek after one's own interest alone, but should seek for God's glory and His governmental authority on earth. Of course, when our prayers are answered, the ones who receive the direct benefit are ourselves. However, the fact in the spiritual realm is that not only do the praying ones receive the benefit, but God receives His glory, and His will is done. An answer to prayer is a great glory to God because it shows God's love, power, sincerity, and greatness in accomplishing what His children ask for. An answer to prayer also shows that God's will is being accomplished because He never answers a prayer that is not according to His will.<br />We are the supplicating ones, and the One being supplicated is God. In a successful prayer, both the supplicants and the One being supplicated gain something. The supplicants get their intentions fulfilled, and the One being supplicated gets His will accomplished. We do not have to say too much concerning this point, for all God's faithful children who are experienced in prayer know the relationship between these two aspects of prayer. What we must now bring to the attention of God's children is that if our prayers take care only of these two aspects of God and man, though they may be effective at times, they are deficient; there is failure even in the success, and the real meaning of prayer has not yet been fully realized. Of course, the spiritual saints realize that prayer is not only for their own benefit but is intimately related to God's glory and God's will, yet this is not enough. We still have to pay attention to the third aspect. When we pray to God, not only should our prayer be related to God, but if we ask something from God, what we ask for and what God promises must be something that will cause some loss to God's enemy. We know that in the universe God is the sovereign Ruler, yet Satan is the ruler of this world (John 14:30); the whole world lies in his hand (1 John 5:19). Hence, we see two diametrically opposed forces competing against one another in this world. Of course, God has the final victory, but before the end of the millennium, Satan will continue to exercise authority in this world and will continue to oppose God's work, God's will, and God's interest. We the children of God belong to God. If we gain something from the hand of God, this means that God's enemy suffers some loss. The measure of the benefit which we who belong to God receive is equal to the measure of God's will that is fulfilled, and the measure of God's will that is fulfilled is equal to the measure of loss which Satan incurs. Since we belong to God, Satan's goal is to shatter us, persecute us, suppress us, and knock us off our feet. This is Satan's goal, but his goal will not necessarily succeed, because we can come to the throne of grace by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus and ask Him for protection and care. If God hears our prayer, Satan's plan will be defeated. For God to hear our prayer means that Satan's will is thwarted and that he is no longer able to persecute us according to his plan. Hence, the degree to which our prayers are answered is the degree to which Satan incurs loss. Our benefit together with God's glory is inversely proportional to Satan's loss. The increase of one means the loss of the other, and the loss of one means the increase of the other. Hence, in our prayers we should care not only for our benefit and God's glory and will, but should pay attention to the third aspect, which is the enemy, Satan. If a prayer does not take care of or affect all three aspects, this prayer is only superficial; it is worth very little and will accomplish very little.<br />We need not mention the senseless prayers, for they will have no effect on any of these three aspects. Yet even a sensible prayer by a fleshly Christian is one which addresses only his own interest. Its goal is to secure his own interest through prayer. All he has in mind are his own needs and lacks. If God answers his prayer and fulfills his desires, he is satisfied. He does not consider God's will or God's glory, much less think of Satan's loss. But not all of God's children are fleshly. We thank and praise the Lord that there are many among His children who are spiritual. When they pray, they do not care only for their own interest and then content themselves only with God's answer to their prayer while ignoring everything else. They pay much attention to God's glory and God's will. They ask God to answer their prayer, not for their own gain, but so that God may gain glory in the matter through the answering of their prayer. They do not insist on what they pray, but rather, take care of God's will. This care for God's will does not refer to a concern for God's being willing or unwilling to grant them what they ask for. It refers to their concern that, if God were to answer their prayer, would it run contrary to His work, His government, and the will that is according to His plan. This is not merely a consideration of the thing itself but of its relationship to the principle work of God. Such prayers take care of two aspects: God and man. However, very few Christians take care of the third aspect, which is Satan. The goal of a genuine prayer is not just for one's own interest; sometimes such prayer will even be ignored. One must pay attention to God's glory and Satan's loss, not considering his own gain or loss to be consequential. Such ones consider their prayer most successful if it causes loss to Satan and glory to God. Their concern is to inflict loss upon Satan through their prayer. Their eyes are looking not merely at the present environment but at God's work and will on the whole earth. Of course, this does not mean that they are merely concerned with God and Satan and forget themselves. What it means is that, practically speaking, when God's will is fulfilled and Satan has incurred loss, they will surely reap a benefit. The spiritual condition of a saint can be seen from the aspect of prayer that he emphasizes.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">THE PARABLE IN LUKE 18<br />In the parable in Luke 18, our Lord Jesus points out these three aspects of prayer and their relationship to prayer. In this parable there are three parties: (1) the judge, (2) the widow, and (3) the opponent. The judge represents God, though in a negative sense. The widow represents the present church or individual faithful Christians. The opponent represents our enemy, the devil. In expounding this parable, we often pay attention only to the relationship between the judge and the widow. We see how the judge did not fear God and did not respect man, yet due to the widow's persistent cry, he eventually avenged her. Our God, not being heartless like this judge, will surely avenge us because of our crying! This is all that we say and all that we pay attention to, yet there is one most important figure whom we miss and neglect. Without the opponent, there would be no need for the widow to cry to the judge. It is because of the persecution of the opponent that the widow cries to the judge. If we consider the words which the widow speaks to the judge, we cannot help but consider the opponent. For the sake of brevity the Bible only records, "Avenge me of my opponent." How much is contained in this word! Does it not include a sorrowful tale? Those who cry out for avenging must have grievances, but where do the grievances come from? Surely they come from the oppression of the opponent, the one being accused. The Bible calls this one the opponent, which shows us the intensity of his hatred toward the widow. The Bible says that the widow asked to be avenged of her opponent. This shows the severity of the persecution suffered by the widow at the hand of the opponent. Hence, the widow was relating to the judge the history and the present threat of the opponent toward her. She asked the judge to punish the opponent and to avenge her for her grievances. Hence, strictly speaking, the opponent is the most crucial figure in this parable. Without him, no damage would have occurred under the judge's rule, and the widow could have lived and worked happily without being disturbed. Without him, there would not have been such a parable; nothing like this would have happened. The one who stirs up the wind and the waves is this opponent. He is the creator of all confusion and persecution. Hence, he deserves the most attention.<br />The Judge<br />This judge was the unique ruler in a certain city. He ruled over the entire city. This speaks of God's power and authority. Although the world is ruled temporarily by Satan, yet this position is a rebellious usurpation. When the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, He cast out the prince of this world. In His death He stripped off "the rulers and the authorities" and "made a display of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Col. 2:15). Although the world is now under the hand of the evil one, this is not a legitimate arrangement. God has set the time when He will take back the kingdom and put His Son on the throne for a thousand years, even for eternity. Before this time comes, God is merely allowing Satan's activities; the world still remains under the rule of God. Satan can rule over everything that belongs to him and can also persecute everyone who belongs to God, but this is only temporary. During this temporary period, even Satan is strictly limited by God. He can persecute the saints, but this can be done only within certain limits. Beyond the limit allowed by God, Satan has no authority. We can see this clearly from the story of Job. The judge ruled over the whole city; God rules over the whole world. It was not normal for a person under the judge's rule to be someone's opponent. In the same way, it is abnormal for Satan, under God's rule, to persecute the saints.<br />The disposition of this judge was that he "did not fear God and did not regard man." What sort of person does not care for either man or God? However, because of the persistent coming of the widow and her cry to be avenged, and because he was bothered and feared her persistence, he avenged her. The Lord Jesus used this judge as a negative representation of God. God is not virtueless like this judge. He is our loving Father, the One who protects us. He desires to give us the best. Also, He is not unrelated to us like the judge was to the widow. If such a judge would avenge the widow because of her unceasing accusing, will not God, who is more virtuous and loving and is intimately related to His children, avenge them because of their constant prayer? If an unvirtuous judge will avenge a person because of her incessant asking, at the least our God will work for His children because of their prayers. The widow secured her avenging by the judge simply by her unceasing crying. She could not have had any hope in the judge himself, for this judge did not have any virtues. However, our answer to prayer comes not merely because of our unceasing asking, though it is sufficient in itself to gain what we want; our prayer is also based on the goodness of God. This is why the Lord Jesus uses the words "will not God." The words "will not God" imply a comparison. If the widow who trusted only in unceasing asking received what she wanted, will not we, who trust in our unceasing prayer and who pray on the basis of God's goodness, receive what we ask for?</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">The Widow<br />This widow was helpless. The word widow shows her isolated situation. The husband on whom she depended for her living was gone, and she had become a widow. This is a good representation of a Christian on earth. Our Lord Jesus has ascended to the heavens. As far as the flesh goes, Christians are helpless and are like widows. The teaching of Matthew 5 tells us of the sufferings that Christians face on earth. They are the weak and have no power to resist anyone; everywhere they go they are taken advantage of and ridiculed by others. Neither the Lord Jesus nor the apostles taught the believers to have great power or high position in the world. Instead, they should be humble, despised, and persecuted everywhere by others. They cannot base their reasoning with others on justice or the law. This is the portion of the Christians; it is the way that the Lord has prepared for them. If the Son of God was crucified without opposing or murmuring, why should His disciples expect to receive better treatment? Hence, this widow is a true representation of the Christians in this age.<br />The Opponent<br />The widow had an opponent. We Christians also have our opponent. This opponent is Satan. The meaning of the word Satan is adversary. An adversary is an opponent. First Peter 5:8 says, "Your adversary, the devil." The devil is our adversary. We must clearly identify who our adversary is before we can know how to come to our Judge, God, to accuse him. How the devil became our adversary is a long story. Simply put, this hatred began from the garden of Eden. God said, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Gen. 3:15). It is because of the devil's deceiving of the world that God put a hatred in his heart and also a hatred in our heart. We know that the seed of the woman in Genesis refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is forever at enmity with the devil. This is what God has ordained. We who have believed in the Lord Jesus belong to His side. As such, we cannot help but take His adversary as our adversary. At the same time, the enemy of the Lord Jesus, Satan, will not let us go easily, with no opposition. He took the Lord Jesus as his enemy; hence, he has to take the disciples of the Lord Jesus as his enemies as well. Those who have not yet believed in the Lord Jesus are children of the devil (John 8:44), and naturally, he loves those who belong to him. But we have believed in the Lord Jesus and are joined to Him. Because he hates the Lord Jesus, he hates us also.<br />This hatred grows deeper as the days go by. Satan is strong and forceful, while we are isolated and helpless like the widow. He oppresses us with his power, suppressing us and bringing great havoc upon us. In the end, we are even wrongly accused by him. The word avenge speaks of much suffering which we must endure under him. We have to pay close attention to this point. Even now, Christians are being wrongly accused by the devil. Unless this wrong is avenged, we will continually suffer loss. What a pity that many children of God are not even aware of their being wronged by Satan!<br />SATAN AND THE SAINTS<br />As the opponent persecuted the widow, so the devil now persecutes the believers. We do not know how much we have suffered under him. Of course, Satan does not appear personally when he persecutes us; rather, he does all his works through men or things; he will never expose himself. He pushes the world to the foreground, while behind the scenes he is secretly directing everything. As he worked the first time in the form of a serpent, in the same way, in all of his subsequent work he comes in a disguised form. It is because he hides himself in this way that God's children misjudge the enemy, not realizing that he is their real opponent. He causes the believers to be physically weak or to suffer pain and sickness (Acts 10:38). The believers may think that they have violated some law of hygiene or that they are exhausted, without realizing that it has been the devil's manipulation all the while! Alas, countless numbers of believers have suffered at the hand of the devil in this way. Sometimes he will persecute the believers through the world (Rev. 2:10), attacking them through their immediate family, relatives, or the society. The believers may think that it is man who is hating the Lord, without realizing that it is the devil who is stirring up everything behind the scenes. Sometimes he works through the environment, causing the believers to encounter dangers. Sometimes he spreads misunderstandings among believers, separating the dearest of friends from one another and bringing them to tears. Sometimes he cuts off the supply to the believers, bringing upon them all kinds of deprivation, even starvation. Sometimes he will cause the believers to be depressed, restless, and aimless. Sometimes he causes the believers to become lost and indecisive, losing control of themselves. Sometimes he puts an inexplicable fear within the heart of the believers. Sometimes he exhausts the believers through their affairs and work. Sometimes he takes away the believers' sleep, causing them to be tired physically and mentally. Sometimes he puts unclean thoughts in the believers' minds or injects confused thoughts into their brains, stripping them of any defense. Sometimes he disguises himself in the form of an angel of light, deceiving the believers and leading them into the wrong way. To exhaust his workings is beyond the scope of what we can do here. In conclusion, everything that causes the believers to suffer, whether physically or spiritually, and everything that causes the believers to sin or suffer loss is a wile of the devil. But although many children of God are taken advantage of by Satan, most do not realize that it is the working of Satan. Sometimes they think that what happens is natural and accidental or that it is something done by man. Little do they know that behind many natural phenomena, there exist many supernatural things. Behind many so-called accidents, there is much scheming. Within many dealings from men, we can see the plots of Satan.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">IDENTIFYING THE ENEMY<br />Hence, the most important thing to do now is to clearly identify our enemy. We have to know definitely who our enemy is, who it is that causes us to suffer. Many times, we think that we have been taken advantage of by men. But the Bible tells us that "our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies" (Eph. 6:12). Hence, every time we suffer at the hands of men, we have to remember that behind the men of flesh Satan and his dark powers are there directing. We should have the spiritual sight to discern between God's work and Satan's hidden schemes. We should differentiate between the natural and the supernatural. We should be mature and acquire spiritual knowledge so that nothing of Satan's work in the dark will escape our observation.<br />If this is so, should we not see that every natural or accidental occurrence which we encounter in our daily life is the work of the enemy? Then we will see that Satan is hounding us and persecuting us in everything. The pitiful thing is that in the past we were taken advantage of by Satan so much, yet without any realization that it was he who was taking advantage of us. The most important thing now is for every one of us to have a hatred of Satan for his harassment of us. Our hatred against Satan can never go too deep. Before there can be the possibility of victory, we must maintain an opposing attitude in our heart and refuse to come under his oppression. We must realize that our sufferings which come from Satan are unjust and that these injustices must be avenged. This malice must be avenged. He has no right to afflict us, yet he inflicts such pain upon us. What an enmity! What an injustice! We must seek for vengeance.<br />THE CRY FOR VINDICATION<br />After the widow suffered, she came to the judge for vindication. We should learn from this. We should not come before earthly judges for anything. We should cry out to our Judge who is our Father God. The weapons of our warfare are not fleshly (2 Cor. 10:4); hence, we should not deal with the fleshly men, who are utilized by Satan, by any fleshly means. Instead, we should pity them because they have become Satan's tools. In spiritual warfare, fleshly weapons are completely useless. Not only are they useless, but all those who use them will be overcome by Satan! We should use spiritual weapons to fight spiritual warfare. There are, of course, many spiritual weapons, which are all recorded in Ephesians 6. The most important of these is the prayer of verse 18. We are powerless in ourselves and cannot seek to avenge ourselves, but we can pray to God and ask Him to avenge us. Prayer is the best offensive weapon against the enemy. In prayer we maintain our ground, and through prayer we can attack the enemy and damage his plan, his work, and his power. The widow knew that for her to fight or argue with the opponent was futile, for a weak widow can never prevail against an evil rogue. In the same way, if God's children will not trust in God's power, if they will not have prayer as their shield, if they will not accuse the enemy in the midst of his accusations, crying for God's avenging, but rather, go to war alone against Satan, they will surely be hurt by his flaming darts. In this parable, the Lord Jesus tells us the best way to overcome our opponent—by crying to God day and night, calling for His vindication of us and His judgment and punishment on Satan.<br />THE PRAYER THAT OPPOSES SATAN<br />The Bible gives us much help with respect to the prayer that accuses Satan. Now we want to briefly consider a few passages in the Scriptures that show us the prayer that opposes Satan.<br />We recall that in Genesis 3 the devil worked for the first time. Later, God judged him and cursed him. From this we know that Satan is cursed by God. In this curse, God clearly foretold that the head of the devil would be crushed by the Lord Jesus on the cross. Hence, when we suffer in his hands, we can apply this judgment. We can pray, "God, curse Satan once more so that he cannot work at will. You cursed him in the garden of Eden already; I pray that You will curse him afresh. Put him under the power of the cross again so that he cannot move." The thing that the devil is the most afraid of is God's curse. Once God curses him, he will not dare to harm us anymore.<br />Mark 1 records that when the Lord Jesus was casting out the demons, He forbade them to speak. Hence, when Satan utilizes men to speak many words of confusion or violence, we can pray to the Lord to stop the mouth of the devil and to shut him up. Sometimes while we are preaching the gospel or teaching others the truth, we can pray to the Lord to stop the devil from opening his mouth to our listeners or saying anything that would cause the listeners to doubt or oppose the Lord's word. We recall the story of Daniel in the lion's den. One prayer which is always very effective is, "Lord, shut the mouths of the lions so that they will not harm Your people."<br />There is another wonderful prayer revealed in Matthew 12. The Lord tells us that in order to enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, one must first bind the strong man. We know that the strong man the Lord speaks of here is Satan. Before we can overcome Satan, we have to bind him and stop him from his work. Of course, we ourselves cannot bind him and strip him of his freedom to oppose our work, but we can pray. In our prayer, we can ask God to bind Satan and strip him of the strength to fight against us. Whenever we are to work, if we first truly bind Satan with our prayer, our victory will be sure. Hence, we should always pray, "Lord, bind the strong man."<br />First John 3:8 says, "The Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." Hence, whenever we see the works of the devil, we can pray, "O God, Your Son was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. I thank You because on the cross He has annulled the works of the devil. But the devil is still working. Annul his work in me, and annul his intention of working through my work. Annul his work in my environment; annul all of his works." When we pray, we can pray according to the condition at the time. If we see Satan working in us, our family, our office, our school, or our nation, we can ask God to annul his work in that place.<br />Jude 9 mentions one sentence which Michael the archangel spoke to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you." After this word, Satan was not able to oppose him anymore. Hence, this sentence can also be used in our prayer to the Lord as our opposition against Satan. We can ask the Lord to rebuke Satan. We should know that the Lord hears our prayer. If we ask Him to rebuke, He will surely rebuke. We should also believe that when the Lord rebukes Satan, he will not be able to withstand it. Satan is afraid of the Lord's rebuke. We see that when the Lord rebuked the winds and the waves on the sea, they immediately obeyed Him and became calm. Hence, when the Lord rebukes Satan, it must be equally effective. If we read the Psalms we will see the effectiveness of the Lord's rebuke. Psalm 18:15 says, "The river beds were seen,/And the foundations of the habitable land were laid bare,/At Your rebuke, O Jehovah." Psalm 76:6 says, "At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,/Both chariot and horse fall into deep sleep." Psalm 80:16 says, "They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance." Psalm 104:7 says, "At thy rebuke they [the waters] fled." Psalm 106:9 says, "He rebuked the Red sea also,/and it was dried up." These verses show us the power of the Lord's rebuke. Hence, if the Lord rebukes Satan, surely Satan will not be able to withstand it. Whenever Satan harasses us, we can ask the Lord to rebuke him.<br />Matthew 16 records Peter through his natural affection holding back the Lord Jesus from going to the cross. The Lord rebuked him, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!" (v. 23). Every time Satan uses our relatives or natural affections to stop us from doing God's will, we can pray to God to put Satan behind us.<br />In Matthew 6 the Lord Jesus teaches us to pray: "Deliver us from the evil one" (v. 13). We do not know when the evil one will come to oppress us, but we can always apply this expression in our prayer.<br />Colossians 2:15 says of the Lord Jesus, "Stripping off the rulers and the authorities, He made a display of them openly, triumphing over them in it." When we see the power of Satan on the rampage, we can stand on the foundation of the cross and ask the Lord to once again shame the devil. He was shamed on the cross already. Therefore, based on his first shaming, we can ask the Lord to shame him once more. If he is shamed, he will not be able to lift up his head or harm us anymore. Hence, we should pray to the Lord, "Lord, we are now standing on the foundation of the cross and are asking You to shame the devil once more."</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">The Duration of Such Prayer<br />How long should this kind of prayer last? We know that for some prayers we need only pray once. But there can never be too much of the prayer that opposes Satan. The purpose of the Lord's parable in Luke 18 is to teach men "to pray and not lose heart" (v. 1). The judge avenged the widow, not because of justice or any other reason, but because he could not tolerate her wearing him out. He said to himself, "I will avenge her, lest by continually coming she wear me out." Hence, this kind of prayer should be unceasing. We should have this kind of Satan-opposing prayer not only when special circumstances befall us. Rather, in our daily life, even while there is nothing happening, we should maintain in our spirit an attitude of unceasing opposition to Satan and should utter unceasing prayer against him. After the Lord Jesus spoke this parable, He said that if God's people would cry to Him day and night, He would surely avenge them quickly. Hence, this kind of prayer must go on day and night without ceasing. We must accuse our enemy before God day and night unceasingly, because Revelation 12 tells us that Satan accuses us before God day and night unceasingly. Since he accuses us day and night without ceasing, should we not accuse him also day and night without ceasing?<br />This is vengeance. As he deals with us, so we deal with him. This cry of the widow did not stop until the opponent was judged and punished and she was vindicated. Hence, as long as Satan is still reigning, as long as he is not shut up in the abyss, as long as he is not cast into the lake of fire, and as long as God has not yet avenged us, we must not cease our opposing prayer. It is when Satan falls like lightning out of heaven that our prayer can stop, for by then, God will have begun our avenging. Alas, how God desires that we have a deeper hatred of the devil. We have suffered enough under his hand! He has set himself against us step by step, and at every turn he has persecuted us physically and spiritually. Why then are we still silent and tolerant of his persecution? Why do we not rise up to accuse him before God with our words of prayer? We should seek revenge and require vengeance. Why do we not come often before God to accuse him and thus air our grievances? The Lord Jesus is calling us particularly to oppose Satan with our prayer.<br />The Effect of Such Prayer<br />What is the effect of this kind of prayer? The effect occurs in two instances. First, there is the present effect. Every time we accuse the enemy, he is limited by God from harming us. Although he will come to us again later, while we are accusing him, he is afraid and will not exercise his violence recklessly. Every time we invoke the victory of the cross, this victory becomes real to us once again. Every time we pray to oppose Satan, his work is once again annulled, and he is once again rebuked by the Lord. If we pray one more time, Satan suffers loss one more time. When God hears our prayer one more time, Satan's interest is stripped away one more time.<br />However, this effect is not limited to the present time. The Lord Jesus mentions a final vindication here. Every time we pray, the Lord rebukes and annuls the devil. But this is not accomplished once for all. He is restricted only for a while and has not yet met his final and complete destruction. The Lord says, "And will not God by all means carry out the avenging of His chosen ones, who cry to Him day and night?" (Luke 18:7). This speaks of the final annihilation of Satan. We know that in the millennium Satan will be shut up in the abyss and that after the millennium the Lord Jesus will cast him into the eternal lake of fire. This is to avenge the believers. For this reason, the believers should pray more prayers that oppose Satan now, so that they can be fully avenged. Now is the time when God is patiently enduring. Although He hears the believers' prayer and limits the devil's work, He has not yet removed him completely nor stopped his menacing permanently. Now is the time for the believers to pray so that that day may come soon. It seems that our prayer can hasten God's work. The widow cried continually, for she did not know when the judge would avenge her. Her crying hastened the day of his avenging. It is the same with us. The Lord says, "I tell you that He will carry out their avenging quickly" (v. 8). The Lord seems to be saying that the speed of God's work depends on our prayer. Our constant Satan-accusing prayers will hasten God's avenging of us. Satan will lose his authority when he is cast out of heaven at the coming of the Lord Jesus. The prayer that accuses Satan will hasten the day of the Lord's coming.<br />Many times we think that God works according to His will. This is true, but this is only one side of the truth. It is not the complete truth. God works according to His will; this is His principle. However, God cannot actually set out to work until His children have responded to His will. God wants man to work with Him.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">CO-LABORING WITH GOD<br />God has a will. Yet He wants man to pray according to His will. When man does this, He will immediately accomplish the work that His will has ordained. If there is no prayer from His children expressing their oneness with Him in His work, no matter what His will may be, He will not execute it independently. God's goal is to remove the work of the devil, and surely His will is to avenge the believers. But God is waiting for His children to pray. As the judge would not have avenged the widow without her crying out to him, in the same way, without the Satan-accusing prayer of the believers, God will not avenge them. We do not know why, but we do know that God is pleased to see His people working with Him. However, there must be a basis to our accusing. The ones who are persecuted by Satan are the believers. Hence, the believers can accuse him before God based on Satan's treatment of them. In this way, he will receive his deathblow.<br />THE END TIME<br />After the Lord finished this parable, He concluded with this word: "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" (v. 8). It seems as if the Lord was saying that at the time when He is about to come, this kind of prayer will be greatly lacking. Believers do not pray because they do not have faith. They think that it is too great and too difficult a thing to cast Satan out of heaven and into the abyss and, eventually, into the lake of fire. "Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly" (Rom. 16:20). Concerning this verse, they may think, "If this promise has passed through twenty centuries and has still not yet been fulfilled, how could we hope to see Satan punished by God merely by our prayer?" The Lord's word implies that when He is about to come, man will not have the faith to pray for this matter. Yet, the end time is exactly the time that we need this kind of prayer. Can we be the faithful minority that offers up prayers to oppose and attack Satan at this unprecedented hour, prayers to hasten his abdication of his position and his authority? We know that the end time is the time when Satan and his evil spirits are particularly active in their work. For this reason, we should all the more oppose him and overturn his government by prayer. Strictly speaking, at the present time, there is no greater work for God's children than this. Who is willing to pray the prayer that opposes Satan, for his own sake and for God's sake?<br />Strive, O Jehovah, with those who strive with me;Battle against those who battle against me.Take hold of shield and buckler,And rise up as my help.Draw out also the spear, and close up the wayAgainst those who pursue me;Say to my soul,I am your salvation.Let those who seek my lifeBe put to shame and humiliated;Let those who devise evil for meBe turned back and confounded.Let them be like chaff before the wind,With the angel of Jehovah driving them on.Let their way be darkness and slipperiness itself,With the angel of Jehovah pursuing them.For without cause they hid their net for me in a pit;Without cause they dug a hole for me...Awake, and stir Yourself for my cause,For my contention, O my God and my Lord.(Psa. 35:1-7, 23).</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-48418943765723734722007-08-02T07:23:00.000-06:002007-08-02T07:33:30.252-06:00THE TEMPER AND THE TEMPTED<span style="font-size:180%;">THE TEMPTER AND THE TEMPTED<br />I. THE ORIGIN OF THE TEMPTERAND HIS KINGDOM<br />The tempter is a creature. He was beautiful and full of wisdom, complete and powerful. However, through aspiring to be equal with God, he sinned and fell. "But you, you said in your heart: I..." (Isa. 14:13). He uplifted the "I," and as a result he was delivered to gloomy pits, having been cast down to Tartarus, and is being kept for judgment (2 Pet. 2:4). This tempter sinned and fell as a result of trying to be equal with God; hence, his way of tempting people is to bait them with "ye shall be as gods" (Gen. 3:5). We have to be careful lest through pride we "fall into the judgment suffered by the devil" (1 Tim. 3:6). Here, two parties are together, the devil and us. If we are separated from him, then he will be left to himself and we to ourselves. We Christians should voluntarily take Christ as the "I." In other words, we should exercise our will to join ourselves to Christ. If we still take the old "I" as our self, we will be separated from Christ, becoming two. However, the more we are in Christ, the more we will understand the things concerning the tempter. For this reason, we must study this subject.<br />A. His Names<br />Revelation 12:9 records four of his names. The great dragon speaks of his cruelty; the ancient serpent speaks of his deception; the Devil speaks of his temptations; and Satan speaks of his hatred. The god of this age in 2 Corinthians 4:4 speaks of him as the leader of the worldly religion. The ruler of the world in John 14:30 speaks of him as the head of the great world powers. The ruler of the authority of the air (Eph. 2:2) speaks of him as the king of the evil spirits. Revelation 12:10 speaks of him as the accuser of our brothers. Revelation 9:11 speaks of him as the angel of the abyss. To those who are not sober and watchful, he is a roaring lion (1 Pet. 5:8). To the watchful believers, he transfigures himself into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:13-15).<br />B. His Kingdom<br />"The whole world lies in the evil one" (1 John 5:19). From this we can see that when the devil tempted Jesus and said that all the authority and glory of all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth had been delivered to him (Luke 4:5-6), he was not lying. In reading Luke 11:14-18 and 20-24, we see that even man is in the realm of Satan's kingdom.<br />C. His Government and Ministers<br />In reading Revelation 2:13, we find where his dwelling is. In reading Ephesians 6:12, we see who his armies are. In reading Daniel 10:13 and 20, we see who his ministers are. In reading 2 Corinthians 12:7, we see what his messengers are like.<br />D. His Religion<br />Satan has his religion also, which is to worship God with a confused spirit. Revelation 2:9 says, "The slander from those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." From this we can see that what was spoken in the synagogue of Satan were words of blasphemy and a confusing of right with wrong. How numerous are the synagogues of Satan today! They are full of criticisms, doubts, mockeries, and blasphemies. This then is the religion of Satan. First Corinthians 10:20-21 mentions the sacrifice to demons and the demons' cup. This shows us that with Satan's religion there are sacrifices and fellowship. First Timothy 4:1-4 mentions "teachings of demons." In reading these four verses carefully, we realize that the present state of apostasy is similar to that spoken of in the Scriptures, and from this we see that our present age is indeed the end time. Those who have taken in the teachings of the demons are not even aware that, in fact, they are teachings of the demons. On the contrary, they publicize them. Is this not a very pitiful situation?</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">E. His People<br />(1) Satan works within man's heart, yet man is not aware of it. "The spirit which is now operating in the sons of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2).<br />(2) He blinds man's eyes. "The god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers" (2 Cor. 4:4).<br />(3) He gives a false peace. "When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own homestead, his possessions are in peace" (Luke 11:21). Those who are under the authority of Satan think that they have great peace. Little do they realize that this peace is merely the peace of being free from trouble; it is not the true peace and blessing of a Christian.<br />(4) He secretly causes men to oppose the truth. "In meekness correcting those who oppose [the truth], if perhaps...they may return to soberness out of the snare of the devil, having been caught alive by him, unto His will" (2 Tim. 2:25-26). There are numerous people who rebel against and oppose the truth. Actually, they are deceived by the devil and are in his snare!<br />II. THE TEMPTERAND THOSE WHO OVERCOME THE TEMPTER<br />A. The Overcomers<br />Other than our Lord Jesus Christ, no one is an overcomer. "The Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). "It [the seed of the woman] shall bruise thy [the serpent's, Satan's] head" (Gen. 3:15). Christ is the Victor. He is the One who has destroyed the works of the devil and the One who has bruised the serpent's head. Christ has overcome. If we acknowledge this fact continually and join ourselves to Christ, we will overcome continually. Satan is the most afraid of our continually speaking this word of our testimony (Rev. 12:11), acknowledging Christ as the Overcomer. Such a word of testimony will drive Satan away. Christ has overcome. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! (See Mark 1:24, 27; 3:11.)<br />B. The Place of Overcoming<br />Other than Golgotha, is there another place where Satan is overcome? The cross at Golgotha is the place where Satan and his power is defeated. The victory at Golgotha is still effective today. "Stripping off the rulers and the authorities, He made a display of them openly, triumphing over them in it [the cross]" (Col. 2:15). "Through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14). Man may consider the Lord Jesus' crucifixion as His failure, yet that was the very place of His victory. In the world, there is no way to determine the victor before the two armies have engaged one another and fought the battle. The Lord was crucified on the cross, and He resurrected from the dead. He went into death, fought with death, overcame the power of death, and then emerged victorious over everything. It would be impossible to say that the Lord has overcome Satan if He had not died and resurrected. This is why the Lord had to die—to fight with Satan, he who has the might of death, and overcome him. The Lord's resurrection is the proof of His victory. When Christ was advancing toward Golgotha, He said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the ruler of this world be cast out" (John 12:31). Satan was defeated at Golgotha. All those who want to fight against Satan elsewhere are destined to fail. Other than at Golgotha, Satan is always victorious. He was defeated only at Golgotha, and he was defeated at Golgotha forever. Hence, all those who are joined to the Lamb of Golgotha, who stand on the basis of His victory at Golgotha, not attempting to gain another new victory but expressing the one unique victory in the present battle, will overcome. Defeat comes when one trusts in the self, but victory comes when one stands on the ground of Golgotha. Golgotha is the place of victory! Golgotha is our home! What can cause us to fear?<br />C. The Warfare Announced by the Messengers<br />We are the Lord's messengers declaring the victory at Golgotha and Christ as the Victor. "To whom I send you,...to turn them...from the authority of Satan to God" (Acts 26:17-18). The victory at Golgotha is still effective today; Jesus the Savior is still the Victor. Satan is still the defeated one; he is powerless toward us. Hence, we all must turn away from the authority of Satan to God.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">D. The Release of the Captives<br />"Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col. 1:13). Christ has overcome, and He is still overcoming. We are now in His kingdom, having been transferred out of the authority of darkness. If we firmly remember this fact and fully believe in it, the authority of darkness will not be able to come to us. The best way to maintain ourselves in this position is to periodically declare our position by faith and by our will.<br />E. The Victory of the Christians<br />Christ is the Overcomer. When we are in Christ and are joined to Him, we will also be the overcomers. We can overcome every day because the Lord has said, "Behold, I have given you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy...The spirits are subject to you" (Luke 10:19-20). "In My name they will cast out demons" (Mark 16:17; cf. Acts 16:18; 19:15). Apart from the Lord, we can do nothing. We should abide in the Lord all the time. If we do everything in the Lord's name, Satan will be defeated continually.<br />III. THE DECEPTIONS OF THE TEMPTER<br />Although Satan has numerous deceptions, "we are not ignorant of his schemes" (2 Cor. 2:11). If so, what do his deceptions accomplish? Unfortunately, though some of us know his deceptions, our intention is not to guard against him! We can know all things in the Lord through the Holy Spirit; hence, none of Satan's deceptions can escape our eyes. Furthermore, when we trust in the Lord's strength, Satan's deceptions will become useless.<br />A. His Plot against the Unsaved Ones<br />Some unsaved ones love to listen to the Word, but Satan will rob them by stealing away the word. "Those beside the way are those who heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they would not believe and be saved" (Luke 8:12). The devil is afraid of the Word, but he is not afraid of talk concerning the Word. When we preach, we must not speak rashly and lose our spiritual power, for the devil will snatch away the word once he sees it. Those who are unsaved, those who are about to believe and be saved, and those who are not interested in the Word at all, have their minds deceived by the devil already. "In whom the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers that the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine on them" (2 Cor. 4:4). We should pray that the eyes of the unsaved ones would be opened to receive the Lord's word and that this word would grow and bear fruit.<br />B. His Deceptions against the Saved Ones<br />1. Keeping Them from Being Absolutein Their Consecration to God(Acts 5:3)<br />God is a jealous God. He demands man's total consecration, and He charges man to love Him with all his heart, all his mind, all his strength, and all his soul. He expects man to be selfless and to keep nothing back for himself. However, Satan is the most afraid of man's absolute consecration. For man to do this causes Satan to lose his field of work. "Why has Satan filled your heart...to put aside for yourself some of the proceeds of the land?" (Acts 5:3). This couple was filled in their hearts with Satan; they kept something for themselves, yet they said that they were fully consecrated. Most believers today consider it wrong not to consecrate at all, yet they consider that the price of consecration is too high. As a result, they often deceive themselves and others by keeping back a portion for their own use. The rest they consecrate to God in the hope that they will gain for themselves the appearance of total consecration. Little do they know that Satan has filled their hearts already! Those who read this should ask themselves whether or not they have fully consecrated themselves.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">2. Holding Them Back from Taking OffTheir Filthy Garments(Zechariah 3:1-3)<br />When the prodigal son came home, the father gave him the best robe. The prodigal son could not wear the clothes of a pauper in his father's house. The robe denotes righteousness. The devil is afraid that man will take off his old righteousness. This is why he always tries to set up another righteousness apart from the righteousness of God (Rom. 10:3). We should put on the righteousness of the Lord Jesus and cast off the righteousness of self-renouncing service which most moralists hold today. "Then He showed me Joshua...and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him....Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments" (Zech. 3:1, 3). Satan dislikes for us to take off any "former" things. Believers are saved through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, yet they are not willing to remove their "former" righteousness. The clothes may be naturally filthy, yet they are still clothes. Although the righteousness one holds is filthy, it is still a kind of righteousness. Satan causes the believers to have a righteousness which is based upon their own strength, that is, to develop their natural righteousness, hoping that by so doing they will obtain God's favor and earn man's praise. Little do they know that old garments are extremely filthy before God; our natural righteousness is unacceptable to God. Satan encourages us to execute the demands of the spirit by the soul. We should beware of this.<br />3. Working in Fleshly Jealousy and Rivalry(James 3:14-15)<br />Satan is not willing to see Christians become one. When two disciples come together, he will try to divide them. When three disciples come together, he will try to isolate them from one another. The more linkages there are, the more he will try to break them into pieces. He will try to stir up jealousy and rivalry among the believers, causing them to become reluctant to work together. This is true not only concerning physical things; even in spiritual work, he causes the believers to become jealous of and compete against each other: "You are more spiritual than I am." "Your preaching is more welcomed by others than mine is." "Your doctrinal views are different from mine." From this, jealousy and rivalry arise. This rivalry is bitter and comes from the heart of man. Outwardly, it is not easy to detect, yet how very dangerous it is!<br />4. Keeping Them from the Crossby Means of Other Men(Matthew 16:22-23)<br />"And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, God be merciful to You, Lord!...But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan!" (Matt. 16:22-23). The devil found his defeat on the cross; therefore, he is the most afraid of a man going to the cross and securing the victory of Golgotha. Here, Satan was so bold as to tempt the Lord Jesus Himself. He tried to make Him set His mind on the things of men rather than on the things of God (v. 23). The devil is good at using natural affection to turn man away from the way of the cross. He will cause man to think that this way is too hard, too difficult, and that for one to take it would be too harsh on the self. If we set our mind on the things of men, we will not be able to set it on the things of God. Hence, whether through self-pity or a natural concern for others, we will inevitably cause God's will to suffer loss. Once a man becomes prosperous, it becomes easy for Satan to put his own things inside him; self-love, self-esteem, and self-pity are all contrary to the way of the cross. To avoid something, to pity the self, to fear, and to compromise, are to Golgotha as north is to south. Satan's way is to encourage man to hold on to the self and to cling to natural affections. Satan is afraid that man will go to the cross to be crucified and then resurrected from the dead (v. 21). For this reason, he tries his best to prevent man from going to the cross, for apart from the cross, there is no other way ordained by the Lord (1 Thes. 3:3). Which way are you taking today? It is a pity that many Christians try to sidestep the cross whenever they see it and are unwilling to be crucified! Although they are spared from suffering, the ease and comfort which they gain cannot be compared with the will of God which they miss! If they actually die, they will actually resurrect, and Satan will have no ground to stand. This is what Satan hates the most. Since Satan is afraid of our dying on the cross and resurrecting from the dead, we should all the more die to our self through trusting in the Lord and then resurrect from the dead.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">5. Threatening Them as a Roaring Lion(1 Peter 5:8)<br />The devil not only deceives men in secret, but seeks to devour those who are not sober and watchful. Before Martin Luther died, Satan related his sins to him in detail, threatening him, that he might doubt his salvation. However, in the end Luther overcame Satan by the grace of the Lord. From this we see that Satan always threatens and seeks to devour men when they seem to be at their weakest hour. This is one among the many great works of Satan. Satan's plan is to intimidate man by taking the offensive. As a lion roars to intimidate the beasts and then seeks to devour them, in the same way Satan threatens the believers, causing them to fail through fear. Many times he has nothing besides his threatening! Those who see that all that he has are mere threats will no longer fear his threatenings. However, those who take in his threats will experience much of what he threatens them with. Do we not constantly have the experience of his empty threats? Then why should we be afraid of him?<br />6. Making Them Proud(1 Timothy 3:6)<br />"Lest being blinded with pride he fall into the judgment suffered by the devil" (1 Tim. 3:6). Immediately after believing, many Christians advance quite well spiritually and have some results in their work. At this point Satan would take the opportunity to come in and cause such ones to become proud and fall. We often see that great war heroes and even great revivalists can fall through sin because of the common wiles of Satan. He often induces men to take God's grace for themselves. Then when grace works in their hearts, he causes them to have a high esteem of themselves, to think that they are different from other people, and even that they are something special! Satan is most pleased to see men proud of themselves because this is his nature.<br />7. Causing Them to Do Things beyond God's Will(2 Samuel 24:1)<br />"It incited David against them to say, `Go, number Israel and Judah'" (2 Sam 24:1, NASB). "It" here should refer to Satan. God did not order David to number the people. But because Satan likes to see men suffering God's wrath as he also suffers, he incited David to do something beyond God's will. He will either hold men back from advancing or push them to do too much. Christians today often carelessly think that all promptings are from the Holy Spirit. Little do they know that Satan can prompt men also. The numbering of Israel and Judah did not seem to be so great a sin, but whenever men act apart from God's will, Satan's plot is carried out. Believers are often lacking in "spiritual discernment"; when they are stirred up to do something which they do not perceive as evil, they deem that it is of the spirit. However, we should not judge the source of such promptings by considering whether the thing is good or evil; we must judge these promptings by considering whether or not it is God's will. There are many good things which are outside of God's will!<br />8. Causing Them to Doubt God's Word(Genesis 3:1)<br />God clearly charged man in Genesis 2:17 not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Nevertheless, the devil said, "Hath God said?" (Gen. 3:1). Every Scripture is God's Word and can be used to attack Satan. Satan is afraid of this; therefore, he causes man to doubt the Bible as the Word of God. The alarming thing is that most of the doubters of the Bible are believers rather than outsiders! The devil causes men first to doubt God's word, then to believe in his own word, and finally to fall into sin (Gen. 3). His working in this way has never ceased since the time of the garden of Eden.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">9. Oppressing Them and Making Them Sick(Acts 10:38)<br />The devil is full of deceptions. If he cannot cause men to rebel in their spirit, he will work on their bodies, oppressing them with sickness. Because of this, men are not able to enjoy the blessing of the resurrection life and lose both their peace in the body and their steadfastness and watchfulness in the spirit, thus fulfilling Satan's wish. We often see active Christian workers in this world becoming sick through a little carelessness. The devil likes to see Christians become sick, so that they will stop working for the Lord.<br />C. His Deceptions against Those in God's Hand<br />"And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,...a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" (Job 1:8).<br />1. Throwing His Darts(Ephesians 6:16)<br />Toward the strong Christians, those who are the Lord's best soldiers, Satan cannot easily apply his temptations in the dark or his threats in the open. These believers are quite strong and tenacious in fighting against Satan. As a result, Satan unleashes his utterly evil murderous nature (John 8:44) and attacks with flaming darts, hoping that by so doing he will put the believers to death and cripple them so much that they will not be able to rise again. However, we have the way to annihilate him; it is by God's faithfulness. "Having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one" (Eph. 6:16). Faith is a shield for quenching, not a pair of pliers for removing the flaming darts after they have already struck the body. We should place faith between us and the devil in the same way that we would place a shield between ourselves and the enemy in a battle. If the enemy wants to hurt the holder of the shield, he first must pass through the shield. If the shield is strong, the weapons of the enemy will not be able to come close to the body. Hence, in fighting with Satan we have to take faith in God as our shield. When Satan's flaming darts come close to this shield, they will be quenched by our faith and will not hurt us. Those who are holding this shield will detect the devil's assault from every direction. If they trust in God as their protection and do not slacken one bit, the devil will not be able to carry out his scheme.<br />2. Setting Up His Snare(1 Timothy 3:7)<br />The believers should advance by running quickly (Phil. 3:14); they should not linger on the wayside. The devil hates the speed of the believers' advance; hence, he secretly sets up snares to trap them. It is very easy for a runner to fall when he comes upon something. Such a fall usually inflicts severe injuries. Satan's crafty snares are everywhere. Their intention is to cause the believers to plummet in their spiritual condition and to remain low forever. The way of victory is seen in Psalm 25:15: "My eyes are continually turned to Jehovah,/For He will bring my feet out of the net." When one first comes across this verse, it seems odd. If the ground is covered with nets, while one is running he should look for the nets in order to avoid them. But here the eyes are turned to Jehovah in the heavens. If, while there are nets on the ground, the face is turned to the heavens and the feet are running forward, will not such a person fall and die? We know that the devil's nets do not have to be physical. It is not easy for us to find out where they are. Then, even if we know where they are, when we set our eyes on the nets and try to avoid them, we can no longer run a straight course. This is why we have to look to God. God knows where the nets are. He will hold our feet and keep us from falling into the nets, caring for us step by step until we reach the goal.<br />3. Exercising His Stratagems(Ephesians 6:11)<br />If a man chooses Christ and remains in Him all the time, the devil will not be able to inflict his harm. But as soon as he has opportunity, he will first draw men to leave their position in Christ and then lead them away from Christ. Here we can apply Ephesians 6:13: "Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day."</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">4. Accusing the Believers(Revelation 12:10)<br />Satan pays much attention to our every move. He is always looking for an opportunity to accuse us and to draw us into his punishment. However, we should overcome him "because of the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 12:11). "The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin" (1 John 1:7). The blood of Jesus is still cleansing us today. The Lord's blood is our ransom; even if Satan accuses us, what effect can it have? Hence, if believers have sinned accidentally and have already asked that the Lord's blood cleanse them afresh, they should no longer condemn themselves for this sin. Otherwise, they will inevitably be taken advantage of by Satan.<br />5. Corrupting Their Faith(2 Corinthians 11:3)<br />We should be pure and chaste toward Christ, as a virgin is toward her fiancé. The devil tries to defile men, causing them to become unfaithful to Christ and to fall into sin. But we can overcome him with 1 John 2:14: "The word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one." God's word is the sword of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 6:17). If we counter Satan's deceptions with the sword of the Holy Spirit, he will be wounded. When the Lord Jesus was tempted, He overcame Satan with the words of the Scriptures. For this reason, we should always keep the word of God richly in our hearts, so that we can overcome the evil one. Then whenever a temptation or attack comes, we can immediately remember the appropriate Scriptures, and if we exercise full faith to believe that the Scriptures must be fulfilled, the enemy will be defeated. This is the meaning of overcoming the enemy by the word of God.<br />6. Transfiguring Himselfinto an Angel of Light(2 Corinthians 11:14)<br />If Satan were to unveil his evil form before the watchful believers, they would know for sure that this was Satan and would not follow him. For this reason, to deceive the believers, Satan has to transfigure himself into an angel of light so that they will unknowingly fall into a way of deception. He feigns God's voice and the Holy Spirit's leading, causing the believers who are zealous for the Lord's will to think that these are the Lord's leading and to hasten to obey. He also feigns many truths, making them to appear true and leading men to accept them. This point seems to be the hardest for one to prevail against, but the Scripture says, "Prove the spirits...You are of God, little children; and you have overcome them because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:1, 4). If we trust in the Holy Spirit within us, we can overcome the false spirits. If we cannot decide whether or not a leading is from God, we should first take a neutral attitude and pray, "O God, whatever is of You I will keep. Whatever is of Satan I will reject. Please reveal to me the source of this leading." If we will do this, surely the Lord will show us clearly. If we do this all the time, we will have a strong and healthy spiritual life.<br />7. Trying His Best to Persecute(Revelation 2:10)<br />The devil's deceptions are exhaustless. He uses all kinds of ways to hinder the believers from advancing. However, when he finds that he can no longer prevent the saints from advancing spiritually, he will put them into prison, persecute them, and stop their work, hoping to make them fall. All those who love and pity themselves are no match for Satan; the minute he coerces them with a life-threatening persecution, they will stop resisting him! But the Lord's faithful ones have long put their own life aside. Therefore, although there may be chains and tribulations, although they may be brought to the verge of death and even to death itself, "they [love] not their soul-life even unto death" (Rev. 12:11). In the end, they overcome Satan! "This is the victory which has overcome the world—our faith" (1 John 5:4). How then can chains shake our heart!</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">8. Preventing the Saints' Prayersfrom Being Answered(Daniel 10:12-13)<br />"Daniel,...at the beginning of your supplications the command went forth" (Dan. 9:22-23). Before Daniel had finished his prayer, the answer had already been sent. "For from the first day that you set your heart to understand this matter,...your words were heard...But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days" (10:12-13). From this we can see how Satan prevents the saints' prayers from being answered. Daniel prayed and fasted for twenty-one days before he was answered. Was not that too burdensome for him? Today, Satan is doing the same thing in order to prevent the believers' prayers from being answered and to cause them to be disappointed. We can overcome him with the words in Luke 18:1: "They ought always to pray and not lose heart." If we insist on what we have asked until the end, we will overcome. Some think that if we have faith in our prayer, one prayer is enough. Of course, this is right, but a persistent prayer requires great faith also. We should know that while we pray the answer is already coming from God's throne. At such times, a great spiritual battle is aroused, and we should all the more not lose heart in the matter of prayer. Rather, we should ask God to destroy the works of the devil. If we do this, our prayer will hit the mark. If we persist in our prayer, refusing to give up until we are answered, even if the enemy tries to stop us, the messengers in heaven will fight for us.<br />IV. HOW TO OVERCOME THE TEMPTER<br />"He who overcomes will inherit these things" (Rev. 21:7).<br />A. Knowing That It Is Not We WhoAre Fighting against the Devil, but God<br />The devil is in the supernatural realm, while we are in the natural realm. Furthermore, we are not warring against flesh and blood but against him who holds the authorities of darkness. For a person in the natural realm to war against spiritual forces in the supernatural realm means certain defeat. Hence, our warfare must be one in which we ask God to fight for us. We must take God's almighty strength as our strength. Every time there is a battle, we must acknowledge that this is a battle between God and the devil. We are merely choosing with our will God's victory and opposing Satan's interest. If we do this, God's supernatural, almighty strength will storm Satan, and Satan's defeat will be sure. Romans 16:20 says, "Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly." Satan is under the Lord Jesus' feet. If we are joined to the Lord, Satan will be under our feet also. It is not we who are crushing Satan under our feet; it is the God of peace who will crush Satan under our feet.<br />B. Always Hidingunder the Precious Blood of Jesusto Be Saved from Condemnation<br />What the devil is afraid of the most is the Lord's blood. By shedding His blood, the Lord crushed the head of the devil. The word "crushed" is the proper meaning of the word "bruised" in Genesis 3:15. If the saints continually trust in the precious blood of the Lord and take the stand of Romans 6:11, the devil will be defeated. "And they overcame him [Satan] because of the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 12:11). All of our victories come because of the Lord's blood. Believers are often attacked and accused by Satan because they have given ground to sin, and this has afforded the enemy the opportunity to accuse them. The basis of Satan's attack on us is our sin. We should always take the attitude that sin has no dominion over us. But this alone will not stop the enemy's accusations nor his attacks after the accusations, for subconsciously we continue to leave ground for him. We must continuously hide under the precious blood so that we will not be attacked. It is true that we have sinned, but the blood has redeemed us from sins! Thank the Lord; His blood not only saves us but enables us to be forever victorious in our Christian life.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">C. If We Have the Digested Word of God,We Will Overcome<br />"The word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one" (1 John 2:14). God's Word is His word in the Bible. If we keep God's word in our hearts, when accidents occur or dangers come, the Holy Spirit will cause us to remember one or a few verses of Scripture. These words of Scripture will then become our hiding place. If we hide behind these words and believe in the power of these words, the enemy will not be able to do anything. The Scriptures which the Holy Spirit brings to mind will increase our strength and boldness. Every word of God is powerful, living, and operative. If we have God's word dwelling in and filling our hearts, Satan will suffer loss and be defeated.<br />D. We Must Withstand Him by Exercising Our Will<br />We have a will within us. This will is like our rudder. If we exercise our will to tell Satan, "I will not allow you to come into my heart; I will not give you this right," surely Satan will retreat from us. However, we must insure that our will is indeed set in this way! If not, the result will be the opposite. On the one hand, we have to obey God, and on the other hand, we have to withstand the devil; then the devil will flee from us (James 4:7). For example, if a hawker comes to sell you merchandise and you are determined in your will that you will not buy, your resistance will naturally cause him to go away. But if you bargain with him, you will surely end up buying his merchandise. Many Christians today do not have a resolute will in resisting the devil. They bargain with him, and of course, the devil ends up selling his cargo. When we withstand the devil, we must exercise our faith (1 Pet. 5:9) and speak to Satan with God's power: "In the name of the Lord Jesus who has overcome you, I resist you." After doing this, we must exercise our faith; reckon that since we have resisted the devil, God, based on His word, will drive him away; and praise God for it. Satan has fled, and we should be more than conquerors through the Lord who loves us. When Satan tempted the Lord, He did not leave him any ground; He resisted and rebuked him immediately (Matt. 16:23). We should be as alive in our awareness as the Lord was, and our word of resistance should be as firm as His.<br />E. Calling On God Immediatelywithout Consulting the Devil<br />"Michael,...when he contended with the devil,...said, The Lord rebuke you" (Jude 9). Many believers are not able to call on God to rebuke Satan the moment he acts. On the contrary, they listen to the devil concerning his designs. By then it is too difficult to resist him any further. The moment Satan opens his mouth, we must call on God to rebuke him, so that he cannot even finish his sentence. We must also believe that God will rebuke him immediately and that Satan will no longer trouble us, despite his putting up a fierce front when he is rebuked. A certain believer once said, "To me, we should allow Satan to finish what he has to say, so that we will know what to answer him." Wrong! We do not have to answer Satan. We should stop him from speaking to us. Otherwise, we will be like Eve, who listened to Satan's words and answered him, with the result being many vexations and sin. Do not worry that you may lose your friendship with Satan. Do not worry that you may be too cruel to him. When he comes, ask the Lord to rebuke him. In this way, we will always be victorious in the Lord.<br />F. Not Giving Ground to SatanEven in the Smallest Things<br />Many times we are careful to guard against Satan's stratagems in the great things, yet we are often not watchful in the small things. As a result, we often fail and fall into the devil's deception through one thought or one word. Those who are faithful in small things are faithful in great things. We must be careful not to "give place to the devil" (Eph. 4:27). "Give no opportunity to the opposer for reproach" (1 Tim. 5:14). If Satan does not have a "factory," he will not be able to manufacture sin. If we leave some ground for him in our heart, even if only a small patch, he will use it to create sin. We should not neglect the small things just because they are small. We must realize that Satan is able to invade our whole being through these small things. What is it to give place to the devil? It is to have (1) unrighteousness, (2) sin, and (3) the fear of him in our hearts. It means that we do not have an active will to resist him. On the contrary, we are afraid of provoking him through our resistance. If this ground is not taken from him, the enemy will never be driven away. This reminds me of a story. A certain traveler set up his tent in the desert. A mule, which was outside freezing, asked the man to allow its head to come inside the tent. After a while, it asked him to allow its neck to come inside the tent. After a while, it asked him to allow its two feet to come in as well. Soon, its whole body was inside the tent, and the traveler had no place to stand. Now the mule would not leave, and eventually, the traveler had to leave the tent with the mule inside. Today's Christians are careless about the little things. As a result, this little leaven leavens the whole lump. The devil will try to gain an inch in order to gain a foot. We must trust in the Lord's power to destroy the devil's "factory" within us.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">G. Maintaining a Love for Men<br />"But whom you forgive anything, I also forgive;...that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan" (2 Cor. 2:10-11). A heart that does not love men nor forgive men will give place to the devil. An unforgiving spirit opens the door to the work of the devil. If the believers were more aware of the things in the spiritual realm, they would stop being unloving and unforgiving. All the opposition and persecution seems to come from men, but actually, every heartbreaking word, every misunderstanding, and every humiliation is motivated by the evil spirits behind the scenes. We are not warring against flesh and blood but against the evil spirits. Hence, no matter what comes our way, we should ask the Lord to rebuke Satan and to destroy his work. If we love others and forgive them, we will be more than conquerors.<br />H. Being Particularly Careful with Our Words<br />"But let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no; for anything more than these is of the evil one" (Matt. 5:37). The devil does not want man's word to be "Yes, yes" or "No, no." He wants man's yes to appear as no and his no to appear as yes. I heard one zealous believer once say, "I do not seem to be able to control my mind. Sometimes unconsciously, I make yes as no and no as yes. Even when I make up my mind, I cannot free myself of this." Before a person believes in the Lord, his mind is blinded by the devil (2 Cor. 4:4), but after he believes, the Holy Spirit enters into his spirit and enlightens him. Then gradually (for no man can understand all the truth the moment he believes) He removes the veils from his mind, causing such a one to submit to the Holy Spirit and to consecrate himself. In this way, his mind is renewed and transformed (Rom. 12:2). After the old man is put off, the spirit of his mind is renewed (Eph. 4:22-23). As a result, he can speak what he intends to speak; his yes will be yes, and his no will be no. Although the believers possess a wonderful life, in their minds there are always unclean thoughts and rebellious intentions against the truth. This is due to the evil spirits, who inject evil thoughts into the believers' minds and cause them to lodge there. Sometimes, they try to confuse the believers' minds and disable their reasonings. As a result, the believers do not say what they intend to say; their yes becomes a no, and their no becomes a yes. This sickness can only be removed by prayer and by the Holy Spirit taking over the whole being. We know that if anyone does not stumble in word, this one is a perfect man.<br />I. Being Especially WatchfulWhen Contacting Others<br />"Looking to yourself lest you also be tempted" (Gal. 6:1). It is easy to lead others to the right path. But it is difficult to lead others to the right path without deviating in one's own thoughts, words, and conduct. Many believers desire to lead others, only to find that they are being led by others. Although they may be leading others, they themselves are led into others' sins. Hence, the workers should carefully look everywhere for Satan's deceptions, for there is not a day when we can say that we are in a position free from danger.<br />J. Always Declaring That the Enemy Is under Us<br />"I have given you the authority to tread...over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19). All the enemy has is "power," but what we have is "authority." Although our individual "power" is not that great, we have received "authority" from the Lord to suppress the enemy. We do not have to compete with him in "power"; we need only to give him the command with our "authority." "Power" cannot prevail against "authority"! Therefore, we should first join ourselves to the Lord's death and secure this authority. We should then exercise our faith to use this authority moment by moment to overcome and subdue all the powers of darkness. If we do this, we will overcome regardless of the circumstances.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">V. THE LIMITATIONS OF THE TEMPTER<br />A. If a Temptation Falls outside of God's Promise,It Cannot Do Anything to the Believers<br />"And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only..." (Job 1:12). "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has asked to have..." (Luke 22:31). Every time temptations come upon us, we should be reminded that all temptations are allowed by the Father. Behind every temptation, there is the hand of God. We should have an attitude of faith and should trust that nothing can come upon us directly from Satan unless the Father permits it. Satan cannot put anything upon us by himself.<br />B. The Reason God Allows Satan to Tempt Us<br />Without temptations, we would be proud. Before the devil sifted Peter as wheat, his pride was strong. After he was sifted, he realized the inadequacy of his own strength and was able to receive power from on high to fulfill a great work. Consider the example of a small child going out with his father. He does not want to follow his father and walks away from him on his own. But when he meets a snake and comes close to being hurt, he hurries back to his father to come under his protection. If saints have no temptations, they will not be willing to draw near to the heavenly Father in this way. This is the case with believers who are immature in life. If we realize that the evil spirits in the spiritual realm are everywhere trying to tempt us and hurt us, we will surely trust in God and not be proud in ourselves. Paul said, "There was given to me...a messenger of Satan, that he might buffet me, in order that I might not be exceedingly lifted up" (2 Cor. 12:7). There is no goodness in our flesh, yet how many people are there who will consciously acknowledge this fact? For this reason, God allows the enemy to tempt us. Sometimes He may even allow us to fail so that we will know ourselves and not be proud. This was the experience of Job. Moreover, unless we are tempted in this way, we will not be willing to apply the victory of Golgotha in our experience. It is because of these temptations that there is the opportunity for victory and, consequently, the need for and possibility of the application of Golgotha. Since we realize the true meaning of these temptations and see that they are unavoidable, we should ask God to cause us to overcome in Christ. God allows us to meet with temptations. If we read 1 Corinthians 5:5 and Job 2:3, we can see the reason for these temptations. Temptations are not sins in themselves. It is only when we succumb to temptations that there is sin (Heb. 4:15).<br />C. The Limit of Temptations<br />"No temptation has taken you except that which is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow that you be tempted beyond what you are able, but will, with the temptation, also make the way out, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Cor. 10:13). There are seven points that we should learn from this verse:<br />(1) Temptations are common to man. Some people think that their environment and position are unique and that their temptations are special. Little do they know that temptations are common to man. "Except that which is common to man."<br />(2) We should remember that "God is faithful." If God can fail, then we can fail. But if He is faithful, we should trust Him and should not fail.<br />(3) All temptations are within what we are able to bear. "Not...tempted beyond what you are able." The temptations that God permits cannot be too great. Hence, when temptations come, we should not take a passive stand, allowing the devil to do whatever he wants.<br />(4) With every temptation, there is "the way out." Hence, we can overcome every time.<br />(5) Even if there is no way out, God will "also make the way out."<br />(6) Sometimes, to endure is the very way out. "That you may be able to endure it."<br />(7) Temptation is not sin, but to succumb to temptation is sin. "That you may be able to..."</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">D. God's Almighty Protection<br />"Everyone who is begotten of God does not sin, but he who has been begotten of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him" (1 John 5:18). "But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one" (2 Thes. 3:3). We should be strong in the Lord and believe that the Lord can protect us. We should commit our whole spirit, our whole soul, and our whole body to the Lord and should trust in the Lord. The Lord will accomplish everything. We should believe in Him and should act as if we are already protected by Him. Our act of faith will secure the protection of God.<br />E. Prayer<br />"Our Father,...deliver us from the evil one" (Matt. 6:9, 13). When we pray, we must not only think of ourselves and of God; we must always remember Satan, the evil one. We should pray for God to deliver us from the deceptions, trickeries, control, influence, attacks, and evil plots of the evil one. If we pray in this way, our prayer will be answered. "Deliver us from the evil one." Why? "For Yours is [1] the kingdom and [2] the power and [3] the glory [they are His, not Satan's] forever." This prayer for deliverance is based upon God's kingdom, power, and glory. As such, there must be an answer. If God does not deliver us from the evil one, His kingdom, power, and glory will suffer loss. As the kingdom, the power, and the glory are not the enemy's, why should we still be under his attacks, suppressions, and afflictions?<br />F. The Intercession of the High Priest in Heaven<br />"I do not ask that You would take them out of the world, but that You would keep them out of the hands of the evil one" (John 17:15). If our High Priest is right now interceding for us, what do we have to fear? We should believe that the intercession of our Lord Jesus is always effective. We should believe that the Father is keeping us from the evil one through the secret prayer of Christ. We should not take the evil one's suggestion that we are facing immediate peril. We should trust in the intercession of our High Priest and realize that the Father will surely keep us from suffering the afflictions of the evil one.<br />G. The End of the Enemy<br />The enemy, Satan, will be cast down out of heaven to the earth (Rev. 12:7-9). He will be bound by an angel with a chain and cast into the abyss (20:1-3). After Christ reigns for a thousand years, Satan will be temporarily released and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth and instigate a war against God. Finally, he will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (vv. 7-10). Since the enemy will eventually be defeated anyway, why do we not rise up and march on? Since it is his final destiny to fail, should we not feel more courageous?<br />For now, we should stand on the ground of Romans 6:11, reckoning ourselves dead sin, but living to God. We should put on the whole armor of God to overcome the world, the lusts, and the devil. We should be God's soldiers, fighting the good fight, overthrowing the devil's strongholds and taking captive man's thought unto the obedience of Christ. We should not only be able to preserve ourselves whole, but should challenge the devil. We must be strong warriors in prayer, so that the myriads of evil spirits will not be able to have their way and we will be able to walk and work with Christ, overcoming in this age and reigning in the coming age. Amen.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-85982182199152595242007-08-02T06:46:00.000-06:002007-08-02T07:10:08.134-06:00BACK TO THE CROSS<span style="font-size:180%;">BACK TO THE CROSS!<br />(The following is an excerpt from Spiritual Equipment for the Last Days, a book by Charles Usher. It was originally published by Marshall Brothers, LTD., London, England, July 1920.)<br />We are in the last hours of this dispensation. The hand of the clock is approaching the hour of twelve. It is the dark hour of midnight, but the darkest hour is just before the dawn.<br />The Church is rapidly drifting into a state of apostasy, further and further away from God.<br />The War has left the world chaotic and the Church paralysed.<br />Dark forces have been liberated which are producing as evil an effect upon the Church as upon the world.<br />The late conflict has left problems for the Church to face, as difficult to handle as those with which the world is battling.<br />The Cross of Christ is the light that will illuminate the present darkness.<br />We need a fresh revelation of sin, for it is through sin that we have lost our way, and it is through Christ's death on the Cross that we are won back and restored to God.<br />See I Peter iii. 18—"Christ...hath once suffered for sins...that He might bring us to God."<br />The reason why many lose the sense of the sinfulness of sin is that they get away from the reality of Christ's atoning death, for it is only at the Cross that we get a vision of the depths and misery of sin.<br />Calvary is a revelation of man's hatred to God's authority—a hatred which manifested itself in the blackest, darkest deed ever committed.<br />We are told that the Cross is the "Touchstone of Faith"; that is blessedly true! but it is also true that it is the criterion of the human heart. It reveals man in his true character.<br />The Church has lost sight of the Cross, and has therefore lost sight of the awfulness of sin. She has wandered from the place where sin is seen in God's light, and where the soul is led to cry out, "I have crucified my Lord."<br />What astonishes one in these days is the sin in the Church. How awful it is that Christians can sin and be unmoved by it!<br />God's people are sinning—sinning in the heart, sinning in the mind, sinning in the pulpit, sinning in the pew,—sinning in spite of Calvary and of all that the Bible reveals of the horror and degradation of sin!<br />Child of God! go back to Calvary and take the sinner's place. Let the Cross melt the hardness and cause the tears to flow!<br />BACK TO THE CROSS!<br />The Place of our Reconciliation with God.<br />Sin brings separation.<br />This is a Divine law which we need to know, not only theoretically but experimentally, and the Cross is the only place where we learn that lesson thoroughly.<br />Listen to the words of Christ as He hangs on Calvary's tree, — "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Mark xv. 34).<br />This is not the expression of One suffering physical death merely, but of One passing through spiritual separation from God. The sinless Christ had never been separated from His Father. Throughout the countless ages of Eternity they were One.<br />This blessed oneness was seen throughout His earthly life, and it was that which sustained Him and enabled Him to bear the contradiction of sinners against Himself.<br />But on the Cross, Christ lifted the load of our sin upon Himself and went into the awful darkness of separation in order to reconcile us to God.<br />It is this spiritual separation which Christ endured instead of us, which constitutes the meaning of the reconciliation and makes the death of Jesus unique.<br />Christ was forsaken in that dark hour FOR ME. Oh! child of God, if you forget this, you lose the spirit of that which makes the Cross the power of God unto salvation!<br />We need to come back to this aspect of the death of Jesus until its spirit takes possession of us, and the very principle of Calvary becomes established in our lives.<br />How reluctant we are to own that not only was it necessary for us to come to the Cross for reconciliation when we were in sin, but that after we become Christians we need the atoning death of Jesus to keep us from departing from God.<br />We often talk of "grace" in cold, theological terms, but as we come into personal relationship to the death of Jesus, grace is revealed in all its loveliness, and we are fired with a passionate love for Christ.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">BACK TO THE CROSS!<br />The only way into union with Christ.<br />"Do we leave the Cross to go on to union with the risen Christ?" is the question that many of God's people are asking; and when one tells them of the need of a continual application of the death of Christ to the life, they say, "But I am in the risen Christ, and it is a living Christ we need, not a dead Christ." Much of this misunderstanding is due to dealing with this blessed truth in the letter rather than in the spirit; "the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life" (2 Cor. iii. 6).<br />The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of Calvary. Christ's death on the Cross was the highest expression of the life of Christ, and as you partake of His life, the spirit of Christ's crucifixion becomes the principle of your life.<br />Paul had not gone beyond the Cross when he sought for a deeper union with the risen Lord, but he saw that the deeper the union with the living Christ the deeper must he sink into His death (see Phil. iii. 10).<br />To be risen with Christ and to abide in Him by a living faith means that you share the death of Christ.<br />The condition for a triumphant Christian life is UNION WITH CHRIST.<br />The only way of overcoming sin is by a life of union with Jesus Christ.<br />Our blessed Lord teaches us this very clearly in John xv. He says, "Without ME ye can do nothing," and one of the early lessons of the believer is that he is absolutely dependent upon his Lord for everything. He learns the helplessness of being without Christ.<br />The message of Christ to the sinner is "Come unto Me"; His message to the believer is "Abide in Me."<br />"He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" (I Cor. vi. 17). But how does that joining take place?<br />To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ implies a belief into Christ. The faith moves Christward and finds its anchorage in Christ Himself, and thus the believer is brought into vital contact with HIM.<br />Let us go to God's Word in the third chapter of John's Gospel. Here we get clearly the Lord's teaching of regeneration or the new birth.<br />First we are told our need of it (see verse 3); then we are told its nature—that it is a spiritual nature or birth (see verses 5 and 6); but in verses 14 and 15 we see the way into it—by believing in Christ; that word "in" should be translated "into." See verse 14—"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."<br />Calvary was necessary before the sinner could believe in Christ; the crucified Saviour draws all men unto Him. See John xii. 32, 33—"I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die."<br />Satan's desire is to get the believer away from the Cross, and he is often most successful when he offers an inducement to seek a life of union with the Risen Lord. But the devil knows that there is no real union apart and away from the Cross, and so he gives a counterfeit experience instead.<br />Paul teaches us clearly in Romans vi. that to be joined to the Risen Christ and to abide in Him by a living faith means that we must share His death. "Know ye not that so many of us [as, sic] were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?" (Rom. vi. 3).<br />He also teaches us that a deeper union with Christ is only possible as we have an ever deeper acquaintance of the Cross. See Philippians iii. 10—"That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death." This is what we need to know, not in theory or sentiment, but in actual experience, and the result will be a life of power, of victory over sin, Satan, sickness and death, and the world, and this is only possible as we get back to the Cross.<br />To say that there is no need for a continual application of the blood of Christ to the life shows a superficial knowledge of the meaning of His death. It is blessedly true that the blood that has been shed on the Cross avails for all time for our complete atonement, but that does not exhaust the work of Christ's death. There is the need of continual cleansing from sin.<br />A saint of God once asked me a very startling question—"When did you have a bout of confession of sin last?" I was arrested by the question and could not answer. I therefore went to God about it, and discovered that I had been making the common mistake of relying upon the blood to automatically cleanse my sin; also I had lost sight of my sinnership. May I apply that question to you? When did you have a bout of confession last? "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John i. 9).<br />One of the things which hinders God from working in us is the activity of the evil natural life, which is continually getting us out of the Spirit and accounts for the failure to walk in the Spirit. Our spirits are being continually affected by this evil influence, and try as we may we cannot control our spirits and walk in the calm of God. This uncrucified evil nature is also the material which Satan and his evil spirits play upon and are able to fan into a flame, and is therefore the cause of much of the conflict which we have with the powers of darkness, and is "ground" for their continual attacks.<br />We may have learned how to overcome them by the application of the blood, but they will return again and again to the conflict as long as there is "ground."<br />The Cross is the REMEDY. "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Gal. v. 24). But how? by an absolute surrender of the evil natural life to the death of Christ, and by a perpetual attitude of abiding in Christ, and thus sharing the benefits of His death, the result being liberation from the power of sin and evil nature in order that we may walk in newness of life.<br />In Romans viii. we have one of the clearest descriptions of the life in the Spirit in the whole Bible; but we observe that on the very threshold of the chapter we have these words—"The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." There is no possibility of entering into the spiritual life except through union with Christ—that union is one of death and life. Any attempt to obtain spiritual life apart from the Cross ends in failure or in counterfeit.<br />The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Cross; the Cross is the highest expression of the Spirit; it was "through the Eternal Spirit" Christ offered Himself to God (see Heb. ix. 14).</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">The Cross of Christ and Cleansing.<br />There is a great danger of the soul who knows death union with Christ failing to see the value of cleansing.<br />Cleansing has to do with our walk with God.<br />Sin is not only a ruling principle but it is a defilement.<br />We must first be clear upon our basis of identification with Christ in death, or the evil nature will continually defile the soul in spite of our continual claiming of cleansing. Some souls know the blessing of cleansing, but are not able to maintain it, because they rest upon their experience rather than upon the Divine basis of union with Jesus Christ in death and resurrection. It is Christ's death that causes the evil nature to cease its activity. As the believer abides by faith in Christ, the death of Christ cuts him off from bondage to sin as a master.<br />But the question arises,—"Is there need for cleansing if I abide in Christ and reckon myself dead indeed to sin?" Yes, because it is a faith attitude which you may fail to keep. Through lack of watchfulness you may yield to your evil nature and thus become defiled, hence the need for cleansing. Any sense of defilement will keep you away from the presence of God. It is not enough to say, "I am abiding in Christ's death and therefore I am free."<br />Sin committed must be confessed to God and cleansed away by the application of the blood of Christ. The death of Christ was once for all, but the blood is for perpetual application.<br />This is typically shown in the Old Testament type of the red heifer (see Num. xix. 2-22). The heifer was slain; the ashes were kept for application in cases of defilement. There was one atoning sacrifice made for the sinner, but yet necessitating the application of the "ashes" when needed. So with the sacrifice of Christ.<br />No one ever gets to the place where he does not need to confess his sins, and claim the blood to cleanse.<br />Defilement may come from without as well as from within. Our contact with the world defiles us. The very moral atmosphere that we breathe is contaminating.<br />Cleanliness of heart and life is essential to communion and fellowship with God.<br />We learn this very clearly from Psalm xxiv. 3, 4—"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully."<br />"CLEAN HANDS" refer to the things we touch.<br />In Numbers xix., we see that if a man "touched" any dead thing—whether intentionally, through neglect, or unconsciously—he became at once ceremonially unclean, and was cut off from the privilege of the redeemed worshipper.<br />This is a type of something far deeper than the physical. It points to God's jealousy over His people's lives, and shows how souls lose communion with God through touching that which is sinful in thought or deed.<br />Which of us can say that we never touch that which defiles us either consciously or unconsciously? Therefore there is need of a continual application of the blood of sprinkling.<br />"A PURE HEART." This has reference to the fountain whence spring the issues of life (see Prov. iv. 23 and Matt. xv. 18, 19).<br />Exceeding great and precious promises are given to us, "that by these we might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Pet. i. 4).<br />It is only in the divine nature that we can approach God; this divine nature should rule, and it can only rule as the old is kept on the cross by faith.<br />The cleansing of the Blood does not deal with our evil nature, but crucifixion does;—"knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him" (Rom. vi. 6, R.V.); "they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh" (Gal. v. 24).<br />But cleansing removes the defilement due to any activity of the evil nature, which severs communion and makes it impossible to "stand" before God. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt. v. 8).</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">WHO HATH NOT LIFTED UP HIS SOUL TO VANITY."<br />The soul is the seat of self-love—pride—the "I" in us that wants to be seen and known and heard; also, the religious pride that says in effect "I thank God that I am not as other men are." This religious pride creeps into the most spiritual souls and they are defiled.<br />It manifests itself in an attitude of isolation from others, in a censorious spirit that seeks to put others right and in sitting in judgment on the saints.<br />But if these souls learn to walk in the light, as He is in the light, they will have fellowship one with another, that is, with all the saints, and the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse them from all sin.<br />"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" (I John i. 8); a disposition of self-justification condemns us.<br />"If we confess our sins" is an acknowledgement of our inherent sinnership and of our need of cleansing.<br />No one who is living consciously in the presence of God will say "I have not sinned," but the expression of a saved sinner before Him is "I confess my sins."<br />Then faith in the blood is the plea, and fellowship with the saints the result...<br />BACK TO THE CROSS!<br />The Place of Victory over Satan.<br />When Jesus Christ went to the Cross, He not only atoned for our sins but He defeated our spiritual enemy Satan. This was a most important part of Christ's work at Calvary, for not only is man in bondage to sin within but to Satan without. To lose sight of this aspect of Jesus Christ's work is to greatly weaken the position in the conflict with evil. It is only in the victory of Calvary that the child of God can successfully face the present activity of Satanic power that is abroad to-day.<br />Satan has flung his forces right across the path of the Church in her advance heavenward, and is thus delaying the return of Christ to reign as King upon the earth. These forces are spiritual and evil, and can only be antagonized by spiritual weapons.<br />But some one will ask, "How can the devil delay the return of Christ?"<br />By keeping the Church in defeat.<br />When Christ comes, the overcomers are to reign with Him over the earth—but they must have learnt to overcome and to rule in spirit here and now through their union with Jesus Christ.<br />Many of God's people are so taken up with earthly things that the realm of the spiritual is absolutely foreign to them.<br />Others, who are more spiritually minded, are being continually defeated because they are poorly equipped to face the conflict with these evil powers. The devil is able to make perpetual inroads into their work, harassing them in their labours, and they, not knowing the source from which the attack comes, submit, and thus are defeated. Not only does the foe interfere with their work, but their personal life is made the object of his malignant hatred,—trouble in the home, divisions, misunderstandings, follow one upon another until an atmosphere is created, which becomes a continual drainage upon them.<br />Doubtless all God's children know something of this in their experience.<br />Are these things sent into our lives for us to submit passively to? or is it intended that we should overcome them?<br />The reason why we do not resist them is that we fail to recognize the true cause of the attacks. We have left Satan, who is the silent, subtle source of our trouble, out of our reckoning, but as our eyes are opened to detect the enemy, we realize that we are called into a personal spiritual warfare against the powers of darkness. We also get a wider vision and a divine interpretation of the evil agencies which are opposing the Church and ruling the world, and we realize that they are super-natural and Satanic, and must be resisted by the child of God in union with the risen Lord.<br />But how can the devil and his host be conquered by the child of God?<br />Only through vital union with Jesus Christ and a spiritual knowledge of Calvary as the place of Satan's complete overthrow. How carefully the foe has sought to hide this! how subtly he has contrived to get the believer away from the place of his ignominy and defeat!<br />How clearly we are taught in John xii. 31, 32, that the lifting up of Christ is the casting down of Satan,—"Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." Lifted up—where? on a Throne? No! on a Cross, as verse 33 plainly tells us—"This, He said, signifying what death He should die."<br />In Colossians ii. 15, we read, "Having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it," and the whole argument of Paul in the Colossian Epistle is—"why should we be subject to their power when Christ has so gloriously conquered?" Why?<br />Christ's death is the complete overthrow of Satan and his hosts, but in order for us to have the victory wrought into us, we must get back to the Cross and learn to wield it against the powers of darkness, which are feverishly labouring for the enthronement of Satan in this world.<br />While the child of God stands in triumph they are hindered in the accomplishment of their desire.<br />As the saint sees this, he will understand that his own personal conflict is only part of the general warfare that is raging.<br />The Devil is approaching his Waterloo! Child of God, put on your heavenly armour: learn to wear it now.<br />Be a veteran in the army of the Lord, and not a raw recruit!<br />Surely the days of sham fighting are over; a real war is raging.<br />Thy foes are strong, but thou art stronger in thy risen Lord. Be not afraid of their faces, for thou hast looked upon the marred face of Jesus! and soon, ah! soon, thou shalt see His face shining as the sun when He shall come in His glory to reign over this poor distracted world.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">HOW TO WALK BY THE SPIRIT<br />(The following is an article by Jessie Penn-Lewis, "Spiritual Things to the Spiritual." It originally appeared in The Overcomer, Vol. 3, published by The "Overcomer" Office, Leicester, England, September 1911. The editor of The Overcomer was Jessie Penn-Lewis. The title, "How to Walk by the Spirit," was provided by Watchman Nee.)<br />The aggressive warfare against the powers of darkness is essentially a spirit conflict, and the "natural man" knows nothing about it. It is to be understood only by spiritual men and women, hence the importance of knowing what is the meaning of the term "spiritual," and how to walk in the spirit. We have put a capital S on the word spirit in the New Testament, where often it reads with a small s, or we have done that in the mind, by reading in the large S—referring to the Holy Spirit—in places where there should be a small s. The large S so read in by the majority of us, has hidden the fact that we have a human spirit, which is the organ for the Holy Spirit, and the place where the Holy Spirit dwells. (See "The Place of the Indwelling Spirit," in May Overcomer.) In the shrine of that spirit comes all His divine light, and leading. Not having understood clearly about the human spirit, we have not known how to co-operate with the Holy Spirit, and when He has come into our spirits, we have thought everything He had to say to us, must be given to the mind, with the result that we have mainly walked "after the soul," and not "after the spirit."<br />It will help you if I show you clearly from the Word of God what the spirit life is, and how to walk in it. First of all let us turn to 1 Cor. ii. 11, where Paul says, "Who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the SPIRIT of the man, which is in him?" Here we have the statement that the "spirit of the man" alone has knowledge of the man; and "even so the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God." None can know about God, only as the Spirit which is of God comes from God to reveal Him and His mind, to the believer, through the medium of his human spirit. The human spirit is the organ for the reception of the Spirit of God, and through which He reveals truth to the mind, and gives the knowledge of God. Hence, continues Paul, "We received not the spirit of the world." There is a "spirit of the world." People forget that. They ticket the world as "things," but there is a "spirit" of the world, and some "spirit" must work in us—either the Spirit which is of God, or "spirits" instigated by Satan, i.e., the "spirit of the world," the "spirit of error," etc. How can you know the way to shut your spirit against all these spirits outside in the world, unless you understand how to co-operate WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD in the things of God?<br />You must shut your spirit to the influence of the world-spirit, as well as shut your mind to world thoughts and ways. You may have the "spirit of the world" in you without outwardly appearing to be worldly, hence the importance of understanding the teaching given by Paul in 1 Cor. ii. and iii. "We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we may know the THINGS that are freely given to us of God. Which THINGS we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth." Here is Paul speaking of "THINGS" i.e., substantial facts in the spiritual realm, not of theories, opinions, visions, illusions, but "things," and the Holy Spirit actually giving words to describe these things, to "spiritual" men, able to apprehend them—"interpreting SPIRITUAL things to SPIRITUAL men...for the natural man (lit. "man of soul") receiveth not the things of the spirit, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."<br />Now you see the place of the spirit in man, in regard to the things of God, and the necessity of our becoming spiritual men—men of spirit—not men of "soul," i.e., "the natural man," the man who seeks to apprehend spiritual things with his natural mind, which the Apostle emphatically declares he cannot do.<br />From various expressions used by Paul it also appears that the spirit of man is a distinct entity, or organism, if I may use that word. (Gall has a chapter on "The physiology of the spirit" in "Primeval Man Unveiled.") See 1 Cor. v. 3-4, "Ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus." He does not refer there to the Holy Spirit, but to his own spirit. In ch. xiv. 14, he adds a distinct action of the human spirit: "my spirit prayeth." In Rom. xii. 11, there is described both a characteristic of, and action of the spirit—"Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord"—and in 1 Peter iii. 4, you read of a "meek and quiet spirit"—again descriptive characteristics.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">We also read of a "cool spirit" in Proverbs, the "heat of spirit" in Ezekiel, while it is said of John the Baptist that as a result of his wilderness time of fellowship with God, he got a "strong spirit," strong enough to go and face Herod, and to proclaim a message which was objectional to Jew and Gentile. We are needing for this spiritual warfare with principalities and powers, just such a strong spirit; a cool spirit, a fervent spirit, a spirit ruled, for "he that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city" in co-action with the Spirit of God.<br />The trouble to-day is the lack of knowledge of the spirit. Men are so "soulish," and even Christians walk as `natural' men, viewing everything from the natural standpoint—"of the earth, earthy"—with only the natural vision. Or, on the other hand, "spiritual" men do not understand how to "rule the spirit"; how to keep it "cool," as well as "fervent"; nor do they realize the danger of the power of darkness interfering with their spirits; nor the temptations of the spiritual sphere from forces of evil working upon, or driving their spirit out of steady co-operation with the Holy Spirit. If you get this light from God's Book, you will be able to read everything to-day without perplexity. You will see that the "spirit of the age"—Ephes. ii. 2—is a driving spirit, and that the forces of the spiritual realm have come upon us, demanding an understanding of what these forces are, and how we are to meet them.<br />Next, notice the powers of the human spirit. The spirit is capable of feeling. Paul said his "spirit" was refreshed. He did not say that his heart was refreshed, but his spirit. In one of his missionary journeys he says he was "pressed in spirit," showing that there is a pressure of spirit, which requires an understanding of what it means, so as to know thereby the leading of God. A great deal of our supposed "spiritual experiences" are soulish, that is to say they take place in the realm of feeling. Our demand is for something we can "feel" in the soulish realm, and not for something we may KNOW in the inner shrine of the Spirit.<br />Paul knew he was "bound" in the spirit, and that indicated, by the witness of the Holy Spirit, that "bonds and afflictions" awaited him. He knew, too, when his spirit was released, and the pressure and difficulties had passed away. As clearly as you understand the senses of the body, he understood the actions of his spirit, and of the Holy Spirit in and through his spirit as His channel. Through eyes and ears you understand the physical realm, and through the spirit you know the spiritual realm, and read the communications of God's will made known by the Holy Spirit (Rom. viii. 16), which are always in harmony with the Word of God.<br />Again, Mary said, "My soul doth magnify the Lord," and that magnifying came into the soul-realm; but she added "my SPIRIT hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." In Acts xix. 21, "Paul PURPOSED IN SPIRIT to go to Jerusalem." That is a very different thing from purposing in the mind, for it includes a knowledge of God's will in the spirit, and a purpose to do it. Our Lord Jesus Christ was "troubled IN SPIRIT," and when He went to the grave of Lazarus, we read in the margin that "He groaned in Himself with INDIGNATION IN HIS SPIRIT." Such an indignation in the spirit precedes an outbursting of victory over the powers of darkness. He stood by the grave of Lazarus, and with a loud voice, said, "Lazarus, come forth!" He went to that grave with His Spirit groaning with indignation against the prince of death, and in the outflashing of that indignation, Lazarus was loosed from the captivity of death, and raised to life.<br />In this story of Lazarus we have a glimpse of the source of spiritual authority over the powers of darkness. It is not the authority of words, nor the authority of Christ given to the natural man; but the authority of Christ communicated through the Spirit of God in action through the spiritual man. Those who take the aggressive against the Prince of this world in their own soul power, will find their words empty of spiritual force (see 1 Cor. iv. 20).<br />Now notice further that the spirit of the man is under the control of the will: The spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets"—subject to the control of the will. Again note the words of Solomon, "He that ruleth his spirit." You, as a new creation in Christ, joined to Him in spirit, must rule the mind (1 Pet. i. 13), rule the body (1 Cor. ix. 27), rule the spirit. If you fail to rule the spirit, the spirit can carry you beyond God's measure, as much as the soul can carry you out of control. In many things we hear of to-day about ecstatic experiences, there is an element of great danger, lest the spirits of these believers are carried beyond the control of the will. It is almost a new danger in the Church of Jesus Christ which we have now to face. The Church has been so carnal in the past, that now when numbers are becoming "spiritual," the danger lies in not knowing the laws of the spirit, and the forces in the spiritual realm able to affect the spirit, as the thought-world affects the soul.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">In the life of the spiritual man, the first thing is the new birth: "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." "a new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." In the new birth we get a renewed spirit. Again it is written, "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, and spirit." Apparently there is a constant cleansing of the spirit needed. Our Lord "poured out His SOUL unto death," but He "committed" His SPIRIT to His Father. The soulish part of us must likewise be poured out to death, if the spirit is to be brought into essential union with God.<br />This separation of the spirit, from, what an old writer calls "the entanglements of the soul," is set forth in Heb. iv. 12, "The word of God is quick and powerful...dividing soul and spirit." How often we are conscious of so much mixture in even consecrated believers, and how rarely you can meet a pure spirit; how often there comes a word, or action, first from the spirit, and then from the soul part, the emotions, the intellect, or the mind. As the spirit is brought into pure union with God, it becomes sensitive to the touch of "soul," either in yourself, or in others. You will meet the "soul" element as if it were some little bit of hard substance which checks the flow of your spirit. Or you will discover it in the varying states of your own life: at one time there will be communion with God, when the spirit is open to Him, and thus full of light; then without any apparent cause a veil falls over it, and it is dark. That is just the action of the soul, you have gone back into the soul life, out of the light into the dark. Hence the importance of learning that position in Christ where the spirit is continually dominant. Let us look at this for a moment.<br />Paul says "The God of peace sanctify you...spirit, soul and body." God in the spirit sanctifying the soul, controlling and dominating the body. Fausset—a Commentator of authority—says, that "In the three fold division of man's being, body, soul and spirit, the due state in God's design is, that the spirit which is the recipient of the Holy Spirit, uniting man to God, should be first and rule the soul, which stands intermediate between body and spirit. In the natural man the spirit is sunk into subserviency to the animal soul, which is earthly in motives and aims. The carnal sinks still lower, for in this the flesh, the lowest element rules. Not having the Spirit means that in the natural man, the spirit which is the highest part, and ought to be the reservoir of the Holy Spirit, is not so, and therefore the spirit is not in the state that God wants it to be."<br />From this clear statement you will understand that the spirit must be first, and dominate the soul, and through the soul control the body. The "spirit man" is he who has the spirit in its due order, ruling soul and body. To become "spiritual"—i.e., under the rule of the spirit, the word of God needs to divide the soul, and spirit. For at first—when the man is a "natural man"—the spirit is sunk into the soul, netted round as it were, and all bound up in the soul. Sometimes the spirit gets a little light, and breaks into freedom, then the soul again predominates, and becomes like a thick film covering the light of the spirit. These phases affect the countenance—when the spirit sinks down into the soul the face becomes shadowed from within, and when the spirit rises to the place of control, the face is full of light. In truth the outer man is, what John describes as a "lampstand," to hold the light that comes from the spirit, which is meant to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and filled with the light of God.<br />Now the devil knows all about this, for he has studied man for a long time. He has observed, that when in meetings you have sung a spiritual song, you have broken into victory, and the spirit has ruled, then you have gone away to look upon a world that seemed different because all the dark shadows have disappeared in the light of God. With this knowledge, he comes a long to the children of God who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, and he brings all the weights he can bring, stirs up all the troubles he can, and puts them on the spirit, and as these heavy weights press upon the spirit and presses it down into the soul, you lose your testimony, and the ringing song of victory; all because you do not understand what he is doing.<br />To keep the spirit in real victory in union with Christ, you must understand the approach of the enemy, and know what he brings. This leads us to the spirit-warfare, we have in mind—expressed in crude language doubtless, but expressing something that is real. We want to get at this: what is victory, where is victory, how can we walk in victory?<br />The spirit is the place where the Holy Spirit dwells, and everything that God does in you comes from the spirit. It is through our spirit He works out to soul and body, not from outside in! The devil knows this, though we do not, and he brings things from the outside life to burden the spirit within. From the outside he also gives supernatural power, working upon the emotions and the senses, and gets hold of the bodies even of the children of God. It will help you to detect and to discern for yourself, to know that everything that the Spirit of God does, is through the organ of your spirit. It is in your spirit that you learn to know God for the spirit is the sanctuary, the shrine, the organ of the Holy Spirit, and it is there that He bears His witness—"The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God." We have seen that the first thing the Holy Spirit does in regeneration is to give a renewed spirit, when you are "born of the Spirit," and you receive the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of sonship, when from your spirit comes the cry, "Father!" Then you know God as your Father. Then you next receive the Holy Spirit as a Person, as the Sanctifier, and He fills your spirit and makes it the shrine where He dwells, and the centre from which He works, and in that shrine He brings you into union with Christ when you become "joined to the Lord, one spirit." From the centre of the spirit He wields the Word of God, and cuts away the soul's entanglements with the knife of the Word; and as you obey that Word and submit to its requirements, the spirit becomes clarified, and drawn away from the soul-envelope into a deeper, closer, essential, perfect union with Christ the risen and ascended Lord. It is only in this real union of one spirit with Christ, that He is able to exercise His authority through you over spiritual foes.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">In the light of these facts about the spirit of man, and the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the eighth of Romans is simply wonderful: "If we walk in the spirit," "if ye live in the spirit," "the mind of the spirit is life," "ye are not in the flesh but in the spirit." "The mind of the flesh is death." "The minding of the spirit is life and peace. At the back of all these words can be seen the PERSONAL VOLITION of the man, as the helm of the ship, so to speak, at the centre. The ACTIVE EXERCISE OF THE WILL, moment by moment, determining his obedience to the mind of God through the Spirit, or his walk "after the flesh."<br />It is not a state you are brought into, but a position, where you have to choose every moment what you will do. Therefore it is important that you understand what is flesh, and what is spirit, since you have to hourly decide which you will obey.<br />In 1 Cor. xv. [45] we read, "The first man Adam was made a living soul, the second Adam a life-giving spirit." All the life you get from the first Adam is soul, and all the life you get from the new Adam is spirit. First that which is natural, or soulish, and then "that which is spiritual," for there is a "natural body," and there is a "spiritual body." So that the Church will be prepared for translation by being brought to know this spirit life, where the LIFE OF THE SPIRIT QUICKENS THE MORTAL BODY. Through all the tossing and the tumult and the suffering, God is preparing His Church for the coming of Jesus Christ; and through travail and often bitter tears, God's children are pressing on to know all that He can do for them.<br />When the spirit gets to its right place of predominance, united to Christ, and filled with the Spirit of God, and joined to the Lord, one spirit, "the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead, will quicken your mortal body by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." The devil just now is contending for the bodies, and for the mind of God's children. Did Christ not say to Peter "Satan hath obtained you by asking, that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not?" He did not say "I have prayed that you should not go into it;" but "I have let you go into it; you are so self-confident, Peter; you boasted that if all would forsake Me you would not, and I had to let Satan have you to sift you, and to break that self-confidence from you." That was soulishness in Peter, it was not of the spirit; and so he was sifted and prepared for his Pentecost in the judgment hall of Pilate.<br />How could God have used Peter if he had not got rid of his self-confidence first. All Peter's impulses, that wild devotion, that something about Peter that made him go headlong out of the ship towards his Master—God had to get it out of him. You would not say that Satan cannot touch a child of God, if you carefully read the Bible. Paul was a child of God, and yet he said he had a "messenger of Satan" to beat him, to keep him from being exalted above measure through the abundance of God's revelations to his spirit. Through Satan's buffetings and siftings, the children of God will advance into the knowledge of union with Christ, and victory over sin and Satan, which will prepare them for the Lord's coming.<br />What is the basis of this walk after the spirit? CALVARY. We must take our position with Christ in death, according to the sixth of Romans, crucified with Christ, we must know victory over sin, before we can talk about victory over Satan. Because Satan holds through sin, and it is only on the ground of the cross, standing there crucified with Christ, that you can dare take your position of victory over Satan. Romans vi. is the basis of victory.<br />In its practical outworkings you will see the need of avoiding a clouded spirit, because if you get a shadow, you will lose that keen spirit light which illuminates the mind, and shows you what to do. If the spirit is kept in clear unbroken victory, dominant over soul and body, the mind is given clear perception to detect the Spirit's leading; for "they that are led of the Spirit are the sons of God."<br />You know how to avoid sin, but do you know how to avoid weights? The devil knows that a shadow on your spirit will suit his purpose as well as anything else, so he does all he can to bring troublesome things to you in order to shadow your spirit. There is no outflow from a compressed spirit. It is absolutely essential for revival that the spirit shall be free, for thus only is the outflow continual. The law for keeping the spirit in victory is that it must be always going out; it must never turn back upon itself. Because these powers of darkness are outside, and they are always seeking to press you in. The enemy tries to accuse you, and get you occupied with yourself, and thus to lose all aggressive power against him; but you have to go out against him all the time.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">But you say, "They won't let me pray in the prayer meeting; how can I always go out against him?" But you have a world-wide sphere in the prayer life, your spirit can go out in victorious prayer against all the powers of darkness, persistently, steadily for the whole church of Christ. ("Quiet Talks on Prayer", by S. D. Gordon, gives much light on this.) That will keep your spirit going out. The truth is you either must go out against what is outside, or else what is outside will come in, and crush you down.<br />Some of you have no flow now in testimony. In the Revival days your spirit was free. How easy it was then to speak; but, alas! the attacks, the conflict, the opposition, and the difficulties, have come like a great thick wall of clay, and the poor spirit has gone back into prison to be locked up and bound and compressed, so that it cannot move; and you have lost the power to perceive the will of God, and you don't know what to do. Let us ask God for liberation from all the accumulated weights that crush you down in spirit, so that you may enter into a sphere of mightier work in the unseen realm. Though you cannot pray in the prayer meetings, God calls you into a spirit union with Himself, that in prayer you may drive these forces of darkness back. It is a mightier work than anything else, and that field is open to any of you. The closing of the prayer meeting door against you can drive you to pray for Wales as you never prayed before. If you understood how to walk in the spirit, if you knew how to detect God's will in the spirit, that is possible for you.<br />Though absent in the body from them, Paul told the Corinthians that he was "present in spirit." Again he said to the believers, "Stand fast in one spirit, striving with one soul for the truth of the gospel." "Ye are all made to drink of one Spirit," ye are a "habitation of God through the Spirit." Endeavouring to keep the "unity of the spirit" in the bond of peace, "praying in the spirit," "fellowship in the spirit." It is "all in the spirit," and if the church of Jesus Christ was united in the spirit, there is no power of darkness that could stand before her. She would be fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.<br />Do you see in the light of this what is the matter with the prayer meetings? This great thick cloud of the powers of darkness comes down on the prayer meeting, and because you do not know how to fight in spirit through that wall, you are defeated. Satan tells you that God is not listening to you. Oh! if you knew how to penetrate through. Someone has said, "The Lord Jesus Christ has gone through the plane of the prince of the power of the air, and sat down on God's right hand, praying and keeping the way open for His people. The only way through is a blood-marked way; He is keeping open the way through the hosts of darkness." "Having boldness to enter by the blood"—a blood-marked way. If you have once known that life with Christ in God (for "ye died and your life is hid with Christ in God"), cease to walk after the natural man, the man of flesh. Learn to live in spirit with Christ on the Throne, and live the will of God as you learn it there. Your spirit must remain there, for that is the ascension place—"joined to the Lord, one spirit," and from that place you must understand how to resist everything that comes to you from the powers of darkness, direct, and indirect through men. Be determined that the one thing that you will do is to keep your spirit clear with God, so that you know the will of God. God must work out His own plans in His own way; and your one thing is to know Him, to live and walk in the spirit with Him, to obey His word, to refuse to have clouds that will shadow your spirit-fellowship with God, who is Spirit. That is the place of authority, and power over all the power of the enemy.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">WALKING IN THE WILL OF GOD<br />(The following is an article by Jessie Penn-Lewis, "Walking in the Will of God." It originally appeared in The Overcomer, Vol. 6, published by The "Overcomer" Office, Leicester, England, June 1914.)<br />It is most important for the Lord's children to recognise that they have, and must use, their individual personal will. That the Lord Jesus had His own separate will is clearly set forth in John vi. 38. "I am come down from heaven not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me."<br />In John v. 30, the Lord Jesus said "I can of Mine own self do nothing"—this means that He never acted apart from His Father—"As I hear I judge: and My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will but the will of the Father which hath sent Me." Although He had a separate will, the principle of His life was not independent action, but a co-action in harmony with the will of God. His was not a passive will, but an active one, deliberately set to do the will of His Father.<br />It is important to know that God does not desire us to have a passive will for the Father to impress His will upon it, and move us apart from our own volition. The words of the Lord Jesus show that He used His will in distinct action. He said: "I SEEK NOT Mine own will," which shows that He was free to will and act in another direction to that which He deliberately sought and chose to follow.<br />Here we see the negative aspect of the Lord's walk with God the Father—He did not seek to do His own will.<br />Christ's meat the will of God.<br />In John iv. 34, we find described the positive aspect—that is how He did the Father's will. "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work." Here is the active choice to do. There was the choice not to seek His own will, and the choice to do the will of God. There is no trace of passivity here. Moreover, He found Divine sustenance in doing God's will; not in talking about it, but in doing it. "My meat is TO DO..." There must be the doing of God's will as well as the seeking of it, and until you have done the will of God as you know it, you cannot expect to be taken a step further in God's plan for you.<br />In the life of Christ you will see the exercise of His own separate will. But His will was set. We need to understand the setting of the will like the helm of a ship. As you set your will to do God's will, God can work. Your part is continually to make God's will the principle of your life. You say: "I choose God's will in this." You do not put your will aside, but on God's side, asking God to reveal His will to you. Christ's will was so set that it never lost co-operation with God's will for a moment. He perfectly and entirely did the will of God. "Lo, I come to do Thy will..." Not only was there the setting of His will to God's will, but the active use of it in that setting.<br />In Matt. viii. 3: "I will, be thou clean"—is an example of His vital co-operation in will with the Father's will. When the man came to Christ the Lord knew God's will, and said: "I WILL, be thou clean." God bore witness, and the man was cleansed. It was God's will manifested toward the man, through the exercise of Christ's will saying "I will, be thou..."<br />When the will is brought into complete co-operation with God as the principle of life, every moment the one question concerning everything is: "What is God's will?" You have no other question. Not "What do I like? What do I want?" but "God's will." Then there will come a time, when, in the enduement of the power of the Holy Spirit, you may turn to an evil spirit in another, and say, "In the Name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out." Under such circumstances, the Spirit of God will bear witness to what is done in faith, and it will be God's will manifested through you. This shows what the devil has to gain by making you believe you are to have no "will of your own." Understand that God works His works through you, by bringing your will into co-action with His, and enabling you to speak the word of authority over the enemy in His Name.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">God's will in suffering.<br />GOD'S WILL IN SUFFERING. In Luke xxii. 42, we read: "Not My will, but Thine be done." These words, spoken in Gethsemane, indicate that Christ put His will on God's side, in the awful anguish He was going through. The pressure was so strong that His sweat became as great drops of blood. "Not My will, but Thine," was the declaration of His attitude as He set His will. He had come to the same choice just before—"Now is My soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour?"<br />"Shall I say, `Father, save Me'?" "No," but "Father, glorify Thy Name." Christ put His will for God's glory. And as He put His will on God's side against this awful pressure, He was heard, He was sustained. Then an angel came and ministered to Him.<br />If you too will make this the central principle of the spiritual life, and set the helm of your will unvaryingly to choose God's will because it is God's will, then He will apply to your life Christ's victory on Calvary in such a way, as to endue you with power, for the deliverance of others from the power of evil spirits.<br />HOW THE LORD KNEW THE WILL OF GOD. The Lord Jesus knew the will of God in His spirit. See John iv. 4: "He must needs go through Samaria." The literal rendering is that "It was binding upon Him." It was God's will that He should go, and He knew it, because His spirit was pliable. If you are to know the will of God you must not have a hard or unbending spirit. You need a spirit so flexible that it can move whichever way God wants, and I do not see how we are going to know and walk in the will of God, in harmony with God's Word, unless we consent to this walk in the spirit. If you insist that such and such a course must be taken to-morrow, you have not left yourself open to the will of God to effect any change. The Lord does not seem to have had inflexibly fixed plans. "But are we to make no plans?" you ask. Yes, but they should be made in such a way that you can drop them, if necessary, in a minute. You will not walk continuously in the will of God until you have learnt how to be pliable to His will.<br />A flexible spirit to know God's will.<br />You must have a flexible spirit. That is one of the first principles of revival. A meeting that cannot become elastic and subject to the movements of God, becomes a dead block in the way of the Spirit. The human spirit must be so sensitive to the Holy Spirit that just as He spoke to Philip, and said "Join yourself to this chariot," so He may make known His will to you, and get as ready a response.<br />An adaptable spirit is essential to fulfil the will of God. Christ's spirit was adaptable enough to respond to the needs and questions of Nicodemus. The will of God will be known in your spirit according to the attitude of the person who comes to you. If your spirit is closed, you can pass on no living truth to that person, probably because they are not ready.<br />If you traced and followed the delicate sense of your spirit it would become acute, and God could then make His will known to you—all in harmony with the written Word, for the Holy Spirit revealing in your spirit God's mind cannot contradict Himself in God's Word. It would mean a great deal if we all walked in the spirit and knew when we were speaking from the spirit and when merely from the mind, and therefore empty of spiritual power.<br />The spirit should illuminate the mind, but when the spirit drops out of co-operation with the Holy Spirit, the mind is left without the needed assistance, and its product is very poor. When you are in the spiritual plane and know the Holy Spirit in your spirit, you recognise there are grave consequences attached to all you do. You cannot go back from the spirit life without stepping into a pathway of failure. The moment you drop from the plane that you have reached you begin to lose spirit strength, and if you do not recover your place quickly you will ultimately sink into deeper failure. The loss not only affects yourself but everyone with whom you have to deal. You may wrongly interpret or reject the words of a servant of God, and that would cause you to go back without knowing it. This hindrance to your spirit life will be maintained while that wrong thought or attitude is held.<br />If the Holy Spirit has once had the quickening of your mind so that your mind becomes capable of doing what it could not accomplish naturally, then in order to maintain that you will be obliged to live up to the highest point you have attained, and be satisfied with nothing below.<br />If, after reaching an altitude in the spirit life, you descend, even without knowing it, you will find yourself in the realm where the powers of darkness can buffet you almost as they like. God only manifests His Divine power when you are living and acting at the point to which you have already attained (see Phil. iii. 16).</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Shrinking from doing God's will.<br />When you find yourself defeated, you may ask what is the meaning of the interference of the enemy? Why cannot the stream of the power of God go on? You think it is this and that, and deal with it, but there is no change. Then, after asking God for light, you discover that you were shrinking from what you know you ought to do. How can the Holy Spirit work when you thus cease from co-operation? A little hesitation will push you below the point. Then you say, "Lord, I am going to do what Thou dost desire!" Then the power of God comes in, and all goes well.<br />The enemy will endeavour to hide from you the fact that you are in a lower plane, by dulling the conscience and giving all sorts of excuses to account for what is going on, until you are in such a state as to be almost powerless. Then he inflicts his suffering, and you have the greatest difficulty in getting on your feet again. Live up to the hilt of the spirit life to which God has brought you, then you will have the power of God to do the will of God at the highest point God seeks from you.<br />See a few more examples of how Christ walked in the will of God:<br />John iv. 34 shows the Spirit of God guiding the Lord at the well, when, in answer to the disciples who were anxiously inquiring about His food, He said, "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me..." In John vii. 3, 6, His brethren said to Him, "Depart from hence...Jesus saith to them, My time is not yet come, but your time is alway ready." Here is the restraining power of the Spirit, so that He is not moved by His brethren.<br />Again in John xi. 5, 6, we read, "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. When He had heard therefore that he was sick He abode two days still in the same place where he was." His were spiritual bonds. It was God's will first. Though misjudged by those He loved, He did not move. How did He know God's will? He was never moved from outside; never moved by a family taunt, by sarcasm and unbelief; never moved even by the calls of love. He was in spiritual bonds to do God's will.<br />The consent of the will.<br />It is important to remember that both GOD AND SATAN REQUIRE THE CONSENT OF THE WILL. The will of the unsaved, even though it be enslaved by Satan is capable of choice. "Whosoever will may come and take of the water of life freely." So man must put his will on God's side for Him to work. "If any man will to do..." God's part in giving you power to "will" is referred to in Phil. ii. 13. "It is God that worketh in you to will..." i.e., He works in you up to the point of your "willing"—He does not "will" instead of you. Man's will needs God's power to energize it. Apart from it, it is mere will-worship (Col. ii. 23). Paul said, "To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I know not." Man may also set his will against God's will"—This they willingly are ignorant of" (2 Peter iii. 5). The servant that knew His will and did it not, shall be beaten with many stripes (Luke xii. 47).<br />Now as to the danger of THE WILL OUT OF ACTION.<br />Passivity of will arises through a wrong conception of surrender. Romans xii. 1, gives the true meaning of surrender. "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service...that ye may prove what is...[the] will of God." To walk after the will of God the spirit requires a voluntary act of the will. Your will must guide or CONTROL your spirit. "The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets (1 Cor. xiv. 32). For instance, your spirit may go out into an ecstasy, or a strain, beyond the volitional control of your will. Then it goes too far.<br />YOUR SPIRIT MUST ALWAYS BE KEPT WITHIN THE CONTROL OF YOUR VOLITION. Reference has been made to the spirit being lifted, but when the spirit is liberated and buoyant, then the new plan of the powers of darkness is to drive your spirit, and drive your body. Some people are simply being driven on by the enemy—they are always in a strain, always on the stretch, running after something. It means that the spirit is being drawn out by the powers of darkness.<br />The Lord Jesus knew the will of God in His spirit because it was always in perfect poise—never strained, never crushed, never elated, never driven, never slow. When He was going to raise the girl from the dead, He was stopped on the way, and He had time to stay and attend to the needs before Him. The ideal is a spirit in perfect poise. It is in that condition you learn how to watch and resist the powers of darkness coming against your spirit, and forcing you on, or, more often, forcing you down.<br />The relationship of the will to the spirit may be illustrated by that of the string to the kite. The string of a kite, which holds it steady, is its power. The moment it is let go it is lost, and drops. The Lord Jesus walked in the will of God, by knowing it in His spirit and in His intelligence.<br />The reverse to the action of the will is passivity. When you find your will passive and slow in action you can bring it into action by saying "I have a will." Then having a will of your own, the principle to safeguard its action, is the Lord's own attitude and choice, "I seek not Mine own will."<br />May the Spirit of God teach us how to follow the steps of our Pattern, and like the Son of God so walk with God in seeking and doing His will, that we stand perfect and complete in all the will of God (Col. iv. 12).</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">MORE THAN CONQUERORS<br />(The following is a booklet by Jessie Penn-Lewis, More Than Conquerors. The material in the addendum, "The Foundation of the Victorious Life," was excerpted from a book by Jessie Penn-Lewis, The Cross: The Touchstone of Faith, pp. 18-19. Both were originally published by The Overcomer Literature Trust, Parkston, Poole, Dorset, England.)<br />"In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." (Romans 8. 37.)<br />Calvary means that Christ not only bore on that Tree your sins, but that He carried to the Tree the sinner—carried you there. When you come to the point of recognising that God does not patch up the old life, but calls upon you to reckon it crucified, and to take from Him a new one, you will find that the new life has in it all the characteristics which belong to it. The old Adam-life has its own characteristics, and the new Adam-life has its own characteristics.<br />It is necessary to repeat this message of the Cross again and again, for the truth only lays hold of us "line upon line" until at last it grips us and effectually works in us who believe.<br />Moreover, to that Cross of Calvary, Christ, as the Representative Man, not only carried the sinner, but on that Cross and through the death of the Cross He utterly conquered Satan (Colossians 2. 15). There is therefore no need on the part of a Christian for a trace of fear of Satan. Satan is an absolutely conquered foe to the soul who knows:<br />THE VICTORY OF CALVARY.<br />"Fear hath torment." The finished work of Calvary ends the fear of death (Hebrews 2. 14, 5), and fear of the prince of death.<br />On the Cross Christ took away your sins, so that you might have the blotting out of them through His blood, when all the wicked spirits of Satan cannot bring them up to you, and throw them at you. God Himself has blotted them out saying, "I will remember them no more" (Hebrews 8. 12). That is salvation from the guilt and penalty of sin. But it is vitally important you understand that when God blots out sin, He blots out on the condition that you part with sin. God cannot blot out what you will not part with.<br />When you know that your sins are blotted out, and you are really begotten of God by the impartation of a new life, there are three aspects of the life of victory through the Cross that you need to understand.<br />1. VICTORY OVER SIN.<br />The sinner saved through the death of Christ has a right to break with sin. He can say, in the Name of the Conquering Jesus, "No sin has a right to master me"—e.g., you may say, as you stand on Romans 6. 6, "No doubtful habit has a right to me. I absolutely refuse, in the Name of the One Who died for me, to be in bondage to it." As a redeemed soul you have a right to say this, because on the Cross the work has been done for you, and you are to lay hold of all that Christ has obtained for you and appropriate it (Romans 6. 13). Victory over sin in this way is not any glory to you, for it is not gained through your human will, nor your human power, but through the finished work of Christ on the Cross. He obtained the forgiveness of sins for you; He obtained the victory for you over sin and death.<br />The lonely Cross, think of it! See there the Lamb! As Moody said, "God conquered the lion of hell with a slain Lamb!" And there it was done. Oh that the Church of Christ would rise up in the Name of Jesus Christ her Redeemer, and refuse to be in bondage to sin, or to Satan. The Church should rise up in the name of Christ, declaring that all the works of the devil against her (1 John 3. 8) can be destroyed, because Christ was manifested to destroy them.<br />Let us get hold of the fact of the Calvary victory, and of the truth that Satan is a conquered foe. Christ conquered him at Calvary. When you stand on Romans 6, reckoning the old life crucified, your spirit becomes joined to Christ—"Joined to the Lord, one spirit!" You are not going out against a great and terrible spirit-foe alone. Your spirit "joined to the Lord" is "one spirit" with Him. Christ is the Conqueror, and you are joined in one Spirit with the Conqueror.<br />It is not that God gives you victory by yourself. He gives you victory by your being joined in spirit to the Victor. "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4. 4). Then are we going to cower and tremble before the enemy, when we are joined to the Conqueror, joined to the Victor—joined in one spirit? But you do not know that "joining" until you come to Calvary, and stand steadily on the fact of the old Adam-life crucified with Christ, because the "old life" gets in the way, and is liable to do some "fighting" which is of no avail against the foe, but rather gives him ground and power over you. Therefore, the old Adam-life must be reckoned crucified, because it is material for Satan, and if the old life is not kept in the position of death every moment, it is the material Satan puts his "fiery darts" in. Satan has full rights over all the old creation. He knows that part of the old life in you which is not "crucified," and he directs all his fiery darts to that spot. These darts have a bit of fire from the pit (James 3. 6) at their tip, and when they get into you they burn and blaze, and make you "blaze."<br />Whenever you see a "blaze" in a Christian you may know where it comes from. It is from the old life<br />"set on fire of hell."<br />Child of God, do you "fire up," and say things which you ought not to say? Do you flash out unkind things, "set on fire" by Satan? This is not the "fight" that wins, but the fight that fails every time. Do you see the importance of Romans 6? Suppose without standing on Romans 6 you set out to take the aggressive against Satan, how he would laugh! He would say, "Why the `stuff' that belongs to me is there; they have so much of my `goods'." You cannot bind the "strong man," because his goods are in and about you. Therefore you must take your stand at Calvary, reckoning the old life crucified moment by moment, so that the fire from the pit may not fasten upon you, and set on fire the "wheel of nature"—that nature which already has the poison of the serpent in it through his victory over man in Eden.<br />There must be for this battle with the lion of hell the spirit of the Lamb—the Lion-Lamb—the very Spirit of Jesus. It must be, when the fiery darts come, that they find in you the Lamb-spirit, however much people may tread on you, ill-treat you and put upon you—there must not be any blaze in you, which you call "righteous indignation!" The Calvary deliverance is needed, and the Lamb-spirit of Calvary.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">2. VICTORY IN SUFFERING.<br />This aspect of the victorious life is to be found in Romans 8. 35-39. The Apostle says, "We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter....In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us!" "More than conquerors" when you are ill-treated, and when for Christ's sake you are counted, like Christ, a lamb only fit for slaughter. "For Thy sake...killed!" It is not nice to be considered a sheep fit for slaughter; it is not "dignified"! There is no room for pride here. There was not much room for "dignity" in the Lord Christ's Calvary death. When He was led along the road with a crown of thorns upon His brow, with the blood upon His face, after walking seven miles during the night, as He was moved from place to place—there was not much "dignity"—there was "no beauty that we should desire Him." It was not a "dignified" death! He was put to open shame!<br />With God's children, the thing which hurts them most is the thing that touches their dignity. They do not mind being put to shame before God, but they do mind being put to shame before men. How they blush over anything that humiliates! But that all dies when the believer feels that he is really<br />suffering with Christ.<br />It does not say "killed" for "your own sake," but "for Christ's sake." It does not say beaten and whipped because you have been wrong, but beaten and whipped because you have been right! If ye do well and suffer for it, and take it patiently, this is grace; but if ye do wrong and suffer for it, and bear it patiently, what thanks have ye (see 1 Peter 2). This is victory and being a conqueror in suffering for Christ. If you do wrong, and "suffer for it," you must not call that "suffering with Christ." "For Thy sake...killed...in all these things more than conquerors!" This is the triumph of the spirit of the Lamb, in suffering "for Jesus' sake," and this is victory over the world.<br />3. VICTORY OVER SATAN.<br />In having victory over Satan you conquer in quite another way. Enduring grief, suffering wrongfully, with patience and a loving spirit is the true spirit-life of one who is joined to Christ, in the attitude to the human beings who are the visible and immediate cause of his suffering, but this is not to be the attitude to the devil. You have not to be a "lamb" to the devil. Be a "lamb" to the people, be patient with them, love them, be "more than conqueror" by showing the Spirit of the Lamb to them, but at the same time you must take an attitude of resistance against the devil according to 1 Peter 5. 8, 9 and James 4. 7.<br />There are therefore three aspects of the victorious life—(1) The aspect towards sin, Romans 6, "dead indeed unto sin"; (2) the aspect towards the people, "more than conquerors" when they "kill" you; and (3) the aspect to the devil, "Resist the devil" in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Ephesians 6 depicts this last aspect of the victorious life in resistance to the foe. When the Lord Jesus was the "Lamb" towards men, He was a "Lion" to the devil. We are told that He shook off from Himself the principalities and powers and put them to open shame, and what was defeat in the eyes of men was victory in the eyes of God. What was "shame" in the eyes of men was glory in the eyes of God. Towards Satan and all his wicked hosts Christ was a LION—the Lion of Judah.<br />In Ephesians 6 we see something of the spirit-warfare—the Lion-life—against the powers of darkness. Here we see the soldier, with the spirit of the soldier—"Henceforth be strong." On the human side Christ was "crucified through weakness," but He was "strong"—stronger than the "strong man." His name is called Strong—"When the Stronger than he shall come upon him." So Christ's name is the "Stronger than he." He is stronger than the "Strong man." So to the believer standing "in Christ" and facing Satan-wards, the message is "Be strong." You must not now talk of "weakness." You may be weak in your humanity and in yourself, but you must be<br />"strong in the Lord."</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">One of the devices of the devil is to get the children of God to accept weakness, because of the "weakness of the Cross" (2 Corinthians 13. 3, 4), but that is the human side towards men. In the spiritual sphere the rousing word is "BE STRONG!" On the earthly side, "I will boast of my weakness." said Paul. But in facing the foe "Be strong!" "From henceforth be STRONG!" It does not say "Try to be strong," it says "BE strong." When God says BE, He gives the power to be. He said, "Let there BE light," and there was light! So whenever God says to you "BE so-and-so," say "Amen, I AM so-and-so—"—i.e. IT IS SO! God speaks the word, you appropriate it, and it becomes fact as you act it. GOD does it. So God says "Be strong!" "Let the weak say, I AM STRONG!" Why have you to to say it? Because in the spiritual realm, words create. Christ said, "He shall have whatever he saith." In the spiritual realm there are no empty words; what you say is what comes about. Thus you need to be careful of your words. When you walk as a "natural man" in the earthly sphere you may say words that have little effect, but if you walk in the spiritual sphere you will need to watch that you do not contradict your faith by your words.<br />If you say "God tells me to 'BE strong,' and therefore<br />I am strong<br />by His strength," then strength comes in. The devil knows the laws of the spiritual sphere, and he whispers, "Oh, you do feel bad today!" and you say, "I am bad!" But God says, "Be strong," then you say, "By faith in God I am strong!" Satan whispers, "You are going to break down," and you say, "I believe I shall break down!" and you find yourself really going "down." This is the law in the spiritual sphere, yet few of us understand the power of words in that sphere. "Let the weak SAY, I am strong!"<br />BE STRONG! In yourself? No; "IN THE LORD." That is a position. It is not outside the Lord, but is "In the Lord." Stand "in the Lord." Take care you never stand anywhere else. Keep your faith set on the fact:<br />"I am in Christ"<br />and Christ is in me. I am not meeting things alone—I am personally weak, but Christ is strong. I am powerless, but Christ is mighty. I am strong in Christ; I have His strength, His power. "I stand in the Lord!" Not remembering their place in Christ, and "with Christ in God," many children of God are so "weak." You place them in an exposed position in the battle, and they run away. You hardly dare tell them some things you have to conquer by prayer, because they get so frightened. It is appalling that God has such a weak Church, weak in the conflict with sin and Satan, weak in its attitude to the world, all because it has not learnt the inner message of the Cross.<br />"HIS MIGHT." Let us meet the lion of hell with this verse. God says, "Be strong," and "stand" in the "strength of His might." It will take every bit of fear away. It is "MIGHT." Exactly the same word that Paul uses in Ephesians 1 that Christ was "raised from the dead" by the "might" of God—by the "strength of HIS MIGHT." Let us therefore go forward with God in steady hourly Victory, until the Lord comes, and we are gathered together unto Him.<br />(Addendum)<br />THE FOUNDATION OF THE VICTORIOUS LIFE<br />The sixth of Romans is not an aspect of the truth, but the FOUNDATION TRUTH upon which every believer must stand, to know anything about victory. It not only reveals the very heart of Calvary, but the very heart of the resurrection. Calvary means the death-identification of the believer with Christ, so that he lives and moves in a spiritual sphere in resurrection life. "Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. LIKEWISE RECKON YE also..." writes the Apostle to the Romans.<br />But we need to see too that there is a life side to the sixth of Romans, the resurrection side. On the resurrection side of the Cross, "death" hath no more dominion. The negative side of "death" should not be dwelt upon to the exclusion of the positive LIFE SIDE of union with Christ. The death is to be reckoned an accomplished fact, every moment. But "Christ being raised, dieth no more." He is ALIVE, and the believer identified by faith with Him in death, is united to Him in His life on the life-side of the Cross.<br />The believer must reckon to everything that he HAS died—not that he is going to die. If he again and again asks God to "put to death" some one point over and over again, he will never realize the positive life power. Reader are you saying, "I have not `died' to this and that." Take your position now on Romans 6. 6, and then "reckon" yourself "ALIVE UNTO GOD," and as you are alive unto God, you will surely come into the conflict with the spiritual foes in the spiritual sphere, described in Ephesians 6. 10-18, and standing on the foundation fact of Romans 6, go on to victory.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">(The following is an article by Jessie Penn-Lewis. It originally appeared in The Overcomer, No. 41, published by The "Overcomer" Office, Leicester, England, May 1918.)<br />"That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death; that is, the devil" (Heb. ii. 14).<br />The Cross means not only the destruction of the fallen creation poisoned by the serpent, and the birthplace of a new race, but it eventually brings about the actual destruction of the serpent who was the original cause of the Fall. On the Cross the Victor of Calvary destroyed the destroyer. This is wonderfully depicted in the foreshadowing of Calvary given in the lifting up of the serpent in the wilderness, and referred to by the Lord as the picture of His Cross, and His death at Calvary.<br />As one has said "The serpent is not the type of Christ. The serpent had poisoned the people; Christ had not. The type consists in this, that the death of the serpent was the triumph of the Saviour." The fallen race put to death in the Person of the Representative Man; the curse of God on the fallen Adam carried out; and the serpent himself destroyed through the very death he had brought into the world, is a brief and concentrated description of the Cross. Hence Paul writes that on the Cross the Lord Jesus Christ stripped Himself of principalities and powers, and put them to open shame, triumphing over them by the Cross.<br />An old writer has a very suggestive note on this passage, which opens out its meaning. He says: "The fallen flesh has been taken possession of by the powers and principalities of evil—it is the `armour' in which they have made themselves strong;" and therefore when Jesus overcame them, He put off "the likeness of sinful flesh," and having unclothed Himself, He made an open show of the powers and principalities.<br />How wonderfully divine the plan! "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself" (2 Cor. v. 19). The Creator in the Person of His Son, taking upon Himself the sins of the whole world—came in the likeness of sinful flesh, or "flesh of sin" (Rom. viii. 8), yet without SIN—and partaking of flesh and blood, formed a bond of union with the fallen race, that He in His divine personality should carry that fallen Adam-life to the Cross, and there suffer the penalty of death, which was its inevitable due and end; so that for the fallen creature He might break a way back to God, and become the Head of a new race, built up and formed out of His very nature and substance.<br />This is the meaning of the Cross in its divine purpose, and the way of victory for fallen man to triumph over the world, the flesh and the devil. This is the meaning of the Fall—the fallen flesh taken possession of by the spirit of Satan. This is the answer of Calvary to Satan, and to sin: the fallen creation crucified on the Cross, that every man may have the option of leaving the old race, and breaking away from its federal head, the first Adam, begin again "in Christ" a new creation.<br />The Cross is God's destroying weapon, to destroy the old creation (Rom. vi. 6), to destroy the fallen wisdom which set up itself against the wisdom of God (1 Cor. ii. 8), to destroy Satan (Heb. ii. 14), and eventually to destroy death itself (1 Cor. xv. 54, Rev. xx. 14). Through that Cross where (potentially) sin, Satan and fallen man were destroyed, then when the full results of the redemptive scheme will reach their full fruition, there shall come about a "new heavens," cleansed from every trace of the revolt of the fallen angels; and a "new earth" freed from every mark of the curse of the fall; inhabited by a new race, with every trace of the old fallen creation eliminated.<br />The Son of God will then see accomplished in its entirety, that which He was manifested on earth to do. The fruit of His lonely death on the Cross will have its full outworking, when "He shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when He shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power" (1 Cor. xv. 24), having taken back both in the seen and unseen worlds, from the revolting Archangel Satan, who is at last finally be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. xx. 10), "prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. xxv. 41). The Cross destroys the serpent. Hallelujah.<br />"THE LAST ENEMY THAT SHALL BE DESTROYED IS DEATH" (1 Cor. xv. 26). The Christ will reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet. By the Cross the one who has the power of death is destroyed, and finally death itself abolished, "death shall be no more" (Rev. xxi. 4), and "there shall be no curse anymore" (Rev. xxii. 3).<br />Oh! wondrous Cross, and wondrous Saviour! The fallen race of Adam DESTROYED for the creation of a new race! The wisdom of fallen man DESTROYED in its exaltation against the Creator! The "Serpent" who fell from heaven, and drew down part of the host of heaven, and the whole race of man in his Fall, DESTROYED, and finally death, the result of the Fall, DESTROYED. The cross destroys the Serpent, and all that came into the world through the Serpent. Hallelujah.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">TRANSLATED OUT OFTHE POWER OF DARKNESS<br />(The following is an excerpt from an article by Jessie Penn-Lewis, "Translated Out of the Power of Darkness." It appeared in The Overcomer, Vol. 3, published by The "Overcomer" Office, Leicester, England, September 1911. It was later revised and reprinted in booklet form. Watchman Nee's translated excerpt was based on portions of both versions.)<br />"It is God who has delivered us out of the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dearly-loved Son." (Col. i:13; Weymouth).<br />What is God's purpose concerning the believer in Christ, and the powers of darkness? To see this we must turn to the work of Christ at Calvary, and understand Calvary's victory. On the Cross of Calvary He flung off from Himself the principalities and powers of evil, and put them to open shame. The soul identified with Christ in His death is translated with Him, and in Him, "out of the kingdom of darkness" into the "reigning life" of the Ascended Lord. Through Calvary's victory you have been in God's purpose translated out of that Kingdom of darkness, not to be walking in its sphere, not to take its view point, nor its standards, its ways, its wickedness.<br />But before this becomes actual experience you need first to apprehend God's full ideal for you, and that He has translated you out of the power of darkness, so that the prince of darkness HAS NO FURTHER CLAIM ON YOU, NO RIGHT to you; for God "hath raised us up together (with Christ) and made us to sit with Him" in His reigning life. However much you may come short of it in experience, remember you must never lower God's ideal for you; but ever keep in sight His intention, and ask Him to lead you on to the life He purposes for you. Your position is that you are "TRANSLATED OUT OF THE POWER OF DARKNESS." Then how much hold will you practically give the enemy in yourself, and your life? What is your WILL in the matter? What is your attitude towards Him? Is your will what God's will is—"translated out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son;" raised, and made to sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus?"<br />THE PRACTICAL WAY OF VICTORY.<br />Now as to the practical outworkings of this position. First of all there must be simplicity of faith in Christ and purity of thought toward Him. Paul said, "I fear lest as the serpent beguiled Eve, your MIND should be corrupted from the simplicity of faith that is in Christ." Paul would hardly be afraid of what could not take place, or be anxious about the impossible. So you cannot say it is "not possible" for a Christian to be beguiled. Eve was innocent, yet she was beguiled; and the knowledge of this fact led Paul to be anxious about this for the Corinthians. We must walk in simplicity of faith and purity of thought, as those who are delivered, and translated, and raised together with Christ.<br />Next, there is the need of care in speech (Matt. v. 37) and after that forgiveness—"lest Satan should get an advantage" (2 Cor. ii, 11). The unforgiving spirit always gives Satan an advantage. Paul appears to have been keenly on the alert against the Adversary, taking care that he did not gain any advantage in his actions. In 1 Tim. iii, 6, we read, "Not a novice, lest being puffed up he fall into the judgment of the devil." Apparently the devil has a right to judge any who are "puffed" up. The Apostle is speaking about a Christian—albeit a young one—and of the possibility of this believer falling under the "judgment of the devil" directly he gives him ground. The enemy seems to have certain rights which even God respects, and that right includes the power to "judge," or have some power over any believer who gives him occasion. What force this gives to Ephes. iv, 27, "GIVE NO PLACE to the devil!" In all these passages you have warnings to the children of God.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">SATAN AS A ROARING LION.<br />Satan also goes about in various disguises. Peter writes, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as A ROARING LION, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist, stedfast in the faith" (1 Peter, v. 8, 9). Are you quite sure you must be a special exception, and that he will not "devour you, nor touch you? If not, then "be sober," never be off guard one minute. Be watchful, for your adversary "walketh about." He is your adversary as well as Christ's, and he goes about roaring as a lion, making a noise which deafens and frightens so many. The adversary "roars" by stirring up "flesh and blood." He as a spirit must find channels for his working. If he "roars" he must find a human voice to roar through. Therefore the children of God should be on guard, and never act under the pressure of others, nor come to decisions in a time of storm. When there is clamour and strife of tongues, they should wait and be still. The adversary's "roar" is to drive them into a false step, and out of the calm, clear knowledge of the will of God. Always recognise the adversary behind flesh and blood when there is a clamour of voices, and stand still in the position of victory. When your eyes are opened to see and understand the devices of the enemy, you will lose sight of "flesh and blood," and realise that you must never act under the clamour of men. Alas, alas, the roaring lion can hide behind the greatest saint! Not with the saint's conscious co-operation, of course, but none the less true on that account. This is one of the solemn things we have to learn to-day, as we discover how the enemy can use some of God's best children unconsciously to themselves, simply because they are not awake to his power and his devices.<br />The reason for this is that Satan works on the "natural" man. He makes the "natural man" come to you with his viewpoint (see Matt. xvi, 22, 23), and his alarming pictures but you do not see the "roaring lion" in that; so you get frightened and wonder whether you are in the will of God; you get confused and lose your guidance, and the devil accomplishes his purpose.<br />SATAN AS AN ANGEL OF LIGHT.<br />Then you will find in 2 Cor. xi, 14, that the prince of the air also goes about as an ANGEL OF LIGHT. As a lion he seeks to DEVOUR, as an angel of light he seeks to deceive. Satan is a deceiver. If he can appear clothed in light—the very nature of God—then your "vision" can be no protection to you. When Satan makes a roar behind the voices of men your ears are no protection to you, and when he comes as an angel of light, vision is not enough to detect him. You say "it was ALL LIGHT" so it must be "of God;" yet the prince of darkness can appear as "light" i.e., as God. You must therefore have more ways of detecting and testing him than by vision, i.e., eyesight (even spiritual eyesight) and hearing. The safest detecting test is "fruit" (Matt. vii, 20), and KNOWLEDGE OF BASIC PRINCIPLES WHICH ETERNALLY DIVIDE BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN. Between Him who is truth itself, and Satan, the "father of lies."<br />In 2 Cor. xii, 7, we see how the adversary goes about as A TORMENTOR of the most godly and saintly servants of God. He "buffeted" Paul—and he did it with God's permission—"A MESSENGER OF SATAN TO BUFFET ME." Paul's resource was prayer, "I besought the Lord," he said, and then came strength to "glory in his weakness." In Luke xxii, 31, we see also he goes about as a sifter of the children of God. He attacks them in all these varied ways, "as a roaring lion," an "angel of light," a buffeter and a sifter.<br />"YES" TO GOD, AND "NO" TO THE DEVIL.<br />In relation to all these four aspects of the adversary's workings, there is one strong central position which the believer must hold toward them all. We have it tersely described in James iv, 7. "SUBMIT YOURSELVES TO GOD, RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE;" which briefly means, say "Yes" to God, and "No" to the devil. "Joined to the Lord one spirit" your place is with Christ on the throne "far above all principality and power," and this position of victory you must hold persistently by the power of the Holy Ghost, whilst in regard to the approaches and attacks of Satan, you will, as the deciding factor, persistently assert your choice to walk with God. From the POSITION OF VICTORY you are to be awake to what Satan seeks to do to your circumference in all his various disguises, and from your centre-position to say in your will just "Yes" or "No"—i.e., "Yes" to God, "No" to the devil.<br />Granted your spirit in union with Christ, how can you be free from the bondage of the enemy in your circumference; that is to say, in mind or body? The spirit is in union with Christ in victory, but the enemy can attack the MIND with depression, and with dullness, or inflame the imagination, and the body, with its nerves and muscles, in fact, all that is in the circumference.<br />If the believer understands his true position in Christ, and maintains a simple attitude, of (1) submission to all that is of God, and (2) resistance to all that comes from the adversary, these attacks do cease. The "fight" is to maintain the attitude of victory in Christ; and to keep the helm of the ship set towards God; the "resistance" is a refusal to yield to Satan at all costs—THEN HE DOES FLEE.<br />But suppose the adversary appears as "light," and gets the "Yes" of the will under disguise? Alas, it is Yes, even though the believer gave the "yes" under deception, and it gives the adversary power over the believer TO THE EXTENT OF THE "YES" WHICH THE DECEIVER OBTAINED BY FRAUD.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">THE EXPOSING OF THE ENEMY'S WILES<br />This is the reason why believers need light on the devices of the enemy. If the Lord Jesus is a reality to you, surely you can bear some light on the foe who is always seeking to trap your feet. How are you going to resist the foe if you do not know when he attacks you? If you do not know that he can take hold of your imagination, and torture you with his pictures, or your mind, and fill it with all kinds of thoughts, how are you going to resist him at these points. But immediately you RECOGNIZE that it is the adversary, he cannot stand the light, he will FLEE from you.<br />The Lord gave much light upon the characteristics and aims of the powers of darkness, which enable us to understand their workings, for they are the same now as then. For instance, the Lord said about the wicked spirit, that when it goes out of a man it goes "through waterless places seeking rest," then because it can find no relief, and no sustenance, it says it will go back to "MY HOUSE." This shows that a human being is looked upon by them as a "house" wherein they can find REST. This throws great light upon their condition and their desires. They want relief and nourishment, and outside the human "house," this is to them a world of waterless places.<br />We see therefore why Satan's emissaries seek so actively to gain entrance to human bodies, and why when they can get a footing they seem to feed upon the vital power of the life, and dry up the sensibilities and even sympathies, withering up what has been expressively described as "the milk of human kindness." This explains the inhuman actions of fanaticism, and the cruelties performed under the name of religion, which is "not after Christ"; and how even "supernatural experiences" to-day act upon the man in such a way, as to rob him of all tenderness and kindness, for every touch of the Satanic power hardens, and blinds men to the needs and feelings of others.<br />We must speak plainly about these things, because of the paralysis that has come upon the spiritual section of the church, from these subtle workings of the enemy. Strife and division may be the fruit of the carnal life; but when there is lack of sympathy and tenderness amongst the fully-surrendered souls, we know it is not from the "carnal" life, but from the unrecognized workings of the enemy, causing the drying up of sympathy and love to others, joined to the same Lord. Whenever you find that "supernatural" experiences harden you, you may gravely question the source, for everything that comes from God makes you tender and sensitive. Note that metallic sound in the voice which tells of the adversary's interference, and see how he brings the believer into bondage, and makes him hard, unreasonable, powerless and stony; whereas everything that comes from the Holy Spirit liberates, and quickens; increases tenderness, sympathy, acuteness of conscience, and power of discernment of right and wrong.<br />The reason also why many Christians do not get into full liberty in the life, lies in the fact that the Holy Spirit in the centre of them, is not relied upon to liberate the circumference. Many receive the fulness of the Spirit, but lose all the power of it, because there is a working of the enemy on their circumference which they are not aware of.<br />THE CONDITION FOR GOD'S PROTECTION<br />Full deliverance depends upon the recognition of the possibility of these things. But, you may say, "If I trust God to keep me, how can the adversary thus attack my body, or mind?" We need to understand that all God's promises are conditional. If we trust God to keep us, and the conditions are not fulfilled, then our "faith is vain," i.e. if you trust God to keep you, and at the same moment FULFIL THE CONDITIONS for the enemy's working, God does not stop him working. We must earnestly seek to know the conditions upon which God can do what we ask Him to do, otherwise we may be terribly deceived.<br />This explains why, when we trust God to keep us on a certain thing, we have yet made mistakes and blunders in relation to it. These facts have perplexed logical minds, but they can be explained. God's children are not careful to examine the ground upon which they may expect God to keep them. Again, God will not "keep" you without your watching. You must watch, and ask Him for vision and power and knowledge to recognise the attacks of the enemy on you, so that you may work with God in the keeping, i.e. "He that is begotten of God keepeth himself, that the wicked one toucheth him not" (I John v.). He "keeps himself" by watching, by resisting the adversary, by giving him no "advantage" by admitting an unforgiving spirit; by knowing his devices, so as not to yield to them unawares. As he does his part, God does His, and keeps him by giving him the power of the Holy Spirit for all he has to do.<br />If you as a "spiritual" man, will recognize the existence of the powers of darkness always round about you, because you are in a spiritual realm, then in much that comes to you in ordinary life you will recognize one degree to be "natural" causes, and possibly ninety-nine degrees supernatural. Take, for instance, that "tired feeling" which comes upon you unaccountably, and when you "rest" you are no better for it, for you find you become heavier, and you say, "I did not know how tired I was." You need to test this, and not yield to it. You were "tired" it is true, but you let your spirit go down, too, into passivity, with the result that the adversary gained his aim to stop the work, or sidetrack you out of some vital service which he feared. You will quickly grow suspicious of everything when you discover the devices of the foe, and you will reason this way: "I do not know what the enemy has to do with this, but I resist him in any plan he has, and refuse to let him have anything from me." And thus you watch, watch, and watch, and all the time maintain an attitude of "watching" and resisting [refusing], praying continually to the Lord for light upon your path, and upon the foe, and throwing things off you which once you yielded to so quickly, so that there comes increasingly into your spirit buoyant victory.<br />What joy now comes into the life, as you see the way of victory over everything touching you, in your circumference of mind and body. Calm in the central union with Christ, you quietly say "I refuse all ground to evil spirits in mind and body, and I take back from them all I ever gave them by mistake, or through ignorance, and give it all to the Lord Jesus Christ." Then will come a quickening of your memory, and every faculty of mind, or body, liberated for God's use.<br />It is growing upon me, that this light upon the way the powers of darkness have fettered and dulled the minds, and bodies of God's children, will be a mighty factor in the preparation of the Body of Christ for translation. The "earnest of the spirit" is certainly for mind and body (2 Cor. v. 4, 5), but if the adversary is holding much ground unknowingly, how can God's people receive it? It is easy to see now why we have a paralyzed and feeble church, for it has been gripped by the powers of darkness.<br />THE WAY TO BE VICTORIOUS ALL THE TIME<br />Now finally, as to the keeping of the position in the spirit where these things can become true, and where you will have your spirit perpetually in victory. As you walk in victory resisting the devil in his attacks on soul and body, you will find the "wrestling" in spirit, which Paul speaks of in Ephes. vi. 12, become your experience. The enemy will attack your spirit, so that you may lose your centre position of victory, where you detect, and resist his onslaughts on your circumference. For instance, you must understand that if a weight comes on your spirit you lose all buoyancy, and when the weight goes off it there is spring. The first "weight" on the spirit should be dealt with in a moment. Pray that you may be able to recognise quickly, and take the victory at once, so that you may get free quickly. Practise taking "weights" to the Lord immediately. When the spirit is in triumph, the work looks so easy, but once there comes the weight, then the spirit goes down, and how dark everything looks, the work is heavy, the "bogies" are many, and at times, like Elijah, you feel you are going to die! It is when your spirit is in victory, that you have "authority" and "power over all the power of the enemy." The Holy Spirit is the "dunamis" that conquers him, but the Holy Spirit can only manifest this power through a LIBERATED SPIRIT. A "weight" on the spirit crushes it, and prevents the heavenly dunamis going out against the enemy. He knows this, so he attacks your spirit. There follows a tussle; and he says "you must go under," and you say "No, I will not go under, I stand in Christ." He says "You shall go in to yourself," and you say "I won't go in." So the "wrestle" goes on, until at last he flees—put to flight by the Spirit of God, and your co-operation with Him in your attitude of will. When your spirit is thus triumphant, you possess clear vision and perception; but when your spirit is shadowed, the mind is dull, and then the deceiving spirits can decoy you out of the path of God's will. The spirit must be kept pure, and clear, and full of light; and then you see so simply the path the Lord would have you walk in.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">(The following is an excerpt from an article by Evan Roberts. It originally appeared in The Overcomer, Vol. 4, published by The "Overcomer" Office, Leicester, England, February 1912. The paragraphs below reflect the order in Watchman Nee's publication.)<br />If God can do things without prayer in the church, why does He not carry them out in His own time instead of delays and hindrances?...And why does God lay a complaint against the church that she does not pray?...Why did Christ say, "Pray ye the Lord of the Harvest to send forth labourers?" Why did He not send them apart from prayer?<br />...There is value in the expression of prayer. What is the meaning of "Ye have not because ye ask not"? Is it God's unwillingness—i.e., you shall not "get" if you do not ask? Or is it that God sees the need, and He cannot meet the need, until the prayer is made?<br />The cycle of prayer moves in this wise: (1) God wants a thing done; (2) He moves the believer to pray that that thing might be done; (3) God does it in answer to that prayer....There is a thought abroad in the church: "Oh! God works so slowly." He does not. HE WORKS ACCORDING TO THE PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, and according as there is co-operation with Him. Did God work very slowly in Egypt in delivering the bound nation? He did not. He worked for a prolonged season in getting the instrument ready in the wilderness—forty years....God's work is rapidly done when the instruments see to it that the divine conditions are fulfilled. There must be conformity to the laws of God before God can work; and according to the absolute conformity to God's will and laws there is a fulness of operation.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">THE CHIEF PURPOSE OF PRAYER<br />(The following is an article by S.D. Gordon. It originally appeared in The Overcomer, published by The "Overcomer" Office Leicester, England, August 1910.)<br />"Be earnest and unwearied in prayer, being on the alert in it, and in your giving of thanks..." Col. iv. 2. Weymouth.<br />The great thing that makes the difference is not the service, not the life, but God's touch upon them. God always needs human agency. He must have someone to use always.<br />He mostly talks to men through men, and He will use us if we will let Him, but the great thing in all the using is not the agency but Himself.<br />We all need power, the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no power apart from Him—He must be in full control of all power—bodily, mentally and spiritually.<br />Five outlets of power.<br />Five avenues.<br />1.—The Life.<br />What we are.<br />2.—The Lips.<br />What we say.<br />3.—The Service.<br />What we do.<br />4.—The Gold.<br />What we do not keep.<br />5.—The Prayer.<br />What we claim in the Lord Jesus,the Victor's Name.<br />The greatest is number five. The greatest thing anybody can do is to pray. The man pleads only as much as he loves.<br />The greatest thing anybody can do is to pray, but it is not the only thing, but it is the first thing, and the chief thing.<br />If a man must change things by prayer he must first of all be right in his touch with the Father, and that is only possible through our Lord Jesus.<br />Prayer and then the serving, and the sacrificing, and the offering will grow out of prayer.<br />The greatest people in the world are the people who pray—I do not mean those who speak about prayer, or believe in prayer, nor those who can explain nicely about prayer, but I mean the people who take time and pray.<br />Prayer is to give the cream of your thought—of your strength, to the quiet time alone with God for prayer.<br />Take time from something else, something else less important, and there are people who take time, first time for prayer, they are the followers to-day, who are being used of God in defeating the great traitor prince of this world.<br />The word to-night is this. That the full purpose of prayer is not upwards but outwards.<br />The chief purpose of prayer is not Godward, but it is Satanward, i.e. the prayer is always directed to God the Father, in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and in dependence on the Holy Spirit, but the effective drive of the prayer is upon the vast world.<br />All prayer begins yonder, then to a man here, and then back to God. Prayer does not influence God's purpose, but it does influence His actions, because it gives Him the liberty through our willingness to carry out His plan down here in the world—the whole driving purpose of prayer is this:—To join hands with God to defeat the Evil One</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Prayer concerns three:—1. God—to whom we pray.2. Man—who prays.3. Evil One—against whom we pray.<br />In our prayer we men down on earth join hands with God, with Jesus Christ, in utterly turning back, and utterly defeating all the power of the Evil One. See Daniel x. and companion chapter Ephesians vi.<br />We never wrestle against man, "flesh and blood," but against powers, principalities, &c. Paul tells us how to overcome, "withal praying with all supplications," etc., etc. Luke xviii.1-10 (Parable). Three in parable (1) Judge. (2) Widow. (3) Adversary.<br />A prayer picture. The whole drive of the parable story is to get the judge to join with the widow, to foist the attacks of the adversary against her!<br />We never will pray up to the full limit of our power, and to the possibility of prayer, until we realize this, that the whole drive of prayer is to foist the power of the Evil One. "Thy will be done," i.e., "The other will be undone."<br />God needs in His great plan for the world more people who will stay where they have been put. Stay where you have been put with a whole heart and life in full conscious touch with the Lord Jesus Christ.<br />The Evil One is to be defeated. The victory of the Lord Jesus Christ is here. The enemy fears most, next to God, the man who will put his whole life in full touch with the Lord Jesus, and stay where he has been put, and right there keep in prayer.<br />Victory in Jesus' Name is ours. We want to say "Get thee hence Satan, in my master's Name," and claim for the Lord Jesus.<br />The Evil One must turn back before the Lord Jesus. Always keep two in mind when praying:—<br />(1)The Satan of the Book—of great power and of great dignity.<br />His whole concern is regarding this earth, and regarding the race of man—that is his chief concern—not with the outer crowd but in the inner crowd—within the Church. He is subtle, powerful, but not all powerful.<br />(2)The Lord Jesus the Victor.<br />Had a running fight for 33 years from cradle to Calvary, and then Satan thought that he had won, but the third morning came, and our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave His life for us, was Victor, and through Him only can we be ever raised up out of death. While Satan is great, the Lord Jesus is infinitely greater.<br />With a whole life in touch with Jesus Christ, with a heart beating with full witnessing in His power, then we can pray "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done. Deliver us from the Evil One."<br />The greatest need to-day—God's greatest need—is a people who will stay where they have been placed, and keep the whole life in touch with Himself.<br />May there be more of these Victors.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-2557460656874733182007-08-02T06:42:00.000-06:002007-08-02T06:45:45.642-06:00HOW TO BIND THE STRONG MAN<span style="font-size:180%;">(The following is a booklet by Jessie Penn-Lewis. It was published by The "Overcomer" Office, Leicester, England.)<br />(Matt. xii. 29.)<br />"And He was casting out a demon which was dumb. And it came to pass, when the demon was gone out, the dumb man spake; and the multitudes marvelled." (Luke xi. 14, R.V.m.)<br />It was upon this occasion that the Lord Jesus in answer to the charges of the Pharisees, said: "How can one enter into the house of the strong man...except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house." This is not the only place where the Lord plainly described a man as a "house" or habitation of the evil one. In the same chapter He speaks of the unclean spirit cast out, and, finding no other habitation, saying, "I will return into my house," and because no other had taken his place, he is able to "enter in and dwell there" with seven others more evil than himself.<br />The "strong man" is Satan who possesses, or works in human beings by means of his wicked spirits. Satan is as clearly a person as the Lord Jesus Christ is a Person! The Lord Jesus Christ dwells in those He redeems by His Spirit, Who imparts to them the very life of the Son of God, thus making them children of God. In the same way the prince of darkness possesses or controls the fallen race of Adam (1 John v. 19, R.V.) The Apostle says he is "the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience" (Ephes. ii. 2), and the Apostle John emphatically says, "He that doeth sin is of the devil" (1 John iii. 8)—is a partaker of his nature; whilst James writes, "jealousy and faction...is earthly, natural, DEVILISH" (James iii. 14, 15 R.V.m.)<br />Satan is a prince—the head of an hierarchy of evil—ruling countries by means of his dignitaries (Dan. x), and entering into, or controlling, the fallen race of Adam by means of multitudes of wicked spirits. The margin of the R.V. gives the right word—demons.<br />We must clearly distinguish between Satan as "the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience," and the actual inhabiting of men by spirits of evil. In the one it is the prince of the power of the air influencing and working in men through the lusts of the flesh, and of the thoughts, and in the other it is a wicked spirit—or it can be many (Matt. xii. 45)—entering in, and manifesting direct Satanic control of the man.<br />The Lord describes the strong man's attitude when in possession of the man. "FULLY ARMED" HE GUARDS HIS COURTS, and keeps his goods in peace (Luke xi. 21)! How true this is of all who are in the kingdom of darkness! Paul the Apostle describes one way in which the strong man guards his house, when he writes: "The god of this world hath blinded the thoughts of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel should not dawn upon them" (2 Cor. iv. 4, R.V.m.)<br />Until we recognize the strong man "fully armed" at the back of all darkness of thought, and blindness to the Gospel, we shall not do much toward bringing men out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. And until we know how to take heed to the Lord's warning and "FIRST bind the strong man," the attempts we make to "spoil his goods" will only enrage him, and enable him to strengthen his armour, and guard his palace in peace.<br />But there is a "STRONGER THAN HE!" The Lord says, "When a `Stronger than he shall come upon him,' then `He taketh from him his whole armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils'" (Luke xi. 22).<br />There is no difficulty in recognizing the "Stronger than he!" The prophet Isaiah described Him as one with a face more marred than any man's—a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He depicts Him as a "lamb led to the slaughter," and says that "as a sheep before her shearers is dumb...He opened not His mouth." This One—a Lamb—would "divide the spoil with the `strong'..." (Isa. liii.) The "Stronger" than the strong man is the God Man manifested as the Lamb of Calvary. The Lord Christ was the "Stronger than he" before He went to Calvary! He cast out the spirits with His word. Unclean spirits fell down before Him, crying out, "Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?" (Matt. viii. 29). But not until He went to Calvary's Cross did He make it possible to take away the "armour" whereby the strong man keeps his goods in peace. These "goods," in human beings held by the "strong man," consist among other things of a man's love of sin (John iii. 19); his enmity against the God Who loves him (Rom. viii. 7); the lusts of the flesh and of the mind (Ephes. ii. 3); the lust of the eyes, and the vainglory of life (1 John ii. 16).<br />At Calvary the Lamb laid down His life to ransom the captives of the "strong man," and through death bring to nought the works of the devil (Heb. ii. 14). He carried the sins of the sinner—the "goods"—and the sinner himself, to the Cross, so as to take away the "armour" wherein the strong man trusted. On the Cross He provides a way whereby a man's love of sin and his enmity to the God he has rebelled against can be removed through the substitutionary death of his Redeemer. There, as he moment by moment appropriates the death of Christ as the death-blow to his old man (Rom. vi. 6) the desires of the flesh and of the mind are experimentally crucified, and the love of the world, with the vainglory of earth, swept away. Yea, in His own Person the Saviour carried the sinner to the Cross with Him (Rom. vi. 6), redeeming the captive from the "strong man" and taking the "goods" out of the strong man's power!<br />All who thus know the way of victory through the Cross are then sent forth by the Conquering Lord to deliver other captives from their bonds; to "BIND the strong man," and then "spoil his goods"! Breathing into them the very same Spirit of the Lamb which led Him to Calvary, He says: "Behold I send you forth as lambs...I have given you AUTHORITY TO TREAD upon serpents, and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall in any wise hurt you" (Luke x. 3, 19).<br />Servant of the King, thou art sent forth by the Deliverer to do His works! (John xiv. 12). He bids you do what He did! "First bind the strong man" ere you point the captives to Calvary, where the strong man's armour wherein he trusts shall be taken from him.<br />But how? We must first see that the "strong man" has no "armour" covering us wherein he may trust, and for this we need to lay hold of the utmost deliverance from sin and Satan which the Lord wrought out on Calvary for us. Crucified with Christ we have died to sin (See Rom. vi. 1 to 13 for the fullest light on this.)—for sin is the strongest armour wherein the strong man trusts, for all sin is of the devil. "How can Satan cast out Satan?" (Mark iii. 23) said the Lord. If Satan has any hold of you, servant of Christ, you cannot deliver others from his power. Crucified with Christ we have died to sin, and died to the world lying in the evil one (1 John v. 19). But this blessed fact of faith needs carrying out in the keenest practice by constant action of the will in refusing to "let sin reign" in our "mortal bodies." To tamper with sin of any kind will quench the power of the Holy Spirit in us, by which alone we can "bind" the operations of the "strong man" around us. The believer must, therefore, make an entire cleavage with sin on the ground of Calvary (Rom. vi. 6-11), and set his choice to serve God at all costs.<br />As we account ourselves crucified with Christ, and constantly refuse to let sin reign, the whole armour wherein the strong man trusts is withdrawn from him. The all-conquering life of the Risen Lord can then enable us to triumph over the Adversary. Joined to Him in spirit, we are brought into vital union with the </span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">"STRONGER THAN HE."<br />The "Stronger than he"—the Lord Christ—is then, by His Spirit, the Overcomer Who is greater in us than he that is in the world (1 John iv. 4).<br />It is necessary to emphasize here that the Stronger than the strong man can only manifest His power through us, as by definite faith we MAINTAIN OUR POSITION as crucified with Christ, and thus dead indeed unto sin in Him. Never is there a stage in the spiritual life where there is not the deepest need of the severing power of the Cross. We must learn how to walk in personal victory over sin and Satan at every point if we are to have the fullest victory over the powers of darkness. Any uncrucified or weak spot is a target for the enemy, and all the devices of Satan will be at work to keep us in ignorance of our true condition. Consequently, we must always be open to all truth about God, ourselves, and the powers of darkness, and then honestly face the truth made known by the Spirit of God.<br />Ourselves delivered out of the power of the strong man, we become liberated into real resurrection LIFE—"alive unto God" (Rom. vi. 11)—in steadfast aggressive intelligent warfare against Satan, his hosts, and his goods. To do this we must understand some foundation principles.<br />Firstly, it is a spirit fight, pure and simple. The powers of darkness must be met on their own ground. We may reckon ourselves "dead indeed unto sin," and yet give the strong man much advantage by walking after the life of nature, i.e., our own thoughts, our own interpretations, our own plans, our own energy. The natural cannot contend with the supernatural (see 2 Cor. x. 4). It may appear to do much, and the enemy will go so far as to cause apparent "fruit" if by such means he can keep us striving on a plane where the results are only exterior and bereft of spirit life.<br />In addition to cleavage from sin, we need also to consent to the constant separation of soul from spirit (Heb. iv. 12) in order that we may not live and act in the realm of the soul, instead of the realm of the spirit, in co-operation with the Holy Spirit—the life described as "walking after the spirit." In order to do this we should deal with God concerning our own spirit, so that we may (1) know our spirit; (2) understand the laws of the spirit—its characteristics and activities; (3) discern its delicate senses; and (4) know how to control and use it in co-working with the Holy Spirit of God.<br />Secondly, to carry on a perpetual warfare in the spirit, by the power of the Holy Spirit, against a spirit foe, we must set ourselves to know our enemy and discern his workings. Power to discern comes (1) by knowledge that Satan can hinder; (2) by observing the objective of the hindrances; and (3) by close observation of his methods (wiles, see Ephes. vi. 11) along this line. The devil is practical, and we must be practical. If need be, we must be willing to unlearn, and to withdraw the stakes of limitation and unworkable theory driven into the edifice of our lives, and willing to learn, through fire, the real schemes and workings of Satan and how to contest them. This is an education in the spirit, and must be as patiently mastered as any other subject. We must be content to go one step at a time, to have our minds open to all truth, and closed to all error, and use the light we have, in prayer, testimony and other aggressive service against the Powers of Darkness, otherwise the ignorance that binds us will never be dispersed (John viii. 32).<br />The believer should pray, "I choose, by His grace, to be open to all Truth, and to honestly face it; and I choose and I will to be closed to all error. May God unmask the wiles and deceptions of Satan, and teach me at all costs all that I need to know for effectually waging war against the powers of darkness." By so doing we place our choice and will on God's side against Satan, and the Holy Spirit never fails to make it real in experience.<br />"Lord, even the demons are subject unto us through Thy Name" (Luke x. 17), said the seventy when they returned to Him after being sent forth whither He Himself would come. Rapidly the Spirit-taught worker will learn to recognize the power of the enemy holding a soul in bonds (2 Tim. ii. 26). There is an indefinable something wrapped around the person, like an invisible casing, and until this is penetrated there is no live contact with conscience, affections, choice or will. Nothing but the recognition of this stern fact, that the "strong man" is by such means contesting the release of the person, gives the clue to deliverance.<br />Alas, it is a terrible fact that spirits of evil can fasten upon and take possession of the minds and bodies of the children of God, for there is no stage of the spiritual life where they have not their subtle devices ready for gaining a footing. The strong man's emissaries fasten on some natural weakness characteristic of the person, so that they may not be detected. A "dumb spirit" can hold one who is naturally reticent; a spirit of helplessness (Luke xiii. 15, 16) one who is weak in will or character; a spirit of oppression one who is naturally pessimistic; a spirit of bondage one who is in character scrupulous and conscientious. A spirit of murmuring can hold one who is naturally fretful, and a hasty or obstinate spirit a passionate and strong character. The command comes to the Lord's servants to "first bind the strong man" in leading children of God into full deliverance and victory over sin, as well as in dealing with those who are held in blindness and sin outside the Kingdom of God.<br />We need to know also HOW to "bind the strong man" as "prince of the power of the air," filling the atmosphere where the people gather to hear the gospel, or the children of God meet to pray. "What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven...if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask" (Matt. xviii. 18, 19), said the Lord to His disciples. The prayer of two fused into one desire, will "bind the strong man." "One shall chase a thousand" of the hosts of evil, but two put ten thousand to flight! (Deut. xxxii. 30) Hence the "strong man's" attempts to divide the children of God, or keep them from united prayer. The spirit of division, not necessarily openly manifested, stifles aggressive prayer and blocks victory. The gospel should not be proclaimed to the unsaved—thus attacking the "house" of the "strong man"—without first by united and believing prayer binding the strong man. The evil one is present at every seed-sowing of the Word of Life so as to "snatch away" the seed immediately! (Matt. xiii. 19.) Prayer against him protects the message.<br />In prayer, the "binding" is done by those who pray pleading the blood of the Lamb, for it is written, "They overcame him—the cast down dragon—because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death" (Rev. xii. 9, 10, 11). The life laid down is an essential condition for all who would prove the power of the precious blood over all the power of the enemy, "binding" the operations of the "strong man," and delivering captives from his power.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Brief Hints on the<br />PRINCIPLES OF WARFARE.<br />The whole armour on. (Ephes. vi. 10-18.)<br />Knowing how to watch. (Matt. xxvi. 41.)<br />Knowing how to DEFEND, as well as how to ATTACK: to (1) stand, (2) withstand, and (3) resist.<br />Fight (or pray) from principle—in cold blood, and irrespective of an apparent flow, because opposition of Powers of Darkness may account for lack of flow.<br />A need seen is a call to prayer; we must not wait for burdens or feelings, or we may get spurious ones.<br />KNOWLEDGE GOVERNS PRAYER (1 Cor. xiv. 15). Lack of knowledge means unintelligent and less effectual warfare. If there is no knowledge prayer must be made for knowledge, (or more knowledge, as the case may be).<br />As the warfare means great strains at times, these must be protective prayer, asking for (1) strength, (2) vision (not visions), and (3) knowledge; all for prayer.<br />Recognize that there is a difference between Satan and his works, temptations and wiles, the strong man and his goods, and deal with each as such.<br />Guard against indirect attacks of Satan—often the most violent, and often through your nearest and dearest.<br />Guard against (1) wrong motives, (2) indefinite prayer, (3) spasmodic prayer, (4) anxiety in prayer, (5) impatience in prayer, (6) being over-burdened in prayer (gauge your capacity), (7) fainting by the way, (8) false fighting (evil burdens, wasting strength), (9) wrong use of weapons, (10) misjudging by appearances.<br />We must be willing to pay the price of victory in the deliverance of others; have no preconceptions as to how God will work; watch every opportunity to co-operate with God as a means of answering our prayers; and walk softly, for great victory is a time of great danger, as the devil is then scheming to rob you of your victory.<br />* Neither time, place nor season are exempt from the attacks of Satan and his host—which, in itself, is a call to arms.<br />_______<br />METHODS OF WARFARE.<br />"First bind...then spoil..."<br />Briefly: "BINDING" THE ENEMY SIMPLY MEANS STOPPING HIM FROM ACTING, THEN DESTROYING HIS WORKS.<br />Prayer must, therefore, be (1) destructive, (2) constructive.<br />Wield (1) the AUTHORITY of the NAME (Mark xvi. 17); (2) the BLOOD of the Lamb; and (3) the TESTIMONY against Satan (Rev. xii. 11), that he is conquered and must withdraw.<br />God's WORD must be stored in the heart. The WORD is the sword (Ephes. vi. 17), and we must become skilled to know which Scripture to use in meeting the particular assaults of the enemy, and in attacking his strongholds.<br />Joined to the Risen Lord we may bring into operation through prayer, the curse pronounced upon the serpent in Eden. —All on the ground of Calvary where Christ "flung off principalities and powers...triumphing over them" (Col. ii. 15).<br />There is the prayer of asking (John xiv. 13); interceding (Rom. viii. 26); saying (Matt. xxi. 21; Mark xi. 23-25).<br />Pray progressively as from the centre of a circle. Thus: 1, personal; 2, family; 3, circumstances; 4, business; 5, local; 6, world-wide (church, and the world).—All the time in each sphere against ALL the powers of darkness.<br />PRAY against Satan as: Liar (John viii. 44); Counterfeiter (2 Cor. xi. 14); Hinderer (1 Thes. ii. 18); Murderer (John viii. 44).<br />PRAY against (1) the plans of Satan, (2) the schemes of Satan and evil spirits, to prevent those in formation from materialising, and to destroy the effect of those in operation.<br />Stand, joined to the Risen Christ, and say: "I stand against all the wiles of the devil. I stand in every avenue of the enemy's approach—known or unknown." Then watch and what you do as an act of faith in bulk you will do in detail.<br />Pray against Satan holding the mind, affections, and will; and on the ground of Calvary, in the Spirit, claim the binding of the strong man; e.g., Pray: "I now claim that the strong man shall be bound on the ground of the precious BLOOD, and in the NAME of JESUS; I refuse all his plans, and may they all be destroyed."<br />AUDIBLE prayer is often an effectual weapon to victory.<br />Preaching the word with AUTHORITY, in the power and demonstration of the Spirit, is also a mighty factor in the binding of the strong man and the spoiling of his goods—co-operative with prayer.<br />* There are degrees of victory. All prayer counts in the fight. To whatever measure these principles and methods are applied, according to the capacity of the believer, TO THAT DEGREE THERE WILL BE VICTORY.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-41109990924310356692007-08-02T06:39:00.000-06:002007-08-02T06:42:10.972-06:00FOUR PLANES OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE<span style="font-size:180%;">(The following is an excerpt from Life Out of Death, a book by Jessie Penn-Lewis. It was originally published by The Overcomer Literature Trust, Parkston, Poole, Dorset, England.)<br />There are four planes—broadly speaking—in the spiritual life of the believer, and of the Christian worker: The first plane we may call the "evangelistic" plane; that is, the plane where the soul knows the new birth; knows that he has eternal life in Christ; where he becomes a soul winner, preaches salvation from the penalty of sin, and is used to lead others to Christ; where the entire objective is winning souls for Christ; where he is faithful in proclaiming the gospel of salvation in Christ.<br />Then there is the second plane, which may be called the "revival" plane; or the stage in personal experience where the believer receives the fulness of the Holy Spirit, learns to know Him and to obey Him; to rely upon Him and to look to Him to work as he co-operates with Him, and is used to lead others into the experience of the fulness of the Spirit.<br />Then there is the third plane, which we may call the plane of the "path of the cross", where the believer experimentally apprehends his position in Romans 6 in fellowship with Christ's death; is brought into "conformity" to His death (Philippians 3:10); he learns the fellowship of His sufferings, and is led to walk in the path of the Cross in every detail of practical life. Here the believer is able to interpret to others the way of the Cross, and to lead others to know Romans 6 and 2 Corinthians 4:10-12 in experience.<br />The fourth plane is the plane of spiritual warfare. It is really the "ascension" plane, where the believer knows his union with Christ, seated with Him "far above all principality and power"; and where, in service, he is in aggressive warfare against the powers of darkness; learns to have spiritual discernment to detect the working of the devil; and learns the authority of Christ over all the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19.)<br />Or to put it concisely—the first is the plane of salvation, or the new life; the second is the plane of the Spirit; the third is the plane of victory over sin; the fourth is the plane of victory over the powers of darkness.<br />The individual believer, if he goes forward in the Christian life with God, is generally—not always—led just in this order also. First, he receives salvation; second, he receives the Holy Ghost; third he is led along the path of the Cross; fourth, he walks in the path of conflict and victory, resulting in "power" over all the power of the enemy. The individual worker, also, finds he is used in these four planes of service. First, he is used to lead others to Christ; second, he is used to lead them into the fulness of the Spirit; third, he is used to interpret to them the path of the Cross; and fourth, to discern the devices and workings of the devil, and to have power over "all the power of the enemy", through union with Christ on the throne.<br />Madame Guyon truly says that in every plane of the spiritual life there is a beginning, working out, and a consummation of the life in that degree, followed by a passage into the next plane, where there is again a beginning, a working out, a consummation. In each plane you appear to learn the very same lessons over again, but they are all being learned in a deeper degree. For instance, in the first plane you learn the way of faith in Christ as Saviour, and then you have to learn to exercise faith again in the next plane, and again in the next. It is just as hard to learn the lesson of bare faith in the fourth plane as in the first, and yet, as you look back, you can see the hard lessons of the first plane are now quite simple and easy.<br />Further, it is true that, speaking generally, it often takes years to get through each plane! When you pass into a new plane of the spiritual life, it is often with some great conscious "blessing". A God-given experience of fulness in Christ, which may be described as a "taste" of what God has for you in that plane in its consummation. For instance, you get a revelation of the ascension life, seated with Christ in the heavenly places, and the joy and light of it is so real, that you think you will never come down again to the lower planes you now leave behind you, but in a brief while of weeks, or months, the "conscious" blessing—lasting according to the extent of the revelation and its power—apparently disappears, and you perhaps struggle to regain what you think you have lost. Now you have to fight by bare faith, to hold the ground you have taken. Then follows what may be called a "tunnel" experience, when you go through test upon test; in which, perhaps, you may think you fail, but through all you find there is advancement, and final emergence into the full consummation of that specific plane of the spiritual life, where you understand the way of abiding; for in the working into you of that life by the "tunnel" experience, God has removed what stands in the way of the permanent abiding in that stage of the knowledge of Him. (See Romans 5:2-5, A.V. and R.V.)</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">But let us remember, if God gives you a message which He means you to take hold of, He holds you, even when you appear to lose it. His Word given to you lays hold of you. That word has divine life and energy in it, and it can grip you, and hold you to it. God requires your co-operation, of course, and you must actively take the word by faith; but the power is in the Word itself when God has spoken it to you. If the Lord has given you the word "power over the power of the enemy", you have to co-operate by saying in response, "I choose and accept it, Lord, but I have no power to hold it; the Word must hold me."<br />And in truth you often apparently lose it, so that it goes right away from you, but if you go on steadily in bare faith, you come at last through the tunnel working of God, to the consummation point, and then what looked like a literal impossibility to you when God gave you the light, you find has been wrought into you as part of your very life; assimilated and incorporated into your spiritual being.<br />When a believer has pressed on with God faithfully from plane to plane, and has reached the sphere of warfare and victory over the powers of the air, then he should be able to lead others into any of the degrees of blessing they need; but, usually, when the soul is in a certain stage, and not arrived at its full consummation, he can only help others in the same stage, speaking out of his present light and experience. It is not until the consummation point is reached that the believer has liberty and facility in dealing with others in planes which he himself has left behind. In the transitional stage of each plane, you can only give the vision you have, so that your ministry seems limited to those who are at the same stage. You interpret to them what you, and they, are experiencing. But when you are through that plane, it seems as if you are able to minister to souls at any degree as they may need it.<br />Therefore you must never be disturbed if any one says that your "message" did not help them at all, or possibly your message was "above their heads". The fact is, you were obliged to give it, for you were not free enough for anything else, and you ministered only to a certain number of souls who could be helped by that message.<br />What about others, you ask? Remember you cannot meet the needs of all until you have passed through the stages of all. A worker needs to be very matured in the spiritual life to have light and truth for "all saints", just as Paul had, and the other apostles.<br />When the believer has passed through these "planes"—a matter of years, more or less—and he reaches the plane of power over the forces of darkness, in its fullest degree, then he is in the "apostolic" stage, with sufficient facility, and equipment, and knowledge, and liberty, from his own experience of the Word of Righteousness (Hebrews 5:13), to be able to handle the Word of God as a steward, and to minister it to others at their various degrees. When you become matured and ripened, then you do not speak from what you yourself are at the moment experiencing, but you are able to use the Scripture of truth as an armoury, and be "furnished completely" for every good work, able to wield, or apply the Word of God to each soul. This is real equipment, and ripeness of maturity, and fitness for service in the power of the Holy Ghost.<br />What is also needed is that Christians should know that the victory of Calvary over the powers of darkness is required to be apprehended by them in every stage of the spiritual life, and every plane of experience. (1) The evangelist needs to know it, because to win souls to Christ, he must learn how to bind the devil holding souls, and therefore the truth of victory over the powers of darkness as declared in the Word of God, is part of the evangelist's armour and equipment. (2) Those who receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit need to know the victory over the powers of darkness, so as to be able to detect the counterfeits, and to refuse them. (3) Those who go on in the path of the Cross equally need to know the devices of the deceiving spirits, because they will interfere with them at every step onward in their knowledge of the Cross, and try to mix their workings with the work of God in every degree. In fact, the truths about the powers of darkness need to be known in every plane, and at each stage of the spiritual life, according to the measure and need.<br />But the urgent work to be done now is to meet the need of the advanced ranks of the Church of Christ. Those who can, "by reason of use", exercise their spiritual senses, and are able to "eat" and assimilate the "solid food" which is for those of full age; as well as to give the same spiritual food in "milk" form to the babes, so that they may grow.<br />In helping others, if you find that believers do not understand the meaning of the prayer-warfare, you should ask them if they know anything about the Cross, and the position of death with Christ, according to Romans 6; for they must know the death to sin, and to the world, before they can understand the spiritual warfare. If they do not know the power of the Cross, you must go further back, and ask them if they know the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, for the power to know experimentally the fellowship of Christ's death is given by the Holy Spirit. If they do not know the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you must go further back still, and ask them if they possess the new life in Christ at all. How can a soul receive the fulness of the Holy Spirit, if it does not know Christ as a Saviour, and is not born from above into the kingdom of Christ? We must as workers be able to lead souls back from point to point to the place of need, and recognize the four grades, or planes, of growth in dealing with them.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">For these who already know the Baptism of the Spirit, and the path of the Cross, the pressing need is light on the warfare with Satan; but another need on a wider scale is the experimental knowledge of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, for a vast number of believers do not know this, and the two-fold aspect of the Cross: therefore they cannot understand what we mean by "warfare" and the need of the discerning of spirits. It is not enough to proclaim victory over the powers of darkness, you must lead the children of God to know the Cross in its relation to believers. The warfare of Ephesians 6 is a spiritual warfare, and only through the death of the Cross is the believer brought into the spiritual realm, and the conflict there.<br />Many Christians are perplexed over receiving the Holy Spirit because they think they only have the proof of having done so, if they have manifestations of His presence: so on this subject many questions arise. The Scriptures make it clear that you receive Him by faith (Galatians 3:2, 3), but there is a succeeding work to be done in real surrender to obey Him, and the putting of all obstacles out of the way of His fullest working; the hindrances must be removed to His working through the believer, and the wrong things in the life put away, as revealed progressively by Him.<br />When does the special need of light on the powers of darkness and their workings now come in? All over the world there are large numbers of believers definitely and clearly preaching full assurance of salvation in Christ. Then there are an increasing number of believers who really know the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and are in the "Revival" plane, or the plane of knowing the Holy Spirit, and co-working with Him. Again there are others—a smaller company—knowing the Holy Spirit, who have really pressed on in the power of the Spirit to follow the Lamb of Calvary in the path of the Cross.<br />Now speaking generally, these last-named believers are blocked, because they have no glimmer of anything beyond this. They have thought that they have simply to go on to the end in the path of the Cross—in the Spirit of the Lamb. Meanwhile the powers of darkness have been coming in like a flood to the Church of Christ, blocking and hindering the work of God on every side. The message needed by these souls who know the fellowship of the Cross—or the crucified life—is the knowledge of the aggressive war upon the powers of darkness. The call to these is, "Arise, in the new life of Christ, and in the equipment of the Holy Ghost—whom you have already known to lead you unto death—and lay hold of the Victory of Christ, and take the aggressive against the foe." Having died to the old fleshly life of activity—the soulish life energy—having died to the world, and become separated unto Christ; these are the souls who need to see their union with Christ in the ascension life, and His authority over all the power of the enemy.<br />Here we must point out a cause of danger in the life of many who know the path of the Cross. They have learned the power of the Holy Ghost, and the path of the Cross; they have understood that they were to "follow the Lamb"; to submit to the will of God; and they have followed on in that path faithfully, until now they may have unknowingly gone on a point too far. Their "surrender" may have become "passivity"—i.e., a passive condition of mind, and sometimes of all their faculties—which is not according to God. Having ceased to "resist" in the "flesh" they have sunk into a passive submission to all things around them, not only to the "will of God", but to the will of Satan, and failed in their attitude of resistance "in the spirit" to the spiritual foe. Their surrender to "the will of God" became, or has become unconsciously, a passive-submission to Satan. There has undoubtedly come upon the Church a heavy pressure of the powers of darkness, and many souls who know the Cross are failing to detect between the "will of God" and the "will of Satan"; and they are presenting no resistance, and no solid front against the adversary and his hosts. Surrender to God has lapsed into "passivity", or passive endurance of everything. They have only the view of the Lamb, and not the Lion-LAMB—the Lamb who submits to death, but not the LION-LAMB who triumphs over the devil.<br />These souls must arise out of their passive condition, and in the power of the Spirit go forward into aggressive warfare against the powers of darkness. They must use their renewed will in active co-operation with God. They must take the aggressive with victory-prayer against every hindrance that the devil puts in their way. They should march forward claiming the victory of the Cross over all the power of the enemy. These are the souls who, because of their baptism into death, and consequent cessation of fleshly and soulish energy, may receive, or "take", and exercise the "gifts of the Spirit". Whatever gift is necessary for their service in this warfare, they may take as part of the provided equipment of the Spirit for this hour of need.<br />Note also that souls in each plane can help and lead others in the plane behind them, but they cannot push any one forward into the plane before them, nor fully understand or "judge" others in the plane ahead of them. In the path ahead there are conditions, realms of knowledge, points of danger, only known to those in that degree, and unseen and not understood by souls in earlier degrees. The enemy knows this, and oft-times pushes a "babe" in the second plane to resist truths only understood further on. Yet the truths suited to planes three and four must be spoken for those who need them.<br />Lastly, let it be distinctly stated that the description of these degrees in the spiritual life of a believer is given from the experimental, or "subjective" aspect, and not from the judicial or positional side of truth, wherein a "babe in Christ" may be said to be as "complete in Him" from the moment of conversion, as at the end of life. A child grows from the baby-stage, degree after degree, into manhood. (Philippians 3:13, 14.)</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-9251321363397275842007-08-02T06:34:00.000-06:002007-08-02T06:37:04.764-06:00CHRIST BOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS<span style="font-size:180%;">Scripture Reading: 2 Pet. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:30; Phil. 3:9<br />INTRODUCTION<br />We have already seen that a saved person should know a few things. First, he should know that he is a son of God. Second, he should know God's righteousness. Third, he should know the righteousness of Christ and that Christ has become the believers' righteousness. Now we want to consider the difference between the righteousness of Christ and Christ as our righteousness. There is a big difference between these two things, and we must differentiate them clearly.<br />THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST<br />Most people think that after we become a Christian, everything of Christ becomes ours. But the Bible does not say that we are saved by the righteousness of Christ or that the righteousness of Christ has become our righteousness. The phrase the righteousness of Christ is only used in 2 Peter 1:1, in reference to Christ's own righteousness. Without the righteousness of Christ, we cannot have a Savior. Christ is the Savior because He is righteous. But His righteousness is only related to Him. The righteousness of Christ qualifies and enables Him to be our Savior.<br />When we read the Bible, we should not change what we read. We should not be satisfied with vague concepts and answers. During the past ten or more years, I have often asked others two questions: By what righteousness are we saved? By whose righteousness do we come to God? Many people could not give the proper answer. They would say that they are saved by the righteousness of Christ and that they come to God through Christ's righteousness. This is absolutely wrong. Let me put it this way: The righteousness of Jesus was the qualification which the Lord had before God when He was a man. This righteousness has absolutely nothing to do with us. We are not joined to the Lord in His walk in this world; we are joined to Him on the cross. Everything that the Lord did on earth has nothing to do with us. We must remember that a grain bears many grains only after it has fallen into the ground. Christians were joined to Christ at His death, not at His birth. When Christ was born in Bethlehem and lived on the earth, men could only follow Him from afar. They could only say, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" (John 1:29). Only when we come to Romans 6 do we see that we are joined to Him in the likeness of His death and resurrection (v. 5). Therefore, a Christian does not become righteous in the eyes of God through the righteousness of Christ, but through Christ Himself. We are saved through receiving Christ Himself.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">CHRIST BECOMINGOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS<br />Once I was talking to a theological student. I said, "The Bible does not say that we have put on the righteous garment of Christ. It only says that we have put on Christ." Galatians 3:27 says that we have put on Christ. Today we have not put on the righteousness of Christ, but Christ Himself. The righteousness of Christ is something that is in Christ Himself, and it is history. Today Christians come to God through putting on Christ. Christ Himself has become our righteousness, and we can come to God at any time because Christ lives forever.<br />How can we, as sinful persons with so many failures, come to God? Why should God answer our prayer? One sister did not feel that temper was a sin, and she would not deal with it. Later, she could not get over a particular matter, and she wanted to have a thorough dealing before the Lord. She called me by phone and made an appointment to talk to me. I told her to go and pray. She took my word and went to pray. Before she went to God, the subject of righteousness was not in her thought. However, as soon as she turned to God, the matter of righteousness came. She thought to herself, "With what kind of righteousness should I come to God?" Then she realized that her temper was a sin, and she acknowledged that she did not have any righteousness of her own. A new believer very often prays and asks, "What is my basis for coming to God?" Suppose you are in your bedroom. You can dress any way you like, but when you meet a guest, you have to properly attire yourself. No one ever dresses up to go to bed. This is because you are alone when you go to bed, and there is no need to dress up. But during the day you have to meet people; consequently, you have to dress up. In the same way, as soon as a man comes to God, he considers how he should dress. When a certain member of one's family is sick or in trouble and he is forced to come to God, he often suddenly remembers many sins that he has otherwise ignored.<br />How do we come to God? First Corinthians 1:30 is a great verse in the New Testament. This verse reveals that a Christian does not come to God through his own righteousness. Neither does he come to God with his many sins. Rather, he comes to God through Christ alone. A Christian's access to God is not based on his righteousness or his unrighteousness. This verse shows us clearly that Christ has become the righteousness of the believers. It is not something about Christ that has become our righteousness; rather, Christ Himself in His entirety has become our righteousness. Something of Christ can never be as absolute and perfect as Christ Himself. When Christ Himself becomes our righteousness, God receives us.<br />The experience of many Christians follows a certain pattern: If they read the Bible in the morning and manage to control their temper during the day, they can pray in a strong way at night. But if they fail during the day, their prayer at night is very weak. Actually, even when we sin, Christ is still our righteousness. The fact has not changed, because we are in Christ. If we behave well today and think that we are more qualified to come to God, we are coming to Him by our own righteousness. This is a wrong concept. God does not receive us based on our righteousness, much less on our unrighteousness. His receiving is based on Christ. A Christian does not become more unrighteous through sinning, nor does he become more righteous through doing good. Sin does not diminish a Christian's righteousness, nor do good works increase his righteousness. Our righteousness before God is not dependent on our conduct, but on Christ Himself. Our righteousness before God never changes. Righteousness is a person; it is not a thing. The righteousness that a Christian has is the living Christ; it is not some dead object. Even if we committed all the sins of the world, our righteousness is still Christ Himself. Sooner or later every Christian must realize who this One is who is his righteousness.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">PUTTING ON CHRIST<br />The robe of righteousness is a good illustration, yet it is not a perfect illustration. In the Old Testament, Jacob cheated his father in order to receive his blessing. Jacob's brother was a hairy man, but he was a smooth man. Rebekah gave to Jacob the coat of Esau and covered his hands and neck with the skin of goats in an effort to steal his father's blessing. This is a disguise; it is falsehood. This is not the way Christians come before God. We have not put on a robe of righteousness; we have put on Christ Himself. We have not put on the garment of Christ; we have put on Christ Himself. Galatians 3:27 speaks of the putting on of Christ. The righteousness which we now have far exceeds our own righteousness. It is Christ Himself becoming our righteousness. Hence we are perfect, and God can now accept us.<br />What is our basis when we come to God? What is in our mind when we come before Him? Are we fearful when we think of our sin and bold when we think of our righteousness? Or do we think of Christ? Many people are occupied with either their sins or their righteousnesses. Let me allude to the sister that I spoke of earlier. I eventually went to her home and asked about her prayer life. She answered, "I cannot pray well because I have a bad temper." I said, "God does not answer you when you have a bad temper, and He does not answer you when you have a good temper either." She could not understand my word. I sat in my chair and said, in an apparently arrogant way, "I am better than you are in one thing: I have confidence that the Lord answers my prayer. What do you think?" She said, "I do not believe this. This is only what you claim." I said, "I may be as good or as bad as you are, or I may be worse than you are. But the righteousness that I have believed and received is different from yours. I come to God through Christ as my righteousness, not through the righteousness of Christ. Before the Lord I have my own righteousnesses as well as my own unrighteousnesses. Of course, my own unrighteousnesses cannot be reckoned as righteous in His eyes, but my righteousness cannot be reckoned as righteous in His eyes either. This has nothing to do with me loving Him but with Him loving me. I do not preserve myself; He preserves me. It is not my hands that are holding Him but His hands that are holding me. It is not a matter of my faithfulness but His faithfulness." I may have sinned more than all of you sitting here, but I can be bold before the Lord because my righteousness is Christ alone.<br />A new believer's condition can be quite high, like Paul's experience in the third heavens. At other times it can be quite low, as if he has descended into the abyss. However, we have to realize that the problem of sin has been dealt with by Christ on the cross, and the problem of righteousness has also been settled by Christ on the throne. The righteousness that God has given us is just Christ. Once He gives Christ to us, He will never change His mind. In Christ, God cannot find anyone more advanced than He has already found. This is why our heart rejoices today. When we first believed, the basis of our coming to God was Christ. After being a believer for many years, the basis of our coming to God is still Christ. Our advancement cannot make us more qualified to come to God, and our evil cannot make us less qualified to come to God. Hebrews 4:16 says that we can come forward boldly to God at any time.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">OUR RIGHTEOUSNESSAND OUR CONDUCT<br />I have been a Christian for over twenty years. My conduct has changed, but my righteousness has never changed. It will not change in another twenty years because my righteousness is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Even if I become as fallen as Demas or Alexander the coppersmith, I will not be more unrighteous than I already am. On the other hand, even if I suffer as much as Paul did, love the Lord as much as John did, and am as bold as Peter was, it will not increase my righteousness at all. My conduct may improve, but my righteousness can never improve. I can advance in holiness, but I cannot advance in my righteousness, because the righteousness that God has given me is already perfect. This righteousness is just Christ. I am the most righteous person on earth because my righteousness is just Christ. Just as Christ never changes and is well pleasing to God, I cannot change, and I am well pleasing to Him.<br />Once this issue is settled, all the problems that a Christian faces are settled. We have seen that righteousness has nothing to do with sin. Sin is one thing, righteousness is another. If our coming to God is based on this righteousness, Satan can do nothing to accuse us. I hope that we will not take these words as just a kind of doctrine. In the course of our fellowship with God, we have to see something new. We have to see that man's condition before God can be good or bad, but his position before God can never change. If our life as a Christian lasts for twenty or thirty more years on this earth, we may become more advanced, holy, spiritual, or mature, but our righteousness will not change. It will not afford us more boldness, nor will it take away any of our boldness, because our righteousness is simply Christ Himself.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-16811350909500902902007-08-02T06:27:00.000-06:002007-08-02T06:31:20.594-06:00Christ is All Spiritual Matters and Things<span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">CHRIST IS THE WAY,THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE<br />Scripture Reading: John 14:6<br />The Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (KJV). This shows us something very clearly. What is the way that God has given us? It is Christ. What is the truth that God has given us? It is Christ. What is the life that God has given us? It is Christ. Christ is our way, Christ is our truth, and Christ is our life. Through Christ we go to the Father. In God’s eyes, everything that has to do with God is Christ, who is His Son. This is why our Lord said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” What God has given us is just Christ; He has not given us many things apart from Christ. Many times, in spiritual matters, we see only things, and what we touch are merely things. These things are merely terms and letters to us; they do not have any spiritual value. May the Lord open our eyes so that we may know the Son of God. The characteristic of Christianity, the root of Christianity, and all its depth and riches are contained in the knowledge of the Son of God. It is not a matter of how many methods we know or how many doctrines we have or how much power we possess. It is a matter of how much we know God’s Son. If we know God’s Son, we have the way, we have the truth, and we have the life. Our power comes from our knowledge of the Son of God. God has given us His Son, not many individual items apart from His Son. The crux of the matter lies in our knowledge of the Son of God. Let us now consider the meaning of “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”<br />CHRIST IS THE WAY<br />“I am the way.” A way can be considered as a method. The Lord meant that He is the way for us to go to the Father; He is the method by which we can go to the Father. If we have Him, we have the way. If we do not have Him, we do not have the way. If we have Him, we have the method. If we do not have Him, we do not have the method. Every true Christian has learned the lesson at least once that the Lord Jesus is the way; He is the method. If you are saved, you have gone to the Father through the Lord Jesus as your way. You at least have this experience. The Lord Jesus is the way, and no one can go to God except through Him. Every genuinely saved Christian knows that this is the only way that can be taken. Thank the Lord that many genuine Christians have at least learned one lesson, which is to go to God through His Son, Jesus of Nazareth. He is our way. We have taken this way at least once. This way is just Christ Himself; it is not a method apart from Christ. We need to see that not only do we have to come to God through the Lord Jesus when we are saved, but that the Lord Jesus is still the way any time we go to God; there is not some method outside of the Lord Jesus.<br />Some Christians are merely seeking for some methods to spirituality. Once a man was preaching on the subject of victory through Christ versus victory through ourselves. After his message, another brother shook his hand and said, “I have failed all these years. But today, everything is well.” When the first brother asked why, he answered, “I have been seeking a method of victory. Thank the Lord. I have found the method! Victory is through Christ, not through ourselves!” The first brother told him bluntly, “If you have found a method, you will still fail.” What does this mean? The Lord Jesus told us, “I am the way.” In other words, the Lord Jesus is the method. A method is not something apart from the Lord Jesus. The method is the Lord Himself. If what we have is merely a method, it will not work. God has not given us a method; He has given us His own Son. We often hear of others’ experience and admire it. But we do not realize that they have touched the Lord, while we have only seen a method. As a result, we fail again and again. The basic reason for this is that we do not realize that the Lord Jesus is the way.<br />We must remember that believing in the Lord and believing in a formula are two different things. Some Christians experience God’s grace, and their eyes are opened. They see the kind of persons they are, and they drop themselves and believe in the Lord. They trust the Lord to do what they themselves cannot do. As a result they are satisfied in God, and they are liberated. A little while later, another person may come and, upon hearing the testimony of the first group, ask for God’s enlightening also. He asks for God to show him his worthlessness, and he learns to trust in God, to be humble, and to deny himself. But strangely, the first group of people experiences deliverance, while the last man does not. One group is liberated, but the man is not. This happens because the first group of brothers have faith in God; they have touched the Lord. However, the last brother does not have faith; he is merely copying the formula of faith. He has not received God, but a formula of faith. In other words, the last brother has received a method from the first group of brothers; he has not received the Lord. There is no power in methods; methods will not work. They are dead because methods are things; they are not Christ Himself.<br />We have to remember that in spiritual matters, everything apart from Christ is death. Some brothers and sisters say, “It is so strange that when others have the faith, God answers their prayer. I believe just the same, but God has not answered my prayers. When others go to the Lord, the Lord is gracious to them. I do the same thing as they, but God does not grant the same grace to me.” It seems as if they are putting the blame on God. They do not realize that they are believing in a thing; therefore, it is dead. A formula is worthless, and a method is useless. Only when we have Christ will everything be living. Even if you have learned all the methods, that will still not make you a Christian. God’s children are produced by begetting; they are not produced by teaching.<br />The Lord Jesus said, “I am the way.” Christ is the way; He is the method. Brothers and sisters, is your way Christ? Are your methods Christ? Or is your way just a way, and your method just a method? Praise the Lord. If your method is Christ, everything will work out. But if your method is only a method, even though it may truly be a good method or even the best and most correct method, it is still dead, and it has no spiritual value at all. Many prayers are not answered and many testimonies of believers have no effect on us because we have not touched the Lord; we have merely copied other peoples’ methods. We have not touched the Lord ourselves.<br />Once a brother was preaching on Romans 6—8. After another brother heard it, he said: “Today I know the way to victory. I am clear. I believe that I will no longer fail as I did before.” Another brother came up to the preaching one and shook his head. The preacher asked him what he meant, and he said, “I cannot say what the first brother said. The Lord has opened my eyes, but I dare not say that I have seen Him, and I dare not say that I have not seen Him.” The second brother did not receive a method, but the Lord Himself. Eventually, he was able to stand. But the brother who thought that he would never fall eventually failed because he had merely gained a method; he did not gain the Lord. Therefore, it was worthless.<br />Many times, we are wrong even in the way that we listen to a message. We do not ask the Lord for revelation, and we do not ask to see the Lord. Instead, we exercise our mind to remember a method. Actually, even if we followed the method exactly, we would still not see any result. Sometimes, we may think that we have not seen very much; we may not be so confident as to say that we have seen the Lord. But in fact, we have seen Him. This seeing will bring about a real change in us. Thank the Lord that this is the way. We have not learned a method; rather, we know the Lord. The Lord shows us clearly that He is the method. Every time we hear a message or a testimony, we should ask ourselves, “Have I met the Lord, or have I merely understood a method?” The mere understanding of a method will not save us; only the knowledge of the Lord as our method will save us. A testimony by others of how they have trusted the Lord will not save us; only our own trust in the Lord will save us. The words may be the same in both cases, but the facts are vastly different. The Lord is the Lord of life. Those who touch Him touch life, and only those who touch Him will live.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">CHRIST IS THE TRUTH<br />The Lord said that He is the way, and He also said that He is the truth. Truth is just Christ Himself. Truth is not words concerning Christ. Truth is not doctrines about Christ. Truth is just Christ Himself. Christians often consider expositions and explanations of Christ to be the truth. Actually, truth is not an exposition of a thing. Truth is just Christ Himself. The Lord said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). Brothers and sisters, let us consider how many truths have set us free. God’s Word says that the truth shall set us free, that it shall liberate us. But many times, the truth is merely a doctrine to us; it is not Christ. Our eyes have not been opened to see Christ. What a pity that we have been preaching so many doctrines for ten years, yet we still have not seen. We may have heard many doctrines for ten years, yet we still have not seen. Men can speak about the doctrine of co-crucifixion, but others do not see the power of crucifixion in them. They can speak about the resurrection life, but others do not see the resurrection power in them. If what we preach are merely doctrines, then we only have things that are dead, not something that is living.<br />Once a person wrote a letter to a brother and said, “A brother has offended me. I do not know if I should forgive him. Therefore, I am writing to you. My heart is unbiased. If you say that I should forgive him, I will forgive him. If you say that I should not forgive him, I will not forgive him.” Brothers and sisters, do you think that this sounds like a Christian? Suppose I have a loved one who has died, and I write a letter to others, saying, “My loved one has died. Should I cry? If you say I should cry, I will cry. If you say I should not cry, I will not cry.” If you heard this, you would surely laugh, because this is ridiculous. If one cries because others tell him to cry or does not cry because others tell him not to cry, his crying will be a performance, and his not crying will also be a performance. Both will be a performance, and both will be dead works without life. Here is a brother. You either forgive him or you do not forgive him. If you say, “I will forgive him if I know I should forgive him, and I will not forgive him if I know I should not forgive him,” this is dead work based on dead teaching; it is even a kind of false performance.<br />Brothers and sisters, if we do not have the Lord living within us, and if it is not the Lord who is our truth, a teaching that guides our action is nothing but dead works; it is not life, and it is not living. Do you see the difference? The difference here is too great and too tremendous. Working requires that we exercise our memory, but life does not require us to exercise our memory. When we speak something out of life, we do not speak it because we remembered to speak it. A power within us motivates us to speak. The Lord is controlling us; a doctrine is not coaching or controlling us. The day will come when the Lord will open our eyes to see that spiritual reality is not apart from Christ. We do not present some doctrines to others. Rather, we lead others to Christ Himself. We do not need to remember a doctrine and then act according to it. Rather, Christ is living in us, and Christ is becoming our truth.<br />Once a brother offended another brother. The offended one could not contain himself, and he gave the other brother a severe scolding. After the scolding, his conscience bothered him, and he felt that he should go and apologize. Yet when he considered how the other brother had offended him, he could not help being angry again. Nevertheless, he felt that he had to apologize. So he prepared a letter to the other brother. The first thing he said in his letter was, “It was wrong for me to scold you.” But he again recalled how the other brother was wrong to offend him, and he became angry again. After a while, he picked up the pen to start writing again. But while he was writing, he could not stop the hate and anger toward the other brother. After he finished the letter, he was still angry when he sent it out. Outwardly, it seemed as though the letter was a very proper Christian letter. But this was merely the result of teachings; it was not the result of life. Although he had written his letter and had apologized, he was still angry at heart. When he saw the other brother, he might be able to greet him and might be able to shake hands with him, but inwardly he had not forgiven him, and his speaking would not be natural at all. Brothers and sisters, do you see the difference here? The Lord is the truth. If what we do is a teaching and not the Lord, it is dead. We should realize that spiritual things are living only when the Lord is there, and they are dead when the Lord is not there. When the Lord shines within us, when He becomes the One working within us, and when we realize this inwardly, what we have will be living.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">CHRIST IS THE LIFE<br />The Lord said that He is the way and the truth. Then He said that He is the life. We have mentioned briefly what it is for Christ to be the way and the truth. Now we have to speak some concerning Christ being our life. Wherever there is life, spontaneously there are works. But works cannot replace life. We have to be very clear that works are not life. Life does not require any effort of our own. Life is just Christ Himself. Many people try hard and exert considerable energy to be a Christian. Daily they strive toward this goal to the point of exhaustion. To them, the doctrines are strict; one has to be humble, meek, loving, forgiving, and enduring. These teachings are truly tiresome. They consider it a hard thing to be a Christian. This is especially true for young Christians, who find that the harder they try, the harder it is for them to live like a Christian. Brothers and sisters, if Christ is not the life, we surely have to do everything. But if Christ is the life, we do not have to do anything. Let me repeat: life is Christ Himself, and works cannot replace life.<br />Among God’s children, the greatest misunderstanding is to think that self-effort is life and that unless one exerts his own effort, he does not have life. But we have to realize that if there is life, there is no need of work. If there is life, everything will be lived out spontaneously. Consider how your eyes see. Consider how your ears hear. Your eyes see spontaneously, and your ears hear spontaneously because they all have life. Life is so spontaneous. We must be clear that where life is, spontaneously there are works. However, works cannot replace life. Some works on the contrary prove the absence of life, or they prove that the life is weak. If it is life, it will surely result in good moral behavior. But good moral behavior cannot take the place of life. Suppose a brother is very gentle; he does not speak much, and he is neither too soft nor too hard. Some brothers may say, “This brother has quite a good life.” But these brothers have actually used the wrong words. The Lord said, “I am the life.” Although the brother may be gentle and quiet, his behavior is not life unless it issues from Christ. You can only say that he has a good temper. You can only say that he does not cause much trouble, or that he treats others politely, that he does not argue or quarrel. But you cannot say that this man has a good life. You cannot say that what he has issues from Christ, because what he has is natural; it is not life, and it is not Christ.<br />Some people hold to another concept. They think that life is power, and the Lord being their life means that the Lord gives them power to make them do good, behave well, and be a good Christian. They think that this is life. But God has shown us that power is not a thing. Our power is Christ; it is a person. Our power is not a drive to accomplish something; our power is a person. Our life is not only a power, but a person. It is Christ manifesting Himself from us, not us utilizing Christ to manifest the goodness that we desire to have. These two things are absolutely different, and we must distinguish between them clearly.<br />One brother went to meet in a place, and an elderly Christian asked him, “Why did you go to that place to meet?” The brother answered, “Because that place has life.” The elderly man asked, “Is our place not as noisy as the other place?” The brother responded, “No, it is not noisy at all.” The elderly man said, “What do you mean? If it is not noisy, how can it have life?” The brother answered, “It is not at all exciting, yet it has life. Life is not excitement; it is not emotional stimulation. Life is not a warm atmosphere or loud noise.” The elderly man said, “Perhaps young people like excitement, but my preference is for thoughtful messages. Whenever I hear a thoughtful message, I touch life. To me this is life.” The young brother replied, “I have also heard the kind of thoughtful messages that you speak of. But I did not touch life.” Brothers and sisters, this conversation shows us that life is not emotional stimulations, good thoughts, wise words, clever words, logical words, or thoughtful words. All these may not be life.<br />Some may say, “This is strange. If life is not excitement and it is not thoughtful messages, what is life? What do you consider as life?” We admit that we cannot describe life with any better words. We can only say that there is something deeper than feelings and deeper than thoughts. When we touch this something, we become enlivened. This something is life. Brothers and sisters, what is life? Life is something deeper than the thoughts; thoughts cannot be compared with life. What is life? Life is something deeper than feelings; feelings cannot be compared to life. Thoughts and feelings are outward things. What then is life? The Lord said, “I am...the life.” One does not meet life when he walks into some excited atmosphere or some spiritually charged environment. We have to ask what is the source of such an atmosphere. Experience tells us that many people who are very good at creating a noisy atmosphere know very little about the Lord. Many excitable people know very little about the Lord. Christ is life; nothing else is life.<br />We have to learn to know life. Life is not a matter of excitement or thoughtful ideas. Life is an expression of the Lord Himself. We have to know the Lord. Nothing can be compared to our knowledge of the Lord. Whenever we know the Lord, we touch life. We have to realize before the Lord what it means for Christ to be life. Those who are excitable or who are smart are not necessarily the ones who know the Lord. But when there is a group of people who know the Lord in a particular way, who know what the Lord is like, their spiritual discernment of the Lord and their knowledge of the Lord will tell them that Christ is life. If we have such discernment and knowledge, we will be changed. If we know that the Lord is life, we will realize that in spiritual matters, natural energy is useless. If we know the Lord as life, we will look to Him alone. When we first believed in the Lord, we did not know what it meant to look to Him. But after we have learned some lessons, we begin to look to Him more and more, because we know that everything depends on Christ and not on us. When we first became Christians, we were after individual things, and we did not trust in the Lord. After we learned some lessons, we began to understand a little and began to realize that we have to learn to trust in the Lord. Trusting in the Lord does not mean trusting in Him for individual things, but trusting in Him to do what we cannot do in ourselves. When we first became Christians, we felt that we had to do something, and that unless we did something, things would fall apart, and everything would collapse. We always tried to do everything by ourselves. But after we find out that Christ is our life, we realize that everything depends on Christ and not on our working. Then we learn to rest and to look to Him alone.<br />Brothers and sisters, we must remember that God does not give us individual things, one by one. He has given us His Son. We should always lift up our head and say to the Lord, “You are my way; You are my truth; You are my life. Lord, I have to deal with You alone, not with the things that belong to You.” Brothers and sisters, may the Lord be gracious to us and show us that spiritual matters are nothing but the Lord, that spiritual matters are nothing but Christ. Day by day, we have to realize that it is wrong for the way to be something that is apart from Christ. It is wrong for the truth to be something that is apart from Christ, and it is wrong for the life to be something that is apart from Christ. Yet how easy it is for us to take the way, the truth, and the life as separate things. We call a noisy atmosphere life. We call clear logic life. We call rich emotions life. We call outward behavior life. Actually, they are not life at all. We have to know that the Lord is the life. Christ is our life. It is the Lord who lives out this life from us. May the Lord deliver us from many fragmentary, outward matters so that we can touch the Lord Himself. May we see the Lord in everything, and may we see that our way is our knowledge of the Lord, our truth is our knowledge of the Lord, and our life is our knowledge of the Lord. May the Lord open our eyes, and may we be delivered from many outward things to see the Son of God. May we live in Him, and may He live in us. Amen!</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-16897577906340281562007-08-02T06:24:00.000-06:002007-08-02T06:26:30.067-06:00CHIRST IS THE RESURECCTION AND THE LIFE<span style="font-size:180%;">Scripture Reading: John 11:25<br />WHAT HE DOES VERSUS WHAT HE IS<br />Chapter eleven of the Gospel of John shows us how the Lord Jesus gave life to a dead person; it shows us how the Lord Jesus resurrected a person from among the dead. The Lord can resurrect man, but He did not say, “I will resurrect the dead.” Instead, He said, “I am the resurrection.” After He said these words, He resurrected a man. Both Martha and Mary were there on that day. To them, it would have been better for the Lord Jesus to say, “It does not matter that your brother has died; I can resurrect him.” We like to hear this kind of word. Our desire and hope is that God will do something for us. We often pray, hope, and wait before God for a word concerning what He will do for us. But the Lord does not want to show us what He will do; He wants to show us what He is. What He can do is based on what He is. Martha believed in the Lord’s power. She said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21). Martha believed in God’s power, and she also believed in the Lord Jesus’ power, but she did not see that the Lord Himself is the resurrection and the life. We must see that everything God can do is included in what God is. The reason a man does not have God’s power is that he does not know what God is. “He who comes forward to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). All the power that God has is based upon what He “is.”<br />In John 11:25 the Lord Jesus was not saying that He can preserve a man’s life, but that He Himself is life. He was not telling us of His ability to resurrect men, but of the fact that He Himself is resurrection. May God open our eyes to see who the Lord is. We must see that in God’s eyes, Christ is our everything. Once we have this kind of understanding, it is possible to have genuine growth in spiritual things. We must realize that in God’s eyes, there is not any other object; the only object is Christ Himself! Whether or not we grow spiritually depends on whether we have truly touched spiritual reality. In other words, do we just know the individual things that God has done, or do we know God Himself?<br />John 11 does not say that the Lord Jesus resurrected Lazarus. Instead it says that the Lord Jesus was resurrection to Lazarus. Brothers and sisters, do you see the difference? The Lord was resurrection to Lazarus, and then Lazarus was resurrected. The Lord did not give resurrection as a thing to Lazarus; He became resurrection to Lazarus. In other words, what the Lord does is only the appearance; what He is is the reality of the matter. We are not saying that the Lord did not resurrect Lazarus. We are saying that Lazarus resurrected because the Lord was resurrection to him.<br />We must remember that everything that God does in Christ is done in this principle. When the Lord is something to me, that something comes into existence. First He “is,” then He “has.” Many Christians separate the Grace-giver from the grace given by God. One day we will find out that the Grace-giver is the very gift given by God. God has not given us many things; He has only given us the Lord Jesus Himself. All spiritual things and all of God’s gifts are but Christ Himself. God does not give us something piece by piece. God has given us Christ Himself. One day God will open our eyes to see that everything is in Christ. How wonderful it will be if we see this.<br />In declaring who He is, the Lord said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He is the resurrection. This is why His delaying did not cause a problem in the resurrection of Lazarus. In raising up Lazarus, the Lord was trying to lead men to the knowledge of Himself. The resurrection of Lazarus was not the greatest thing; the greatest thing is to know that the Lord Jesus is the resurrection. Many people believe that the Lord Jesus is the Life-giver. But it is altogether different to believe that the Lord Himself is life. He is not only the Life-giver; He is also the life. He is the Life-giver, and He is the life which He gives. He is not only the Lord who resurrects; He is resurrection itself. Once you see this, you will see that everything in Christ is living. God has only given Christ to man. We hope that at least a little light will shine on us so that we can know that the Lord is everything and know Him as such a Lord. He is the Grace-giver, and He is also the grace given. Our Lord said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Resurrection and life encompass the whole Bible. It is wonderful to know the resurrection and the life. Let us now see what life is.<br />CHRIST IS THE LIFE<br />God placed the man whom He had created in the garden of Eden. There were two options before the man. One was to receive life, and the other was to die. If man ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the result would be death. But if he ate of the fruit of the tree of life, he would receive life. The man created by God was good, but there was still one unresolved question—the question of life and death. In the garden of Eden man could think and act, but he did not have life. We are not saying that he was not alive. As far as his natural life was concerned, man was alive. Genesis 2:7 speaks of man being a living soul. Nevertheless, as far as the life represented by the tree of life was concerned, man did not yet have life. The life we are speaking of is this life represented by the tree of life. At the time of Genesis 2, although man was alive, he had no life. Man had sound thoughts and sound feelings (these two being the most important elements of man’s soul), but he did not have the life represented by the tree of life. From this we see that life is deeper than feelings and thoughts.<br />In Christianity, there are counterfeits to everything. There is false repentance, false confession, false salvation, false zeal, false love, false spiritual works, and false spiritual gifts. Everything can be counterfeited; even life can be counterfeited. Many Christians think that good feelings are life. They think that an exciting atmosphere and loud noises are life. If you ask them what life is, they will not separate life from feelings; they always mix the two together. They do not realize that life is deeper than feelings. Other Christians do not take feelings as life, yet they take mental activity as life. This means that if there are enough ideas in a message to invoke mental activity, enough words to stir up one’s interest, and enough doctrines to inspire admiration, they think that this is life. But those who are experienced and who have learned some lessons tell us that life is deeper than feelings and mental activities. Neither is life a kind of activity. We cannot say that just because a person is lively, energetic, and active, he has life. These are merely activities; they are not life. They are merely the performing of some activities; they are not the living of a life. We are not saying that life does not express itself in mental activities, feelings, or actions. We are saying that life is not feelings, mental activities, or actions. The words that come out of one person’s mouth may be life, while the same good words out of another person’s mouth may only be nice ideas. One may just touch excitement in one person, while he may touch life in another person. Many brothers think that when they feel a certain way, they have life. But an experienced brother will tell you that this is not life. Many brothers think that when they have a certain idea, they have life. But an experienced brother will tell you that this is not life. Two brothers may understand and expound a scriptural passage in the same way, but the strange thing is that an experienced Christian will sense a difference. One has both the right thought and life, while the other merely has the right thought. It is true that one often can touch life and mental thoughts at the same time. But we must not presume to think that touching the mind is equivalent to touching life. These are two different things. Many people think that because two people speak the same thing, they are therefore the same. But this is not necessarily true. It is possible that in one person we have the mind, while in the other person we do not have the mind, but life. Life is much deeper than mental activity; it is something deeper than good ideas. The Lord said, “I am the life.” Life is the Lord Himself. Life is not something other than Christ. If it is a thing, it is dead; it is not life. To many Christians, life is something they can produce out of themselves. But the Lord told us that He alone is the life.<br />We need the Lord’s mercy before we can see something concerning this matter. We can identify something as mental activity, we can identify something as feelings, and we can identify something as works. But we cannot identify what is life; there is no word to describe life clearly. We can only ask the Lord to show us what life is. Brothers and sisters, one day when the Lord opens our eyes, we will know what life is, and spontaneously we will touch the Lord.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">CHRIST IS THE RESURRECTION<br />Let us consider again what resurrection is. Whatever encounters death and still exists is resurrection. Resurrection is that which withstands death and endures death. After man ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, death came in and man died. Those who enter the grave never come out again. Once they go in, they never return. In the whole universe, of all men, only one came out of death. This One is our Lord. The Lord said, “I am...the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever” (Rev. 1:17-18). The Lord is the resurrected Lord. Resurrection is that which passes through death but is not imprisoned by death. In the Bible, the authority of death is described as a kind of imprisonment. To imprison someone is to confine him and not release him. Once man enters death, he cannot come out anymore. Death imprisons everyone who enters it. But death cannot imprison Him. This is the meaning of life, and this is the meaning of resurrection. Resurrection is the life that passes through death and rises above death. Our Lord Jesus is the life. He became dead and was in Hades. He was in the deepest place of death. But death could not imprison Him. Death was unable to detain or keep Him. He came out of death! When life passes through death and is not imprisoned by death, this is resurrection.<br />Resurrection means that a life bears the mark of death, yet still lives; it is living, yet it also bears the mark of death. This is what is meant by resurrection.<br />Many people ask why is it that after His resurrection in John 20, the Lord Jesus left the mark of the nails in His hands and the mark of the spear in His side for Thomas to touch (v. 27). We have to realize that this is what is meant by resurrection. The Lord Jesus was not showing Thomas one who had never been wounded and one who had never died; He wanted Thomas to see that He was wounded but now alive. He wanted Thomas to see that He had died but now lived. The Lord has the mark of death in His body, yet He is now living. This is what is meant by resurrection.<br />We can apply this principle to ourselves. There are many things in us that do not have the mark of death; they cannot be considered as resurrection. Resurrection must be something that has the mark of death and yet is still living. Do not think that as long as you have eloquence, cleverness, and talent, everything will be all right. It is possible for you to have eloquence without the mark of death. It is possible for you to have wisdom without the mark of death, and it is possible for you to have talent without the mark of death. Whether or not others see the mark of death in our eloquence, cleverness, and talent determines whether we have resurrection. A brother may be very competent, capable, and apparently lively. However, he is too self-confident and self-assured. He thinks that everything put in his hands will be handled well. There is no mark of death with this person; one does not see any mark of death in his competence. Although he is self-confident, self-trusting, self-assured, and very energetic, the mark of death cannot be found in him. This does not mean that a person who has passed through resurrection has no ability in himself. It merely means that with such a person, there is the mark of death. He can still do things, but he dares not trust in himself anymore, and he has lost all confidence. His own energy has been weakened. This is resurrection.<br />Paul wrote to the church in Corinth and said, “I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). This was spoken by a man who knew God. What a pity that among Christians, there are too many strong and self-confident ones! However, here is a man who said that he was “in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.” His body bore the mark of death, the seal of death.<br />Therefore, resurrection can never be separated from the cross. The cross removes something from us. Many things that originate from the self will not rise again once they have passed through the cross; they are lost in death. Whatever remains after it has passed through death, and whatever has the mark of death and is still living is resurrection. Resurrection must be something that has passed through death and whatever has passed through death must have suffered deprivation and loss. Brothers and sisters, if you really see what resurrection is, you will see what the cross is. You will see the stripping power of the cross. If you really know what resurrection is, you will find many things removed from you as you pass through the cross. If you really know what resurrection is, you will become another person; many things will be stripped from you. Only those things that have life will resurrect. Without life there is no possibility of resurrection. Suppose we cut a piece of wood into small segments and bury them into the ground. After some time, they will decay and become worthless. However, if we cut down a branch from a tree and plant it in the ground, after some time, it will germinate. In one case the sticks become rotten. In the other case the branch germinates. Anything that is dead rots, and anything that has life resurrects after it passes through death. Hence, the Lord’s resurrection was based upon His life. Because there is an incorruptible life in Him, death cannot imprison Him. Since there is something in Him which cannot die, death was cast away even while He was put into death. When we go through the cross experientially, many things will remain in death and not come out. Only the things which are of God will resurrect. When we touch the cross, we ourselves will be eliminated. The cross is a big minus; it subtracts many things.<br />Many brothers and sisters often ask, “How do I know whether I am dead or not? How do I know that the Lord has done something within me through the cross?” It is quite easy to answer this question. If the Lord has done something within, you should have lost many things. But if you have been the same since the day you were saved, and if you are still as full as you were before, the cross has not done anything within you. If the cross has truly done something within, you will find that a great elimination work has been done; you will find that the Lord has done a thorough cleanup job in you. The result of this elimination is that you can no longer do what you could do before, and you are no longer capable of the things you were once capable of. You are no longer sure of what you had such assurance of before. Where you were bold before, now you become fearful. This proves that the Lord has done something within you. If resurrection is within you, many things have been left behind in the grave, because these things could not pass the test of death. Nothing in Adam can live once it passes through death. Anything that belongs to resurrection belongs to the Lord’s life, the life which has passed through death and which has come out of death. Some things are lost through death, but are given back to us by the Lord. This is like the cutting of a branch from a tree. The branch seems to be dead. But when it is planted in the ground, after a period of time, it grows up again. This is resurrection. When we speak of having the mark of death on our body, it does not mean that we cannot speak or move anymore. Instead, it means that when we speak and move, we will not be as loose and self-confident as before. If a man has been touched by the Lord and dealt with by the cross, he will be weak, fearful, and trembling. He will not say, “I will do it,” “I can do it,” or “I can make it.” From that time on, he will still work, but he will be very fearful of God when he works. He will still walk, but his walk will be a walk after God just as Abraham walked step by step with God. You will see the mark of the cross on such a man. Such a man will have been penetrated and pierced by God. He will not be as whole as he was before. There will be the mark of death on his body. This is resurrection.<br />Today God communicates with man in resurrection. Yet this resurrection includes the cross. Therefore, nothing that we have can contact God without passing through death. Everything in the natural realm has to pass through death. If we are not in resurrection, God cannot fellowship with us. He cannot contact us except on the side of resurrection. Hence, we have to pass through death to enter into resurrection. The life we have received is the resurrected life, and whatever we have that has to do with God is in resurrection.<br />One problem frequently encountered in the spiritual realm is that man’s service to God is often based on natural things. Seldom do we see his service based on things in resurrection. Many people are very enthusiastic, but few have an enthusiasm in resurrection, an enthusiasm that has passed through death and that is still alive. Much enthusiasm is the first enthusiasm, not the second enthusiasm. We can find many brothers who are diligent and capable, but their capability is the first capability, not the second capability; such capability has never passed through death. If we live before God by the things in the natural realm, we are not living in resurrection.<br />Some have asked what the Body of Christ is. The Body of Christ is none other than the place where His resurrection is testified. In other words, anything that is not in resurrection cannot share a part in the Body of Christ. The church is not the place where you bring one thing and I bring another thing. It is not the place where you contribute your cleverness and I contribute my ingenuity. The church is not the place where you contribute something natural and I contribute something natural. The church shuts out all natural things and accepts only the things that belong to resurrection. Whenever natural things come in, the church will no longer be the church. In the church we cannot have anything that does not belong to resurrection. Many brothers ask how the church can be one. We need to know that oneness can never come through man’s ways. The oneness of the church can only be achieved when God’s children know the cross and deal with the flesh and natural things. If a man does not know the cross, whatever way he tries is useless. If the church resorts to natural means and human ways, nothing will be achieved. The church cannot have the flesh, and the church cannot have anything natural. If the flesh and natural things are brought into the church, the church will no longer be the church. It is true that the church needs people who consecrate themselves and who are useful, but the mark of death must be there. When we are useful, and when we also have the mark of death on ourselves, we have resurrection. We need to see that not only has the Lord Himself resurrected, He wants a church in resurrection also.<br />In order to have such experiences, we must look to God to work in us. We may be very familiar with many doctrines. However, if the Lord does not give us a fundamental blow, we will remain the same. Sometimes we fall and suffer pain, but this pain lasts only a couple of days or a few months. However, if we are broken by God in a fundamental way, and if we are broken deeply enough, we will not suffer pain for a few days or a few months, but we will have a scar over our entire life. We will remain crippled in God’s eyes the rest of our life, and the mark of the cross will always be with us. Paul saw the vision once on his journey. Many years later, he still testified, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). If some day the Lord has mercy on us and gives us a severe blow, our self will never rise again, and the scar will remain on us forever. We can touch the nail scars in the resurrected Lord’s hands and the wounds in His side. Today scars will be found on those who know the Lord and who experience the Lord as their personal resurrection as well. These scars will not pass away, and these scars will strip them of all their boastings; they will not dare to be self-confident, self-assured, or boastful of their own strength. Once a person is knocked down by the Lord, he will never be able to rise again. We hope the mark of the cross will become more and more apparent on us. It cannot be a performance or a pretense. Performance and pretense are useless. Whatever we do by ourselves is easily forgotten after a short time. However, once we are put on the altar and killed by the knife, we will never be able to rise up again. If we experience a fundamental blow, we will see that we can do nothing, we are nothing, and we are finished. If there is the mark of death on us, that mark will be a proof that we know resurrection. Those who know the cross know resurrection. Resurrection is whatever remains after passing through the cross. Many things will never rise up again once they pass through the cross. They are gone forever. Resurrection is whatever can pass through the cross. Only these things have spiritual value. Many things are brought into the grave and stay in the grave; these things are dead. However, many things pass through the grave and are brought to the other side; they bear the mark of the cross, and they are the things of resurrection.<br />May the Lord grant us the true knowledge of Christ as our resurrection. May we not only know Christ as our life, but also know Christ as our resurrection. May the Lord eliminate the many things that belong to us. May the Lord not only grant us more life and more of the things which are of Him, but may He eliminate all that we should not have. Many times we still live by our natural life and have not been broken by God. We have not seen God’s discipline and have not known the cross. May the Lord have mercy on us. May the natural things in us be eliminated more and more, and may the things of resurrection be expressed more and more. May life and resurrection be a fact and not an ideal to us. Whenever we stretch out our own hands, may the Lord show us that there is no resurrection, but only naturalness and the flesh. May He show us the flesh by the way of resurrection. If we do not see this, may the Lord have mercy on us and grant grace to us. Amen!</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-71646301363504283872007-08-02T06:21:00.000-06:002007-08-02T06:23:54.068-06:00CHRIST THE BREAD AND THE LIGHT OF LIFECHRIST IS THE BREAD OF LIFEAND THE LIGHT OF LIFE<br />Scripture Reading: John 6:35; 8:12<br />We have already briefly seen that all the spiritual things and all spiritual matters are Christ. God gives us Christ to be our spiritual things and matters. This is the crucial point in the spiritual life. Is our experience merely an experience? Or is our experience Christ? Is our righteousness merely righteousness? Or is our righteousness Christ? Is our holiness merely holiness? Or is our holiness Christ? Is our redemption merely redemption? Or is our redemption Christ? We often speak of the way, but the way we speak of may not be Christ Himself. We often speak of the truth, but we do not realize that Christ Himself is the truth. We often speak of the life, but the life we speak of may not be Christ Himself. In other words, we have many things other than Christ. This is the biggest spiritual problem among God’s children. We say with our mouth that Christ is the centrality of all things, but in our living we still keep many things other than Christ, as if these things could help us live our Christian life. We must turn this concept around. We must realize that God has no intention for us to keep so many so-called spiritual things other than Christ. Under God’s sovereign arrangement, there are things and matters, but God’s things and matters are just Christ. Christ is all spiritual things. He is our righteousness; He does not give us a righteousness apart from Himself. He is our holiness; He does not give us a power apart from Himself that enables us to be holy. He is our redemption; He does not give us a redemption apart from Himself. He is the way; He does not open a way for us apart from Himself. He is the truth; He does not present us a truth apart from Himself and then charge us to understand it. He is the life; He does not give us something called life apart from Himself. Brothers and sisters, the more we go on in God’s way, the more we will discover that there is only one grace among all God’s graces. There is only one gift among all God’s gifts. The grace is Christ, and the gift is Christ. Thank God that He is showing us that Christ includes everything day by day. Formerly, we thought of the Lord as our Savior. Today we can say that He is not only our Savior, but our salvation as well. This is amazing, yet it is a fact. When we were first saved, we believed in the Lord Jesus as our Savior. Now we can say that the Lord Jesus is also our redemption and our salvation. More and more we discover that Christ is God’s things and matters.<br />If we wrongly presume that what the Lord Jesus gives is different from the Lord Jesus Himself, and if we wrongly presume that grace and the One who gives grace are separate, these mistakes will cause us to suffer great spiritual damage. It will cut us off from the source of life. Therefore, we need to see more concerning Christ being our things and matters. In John 6:35 and 8:12, the Lord tells us that He is the bread of life and the light of life. Let us first see how He is the bread of life.<br />CHRIST IS THE BREAD OF LIFE<br />The Lord Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” He said this to those who looked for Him in Capernaum. They expected the Lord to give them food, and the Lord told them, “I am the bread of life.” This means that He is not only the One who gives the bread of life, but He is the bread of life itself. The Giver and the gift are one, not two. Thank God, Christ is not only the Giver, but also the gift of God.<br />What is the significance of bread in the Bible? In the Bible bread means satisfaction. The Bible uses hunger to express man’s dissatisfaction. In order to solve man’s dissatisfaction, man must have bread. Whether or not God’s children have the strength to go on depends upon whether they are satisfied within. Today if we feel satisfied within, we have strength. If we feel empty like a tire void of air, no one can drag us along. We cannot say that we do not have life, but we can be without strength. Satisfaction gives us strength. Satisfaction enables us to walk. Such an inexplicable satisfaction makes us feel well.<br />Let us see what the bread of God’s children is. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” The Lord Jesus gives life, and He also sustains life. Many Christians think that the bread is just an hour’s prayer or an hour of reading the Bible; they do not realize that the bread is the Lord Jesus Himself. We do not mean that prayer or reading the Bible is useless, but we should remember that the Lord Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” This means that the bread of life is just Himself. Many times God’s children are not satisfied because they do not realize that Christ is the bread of life. We often meet hungry people, those who are not satisfied with spiritual things. They are not satisfied with this, and they are not satisfied with that. Every day they are surrounded by dissatisfaction. We are not urging people to be proud or self-satisfied. Pride and self-satisfaction are one thing, but eating to the full and becoming satisfied is another. Some people have been dealt with by God; they live before God fearfully, and they are in weakness and trembling. They are not proud, yet they have touched the Lord and eaten to the full. They are satisfied before God, and this satisfaction is their power.<br />How then can we be filled? How can we be satisfied? We need to know that all satisfaction is related to Christ and all satisfaction is in life. Christ is the bread of life. Whenever we touch life in a real way, we are immediately satisfied. Whenever we offend life, we immediately feel inwardly collapsed. We need to mention some concrete examples to see how man can be satisfied.<br />Some brothers say, “I have been busily working for more than one year, running here and there. I have been so busy that my whole being is drained. I am hungry, and I hope to go some place for a spiritual retreat.” But when we read John 4, we realize that there is something wrong with these words. The Lord Jesus Christ was wearied from His journey and sat by the well of Jacob. The disciples had gone into town to buy some food, which shows that the Lord was hungry. At the well He met a woman of Samaria. God’s will was for the Lord to speak to her and save her, and the Lord did it accordingly. When the disciples came back with the food they had bought, they invited the Lord to eat, but the Lord said, “I have food to eat that you do not know about” (v. 32). The disciples thought that someone else had given Him something to eat. Therefore, in the following verses the Lord said to the disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work” (v. 34).<br />From this we see that working should only make us full; working should not make us hungry. Spiritual work should make us full every time we engage in it. If we become hungry every time we work, there must be something wrong. If we feel weak or deflated after we have worked, or if we feel that we are collapsing, it shows that there must be something wrong with our work. If our work is not separated from God’s will, and if our work is not according to ourselves, every time we work, we will not collapse, but we will increase in strength. Many times there is not an adequate preparation before the Lord, and we begin to work because there is a great need from outside or because of others’ urging. When we work under such circumstances, something within us will collapse, and we will not have the strength. After we finish such a work, there is no strength left within us, because something has gone wrong between us and the Lord. The more we participate in any work outside of God’s will, the more hungry we will become. In order for us to be satisfied, we must follow God’s will.<br />We must realize that Christ is our bread; our bread is not spiritual retreats or scriptural doctrines. We do not work until we become empty, and then go away for a rest; this is not our bread. Christ is our bread. We do not preach until we run out of teachings to speak about, and then go and find some new doctrines; this is not our bread. Our bread is Christ. Whether or not we are busy, if we have a word and the strength within, every time we stand up to speak for Christ, not only will the listeners be filled, but we will be filled as well. This is the result of the Lord working in us and in our life. This is why we touch the Lord. Eventually, after we are done, we will not feel any emptiness. Instead, we will feel that we have eaten a big meal and are full. It is wrong if we think that satisfaction depends on resting, on listening to messages, or on spiritual retreats. Food comes when we allow the Lord to do what He wants to do in us. The Lord is within us. Let us touch His life, and we will be satisfied.<br />In spiritual matters, one is not fed when he is at ease; he is fed when he is busy. While we are busy, we are fed. In spiritual matters, when we walk in the Lord’s will, the busier we are, the more we will eat. We will not collapse through our busy schedules, and we will not become empty through these activities. I believe many brothers and sisters can testify of this. Suppose you talk to a person today, yet God has not moved in that direction; He has not spoken in you. Even though you may speak enthusiastically, after five or ten minutes of this kind of speaking, you will feel that something is wrong within. You may try to change the direction of your conversation because you feel that you cannot go on. Finally, when you leave, you will feel empty inside. There is nothing wrong with your words; the words are right, the attitude is also right, and you have tried your best to help. But the strange thing is that the more you speak, the emptier you become, and the more you feel that something has collapsed inside. When you leave, you will feel as though you have committed a big sin. Sometimes you may see some outward results and may feel that you have done a good work. But when these feelings pass away, you feel just as empty and hungry within. Whenever you do something by yourself, no matter how successful you are outwardly, inwardly you will feel deflated. Brothers and sisters, have you ever had this kind of deflated feeling? If your work is not done before the Lord, and if you are not following the Lord fearfully but are walking by yourself, even if you have the best motive or intention, you will still feel deflated and depleted of any spiritual vigor. You will feel as though the more you work, the more meaningless things become, and the more emptiness there is. Under such circumstances, the more others speak of your success, the worse you will feel inside. The more others praise you and mention the help they have received from you, the more you will hate yourself. This shows that your work is not a kind of bread, because it does not satisfy you. Brothers and sisters, those who know the bread are the ones who have found satisfaction in the Lord. Only Christ is the bread of life; only Christ can satisfy you. You will feel hungry with any work you have done if the work does not bring you in touch with the Lord. If you touch the Lord, if you touch life, and if you touch spiritual reality, whether or not you are busy, you will be able to say, “Thank and praise God. I have the bread. The Lord is my bread.” Brothers and sisters, have you seen this? This is absolutely not something outward. The question is not where you have gone, what you have done, what message you have spoken, or how long you have spent in spiritual devotions. The question is whether or not you have touched the Lord within. Whoever touches the Lord is satisfied.<br />Some brothers and sisters may say, “What should I do? The Lord has not called me to preach in any place or to work in any place. Those who give messages and work have the opportunity to be filled. But we are not professional preachers and workers. Are we going to go hungry?” Brothers and sisters, thank God we do not have to be hungry. We may be doing only the smallest things; we may speak only ten or twenty sentences to others, or may speak only ten or twenty minutes to others. But as long as it is something out of the Lord, and as long as we do these things according to the Lord’s operation in us, we will feel relieved and satisfied after we have done them. It is the Lord who gives us a burden, and once we unload the burden, we feel satisfied and full within. Once we touch God, we are satisfied and fed. Therefore, brothers and sisters, the workers do not have the exclusive right to eat; everyone has the chance to eat. Every day we have the opportunity to eat, and every day we also have the opportunity to be satisfied. Christ is our bread. When we touch Him, we have bread.<br />Let me mention a deeper example. We often think that something is good or spiritual, but this thing is not the Lord’s will. When we carry it out, we feel empty inside. We can only be satisfied when we follow the Lord. Once a brother saw another brother walking in a wrong way. More than once he felt the need to clearly point out to the brother that the way he was taking was not a way of building up, but a way of corruption. However, he wanted to be a gentle Christian. He thought the best way was for him to smile and speak a few sweet-sounding words to persuade the brother. But every time he spoke in such a way, he felt like a glass with a hole in the bottom—everything had leaked out. In man’s eyes, he did quite well; he was gentle, and he did not try to hurt anyone. In man’s eyes, he was successful. Yet he felt hungry and unsatisfied. After two or three months, he felt wrong and came to the Lord and prayed for light. He asked the Lord to point out where he had gone wrong. One day he said to the Lord, “Lord, I will do whatever You want me to do.” The Lord listened to his prayer and showed him what he should do. Later the other brother came again, and this one rebuked him severely. According to his nature, whenever he said a severe word to others, he would suffer for a few days. But the strange thing was that this time, the more severely he spoke, the more he felt he was touching the Lord. He also did not have to make a confession, which he always did after he rebuked others. Instead, he could praise the Lord. After he rebuked the other brother, he felt as though he had taken a good meal. This does not mean that we can rebuke others as much as we please. It is wrong to rebuke someone according to our will. However, it means that when we do anything according to the Lord’s will, we are filled within, and we become stronger than ever. This shows us a fact: the good that we can perform by ourselves is not our food. We may think that as long as we can be gentle, everything will be fine. But experience tells us that even if we act gently, it is only our outward man who is doing it. It is a performance by our outward man, and this cannot become our food. Only when the Lord moves in us and we move according to His will, can we receive food. Whenever we touch life, we have food, and whenever we touch the Lord, we have satisfaction.<br /><br />CHRIST IS THE LIGHT OF LIFE<br />The Lord not only said that He is the bread of life, but He also said that He is the light of life. Food is for satisfaction, while light is for seeing. When one is satisfied, he has the strength, and when one sees, he can walk. We have seen how Christ is the bread of life. Now let us consider how Christ is the light of life.<br />First, we have to point out that the light of life is not the knowledge of the Bible. Everyone knows that as Christians, we should read the Bible properly. But if we read the Bible as a book of knowledge, a textbook of theology, we will merely gain knowledge. If we read the Bible this way, we may gain some doctrines from the Bible which are truly scriptural. Yet these are mere letters. At the time the Lord was born in Bethlehem, many priests and scribes could memorize the books of the prophets, but they did not know Christ. Today even though we have one book more than they, the New Testament, it is still possible for men to know only the letters of the Bible without knowing Christ. We are not saying that we should not read the Bible. But we need to realize that when we read the Bible, it is possible that we will gain only knowledge instead of knowing Christ. Many of the priests and scribes had only dead knowledge; they did not know the living Lord. Many people think that the light of life is just knowledge, doctrines, theology, or church dogmas. Some persons say that they have received some light, but the light they are speaking of is not necessarily the light of life. The light they are speaking of may only be interpretations of certain verses or certain teachings. At most they afford others a little more Bible knowledge. The light of life is not knowledge or anything other than the Lord Himself. The Lord said He Himself is the light of life. The light of life is the Lord Himself.<br />Brothers and sisters, many people can tell us from their experience that what they see in the light of life is often difficult to articulate. Interestingly, those who see it see it, yet they cannot say what they have actually seen. Once someone talked to a sister to find out if she was saved. He asked her a few questions. She answered, “When I was first saved, I did not know what it was, but I knew I was saved. If you believe that I am saved, I am saved, and if you do not believe that I am saved, I am still saved.” What she said is true. She was indeed saved, but she could not explain how she was saved. She knew it, but she could not explain it. Therefore, when the light comes, we may not be able to tell others many doctrines; it may be two or three years later before we can utter some doctrines or teachings. This light is the Lord Himself. When we see the Lord, we see the light.<br />What difference then does it make to us whether or not we see the light? What change will there be if we see the light? The difference is very great. If we truly see the light, we will fall to the ground. The light not only enlightens us but also kills us. Before Paul received the shining, it was not easy to put him on the ground. But once he received the shining, he fell. Some people always want to be humble. They try hard to be humble; they act humble in the way they speak and the way they act. But this kind of humility is very exhausting; even others feel exhausted for them. It is like a small child lifting a big dictionary; the book may not be very heavy, but it is exhausting for him to carry it. It is not easy for a proud man to be humble. It is not easy for us to fall down from the throne of pride. But once the light of the Lord shines on us, we fall immediately. We cannot explain it, but as soon as the light shines, we fall.<br />Teachings cannot make a man fall. A person can hear eight or ten teachings, and may even be able to recite them clearly and reasonably, but he remains the same. A message which should bring one to tears, or which should touch one’s carnal living and bring a man to his knees, can be turned into a subject of study, and a person may think that he has received something spiritual. When a doctrine becomes a thing, a teaching becomes a thing, and words become a thing, the result is death; it is not light. One brother was so happy after he heard the teachings of Romans 6 that he thought he had seen Romans 6. But after a few days, he and his wife fell into a big argument. The Romans 6 that he saw was a thing; it was letters from a book; it was not the light. If what he saw was light, he would not have been the same. He would fall down in the light. Light is piercing; it can do what a man cannot do. A teaching will not do it, the brothers and sisters will not be able to help, and our own effort will not achieve it. But the minute the light shines, everything is solved. We may say that we are very stubborn, but once the light shines, we will become soft. When John saw the light, he became as dead (Rev. 1:16-17). When Daniel saw the light, he fell toward the ground as dead (Dan. 10:5-9). No one can see the Lord’s face without falling down, and no one can see the Lord without becoming as dead. It is difficult to make ourselves die or to humble ourselves. But once the light shines, everything follows. The Lord’s light kills. Once a man receives the Lord’s light, he falls.<br />The Lord Jesus Himself is the light. Hence, when a man meets the Lord, he sees. When a man meets the Lord, he falls and becomes weak as though he were dead. With many people, their old personality is stubborn and has never been broken. It is useless for others to try to deal with their personality. It is also useless for them to try to deal with it themselves. However, once the Lord’s light shines on them, they receive sight and become broken men. Whenever a man sees the Lord, he becomes weak. Whenever a man sees the Lord, he is broken and cannot survive. This is the meaning of light. Brothers and sisters, we must never substitute any other thing for the light. What we usually speak of as light is not necessarily light itself. Most things are mere teachings and so-called truth. They do not have any spiritual value to us. Once a brother who loved the Lord very much met a man who said to him, “I am very glad because I found the doctrine of sin in Romans.” When the brother heard this he said, “Friend, did you only find the doctrine of sin in Romans today? I think you should have found the reality of sin in yourself long ago.” Many people are looking for doctrines, but they have not found the reality. Doctrines are mere words, and they are death. They are not light, they are not life, and they are not Christ.<br />When the light comes, the first thing it does is kill. We should not think that light only gives us sight. On the contrary, when the light comes, the first thing it does is to take away our sight. The light makes us see, but that is a later result. At first the light makes us blind and makes us fall; afterwards, we see. Anything that cannot make us fall to the ground is not the light. Anything that cannot humble us is not the light. Paul saw the light and fell to the ground, and his eyes could see nothing for three days (Acts 9:8-9). When we first encounter light, we become confused. When a person in darkness first sees light, he cannot distinguish anything; everything seems confusing to him. Anyone who is self-assured and who thinks he knows everything needs God’s mercy, because such a man has never seen the light. All that he knows are doctrines and knowledge. Once he sees the true light he will say, “Lord, what do I know? I know nothing.” The greater the revelation, the blinder one becomes, and the more severe a blow one suffers. Light makes a person humble; it makes a person fall. Only after this will a person see. If we have never suffered any blow and never been humbled, and if we have never been confused and never felt that we knew nothing, we have never encountered any light, and we are still in darkness. May the Lord have mercy on us so that His light may take away our self-assurance and so that we will not be so confident that we are right, that we are not wrong, and that we know so much. May we say before the Lord, “Lord, You are the light. Now I know that what I saw before was nothing but things.”<br />Light is not something abstract; it is something very concrete. The Lord Jesus is the light. When the Lord Jesus was among us, He was light among us, the very light walking among us. What a pity that to some Christians so many things are abstract. They hear this and that doctrine, but everything is abstract to them. They only know some abstract doctrines, but have not received any practical help.<br />One brother was studying in a parochial school when he was young. He went to church often and heard the teaching concerning salvation many times. Yet he had never met anyone who was saved, nor was he himself saved. One day he met a man preaching the gospel. When he heard the gospel the man preached, he was saved. He had not been saved earlier because he had heard only abstract doctrines. On that day, he met a genuinely saved person; he met something concrete, and he was saved.<br />One brother once related his experience of studying the Bible. He said, “I had heard many brothers and sisters speaking on sanctification, and I went to study the doctrine of sanctification. I found more than two hundred verses about holiness in the New Testament. I memorized them all and arranged them in proper order. Yet I still did not know what sanctification was; it was meaningless to me. Then one day I met an elderly sister who was a truly sanctified person. On that day my eyes were opened, and I saw what sanctification is. I met a person who was sanctification. The light was so bright that it hurt; when it came there was no way for me to escape. The light showed me the meaning of sanctification.”<br />From these experiences we can see that light is something concrete, living, and effective. If you merely convey doctrines to others, the result will be merely doctrines in them. This is dead, and this is not the light of life. The light of life will shine in their lives and will shine out from them. We must remember that with the Lord Jesus, light is something concrete. With us, it is also something concrete. This light is a living person. When this light appears, it is something living in us also.<br />Brothers and sisters, why does it seem as if God’s Word has lost its power in these days? Why does it appear so weak and abstract? The only reason is that there are too many doctrines! There is too much “truth” and too much knowledge of theology! We have to realize that only the living Lord can produce living persons. May the Lord truly have mercy on us to show us as the days go by that all things are dead and only the Lord is living. In Christianity even the nicest looking things, the sweetest sounding things, and the things men consider most spiritual are dead if they are outside of Christ. The Lord Himself should be everything in us. He Himself is everything. Only He is living. He is living in us, and when He is passed on to others, He will be living in them as well. May the Lord be merciful to us so that we will prostrate ourselves before Him. When we do this, we will know the Lord in a way different than we did before.Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-71519323826916719022007-08-02T06:11:00.000-06:002007-08-02T06:17:59.639-06:00<span style="font-size:180%;">CHRIST IS GOD’S MATTERS AND THINGS<br />Scripture Reading: John 1:29; 6:53; 8:12, 24, 28; 11:25; 14:6; 1 Cor. 1:30; Col. 3:4; 1 Tim. 1:1; Psa. 27:1<br />GOD’S GOAL AND MEANS—CHRIST<br />God’s goal is Christ, and Christ is also God’s means. God uses Christ as the means to reach the goal, which is Christ. We can know and see God’s goal particularly from the books of Ephesians and Colossians. In this message we would like to consider God’s goal from these two books. There is one difference between these two books: Ephesians shows us that according to the economy of the fullness of the times, God wants to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth (1:10); Colossians shows us that God has not only made Christ to be Head over all things, but God has made Him all and in all (1:18; 3:11b). Colossians shows us that God’s goal is Christ, and His means is also Christ. God’s goal is for Christ to be Head over all things. In order to arrive at this, God must make Christ to be all. He must be all and, at the same time, He must be in all. Only then will all things be headed up, for if Christ is all and if Christ is in all, all things will be headed up spontaneously.<br />Please remember that in God’s eyes, there are not many things. In God’s eyes, there is only Christ. In God’s eyes there is no matter and no thing; in God’s eyes there is only Christ. What we ordinarily think of as matters and things do not exist in God’s eyes. We may consider that there are many matters and things in this world. According to our worldly view, there are matters and there are things. But in God’s eyes, Christ is everything. There is no matter, and there is no thing. Christ is all the matters, and Christ is all the things. When the day comes that Christ is in all matters and in all things, God’s eternal purpose will be fulfilled.<br />I hope that you can see that Christ has headed up all things in Himself. This does not begin in the future when God’s eternal purpose is fulfilled; it begins today through the church.<br />Tonight I will not go too deep; I will only touch this matter briefly. God has ordained that all matters and things will be headed up in Christ in the future. How can all things be headed up? God says that Christ is all things. He is all, and at the same time, He is in all. When this happens, we will only see Christ in the world; we will not see matters and things anymore, because all matters and all things will have passed away.<br />Today in the church, God is starting to show us that Christ is all matters and things. When the church sees this, it will begin to live in the realm of the spirit. If the eyes of the church are set only on matters and things, it has not seen Christ yet.<br />The matters I am referring to are not the matters of the world, and the things I am referring to are not the things of the world. The matters and things I am referring to are spiritual matters and things.<br />THE REVELATION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN<br />Christ Being the Things of God<br />I would like to point out a very interesting thing here. The Gospel of John is the deepest Gospel; it is also the last Gospel written. It is the last book written in the New Testament. Many Epistles and books were written before the Gospel of John was written. John wrote his Gospel last. He wrote many things which are not found in the other Gospels. At the end he said that our understanding of Christ should be the same as God’s understanding of Christ.<br />What we see in this book is not God’s requirement for a lamb, or His gift of the bread of life. What we see is not just God’s provision of a way, a truth, or a life. It is not a matter of the Lord having the power to restore man’s life; it is not a matter of resurrection. It is not a matter of the Lord Jesus being able to give light, restore sight, and lead those who follow Him out of darkness. In the whole Gospel, we see only one great fact. This fact is that Christ is all things. The Gospel of John says that He is the light of the world; it does not say that He gives us light. It says that He is the bread of life; it does not say that He gives the bread of life. It says that He is the way; it does not say that He can show us the way. It says that He is the truth; it does not say that He can teach us a truth. It says that He is the life; it does not say that He can give us life. After Lazarus died, the Lord did not tell Martha and Mary that He had the power to resurrect their brother. Rather, He said that He is the resurrection.<br />Please remember that the bread of life is a thing, light is a thing, the way is a thing, truth is a thing, and life, resurrection, and the lamb are all things. But in Christianity, we do not find individual things. In Christianity, there is only Christ! Christ is what it is all about.<br />Today we have to see one thing before the Lord. We have to realize that in our experience there are not many matters and things. In our experience, there is only Christ. He does not give us the light; He is our light. He does not lead us to a way; He is our way. He does not give us life; He is our life. He does not teach us to understand a truth; He is the truth. Brothers, do you see the difference? All that God has given us is Christ Himself.<br />One day I told a group of people a spiritual fact. As I was speaking, many eyes began to stare at me. I said, “Let me tell you one crucial fact: God’s Christ is God’s matters. God does not have matters; God only has Christ! He has not given us light; He has given us Christ. He has not given us food; He has given us Christ. He has not given us a way, a truth, and a life; He has given us Christ. God’s Christ is all things. Apart from Christ, God does not have any thing.”</span><br /><br />WHAT PAUL KNEW<br />Christ Being Our Hope<br />I would like to point out that not only does the Lord Jesus’ own word testify to this, but Paul said the same thing. He knew the Lord, and he showed us one very interesting thing. He said to Timothy, “Christ Jesus our hope” (1 Tim. 1:1). I like this word. Do you like it? He did not say that our hope is in Christ Jesus. Rather, he said Christ Jesus is our hope. We do not put our hope in Him, and we do not draw hope from Him. Rather, Christ Jesus is our hope.<br />Christ Being Our Life<br />Again he said to the Colossians, “When Christ our life is manifested...” (Col. 3:4). He did not say, “When Christ is manifested.” Rather, he said, “When Christ our life is manifested.” He said that Christ is our life. A Christian does not have many matters; a Christian only has Christ.<br />Christ Being Our Wisdom:Righteousness, Sanctification, Redemption<br />This is not all. In these messages, the one verse that we emphasize more than any other verse is 1 Corinthians 1:30. What does it say? It says, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” God has not given us righteousness; He has given us Christ. Christ is our righteousness. God has not given us sanctification; He has given us Christ. Christ is our sanctification. God has not given us redemption; He has given us Christ. Christ is our redemption. God has not given us wisdom; He has given us Christ. Christ is our wisdom. This is why we say that the Christ of God is the things of God. God’s Christ is God’s matters and things. Apart from Christ, God does not have any matter or thing.<br />Christ Being Our Righteousness<br />If God were to say to us, “I have made the Lord Jesus the Lord of righteousness; He is the One who justifies you,” what would you say? You would say “Yes, He has justified us.” But God has not asked the Lord Jesus to be the Justifier; He has asked the Lord Jesus to be our righteousness. Is this good? This is excellent. He is not the Justifier, but our righteousness. He is our righteousness.<br />Christ Being Our Sanctification<br />Paul did not say that the Lord Jesus has become “the One that sanctifies.” Rather, he said that Christ is sanctification. The Lord Jesus is not sanctifying us; He Himself is becoming our sanctification. God has made the Lord Jesus our sanctification. Our sanctification is Christ. Our sanctification is not a thing; it is not an act or a behavior. Our sanctification is a person—Christ.<br />Christ Being Our Redemption<br />Again Paul did not say that the Lord is our Redeemer. He said that the Lord is our redemption. Is this not strange? First Corinthians 1:30 does not say that God has appointed the Lord Jesus to be a Redeemer. Rather, it says that the Lord Jesus is redemption.<br />Thank the Lord that our Redeemer is Christ, and our redemption is also Christ. The One who sanctifies is Christ, and our sanctification is also Christ. The One who justifies is Christ, and our righteousness is also Christ. The One who gives wisdom is Christ, and that wisdom is also Christ!<br />WHAT DAVID KNEW<br />Christ Being Our Salvation<br />If I stand here and say to you, “The Lord Jesus is our Savior,” you will respond, “That is right. The Lord Jesus is our Savior.” But Psalm 27:1 tells us that the Lord is our salvation. It shows us that the Lord is our salvation and not our Savior. It is a fact that the Lord is our Savior. But God showed David that the Lord is our salvation. The Lord is our Savior, but He is also our salvation; He is that very thing. The Lord Jesus is the things of God. He is God’s matters and God’s things. The Lord Jesus Himself is the very thing that God has given us.<br />I have no intention of remaining too long on the exposition of the Bible. I am merely laying a foundation. If you spend some time to consider God’s Word, you will see that Christ is God’s things. God has not only given Him to be our Savior and our Redeemer. He has not only given Him to be the Lord of sanctification and the Lord of righteousness. He has given us Christ to be our things. Righteousness is a thing, sanctification is a thing, and justification is a thing, or a matter. But Christ is these matters or things.<br />THERE BEING ONLY ONE PERSONIN THE CHRISTIANITY OF LIFE<br />You may ask, “Brother, why do you have to spend so much time on all this?” I must tell you that this is the very difference between a Christianity of life and a Christianity of behavior. There is a vast difference between these two kinds of ways. The gap between these two ways is very great. One is spiritual, and the other is not. One is of God, and the other is of man’s mind. These are two entirely different things. If you study God’s Word, you will find that there is only one person in His Word; there are not many things. There is only the person; there are not matters and things. There is only one person—the Lord Jesus. Other than this person, one cannot find any other matter or thing.<br />The biggest problem with God’s children today is that the Christianity they know is a fragmented Christianity. One person receives a little grace. Another person receives a little gift. A third person picks up tongue-speaking, while a fourth person experiences some changes in his behavior. Some have love, some have endurance, and some have humility. You may consider this as Christianity. Indeed, this is the Christianity that man speaks of today. But actually, this is not Christianity. Christianity is just Christ. Christianity is not a gift; it is not Christ giving you something. Christianity is just Christ Himself. Can you tell the difference between the two? These are absolutely two different ways; they are two entirely different ways. Christianity is not Christ giving you something. Christianity is Christ giving Himself to you. The problem is that in today‘s Christianity, man thinks only in terms of Christ’s gifts. When he was a sinner, Christ gave him grace and mercy. Now that he has become a Christian, Christ gives him endurance and Christ gives him humility and meekness. It seems as if Christ is giving him many things.<br /><br />THERE BEING NO NON-PERSONIFIEDTHINGS IN CHRISTIANITY<br />In God’s eyes, what is important is not the gifts of Christ. In God’s eyes, He has given us Christ Himself. God has not given us humility or endurance; He has given us the whole Christ. Christ is becoming our humility, and Christ is becoming our endurance and meekness. It is Christ, the living Lord. This is Christianity.<br />Please remember that there are no non-personified things in Christianity. We must never receive a merely non-personified thing. In Christianity, all things are personified, and that person is Christ. In other words, our endurance is not a thing; our endurance is a person. Our sanctification is not an experience; our sanctification is a person, something personified. Our justification is not an experience; our justification is a person. Our righteousness is not an act; our righteousness is a person. Our redemption and deliverance are not something that we receive at one time; our redemption and deliverance are a person. Our endurance, humility, meekness, love, etc., are the Lord Himself; they are not things. This is Christianity. Christ is everything to the saints today. There is no need to wait for that day to come.<br />Many people ask how we can say that Christ is all. If you know the Christianity of life, you will acknowledge that He is all. He does not give all, rather He is all. These are two entirely different things.<br />Why is it that God’s children fail so much today? They fail because they have only received a gift before the Lord; they have not received Christ. They have received fragmentary things before the Lord; they have not received the Christ God has given them. They have received only matters and things; they have not received a person. I do not know how much you have seen before the Lord. But I can say that when this question is resolved, all questions are resolved.<br />When we were saved, many of us heard God’s Word, which says that He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that we will not perish, but will have eternal life. When we heard such a word, we felt that we needed to be saved, and we went to God and prayed, “Lord, You have loved me and given Yourself to me. Can You give salvation to me also? You have become my Savior. Can You give me salvation also?” How foolish we were! We felt that having a Savior was not enough and that we needed salvation also! Many people have done this. And what do we do in our gospel preaching? We say that God has given us the Savior, yet when we repent, we pray, “God, grant me Your salvation.” However, God has only one Son, and this Son is salvation. When we have the Savior, we have salvation. Do we still have to ask for salvation? Only a foolish man would say, “God, You have given me a Savior. Now please give me salvation.”<br />“I AM...”<br />Today we are Christians, and we are saved; God has given Christ to us to be our life. But we constantly ask for one thing after another; we ask for one, two, three, ten, fifty, a hundred, ten thousand, a million, and ten million things. We think that these individual things are important. But God shows us that Christ is our everything.<br />This is why God’s Word shows us that Christ’s name is “I am.” Perhaps I should not be speaking so much of this matter outside the Bible; we should consider more of what the Bible says about this.<br />Food<br />In the Gospel of John, the Lord said that He is the bread of life. We often ask God for food; we think that there is something called food. We are hungry, and we ask God, saying, “Please give us food.” But it is so strange that those who ask for food never receive food. Those who ask for food are always hungry. Those who beg for food are the ones who are always hungry. I cannot say that I have been serving the Lord for many years. But I can at least say that I have been serving Him for some years. During these years, I have never met a person who asked for food who received it. You may say, “Does this mean that God’s Word is wrong? Does not Luke 1:53 say that He will fill the hungry with good things?” I say, yes, it is true that the hungry ones will be filled with good things. But with what are the hungry ones filled? We have to realize that what fills us is not food, but Christ. We often feel hungry, and we have a need. We feel empty and believe that God has food. So we pray and hope to receive food. But we do not know how we can get the food. All we know is that we should contact the Lord, believe more, receive more, and enjoy more. But the amazing thing is that when we believe more, receive more, and look to Him more, we do not get the food that we hoped for, yet we are filled. We do not receive the food that we expected to receive. But through our looking to the Lord, and through contacting and receiving Him, we are filled. God’s food is Christ. His food is not just food. God has no matters; His food is just Christ. The Chinese have an idiomatic expression “Chien-pien-yi-lu,” which means “a thousand pages of the same thing.” It is not a good thing to be all the same. But before the Lord, all the things of God are “a thousand pages of the same thing.” No matter what we are seeking before the Lord, what He gives us is the same—Christ; He is “a thousand pages of the same thing.” He is the One who meets our need; things do not meet our need.<br />Righteousness and Sanctification<br />Many times, I can praise and rejoice for one reason only: my righteousness is not my conduct; my righteousness is a person, who is the Lord Jesus. Because the Lord Jesus has become my righteousness, every time I mention my righteousness, I can say that not only do I have righteousness or justification, but I can speak to my Righteousness, praise my Righteousness, and give glory to my Righteousness. Is this not a wonderful word? You may wonder how one can give glory to his righteousness. Yes, I often give glory to my Righteousness, because my Righteousness is the Lord Jesus. My sanctification is not my work. When I praise my Sanctification, I am not praising my work. No, I hate my work. Yet I can say that I praise my Sanctification, because my sanctification is my Lord. These are two entirely different things. Can you see this? It is not things but the Lord.<br /><br />GOD’S TEARING DOWN AND HIS BUILDING UP<br />We can find one fact in our spiritual experience. Some people have been Christians for one, two, three, five, or even twenty or thirty years. The strange thing is that when they first became Christians, they were very patient. But the more they went on as Christians, the more they could not control their temper, and the worse they became. I remember many people telling me that at the beginning, they were very patient; they could forgive, they could pray, and they could suffer any treatment from others. Others could treat them any way they wanted in school, at home, and at work. But now, they could not tolerate the same things anymore. In the past, they could do everything; now they cannot do them anymore. Sometimes they managed to hold back their temper, but something within them wanted revenge. We have seen too many examples of this kind. I can tell you a thousand, even ten thousand, stories like this one. Many people can testify that once they were humble, but they cannot be humble anymore. Once they were patient, but they cannot be patient anymore. Once they were loving, but they cannot be loving anymore. Once they were meek, but they have become stubborn. Once they were zealous, but they have become cold. They cannot explain this.<br />Brothers, we have to remember that God must take away everything that we have. When we first believed in the Lord, we felt that we lacked love, and we asked God for love. To put it in simple language, God gave us a “dose” of love, or a “packet” of love, so that we could love. It was a thing to us. We may have received plenty of these things. But God cannot allow love to remain forever as a thing in us; He has to put Christ into us. Therefore, He removes that love. Many people had a bad temper before they believed in the Lord; their temper was quick. After they picked up patience, patience became a thing, a gift, a salvation, or a spare part to them. As long as they had such a thing, they could work. During the first, second, and third year, these things may have served well. However, by the fifth year, or even as early as the third year, the situation began to change; the things themselves were gone. Today God is doing the same work in many of His children; He is removing all the things. Not only will He remove the worldly things; He will remove the spiritual things as well. Before you were saved, the matters and things of the world took the place of Christ. After you were saved, spiritual matters and things took the place of Christ. One day, God will show you that “Christ is all the world to you.” Once God took away the things and matters of the world from you. Now he is taking away spiritual things and matters from you. He will take away your patience, your love, your power, your meekness, your humility, and everything that you have. He will show you that you do not live by patience but by a person. You will be patient because you have received a person, not because you have received a power. You will be humble, not because you have received a power, but because you have received a person. All the spiritual things have to go away. All the “its” have to go away.<br />For this reason, God’s tearing down work, as well as His building work, goes on daily in many of His children. Daily “things” are torn down, and Christ is built up. This is the way God deals with His children. In the past, God might have given you a thing; He might have given you a power for endurance. You were so sure of this experience that you could almost write down the words: “My problem with endurance is over.” Next you had to deal with humility, and God gave you another thing; He gave you the strength to humble yourself, and you were able to say that the problem of humility was also settled. When another thing is not settled, you pray daily before the Lord to try to solve it. You are always busy solving this and that problem. You are always trying to deal with this and that question. You are always dealing with individual problems. Brothers, God will take away many “things” from you; He will only give you One; He will only give you a person. This One will be your humility, your endurance, your meekness, and your love. He is the One who is. When you have Him, you can truly say, “God, You are the I am.” This is Christianity. God is continually tearing down and building up. He will continue this work until one day we can say that Christ is everything. One day the universe will confess that Christ is everything. But first God wants us to confess within ourselves that Christ is everything.<br />Forgive me for speaking something about myself. I care much for many people and bear much of the responsibility for their spiritual condition. When I met a brother who was wrong, I often tried to exhort him. But I could only say, “Brother, you are lacking in love. Next time, you have to love your brother.” He may have succeeded in loving, and I may have felt great that I saw some result to my work. But actually, what he acquired was love and not Christ. Love to that brother was not a person but a thing, a behavior. This is a Christianity of behavior. It is human conduct; it is man who is working, seeking, hoping, praying, believing, receiving, gaining, and acquiring something called love. This is why I say that love is only a thing and a behavior to him. But if that love is Christ, it is a totally different story. Christ alone is everything; it is not him. Christ is loving; it is not him who is loving. This makes love a law of life instead of an act of the will. This is a different kind of Christianity.<br />I do not know whether you have seen the difference. What do you feel when you render some help to a brother and open his eyes and help him to go on with the Lord? The most difficult thing we face today is that many people are merely involved in the things of Christianity; they do not know Christ and have not realized that God’s thing is just Christ.<br />THE SECOND STAGE OF KNOWING<br />What does it mean to know Christ? I may say that knowing Christ is to know Him through matters and things. What does it mean to know Christ through matters and things? It means knowing that Christ is our matters and Christ is our things. Some people can say that they know Christ as their patience, Christ as their love, or Christ as their humility; this is knowing Christ. Once a person has this knowledge, he will have a thorough change. Once he has this change, he will say that his world does not consist of any thing anymore. I believe that some among us can say this, and some among us know what this means. In my world, my spiritual world, there are not many things. In my spiritual world, there is only Christ. I do not have any holiness; I only have Christ. But this does not mean that I am not holy; it means that Christ has become my holiness. If you have this experience, you will immediately see that Christ is the One who is. This is the focus of everything—Christ is the One who is. If you have this experience, you will be delivered from all the outward things. The only question now is whether or not you know Christ. It is not a question of prayer, exhortation, or encouragement.<br />I wish to see my co-workers paying more attention to this matter. It is not a matter of exhortation or encouragement. If you try to encourage someone, at the most you will stir him up to do something by himself. But the only thing that counts is God opening man’s eyes to know Christ. Even if I could repeat the things I have said a hundred times, it would still be useless. If God opens our eyes to see that Christ is the one thing we lack, everything is solved. Many people know Christ as the Lord of justification, but they still fear God and do not know that Christ is their righteousness. Many people know Christ as the Sanctifier, but they are still not sanctified. This is because they think that they lack sanctification. They think that the Lord is the One who sanctifies them, and they ask Him to give them the strength to become sanctified; they want to be sanctified. But while they are doing this, they find that they cannot make it. They cannot do it; they cannot be sanctified. Then God opens their eyes and gives them the light to see that Christ is their sanctification. God is not asking them to be sanctified; He is not giving them the strength to be sanctified. Rather, Christ becomes their sanctification. Christ in them has become their sanctification. When this happens, all problems will go away because He will be the “I am.” I can afford to lose my power. But I cannot afford to lose Christ. My sanctification is not something I do in myself. My sanctification is something He has done in me. Once I know what Christ is to me, all the problems are solved. Christ is the One who is. I have nothing else to say. I have only one thing to tell you: Christ is the One who is.<br />The problem is that although many of us know that Christ is our Lord, we do not know that Christ is our matters and things. All those who know Him only as the Redeemer, Justifier, Sanctifier, or any other “-er,” only know His work; they do not know what He is. But God wants us to know Him as redemption, sanctification, and righteousness.<br />Let me ask a question: Is the Lord Jesus you know your Savior or your salvation? Is the Lord you know your Redeemer or your redemption? Is He your Liberator or your liberation? Is He your Sanctifier or your sanctification? Is He your Justifier or your righteousness. Those who know Him as the “-er,” only know Him in a superficial way. Those who know Him as matters and things enter the second stage of their knowing of Him, and their knowing of Him is higher and deeper.<br />The problem among God’s children is that there are too many things. When we know the Lord as the One who is, our things will become a person, and everything will be settled. Then God’s purpose, which He intends to fulfill in eternity, will be fulfilled in us.<br />Whenever our holiness, redemption, regeneration, power, grace, and gift only remain as things, we are barely touching the periphery of Christianity. When we no longer see these things as things, but as the Lord Himself, we will begin to know God. Then we will begin to enter the goal of God’s eternal purpose. From that point on, we will no longer see the many things of this world. We will see the Lord alone. He will become the One upon whom all the issues hinge.<br />This is why I said at the beginning that many people have things that are dead. Only when they understand what we are speaking of here will their things become personified. It is Him. Our regeneration is not a thing, but a person. We have a personified One, not a thing. Everything that I have is personified, because everything that I have is the Lord. First, the Lord leads us to know Him. Then He leads us to know that He is our things. When we are led to know Him as all things, we will be delivered from our own life, and we will be delivered even from the spiritual world and spiritual things. From that day on, we will truly say that the Lord is all and in all. We will truly say that He is everything in our living. If I am patient today, I am not the one who is patient, but Christ is my patience within me. When I love today, I am not the one who is trying to love. The power of love is not within me; rather, a person loves within me. If I can forgive today, it is not because I am forbearing, it is not because I have made any effort of my own, and it is not because I am capable. If I can forgive today, it is because there is One within me who is always forgiving. He is my forgiveness. We are humble not because we have told ourselves that we are too proud and that we have to be humble. We do not become humble by suppressing our pride or by making up our mind to be humble. Rather, a person is living out humility within us; He is our humility. This is why we can be humble. This is the law of life which we have been speaking of during the past few months. The law of life is nothing other than Christ becoming our things and Christ becoming our life.<br />Brothers and sisters, may the Lord open our eyes. We pray that He would truly open our eyes so that we would see. All things will eventually pass away, and only He will remain. Therefore, here in this place, we should only have Him alone.Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9009039764796918450.post-22588620224532886082007-08-02T06:04:00.000-06:002007-08-02T06:09:31.656-06:00<span style="font-size:180%;">CHRIST ONLY—NOT MATTERS OR THINGS<br />Scripture Reading: John 8:28; Col. 3:3-4; 1:16-20<br />MAN’S THOUGHTS AND DEMANDS<br />The first gift we received from God was the Son of God, who is Christ. But different people have different degrees of knowledge of God. Among God’s children, some know the Lord Jesus as one of the many gifts of God, while others know Him as God’s unique gift. Many people confess that the Lord Jesus is God’s gift, which means that they recognize Him as God’s unique gift. But many other people accept the Lord Jesus only as their first gift. Apart from the Lord Jesus, they still see many other gifts. There is the first gift, but there are also the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the tenth, the thousandth, and even the ten thousandth gift.<br />When many people believe in the Lord, they accept Him and they are saved. But after they are saved, they find that in spite of their salvation, they still have many shortcomings and needs.<br />Some people find that they have a quick temper. Although they are saved, they still have their temper. Some people find that they are very proud. Although they are saved, their pride still follows them. Many people find that they are weak and timid. Although they are saved, they are still timid.<br />Hence, among God’s children, we very often find that after many believe in the Lord Jesus and are saved, they hope, ask, believe, and pray before the Lord, and subsequently receive many gifts. They regard the Lord Jesus as one of the many gifts. They consider the Lord Jesus as one from among many gifts of God; that is, He is only the first among many gifts.<br />It is very interesting that at the beginning of our pursuit of the Lord we see many needs in ourselves. We think that since we are Christians, we should not do this and that. We are very sure that we are genuine Christians, yet we still have many shortcomings. It does not matter what the shortcomings are; as long as there are shortcomings, we consider them as wrong, and we try all we can to deal with these shortcomings. For this reason, we pray before God, we hope, we believe, and we strive, and eventually we receive something. When this happens, it seems as though we have overcome our shortcomings, and we rejoice in our heart that we have acquired a gift.<br />In this circumstance, many of God’s children begin to think that the purpose of God’s gifts and grace is just to fill up our lack. When some people hear this, they may ask, “If God’s grace is not here to fill up our lack, what is it for?” Many people think that God’s grace is for filling up our lack. This is like a Bible that has two thousand pages. If it is short one page, we try to make up the missing page. This is what we do when we try to use God’s grace to fill up our lack. In other words, we think that we are lacking just a part; we think that we are lacking only a little and that as long as we can fill up that little part, we will be perfect. Some have said that they lack five things, and as soon as they have the five things, they will be satisfied. Some have said that they lack ten things, and as long as they have the ten things, they will be satisfied. Some may say that they have love and that they only need a little more humility, a little more patience, or a few other things. As soon as they have these few things, they say that everything will be fine. Man’s thought is merely one of lack and shortage. What does he do? He prays to God and asks God to give him what he lacks.<br />But the problem is that many of us have come to realize that what we think we lack before the Lord and what we ask for are merely things. Our lack and our prayers are all centered around the matters and the things; they are all individual, countable objects. We say that we lack this or that, and if God will fill up our lack, everything will be all right.<br />We lack patience. But what kind of patience are we looking for? Most of the time our eyes do not look to heaven. If our eyes did look to heaven, we would be looking upward. But most of the time, we cannot look upward; we can only watch and look at what is around us. We sigh and say that certain people are good but that we are not like them. What they have is patience, and what we have is a temper. What they have is meekness, but what we have is pride. We wish that we could be as patient and meek as they. Once I prayed to the Lord—it might have been my first prayer—that God would give me a Bible like the one I saw in a certain brother’s hand. We can only pray for things that we see. We can only pray after we have seen something, and we can only pray for what others already have. We cannot pray for something from heaven which we have never seen. As a consequence, when we pray, we ask for patience like that of a certain person, or we ask for humility like that of another person. In our mind, we already have a picture of what humility is and what patience is.<br />If, when we were first saved, God had told us that He was going to pluck patience from a certain person and give it to us, would we not have been overjoyed? If we could have patience and humility on top of what we already had, we would have been satisfied and thought that we were perfect.<br />Patience is a thing to us; it is a thing that others possess. There is a certain thing called patience among the brothers and sisters, and we want it. We often hate ourselves, and we blame our parents for begetting us and giving us such a bad temper. We wish that we could be like certain persons, because they have something which we do not have. Many of God’s children are after patience as a thing. They want something that will stop them from losing their temper. They think they need something called patience. With many people, patience is a thing. God has this thing, and it is found in many places on earth, but they do not have it. They think they need this thing, patience, so that they can become a patient person.<br />Here lies the basic difference between genuine Christianity and wrong Christianity. Many of God’s children are looking for things which they think can be found everywhere except in themselves. They think that it is found in Mr. Chang, in Mr. Yu, in Mr. Hsu, or in this or that person, but not in them. They are pursuing after a thing that can be found on earth. This is Christianity in the mind of many. They are craving for and pursuing after things, and they have acquired things. Many people only acquire a thing; yet their heart rejoices and they thank the Lord because they have acquired it.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">THERE BEING ONLY CHRIST IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD<br />Many Christians have not seen that there are not many things in the spiritual world; there is only Christ. There is no patience in the spiritual world; there is only Christ. There is no humility, sanctification, or light in the spiritual world; there is only Christ. There are not many things in the spiritual world; only Christ exists.<br />The Lord has to do a fundamental work in us. This is what we need before the Lord. If you would not misunderstand me, I will say that we need a second salvation. In our first salvation, we saw that our need was Christ and not works. We saw that salvation was through Christ and not through work. Now we need another strong and thorough vision: we do not need things; we need Christ. We need to have an experience as thorough and strong as our first salvation, and we need to have as many things torn down as when we were first saved. When many people were first saved, many things were torn down, and they gained Christ. In the same way, many things need to be torn down in them today. The difference is that what was torn down the first time were sinful things, while the things that need to be torn down now are spiritual things. The first time their pride, jealousy, vainglory, temper, and other sins were torn down. Now their patience, humility, and so-called holiness need to be torn down. These things must be torn down before they will see that Christ is their life and that He is the One who is. This inward Christianity is absolutely different from the Christianity that man commonly believes in.<br />If you would not be offended, I would say an honest word to you. In the past, many brothers and sisters have come to talk with me and have asked me many questions. I could only say to them, “You may think that you are better than many people, but I am afraid that you will be the same as you are tonight for the rest of your life. You have many things. You have a great deal of patience and humility. You are a very capable and nice person. You are loving, helpful, and forgiving. You are willing to do this and that. Humanly speaking, it is hard to find a Christian like you. But I must speak an honest word: you only have things. You have to realize that what is truly spiritual before the Lord are not things, but the Lord Jesus Christ. What you are, what you can do, or what you have does not matter; only Christ matters. The only thing that has any spiritual value is what Christ has accomplished in you.” In the spiritual world, there are not many things; there is only Christ. Christ is the matters and things of God.<br />TOUCHING CHRIST BEING TOUCHING LIFE<br />Perhaps I can cover some practical experiences. Please excuse me for mentioning some of my personal experiences. During the past few days, a brother encountered an accident at home. Because of my responsibility, I should naturally have gone to visit him. By visiting him, I would be able to help him by expressing my personal concerns and also save myself a considerable amount of work later—we should either want to be a loving Christian or not want to be a Christian at all. But the strange thing is that when I resolved to visit the brother, I became colder and colder within while I was on the road. Nothing seemed to respond within me. I immediately knew that I was trying to perform an act of love. I was trying to perform an act of brotherly love, but as I was doing it, I touched death. It was the right thing to do. It was a good thing, but it was not Christ. I was doing it myself. After I did this, the result was an inward death. I touched death within, and I became cold. I touched an act; I did not touch life. This was an act of love, but I did not find the Lord in the act; I could only say that I was the one who loved. Every time we touch Christ instead of a work, we touch life. But every time we touch a work, we will surely die. Any time we try to do something by ourselves, we will surely die.<br />We have to see that Christianity is just Christ. The Christian life is just Christ. We should not pile a thousand good things together and call them the Christian life. Even if we put all the patience on earth, all the humility, and the myriads of good things together, we still could not make a Christian. If we put the myriads of things together, all we would see is a list of things; we would not see Christ.<br />A few years ago, my co-workers were always teasing me about “face-saving.” I not only tried to save my own face, but others’ faces as well. I do not like to expose others, and I do not like others to feel bad when they leave my house. I do not like to embarrass others by what I say. Before others feel any embarrassment, I become embarrassed for them already. I like being a gentle person, but when I try to be a good and gentle person before my brothers, something within often tells me that I am dead. I immediately become dead. There is no more life in me, and I touch death. The only reason for this is that gentleness is a thing; it is something that I have worked up. It is not Christ. This is why I immediately fall into death. I touch a corpse. I become weakened and powerless. Something within collapses and tells me that everything is lost.<br />The problem is that, in God’s eyes, whenever we are involved with a thing, we find nothing but death in it. Once we just have a thing, we immediately touch death because what we have is not Christ. But if we touch Christ, we will immediately touch life because Christ is life.<br />ONLY THE TREE OF LIFE BEING LIVING<br />We often become convicted in our work. Those who serve the Lord want to serve Him more. It is a good and right thing to serve the Lord. Our service to the Lord often demands that we suffer, sacrifice ourselves, and expend our energy and our money. But the strange thing is that when we do these things, we often do not touch life. Instead, we touch death, we become weakened, and we feel that something is wrong inside. Something within us tells us that we are wrong. Why are we wrong? While we are serving the Lord, while we are working and planning to do this and that for the Lord, we become weakened, and something within strongly rebukes us. Many times, the rebuke we suffer through sin is not as severe as the rebuke we suffer through doing many good things.<br />Many people think that the Lord within only rebukes them when they sin. But no! The Lord often rebukes us while we are doing good. The proper principle in God’s eyes is not the principle of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but the principle of the tree of life. Being able to differentiate between good and evil is not enough. Everything hinges on life. All those who eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil will surely die the day they eat it; only the tree of life is living.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">TWO KINDS OF CHRISTIAN LIFE<br />Among God’s children, there are two kinds of Christian life. One kind is filled with things, and the other kind is just Christ. Outwardly, both kinds look equally good. One cannot detect much of a difference between the two. One talks about humility; the other also talks about humility. One talks about meekness, and the other also talks about meekness. One talks about love, and the other also talks about love. One talks about forgiveness, and the other also talks about forgiveness. Outwardly, both are more or less the same. They appear to be the same. But with one, we just have a list of things, while with the other, we have Christ. In reality, the two are entirely different.<br />WITH CHRIST, THERE BEING THE NEED OF THE CROSS<br />I would like to point out that when we have things, we do not need the cross anymore. With Christ, there is the need of the cross. The cross restricts us not only from sin, but from our own activity as well. The cross not only tells us that we should not sin, but forbids us from our own activities. The problem with God’s children is that they think everything is fine as long as they do something well. They have not seen that the good things are only things. God cares for Christ. Christ is the very good thing. He is the life. If He does not move, we cannot move. It is easy for us to say many comforting words to others. But if He has not said them, we should not, because once we do, we will touch death; we will be inwardly weakened and deflated, and we will collapse. We can help others in many ways. We can be very gentle, and others may consider us nice men. But when we act this way, something within us collapses, and we become weakened. Here we see the need of the cross. The many things we gain through good works do not require the cross. When we allow the Lord to live in us to be our everything, and when He becomes our things, we need the cross. When He does not move, we cannot move. We have to ask the Lord to deliver us from good and righteous acts as much as we ask Him to deliver us from sins. It is easy for us to ask God to deliver us from sins, because we have condemned sins already. But it is not easy to be delivered from the natural life, because many of us have not condemned the natural life in us. We have not seen the natural life, and we have not rejected it.<br />CHRIST BEING THE HEALING<br />What does it mean for Christ to be our matters and things? What is the significance of having Christ as our matters and things? I think we can draw a good analogy from our physical body. Many people are very weak physically. They ask God to heal them. We find three kinds of results or three kinds of faith in this asking. Some people believe that God is their Healer. Others believe that God will give them health and heal them. But a third group believes that God is their healing.<br />How does a person pray when he has an illness? What does he seek after? He expects God to be his Healer. God is living, and he wants God to be his Healer, to touch him with His power, to be his Physician and demonstrate His healing power and healing ability. If this is the case, his God is as far from him as his doctor is from him. I wonder if you have heard what I said. This is a crucial word. Many people want God to be their Healer, but the distance between God and such people is as great as the distance between them and their earthly doctors.<br />Other people are a little bit better. They want God to heal them and give them health. Then one day God heals them, and they recover. Many people pray, make supplications, and expect healings. But why are they continually weak? There are still many weak ones among us today. Many people expect God to be their Healer or to heal them. But having God as the Healer and being healed are outward experiences; they are merely things.<br />What is the result of these experiences? Many times God is willing to heal us. I am not saying that God will not heal us. God can deal with little children this way. But many times, He will not deal with us this way. When we first believed in the Lord, God might have been willing to be our Healer, and He might have been willing to heal us. But after we have believed in Him for a while, He will put us in His hands, and He will educate us and teach us. Then God will no longer be our healer and will no longer heal us. God reserves the best for those whom He considers the best; He becomes healing to them. He does not give them healing, but becomes healing to them. He does not become the healing God to them; He becomes the living God who is healing to them. God is our healing. I do not know how to put this in any better way. I can only say this most reverently before the Lord, that Christ is our healing.<br />The trouble is that many people only see healing as a thing. They think that this is something apart from Christ and that everything is over after He has performed the healing. You may remember the story of the woman who touched Christ and how He felt the power go out from Him. The Bible says that He perceived that power had gone out from Him (Luke 8:46). I take the liberty to make this word more plain by saying that Christ Himself went out. He was not performing a healing. Rather, He was the healing. When He became the healing, men were healed.<br />We often may be weak and may still have physical ailments. But we can lift up our head and say to the Lord, “Lord, I do not expect You to be my Healer, only to go away after my sickness is gone. I do not expect You to heal me, and then find You gone even though the healing remains. Lord, I expect You to be my healing. It is true that You are my Healer, but I want You to be the Healer in me. It is true that You are my healing, but I want my healing to be something personified. My healing should be a person; it should be something personified. It is a person who becomes my health.” God becomes my health. Christ becomes my health. Is there a difference between being healed and knowing Christ as my healing? The difference is great! When I learned this lesson, I found that I not only possessed something called healing, but I possessed a person who has become life to my body. Once I saw this, all problems were solved, and I saw that my body has much to do with the Lord. When I have a problem with the Lord, my body immediately has a problem with Him. If He wants to put us through His test or do anything else to us, there is nothing that we can do to resist Him. Everything that we have depends on the Lord. We can only look to Him; we can do nothing. This is absolutely different from making healing a thing.<br />I thank the Lord for healing me many times. I can say that I was sick on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, and God healed me on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year. I can tell you many stories about how I was healed at a certain hour of a certain day in a certain month and a certain year. I can count many cases of healing. But those healings were small healings. They were isolated things, and they can be counted. Whether there is one case, two cases, ten cases, or twenty cases, they can be counted. But I can also tell you another story, that at a certain hour of a certain day in a certain month and certain year, God opened my eyes to see that Christ is my healing. This is something that cannot be repeated; it is something that cannot be quantified. Once is enough. It is not a thing that can be counted. It is a person, a personified healing. My healing is a person who is in me as my healing all the time. Praise the Lord that this is a fact. Having God heal me and having Him as my healing are two entirely different things. One is a thing; the other is a person.<br />Paul was not healed, but he received the healing. Can we see the difference between these two? Paul showed in 2 Corinthians 12 that he was not healed (v. 9). He did not receive the thing which we call healing. But with Paul, we see One who was his healing continually. His weakness remained with him, but his healing also remained with him. His weakness was chronic, but his healing was abiding. What is a healing? To us, a healing is the removal of something. No, healing is not a removal; healing is acquiring something. Healing is not the removal of weakness but the presence of strength.<br />When I first saw this matter, the light came very slowly because my mind was filled with things; everything around me was a thing. I did not realize that the Lord wanted to be my thing, and I did not know that healing was not a thing. I only knew that the Lord promised me something; I did not know that the Lord wanted to be my healing. I only knew about the Lord’s promise; I did not know about the Lord as my healing. One day I read Paul’s story in 2 Corinthians. It was very strange to me. It would have been an easy thing for the Lord to grant him the healing. Removing the thorn was as easy for the Lord as a doctor removing germs. But why did the Lord not heal Paul? I prayed about this, and while I was praying, the Lord showed me one thing. In 1923 Brother Weigh invited me to preach at a certain place. In order to get there, I had to take a little boat along the Min River. The boats often became stuck to the riverbed because the water was too shallow and the rocks were big. The boat owner often had to tug the boat along. While I was praying, this scene suddenly appeared in my mind. I said, “God, it would be easy for You to remove the rocks. Would it not be wonderful if You removed the rocks, and the boat floated on the water instead?” I read 2 Corinthians 12 and realized that this was exactly how Paul prayed. The water was too shallow, and the rocks were exposed conspicuously; Paul prayed that God would remove the rocks so that he could sail on the water once again. But God answered by saying that He would not remove the rocks. Instead, He caused the water level to rise. When the water rises, the boat can pass over the rocks. This is what God is doing. Our problem and our prayer are that we are only for a thing—healing. But His answer is for Him to be our healing. When He is present, we can glide over our problems. Paul’s weakness was still there; he did not use his own strength to fight it. If he fought with his own strength, he could only say that his own strength had tabernacled over him. But it was the power of Christ which tabernacled over him (v. 9). It was God who was working. There is a basic difference here. One is God giving me a thing, and the other is God Himself becoming my thing. God in me becomes the thing that I need. God Himself is that very thing.</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">“THINGS” CANNOT GO ON FOREVER<br />The same is true with spiritual things. What do many people desire and seek after? They are after a “thing.” Many sisters have come to me and said that they want patience. I often felt that the word “patience” was too small to them. They wished they could be patient. They thought it would be wonderful if God gave them a dosage of patience and they took it and became patient. They sought patience. This is a dosage to them, and it will last for three to five days. But there is an expiration date on it. After a while, the word “patience” becomes smaller and smaller, until one day the word runs out. If it is a thing, there is always a day when it will run out. Even if it is something one receives through prayer, it will still run out. Sometimes to answer His children’s immediate need and to accommodate their foolishness, God answers their prayers. But God does not answer such prayers all the time. He will not go on this way forever.<br />In God’s world, there are not many “things.” Christ is all and in all. God only has Christ. He cannot allow patience, humility, or love to continue to exist as things by themselves on this earth forever. What does He want in the end? In the end He wants to show us that Christ is patience, Christ is humility, and Christ is love. He gives Christ, not “things.” One day when our relationship with the Lord becomes proper, the matter of patience will be settled. It is a matter of Christ, not a matter of patience. Once our relationship with Christ is normalized to the degree that God expects it to be, the matter of patience will be settled, the matter of pride will be settled, and ten thousand other matters will also be settled. The issue is Christ; the issue is not “things.”<br />THE KNOWING OF CHRIST<br />Hence, in God’s eyes everything depends on how we know Christ. What does it mean to know Christ? Some people know Christ as their love. Others know Christ as their humility. Some know Christ more, while others know Him less. Whatever “thing” you know Christ to be, that “thing” becomes your proper knowledge of Christ. This is the meaning of knowing Christ. The “knowledge of Christ” is not an abstract term; it is not something objective. Our knowing of Christ is positive and substantial. We know Christ by knowing Him as the various “things”; we know that He is this to us or that He is that to us.<br />Some of you can stand up and testify, “I did not know what it was to be clean, because everything with me, from my heart to my head and thoughts, was all unclean. But thank the Lord that Christ has become my cleanliness. God has made Him cleanliness to me.” You can see immediately that this “thing” is not something that you have; this “thing” is Christ. When Christ lives in you, He brings this “thing” along with Him. It is something that He brings along with Him; it is not something that you have in yourself. This is genuine Christianity.<br />I must say bluntly that unless a child of God has his eyes opened to see that Christ is his things, he is not of much use, because all that he has is behavior. He is always the one who is doing the works. Even if he prays and God gives something to him, he only has temporary things that have no spiritual value in God’s eyes at all.<br />To some people, grace from God comes in the form of separate individual things. To others, who also have the experience of grace, their grace comes in the form of a person, who is the Son of God. One day you will say to God, “I thank You and praise You because the grace I have received is Christ. My grace is a person; it is something personified.” When you can tell the difference between these two things, you can tell the difference between life and death. Many brothers can only differentiate between right and wrong; they cannot differentiate between life and death. They can only differentiate between what is good and what is bad. There is only one simple explanation for this: they do not see that everything is in Christ. He, the person, is the matter. He, the person, is the thing. In the spiritual realm, there is only Christ; there are not many matters or things.<br />If God opens your eyes one day, you will see that this and that are things as soon as you touch them. This is very strange, yet it is very real. A man may be full of many things. He may be patient, meek, humble, faithful, loving, warm, forgiving, and merciful; he may be filled with many things. But what you see is only a big pile of things. You can at least tell the difference between a man’s ring and his finger. You can at least tell the difference between a man’s hat and his head, his glasses and his eyes, or his clothes and his body. If you can tell the difference between these things, you should be able to tell the difference between a thing and Christ. If you have never seen this, you will be surprised by what I am saying. But if you have seen this, you will see that this is a simple matter. Everything that is a thing is dead in itself, and outwardly it produces nothing but death. It is dead in itself, and when you perform this thing, if you have any spiritual sense at all, you will feel dead as well. While you are doing it outwardly, you sense that the result is death and not life.<br />The only thing you can say about certain persons is that they are very good, that they are nice men. You can only see good and evil in them; you cannot see anything spiritual in them. You can only say that some brothers are good, that they are nice men, that they have a good temper, that they are patient, and that they can suffer and deny themselves. That is all you can say. If patience, suffering, self-denial, humility, and love are only things, you may love them, but the minute you touch them, you are deadened within, and something collapses within you. There is a reaction against these things. Life has a strong reacting power. Sometimes a person says a very nice word, yet it is something that should not have been said, and there is immediately a very violent reaction within you against it. Take the prayer meeting as an example. What does it mean for you to say amen? It means that you are touched by life. When a brother prays, and the prayer touches your life, spontaneously you respond with an amen from within. Other prayers may be very earnest; the words may be very nice and the tone very loud, yet the more the prayer goes on, the colder you feel within. You wish that the prayer would stop because the prayer is exactly like the person who prays. There may be a thing, but it brings nothing but death. Just as a thing is dead in you, it is also dead in others. Things have no spiritual value at all, because man is doing all the work.<br />If what we have said is true, there is nothing more we can do before the Lord. We can only look to Him; we cannot do anything or perform any work. Brothers and sisters, we should realize more and more that works are abominable in the eyes of God. If we are truly led by the Lord to go on in this way, we will surely find out one thing: God hates sin, and He also hates behavior. When man sins, God says he will perish. When man behaves, God says he cannot be saved. God rejects behavior as much as He rejects sins. God only accepts one thing: His Son Jesus Christ. Only what Christ has done in us counts. Thank God that it is Him and not us. It is not we who are humble, but He. It is not we who love, but He. He does not give us the power; He is our power.<br />Brothers and sisters, I do not know what to say. I hope that the newly saved ones would pay special attention to this matter. As soon as you are delivered from the spiritual things, you will touch the Lord. The sooner you are delivered, the better it will be. The more you procrastinate, the more you will not see. Those who have many things piled upon them cannot see easily. God will have to do a great deal of work in chastising you and putting you down before He can take many things away from you and before you will take Christ. Nevertheless, as you advance somewhat in your Christian life, God will take things away day by day so that He can give you Christ.<br />I hope that this day will come. One day all the things in heaven and on earth will be headed up in Christ. One day God’s Word will be fulfilled, and Christ will be all. Those who do not know that Christ is all today can never expect that Christ will be all. Today Christ is all my things already. He is already all things to me. God has given us His Son already. He has given us Himself. This is what He has given us. Today Christ has to be all in us. There must be no difference between Christ and things. Nothing can be considered a spiritual thing in itself. Only Christ is all. All things are Christ. Christ is all and in all. This has to start in the church; it has to start with us today. We can declare that He is all because we know and acknowledge that He is all. We can also declare that He is in all. He is in our patience, He is in our meekness, and He is in our love because He is in all. One day (and we hope that that day will quickly come) God’s Son will be all and will head up all things because He is all and in all! In that day, we will know that what we learned today is for that day. May the Lord bless all of us!<br />PRAYER<br />O Lord, we pray for grace before You. Lord, we confess that our eyes are blind; we do not see clearly enough. We know about things, but we do not know Christ. Our Lord seems so far away from us. The things seem so real to us, while Christ does not seem real to us. Lord, we pray that You would open our eyes so that Christ would become real to us, so that the things will pass away and life will fill us. Lord, we pray for deliverance from the many things, so that we can know the Lord as a person. May the Lord who is our person become our things so that everything in us becomes living and full of life, and so that others would see Christ when they see the things. Lord, we know that these two ways are entirely different. How different is the sinner’s way from the way of the righteous. In the same manner, how different is the way of a genuine Christian from that of a false Christian. Many things need to be broken. You have to break us. Do not allow us to deceive ourselves, to think that we have seen it when we have not seen it, to think that we have touched the right way when we really have not touched it, to think that we are full of life when we are full of behavior, and to think that we are full of Christ when we are full of things. Lord, touch us. Lord, build up Yourself in us in a powerful way so that everything within and without us is just Christ, just Yourself.<br />Lord, bless these words so that they would bear fruit and would bring men back to Yourself in a rich way. May You utter what man cannot utter. May You cover man’s weakness and forgive man’s foolishness. May You gain something among us. We need to be laid bare. May tonight be the night when many are laid bare, when they see themselves as You see them. May a little light enter us, and may it shine through all falsehood and all performance so that we would see the replacements and everything that is not You. Bless Your own word, and glorify Your name. In the name of the Lord Jesus, amen.</span>Rafaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07855044421596537623noreply@blogger.com0