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Watchman Nee
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
About The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee
Title: URL: Author(s): Publisher: Rights: Contributor(s): LC Call no: LC Subjects: The Normal Christian Life http://www.ccel.org/ccel/nee/normal.html Nee, Watchman (1903-1972) Copyright Christian Classics Ethereal Library Heiko J. Unold (Markup) BV4501.2 Practical theology Practical religion. The Christian life
The Normal Christian Life
Watchman Nee
Table of Contents
About This Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Normal Christian Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preface to the First Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preface to the British Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Table of Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Blood of Christ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Our Dual Problem: Sins and Sin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . God's Dual Remedy: The Blood and the Cross. . . . . . . . The Problem Of Our Sins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Blood Is Primarily For God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . God Is Satisfied. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Blood And The Believer's Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overcoming The Accuser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Cross of Christ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some Further Distinctions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Man's State By Nature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As In Adam So In Christ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Divine Way of Deliverance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . His Death and Resurrection Representative and Inclusive. The Path of Progress: Knowing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Our Death With Christ A Historic Fact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . The First Step: "Knowing This...". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Divine Revelation Essential To Knowledge. . . . . . . . . . . The Cross Goes To The Root Of Our Problem. . . . . . . . The Path of Progress: Reckoning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Second Step: "Even So Reckon...". . . . . . . . . . . . . The Reckoning Of Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Temptation And Failure, The Challenge To Faith. . . . . . . Abiding In Him. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Divide of the Cross. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Two Creations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Burial Means An End. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Resurrection Unto Newness Of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presenting Ourselves to God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Third Step: "Present Yourselves...". . . . . . . . . . . . .
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p. ii p. 1 p. 2 p. 3 p. 4 p. 5 p. 5 p. 6 p. 6 p. 7 p. 8 p. 9 p. 11 p. 14 p. 14 p. 16 p. 17 p. 18 p. 20 p. 22 p. 22 p. 24 p. 25 p. 27 p. 28 p. 29 p. 30 p. 31 p. 35 p. 39 p. 39 p. 41 p. 43 p. 45 p. 45
. . 56 p. . . . . . The Cross and the Soul Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Meaning and Value of Romans Seven. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 p. . . . . 56 p. . . . . . . . . What The Law Teaches. . 104 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adam's Choice The Reason For The Cross. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 p. 50 p. . . . . . . . Firstborn Among Many Brethren. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One Living Sacrifice. . . . 47 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 p. . . . . . . . . 80 p. . . . . . . 89 p. . . . . . . . . . . One Body in Christ. 102 p. . . . . 75 p. . . . . . . . . . Our End Is God's Beginning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv . . . . . .. . . . . The Treasure In The Vessel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Servant Or Slave?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 p. . . . . . . . . . . . I Thank God!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 p. . . . . . The Holy Spirit. . . 59 p. . Faith Is Again The Key. . . . . . . . 70 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 p. 86 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 p. . . . . . . . . . . . The Path of Progress: Bearing the Cross. . . . . . . . . . The Root Question: The Human Soul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. . . . . . . . . . . . 61 p. . . . . A Gate And A Path. . . . . . . . 84 p. . . . . . . . . 53 p. 101 p. . The Absolute Lordship Of Christ. . . . . . . . . . 46 p. . . . . The Grain Of Wheat. . . . . . The Flesh And The Spirit. . .The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Separated Unto The Lord. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christ The End Of The Law. The Spirit Indwelling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Fourth Step: "Walk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Manifestation Of The Law Of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . They Are All Of One. The Law Of This Spirit Of Life. . . . . . 97 p. . . 63 p. . . . . . . . . More Than Conquerors Through Him. 92 p. The Love Of Christ. The Fourfold Work Of Christ In His Cross. . . . . 82 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 p. . . . 66 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 69 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Natural Energy In The Work Of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 p. . . . . . 72 p. . . . . The Path of Progress: Walking In The Spirit. . . . . . . 77 p. The Eternal Purpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Flesh And Man's Breakdown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 p. . . . . . . . . . The Spirit Outpoured. . . . . . . . . . . . 94 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Diversity Of The Experience. . . . . . . . . . . . . The Choice That Confronted Adam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Light Of God And Knowledge. . . . . . . . . . . After The Spirit". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The True Nature Of The Fall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . He That Hath The Son Hath The Life. . . 51 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christ Our Life. . . . . . . . . . . 111 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 118 p. . . . . . . . . The Cross And Fruitfulness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. . . . . . Ministering To His Pleasure. . . . . . . . . . . . 117 p. . . . .The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee The Basis Of All True Ministry. . . . . . . . . . . . The Subjective Working Of The Cross. . . . . . . . . . . .A Resurrection Morn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Waste. . . . . . . . . . . 125 p. . . . . . . . 131 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 p. A Dark Night -. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Index of Scripture References. . . . . . . . 131 v . Anointing Him Beforehand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indexes. . Fragrance. 128 p. . 113 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 p. 122 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Goal of the Gospel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee vi .
. . Used by permission of Kingsway Publications. Eastbourne. . but Christ" Copyright Angus Kinnear 1961. England.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee "It is no longer I .
The Normal Christian Life
Watchman Nee
The author of these studies, Mr. Watchman Nee (Nee To-sheng) of Foochow, a true bondservant of Jesus Christ, placed a great many of us in his debt when, on a visit to Europe in 1938 and 1939, he set forth so lucidly in his ministry to many groups of young workers and others the foundation principles of the Christian life and walk. Several of the addresses forming the material from which this book has been compiled have already been published independently and have been the means of blessing to many. Others, covering similar but wider ground, have existed for long in manuscript or note form. It is with the conviction that their message merits a wider circulation at the present time that I have undertaken the editing of the available material to form this larger book. Being deprived of personal contact or communication with the author, I have myself to take full responsibility for the work of editing. This has involved the bringing together of matter from a number of sources to form a logical sequence within the framework provided by two of the original series of studies. Due to the wide variety of this material, including verbatim records of spoken English addresses, private notes of Bible readings and personal conversations, and a few translations from the Chinese, liberties, perforce, have had to be taken with the literary arrangement—not, of course, with the doctrine—making the hand of the editor more evident than I would have wished. But the privilege of close personal contact with Mr. Nee during 1938, and the help and criticism of others who enjoyed his ministry or who have worked with him, and who knew him better than I, have combined, in the few places where interpretation was necessary, to make faithfulness to his thought the more certain. Work on this book has been a searching experience. It goes out now with the prayer that its strong emphasis upon the greatness of Christ and upon the finality and sufficiency of His work may be used of God to bring His children to a place of greater spiritual effectiveness and thus of increasing value to Him. Angus I. Kinnear Bangalore, India 1957
The Normal Christian Life
Watchman Nee
A new edition has made possible further revision and occasional slight expansion of the text with the aid of fresh source material. An index is now provided. The reader is again reminded that the author's message in this collected form had its origin as spoken ministry. It is therefore not wholly systematic. On none of the subjects dealt with is it to be regarded as exhaustive. It should be approached prayerfully—not as a treatise, but as a living message to the heart. Angus I. Kinnear 1958
The Normal Christian Life
Watchman Nee
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The Blood of Christ Chapter 2: The Cross of Christ Chapter 3: The Path of Progress: Knowing Chapter 4: The Path of Progress: Reckoning Chapter 5: The Divide of the Cross Chapter 6: The Path of Progress: Presenting Ourselves to God Chapter 7: The Eternal Purpose Chapter 8: The Holy Spirit Chapter 9: The Meaning and Value of Romans Seven Chapter 10: The Path of Progress: Walking in the Spirit Chapter 11: One Body in Christ Chapter 12: The Cross and the Soul Life Chapter 13: The Path of Progress: Bearing the Cross Chapter 14: The Goal of the Gospel Scripture quotations are from the Revised Version unless otherwise indicated.
In the second section. namely. we believe. for while the word 'sins' hardly occurs once. It is "no longer I. but Christ". It will be helpful first of all to point out a natural division of this section of Romans into two. and we shall approach our subject from a practical and experimental point of view. presenting God's normal for a Christian. but I need also deliverance from the power of sin. if we keep constantly before us this fact. however. The four-and-a-half chapters from 1:1 to 5:11 form the first half of this unit and the three-and-a-half chapters from 5:12 to 8:39 the second half. which are many and can be enumerated. I need forgiveness for my sins. this changed. The former touches 5 . A careful reading will show us that the subject-matter of the two halves is not the same. which can be summarized in the words: I live no longer. Here he is not stating something special or peculiar—a high level of Christianity. Why is this? It is because in the first section it is a question of the sins I have committed before God. by showing us more of His Son. and save us from much confusion. God makes it quite clear in His Word that He has only one answer to every human need—His Son. the singular word 'sin' is used again and again and is the subject mainly dealt with. The first eight chapters of Romans form a self-contained unit. but Christ lives His life in me. that God will answer all our questions in one way only. He is. it is always the one sin principle that leads to them. save only by the Son of God Himself. But in that last saving clause lies immediately the answer to our question. whereas in the second it is a question of sin as a principle working in me. So we can speak of two substitutions—a Substitute on the Cross who secures our forgiveness and a Substitute within who secures our victory. In all His dealings with us He works by taking us out of the way and substituting Christ in our place. The object of these studies is to show that it is something very different from the life of the average Christian. in the argument of the first section we find the plural word 'sins' given prominence. The Apostle Paul gives us his own definition of the Christian life in Galatians 2:20. Our Dual Problem: Sins and Sin We shall take now as a starting-point for our study of the normal Christian life that great exposition of it which we find in the first eight chapters of the Epistle to the Romans. Jesus Christ. The Son of God died instead of us for our forgiveness: He lives instead of us for our deliverance. and to note certain striking differences in the subject-matter of its two parts. For example.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 1: The Blood of Christ What is the normal Christian life? We do well at the outset to ponder this question. It will help us greatly. Indeed a consideration of the written Word of God—of the Sermon on the Mount for example—should lead us to ask whether such a life has ever in fact been lived upon the earth. No matter how many sins I commit.
The Blood disposes of our sins. I may receive forgiveness for all my sins. in that. This is set forth for us in the following passages: "All have sinned" (Romans 3:23). where we are said to have been "crucified" with Christ. Christ died for us. "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to be a propitiation. whereas the Cross deals with what we are. This terminology is however not carried on into the second section. But now. in keeping with this fact. 9). no abiding peace of mind. while we were yet sinners. while the Cross strikes at the root of our capacity for sin. I discover that I have the nature of a sinner. by our union with Christ in His death. our deliverance from sin. "God commendeth his own love toward us. I need forgiveness for what I have done. We shall see that the Blood deals with what we have done. the discovery of sin. we twice have reference to the Blood of the Lord Jesus. In the second. the forgiveness of our sins. the latter my life. I may seek and receive forgiveness. When that power breaks out I commit sins. burial and resurrection. So life goes on in a vicious circle of sinning and being forgiven and then sinning again. but I need also deliverance from what I am. God's Dual Remedy: The Blood and the Cross Thus in the first eight chapters of Romans two aspects of salvation are presented to us: firstly. The latter aspect will be the subject of our consideration in later chapters. even then. where the argument centers now in the aspect of His work represented by 'the Cross'. that is to say. for I realize I have committed sins before Him. The Problem Of Our Sins We begin. in chapter 3:25 and in chapter 5:9. with the precious Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and its value to us in dealing with our sins and justifying us in the sight of God. a new idea is introduced in chapter 6:6. This distinction is a valuable one. through 6 . There is an inward inclination to sin. but when once I have received forgiveness of sins I make a new discovery. namely. but I want something more than that: I want deliverance.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee my conscience. and I realize not only that I have committed sins before God but that there is something wrong within. I appreciate the blessed fact of God's forgiveness. Much more then. shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him" (Romans 5:8. but then I sin once more. we must notice a further difference. a power within that draws to sin. The argument of the first part gathers round that aspect of the work of the Lord Jesus which is represented by 'the Blood' shed for our justification through "the remission of sins". and secondly. but because of my sin I have. When God's light first shines into my heart my one cry is for forgiveness. then. In the first part of Romans 1 to 8. being now justified by his blood.
"They are all under sin" (Romans 3:9). because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime. I say. and to bring us back to the purpose of God. God can no longer have fellowship with him. that sin in man. "I have sinned" (Luke 15:18). thirdly. This is a first essential. 12:10) who now says. The Blood is therefore not primarily for us but for God. lest we come under judgment. by his blood. Sin enters as disobedience. so that. Let us look then at these three matters more closely. the Lord Jesus had to do something about these three questions of sin and of guilt and of Satan's charge against us. There is thus an absolute need for us to appropriate these values of the Blood if we are to go on. for there is something now which hinders.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee faith. therefore. in the forbearance of God. If I want to understand the value of the Blood I must accept God's valuation of it. We need forgiveness for the sins we have committed. We must have a basic knowledge of the fact of the death of the Lord Jesus as our Substitute upon the Cross. and they are forgiven. In the Scriptures the Blood of Christ is shown to operate effectually in these three ways. while our sense of guilt gives him his ground of accusation in our hearts. To redeem us. with the help of his awakened conscience. for the shewing. which henceforth constitutes a barrier to his fellowship with God. and a clear apprehension of the efficacy of His Blood for our sins. to create first of all a separation between God and man whereby man is put away from God. We shall have reason at a later stage in our study to look closely at the real nature of the fall and the way of recovery. Thus it is first of all God who says. for sin also provides Satan with his ground of accusation before God. Our sins had first to be dealt with. Nor is this all. Then. not because God overlooks what we have done but because He sees the Blood. and this was effected by the precious Blood of Christ. The Blood Is Primarily For God The Blood is for atonement and has to do first with our standing before God. says. gives rise in him to a sense of guilt—of estrangement from God. Here it is man himself who. to shew his righteousness. 'You have sinned'. and it is that which is known throughout Scripture as 'sin'. It is only as the estimate that God puts upon the Blood of Christ is made known to me by His Holy Spirit that I come into the good of it myself and find how precious 7 . of his righteousness at this present season: that he might himself be just. Our guilt has to be dealt with and our guilty conscience set at rest by showing us the value of that Blood. secondly. and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:24-26). for without this we cannot be said to have started upon our road. Now we must remember that whenever this occurs the thing that immediately follows is guilt. At this point we will just remind ourselves that when sin came in it found expression in an act of disobedience to God (Romans 5:19). it is 'the accuser of the brethren' (Rev. manward and Satanward. And finally the attack of the enemy has to be met and his accusations answered. and if I do not know something of the value set upon the Blood by God I shall never know what its value is for me. Godward.
But the Lord commanded that no man should enter the tabernacle itself except the high priest. As unbelievers we may have been wholly untroubled by our conscience until the Word of God began to arouse us. which demands that a sinless life should be given for man. Our conscience was dead. our awakened conscience may have 8 . when we believed. connected with his going in there was but one act. Earlier even than this there is described in Exodus 12:13 the shedding of the blood of the passover lamb in Egypt for Israel's redemption. I think. Now I desire to say a word at this point to my younger brethren in the Lord. Moreover. On that day the sin offering was offered publicly in the court of the tabernacle. the flesh of the lamb. Throughout the Old and New Testaments the word 'blood' is used in connection with the idea of atonement. for the blood was put on the lintel and on the door-posts. But the first aspect of it is Godward. Nothing explains this question of sins so clearly as the description of that day. going into the Most Holy Place. for it is here that we often get into difficulties. and it is He who says: 'When I see the blood'. he was the one who did the work. But later. God is the One who demands that the Blood be presented. This is again. the presenting of the blood to God as something He had accepted. and those with dead consciences are certainly of no use to God.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee indeed the Blood is to me. Everything was there in full view and could be seen by all. and God said: "When I see the blood. In Leviticus 16 we find that on the Day of Atonement the blood was taken from the sin offering and brought into the Most Holy Place and there sprinkled before the Lord seven times. I will pass over you". in order to satisfy His own righteousness. and that Blood has to be poured out for me. I will pass over you. None but he could even draw near to enter in. God Is Satisfied It is God's holiness. one of the best types in the Old Testament of our redemption. It was he alone who took the blood and. and throughout it is something for God. In the Old Testament calendar there is one day that has a great bearing on the matter of our sins and that day is the Day of Atonement. Why? Because the high priest was a type of the Lord Jesus in His redemptive work (Hebrews 9:12). was eaten inside the house. Here we have another illustration of the fact that the blood was not meant to be presented to man but to God. where those feasting inside the house would not see it. The Lord required that. It was a transaction between the high priest and God in the Sanctuary. sprinkled it there to make atonement before the Lord. in figure. for my sins. whereas the meat. away from the eyes of the men who were to benefit by it. We must be very clear about this.' The Blood of Christ wholly satisfies God. God's righteousness. The Blood is therefore in the first place for Him. namely. I think over a hundred times. God is the One who requires it to be so. There is life in the Blood. The blood was put on the lintel and on the door-posts. and so. something in which He could find satisfaction.
When we come to the Epistle to the Hebrews we find that the Blood does this. and some particular sin may trouble us so many times. We have to believe that the Blood is precious to God because He says it is so (1 Peter 1:18. We are wrong to connect the heart with the Blood in quite that way. cleanse my heart from sin by Thy Blood'. The Blood is first for God to see. If God can accept the Blood as a payment for our sins and as the price of our redemption. Look carefully at what it says. and this can constitute a real problem to us. If instead we try to come to a valuation by way of our feelings we get nothing. If God is satisfied with the Blood. This is most important. Its work is not subjective in that way. We do not wash and iron clothing that we are going to throw away. We cannot do it. The heart. No. the cleansing work of the Blood is seen here in Hebrews 10 to have reference to the heart. it must satisfy us also. It cannot.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee become acutely sensitive. it does not work that way. the 'flesh' is too bad to be cleansed. True. "A new heart also will I give you. What then is the meaning of this? 9 . but it is in relation to the conscience. God says. we remain in darkness. and that a holy and righteous God has the right to say that the Blood is acceptable in His eyes and has fully satisfied Him. It has therefore a second value that is manward in the cleansing of our conscience. be more. We then have to accept God's valuation of it. As we shall shortly see. and a new spirit will I put within you" (Ezekiel 36:26). It seems to us that our sins are so real. before God. In doing so we shall find our valuation. but it must not be less. No. The writer does not tell us that the Blood of the Lord Jesus cleanses our hearts. as almost to cripple us by causing us to lose sight of the true effectiveness of the Blood. it must be crucified. 19). is "desperately sick" (Jeremiah 17:9). Let us remember that He is holy and He is righteous. The Blood And The Believer's Access The Blood has satisfied God. The work of God within us must be something wholly new. I do not find it stated that the Blood cleanses our hearts. 'Lord. but wholly objective. "Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience". we are trying to feel its value and to estimate subjectively what the Blood is for us. then the Blood must be acceptable. of course. Our valuation of it is only according to His valuation—neither more nor less. that we come to the point where to us our sins loom larger than the Blood of Christ. it is a matter of faith in God's Word. then we can rest assured that the debt has been paid. It may show a misunderstanding of the sphere in which the Blood operates to pray. and He must do something more fundamental than cleanse it: He must give us a new one. so terrible. The sense of sin and guilt can become so great. and then stop there in his statement. We are to have "hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience" (Hebrews 10:22). Now the whole trouble with us is that we are trying to sense it.
so today I can pray better!' Or again. I approach God through His merit alone. after all. 'by the Blood'? I mean simply that I recognize my sins. Every one of us knows what a precious thing it is to have a conscience void of offense in our dealings with God. it can only be based on the work of the Lord Jesus in the shedding of His Blood. God keeps short accounts. on what ground dare we enter but by the Blood? But I want to ask myself. and never on the basis of my attainment. When that has been believed in and accepted. the fact that the Blood has been shed. namely. and that 10 .' What. on the ground that I have been extra kind or patient today. the basis of your approach to God might be less trustworthy. I began the day feeling very gloomy and moody. But the Blood has never changed and never will. and I have no more an evil conscience toward God. But now. Your approach to God is therefore always in boldness. and we are made nigh by the Blood every day.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee It means that there was something intervening between myself and God. am I really seeking the way into the Presence of God by the Blood or by something else? What do I mean when I say. and that only by attaining to these can we have a clear conscience before Him. It was constantly reminding me of the barrier that stood between myself and Him. is your basis of approach to God? Do you come to Him on the uncertain ground of your feeling. I am not feeling too bright now. I have to come by way of the Blood every time. and that God looks on that Blood and is satisfied? Of course. through the operation of the precious Blood. As soon as we find our conscience is uneasy our faith leaks away and immediately we find we cannot face God. or that I have done something for the Lord this morning. No! A clear conscience is never based upon our attainment. it seems that there must be something wrong. were it conceivably possible for the Blood to suffer any change. that I confess that I have need of cleansing and of atonement. something new has been effected before God which has removed that barrier. therefore I cannot approach God. since they are interdependent. and that I come to God on the basis of the finished work of the Lord Jesus. this morning I have been reading the Word of God in a warmer way. I may be mistaken. for example. A heart of faith and a conscience clear of any and every accusation are both equally essential to us. every hour and every minute. the feeling that you may have achieved something for God today? Or is your approach based on something far more secure. as a result of which I had an evil conscience whenever I sought to approach Him. It never loses its efficacy as our ground of access if we will but lay hold upon it. In order therefore to keep going on with God we must know the up-to-date value of the Blood. but I feel very strongly that some of us are thinking in terms such as these: 'Today I have been a little more careful. today I have been doing a little better. The temptation to so many of us when we try to approach God is to think that because God has been dealing with us—because He has been taking steps to bring us into something more of Himself and has been teaching us deeper lessons of the Cross—He has thereby set before us new standards. 'Today I have had a little difficulty with the family. my conscience is at once cleared and my sense of guilt removed. and God has made that fact known to me in His Word. When we enter the most Holy Place. never.
C. There is no help there.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee boldness is yours through the Blood and never through your personal attainment. our standing with God was secured by the Blood. Right to the end it will always and only be on the ground of the Blood. This does not mean at all that we should live a careless life. 10:19.. but we can never do so. it is the A. so the Blood is enough for me. this matter of access to God has two phases. 22). I do not know fully what the value of the Blood is. Then our conscience is really clear before God. your basis of approach is always the same—the Blood of Christ. No conscience could ever be clear apart from the Blood.B. for the apostle exhorts us: "Having therefore. but I know that the Blood has satisfied Thee. Whether you have had a good day or a bad day. "No more conscience of sins": these are tremendous words of Hebrews 10:2. and there is no other. But thereafter our ground of continual access is still by the Blood. and we may truly echo the words of Paul: "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin" (Romans 4:8). 2:13). I see now that whether I have really progressed.. You say. an initial and a progressive one. The former is presented to us in Ephesians 2 and the latter in Hebrews 10. Whatever be your measure of attainment today or yesterday or the day before. boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus. whether I have really attained to something or not.B. It is the Blood that gives us boldness. But for the present let us be satisfied with the Blood. so let us be bold in our approach because of the Blood: 'Lord. whether you have consciously sinned or not.. No trying to feel bad and doing penance will help us to be even a little holier.C. We are cleansed from every sin. We may be weak.. as soon as you make a conscious move into the Most Holy Place. As with many other stages of our Christian experience. but looking at our weakness will never make us strong. Initially. immediately you have to take your stand upon the safe and only ground of the shed Blood. To begin with I was made nigh by the Blood. it is always on the ground of the precious Blood. Satan's most strategic activity in this day is as the accuser of the 11 . No. for we are "made nigh in the blood of Christ" (Eph. It is not that I was saved on one basis and that I now maintain my fellowship on another. for there is a further aspect of the Blood which is Satanward. and every time I come before Him it is the same. let us draw near" (Heb. and to continue in that new relationship I come through the Blood every time. is not the point. my initial approach to God is by the Blood. but the trouble with many of us is that we have moved away from the A. and it is my only plea. That is the ground upon which you may enter. We have thought we had progressed and so could dispense with it. that it is there and that it is enough. Whenever I come before Thee. of the Gospel. Overcoming The Accuser In view of what we have said we can now turn to face the enemy.' Yes. 'That is very simple. for we shall shortly study another aspect of the death of Christ which shows us that anything but that is contemplated.
what ground of accusation has Satan? Satan may accuse us before Him. through his own blood. nor that God has not a perfect knowledge of me. What a cleansing! It is not that I have not a profound knowledge of myself. "If God is for us. seeing all our sins in the light. 12:10) and it is as this that our Lord confronts him with His special ministry as High Priest "through his own blood" (Hebrews 9:12). are included in those words: "every sin". it is a marvelous thing! God is the light. Man is now outside the garden—beyond reach of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)—because he is inwardly estranged from God. and "he is the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 2:1. and it does so because in the first place it satisfies God. there is something in him which. He stands there in the presence of God. who is against us?" (Romans 8:31). Darby 12 . The Fall brought something into man which gave Satan a footing within him.. "Christ having come a high priest. It is not that I try to hide something nor that God tries to overlook something. all sins. who also maketh intercession for us" (Romans 8:33. Man is in favour now. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Big sins. having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:11. may at times have been tempted to think that there are sins which are almost unforgivable. 34). So here again our need is to recognize the absolute sufficiency of the precious Blood. who is at the right hand of God. with the result that God was compelled to withdraw Himself. so that God can see it all—and yet the Blood is able to cleanse from every sin. Let us remember the word: "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from every sin. He was Redeemer once. that was raised from the dead. entered in once for all into the holy place. Note the words of Hebrews 9:14: "How 1 1 John 1:7: Marginal reading of New Translation by J.N. oppressed by our own weakness. God points him to the Blood of His dear Son. and as we walk in the light with Him everything is exposed and open to that light. renders God morally unable to defend him. No. It is the sufficient answer against which Satan has no appeal. conscious or unconscious. He has been High Priest and Advocate for nearly two thousand years. What does it mean? Oh. small sins. yes. but. 2). yea rather. remembered or forgotten. and because God is on his side he can face Satan without fear. until it is removed. The Blood is enough for that! Some of us. and that there the precious Blood cleanses me from every sin. but every sin. Since God. How then does the Blood operate against Satan? It does so by putting God on the side of man against him. who is he that shall condemn? It is Christ Jesus that died. it is that He is in the light and I too am in the light. can forgive them on the basis of the Blood. Because of what man has done.. 12). every item. But the Blood removes that barrier and restores man to God and God to man. sins which may be very black and sins which appear to be not so black.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee brethren (Rev. sins which I think can be forgiven and sins which seem unforgivable. You remember that verse in John's first Epistle—and this is the translation of it I like best: "The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin" 1 It is not exactly "all sin" in the general sense. "The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin".
for the very nature of the flesh is to sin. The Blood speaks in his favour. side with the accuser. and God can have nothing more to do with you. Our faith in the precious Blood and our refusal to be moved from that position can alone silence his charges and put him to flight (Romans 8:33. the accused. to yield to depression and despair..The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee much more shall the blood of Christ. what an emancipation it would be if we saw more of the value of God's eyes of the precious Blood of His dear Son! 13 . 34). when Satan comes along and accuses us. We have not recognized that we are unworthy of anything but death. He points to our sins and seeks to charge us with them before God. right on to the end (Revelation 12:11). and if we accept his accusations we go down immediately. 'You have sinned. Oh. with the result that. Never should we try to answer Satan with our good conduct but always with the Blood. Do you understand what I mean? It is because we have not come to appreciate our true nature and to see how helpless we are that we still have some expectation in ourselves. But if we have learned to put no confidence in the flesh. and Satan has no more ground of attack. Thereby he wins his point.. God is well able to deal with our sins. as we shall shortly see. but He cannot deal with a man under accusation. we go down under it.' This is his argument. and you keep on sinning. for he accuses us not only before God but in our own conscience also. but. We have not recognized that it is God alone that can answer the accuser. Our salvation lies in looking away to the Lord Jesus and in seeing that the Blood of the Lamb has met the whole situation created by our sins and has answered it. Thus accusation becomes one of the greatest and most effective of Satan's weapons. Yes. It is enough for God." They underline the sufficiency of His ministry. You are weak. rendering us ineffective. we shall not wonder if we sin. in our feelings or our behavior. And our temptation is to look within and in self-defense to try to find in ourselves. and so it will be. but his is listening instead to Satan. because such a man is not trusting in the Blood. some ground for believing that Satan is wrong. and that in the precious Blood He has already done so. we are sinful. going to the other extreme. God looks upon the Blood whereby His Son has met the charge. Christ is our Advocate but we. Alternatively we are tempted to admit our helplessness and. What then of our attitude to Satan? This is important. that. praise God! the Blood cleanses us from every sin. The ground of our expectation is wrong. Satan has succeeded in making us look in the wrong direction. Now the reason why we so readily accept his accusations is that we are still hoping to have some righteousness of our own. That is the sure foundation on which we stand. we are only fit to be crucified anyway.
from the human angle. 2:8. "but the mind of the spirit is life and peace" (Romans 8:6." Here the matter in view is that of our standing before God. in chapters 4 and 6. There is still unrest within. to use 'the Cross' in a more particular and limited doctrinal sense in order to draw a helpful distinction.The author uses 'the Cross' here and throughout these studies in a special sense. in the first of which we are shown that the Blood deals with what we have done." Here the matter before us is behaviour. Thus the name of the whole is of necessity used for one of its parts.. for lack of an alternative term. Most readers will be familiar with the current use of the expression 'the Cross' to signify.. 7). In Romans 4:25 the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is mentioned in relation to our justification: "Jesus our Lord. through the death of his Son" (5:10). in the fifth and eighth chapters. the entire redemptive work accomplished historically in the death. Romans 5 tells of peace with God which is the effect of justification by faith in His Blood: "Being therefore justified by faith. "The mind of the flesh is death". resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Himself (Phil.. however. In this and the following chapters. that I am going to be a great cause of trouble to myself.) This means that. was delivered up for our trespasses. There is peace with God. We need the Blood for forgiveness. Clearly in that use of the term the operation of 'the Blood' in relation to forgiveness of sins (as dealt with in Chapter 1 of this book) is. in a wider sense. The reader should bear this in mind in what follows. but before we do so we will look for a moment at a few more features of this passage which serve to emphasize the difference in subject matter and argument between the two halves. 6). but there is no peace with myself. that between substitution and identification. however. two separate aspects of the doctrine of redemption.. 14 . the union of believers with Him therein through grace (Rom. and secondly. There is in fact civil war in my own heart. as being. 2:5. from God's viewpoint. namely. because it "is enmity against God".. while in the second we shall see that the Cross 2 deals with what we are. now that I have forgiveness of sins. 9). we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. firstly. Eph. God will no longer be a cause of dread and trouble to me. we need also the Cross for deliverance. I very soon find." (5:1 mg. But from this the argument leads in chapter 8 to the inward peace of a walk in the Spirit. peace is spoken of in both sections. This condition is well depicted in Romans 7 where the flesh and the spirit are seen to be in deadly conflict within me. Again. so we also might walk in newness of life. We have dealt briefly above with the first of these two and we shall move on now to the second. for within me there is something that draws me to sin. burial. Some Further Distinctions Two aspects of the resurrection are mentioned in the two sections. 6:4.—Ed. 2 Note . included (with all that follows in these studies) as a part of the work of the Cross. But in Romans 6:4 the resurrection is spoken of as imparting to us new life with a view to a holy walk: "That like as Christ was raised from the dead. I who was an enemy to God have been "reconciled.. and was raised for our justification.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 2: The Cross of Christ We have seen that Romans 1 to 8 falls into two sections. the author is compelled.
but rather the sins he has committed. while the second half has as its main topic the corresponding question of sanctification (see Rom. We still have only solved the problem of our standing before God. and the development of thought in these chapters serves to emphasize this. 'Who is a sinner?' and their immediate reply was. 22). it is not the cause. there are moral sinners and there are corrupt sinners. but the fact that he sins is merely the evidence that he is already a sinner. The Blood deals with the sins. initially we must have forgiveness of sins.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Looking further still we find that the first half of the section deals generally speaking with the question of justification (see. not because he has committed sins. one who sins is a sinner. 4:5. Yes. but this use of the verse is not strictly justified by the Scriptures. I am in fact a Chinese. we must have justification. In that chapter a sinner is said to be a sinner because he is born a sinner. but it cannot wash away my 'old man'. As Romans 5:19 expresses it: "Through the one man's disobedience the many were made (or 'constituted') sinners". It needs the Cross to crucify me. When we know the precious truth of justification by faith we still know only half of the story. but it is equally true that one who does not sin. 15 . It is true that often when a Gospel worker wants to convince a man in the street that he is a sinner. 6:19. namely. for example. but that we sin because we are sinners. of course. The Lord Jesus has borne them on the Cross for us as our Substitute and has thereby obtained for us forgiveness. Those who so use it are in danger of arguing the wrong way round. As we go on. we must have peace with God: these are our indispensable foundation. This is because there the sinner himself is not mainly in view. justification and reconciliation. How then can we live a normal Christian life? How do we enter in? Well. and in need of redemption. the solution of the problem of our conduct. where it says that "all have sinned". God has something more to offer us. So we see that objectively the Blood deals with our sins. We are sinners by constitution rather than by action. One who sins is a sinner. I once asked a class of children. but the Cross must deal with the sinner. 25). but I am not thereby constituted an Englishman. Do you follow me? There are bad sinners and there are good sinners. and if we know only the first then we are still leading a sub-normal Christian life. I speak English. But with that basis truly established through our first act of faith in Christ. he will use the favourite verse Romans 3:23. The distinction is important. 'One who sins'. and it is important to notice how the sinner is there introduced. Romans 3:24-26. But we must now go a step further in the plan of God to understand how He deals with the sin principle in us. if he is of Adam's race. The Blood can wash away my sins. The word 'sinner' first comes into prominence only in chapter 5. You will scarcely find the word 'sinner' in the first four chapters of Romans. In each case the second step follows from the first. is a sinner too. for the teaching of Romans is not that we are sinners because we commit sins. How were we constituted sinners? By Adam's disobedience. We do not become sinners by what we have done but because of what Adam has done and has become. So chapter 3 draws our attention to what we have done—"all have sinned"—but it is not because we have done it that we become sinners. it is yet clear from the above that we must move on to something more.
The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee but they are all alike sinners. Man's State By Nature We come therefore to Romans 5:12-21. By the Fall a fundamental change took place in the character of Adam whereby he became a sinner. he must be dealt with. We are members of a race of people who are constitutionally other than what God intended them to be." Here the Spirit of God is seeking to show us first what we are. we are distressed rather by what we have done than by what we are. because he was born a Chinese. one constitutionally unable to please God. the Cross procures our deliverance from what we are. but the trouble lies far deeper than in what we do: it lies in what we are. grace is brought into contrast with sin and the obedience of Christ is set against the disobedience of Adam. I sin because I am a sinner. my parentage. In this great passage. We smile and try to look very gracious. but we ourselves are dealt with by the Cross. We try to be humble. even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous. We think that if only we could rectify certain things we should be good Christians. and the family likeness which we all share is no merely 16 . At the beginning of our Christian life we are concerned with our doing. God is taking pains to show us that we ourselves are wrong. fundamentally wrong. What is that conclusion? It is found in verse 19 already quoted: "For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners. and we set out therefore to change our actions. but that we ourselves are not so bad. and then how we came to be what we are. but there is something in our very being that refuses to be humble. I am wrong. So I am a sinner not of my behaviour but of my heredity. But the result is not what we expected. We sometimes think that if only we had not done certain things all would be well.' The conclusion of Romans 5:19 is beginning to dawn upon us. We try to please the Lord. We are sinners. but inwardly we feel decidedly ungracious. but inside we feel most unloving. 'Lord. but he is a Chinese for all that. but find something within that does not want to please Him. but I sin because I come of the wrong stock. Our sins are dealt with by the Blood. We discover to our dismay that it is something more than just a case of trouble on the outside—that there is in fact more serious trouble on the inside. A Chinese may be born in America and be unable to speak Chinese at all. We try to be loving. It is birth that counts. not with our being. It is placed at the beginning of the second section of (Romans 5:12 to 8:39) with which we shall now be particularly concerned. We are apt to think that what we have done is very bad. The Blood procures our pardon for what we have done. The root trouble is the sinner. Then we come to the Lord and say. and its argument leads to a conclusion which lies at the foundation of our further meditations. I am not a sinner because I sin. The more we try to rectify matters on the outside the more we realize how deep-seated the trouble is within. I see it now! Not only what I have done is wrong.
So we are all involved in Adam's sin. Now in just the same way the experience of every one of us is bound up with that of Adam. or if I become a beggar in the street I am still a Nee. a sinful nature. for that is exactly how God has dealt with the situation. and by being born "in Adam" we receive from him all that he became as a result of his sin—that is to say. the Adam-nature which is the nature of a sinner. where would you be? You would have died in him! Your experience is bound up with his. What is more. as we have said. As In Adam So In Christ 17 . 'All Chinese trace their descent from Huang-ti'. 'Over four thousand years ago he had a war with Si-iu. In China I was once talking in this strain and remarked. It is not because I individually have sinned that I am a sinner but because I was in Adam when he sinned. We derive our existence from him. no! Huang-ti can die his death and you can live your life. How did this come about? "By the disobedience of one". Let me try to illustrate this. Because by birth I come of Adam. and if I act unlike a Nee I am still a Nee. If I become President of the Chinese Republic I am a Nee. and. If your great-grandfather had died at the age of three. for I have derived my life from him. Unless we can change our parentage there is no deliverance for us. I cannot by improving my behaviour make myself other than a part of Adam and so a sinner. not in our behaviour. So. Nothing I do or refrain from doing will make me other than a Nee. 'I have not been in Eden' for potentially we all were there when Adam yielded to the serpent's words. We have been "constituted sinners". It is a fairly common Chinese name. and because his life became a sinful life. I said. says Paul. None can say. the trouble is in our heredity. Now what would have happened if Huang-ti had not killed his enemy. then I could never have lived. Four thousand years ago therefore our nation was founded by Huang-ti. 'Oh. therefore the nature which we derive from him is also sinful. I did not go through the list of possible Chinese names and select this one. If I act like a Nee I am a Nee. and my father was a Nee because my grandfather was a Nee. he answered. 'If he had died. My name is Nee. I can do nothing to alter this. A man said. therefore I am a part of him. After this Huang-ti founded the Chinese nation. That my name is Nee is in fact not my doing at all. but had been himself killed instead? Where would you be now?' 'There would be no me at all'. so I sought to explain it in this way. moreover. I am a Nee because my father was a Nee. We are sinners not because of ourselves but because of Adam.' 'Impossible!' he cried.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee superficial one but extends to our inward character also. How did I come by it? I did not choose it. but nevertheless Huang-ti overcame and slew him. His enemy was very strong. But it is in this very direction that we shall find the solution of our problem. nothing I can do can alter it. 'I don't understand'.' Do you see the oneness of human life? Our life comes from Adam. 'We have all sinned in Adam'.
as the head of the family of faith. "As through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners. returning from the battle of the kings (Genesis 14). and therefore the priesthood of Aaron is inferior to that of the Lord Jesus. our hope is in Christ. and as sin reigned unto death. That is the issue. Inasmuch as Abraham did so. But if that is true. he offered (Hebrews 7:9. of course. offered a tithe of his spoils to Melchizedek and received from him a blessing. The Divine Way of Deliverance 18 . "so to say. for the simple reason that the priesthood of Christ is "after the order of Melchizedek" (Heb. we are told also something about the Lord Jesus. Why? Because the fact that Abraham offered tithes to Melchizedek. 7:14-17). Now in order to prove that. Levi at the time of the battle of the kings was not yet even thought of. through Abraham". includes the whole family in himself. Through the disobedience of one man we were all constituted sinners. but they were in him. So Levi is less in standing than Melchizedek. The terms 'in Adam' and 'in Christ' are too little understood by Christians." In Adam we receive everything that is of Adam. the whole family offered in him to Melchizedek. after the order of Levi. even so may grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:19-21). while that of Aaron is. which in turn means that Levi 'in Abraham' offered to Melchizedek. then he has made his point. They did not offer separately as individuals. By him sin entered and death through sin. Where sin abounded grace did much more abound. 10). This illustration is to be found in the letter to the Hebrews. It is evident that the lesser offers to the greater (Hebrews 7:7). and. even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous. Our despair is in Adam. Abraham. Yet he was "in the loins of his father" Abraham. When he offered to Melchizedek.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee In Romans 5:12 to 21 we are not only told something about Adam. He tells us in Hebrews chapter 7 that one day Abraham. Through the obedience of Another we may be constituted righteous. So we are presented with a new possibility. at the risk of repetition. I wish again to emphasize by means of an illustration the hereditary and racial significance of the term 'in Christ'. If the writer can demonstrate to us that Melchizedek is greater than Levi. Levi is therefore of less account than Melchizedek. and. Now this is the exact meaning of 'in Christ'. Do you remember that in the earlier part of the letter the writer is trying to show that Melchizedek is greater than Levi? You recall that the point to be proved is that the priesthood of Christ is greater than the priesthood of Aaron who was of the tribe of Levi. he has first to prove that the priesthood of Melchizedek is greater than the priesthood of Levi. and throughout the race sin has reigned unto death from that day on. in Christ we receive everything that is of Christ. and he proves it in a remarkable way. then Jacob also 'in Abraham' offered to Melchizedek. In Adam all was lost. But now a ray of light is cast upon the scene. and therefore in making his offering he included with himself all his seed.
2). I remember once I took up a small book and put a piece of paper into it. for we had not yet been born—but. Death is the secret of emancipation." Praise God! it is not left to us either to devise a way of entry or to work it out. God has planned it. how then can we cut off our sinful heredity? Seeing that we were born in Adam. we need not try to get in. Let me remind you of I Corinthians 1:30. and it is accomplished. 5:14). and his offering included all his seed.. what is more important. how can we get out of Adam? Let me say at once. How could a holy God be satisfied to have unholy. being in Him. I post it to Shanghai. quite separate from this book. They did not offer separately and individually. Since we came in by birth we must go out by death. How? "Of him (that is. There is only one way. I do not post the paper. the Blood cannot take us out of Adam. God has surely therefore made adequate provision that we should be set free from sin's dominion. "One died for all. It has an identity of its own. But if God has dealt with us 'in Christ Jesus' then we have got to be in Him for this to become effective. He has put us into Christ. We have in fact no way of getting in. How are we to 'get into' Christ? Here again God comes to our help.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee God clearly intends that this consideration should lead to our practical deliverance from sin. Paul makes this quite plain when he opens chapter 6 of his letter with the question: "Shall we continue in sin?" His whole being recoils at the very suggestion. but they were in Abraham when he offered. This. I take a piece of paper. therefore all died" (2 Cor. deliverance from sin comes by death—and it is just this way of escape that God has provided. sin-fettered children? And so "how shall we any longer live therein?" (Romans 6:1. We are in. but. for we are in. but we have found it most tenacious. To do away with our sinfulness we must do away with our life. In the illustration from Hebrews 7 which we considered above we saw that 'in Abraham' all Israel—and therefore Levi who was not yet born—offered tithes to Melchizedek. Now if this is true.. Bondage to sin came by birth. died to sin" (Romans 6:2). "We. but the paper has been put into the book. I think that is one of the best verses of the whole New Testament: 'Ye are in Christ'. When He was crucified all of us were crucified. we died in Him. We need not plan how to get in. We were born sinners. he exclaims. 'Of him are ye in Christ Jesus'. But how can we die? Some of us have tried very hard to get rid of this sinful life. certain things follow. Many a time when preaching in the villages of China one has to use very simple illustrations for deep Divine truth. is a true figure of ourselves as 'in Christ'. When the Lord Jesus was on the Cross all of us died—not individually. What we could not do for ourselves God has done for us. "God forbid!". It is a Divine act. then. but by recognizing that God has dealt with us in Christ. This is summed up in the apostle's next statement: "All we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death" (Romans 6:3). Then where is the paper? Can the book go to Shanghai and the 19 . and I said to those very simple ones. 'of God') are ye in Christ. and that now seems just as big a problem. therefore we need not try to get in. Having no special purpose for it at the moment I put it into the book. Now I do something with the book. What is the way out? It is not by trying to kill ourselves. But here is our problem. 'Now look carefully. and He has not only planned it but He has also performed it.
The Scripture has never told us that we shed our blood with Christ. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is alike inclusive. It is the 'inclusive' death of the Lord which puts me in a position to identify myself. That we have died in Christ is not merely a doctrinal position. the 'eternally past' tense. God does not require us to crucify ourselves. shed His Blood. when He died on the Cross. We were crucified when He was crucified. He died as our Representative. What He has gone through we have gone through. 47 two remarkable names or titles are used of the Lord Jesus. His Death and Resurrection Representative and Inclusive The Lord Jesus. and His crucifixion is past. But the Lord did not die only to shed His Blood: He died that we might die. and if I quickly take it out again I recover the paper also. (See: Romans 6:6. for to be 'in Christ' is to have been identified with Him in both His death and resurrection. All the references to it are in the Greek aorist.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee paper remain here? Can the paper have a separate destiny from the book? No! Where the book goes the paper goes. Now we will go to the end of the same letter to see something more of what this means. Our destiny is bound up with His. In His death He included you and me. so also. 5:24. It is better to begin with the fact that the Lord included me in His death. For that reason those two New Testament words "in Christ" are always very dear to my heart. for it is in the book. He was crucified: then what about us? Must we ask God to crucify us? Never! When Christ was crucified we were crucified. To do so was the prerogative of the Son of God alone. Galatians 2:20. but it should be used later on. no other could have a part. 6:14). in spiritual terms. And just as no man could ever commit suicide by crucifixion. It is God's inclusion of me in Christ that matters. which is the 'once-for-all' tense. and in His dealing with Christ God has dealt with the whole race.' "Of him are ye in Christ Jesus. No man could have a share in that. He is spoken of 20 . We often use the terms 'substitution' and 'identification' to describe these two aspects of the death of Christ. I agree that the word is true. I challenge you to find one text in the New Testament telling us that our crucifixion is in the future. Now many a time the use of the word 'identification' is good. for God put us there in Him. not that I identify myself in order to be included. If I drop the book in the river the paper goes too. It is something God has done. it is an eternal fact. The death of the Lord Jesus is inclusive. therefore ours cannot be future. In His atoning work before God He acted alone. for it were a physical impossibility to do so. We have looked at the first chapter of I Corinthians to establish the fact that we are "in Christ Jesus"." The Lord God Himself has put us in Christ. thus giving His sinless life to atone for our sin and to satisfy the righteousness and holiness of God. In I Corinthians 15:45. Whatever experience the book goes through the paper goes through with it. But identification would suggest that the thing begins from our side: that I try to identify myself with the Lord.
in whom that purpose shall be fully realized. In it He gathered up into Himself all that was in Adam and took it to judgment and death. 21 . It is in His resurrection that He stands forth as the second Man. "For if we have become united with him by the likeness of his death. When therefore the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross. As the last Adam.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee there as "the last Adam" and He is spoken of too as "the second man". The Cross is thus the power of God which translates us from Adam to Christ. but as "the second man". As the last Adam He wiped out the old race. He rose again as Head of a new race of men. we shall be also by the likeness of his resurrection" (Romans 6:5). So we have here two unions. for it enshrines a truth of great value. Scripture does not refer to Him as the second Adam but as "the last Adam". We died in Him as the last Adam. nor does it refer to Him as the last Man. we live in Him as the second Man. it never ends—for. We were included there. In the first place His union with the race as "the last Adam" began historically at Bethlehem and ended at the cross and the tomb. and there too we are included. having in His death done away with the first man in whom God's purpose was frustrated. In the second place our union with Him as "the second man" begins in resurrection and ends in eternity—which is to say. as the second Man He brings in the new race. the one relating to His death and the other to His resurrection. as the second Man He is the Head of a new race. All that was in the first Adam was gathered up and done away in Him. He was crucified as the last Adam. Christ is the sum total of humanity. The distinction is to be noted.
As we study each of them we shall trust the Lord by His Holy Spirit to illumine our understanding. Praise Him for it and live in the light of it. Just as we cannot have justification if we have not seen Him bearing our sins on the Cross. it becomes ours involuntarily. Lord. so that when Christ was crucified we were crucified also. The work is done. so we cannot have sanctification if we have not seen Him bearing us on the Cross. and (d) Walking in the Spirit. why pray now about yourself? Your sins were dealt with by His Blood. 22 . In these verses it is made clear that the death of the Lord Jesus is representative and inclusive. (b) Reckoning. In a similar way. Thus there is no need to pray: 'I am a very wicked person. for we have to do nothing to get it. 'Lord Jesus. for you realized that He had already done it. There is no need to make up our minds to lose our temper or to commit some other sin. and they are set forth in that order. not one nor two nor three. That is all wrong. 7 and 8 of Romans we shall discover that the conditions of living the normal Christian life are fourfold. and that His Blood was shed to cleanse away your defilement. In His death we all died.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 3: The Path of Progress: Knowing Our old history ends with the Cross. he is a new creature: the old things are passed away. If we would live that life we shall have to take all four of these steps. the second Man. it comes to us freely and despite ourselves. if we are 'in Christ' all that is in Christ comes to us by free grace. without effort on our part but on the ground of simple faith. "Then believed they his words: they sang his praise" (Psalm 106:12). You did not pray about your sins. None of us can progress spiritually without seeing this. But what is true of your forgiveness is also true of your deliverance. But to say that all we need comes to us in Christ by free grace. If we are 'in Adam' all that is in Adam necessarily devolves upon us. behold they are become new" (2 Cor. Not only have our sins been laid on Him but we ourselves have been put into Him. It is an accomplished fact. All that is left for you to do is to praise the Lord that when Christ died you died also. There is no need to pray but only to praise. How did you receive forgiveness? You realized that the Lord Jesus died as your Substitute and bore your sins upon Himself. our new history begins with the resurrection. and you were dealt with by His Cross. and we shall seek His help now to take the first big step forward. please crucify me'. When you saw your sins all taken away on the Cross what did you do? Did you say. How does it work out in practice? How does it become real in our experience? As we study chapters 6. but all four. you only thanked the Lord You did not beseech Him to come and die for you. though true enough. They are: (a) Knowing. may seem unpractical. you died in Him. please come and die for my sins'? No. "If any man is in Christ. you did not pray at all. (c) Presenting ourselves to God. 5:17). Our Death With Christ A Historic Fact Romans 6:1-11 is the passage before us now. God has put us all in Christ. The Cross terminates the first creation. and out of death there is brought a new creation in Christ.
When the Lord was crucified. can my crucifixion be said to take place tomorrow? Can His be past and mine be present or future? Praise the Lord. for you were in Him when He died.V. So also in historic fact we can say. but is this any less clear? "Our old man was crucified with him" (Romans 6:6). Why do you believe that the Lord Jesus died? What is your ground for that belief? Is it that you feel He has died? No. when He died in my stead. but only by accepting what the Lord Jesus did on the Cross. and that you have died is a fact also. and I with Him. and that is clear enough. you have nevertheless just as surely died. prayed. You read the Bible. but having come together you can make either statement with equal truth. Our eyes must be opened to see the finished work of Calvary. Now what about your own death? Your crucifixion is more intimate than theirs. And "he that is dead is freed from sin" (Romans 6:7. He has died. and if you do not feel that you have died. whereas you were crucified on the self same cross as He. It does not depend on your feelings. 3 The expression "with him" in Romans 6:6 carries of course a doctrinal as well as historical. Look at it again: "Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Let me tell you. 'Christ was crucified with (i. That is the first statement.). Had one of you come three days ago and the other only today you could not possibly say that. Some of you came here in twos. A. It is only in the historical sense that the statement is reversible. These are Divine facts. You do not doubt that they were crucified with Him. You believe it because the Word of God tells you so. but you might just as truly say. 'I was crucified when Christ was crucified' or 'Christ was crucified when I was crucified'. at the same time as) our old man'. They were crucified at the same time as the Lord but on different crosses. My friend came here with me'. 3 Has Christ been crucified? Then can I be otherwise? And if He was crucified nearly two thousand years ago. How can you know? You can know for the one sufficient reason that God has said so. for they are not two historical events. And if I believe in the death of the Lord Jesus. Well. and if you do not feel that he died. may have tried to save yourselves. you have died. or temporal sense. because both are statements of fact. you have never felt it. You believe in the death of the Lord Jesus and you believe in the death of the thieves with Him. prior to your salvation. so that when He died I died.e. That Christ has died is a fact.N. 23 . Some of you. You might say. reverently but with equal accuracy. two thieves were crucified at the same time. but He bore me with Him to the Cross. My crucifixion was "with him". Our crucifixion can never be made effective by will or by effort. that the two thieves have died is a fact. either. If you feel that you have died. W.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Do you believe in the death of Christ? Of course you do. This is the Gospel for Christians. When are we crucified with Him? What is the date of our old man's crucifixion? Is it tomorrow? Yesterday? Today? In order to answer this it may help us if for a moment I turn Paul's statement round and say. the same Scripture that says He died for us says also that we died with Him. "We died with Christ" (Romans 6:8). 'I came here with my friend'. but one. He has died. If you feel that Christ has died. You have died! You are done with! You are ruled out! The self you loathe is on the Cross in Christ. You traveled to this place together. because the Scripture says so quite plainly. then I can believe in my own death just as surely as I believe in His.
. you have tried fruitlessly to exercise control over yourself. something more is therefore demanded of us. Many Christians mourn over their weakness. You receive deliverance from sin in the same way as you receive forgiveness of sins. you simply answer. but when once you see the truth you will recognize that you are indeed powerless to do anything. A light has shined into your inner being and you are wholly persuaded of the fact. but it is the Divine way. 'I know it!' Such knowledge comes by Divine revelation. That is surely rather a peculiar way of victory. gave alms. So there comes a time. 'If only I were stronger'. What is true of the forgiveness of your sins is no less true of your deliverance from sin. but an opening of the eyes of the heart to see what we have in Christ.. When once the light of God dawns upon 24 . What you needed was to know Christ in that way. but for the written Word of God to become a living Word from God to you He had to give you "a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him" (Eph. The idea that. you say. and so we plead with the Lord to strengthen us that we may exercise more self-control. The First Step: "Knowing This. but by making us weaker and weaker. we say. because failure to lead a holy life is due to our impotence. Such a revelation brings human self-effort to an end. in regard to any new apprehension of Christ. then we naturally conclude that to gain the victory over sin we must have more power. you 'see' it in your spirit. You just accepted that and thanked God. leads naturally to this false conception of the way of deliverance. Of course the fact of forgiveness of sins is in the Bible." The normal Christian life must begin with a very definite 'knowing'. Now salvation and sanctification are on exactly the same basis. 'I could overcome my violent outbursts of temper'. If I ask you how you know. maybe. not by strengthening our old man but by crucifying him. For years. and perhaps this is still your experience. If we are preoccupied with the power of sin and with our inability to meet it. But this is altogether wrong. God's way is to remove the sinner. Man's way is to try to suppress sin by seeking to overcome it. For God's way of deliverance is altogether different from man's way. and peace and joy flowed into your heart. which is not just knowing something about the truth nor understanding some important doctrine. and it is always so. God sets us free from the dominion of sin. when you know it in your own heart. 1:17). not by helping him to do anything but by removing him from the scene of action. It is not intellectual knowledge at all. this is not Christianity. but that in setting you aside altogether God has done it all. Then one day your eyes were opened and you saw that a full salvation had already been provided for you on the Cross. you just know it. How do you know your sins are forgiven? Is it because your pastor told you so? No. It comes from the Lord Himself.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee went to Church. thinking that if only they were stronger all would be well. God's means of delivering us from sin is not by making us stronger and stronger.
One thing is certain. When Hudson Taylor. You know it because God has revealed it to you by His Spirit. not of ourselves but of the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross.' It was as though something which had indeed been true all the time had now suddenly become true in a new way to him personally. Divine Revelation Essential To Knowledge So our first step is to seek from God a knowledge that comes by revelation—a revelation. and he writes to his sister again: 'I do not know how far I may 25 . until one day light dawned. but rather complementary. in words of a friend that had helped him: 'I have not got to make myself a branch. writing to his sister from Chinkiang in 1869. branches. I feel. twigs. "Knowing this. 'Here. that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin" (Romans 6:6). while Christians may enter into the deeper life by different ways. flowers.' The more he tried to get in the more he found himself slipping out. and he saw clearly enough that his need was to be found in Christ. how to draw the sap out of the Vine into himself. 'I knew'. I have seen it long enough in the Bible. but you know it. some will say in this way and some will say in that. we need not regard the experiences or doctrines they stress as mutually exclusive. that our old man was crucified with him. The Lord Jesus tells me I am a branch. so to speak. That is a crucial test and a safe one. that any true experience of value in the sight of God must have been reached by way of a new discovery of the meaning of the Person and work of the Lord Jesus. It is not now because someone has told you. fruit. but I could not. I am part of Him and I have just to believe it and act upon it. the founder of the China Inland Mission. but I believe it now as a living reality. Each stresses his own particular way of entering in and produces Scripture to support his experience. stem. for you have seen it. and not merely because Romans 6 says so. he said. You remember how he tells of his long-standing problem of how to live 'in Christ'. you may not understand it. leaves. is the secret: not asking how I am to get sap out of the Vine into myself. For he knew that he must have the life of Christ flowing out through him and yet felt that he had not got it. Once you have seen yourself in Christ. You may not feel it. nothing can shake your assurance of that blessed fact. and unhappily many Christians are using their special experiences and their special scriptures to fight other Christians. entered into the normal Christian life it was thus that he did so. that is to say.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee your heart you see yourself in Christ. revelation came and he saw. 'that if only I could abide in Christ. The fact of the matter is that. all indeed. And here in our passage Paul makes everything depend upon such a discovery.' Then. but remembering that Jesus is the Vine—the root. that the body of sin might be done away. all would be well. If you ask a number of believers who have entered upon the normal Christian life how they came by their experience. It is something more even than that.
I want very much to be a thermos flask. 'You are doing the same thing.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee be able to make myself intelligible about it. "whereas once I was blind.—Ed. and Mrs. 'Lord. "I want to die.' 4 Oh. all is new! In a word. and the two of us had been talking for two hours or so. Chapter 12. I am ashamed of myself.' 'Well'.. Just then a third brother. "You are dead! You have new life!" All your praying is just as absurd as that of the thermos flask. this resurrection life. 'The Exchanged Life'. now I see". Howard Taylor. Do please make me one!" What will you say?' 'I do not think even a thermos flask would be so silly. much used of the Lord. the joy of seeing this truth—I do pray that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened. 'the best thing a man can do is to pray.. it is a great thing to see that we are in Christ! Think of the bewilderment of trying to get into a room in which you already are! Think of the absurdity of asking to be put in! If we recognize the fact that we are in. If we had more revelation we should have fewer prayers and more praises. saintly lives. Much of our praying for ourselves is just because we are blind to what God has done. I remember one day in Shanghai I was talking with a brother who was very exercised concerning his spiritual state. 'for I am still losing my temper. what do you need to pray for?' we asked.' 'Well. I call myself a Christian and yet when I compare myself with others I feel I am not one at all. for there is nothing new or strange or wonderful—and yet.' Another brother was with us. 'He hasn't'. still failing constantly. so he need do nothing for his sanctification. you merely need your eyes opened to see that He has done it all.. God in times past has already included you in Christ. it is a thermos flask!' Then my brother said. Wilt Thou make me to be a thermos flask? Lord. 4 The quotations are from Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission by Dr. He said. you lived. so I must pray more. but I do not know it and see no way of getting there. We need not work to die. Oh.. when He lived. I want to know this crucified life. we are dead.' our friend replied. and tells me to reckon myself so. The whole passage should be read. 'do you get what you pray for?' 'I am sorry to say that I do not get anything'. We tried to point out that. I praise Thee that Thou hast already included me in Christ. but without success. Light dawned for that man. we need not wait to die. just as he had done nothing for his justification. He knows best.' That is the point. I want to have resurrection life.. we said. With tears in his eyes he said. When He died. and risen too and ascended. You do not need to pray to the Lord for anything. Now today you cannot say. We only need to recognize what the Lord has already done and to praise Him for it. There was a thermos flask on the table. I am dead and buried with Christ—aye. 'So many are living beautiful. came in and joined us. we make no effort to enter. God reckons me so. the man replied." The Lord simply looks at you and says. that you may know and enjoy the riches freely given us in Christ.' 'But if God has already given you everything. Said our friend. 26 . you just imagine for a moment that this thermos flask can pray. and this brother picked it up and said.. and that it starts praying something like this: "Lord. you died. he replied. 'It would be nonsense to pray like that. trying to get the man to see that he could not have anything apart from Christ. 'What is this?' 'A thermos flask. give me grace to become a thermos flask. I want to be crucified.
that the government of your country should wish to deal drastically with the question of strong drink and should decide that the whole country was to go 'dry'. for the sake of illustration. Of course He has not done half the work and left the other half undone. The drink-producing factories. but do you know it? "Or are ye ignorant?" (Rom. "Knowing this. but how are we going to be dealt with? Do you believe the Lord would cleanse away all our sins and then leave us to get rid of the sin-producing factory? Do you believe He would put away the goods produced but leave us to deal with the source of production? To ask this question is but to answer it." says Paul. but would God have stopped there? What about the question of what we are? Our sins were produced by us. but behind those bottles of strong drink are the factories that produce them. Suppose. our actions are the products. No. what a change you would have found! The Cross Goes To The Root Of Our Problem Let me remind you again of the fundamental nature of that which the Lord has done on the Cross. 6:3). So the question of what we have done is settled. We are the factory. I feel I cannot press this point too much for we must see it. We might thereby rid the land of every drop of alcoholic liquor it contains. He has done away with the goods and also made a clean sweep of the factory that produces the goods. that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin" (Rom. our sins. There are no half measures with God. must be closed down if the drink question is to be permanently settled. May the Lord graciously open our eyes. "That our old man was crucified with him. the breweries and distilleries throughout the land. 27 . production will still continue and there is no permanent solution of the problem. how could the decision be carried into effect? How could we help? If we were to search every shop and house throughout the land and smash all the bottles of wine or beer or brandy we came across.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee All that is His is mine!' Revelation had come and faith had something to lay hold of. would that meet the case? Surely not. "Knowing this"! Yes. They have been dealt with. that the body of sin might be done away. and if we only deal with the bottles and leave the factories untouched. 6:6). and if you could have met that brother later on. The finished work of Christ really has gone to the root of our problem and dealt with it. The Blood of the Lord Jesus dealt with the question of the products. namely.
the more alive I clearly was. God's Word makes it clear that 'knowing' is to precede 'reckoning'. Our old man has been crucified once and for ever. Read them together: 'Knowing that our old man was crucified. The next command is in verse 11: "Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin". I remember one morning—that morning was a real morning and one I can never forget—I was upstairs sitting at my desk reading the Word and praying. the further away death was: I could not get at it. Romans 6:11 is no good. in presenting the truth of our union with Christ the emphasis has too often been placed upon this second matter of reckoning ourselves to be dead. Then. but nothing came through. The thing has been done and cannot be undone. The more I reckoned that I was dead to sin... For years after my conversion I had been taught to reckon. I reckoned from 1920 until 1927. when we know this.. for otherwise faith has no foundation on which to rest. 'If this is not clear. is the natural sequel to verse 6. and I said. Whenever I sought help from others I was told to read Romans 6:11. and he can never be un-crucified. and the issue will be sure defeat. That is the order." The sequence is most important. When we know.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 4: The Path of Progress: Reckoning We now come to a matter on which there has been some confusion of thought among the Lord's children. I am dead. I will cease to do anything. clearly. When temptation comes they begin to reckon furiously: 'I am dead. So it comes to this. I want first of all to get thoroughly clear here. I am dead!' but in the very act of reckoning they lose their temper. This is what we need to know. This. . once-for-all.. I will not preach any more. It is final. It concerns what follows this knowledge. open my eyes!' And 28 . So in teaching this matter we should not over-emphasize reckoning. I fully appreciated the teaching that I must reckon. I have to confess that for months I was troubled. as though that were the starting point. Then they say.' For months I was seeking.' And we have to admit that verse 11 is no good without verse 6. but I could not make out why nothing resulted from it. that our old man was crucified with Him". then we reckon spontaneously. yet they try to reckon and soon they get into all sorts of difficulties. When we know that our old man has been crucified with Christ. whereas it should rather be upon knowing ourselves to be dead. They have not first had a Spirit-given revelation of the fact. then the next step is to reckon it so. and at times I fasted. and the more I read Romans 6:11 and tried to reckon. I said to the Lord. reckon ye yourselves to be dead'. Unfortunately. Note again first of all the wording of Romans 6:6: "Knowing this. 'It doesn't work. "Knowing this. if I cannot be brought to see this which is so very fundamental. what follows? Look again at our passage. reckon. People are always trying to reckon without knowing. I simply could not believe myself dead and I could not produce the death. that unless we know for a fact that we are dead with Christ. Our reckoning must be based on knowledge of divinely revealed fact. I will not go out to serve Thee any more. 'Lord. the more we reckon the more intense will the struggle become. The tense of the verb is most precious for it puts the event right back there in the past.
One plus one is two in heaven and earth and hell.. what do I enter in my account-book? Can I enter fourteen shillings and sixpence or fifteen shillings and sixpence? No. An artist paints a landscape. first of all. at best. and that I was just as truly dead as He was because I was in Him when He died. Accounting is the only thing in the world we human beings can do correctly. Such revelation is no vague. but this. It is not reckoning toward death but from death. From that day to this I have never for one moment doubted the finality of that word: "I have been crucified with Christ". it is revelation. We need to have our eyes opened to the fact of our union with Christ. It is that. or the map-maker for the perfect correctness of any map? They can make. Why does God say we are to reckon ourselves dead? Because we are dead. I am dead!' I ran downstairs and met one of the brothers helping in the kitchen and I laid hold of him. and that is something more than knowing it as a doctrine. It should be nothing hazy. That is the right kind of reckoning. I said. Eph.. 18). All the world over and for all time. I saw my oneness with Christ. Can he do it with perfect accuracy? Can the historian vouch for the absolute accuracy of any record. but very definite. It is not that I reckon myself to be dead. Let us keep to the analogy of accounting.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee then in a flash I saw it. It is mostly a case of exaggeration or understatement. One chair plus one chair equals two chairs. Most of us can remember the day when we saw clearly that Christ died for us. for it is with this as basis that we shall go on. What then can a man do that is utterly reliable? Arithmetic! There is no scope for error there. I saw that the question of my death was a matter of the past and not of the future. I was carried away with such joy at this great discovery that I jumped from my chair and cried. 'Brother'. Even in everyday speech. one plus one equals two. Yes. because I am dead—because I see now what God has done with me in Christ—therefore I reckon myself to be dead. If you travel west to New York or east to Singapore it is still the same. and therefore I will be dead. we cannot speak with complete accuracy. The Second Step: "Even So Reckon. 'What do you mean?' he said. 'Praise the Lord. is the secret of reckoning? To put it in one word. What. 1:17. is the basis of it. That is true in London and it is true in Cape Town. I do not mean to say that we need not work that out. I saw that I was in Him. then. 16:17. when we try to tell some incident with the best intention to be honest and truthful. I have been crucified: it has been done. so I went on: 'Do you not know that Christ has died? Do you not know that I died with Him? Do you not know that my death is no less truly a fact than His?' Oh it was so real to me! I longed to go through the streets of Shanghai shouting the news of my discovery. and we ought to be equally clear as to the time when we saw that we died with Christ. I 29 . there is an outworking of the death which we are going to see presently. and that when He died I died. The whole thing had dawned upon me. We need revelation from God Himself (Matt." What does reckoning mean? 'Reckoning' in Greek means doing accounts book-keeping. fair approximations. Suppose I have fifteen shillings in my pocket. of one word too much or too little. indefinite thing. 'do you know that I have died?' I must admit he looked puzzled.
God could not ask me to put down in my account-book what was not true. Even so. that revelation leads spontaneously to reckoning. I have fifteen shillings'. What relates to the future is hope rather than faith. but alive unto God. for where the words 'faith' and 'believe' drop out the work 'reckon' takes their place. as in Hebrews 11. the forgiveness of our sins. What is faith? Faith is my acceptance of God's fact. Having said. then with great ease and assurance I can enter fifteen shillings in my account-book. But if. He never told us to reckon what was not a fact. on the other hand. You look to the Lord.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee must enter in my account-book that which is in fact in my pocket. although faith often has its object or goal in the future. not that by the process of reckoning we may become dead. I reckon upon the fact in Thee. I believe in Thee.. and it might at first appear that the emphasis is therefore different. I have fifteen shillings. It won't. If I have only twelve shillings. God tells us to reckon ourselves dead. For such mental gymnastics the word 'reckoning' would be inappropriate. 'Lord. Therefore I reckon it to be true. I was there in Him. When the Lord Jesus was on the cross. and know what He has done.. God asks us to do the account. Reckoning and faith are here practically the same thing. I hope that by entering fifteen shillings incorrectly in my account-book such 'reckoning' will somehow remedy the deficiency. We are justified by faith in Him (Rom. not fancies. and peace with God are all ours by faith. He could not ask me to reckon that I am dead if I am still alive. Righteousness. Accounting is the reckoning of facts. to put down 'I have died' and then to abide by it. it is because I am really dead that God tells me to account it so. and without faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ none can possess them. 5:1). but because we are dead. If you look at yourself you will think death is not there. It always has its foundations in the past." Never forget that it is always and only true in Christ. Paul said. then. we might rather speak of 'mis-reckoning'! Reckoning is not a form of make-believe. but it is a question of faith not in yourself but in Him. Why? Because it is a fact. we must not lose sight of the fact that we are presented with a command: "Reckon ye. I reckon and declare that I have died in Him. do you think that the mental effort involved will in any way affect the sum that is in my pocket? Not a bit of it! Reckoning will not make twelve shillings into fifteen shillings. having found that I have only twelve shillings in my pocket." How is this possible? "In Christ Jesus. yet try to reckon to myself: 'I have fifteen shillings. But in the second section of Romans we do not find the same repeated mention of faith. however. It does not mean that. It is not really so. The Reckoning Of Faith The first four-and-a-half chapters of Romans speak of faith and faith and faith. It is a word that 30 ." There is a definite attitude to be taken. "Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin. Perhaps for this reason the word chosen here is 'reckon'.' Stand there all the day. nor will it make what is untrue true. 3:28. it is a fact that I have fifteen shillings in my pocket.
one of the Devil's main objects is always to make us doubt the Divine facts. To reckon on that will be to miscalculate altogether and find ourselves in the false position of the man we considered earlier. and have reckoned it so. and that we ourselves are dealt with by the Cross. or worse? Is the whole position set forth above proved thereby to be false? Now remember. Temptation And Failure. who tried to put down the twelve shillings in his pocket as fifteen shillings 31 . in Christ I am crucified!' In Romans 3 we see the Lord Jesus bearing our sins and dying as our Substitute that we might be forgiven. Are you going to believe the tangible facts of the natural realm which are clearly before your eyes. This is the kind of faith described in Mark 11:24: "All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for. as it is entered initially. or the intangible facts of the spiritual realm which are neither seen nor scientifically proved? Now we must be careful. in the first place. But what now of the matter of temptation? What is to be our attitude when. To believe that you may get something. (Compare Gen. is not faith in the sense meant here. The emphasis is not different. if you believe that you already have received your requests (that is. 3:4) After we have seen. or that you can get it. 'reckoning' in the second section of Romans takes the place of 'faith' in the first section. what if we fall once more into known sin? What if we lose our temper. When the first fact was revealed to us we believed on Him for our justification. he will come and say: 'There is something moving inside. in Christ). The Challenge To Faith For us. then 'you shall have them'. 'God has done it'. and ye shall have them. but when with joy I say. The normal Christian life is lived progressively." The statement there is that. the two greatest facts in history are these: that all our sins are dealt with by the Blood. In Romans 6 we see ourselves included in the death whereby He secured our deliverance. after we have seen and believed these facts. for practical purposes. 'Praise God. So that. or even that you will get it. by faith in Divine fact: in Christ and His Cross. that we are indeed dead with Christ. Faith always says. do I have faith in regard to my crucifixion? Not when I say God can. Only that which relates to the past is faith in this sense. What about it? Can you call this death?' When that happens. Those who say 'God can' or 'God may' or 'God must' or 'God will' do not necessarily believe at all. God tells us to reckon upon the second fact for our deliverance. When. we discover the old desires rising up again? Worse still. or will. therefore. of course.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee relates only to the past—to what we look back to as settled. by revelation of the Spirit of God. It is important for us to recall again what are facts stated in God's Word for faith to lay hold of and what are not. and not forward to as yet to be. then. or must crucify me. This is faith—to believe that you have already got it. How does God state that deliverance is effected? Well. what will be our answer? The crucial test is just here. believe that ye have received them. we are not told that sin as a principle in us is rooted out or removed.
To illustrate this (though the illustration is an inadequate one) we might say that wood 'cannot' sink. is unemployed (Romans 6:6). It is from the Creek root argos. the proving of things not seen" (Heb.—Ed. I think we all know that Hebrews 11:1 is the only definition of faith in the New Testament. sin is not eradicated. God's method is direct. and "the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. Our old man was crucified with Him. which is.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee in his account-book. wrongly understood. He is saying that to sin is not in the nature of that which is born of God. but of course in history it will do so if a hand hold it under water. but the slave who served him has been put to death and so is out of reach and his members are unemployed. 32 .. It is very much there. What is 'in Christ' cannot sin. the swearer's tongue is unemployed. and these members are now available to be used instead "as instruments of righteousness unto God" (Romans 6:13). is still about. whether consciously or unconsciously. By it John is not telling us that sin is now no longer in our history and that we shall not again commit sin. He does not remove the sin but the sinner. and the whole might of God is at work in our salvation (Rom. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for. what is in Adam can sin and will do so whenever Satan is given a chance to exert his power. may easily mislead us. 'made ineffective'. the old master. we find instead that God deals with this indirectly. This deliverance is so real that John can boldly write: "Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin. which before had been a vehicle of sin. given the opportunity. but 'put out of operation'. but the nature is a fact also.. however. which is the word translated 'idle' in Matthew 20:3. in dealing with sins committed.V. Sin is still there. No.5 Sin. and because of this the body.) does not mean 'annihilated'. just as sins in our history are historic facts. The expressions "freed from sin" and "dead unto sin" in Romans 6:7 and 11 imply deliverance from a power that is still very present and very real—not from something that no longer exists. The gambler's hand is unemployed. The power of His resurrection is on our side. but we are knowing deliverance from its power in increasing measure day by day. and there is a great difference between the nature of the life within us and our history. 1:16). and. he cannot sin" (1 John 3:9). and so is the new nature that we have received in Christ. So it is a question of our choice of which facts we will count upon and live by: the tangible facts of daily experience or the mightier fact that we are now 'in Christ'. The life of Christ has been planted in us by new birth and its nature is not to commit sin. It is important 5 The verb katargeo translated 'destroyed' in Romans 6:6 (A. 'inactive'. Thus we can say that 'deliverance from sin' is a more scriptural idea than 'victory over sin'. That is why we shall always need to know the operation of the precious Blood. 6 of the unemployed laborers in the market place. to blot them out of remembrance by means of the Blood. But whereas we know that. 4:18). for it is not its nature to do so. But there is a great difference between the nature and the history of a thing. when we come to the principle of sin and the matter of deliverance from its power. will overpower us and cause us to commit sins again. but the matter still rests upon our making real in history what is true in Divine fact. 'not working'. or indeed in the Scriptures. 'unprofitable'. a statement that. The history is a fact. 11:1).
it is not true. I once had an experience which (though not applicable in detail to the present matter) illustrates this principle. It is not only that the colour is there. green. Do you know the difference between substance and 'substantiating'? A substance is an object. and I confess I have personally spent a number of years trying to find a correct word to translate this. and their reality is unaffected by whether or not I am able to appreciate them. violet. If I am blind I cannot distinguish colour. though they are not seen. We have colours: red. the word in the Greek has in it the sense of an action and not just of some thing. or if I lack the faculty of hearing I cannot enjoy music. the things of Christ. to doubt. Whatever contradicts the truth of God's Word we are to regard as the Devil's lie. Darby is especially good in regard to this word: "Faith is the substantiating of things hoped for". For six nights I had high fever and could find no sleep. but they are valueless to us. or to mere mental assent apart from spiritual illumination.V. Let us remember again that we are dealing here not with promises but with facts. That is the meaning of 'substantiating'. Of course we cannot substantiate Divine things with any of our natural senses. not because it may not be in itself a very real fact to our senses but because God has stated a greater fact before which the other must eventually yield. and these colours are real things. then to me the colour is no longer real.). yellow. It implies the making of them real in experience. You are familiar with the common English translation of these words. Faith makes the real things to become real in my experience. It does not need faith to make these things real in themselves. are eternal and therefore real. but faith can 'substantiate' them and make them real in our experience. for example. But the New Translation of J. Let us take a simple illustration. Then at length God gave me from the Scripture a personal word of healing. Faith 'substantiates' to me the things of Christ.N. My 33 . That is much better. and I was not only sleepless but more restless than ever. Instead of that. a 'substance'. Some years ago I was ill. Now we are considering here the things which. I have the power to make that colour true to me and to give it reality in my consciousness. something before me. Hundreds of thousands of people are reading Romans 6:6: "Our old man was crucified with him". but I have the power to 'substantiate' it. blue. However. We cannot live in the world without doing so. If we do not believe the facts of the Cross they still remain as real as ever. not a wink of sleep could I get. but facts are facts and they remain facts whether we believe them or not. Sight and hearing. it is simply nothing— to me. How do we 'substantiate' something? We are doing so every day. But if I shut my eyes. The promises of God are revealed to us by His Spirit that we may lay hold of them. Yet music and colour are in fact real things. describing faith as "the substance of things hoped for" (A. but there is one faculty which can substantiate the "things hoped for". 'Substantiating' means that I have a certain power or faculty that makes that substance to be real to me. are two of my faculties which substantiate to me the world of light and sound. and that is faith. By means of our senses we can take things of the world of nature and transfer them into our consciousness so that we can appreciate them. To faith it is true.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee that we should really understand that definition. and because of this I expected all symptoms of sickness to vanish at once.
Nee. or I might dream that I am some other person. now be sure to remember that you are Miss K. Nee and when I am awake I am Mr. But I am speaking here of our being moved from a revealed position in Christ. As soon as we have accepted our death with Christ as a fact.' and despite much reckoning the likelihood would be that when I was off my guard and someone called. How can I be sure? Because Christ has died. then what are these symptoms? They must all be lies! So I declared to the enemy. If I were to try and pose as Miss K. 'Mr.. Nee!' I should be caught out and should answer to my own name. I am dead with Christ. then his object is secured and he has us in his power. Satan will do his best to demonstrate convincingly by the evidence of our day-to-day experience that we are not dead at all but very much alive. when I remember it I am Mr. Nee. It is of course possible that I might lose my memory and forget that I am Mr.. Now of course in a particular personal matter such as the above it might be quite possible for me to deceive myself as to what God had said. But I am Mr. 'Where is God's promise? Where is your faith? What about all your prayers?' So I was tempted to thrash the whole matter out in prayer again. I thought. this headache is a lie.' In five minutes I was asleep. Nee. Remember that his attack is always upon our assurance. If God' Word is truth. The enemy asked. But whether I feel like it or not. Let me make it clear that I do not deny the reality of the 'flesh'. 'This sleeplessness is a lie. but if we rest unshaken in the assurance of God's stated fact. then 34 . So also. this fever is a lie. Whether my experience proves it or seems to disprove it. Nee. Nee and therefore I have no difficulty whatever in reckoning myself to be Mr. and all my reckoning would break down at that crucial moment. therefore all died" (2 Cor. 'You are Miss K. and we cannot expect him to stop at words in his lying. While I stand upon that fact Satan cannot prevail against me. I know that I am Mr. A skillful liar lies not only in word but in gesture and deed. but of the fact of the Cross there can never be any such question. It is a fact which nothing I experience or fail to experience can alter.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee temperature rose higher. We must believe God. this high pulse is a lie. things would be much more difficult. assured that He cannot do injustice to His work or His Word. 5:14). If he can get us to doubt God's Word. all these symptoms of sickness are just your lies. So we must choose. whether I feel it or not. In view of what God has said to me. The Devil is a skillful liar. and this Scripture came to mind: "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). He will resort to lying signs and feelings and experiences in his attempts to shake us from our faith in God's Word. he can as easily pass a bad coin as tell an untruth. my pulse beat faster and my head ached more severely than before. It is a fact upon which I can confidently count. Indeed we shall have a good deal more to say about this further on in our study. when I am sleeping I am Mr. Nee. the fact remains unchanged. I should have to keep saying to myself all the time. no matter how convincing Satan's arguments appear. Nee and when I forget it I am still Mr. Will we believe Satan's lie or God's truth? Are we going to be governed by appearances or by what God says? I am Mr. Fact would triumph over fiction. Now of course. but was rebuked. and God's Word to me is truth. and I awoke the following morning perfectly well. and since "one died for all. Nee. were I to pretend to be someone else.
In a given situation we see Him as real holiness. we shall find Satan's lies are often enough true to our experience. and we are to abide in Him. real resurrection life—for us. "Abide in me. You probably know the illustration of Fact. but as soon as he became concerned about Experience and turned to see how he was getting on. 5:7. We are familiar with the words of the Lord Jesus. Abiding In Him Now although we have already spent long on this matter. I could well afford to do the same. We shall look in vain to find death within. there is a further thing that may help to make it clearer to us. If anyone should try to persuade me that I am not Mr. but if we refuse to accept as binding anything that contradicts God's Word and maintain an attitude of faith in Him alone. They cannot both stand. but nowhere do they say that we are dead in ourselves. a mountain of apparent contradiction in the realm of tangible fact—of failures in deed. First they remind us once again that we have never to struggle to get into Christ. Nee. to take our eyes off the Lord and to take account of appearances. and poor old Experience fell down after him. We are not told to get there. Let us consider them for a moment. It is our occupation with Christ that has this result. for we are told to stay there where we have been placed. Faith followed and all went well so long as he kept his eyes focused upon Fact. If we resort to our senses to discover the truth. he lost his balance and tumbled off the wall. What we see in Him objectively now operates in us subjectively—but really —to manifest Him in us in that situation. Faith is always meeting a mountain. 35 . and I in you" (John 15:4). we shall find instead that Satan's lies begin to dissolve and that our experience is coming progressively to tally with that Word. That is what Paul means by his words to the Galatians: "I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you" (4:19). and faith is always the 'substantiating' of eternal fact—of something eternally true. turning neither to right nor left and never looking behind. as well as in the realm of feeling and suggestion—and either faith or the mountain has to go. for it means that He becomes progressively real to us on concrete issues. that is just the place where it is not to be found. It was God's own act that put us in Christ. we can well afford to laugh at him. "We walk by faith. Fact walked steadily on. a mountain of evidence that seems to contradict God's Word.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee it does not matter what tactics Satan adopts. We were crucified with Him because we were in Him. but the trouble is that many a time the mountain stays and faith goes. Faith and Experience walking along the top of a wall. Faith is 'substantiating' God's facts. That is the mark of maturity. mg). All temptation is primarily to look within. We are dead not in ourselves but in Christ. not by appearance" (2 Cor. the Scriptures declare that we are "dead indeed". That must not be.
Then. and they never stop to think that the whole is related to a Person.' or even. what about the crises so many of us have passed through? True. some will say. I do not seek experiences in themselves as in this present year of grace. in association with Him. It is not to bring us through something. unthinkable. that is not the way. 2:10). and that we are complete "in Him" (Rom. For instance George Muller could say. In the Scriptures we find that no Christian experience exists as such. bowing himself down to the ground. of ascension as something. They think of crucifixion as something. Col. 6. only as the Lord opens our eyes to see the Person do we have any true experience. 2:5. anything that is not from Him in this way is an experience that is going to evaporate very soon. Praise the Lord. 'I have discovered that in Christ.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee But further. It is not just something that is still to be effected in us (though it is that. So God's basic principle in leading us on experimentally is not to give us something. God does not intend that we should acquire something exclusively personal in our experience. 'I died with Christ last March' or 'I was raised from the dead on January 1st. some of us have passed through real crises in our lives. because it is in Thee. that we were quickened. The Scriptures tell us that we were crucified "with Him". 'There was a day when George Muller died'. How about that? Well. which is that God has done the work in Christ and not in us as individuals. In dealing with Christ God has dealt with the Christian. raised. No. It is impossible. and apart from Him. It is the history of Christ which is to become the experience apart from Him. 1937. It would be odd if one branch of a vine tried to bear grapes with a reddish skin. in dealing with the Head He has dealt with all the members. each branch trying to produce something of its own without reference to the vine. 6:6. and as a result to put something into us which we can call 'our experience'. Yet certain Christians are seeking experiences as experiences. What we call 'our' experience is only our entering into His history and His experience. then. and yet another branch grapes with a very dark purple skin. Time must not be allowed to dominate my thinking here.' Oh it is a great thing to know the facts of Christ as the foundation for our experience. Lord. The all-inclusive death and the all-inclusive resurrection of God's Son were accomplished fully and finally apart from us in the first place. All the spiritual experience of the Christian is already true in Christ. it is mine! I possess it. I am not questioning the reality of the spiritual experiences we go through nor the importance of 36 . What God has done in His gracious purpose is to include us in Christ. of resurrections as something. No. It is altogether wrong for us to think that we can experience anything of the spiritual life in ourselves merely. The character of the branches is determined by the vine. and another branch tried to bear grapes with a green skin. It has already been experienced by Christ. and set by God in the heavenlies "in Him". this verse lays down for us a Divine principle. of course). Every true spiritual experience means that we have discovered a certain fact in Christ and have entered into that. Eph. 'Last Wednesday I asked for a definite experience and I have got it'. It is not that God effects something within us so that we can say. and He is not willing to effect anything like that for you and me. It is something that has already been effected.
and so becoming turned in upon ourselves. 6:4. to keep us out. we are incorporated into Christ. 'Lord. we should not be in this state. indeed. I will abide in Him. 6:6). and I in you. put me into Christ'. What do you do? Do you watch it intently to see if the light will come on? Do you take a cloth and polish the bulb? No. We are "alive unto God" (Rom. there is an objective and a subjective side to God's working. We need to guard against being over-anxious about the subjective side of things. Even eternal life is not given to us as individuals: the life is in the Son. and that is the way of deliverance. trial. The entire work regarding us is not done in us here but in Christ. 5:21) we make now the joyful discovery that we are truly "no longer. The history of Christ becomes our experience and our spiritual history. All that they have is only an entering into what God has already done. and the subjective side depends upon the objective. if we return back here we find nothing. He does no separate work in individuals apart from what He has done there.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee crises to which God brings us in our walk with Him. but when we look over there to the Lord. As we stand steadfastly on the ground of what Christ is. failures. and by temptations. We have only to look within to find we are very much alive to sin. judging by the feelings we now have. You would like to have the light on in order to read. we do not have a separate history from His. and He has included us in Him. No! God's injunction is to "abide" in Christ.. if we were in Christ. Now the point of all this is that there is a very real practical value in the stand of faith that says. and so we begin to pray. It is in Christ. 'God has put me in Christ. you get up and cross over to the other side of the room where the switch is on 37 . and therefore. we find that all that is true of Him is becoming experimentally true in us. So often we go to the wrong place to find the death of self. You are in a room and it is growing dark. and where before "sin reigned" (Rom. God sees to it that death works here but that "newness of life" is ours also. 11). I have illustrated this from the electric light. It is the 'realizing' in time of eternal things. 6:4. to convince us that we are out. suffering. But the point is that God does not give individuals individual experiences. God has done all in His Son. we must be out of Him. 9. But how is it so? Because it opens the way for God to take a hand in our lives and to work the thing out in us." This is a double sentence: a command coupled with a promise. I have already stressed the need for us to be quite as definite ourselves about such crisis in our own lives. 10)—so that the facts of Christ do progressively become the facts of our daily experience. Our first thought is that. "Abide in me.' Satan is always trying to get us out. It makes room for the operation of His superior power—the power of resurrection (Rom. There is a reading-lamp on the table beside you. and "he that hath the Son hath the life". in bondage to sin" (Rom. If we get there in faith we have everything. We need to dwell upon the objective—"abide in me"—and to let God take care of the subjective.. the "I in you" is the outcome of our abiding in Him. to make us feel acutely that we are outside of Christ. If instead we come onto the ground of what we are in ourselves we will find that all that is true of the old nature remains true of us. That is to say. And this He has undertaken to do. and therefore all that is true of Him is true of me.
. How do we abide? 'Of God are ye in Christ Jesus.. Look at Christ and see yourself in Him.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee the wall and you turn the current on. As we do so He undertakes to fulfill His Word in us. Abide in Him. The same principle holds good in the matter of fruitfulness of life: "He that abideth in me. 3:18 mg. Now stay there! Do not be moved back onto your own ground. the same beareth much fruit" (John 15:5).. the glory of the Lord. beholding. are transformed into the same image" (2 Cor. So in our walk with the Lord our attention must be fixed on Christ. Rest in the fact that God has put you in His Son. and I in him. You turn your attention to the source of power and when you have taken the necessary action there the light comes on here. and I in you" is the Divine order. Faith in the objective facts make those facts true subjectively.' It was the work of God to put you there and He has done it.). "Abide in me. "We all. 6:14). 38 . We do not try to produce fruit or concentrate upon the fruit produced.. It is for Him to make good the glorious promise that "sin shall not have dominion over you" (Rom. and live in the expectation that He will complete His work in you. As the apostle Paul puts it. Never look at yourself as though you were not in Christ. Our business is to look away to Him.
"We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that 39 . leaves us in no doubt as to which of these two realms is now in fact ours. and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love" (Col. He tells us that God. But in order to bring us into His new kingdom. But Satan. God must do something new in us. we can enter the new kingdom and the new world. Being now new creatures with a new nature and a new set of faculties. God wanted to have us for Himself. 17). and nothing of the old creation. Our fitness for the new kingdom is determined by the creation to which we belong. 1:16. The question is not 'good' or bad?' but 'flesh or Spirit?' "That which is born of the flesh is flesh". Two Creations Thus. working through man's flesh. It is a question now of these two rival realms. he is a new creature (mg. 15:50). However educated. has set up instead a rival system known in Scripture as "this world"—a system in which we are involved and which he himself dominates. of course. flesh is still flesh. The Cross was the means God used to bring to an end 'the old things' by setting aside altogether our 'old man'. a new kingdom and a new world. He is bringing in a new creation. however improved it be. Do we belong to the old creation or the new? Are we born of the flesh or of the Spirit? Our ultimate suitability for the new realm hinges on the question of origin. and God's primary concern is now no longer with that but with a second and new creation. but He could not bring us as we were into that which He had purposed. in Satan's hands. the first creation has become the old creation. "delivered us out of the power of darkness. "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 1:12. Unless we are created anew we can never fit into the new realm. He has in fact become "the prince of this world" (John 12:31). God had in His heart a world-system a universe of His creating—which should be headed up in Christ His Son (Col. and it will never be anything else. behold. and of which realm we belong to. and. then we shall see clearly that we can never bring any contribution from the old realm into that new thing. so He first did away with us by the Cross of Christ. "If any man is in Christ. 5:17). they are become new" (2 Cor. That which is of the old creation can never pass over into the new. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh". and the resurrection was the means He employed to impart to us all that was necessary for our life in that new world. He must make of us new creatures. something altogether new for Himself. 'there is a new creation'): the old things are passed away. namely. and then by resurrection provided a new life for us. in redemption. the old kingdom or the old world can be transferred to the new.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 5: The Divide of the Cross The kingdom of this world is not this kingdom of God. Once we really understand what God is seeking. The apostle Paul. neither doth corruption inherit incorruption" (John 3:6. however cultured. 13). 1 Cor.
The sooner we see that. even baptism" (verse 21). because nothing of the old can go over to the new. God gathered up in the Person of His Son all that was of Adam and crucified Him. This is the figure developed by Peter when he writes of the eight souls who were "saved through water" (1 Peter 3:20). ending one creation. you too have been crucified with Christ!' None of us can escape that verdict. We cannot speak scripturally of 'baptismal regeneration' but we may speak of 'baptismal salvation'. You may be a good man in the old creation. for with it God wiped out everything that was not of Himself: the greatest positive in the universe is the resurrection. and that the resurrection introduces all that pertains to the second. It was not so much that they were personally not drowned. This brings us to the subject of baptism. in figure. To be saved is to make our exit from his world-system into God's In the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is baptism "into his death". So the resurrection stands at the threshold of the new creation. It is a blessed thing to see that the Cross ends all that belongs to the first regime. The Cross is God's declaration that all that is of the old creation must die. a proclamation throughout the universe saying: 'Through the Cross I have set aside all that is not of Me. and. by your baptism in water. That is salvation. by that aspect of the Cross which is figured in baptism you are delivered from this present evil world. you who belong to the old creation are all included in that. and thou shalt be saved". you come up in Christ. In other words. Entering into the ark. Nothing of the first Adam can pass beyond the Cross. but that they were out of that corrupt system. In the old. it all ends there. Then God made. 6:4). immediately" 40 . You go down into the water and your world. but it is also baptism "into Christ Jesus". so we also might walk in newness of life" (Rom. "the world hath been crucified unto me. And he "was baptized. What is the significance of these words? Baptism in Scripture is associated with salvation. 6:3. Satan has absolute dominion. Everything that had its beginning before resurrection must be wiped out. you confirm this. so in Him all that was of Adam was done away. The greatest negative in the universe is the Cross. he and all his. 6:3). "Are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death" (Rom. Then Peter goes on: "Which also after a true likeness (mg. We are involved in Satan's world-system. "Believe on the Lord Jesus. for it is by the Cross that God has made a way of escape for us from that old creation. 4). What is salvation? It relates not to our sins nor to the power of sin. the better. as it were. but your world is drowned. having in view a new one (Rom. goes down with you. and I unto the world" (Gal. the old and the new. but as long as you belong to the old you are under sentence of death. for through it God brought into being all He will have in the new sphere. 'in the antitype') doth now save you. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father. said Paul at Philippi. but to the cosmos or world-system. says Paul. 6:14). Resurrection is God's new starting-point. and "spake the word of the Lord" to the jailer and his household. We have now two worlds before us. Noah and those with him stepped by faith out of that old corrupt world into a new one.
a Cross that includes you and me. It is a tremendous thing. Alas. by my request for baptism I give public assent to that fact. It is to that that we testify. she did not believe him to be dead. Anyone who has worked in a pagan country knows what tremendous issues are raised by baptism. but. When are we willing to bury our dear ones? Only when we are absolutely sure that they have passed away. she flatly refused to have him buried. 'No'. of the world.). they try to die by getting themselves buried! Let me say emphatically that. Baptism is of course connected with both death and resurrection. we read. unless our eyes have been opened by God to see that we have died in Christ and been buried with Him. some have been taught to look on burial as a means to death. By it He has told of His judgment of us. The Cross is not only Christ's personally—an 'individual' Cross.' She was unwilling to have him buried because. and having in view two worlds.' He has consigned me to death and the grave. So when will I ask for baptism? When I see that God's way is perfect and that I deserved 41 . In the last Adam He has wiped out all that was of the first Adam. what are you going to say to that?' What is my answer? 'Lord. though in itself it is neither death nor resurrection: it is burial. While there is the tiniest hope that they are alive we will never bury them. He has spoken to us by the Cross. she said. a 'corporate' Cross. The reason we step down into the water is that we have recognized that in God's sight we have already died. Why? In Romans 6:4 Paul explains that baptism means burial: "We were buried therefore with him through baptism". Now.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee (Acts 16:31-34). he and those with him testified before God. "having believed in God". I believe You have done the crucifying.V. God has put us all into His Son. In doing so. of the old creation and of the old kingdom. But who qualifies for burial? Only the dead! So if I ask for baptism I proclaim myself dead and fit only for the grave. Burial Means An End Peter goes on now to describe baptism in the passage just quoted as "the answer of a good conscience toward God" (1 Peter 3:21 A. It is an all inclusive Cross. we have no right to be baptized. God's question is clear and simple. poor woman. and crucified us in Him. Now what is my answer to God's verdict on the old creation? I answer by asking for baptism. they rejoiced greatly. If God had said nothing we should have no need to answer. But He has spoken. 'Christ has died. I talk with him every night. relating as it does both to the death and to the resurrection of our Lord. In China a woman lost her husband. As a result. 'he is not dead. Day after day for a fortnight he lay in the house. Thus it is clear that baptism is no mere question of a cup of water. Now we cannot answer without being spoken to . becoming deranged by her loss. and I have included you there. His people and the spiritual powers that they were indeed saved from a world under judgment. I say Yes to the death and to the burial to which You have committed me. nor of a baptistry of water.
Our death and His became then so closely identified that it is impossible to divide between them. in fact does this union imply? The real meaning behind baptism is that in the Cross we were 'baptized' into the historic death of Christ. flood or war. the second deals with those who are already dead in famine. It affirms that I am cut off from the old world and belong now to the new. still writing to those who "were baptized" (verse 3). but I must consent to be consigned to the tomb. 'you have put them together and the one has become lost in the other. they cannot now be separated. He does not set out to patch up the old creation. God has already crucified me. Paul speaks of our being "united with him by the likeness of his death". how shall we any longer live therein?" Paul says. and God's acts cannot be reversed. My baptism confirms God's sentence. so that His death became ours. God's dealings with us in the Cross of Christ are more drastic than those of the 'Red Cross'. and where the tea?' 'No'. What. why be baptized? You should never have been baptized if you meant to live on in the old realm'. I am dead! Lord. that they may be raised again to new life. but it helped him to see the intimacy and the finality of our union with Christ in death. It means for me a definite conscious break with the old way of life. It is to this historic 'baptism'—this God-wrought union with Him—that we assent when we go down into the water. There is an old world and a new world. I am quite dead. We happened to be drinking tea together. You have slain me. It is God that has put us there. and when I truly believe that God has already crucified me. By Him even the still living are condemned to death and to burial. and between the two there is a tomb.' It was a simple illustration. A couple of minutes later I asked. In Romans 6:5. 'Can you tell me where the sugar is now. For by baptism we acknowledge in a figure that God has wrought an intimate union between ourselves and Christ in this matter of death and resurrection. Once I am fully persuaded that. before God. so I took a lump of sugar and stirred it into my tea. to give them burial. One day I was seeking to emphasize this truth to a Christian brother. we clear the ground for the new creation by our assent to the burial of the old. then I apply for baptism. When once we see this. 'If you would continue in the old world. 42 . now get me buried!' In China we have two emergency Services. Our public testimony in baptism today is our admission that the death of Christ two thousand years ago was a mighty all-inclusive death. God has done the work of crucifixion so that now we are counted among the dead. a 'Red Cross' and a 'Blue Cross' The first deals with those who are wounded in battle but are still alive. So baptism is no small thing. he said. but we must accept this and submit to the work of the 'Blue Cross'. 'Praise God. in effect. passed upon me in the Cross of His Son.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee to die. to bring them succour and healing. This is the meaning of Romans 6:2: "We who died to sin. I say. by sealing that death with 'burial'. mighty enough and all-inclusive enough to carry away in it and bring to an end everything in us that is not of God.
' Then he showed me a tree bearing miserably poor fruit from the old stock below the graft. 'I don't know'.' Pointing to a special tree he asked. and would consist mainly of thick skin and seeds. their fruit would be only about the size of a raspberry. It is eaten either fresh or dried. a dry. In Fukien I once visited a man who owned an orchard of long-ien7 trees. he said. But what parable can adequately describe the miracle of the new creation?— Ed. The word is used in the sense of 'grafted' in Classical Greek. I think. in the delightful illustration which follows. For the word 'united' (A. 43 . 'but it does grow. 'planted together') may carry in the Greek the sense of 'grafted' 6 and it gives us a very beautiful picture of the life of Christ which is imparted to us through resurrection. 'Do you see that tree? I call it the father tree. I inquired if his trees had been grafted or if they were of the original native stock. from which the grafts for all the others are taken. he explained. 'united with'. papery skin and a delicious white. 'I lop off the top and graft on to it. which he gladly did. grape-like pulp. Praise the Lord! His resurrection enters into me. 'I simply take a little of the nature of the one tree and transfer it to the other'. for it is not quite safe to imply. for. and of course all the grafted trees bear fruit like it.' 'But how can it grow?' I asked. 7 long-ien (Euphoria longana) is a tree native to China.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Resurrection Unto Newness Of Life "If we have become united with him by the likeness of his death. Then I bind it up and leave it to grow. without some qualification.V. 'I have left the old shoots with their useless fruit 6 Greek sumphtuos 'planted or grown along with'. In the death of the Lord the emphasis is solely upon 'I in Christ'. 'When a tree has grown to a certain height'. he said. light brown. the analogy of grafting should perhaps not be pressed too closely. Its fruit resembles an apricot in size and has a round central stone. bears a luscious fruit the size of a plum. he replied. How is it possible for Christ to communicate His resurrection life to me? How do I receive this new life? Paul suggests. while the same thing is true. 'Do you think'. with very thin skin and a tiny seed. and rich juicy fruit from the new stock above the graft. that Christ is grafted into the old stock. and is prized by the Chinese both for its flavour and for its food value. 6:5).—Ed. With the resurrection. 'I make a cleavage in the poor tree and insert a slip from the good one. I am "baptized into his death". He had three or four acres of land and about three hundred fruit trees. we shall be also be the likeness of his resurrection (Rom.' 'How does it happen?' I asked. If the other trees were just left to follow the course of nature. a very good illustration with these very same words: "united with him". This tree. because all the grafts for the other trees are taken from that one. 'that I would waste my land growing ungrafted trees? What value could I ever expect from the old stock? So I asked him to explain the process of grafting. Now with resurrection the figure is different because something new is introduced. but I do not enter in quite the same way into His resurrection. imparting to me a new life. there is now a new emphasis upon 'Christ in me'.
We cannot tell how God has done His work in us. a life altogether new. The new skin knit with the old. 'From it you can understand the value of grafting. has become my life. can you not. altogether Divine. the statement which follows is not open to challenge. it is that another life. but knowest not whence it cometh. If an earthly surgeon can take a piece of skin from one human body and graft it on another. and whither it goeth. and the woman left the hospital with her arm perfectly healed. through the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . 8 Whatever question medical men may raise as to the account of this unusual incident. as by my oral witness. for by the resurrection God has already done it. cannot God take of the life of His Son and. 44 . You ask how the skin of another grew on that woman's arm? I do not know how it grew. that old world has " been crucified unto me. but I know that it did grow.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee on them to show the difference'. God has done everything. But if a man can graft a branch of one tree into another. but the doctor attempted in vain to graft a piece of the woman's own skin onto the arm. There is only one fruitful life in the world and that has been grafted into millions of other lives. but there remained a patch of white foreign skin on her yellow arm to tell the tale of the past. New birth is the reception of a life which I did not possess before. It is not that my natural life has been changed at all. Owing to her age and ill-nourishment the skin graft was too poor and would not 'take'. In order to prevent serious contracture due to scarring it was found necessary to graft some new skin over the injured area. My baptism is my public testimony to that fact. so to speak. We call this the 'new birth'. Only by our implanting into it the life of a good tree. he said. 8 cannot the Divine Surgeon implant the life of His Son into me? I do not know how it is done. my "confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:10). He has shut the door to that old kingdom of darkness and translated me into the kingdom of His dear Son. God has cut off the old creation by the Cross of His Son in order to bring in a new creation in Christ by resurrection. so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). but it is done. You can appreciate. Then a foreign nurse offered a piece of skin and the operation was carried out successfully. "The wind bloweth where it listeth. We can do nothing and need do nothing to bring it about.—Ed. why I grow only grafted trees?' How can one tree bear the fruit of another? How can a poor tree bear good fruit? Only by grafting. and thou hearest the voice thereof. By it. My glorying is in the fact that it has been done—that. and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14). graft it into us? A Chinese woman burned her arm badly and was taken to hospital.
as alive from the dead.9 Many have taken this word "present" to imply consecration without looking carefully into its content." The operative word here is "present" and this occurs five times. reckoning.. then spontaneously I reckon myself dead (verses 6 and 11). This will be at once clear from verse 13. giving myself to Him follows. In resurrection He is the source of my life—indeed He is my life. strength and other gifts—to the Lord for Him to use. nor is there anything God can accept. that ye should obey the lusts thereof: neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness. e. for all is His. When I really know I am crucified with Him. For what is here referred to is not the consecration of anything belonging to the old creation. We have before us the second half of Romans 6 from verse 12 to the end. in verses 13. Paul says: "Present yourselves unto God. for both the death and the resurrection side of the Cross are to be accepted by faith. 'Yield' contains a passive idea of 'surrender' that has coloured much evangelical thought. 16 and 19. as alive from the dead"." 9 Note. translation 'present' is greatly to be preferred. Note there the clause "as alive from the dead". so I cannot but present everything to Him.V. where the A. In Romans 6:12. presenting to God: that is the Divine order. then likewise I reckon myself "alive unto God in Christ Jesus" (verses 9 and 11). Knowing.V. Presenting myself to God means that henceforth I consider my whole life as now belonging to the Lord. It is not the consecration of our 'old man' with his instincts and resources—our natural wisdom. Col. Both words have an active sense for which the R.g. The Third Step: "Present Yourselves.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 6: The Path of Progress: Presenting Ourselves to God Our study has now brought us to the point where we are able to consider the true nature of consecration. 13 we read: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body. but only of that which has passed through death to resurrection.. The 'presenting' spoken of is the outcome of my knowing my old man to be crucified. But without passing through death I have nothing to consecrate. 28. and in Luke 2:22 where it is used of the presenting of the infant Jesus to God in the Temple. and resurrection alone has made consecration possible. 1:22. 45 .—Ed. Of course that is what it does mean.V. and when I know that I am raised with Him from the dead. not mine. but not in the sense in which we so often understand it. 11:2. Paristemi occurs frequently with this meaning. has 'yield'. When this point is reached. 2 Cor. Death has cut off all that cannot be consecrated to Him. This defines for us the point at which consecration begins. but present yourselves unto God. but which is not in keeping with the context here in Romans. and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 12:1.—Two Greek verbs paristano and paristemi are translated in these verses by 'present' in the R. in Rom. for He has condemned all that is of the old creation to the Cross.
'I am sorry to disappoint you'. as belonging wholly to Him.. just as definite as reckoning. or any of our mental or physical powers? On one occasion a Chinese brother was traveling by train and found himself in a carriage together with three non-Christians who wished to play cards in order to while away the time. not by the eradication of anything evil in them. says Paul. then I have full authority over them. "Present your members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification (A. "Holiness' in the Hebrew sense meant something thus set apart. as we said earlier. I give myself over wholly to Christ: that is holiness." Separated Unto The Lord What is holiness? Many people think we become holy by the eradication of something evil within. he said. Presenting myself to God implies a recognition that I am altogether His.' 'Whatever do you mean?' they asked in blank astonishment. That brother regarded the members of his body as belonging entirely to the Lord. No.. "Present yourselves. Make it a definite act. This giving of myself is a definite thing. 19). Lacking a fourth to complete the game. There must be a day in my life when I pass out of my own hands into His. he said. That is true holiness. and then there followed the explanation of the transfer of ownership that had taken place in his life. In Old Testament times. and your members". because Christ is risen. 'holiness')" (Romans 6:19). or the gold of the temple—could be sanctified. Thereafter he was regarded as set apart to God. it was when a man was chosen by God to be altogether His that he was publicly anointed with oil and was then said to be 'sanctified'. In the same manner even animals or material things—a lamb. or an hour of our time. all my faculties. "Present yourselves to God. many people are 46 . 'but I cannot join your game for I have not brought my hands with me. and I dare not lose them. and again: "Present your members" (Romans 6:13. Real Christian life begins with knowing this. 'This pair of hands does not belong to me'. because we realize they are the Lord's not ours? How many of us have such a strong sense that we belong to Another that we dare not squander a shilling of our money. we become holy by being separated unto God. and from that day forward I belong to Him and no longer to myself. Paul says. How many of us know that. is now unemployed in respect to sin. It is a great thing when I discover I am no longer my own but His. we are therefore alive "unto God" and not unto ourselves? How many of us dare not use our time or money or talents as we would. That does not mean that I consecrate myself to be a preacher or a missionary. But if they belong to another who has committed them to me in trust. then I cannot buy what I please with them.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Let us observe that this 'presenting' relates to the members of my body—that body which. God requires of me that I now regard all my members. Alas. they invited this brother to join them.V. and all true holiness is holiness "to the Lord" (Exodus 28:36). but by being thus reserved exclusively to the Lord. If the ten shillings in my pocket belong to me.
I want everything for God. That strong self-assertive will of mine must go to the Cross. and He will say: 'This must go'. We have only one life to live down here and we are free to do as we please with it. If at the close of a life we can say with Paul: "I have finished my course". but if we seek our own pleasure our life will never glorify God. It is always an easy matter to get out of His will. in the sense of which we are speaking. point by point. to know and walk in the path Thou hast ordained. He wants something. and it is of supreme importance that each one should know and walk in the God-appointed course. many adjustments may have to be made: in family. dare not even think about. We can evade the issue in that way. We admit that many of us still have controversies with the Lord. His finger will touch. namely. God will not let anything of ourselves remain. they have not consecrated themselves to Him. and always wise to submit to Him. If you are a Christian. but to do so will bring us out of the will of God. I give myself to Thee with this desire alone. 'I want nothing for myself. but to the will of God to be and do whatever He wants. or does all your desire center in His will? Can you truly say that the will of God is "good and acceptable and perfect" to you? (Romans 12:2) For it is our wills that are in question here. They have 'consecrated' (as they would put it) something altogether different. 47 . 'Lord. or business. and I must give myself over wholly to the Lord.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee missionaries not because they have truly consecrated themselves to God but because.' Do you want anything apart from God. A devoted Christian once said in my hearing. without controversy. but it is a blessed thing just to hand ourselves over to Him and let Him have His way with us. their own uncrucified natural faculties to the doing of His work. David had many mighty men. Not only Paul's path but the path of every Christian has been clearly marked out by God. We cannot expect a tailor to make us a coat if we do not give him any cloth. we must give ourselves to Him to do as He pleases with us. Servant Or Slave? If we give ourselves unreservedly to God. Then to what are we to be consecrated? Not to Christian work. Some were generals and others were gatekeepers. everything that is not of Him. We must be willing to be either generals or gatekeepers. Are you willing? It is foolish to resist God. according as the king assigned them their task. "Present yourselves unto God" (Romans 6:13). and in just the same way we cannot expect the Lord to live out His life in us if we do not give Him our lives in which to live. Many things we dare not look into. allotted to our parts just as God wills and not as we choose. dare not pray about. but that is not true consecration. nor a builder to build us a house if we let him have no building material. or in the matter of our personal views. Without reservations. then God has marked out a pathway for you—a 'course' as Paul calls it in 2 Timothy 4:7. then we are blessed indeed. or church relationships. lest we lose our peace.' That is true giving. while we want something else. There is nothing more tragic than to come to the end of life and know we have been on the wrong course.
That is the attitude God requires. what did the Lord do with it? He broke it. and the reason is obvious.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee How good it is to have the consciousness that we belong to the Lord and are not our own! There is nothing more precious in the world. You are out of gear with the world. How glibly they say: 'Lord. When the Galilian boy brought his bread to the Lord. "Know ye not. My giving of myself to the Lord must be an initial fundamental act. But to stay there is to be no more than just a broken vessel—no good for the world because you have gone too far for the world to use you. but the ownership does not pass to that other. then I dare do nothing in my own interests. It is that which brings the awareness of His continual presence. I must first have the sense of God's possession of me before I can have the sense of His presence with me. The trouble with many Christians today is that they have an insufficient idea of what God is asking of them. for He will never compel me to do so. He is not only the servant of another but he is the possession of another. much-loved work. What is the difference between a servant and a slave? A servant may serve another. The word here rendered 'servant' really signifies a bondservant. strong wills. office or kitchen. 48 . God will take you seriously. that will have to go. I am willing for anything. This word is used several times in the second half of Romans 6. May we always be possessed by the consciousness that we are not our own. even if you did not mean it seriously. counting whatever He ordains for me to be the very best. How did I become the slave of the Lord? On His part He bought me. After you give yourself to the Lord. and you protest and find fault with the ways of God. Not so is it with the slave. and to maintain it is true consecration. He begins to break what was offered to Him. for I am His exclusive property. I do not consecrate myself to be a missionary or a preacher. When once His ownership is established. He breaks what He takes. I am the Lord's and now no longer reckon myself to be my own but acknowledge in everything His ownership and authority. not finding fault with His use of me but accepting with praise even what the flesh revolts against. but if I would be His slave I must willingly give myself to Him. I consecrate myself to God to do His will where I am. and you have a controversy with God.' Do you know that God is asking of you your very life? There are cherished ideals. be it in school. that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience. By right of redemption I am God's property. and on my part I presented myself to Him. so do not give yourself to God unless you mean it. precious relationships. his servants ye are whom ye obey?" (Romans 6:16). for nothing but good can come to those who are wholly His. but after breaking it He blesses and uses it to meet the needs of others. This is the tragedy of many a Christian. God will always break what is offered to Him. If he likes his master he can serve him. but if he does not like him he can give in his notice and seek another master. and no good for God either because you have not gone far enough for Him to use you. Everything seems to go wrong. a slave. Then day by day I must go on giving to Him.
That may perhaps at first convey very little to many of us. let us first look at the great Divine goal before us. he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son. In John 1:14 we are told that the Lord Jesus was God's only begotten Son: "the Word became flesh. How did God realize that objective? "Whom he justified. When we think of sin we instinctively think of the judgment it brings. we invariably associate it with condemnation and hell. and again: "Whom he foreknew. and "The glory of the children of God" (Romans 8:21). in creation and redemption was to make Christ the firstborn Son among many glorified sons. God's purpose in redemption is glory. But. if we are to live the normal Christian life. God's purpose for man was glory. and fall short of the glory of God". we are told. them he also justified: and whom he justified. and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory. all of whom should be conformed to His image.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 7: The Eternal Purpose We have spoken of the need of revelation. He wanted also to make Him His first begotten. If you 49 . them he also glorified" (Romans 8:29. The result of sin is that we forfeit God's glory: the result of redemption is that we are qualified again for glory. But unless we see the end God has in view we shall never clearly understand why these steps are necessary to lead us to that end. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us" (Romans 8:16-18). Firstborn Among Many Brethren This consideration takes us forward into Romans chapter 8 where the topic is developed in verses 16 to 18 and again in verses 29 and 30. them he also glorified. Before therefore we consider further the question of inward experience. glory as of the only begotten from the Father)". that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: and whom he foreordained. In Romans 3:23 we read: "All have sinned. if so be that we suffer with him. of faith and of consecration. God was not satisfied that Christ should remain the only begotten Son. that we may be also glorified with him. Man's thought is always of the punishment that will come to him if he sins. but let us look into it more carefully. one from each of our two sections of Romans." God's purpose. glory. How could an only begotten Son become a first begotten? The answer is simple: by the Father having more children. but sin thwarted that purpose by causing man to miss God's glory. That He was God's only begotten Son signifies that God had no other Son but this one. glory. Paul says: "We are children of God: and if children. He was with the Father from all eternity. What was God's objective? It was that His Son Jesus Christ might be the firstborn among many brethren. then heirs. them he also called: and whom he called. What is God's purpose in creation and what is His purpose in redemption? It may be summed up in two phrases. but God's thought is always of the glory man will miss if he sins. It is: "The glory of God" (Romans 3:23). 30). then. heirs of God. and joint-heirs with Christ.
He cannot do without me?' Though I was with him for over an hour. from the point of view of God the Father it is "sons". I cannot do without Him? And do you know. The Divine purpose in creation and redemption was that God should have many children. He made provision for the whole of Heaven to be peopled with glorified sons. But what remains in my memory of that interview was his frequent repetition of these two questions: 'Brother. I say unto you. From the point of view of the Lord Jesus it is "brethren". verily.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee have but one son then his is the only begotten. they are occupied in thinking what a bad time he is having. God is seeking full-grown sons. Some time ago I called to see Mr. It is not a question of what the son suffers but of what the Father loses. his great age and physical frailty made any sustained conversation impossible. When I was ushered into the presence of this old saint of ninety-three years. he took my hand in his and in a quiet. In Romans 8:29 we read of "many brethren". There you have the whole story of the Incarnation and the Cross. He is the sufferer. and could not be satisfied without us. with Him in glory. That was His purpose in redemption. Both words in this context convey the idea of maturity.. That is the explanation of Romans 8:30: "Whom he justified. in Hebrews 2:10 of "many sons". do you know. A sheep is lost: whose is the loss? The shepherd's. But the Father sent the Son in order that the only begotten might also be the first begotten. How could He bring that about? By justifying them and then by glorifying them. George Cutting. and the beloved Son have many brethren. but if thereafter you have other children then the only begotten becomes the first begotten. and to have those sons.. That is the lesson of Luke chapter 15. 50 . deliberate way he said: 'Brother." Sonship—the full expression of His Son—is God's goal in the many sons. In His dealings with them God will never stop short of that goal. them he also glorified. For He does not want His sons to live in a barn or a garage or a field. I cannot do without Him? And do you know. Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die. but He does not stop even there. mature and responsible. He cannot do without me?' In reading the story of the prodigal son most people are impressed with all the troubles the prodigal meets. do you know. The Grain Of Wheat But how could God's only begotten Son become His first begotten? The method is explained in John 12:24: "Verily. and there you have at the last the purpose of God fulfilled in His "bringing many sons unto glory" (Heb. 2:10). The Lord Jesus was the only begotten Son. was lost. "My son. He set Himself to have sons. Certainty and Enjoyment. and is found"—there is the heart of the story. the writer of the well-known tract Safety. He is the loser. He wants them in His home. But that is not the point of the parable. He wanted us. A son is lost: whose is the loss? The Father's. A coin is lost: whose is the loss? The woman's. He wants them to share His glory. and as the only begotten He had no brothers.
By His death and resurrection many brethren have been brought into God's family. mark you. He is also the first begotten. The first and the twentieth chapters of John are in this respect most precious. I ascend unto my Father and your Father. for in the day that you do so you will surely die. after the Lord Jesus died and rose again. And God brings him into the garden and says to him. But in the very midst of the garden is one tree called "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil". Father. it beareth much fruit.and your Father". is the meaning of these two trees? Adam was. and so. "He is not ashamed to call them brethren" (Heb. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit. in the same verse He uses this very name for them: "My brethren". At the end of his Gospel he tells us how. from the resurrection onward through all eternity. It is the eldest Son. He had no second grain. the name of the other tree close by is Life. for in the Son's obedience unto death the Father has secured His many sons. "Go unto my brethren. but "in the midst of the garden"—that is. Abba. he had no knowledge of good and evil." Who was that grain? It was the Lord Jesus. But remember. in dependence upon God and by virtue of our being 'in Christ'. and my God and your God" (John 20:17). whereby we cry. the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. and say to them. as of ourselves but only. full of fruits. in a place of special prominence—He planted two trees. you must not eat of that.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee it abideth by itself alone. Yet there is a sense in which. and from the one grain there have sprung many grains.. Therein was the Father-heart of God satisfied. Adam was created innocent. Think of a grown man. and in resurrection the only begotten grain became the first begotten grain. though not. Hitherto in this Gospel the Lord had spoken often of "the Father" or of "my Father". In the whole universe God had only one 'grain of wheat'. so to speak.. In the beginning of his Gospel John tells us that Jesus was "the only begotten from the Father". 2:11). who has no sense of right or wrong. no power to differentiate between the two! Would you not say such a man was undeveloped? Well. In respect of His divinity the Lord Jesus remains uniquely "the only begotten Son of God". ". in resurrection. It was by way of the Incarnation and the Cross that the Lord Jesus made this possible. created morally neutral—neither sinful nor holy. God put His one grain of wheat into the ground and it died. the first begotten. and of the fruit of every tree you may eat freely.' What. 16). For we who are born of the Spirit are made thereby "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). but innocent—and God put those two trees there so that 51 . as we shall see in a moment. but if it die. He add. He said to Mary Magdalene. We have "received the spirit of adoption. that is exactly what Adam was. in effect. that we are children of God" (Rom. say thirty years old. Now. and His life from that time is found in many brethren. The Choice That Confronted Adam God planted a great number of trees in the garden of Eden. 8:5. 'Now the garden is full of trees. then. speaking.
and Adam's only course when faced with any question is to refer it to Jehovah God. He did so by choosing 52 . he would partake of the life of God and thus become a 'son' of God. From then on he was "wise" (Genesis 3:6). And the fruit: what is that? It is our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why access to the tree of life had thereafter to be forbidden to him. These two trees. He could choose the tree of life. But the consequence for his was death rather than life. then he would develop his own manhood along natural lines apart from God. typify two deep principles. the Divine and the human. though forbidden to Adam. taking the natural course. So—may I say it reverently?—the Lord Jesus is really God in a receivable form. No one is able to receive God as God. Adam's Choice The Reason For The Cross Adam chose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and thereby took up independent ground. judging and acting apart from God. God in Christ we can receive. but we can receive the Lord Jesus. he could decide for himself. Adam's choice of the latter was sin. the receivable part of the tree. Without it however Adam is in a sense limited in that he cannot decide for himself on moral issues. He could command a knowledge. for God is life. He is the highest form of life. Reaching a peak of attainment as a self-sufficient being. because thereby he allied himself with Satan to thwart the eternal purpose of God. There you would have God's life in union with man: a race of men having the life of God in them and living in constant dependence upon God for that life. You cannot eat the tree but you can eat the fruit. So this was the alternative that lay before him. Choosing the way of the Spirit. If on the other hand Adam should turn the other way and take the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. but he would have no life from God. Thus you have a life in the garden which is totally dependent on God. he would have the power in himself to form independent judgment. by becoming a self-dependent being. he could put the finishing touch to himself. The "tree of life" is God Himself. The history of humanity is the outcome of the choice he made. living in dependence upon God for his life. he could become a 'son' of God. the way of obedience. is not wrong in itself. and that of human life with its 'independent' resources. or. he could go on or stop. If Adam should take of the tree of life. because the choice he had made involved complicity with Satan and brought him therefore under the judgment of God. Judgment of right and wrong resides not in him but in God. In doing so he became (as man is now in his own eyes) a 'fully developed' man. in the sense of having in him a life that derived from God. then. Now the knowledge of good and evil. or he could choose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. and He is also the source and goal of life. Two planes of life had been set before Adam: that of Divine life in dependence upon God.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee he might exercise free choice. they represent two planes of life. as it were. The fruit is the edible part.
It is not His thought to bring it to a certain stage of refinement. so God had to gather up all that was in Adam and do away with it. In China one day I called on a Christian leader who was sick in bed. From this we see the Divine reason for the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Now that He is in the Spirit every one of us can receive Him. because what is in us by nature is a self-life.. and one esteemed throughout the whole of China for his high moral principles. "He that eateth me. 53 . But the end was death. but of course they could not receive Him then because He was still literally in the flesh. and thus all that is of Adam has passed away. We cannot bridge the gulf that divides us from the plane above or the plane below. said Jesus (John 6:57). and the distance that separates us from the life of God is vastly greater than that which separates us from the life of the lower animals. 13). 15:45). he only proclaimed a social gospel. Wong' (though that was not his real name). he also shall live because of me". but 'in the Spirit'. to them gave he the right to become children of God. one born anew. I shall call 'Mr. and since He is no longer in the flesh He can now be received by all. The Lord Jesus now has a resurrected body. "The last Adam became a life-giving spirit" (1 Cor. Human life lies between the life of the lower animals and the life of God. On that plane He cannot now bring man to glory. He That Hath The Son Hath The Life There are various planes of life. equally dominated by Satan. But he did not believe in the need for regeneration. God is not out to reform our life. subject to the law of sin. a Doctor of Philosophy. a glorious body. and whom. even by his standards a 'perfect' man—apart from God... Thus in Adam we all become sinners. and for presenting ourselves unto Him as alive from the dead. We must all go to the Cross. with a body still. a spiritual body. We see too the Divine reason for true consecration—for reckoning ourselves to be dead unto sin but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. equally subject to the law of sin and death. for the sake of this story. He must have a new man.. Regeneration and justification go together. which were born. God has put us all in Christ and crucified Him as the last Adam. but had chosen to become instead an 'independent' agent of the Enemy. for it is on a totally wrong plane.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee to develop his manhood—to become perhaps a very fine man. no longer 'in the flesh'. because he had not in him the Divine life necessary to realize God's purpose in his being. He was a very learned man. and it is by partaking of His resurrection life that we are constituted children of God. "As many as received him. and he had long been engaged in Christian work. Adam chose a self-life rather than a Divine life. of God. born of God. The Jews revolted at the thought of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Our 'old man' has been crucified. and equally deserving of the wrath of God." (John 1:12. Then Christ arose in new form.
namely. The Lord Jesus as Man derived His life from God. Throughout your life your aim in preaching has been to turn bad men into good men. to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. "he that sanctifieth" and "they that are sanctified".. and I went on: 'Do you see what I am getting at? Your daughters were born into your family and they bear your name because you have communicated your life to them. of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 54 . and (in another sense. then you cannot belong to the Divine family. and through whom are all things. a well-behaved dog. whether good or bad. we receive also the Divine life which was represented in the garden by the tree of life. What we today possess in Christ is more than Adam lost. 'Certainly not!' came the emphatic reply. that is just his name'. and never possessed the life of God. but the question is not. Our only hope as men is to receive the Son of God. and altogether a most remarkable dog. By the new birth we receive something Adam never had.. The same principle applies to you in your relationship to God." There are two parties mentioned here. more or less. He told me he was called Fido. But these two parties are said to be "all of one".' The Doctor saw the truth. For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. but how can He bring that about? Turn now to Hebrews 2:10 and 11: "It became him. and that day he became a member of God's family by receiving the Son of God into his heart. But we who receive the Son of God not only receive the forgiveness of sins. he said. The question is not whether you are a bad man or a good man. I protested. I pointed to the dog and inquired his name. or. Is he a dog? He does not need to be bad to be disqualified from being a member of your family. but simply. Your dog may be an intelligent dog. Are you a man? If your life is on a lower plane than that of God's life. and when we do so His life in us will constitute us sons of God. in different terms. 'But he lives in your family'. in bringing many sons unto glory. Adam was only a developed man. but just as truly) we derive our new life from God. Is he a good or a bad dog? It is merely. can have no vital relationship with God. 'Is Fido his Christian name or his surname?' I asked (using the common Chinese terms for 'personal name' and 'family name'). They Are All Of One God wants sons who shall be joint-heirs with Christ in glory. 'Oh. we possess what he missed. He remained on that plane. 'Do you mean that is just his Christian name? Can I call him Fido Wong?' I continued. he only needs to be a dog. Wong his pet dog was by his bedside. "many sons" and "the author of their salvation". why cannot I call your dog Master Wong?' The Doctor laughed.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee When I called on Mr. for whom are all things. 'Why don't you call him Fido Wong?' Then. indicating his two daughters. but men as such. That is His goal. and after speaking with him of the things of God and of the nature of His work in us. He was "begotten. I asked 'Are your daughters not called Miss Wong?' 'Yes!' 'Well then.
6:23). So. the whole question of sin ultimately goes out? It no longer has a place. "born.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee 1:20 mg. as it has to be. and even when it has been dealt with. as it were. we are all of One.). the spirit". Do you realize that we have the same life today that God has? The life which He has in Heaven is the life which He has imparted to us here on the earth. of God" (John 3:5. but the life of God that has been imparted to us. and we were "born of. restoring to us access to the tree of life—redemption has given us far more than Adam ever had. 1:13). 55 . Do you notice that.. we are only brought back to the point where Adam was.. That is the precious "gift of God" (Rom. God says. Sin came in with Adam. It is for that reason that we can live a life of holiness. in this consideration of the eternal purpose. for it is not our own life that has been changed. But in relating us again to the Divine purpose—in... The first begotten Son and the many sons are all (though in different senses) "out of" the one Source of life. "Of" in the Greek means "out of". It has made us partakers of the very life of God Himself.
By receiving the gift of the outpoured Holy Spirit we join the ranks of God's chosen servants of the Old Testament dispensation. but they are given on a definite basis. whereof we all are witnesses. and upon Elijah the mighty prophet. we must know on what ground we can appropriate them. and that as we go on we shall find the distinction helpful. and our purpose now is to understand on what basis this twofold gift of the Holy Spirit becomes ours. Once we see the value of this gift of God. But to say this is not for one moment to imply that His outward activity is not also precious. Moreover. upon David the beloved king. before we return to our study of the phases of Christian experience as set forth in Romans. God has truly "blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). judges.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 8: The Holy Spirit We have spoken of the eternal purpose of God as the motive and explanation of all His dealings with us. (34) 56 . God does not give His gifts at random. we must digress yet again in order to consider something which lies at the heart of all our experience as the vitalizing power of effective life and service. he is none of his" (Romans 8:9). one from each of our sections. And here. for God only gives good gifts to His children. could appreciate more readily than we do the preciousness of this gift of the outpoured Spirit. I have no doubt that we are right in distinguishing thus between the outward and the inward manifestations of His working. Think! we who are mere nonentities can have the same Spirit resting upon us as rested upon Moses the friend of God. Unfortunately we are apt to esteem our privileges lightly because of their sheer abundance. How can I receive the Holy Spirit in this way to equip me with spiritual gifts and to empower me for service? Upon what basis has the Spirit been given? The Spirit Outpoured Let us turn first to Acts chapter 2 verses 32 to 36: "(32) This Jesus did God raise up. as the Spirit outpoured and the Spirit indwelling. "If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ. (33) Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted. nor dispense them in any arbitrary fashion. we cannot but come to the conclusion that the inward activity of the Holy Spirit is the more precious. when we compare them. They are given freely to all. kings and prophets—whereas now it is the portion of every child of God. and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost. but if those blessings which are ours in Christ are to become ours in experience. I refer to the personal presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit of God. In their day it was a gift given only to the select few—chiefly to priests. In considering the gift of the Holy Spirit it is helpful to think of this in two aspects. too. The Old Testament saints. we shall immediately ask. Now. and realize too our deep need of it. which ye see and hear. he hath poured forth this. "The love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Ghost which was given unto us" (Romans 5:5). let us take as our starting-point two verses from Romans. who were not as favoured as we are.
in effect. so we shall get the force of Peter's argument better if we ignore them for the time being. I have received the outpoured Spirit. One day news reached the father of the death of his son. then. because the Lord Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of the Father. There was a young man named Joseph. Remission of sins is not based on human merit.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself.(36) Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly. but on the Lord's crucifixion. nothing is because of me. but on the Lord's exaltation. he was in a place of glory and power. All is because of Him. But Joseph was not in the grave. but to follow a statement that has already been made. The Holy Spirit has not been poured out on you or me to prove how great we are. this Jesus whom ye crucified. that God hath made him both Lord and Christ. to his audience: 'This outpouring of the Spirit. who was dearly loved of his father. and for years Jacob lamented Joseph's loss. How is this word generally used? Not to introduce a statement." Let us for the moment set verses 34 and 35 aside and consider verses 33 and 36 together. After Jacob had been mourning the 57 . Its use always implies that something has been mentioned before. and he says: "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly. I have received forgiveness of sins. What. Now look at verse 36.). There is a word here which demands our careful attention: the word 'therefore'. Because the Lord Jesus died on the Cross. but only what He is. that God hath made him both Lord and Christ. The Lord said unto my Lord. this Jesus whom ye crucified". Now what has preceded this particular 'therefore'? With what is it connected? It cannot reasonably be connected with either verse 34 or verse 35. (35) Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. proves that Jesus of Nazareth whom ye crucified is now both Lord and Christ'. In verse 33 Peter states that the Lord Jesus was exalted "at the right hand of God" (mg. What was the result? He "received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost". was the basis upon which the Spirit was first given to the Lord Jesus to be poured out upon His people? It was His exaltation to Heaven. The Holy Spirit was poured out on earth to prove what had taken place in Heaven—the exaltation of Jesus of Nazareth to the right hand of God. The purpose of Pentecost is to prove the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The outpouring of the Spirit has no relation to your merits or mine. but to prove the greatness of the Son of God. sit thou on my right hand. because the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. but it quite obviously relates back to verse 33. but only to the merits of the Lord Jesus. and the enduement with the Holy Spirit is not based on human merit. The question of what we are does not come into consideration at all here. Peter says. which you have witnessed with your own eyes and ears. The former are a quotation from the 110th Psalm and are really a parenthesis. therefore the Spirit is poured out. regeneration is not based on human merit. Peter has just referred to the outpouring of the Spirit upon the disciples "which ye see and hear". which ye see and hear". And what followed? Pentecost! The result of His exaltation was—"this. He is glorified. This passage makes it absolutely clear that the Holy Spirit was poured out because the Lord Jesus was exalted. but on the Lord's resurrection. I have received new life.
It was a revelation of what the Lord had done for the world that brought to an end our efforts to secure forgiveness of sins. or because of your regular attendance at Church? Was it because of your merits at all? No! A thousand times. dear child of God. therefore our sins have been forgiven. The Lord has been crucified. God's facts are the basis of our experience. The sole ground of forgiveness is the shedding of blood. when I know perfectly well I have nothing? No. No! On what ground then were your sins forgiven? "Apart from shedding of blood there is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). and saw the chariots that Joseph had sent from Egypt. but I have no experience of it. Let us go back again to the question of justification. We work because we have not seen the work of Christ. sent both to be the evidence that God's Son is in glory and to convey us there. the Lord has been glorified. therefore the Spirit has been poured out upon us. If we lack the experience. Am I to sit down smugly and say I have everything.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee death of his son for years. and since the precious Blood has been shed. and prayer will give place to praise. and it is a revelation of what the Lord has done for His Church that will bring to an end our efforts to secure the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now the principle on which we receive the enduement of the Holy Spirit is the very same as that on which we receive forgiveness of sins. but by accepting the fact that the Lord had done everything. but that experience will only come as we rest upon Divine facts. and as we believe. not by your doing anything yourself. but by your putting your faith in what the Lord has already done. Hallelujah! Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Christ! Jesus of Nazareth is both Lord and Christ! The exaltation of the Lord Jesus is the basis on which the Spirit has been given. At first Jacob could not take it in. who was crucified by wicked men nearly two thousand years ago. or because you read your Bible from cover to cover. How do we know that Jesus of Nazareth. Is it possible that the Son of God shed His Blood and that your sins. How did he come to believe in it? He went out. did not just die a martyr's death but is at the Father's right hand in glory? How can we know for a surety that He is Lord of lords and King of kings? We can know it beyond dispute because He has poured out His Spirit upon us. How were you justified? Not by doing anything at all. Enduement with the Holy Spirit becomes yours in exactly the same way as justification. we must never rest content with objective facts alone. It was too good to be true. we must ask God for a revelation of the eternal fact of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as the gift of the exalted Lord to His Church. your sins have been forgiven. But when once we have seen that. experience will follow. We need subjective experience also. What do the chariots represent here? They surely typify here the Holy Spirit. it was suddenly reported to him that Joseph was alive and in a high position in Egypt. 58 . faith will spring up in our hearts. have not been forgiven? Never! Then is it possible that the Son of God has been glorified and you have not received the Spirit? Never! Some of you may say: I agree with all this. effort will cease. Is it possible then that the Lord has been glorified and you have not received the Spirit? On what basis did you receive forgiveness of sins? Was it because you prayed so earnestly. But ultimately he was persuaded that the story of Joseph's exaltation was really a fact. Once we see that.
Suppose then he prays after this fashion: 'Lord Jesus. who had only been a Christian for five weeks and who had formerly been violently opposed to the gospel. Suppose an unbeliever expresses the desire to be saved.' Have you any confidence that that man is saved? When will you rest assured that he has really been born again? Not when he prays: 'Lord. but the exaltation of Christ. the whole question is one of faith. therefore we have been forgiven: Christ has been glorified. we know the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon us. The Spirit has been poured out to prove His goodness and greatness. for the Spirit to be given. Lord.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Some time ago a young man. Thou and I. but praises Him that He has already done so because the Blood of the Lamb has already been shed. I believe Thou wilt forgive my sins'. you will find that your problem is solved. 'Lord. Lord. and that Thou canst blot out all my sins. for the gift is not for the 'favoured few' but for all. and the Father has promised us two things—glory for Thee. so equally for the coming upon us of the Holy Spirit. hast received the glory. Christ has been crucified. Jesus is not going to be made Lord. therefore we have been endued with power from on high. therefore it is unthinkable that I have not received the Spirit. not ours. Thou. I praise Thee that Thou hast forgiven my sins. because it is not given on the ground of what we are at all. Seeing Thou hast now been glorified. that's all wrong!' and began to pray again: 'Lord Jesus. and the Spirit for me. wilt Thou not now pour out Thy Spirit upon me?' Then he corrected himself: 'Oh no. and you explain to him the way of salvation and pray with him. you can pray and wait for years and never experience the Spirit's power. The basis upon which we receive the enduement of the Holy Spirit is not our praying and fasting and waiting. In the same way. nor even wait. Those who emphasize tarrying and hold 'tarrying meetings' only mislead us. but when he says: 'Lord. Thou hast died for me. and I have already received the Spirit. As soon as we see the Lord Jesus on the Cross. Praise God! no single child of His need agonize. I truly believe Thou wilt forgive me. I believe Thou hast died for me. I do want the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore I am not 59 . Lord. but when you cease to plead with the Lord to pour out His Spirit upon you. but of what Christ is. At the close of one in which I was speaking along the above lines. attended a series of meetings which I was addressing in Shanghai. and as soon as we see the Lord Jesus on the Throne. and when instead you trustfully praise Him that the Spirit has been poured out because the Lord Jesus has been glorified. he went home and began to pray earnestly.' From that day the power of the Spirit was consciously upon him. He is Lord. we know our sins are forgiven. we are in a life-partnership. Faith Is Again The Key As for forgiveness. I praise Thee! Thou hast already received the glory. It is all because of Him. therefore my sins are blotted out' You believe a person is saved when prayer turns to praise—when he ceases to ask the Lord to forgive him.
I have complied with the conditions for receiving remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost. There is a passage in God's Word which makes the conditions of the outpoured Spirit perfectly clear: "Repent ye. The first two are conditions. Here then are two divinely appointed conditions of forgiveness—repentance. not just one.' 60 . I have received the Spirit. Baptism. and ask him if he would therefore kindly let me have the second one. but there are conditions which must be fulfilled on our part before the reception of them is possible. Would you not do the same under the same circumstances? But you are under the same circumstances. and that is repentance. When I reached home and discovered the oversight. and faith publicly expressed. have been buried and have risen with Him. All spiritual blessings are given on a definite basis. and without any further payment I should march happily out of the shop with my possession under my arm. Formerly I thought sin a pleasant thing. but now I know better. Baptism is faith in action. But. then prayer turns to praise in our hearts. formerly I thought the world an attractive place. 'Lord. and to your children. and. I thereby declare publicly what I believe privately. having put down a ten-shilling note. the second two are gifts. what do you think I should do? I should go straight back to the shop to get the forgotten book. That is a change of mind.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee going to receive the Spirit. even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him" (Acts 2:38. The first condition is repentance. Forgiveness. selected a two-volume book. why not just come and take the other now? Say to the Lord. now I think them vile. but I should not dream of paying anything for it. It is all a question of the faith which comes by revelation. God's gifts are freely given. and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For to you is the promise. When in my heart I truly believe that I have died with Christ. If you have fulfilled the conditions you are entitled to two gifts. and I praise Thee for it. Four things are mentioned in this passage: Repentance. No life can be truly changed apart from such a change of mind. priced at ten shillings. Baptism is an outward expression of an inward faith. now I think them most precious. and the Holy Spirit. and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins. not the second. and to all that are afar off. Have you repented? Have you testified publicly to your union with your Lord? Then have you received remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost? You say you have only received the first gift. What are the conditions to be fulfilled if we are to have forgiveness of sins? According to the Word they are two: repentance and baptism. You have already taken the one. formerly I regarded it a miserable business to be a Christian. but now I think differently. The second condition is baptism. God offered you two things if you fulfilled two conditions! Why have you only taken one? What are you doing about the second? Suppose I went into a book-shop. but I have foolishly only taken the former. my friend. carelessly leaving one volume on the counter. which means a change of mind. once I thought other things utterly worthless. Now I have come back to take the gift of the Holy Ghost. but now I have changed my mind about it. I should simply explain to the shopkeeper that both volumes were duly paid for. Once I thought certain things delightful. then I ask for baptism. 39). When our eyes are opened to see that the Spirit has already been poured out because Jesus has already been glorified. walked out of the shop.
When the Holy Spirit falls upon God's people there will be some things which the world cannot account for. We do not know exactly how they felt. each experience is reduplicated and prophecy is prophecy. and others will see visions. Note carefully that Peter did not say: 'What you see and hear fulfills what was spoken by the prophet Joel'. dreams are dreams. yet these were manifest in that upper room. it is not a question of the one being a replica of the other. 29). some will prophesy. No description has been given us of the personal sensations and emotions of the disciples at Pentecost. It was not a case of fulfillment. what did Peter mean by using a quotation that seems scarcely to fit the case at all? In the passage quoted (Joel 2:28. in substance. nor about "tongues parting asunder like as of fire" as accompaniments of the Spirit's outpouring. hardly in the sense in which Joel meant it. and not one word was spoken at random. yet these evidences were apparently lacking at Pentecost. some will dream dreams. but when Peter says "This is that". And where in Joel do we find mention of speaking in other tongues? And yet the disciples at Pentecost did so. There is no misfit. that each one upon whom the Spirit of God falls will know it. and Peter offered an explanation from God's Word to all who witnessed it. When it is a case of fulfillment. but you will know. We cannot and we must not stipulate what particular form such outward expressions will take in any given case. There will be supernatural accompaniments of some kind. The Book of the Acts was written by the Spirit's inspiration. Did the hundred and twenty prophesy or see visions? We are not told that they did. On the other hand. What he said was: "This is that which hath been spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16). What the Book mentioned the disciples lacked. because people seeing them said they were intoxicated. Joel's prophecy said not a word about "a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind". dreams and visions are said to accompany the outpouring of the Spirit. What is the explanation of this mystery? Let us recall that Peter was himself speaking under the control of the Holy Spirit. This. When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost there was something quite extraordinary about their behaviour. is what he said: 'When the Holy Spirit falls upon believers. but a perfect harmony. but of the one belonging to the same category 61 . This is what God has stated through the prophet Joel. and visions are visions. but one thing is sure. prophesy. What did Peter mean? Imagine him quoting God's Word to show that the experience of Pentecost was the outpouring of the Spirit spoken of by Joel. "This is that" means that 'this which you see and hear is of the same order as that which is foretold'. and what the disciples had the Book did not mention! It looks as though Peter's quotation of the Book disproves his point rather than proving it.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee The Diversity Of The Experience But you ask: 'How shall I know that the Holy Spirit is come upon me?' I cannot tell how you will know. though it be no more than an overwhelming sense of the Divine Presence. but we do know that their feelings and behaviour were somewhat abnormal. Did they dream dreams? How could they. for were they not all wide awake? Well then.' But did Peter prophesy? Well. without a single one of the evidences mentioned by Joel being found at Pentecost. but of an experience of the same order.
by his son. one of the most quiet moments I ever knew. "Glory to God. D. The outward evidences may be many and varied. by R.. while sitting in my room one day. Then God simply said to me. 62 .. Some time after this experience (I do not recall just how long after). but it was the very same in essence. The Life of Dwight L. W.D. But that was not when I was baptized with the Holy Spirit. in the city of New York—oh. or Peter's. I found myself shouting (I was not brought up to shout and I am not of a shouting temperament. and He is Lord.it would be as the small dust of the balance... 149. 198-9..' 10 The outward manifestations in Torrey's case were not the same as those described by Joel or by Peter..A.. . Torrey. but "this is that".A. and God had pity on my ignorance and said it directly to my soul. And how did D. yet it is the same thing. and we have to admit that occasionally they are strange. Paul had an experience of which he never spoke for fourteen years. It is not a facsimile. "This" amounts to the same thing as "that". Torrey when the Holy Spirit came upon him after he had been a minister for years? Let him tell it in his own words: 'I recall the exact spot where I was kneeling in prayer in my study. but the Spirit is one. Moody. but I shouted like the loudest shouting Methodist). (See Corinthians 12:4-6). who He is and what He does. pp. suddenly. I went preaching again. not in any audible voice. but in my heart. I went and preached. glory to God". I did not present any new truths.. What happened to R. and I have been a new minister from that day to this. the Holy Spirit descended upon 10 11 The Holy Spirit. "It's yours. 15. The sermons were not different. but I did not then know my Bible as I know it now. I seldom refer to it. but who could doubt that "this" which Moody experienced was "that" experienced by the disciples at Pentecost? It was not the same in manifestation. "this" is the equivalent of "that". without ever having the thought in my mind that there was any such thing for me. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world .." He had already said it to me in His Word in 1 John 5:14.. What is being emphasized by the Holy Spirit through Peter is the diversity of the experience.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee as the other. what a day!—I cannot describe it. p.' 11 The outward manifestation that accompanied Moody's experience did not tally exactly with Joel's description. and yet hundreds were converted. one day. and I could not stop.. it is almost too sacred an experience to name.L.. without any recollection that I had ever heard the thing mentioned by any person in the world. Moody feel and act when the Spirit came upon him? 'I was crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Moody. Well. glory to God. It was very quiet moment. and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand. or Torrey's. I was baptized with the Holy Spirit when I took Him by simple faith in The Word of God... "this is that".R.. Now go and preach. And what was the experience of the great Charles Finney when the power of the Holy Ghost came upon him? 'I received a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost without any expectation of it. I can only say that God revealed Himself to me.
He is Lord. the Spirit has been poured out upon us all. I wept aloud with joy and love.' 12 Finney's experience was not a duplicate of Pentecost. either in our own lives or in the lives of others. Therefore we must not by our prejudices and preconceptions make a water-tight compartment for the working of His Spirit. and to give what evidence He pleases of the work He does. as we shall see in our next chapter. if we are to know in experience that which is ours in fact. others will proclaim the Word of God with power.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee me in a manner that seemed to go through me body and soul. and yet others will be filled with heavenly joy or overflowing praise. since He has been glorified. Finney. There is nothing stereotyped about God's dealings with His children.. our first need is of Divine revelation. As we accept the Divine fact in all the simplicity of faith. nor of Torrey's experience... It is important to note that the Christians in Corinth had become preoccupied with the visible signs of the Holy Spirit's outpouring and were making much of 'tongues' and miracles.." (Romans 8:9). is more particularly the subject of Romans 8. When the Holy Spirit is poured out upon God's people their experiences will differ widely. and this. others will know a new liberty in soul-winning. No words can express the wonderful love that was shed abroad in my heart. Let us rejoice that Jesus is on the throne. as effective Ruler within our lives—then we shall know the power of the Spirit within us. and let us praise Him that. chapter 2. When we see Christ as Lord subjectively—that is. as exalted to the throne in Heaven—then we shall experience the power of the Spirit upon us. while at the same time their lives were full of contradictions and were a reproach to the 12 Autobiography of Charles E. and it is not for us to legislate for Him. so with the Spirit indwelling. This applies equally to those who require some particular manifestation (such as 'speaking with tongues') as evidence that the spirit has come upon them and to those who deny that any manifestation is given at all. "This.. is that!" Let us praise the Lord for every new experience that relates to the exaltation of Christ and of which it can truly be said that "this" is an evidence of "that". Some will receive new vision. We must leave God free to work as He wills. and this. A revelation of the indwelling Spirit was the remedy Paul offered the Corinthian Christians for their unspirituality. nor of Moody's. It is that which we have spoken of as the Spirit indwelling. As with the Spirit outpoured.. 63 . we shall know it with such assurance in our own experience that we shall dare to proclaim with confidence—"This is that!" The Spirit Indwelling We move on now to the second aspect of the gift of the Holy Spirit. which. When we see Christ as Lord objectively—that is.. but "this" certainly was "that". "If so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you..
. The Treasure In The Vessel Do you know. and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). In their thinking. but in that earthen vessel I carry a treasure of unspeakable worth. Do you know. my friends. that the Holy Spirit dwelling within my heart is a Person. The trouble with the Corinthian Christians was not that they lacked the indwelling Spirit but that they lacked the knowledge of His presence. that was the remedy for their unspirituality—just to know who He really was who dwelt within. conscience and the Spirit are more or less identified as some 'thing' within them that brings them to book when they are bad and tries to show them how to be good. no doubt. They had quite evidently received the Holy Spirit and yet they remained spiritually immature. ". He is very God. and it is no less the need of Christians today. For others he prayed for enlightenment of heart. We need the 'opening of the eyes of our understanding' that we may know that God Himself through the Holy Spirit has taken up His abode in our hearts.that ye may know" (Ephesians 1:18). They regard Him as a mere influence—and influence for good. but a living Person. but a blessed reality.. even the Lord of glory. there are resources enough in your own heart to meet the demand of every circumstance in which you will ever find yourself? Do you know there 64 . We may perhaps have realized that the Spirit is actually within our hearts. Thus if the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts we have the Father and the Son dwelling within. 'The Spirit who dwells within me is no mere influence. and the remedy God offered them for this is the remedy He offers His Church today for the same complaint. A knowledge of Divine facts was the need of the Christians then. I can only repeat: 'He is a Person!' and repeat it again: 'He is a Person!' and repeat it yet again: 'He is a Person!' Oh. I would fain repeat it to you a hundred times—The Spirit of God within me is a Person! I am only an earthen vessel. God is present in the person of the Spirit. They failed to realize the greatness of the One who had come to make His abode in their hearts. so Paul wrote to them: "Know ye not that ye are a temple of God. In his letter to them Paul wrote: "Know ye not that ye are a temple of God. that the Spirit within you is very God? Oh that our eyes were opened to see the greatness of God's gift! Oh that we might realize the vastness of the resources secreted in our own hearts! I could shout with joy as I think. but have we realized that He is a Person? Have we understood that to have the Spirit within us it to have the living God within? To many Christians the Holy Spirit is quite unreal. All the worry and fret of God's children would end if their eyes were opened to see the greatness of the treasure hid in their hearts. That is no mere theory or doctrine. The infinite God is within my heart!' I am at a loss to convey to you the blessedness of this discovery.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Lord's Name. but just an influence for all that. and Christ is present in the person of the Spirit too. and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" Yes. my friends.
But that other tent was a tent that commanded reverence and awe.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee is power enough there to move the city in which you live? Do you know there is power enough to shake the universe? Let me tell you once more—I say it with the utmost reverence: You who have been born again of the Spirit of God—you carry God in your heart! All the flippancy of the children of God would cease too if they realized the greatness of the treasure deposited within them. for there is not much at stake. and swinging your stick in the air. but they have not seen it. talking lightly as you go. and when you stood right before it you bowed your head in solemn silence. There will be great gladness in your heart. or even much good teaching about God. It matters little if you lose your money. No one could touch it with impunity. the position is vastly different. and once in a while you will slacken your pace and. And they lack reverence because they have not had their eyes opened to the fact of His presence. what a deep reverence will come over our lives! All lightness. The reason why many Christians do not experience the power of the Spirit. you will quietly finger your treasure again. In Old Testament days God dwelt in a temple made of stone. In Old Testament times there were hundreds of tents in the camp of Israel. be joyful or sober. but no careless jaunting along the road. But if you carry a thousand pounds in your pocket. is that they lack reverence. The fact is there. all frivolity will end. When we really see that God has made our hearts His dwelling place. when we know that we are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells within us. True revelation of the fact of the Spirit's indwelling will revolutionize the life of any Christian. There was little unusual about the tent itself. though He actually dwells in their hearts. You might move in and out of the common tents talking noisily and laughing gaily. 65 . slipping your hand into your pocket. In the common tents you could do just as you pleased—eat or fast. noisy or silent. Why is it that some Christians are living victorious lives while others live in a state of constant defeat? The difference is not accounted for by the presence or absence of the Spirit (for He dwells in the heart of every child of God) but by this. but as soon as you neared that special tent you instinctively walked more quietly. If man or beast dared to do so. Has it really come to you that wherever you go you carry with you the Holy Spirit of God? You do not just carry your Bible with you. What was so very special about it? It was the temple of the living God. and your whole demeanour will be different too. and then with joyful solemnity continue on your way. today He dwells in a temple composed of living believers. that some recognize His indwelling and others do not. for it was outwardly of very ordinary material. but the great God had chosen to make it His abode. If you have only ten shillings in your pocket you can march gaily along the street. death was the sure penalty. and all self-pleasing too. work or rest. but there was one tent quite different from all the rest. Do you realize what happened at your conversion? God came into your heart and made it His temple. but God Himself.
I tell 66 . but his life was not Christ-like. but. When he was quite a little chap he began to dream of the day when he would enter the university. A day must come in our lives. cherished the hope from his early youth that one day he would be called 'Dr.D. but whether that be so or not. which ye have from God? and ye are not your own. An American friend. when we give up all right to ourselves and submit to the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ. when once we have made the discovery of the fact that we are the dwelling place of God. 'I am a preacher of the Gospel and the pastor of a church. Revelation is the first step to holiness. but he did not enjoy the Spirit's presence or experience His power. and he imagined himself first studying for his M. From that day we are no longer our own masters. but only stewards. By that time he had his degree and was studying for his doctorate. and consecration is the second. If we do not give Him absolute authority in our lives. Paul'. degree and then for his Ph. Then at length the glad day would arrive when all would greet him as 'Dr. for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body" (1 Cor. so let me be more specific. but that some know His indwelling and others do not. Consecration will follow revelation. as definite as the day of our conversion. He cannot direct our lives effectually until all control of them is committed to Him. Is there anything God is asking of you that you are withholding from Him? Is there any point of contention between you and Him? Not till every controversy is settled and the Holy Spirit is given full sway can He reproduce the life of Christ in the heart of any believer. he had the Spirit of God within him. When we see that we are the temple of God we shall immediately recognize that we are not our own. but I do not really love it myself. The power of the Spirit is stayed. but I myself have little inclination to pray. 20). without reservation. Not until the Lordship of Jesus Christ is a settled thing in our hearts can the Spirit really operate effectively in us. 6:19. The Lord saved him and called him to preach. our families. I tell my people they should love the Word of God. He thought to himself. The difference between victorious Christians and defeated ones is not that some have the Spirit while others have not.A. we surrender everything to Him—ourselves. our possessions. There may be a practical issue raised by God to test the reality of our consecration.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee The Absolute Lordship Of Christ "Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you. but He cannot be powerful. whose name we will call Paul. and that consequently some recognize the Divine ownership of their lives while others are still their own masters. our business and our time. then a full surrender of ourselves to God must follow. He can be present. Are you living for the Lord or for yourself? Perhaps that is too general a question. All we are and have becomes His. now with the Lord. to be held henceforth entirely at His disposal. despite splendid progress in his studies and a good measure of success as a pastor. and before long he became pastor of a large congregation. for. He was a Christian. Paul'. he was a very dissatisfied man. there must be a day when. This verse now takes us a stage further. I exhort them to pray.
to you or me it might be of little consequence whether we were addressed as plain 'Mr. Then he retired. He had dreamed of it from childhood and labored for it all through his youth. 'Lord'.D. I want everything for my 67 . Paul all my days. but still the Lord did not change His mind. yet in my heart I myself still love it dearly. Then he fasted and besought the Lord to show him any hindrance there might be in his life. for He must have our all. but though he prayed and prayed for months. I was greatly impressed by something a great national leader wrote in his autobiography: 'I want nothing for myself. 'I am willing to be plain Mr. and explained how it came about. I warn them not to love the world. Paul settled down to prepare his sermon for the following day. He must have it. This state of affairs continued to within two days of his final examination. but to him it was his very life. The ambition of a lifetime was just within reach of realization. and it was this: 'I long that you should know the power of My Spirit. With Mr. study as he would. God is waiting for a settlement of all our controversies with Him. no answer came. The Lord blessed that testimony more abundantly than any of his well-prepared sermons. and all Mr. and in daily experience he knew the blessedness of the Spirit's presence and power. And all the while Mr. Paul was becoming more and more hungry to know the fullness of the Spirit. Paul'. but with us it may be something quite different. That answer was not long in coming. In two short months it would be his. he resorted to bargaining with the Lord. but God made it clear that he must choose between the power he could sway through a doctor's degree and the power of God's Spirit swaying his life. and giving his reason.' In his distress he cried to the Lord to cause him to know the power of the indwelling Spirit. and from that time God blessed and owned him in an altogether new way. and. to do this or that. and that one thing you are holding to yourself—your Ph.' Well. but I want to know the power of the Holy Ghost in my life. but.' He rose from his knees and wrote a letter to his examiners. Every time he prayed about the matter he got the same answer. though outwardly I shun it. Paul preaching the Gospel than a plain Mr. and God is after that one thing. Paul?' But God does not change His mind. He promised to go here or there. Paul' or as 'Dr. Paul's sound reasoning did not alter the Lord's word to him. he said. but my own life is not holy.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee them to live a holy life. and Mr. but not conscious of any unusual experience. Then. From that day he knew separation from the world. if only the Lord would allow him to have his doctor's degree. Paul it was a question of his doctor's degree. So he reasoned with the Lord in this wise: 'Is there any harm for me to be a Doctor of Philosophy? Will it not bring much more glory to Thy Name to have a Dr. but your heart is set on something that I do not wish you to have. That evening he yielded. reasoning having failed. and now the thing he prized above all was almost within his grasp. he could get no message. asking to be excused from the examination on the Monday. Next morning he told his congregation that for the first time in six years he had no sermon to preach. very happy. It was Saturday. Our absolute surrender of ourselves to the Lord generally hinges upon some one particular thing. You have yielded to me all but one thing. no longer as an outward thing but as a deep inward reality.
I want nothing for myself. I can truly say now. For some it might not have involved much. Paul. which ye have from God?" 68 . so he evaded the issue and continued to serve the Lord and to win souls for Him. May the Lord bring us to a definite issue regarding the question of His Lordship. and a consecrated Christian is quite different from an ordinary Christian.' If a man can be willing that his country should have everything and he himself nothing. He is not calling us to devote ourselves to His cause: He is asking us to yield ourselves to His will. One morning he had to preach in another city and he spoke from Psalm 73:25: "Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God. but can simply look up and praise Him that something has already happened. and when again the young man pleaded for the fullness of the Spirit. but the Lord seemed continually to ignore his request. We can confidently thank Him that the glory of God has already filled His temple. unknown to her. had a controversy with the Lord. and as soon as he was saved he sought to win the one he loved to the Lord. that for him everything hinged upon his willingness to give up the girl he loved. But the Lord seemed to care a great deal more about his relationship with that girl than about his going to Tibet. So he began to reason with the Lord: 'Lord I will go to Tibet and work for Thee there if I may marry that girl'. If we do yield wholly to Him and claim the power of the indwelling Spirit. But he became conscious of his need for holiness. before his conversion he fell in love. Are you willing for anything He wills? Another friend of mine.' And that was the beginning of a new life for him. and there a sister read out the very same verse from which. and that young man looked up to Him and said: 'Lord. He saw. I will what Thou willest. but he was deeply devoted to her. cannot we say to our God: 'Lord. But that day the Lord triumphed. he had just preached. "Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee". and followed it with the question: 'Can we truly say: "There is none upon earth that I desire beside thee"?' There was power in that word. like my friend Mr. the Lord made it clear to him that his relations with that girl must be broken off. A forgiven sinner is quite different from an ordinary sinner.' Not until we take the place of a servant can He take His place as Lord. The controversy went on for several months. but for him it was everything. He asked for the Spirit's fullness that he might have power to live a holy life. the Lord still pointed to the same thing. and I want to have nothing outside Thy will. and no amount of reasoning on his part availed to effect any change of emphasis on the part of the Lord. there and then. and that consciousness marked the beginning of dark days for him. It struck right home to his heart and he had to admit to himself that he could not truthfully say that he desired no one in Heaven or earth apart from his Lord." On his return home he went to a prayer meeting.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee country. we need wait for no special feelings or supernatural manifestations. but she would have nothing to do with spiritual things. and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" "Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you. I want all for Thee.
Many a Christian is truly saved and yet bound by sin. but none the less many Christians do experience it. If we are not fully emancipated from the Law we can never know full emancipation from sin. so that not only were our sins dealt with. How then is this discovery made? It is made with the help of the Law. We are dealing here not with sin in its forms but with man in his carnal state. then perhaps we have no need of Romans 7. The man's eyes are opened and he knows he has been crucified with Christ. This goes beyond the question of sin. but that there are certain particular sins hampering him continually so that he hears the full Gospel message. to appreciate this we must first understand what the Law is and what it does. "O wretched man that I am!" Could anything be more of an anticlimax? And so some have argued that Paul is speaking here of his unregenerate experience. and then comes breakdown and the cry. But what is the difference between deliverance from sin and deliverance from the Law? We all see the value of the former. God's eternal purpose. we must admit that some of what he describes here is not a Christian experience. We come now to Romans 7. Others have felt that the chapter is in the wrong place. Two things follow that revelation. and that "they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom. Chapter 7 now teaches that deliverance from sin is not enough. so straightforward. but where is the need for the latter? Well. In the first place he reckons that he has 69 . If we have come to the point where we really 'know' that. Perhaps indeed it would be so if Christians really saw that the old creation has been ruled out by the Cross of Christ. 7:5). that "I am carnal" (7:18). for it leads to the discovery that in this realm too we are totally impotent. and an entirely new creation brought in by His resurrection. who supplies the power and resource to bring us to that goal. which is the motive and goal of our walk with Him. The latter includes the former but it takes us a stage further. namely. We broke off at the end of chapter 6 in order to consider two related subjects. Well. It is found in the discovery that I am "in the flesh" (Rom. but that we also need to know deliverance from the Law. and we concluded that this was all that was required. They would have put it between the fifth and sixth chapters. a chapter which many have felt to be almost superfluous. and 'present ourselves' on the basis of that. 8:8). Now let us retrace our steps for a minute and attempt to describe what is probably the experience of many. What then is the teaching of this chapter? Romans 6 deals with freedom from sin. that the Lord Jesus not only died to cleanse away our sins. The Flesh And Man's Breakdown Romans 7 has a new lesson to teach us. but that when He died He included us sinners in His death. for it relates also the matter of pleasing God. and the Holy Spirit. After chapter 6 all is so perfect. It is not that he is necessarily living under the power of sin all the time. but we ourselves were dealt with too.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 9: The Meaning and Value of Romans Seven We must return now to our study of Romans. and 'reckon' on that. Romans 7 deals with freedom from the Law. In chapter 6 Paul has told us how we could be delivered from sin.
recognizing the Lord's claim upon him. Then at last he echoes the words of Paul: "For I know that in me. and then to their utmost surprise they suddenly find themselves in Romans 7. But then he begins to reason as follows: 'I have died with Christ and am raised with Him. full of praise to the Lord. since He has done so much for me. law means that I do something for God. and sets out to obey Him. but to do that which is good is not. This time I will be absolutely definite.' So he brings all his will-power to bear on the situation. He thought he could do the will of God and he thought he loved it. and in the second place. only to find greater defeat than ever awaiting him the next time a choice has to be made. 19). before he reaches the point of victory he is conscious of defeat. Then he begins to question his experience. then. in my flesh. is the meaning of law? Grace means that God does something for me. then deliverance from law means that He 70 . after the step of consecration. that is. that: "Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law. 7:18. They fancy Romans 6 is quite enough.' So. He confesses his disobedience and promises never to disobey again. that I practice" (Rom.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee died and risen with the Lord. and often when he tries to do it he finds he cannot. Then he makes a strange discovery. but under grace. they think there can be no more question of failure. What. He sees that he has no more right over himself. What The Law Teaches Many Christians are suddenly launched into the experience of Romans 7 and they do not know why. It is the explanation of that death. He asks himself: 'Did I really know? Yes! Did I really reckon? Yes! Did I really give myself to Him? Yes! Have I taken back my consecration? No! Then whatever is the matter now?' The more this man tries to do the will of God the more he fails. that is incomplete in chapter 6. For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not. Having grasped that. I want to please Him and do His will." The trouble is that we do not yet know deliverance from law. Then he says to himself: 'Perhaps my last decision was not definite enough. God has certain holy and righteous demands which He places upon me: that is law. What is the explanation? First let us be quite clear that the death with Christ described in Romans 6 is fully adequate to cover all our need. But he has barely got up from his knees before he has fallen once more. We are as yet still in ignorance of the truth set forth in chapter 7. dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me. At times he even finds a distinct reluctance to do it. Ultimately he comes to the conclusion that he never really loved God's will at all. so he prays for the desire and the power to do it. This is the commencement of a beautiful Christian life. now I must do something for Him. with all that follows from it. and I have given myself over to Him for ever. he seeks to discover the will of God. Romans 7 is given to us to explain and make real the statement in Romans 6:14. Now if law means that God requires something of me for their fulfillment. he presents himself to God as alive from the dead. but gradually he finds he does not always like it.
there is nothing wrong with the Law. 7:12). He knows that I am weakness incarnate. whether he was active or inactive. I admit that all men are sinners and that therefore I am a sinner. and good" (Rom. God must bring us all to the place where we see that we are utterly weak and helpless. It is when you ask me to do something that my sinfulness comes to light. "the law is holy. then you place yourself under law. He was as clumsy a man when he was sitting still as when he was working. let it be settled at the outset that the fault does not lie with the Law. but as soon as you ask him to do anything his awkwardness is seen at once. but as soon as He demands something of us the occasion is provided for a grand display of our sinfulness. While we say so. If you have a very clumsy servant and he just sits still and does nothing. and the commandment holy. that I can do nothing. The demands of the Law are righteous. stumbles over a footstool a few paces further on. If you make no demands upon him his clumsiness is never noticed. and the experience of Romans 7 begins to be yours. but there is something decidedly wrong with me. but I imagine that I am not such a hopeless sinner as some. deliverance from law implies that He exempts me from doing it. The Law makes our weakness manifest. As we seek to understand this. It may be all right for the Government to require payment of 100 shillings but it will be all wrong if I have only ten shillings with which to meet the demand! I am a man "sold under sin" (Rom. As soon as you try to please God in that way. and God has to do something to convince us of the fact. Had it not been for the Law we should never have known how weak we are. but at least he will do no damage that way. We are all sinners by nature. then smashes some precious dish as soon as he handles it. He knocks the chair over as he gets up. except through the 71 . God knows who I am. Paul had reached that point. 7:14). As long as you leave me alone I seem to be rather a fine type of man. then his sinfulness comes out in full display. But if you say to him: 'Now come along. it is true. He knows that from head to foot I am full of sin. but that I am unable to meet them. and that in grace He does it Himself. No. Law implies that God requires me to do something for Him. but it was your demands that made manifest the clumsiness that was all the time in his make-up. and if you trust me with a second thing I will as surely spoil it too. but the man was all wrong. then immediately the trouble begins. 7:14) need do nothing for God: that is deliverance from law. but Himself provides it. get up and do something'. don't idle away your time. Paul says. all seems to go well. If God asks nothing of us. When a holy law is applied to a sinful man. and righteous. He makes this clear when he says in Romans 7:7: "I had not known sin. The trouble is that I do not know it. The trouble is not that the Law's demands are unjust. but the person upon whom the demands are made is unrighteous. If he does nothing all day he will be of little use to you. we do not wholly believe it. The trouble in Romans 7 is that man in the flesh tried to do something for God. then his clumsiness does not appear. The demands were all right. Sin has dominion over me. While you let me sit still I appear to be all right.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee no longer requires that from me. I (where 'I' is the 'carnal' man of ch. but when you ask me to do anything I am sure to spoil that thing.
that the husband and wife are totally unsuited to one another. So we can say. it was the tenth commandment. Notice first that in the picture in Romans 7:1-4 by which Paul illustrates our deliverance from the Law there is only one woman. except the law had said. and so God had to bring us through painful experiences to a recognition of the fact." that found him out. until it is clearly demonstrated to us that we are hopelessly weak. in Romans 7 we see how He delivers us from the Law. The relation between sin and the sinner is that of master to slave. We are so bad that He asks no favour and makes no demands. There his total failure and incapacity stared him in the face! The more we try to keep the Law the more our weakness is manifest and the deeper we get into Romans 7. It was given in the full knowledge that we would break it. Christ The End Of The Law In Romans 6 we saw how God delivered us from sin.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee law: for I had not known coveting. Never has any man succeeded in making himself acceptable to God by means of the Law.for apart from the law sin is dead. that God has to give us something to test us and prove how weak we are. Thou shalt not covet". That is why God gave us the Law. in chapter 7 we are shown the way of deliverance from the Law in the picture of two husbands and a wife. We need to have our weakness proved to ourselves beyond dispute. sin revived. God knew it all along but we did not.. that God never gave us the Law to keep. The Law was given to make us law-breakers! No doubt I am a sinner in Adam. the relation between the Law and the sinner is that of husband to wife.. and I died" (Rom.. "The law came in.' No. 7:7-9). while there are two husbands. and think ourselves so strong.. the Law was not given in the expectation that we would keep it. and when we have broken it so completely that we are convinced of our utter need.. Whatever might be his experience with the rest of the Law. Let us make no mistake. which literally translated is: "Thou shalt not desire. In chapter 6 we were shown the way of deliverance from sin in the picture of a master and his slave. He is a most particular 72 . Alas. At last we see it and confess: 'I am a sinner through and through. The woman is in a very difficult position. reverently. we are so conceited. then the Law has served its purpose. 5:20).. Nowhere in the New Testament are men of faith told that they are to keep the Law. I had not know sin. except through the law: . "Howbeit. that the trespass might abound" (Rom. He gave us the Law to break! He well knew that we could not keep it. but when the commandment came. The Law is that which exposes our true nature.. and unfortunately she is married to the less desirable one. the man to whom she is married is a good man. but it does say that the Law was given so that there should be transgression. but the trouble lies here. It has been our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.. 3:24). and I can of myself do nothing whatever to please God. that He Himself may fulfill it in us (Gal. for she can only be wife of one of the two.
73 . "Till heaven and earth pass away. The Law requires much. The Law is going to continue for all eternity. but her husband is still alive. And that is exactly God's way of deliverance from the Law. for as a husband he has a right to expect something of her. What can she do? She is "bound by law to the husband" and unless he dies she cannot legitimately marry that other Man. the trouble is that he has the wrong kind of wife to carry them out. Indeed there is not the least prospect of his passing away. Exactly the same principle operates in our deliverance from the Law as in our deliverance from sin. all his demands are perfectly legitimate. And yet one cannot find fault with him. one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law. She is fully aware that she often makes mistakes. and if I die the marriage relationship is dissolved. This picture is not drawn by me but by the apostle Paul. accurate to a degree. while she accepts things as they come. Verses 1 to 3 show that the husband should die. then how can I ever be united to Christ? How can I marry a second husband if my first husband simply refuses to die? There is one way out. but for me its power to enforce them is ended. So it is with regard to the Law. How could there be happiness in such a home? And then that husband is so exacting! He is always making demands on his wife. The two cannot get on at all. The Law may still make demands. but in verse 4 we see that in fact it is the woman who dies. If he will not die. yea more (Matt. but living with such a husband it seems as though everything she says and does is wrong! What hope is there for her? If only she were married to that other Man all would be well. I am for ever freed from his tyranny. It cannot follow me beyond the grave.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee man. If the Law will never pass away. theirs are utterly incompatible natures. but if I die the Law has lost its claim upon me. Thus the poor woman is in great distress. but when I am dead he calls on me in vain. but offers no help in the carrying out of its requirements. When I have died my old master. Little wonder that the woman desires to be freed from the first husband that she may marry that other Man! But her only hope of release is through the death of her first husband. still continues to live. she on the other hand is decidedly easy-going. and besides. She would fain marry Him. He wants everything just so. With him all is definite and precise. but He Himself fulfills in us the very demands He makes. Sin. The Law makes demands and leaves us helpless to fulfill them. but with her death the marriage bond is dissolved and she is "discharged from the law of her husband". and you are the woman. Christ makes demands. I can die. 5:21-48) but what He requires from us He Himself carries out in us. 5:18). He could ask me to do a hundred and one things when I was alive. the second husband is Christ. The Law does not pass away. God's righteous demands remain for ever. till all things be accomplished (Matt. and if I live I must meet those demands. While the woman lives she is bound to her husband. He is no less exacting than her husband. The Lord Jesus requires just as much. but He also helps much. with her all is vague and haphazard. The most important point to note in this section of Romans 7 is the transition from verse 3 to verse 4. The first husband is the Law. There is nothing wrong with the man and nothing wrong with his demands. and he holds on to life most tenaciously. but his power over his slave extends as far as the grave and no further.
sinful woman has died. it was gloriously positive—"that ye should be joined to another" (Rom. for His resurrection was a bodily resurrection. and in the power of resurrection life she brings forth fruit unto God. God's purpose in uniting us to Christ was not merely negative. 1:30). what happened to the cherubim? God rent only the veil." That woman's husband may be very well and strong. save by Divine revelation (Matt. ye also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ. so that man could gaze right into the Most Holy Place. By the body of Christ that foolish. for the risen Lord now lives out His life in her. 2 Chron. And what is the issue of this new union? "That we might bring forth fruit unto God" (Rom. 26:31. when the Lord Jesus died the whole living creation died too. they could not. 74 . who never lifted a little finger to help her carry them out. I have been broken too. is now set free to marry the other Man. The Law of God is not annulled.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Now the vital question arises: 'How do I die?' And the preciousness of our Lord's work comes in just here: "Ye also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ" (Rom. Death has set her free from all her husband's claims. and upon it were embroidered cherubim (Exod. it is perfectly fulfilled. my brethren. But when the Lord Jesus died. in the sight of God. We were in the Lord Jesus when He died. 3:14) whose faces. it will not affect her in the slightest. 7:4). The risen life of the Lord in her empowers her for all the demands God's holiness makes upon her. so that the woman. driven to despair by the constant demands of her former husband. but being united to Him in death she is united to Him in resurrection also. but if she dies he may make as many demands upon her as he likes. 17). it is true. When the veil was rent the cherubim were rent with it. the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom (Matt. but the cherubim were there in the veil and were one with it. and since we are still in Him we are risen too. But when the veil was rent asunder. 16:16. That veil symbolized our Lord's flesh. An Old Testament illustration may help to make this clear. When He was crucified. 2:7-10). who with every demand He makes becomes in her the power for its fulfillment. Man could look upon the veil. 27:51) as by the hand of God. When Christ died His body was broken. God is no longer veiled but seeks to reveal Himself (1 Cor. by analogy from Ezekiel 1:10 and 10:14. but not within it. see the God who dwelt within. It was the veil of testimony that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. 7:4). It was impossible to rend the veil and preserve them whole. Thus "through the body of Christ" we are not only "dead to the law' but alive unto God. included that of a man as representing the human head of the whole natural creation (Psalm 8:4-8). for they were embroidered upon it. Since the death of the Lord Jesus. Death has dissolved the old marriage relationship. "Wherefore. 7:4). So in the Gospels men could only look upon the outward form of our Lord. I was crucified with Him. and His life is always well-pleasing to the Father. and that inclusive death of His has for ever freed us from the Law. And. On the third day He rose again. 10:20). The body of the Lord Jesus speaks not only of His death but of His resurrection. But our Lord did not remain in the grave. and since God placed me in Him (1 Cor. His body (Heb. In Old Testament days God dwelt within the veil and man without.
As a youngster I used to amuse myself watching ten or twenty of these fellows come along and try. "It means that from henceforth I am going to do nothing whatever for God: I am never again going to try to please Him.. Deliverance from law does not mean that we are free from doing the will of God. then immediately I place myself under the Law. and here is a load of 250 kilos. It certainly does not mean that we are going to be lawless. and with His infinite resources at our disposal we are well able to meet all His demands. He knows perfectly well he cannot carry it. for it is Christ who now fulfills them. Thus Paul. and now by death I—the carnal 'I' (Rom.. Now along comes a man who can carry only 120 kilos. In the end he must give up and make way for the man who could. 75 . some even 250 kilos.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee What happens when a woman marries? She no longer bears her own name but that of her husband. for his good pleasure" (Phil. Being fully persuaded that we cannot do it. 13). if I try to please God 'in the flesh'. the sentence was executed. Having at last reached the point of utter despair in ourselves so that we cease even to try. we put our trust in the Lord to manifest His resurrection life in us. to fulfill {the law}" were His words (Matt. so although he cannot possibly carry it he still tries. can say: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 'What awful heresy! You cannot possibly mean that!' But remember. Praise God! its demands are being met. the Law pronounced the death sentence." 'What a doctrine!' you exclaim. but. I reply. though every one of them knew he could not possibly manage it. So it is when we are joined to Christ. 7:14)—have been set free from all its claims. Very much the reverse! What it does mean however is that we are free from doing that will as of ourselves. 2:12. I broke the Law. from the ground of resurrection. In China some bearers can carry a load of salt weighing 120 kilos. 5:17). all that is His becomes ours. and she shares not his name only but his possessions too. It is God that worketh in you. Let me illustrate by what I have seen in my own country. and if he is wise he will say: 'I won't touch it!' But the temptation to try is ingrained in human nature. "I came. There is still a Law of God. What does it mean in everyday life to be delivered from the Law? At the risk of a little overstatement. Our End Is God's Beginning Now that we have settled the doctrinal side of the question we must come down to practical issues. When we belong to Him. for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to work. it is Christ who works in me what is well-pleasing to God. and now there is in fact a "new commandment" that is infinitely more exacting than the old. we cease trying to please God from the ground of the old man. staying a little longer with the negative aspect and keeping the positive for our next chapter.
God wants to demonstrate to us that we can do nothing at all. There was inadequate provision for bathing in the home where we stayed. On one occasion a brother had cramp in one leg. But our good swimmer still did not move. Meantime the voice of the poor drowning brother grew fainter and his efforts feebler. to hasten to his rescue. then there is no room for the Holy Spirit.' We all need to come to the point where we say: 'Lord. but we are not the ones to meet them. then we shall find that a Power stronger than ourselves is carrying us through. He can do nothing. Suddenly one day. light dawned and I saw that I had not only been delivered from sin but from the Law as well. so we went for a daily plunge in the river. After being a Christian for years I was still trying my best to please God. 'I have never seen any Christian who loved his life quite as much as you do'. I had said in an address something along the above lines. I said. He makes the demands. and He is the Lawkeeper in my heart. In 1923 I met a famous Canadian evangelist. When you are reduced to utter weakness and are persuaded that you can do nothing whatever. A brother who was trying to struggle into victory remarked to me. I regarded God as the greatest Demander in the universe. So I grew desperate and called out: 'Don't you see the man is drowning?' and the other brothers. but you are not weak enough to keep out of things altogether. but I trust Thee to do everything in me. shouted vigorously too. as I read Romans 7. and as we walked back to his home afterwards he remarked: 'The note of Romans 7 is seldom sounded nowadays. are you really making no demands on me? Then I need do nothing more for You!" God's requirements have not altered. But if we say: 'I'll not do it.' But the swimmer 76 . and I suddenly saw he was sinking fast. and both were safely ashore. In my heart I said: 'I hate that man! Think of his letting a brother drown before his very eyes and not going to the rescue!' But when the man was actually sinking. Himself keeps it. but He also meets them. It is because of our trying that we fail and fail and fail. I'll trust Thee to do it for me'. apparently postponing the unwelcome task.' I was once staying in a place in China with some twenty other brothers. and until that is fully recognized our disappointments and disillusionments will never cease. 'I do not know why I am so weak. I am unable to do anything for Thee. so I motioned to another brother. and all who make a like discovery can do the same. He is the Lawgiver on the Throne. The day I was delivered from the Law was a day of Heaven on earth. Calm and collected. He who gave the Law. for if we monopolize the task. I said. 'Think of the distress you would have saved that brother if you had considered yourself a little less and him a little more. In my amazement I jumped up and said: "Lord. 'is that you are weak enough not to do the will of God. but the more I tried the more I failed. it is good to hear it again. My friend could well jump up and shout when he found he had nothing to do.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee The sooner we too give up trying the better. But to my astonishment he made no move. When I got an opportunity I aired my views. You are still not weak enough. Praise God. then God will do everything.' 'The trouble with you'. As long as we are trying to do anything. about as agitated as I was. with a few swift strokes the swimmer was at his side. he remained just where he was. who was an expert swimmer. but I found myself impotent to fulfill the least of His demands.
The "wretched man" of Romans 7 tried to meet the demands of God's law himself. he said. He thought God was asking him to keep the Law. 7:19). my failure in regard to all that is wicked. The flesh profiteth nothing! If we try to do anything in the flesh we are virtually repudiating the Cross of Christ. but when you try to speak for the Lord you are tongue-tied. There was a fundamental misconception in this man's mind. He is waiting until we are at an end of our resources and can do nothing more for ourselves.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee knew his business better than I did. In chapter 6 the whole question before us is sin. We see the Law and we think that we must meet its demands. but we need to remember that. wholly positive. Our every effort to do His will is a denial of His declaration in the Cross of our utter worthlessness. The repeated use of the little word 'I' in this chapter gives the clue to the failure. God has condemned all that is of the old creation and consigned it to the Cross. worldly and Satanic I am. Romans 7 with "the body of this death" (6:6. then God will take it up. What is the difference between the body of sin and the body of death? In regard to sin (that is. 7:24). I Thank God! Romans 6 deals with "the body of sin". then we confirm God's verdict by giving up all our fleshly efforts to please Him. though the Law in itself is all right. A drowning man cannot be saved until he is utterly exhausted and ceases to make the slightest effort to save himself. But in regard to the Law of God (that is. when you try to pray you feel sleepy. 'Had I gone earlier'. which is actively engaged in sin. but in regard to all that pertains to holiness and Heaven and God I am wholly negative. Have you discovered that you carry the encumbrance of a lifeless body in regard to God's will? You have no difficulty in speaking about wordly matters. so of course he was trying to keep it. 'he would have clutched me so fast that both of us would have gone under. when you try to do something for 77 .' Do you see it? When we give up the case. and that was the cause of his trouble. to whatever displeases God) I have a body of sin—a body. My activity in regard to sin makes my body a body of sin. What was the result? Far from doing what pleased God. that is to say. in chapter 7 the whole question before us is death. God has declared us to be fit only for death. to that which expresses the will of God) I have a body of death. it will be all wrong if it is applied to the wrong person. that I practice" (Rom. Have you discovered the truth of that in your life? It is no good merely to discover it in Romans 6 and 7. in my nature. But God was requiring no such thing of him. Our continued efforts are a misunderstanding on the one hand of God's demands and on the other hand of the source of supply. "The good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not. When we truly believe that. he found himself doing what displeased Him. In his very efforts to do the will of God he did exactly the opposite of what he knew to be His will.
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the Lord you feel unwell. You can do anything but that which is related to God's will. There is something in this body that does not harmonize with the will of God. What does death mean? We may illustrate from a well-known verse in the first letter to the Corinthians: "For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep" (1 Corinthians 11:30). Death is weakness produced to its extremity - weakness, sickness, death. Death means utter weakness; it means you are weak to such a point that you can become no weaker. That I have a body of death in relation to God's will means that I am so weak in regard to serving God, so utterly weak, that I am reduced to a point of dire helplessness. "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death?" cried Paul, and it is good when anyone cries out as he did. There is nothing more musical in the ears of the Lord. This cry is the most spiritual and the most scriptural cry a man can utter. He only utters it when he knows he can do nothing, and gives up making any further resolutions. Up to this point, every time he failed he made a new resolution and doubled and redoubled his will-power. At last he discovers there is no use in his making up his mind any more, and he cries out in desperation: "O wretched man that I am !" Like a man who suddenly awakes to find himself in a burning building, his cry is now for help, for he has come to the point where he despairs of himself. Have you despaired of yourself, or do you hope that if you read and pray more you will be a better Christian? Bible-reading and prayer are not wrong, and God forbid that we should suggest that they are, but it is wrong to trust even in them for victory. Our help is in Him who is the object of that reading and prayer. Our trust must be in Christ alone. Happily the "wretched man" does not merely deplore his wretchedness; he asks a fine question, namely: "Who shall deliver me?" "Who?" Hitherto he has looked for some thing; now his hope is in a Person. Hitherto he has looked within for a solution to his problem; now he looks beyond himself for a Savior. He no longer puts forth self-effort; all his expectation is now in Another. How did we obtain forgiveness of sins? Was it by reading, praying, almsgiving, and so on? No, we looked to the Cross, believing in what the Lord Jesus had done; and deliverance from sin becomes ours on exactly the same principle, nor is it otherwise with the question of pleasing God. In the matter of forgiveness we look to Him on the Cross; in the matter of deliverance from sin and of doing the will of God we look to Him in our hearts. For the one we depend on what He has done; for the other we depend on what He will do in us; but in regard to both, our dependence is on Him alone. He is the One who does it all. At the time when the Epistle to the Romans was written a murderer was punished in a peculiar and terrible manner. The dead body of the one murdered was tied to the living body of the murderer, head to head, hand to hand, foot to foot, and the living one was bound to the dead one till death. The murderer could go where he pleased, but wherever he went he had to carry the corpse of that murdered man with him. Could punishment be more appalling? Yet this is the illustration Paul now uses. It is as though he were bound to a dead body and unable to get free. Wherever he goes he is hampered by this terrible burden. At last he can bear it no longer and cries: "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me...?" And then, in a flash of illumination, his cry of despair changes to
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a song of praise. He has found the answer to his question. "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 7:25). We know that justification is ours through the Lord Jesus and requires no work on our part, but we think sanctification is dependent on our own efforts. We know we can receive forgiveness only by entire reliance on the Lord; yet we believe we can obtain deliverance by doing something ourselves. We fear that if we do nothing, nothing will happen. After salvation the old habit of 'doing' reasserts itself and we begin our old self-efforts again. Then God's word comes afresh to us: "It is finished" (John 19:30). He has done everything on the Cross for our forgiveness and He will do everything in us for our deliverance. In both cases He is the doer. "It is God that worketh in you." The first words of the delivered man are very precious—"I thank God". If someone gives you a cup of water you thank the person who gave it, not someone else. Why did Paul say "Thank God"? Because God was the One who did everything. Had it been Paul who did it, he would have said, "Thank Paul". But he saw that Paul was a "wretched man" and that God alone could meet his need; so he said, "Thank God". God wants to do all, for He must have all the glory. If we do some of the work, then we will get some of the glory; but God must have it all Himself, so He does all the work from beginning to end. What we have said in this chapter might seem negative and unpractical if we were to stop at this point, as though the Christian life were a matter of sitting still and waiting for something to happen. Of course it is very far from being so. All who truly live it know it to be a matter of very positive and active faith in Christ and in an altogether new principle of life—the law of the Spirit of life. We are now going to look at the effects in us of this new life principle.
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Chapter 10: The Path of Progress: Walking In The Spirit
Coming now to Romans 8 we may first summarize the argument of our second section of the letter from chapter 5:12 to chapter 8:39 in two phrases, each containing a contrast and each marking an aspect of Christian experience. The are: Romans 5:12 to 6:23: 'In Adam' and 'in Christ'. Romans 7:1 to 8:39: 'In the flesh' and 'in the Spirit'. We need to understand the relationship of these four things. The former two are 'objective' and set forth our position, firstly as we were by nature and secondly as we now are by faith in the redemptive work of Christ. The latter two are 'subjective' and relate to our walk as a matter of practical experience. Scripture makes it clear that the first two give us only a part of the picture and that the second two are required to complete it. We think it enough to be "in Christ", but we learn now that we must also walk "in the Spirit" (Rom. 8:9). The frequent occurrence of "the Spirit" in the early part of Romans 8 serves to emphasize this further important lesson of the Christian life.
The Flesh And The Spirit
The flesh is linked with Adam; the Spirit with Christ. Leaving aside now as settled the question of whether we are in Adam or in Christ, we must ask ourselves: Am I living in the flesh or in the Spirit? To live in the flesh is to do something 'out from' 13 myself as in Adam. It is to derive strength from the old natural source of life that I inherited from him, so that I enjoy in experience all Adam's very complete provision for sinning which all of us have found so effective. Now the same is true of what is in Christ. To enjoy in experience what is true of me as in Him, I must learn what it is to walk in the Spirit. It is a historic fact that in Christ my old man was crucified, and it is a present fact that I am blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3); but if I do not live in the Spirit, then my life may be quite a contradiction of the fact that I am in Christ, for what is true of me in Him is not expressed in me. I may recognize that I am in Christ, but I may also have to face the fact that my old temper is very much in evidence. What is the trouble? It is that I am holding the truth merely objectively, whereas what is true objectively must be made true subjectively; and that is brought about as I live in the Spirit. Not only am I in Christ, but Christ is in me. And just as physically a man cannot live and work in water but only in air, so spiritually Christ dwells and manifests Himself not in 'flesh' but in 'spirit'. Therefore if I live "after the flesh" I find that what is mine in Christ is, so to say, held in suspense in me. Though in fact I am in Christ, yet if I live in the flesh—that is, in my own strength and under my own direction—then in experience I find to my dismay that it is what is in Adam that manifests itself in me. If I would know in experience all that is in Christ, then I must learn to live in the Spirit.
The author has in mind the Greek preposition ek, the sense of which is not easily conveyed by any single English word.—Ed.
he has gained the victory over us. by another shot. until the following scheme was devised. but it should be a constant experience. and the Spirit against the flesh". I shall not set out with a determined effort to change myself. the flesh does not fight against us but against the Holy Spirit. After a considerable lapse of time the first shot would be followed by a second. If we do not move. if we do not come out of the cover of Christ into the realm of the flesh. and you asked Him for all that was needed. This life is completely different from the life I would naturally live of myself. and as soon as we step out of our hiding-place to do something on that basis. then. eager to locate the source of the disturbance. reckoning myself dead in Christ to these things. In the same way. to your surprise. not of struggling but of resting in Him. Satan's temptations are not primarily to make us do something particularly sinful. No. impure thoughts. It is not a case of trying but of trusting. When the Holy Spirit takes things in hand there is no need for strain on our part. though your friend was far from gracious. which he will work for you" (Exod. and you knew the friend was not very friendly. It is not a case of clenching our teeth and thinking that thus we have controlled ourselves beautifully and have had a glorious victory. You were amazed at yourself and sought an explanation. but. This is because as soon as we move we run into danger. until the tank driver. Where. carefully aimed. that is to say. If I have a hasty temper. Then. and you wondered if you would be just as calm next time. I look to Him to do in me what He requires of me. In other words. you did not feel at all irritated. outside of Christ. and see the salvation of the Lord. then he cannot get us. then. are we to look for help? Turn now to Galatians 5:17: "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit. for our natural inclinations take us in the wrong direction. As long as he remained under cover he was perfectly safe. The whole scheme was devised to bring him out into the open. a quick tongue or a critical spirit. You have been asked to go and see a friend. Each time I am faced with a new demand from the Lord. 14:13).The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Living in the Spirit means that I trust the Holy Spirit to do in me what I cannot do myself. but you trusted the Lord to see you through. but merely to cause us to act in our own energy. A single shot would be fired at a Japanese tank by one of our snipers in ambush. Some of you have no doubt had an experience something like the following. On your return you thought over the experience and marveled that you kept so calm. I shall look to the Spirit of God to produce in me the needed purity or humility or meekness. Unfortunately we only have this kind of experience once in while. This is the explanation: the Holy Spirit carried you through. The object of temptation is always to get us to do something. The next shot. We are gloriously carried through by the Lord. would put an end to him. You told Him before you set out that in yourself you could not but fail. would pop his head out to look around. During the first three months of the Japanese war in China we lost a great many tanks and so were unable to deal with the Japanese tanks. after a further silence. This is what it means to "stand still. where there is a real victory there is no fleshly effort. "for these are contrary the one to the 81 . The Divine way of victory does not permit of our doing anything at all—anything.
If we live in the Spirit. and during the past few weeks we have both lost our tempers several times a day.." This life is not something which we ourselves have to produce. not we. culminating in the agonized cry: "O wretched man that I am!" Then follows the shout of deliverance: "Thank God. until the very likeness of Christ begins to be reproduced in our lives. we shall not act according to our natural inclinations. Christ in our hearts by the Spirit is its power. that the life we live is the life of Christ alone. Let us consider what it means. and Christ is our Substitute within. Jesus Christ"! and it is clear that the discovery Paul has made is this. and yet no longer I. but Christ liveth in me. Let me illustrate with another story. I once arrived in America in the home of a saved couple who requested me to pray for them. We saw how prominent is the word 'I' throughout his argument in Romans 7. we have been in a bad way lately'. a 'substituted life'. 4:19). "I live. but Christ". we can truly 'stand aside' while the Spirit gains new victories over the flesh every day. that is. Hence we have the principle: "Walk by the Spirit.. How many Christians believe in 'reproduction' in this sense. The Cross has been given to procure salvation for us. Nee.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee other". and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. Christ Our Life "I thank God through Jesus Christ"! That exclamation of Paul's is fundamentally the same as his other words in Galatians 2:20 which we have taken as the key to our study: "I live. we shall not go off on a course and plan of our own: but shall find instead our satisfaction in His perfect plan. 'Reproduction' goes further: it means that new life grows and becomes manifest progressively in us. 5:16). Mr. the Spirit has been given to produce salvation in us. and yet no longer I. What is the result? "That ye may not do the things that ye would. We are really dishonoring the Lord. 'We are so easily irritated by the children. if we walk by faith in the risen Christ. Christ risen and ascended is the basis of our salvation. I inquired the case of their trouble. they confessed. and it is He. He has been given to us to take charge of this business. 82 . The effect then of our refusal to act out from ourselves is that the Holy Spirit is free to meet and deal with the flesh in us. and in counting in simple trust upon His Holy Spirit to overcome in us our fleshly lusts with His own new desires. It is Christ's own life reproduced in us. 'Oh. who meets and deals with the flesh. We think of the Christian life as a 'changed life'. Our victory lies in hiding in Christ. as something more than regeneration? Regeneration means that the life of Christ is planted in us by the Holy Spirit at our new birth. What 'would we do' naturally? We would move off on some course of action dictated by our own instincts and apart from the will of God. That is what Paul means when he speaks of his travail for the Galatians "until Christ be formed in you" (Gal." I think we have often understood that last clause of this verse in a wrong sense. with the result that we shall not do what we naturally would do.
Some are afraid to discover deficiency in themselves and so they never grow. 'What do you mean?' they asked.' At that they said in amazement. or whether it is a hundred and one different things. I do not mean quite that. The life of God is not given us as a separate item. it is the fruit of holiness. It is always true.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Will you ask Him to give us patience?' 'That is the one thing I cannot do'. but revelation of some new need will lead us spontaneously to trust Him to live out His life in us in that particular. and this life is in his Son. a fresh trusting in Christ. some meekness to the proud. self-control. Remember again what is said in 1 Corinthians 1:30: "Christ Jesus. measuring out some patience to the impatient. But did God answer? No! Do you know why? Because you have no need of patience. 83 . is God doing something for us. 'Do you mean to tell us we have gone so far that God is not willing to hear us when we ask Him to make us patient?' 'No." The common conception of sanctification is that every item of the life should be holy. and grace. was made unto us wisdom from God. power. So you can put in anything there: love. Another letting go. we have said. That is why Paul speaks of "the fruit of the Spirit" as one (Gal. It does not matter what your personal deficiency. I said. Growth in grace is the only sense in which we can grow. 'it is Christ. It is the Lord Jesus being made over to us to be that. She said. It is a blessed thing to discover the difference between Christian graces and Christ: to know the difference between meekness and Christ. God has given us His Holy Spirit. and another stretch of land is conquered.. and yet we get irritated the whole day long! What do you mean?' 'It is not patience you have need of'.' Then the eyes of the wife blazed up. Our relationship to the Son is our relationship to the life. 'What do you mean? We do not need patience. Greater capacity means greater enjoyment of God's supply. and when love is needed the fruit of the Spirit is love. He is not a retailer dispensing grace to us in doses. between patience and Christ. We all have the same Christ dwelling within. He will be humble and patient and loving and everything else I need—in my stead.' God will not give me humility or patience or holiness or love as separate gifts of His grace. You have. the life of God is given us in the Son. Today there is a call for patience: He is our patience! Tomorrow the call may be for purity: He is our purity! He is the answer to every need. but that is not holiness. 'Christ my life' is the secret of enlargement. Holiness is Christ. 12). God has one sufficient answer—His Son Jesus Christ. humility.. I answered. He has given only one gift to meet all our need—His Son Christ Jesus. but I would like to ask you if you have ever prayed in this respect. between love and Christ. He that hath the Son hath the life. I answered. It is "eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 'I mean that one thing is certain'. and He is the answer to every human need. and righteousness and sanctification. How can we know more of Christ in this way? Only by way of an increasing awareness of need. in quantities that we take and work on as kind of capital. 6:23). and he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life" (1 John 5:11. some love to the unloving. and redemption. when joy is needed the fruit of the Spirit is joy. and as I look to Him to live out His life in me. 'and that is that God is not going to answer your prayer. 5:22) and not of 'fruits' as separate items. Remember the word in the first Epistle of John: "God gave unto us eternal life.
but only to praise Him who leads me on from victory to victory. namely. 8:8). and there is for me no more condemnation before God.). and the difference between the two. But what lay behind my sense of condemnation? Was it not the experience of defeat and the sense of helplessness to do anything about it? Before I saw that Christ is my life. letting Him out His life in me. I felt disabled at every turn. 'Lord. 8:1. It is not something just to be talked over as a good thought. 'Lord. "The mind of the spirit is life and peace" (Rom. but after the Spirit. it is the difference between Heaven and hell. who walk not after the flesh. and this statement may at first seem out of place here. there is something definite to account for it. How can Paul be so daring? On what ground does he declare that he is now free from limitation and "can do all things"? Here is his answer: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death" (Rom. it is stark reality. I labored under a constant sense of handicap.. praise God! "there is therefore now no condemnation". "There is therefore now no condemnation". limitation dogged my steps. It is not passivity. 9). and the sense of inward condemnation on this account may be very real. Believe me. A.. 8:2). I cannot. 2. The Law Of This Spirit Of Life "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. drawing life from Him. I depend on Him to act and then I enter fully and joyfully into the action He initiates. taking Him to be my very life. The reason is that there is a law called "the law of the Spirit of life" and it has proved stronger than another law called 'the 84 . But there are two kinds of condemnation. But there is no 'I cannot' in Christ. I cannot do it. When I see that the Blood of Christ has satisfied God. as Romans 7 shows. then I have learned the secret of victory. Now it is: "I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me" (Phil.' This is the point where most of us fail. trusting the Lord like that. But if I have learned to live by Christ as my life. I was always crying out: 'I cannot do this! I cannot do that!' Try as I would. With peace in my heart I have no time to feel condemned. Yet I may still be knowing defeat. 5:1. that before God and that before myself (just as earlier we saw there are two kinds of peace) and the second may at times seem to us even more awful than the first. and this becomes my experience as I learn to walk in the Spirit. I found that I "cannot please God" (Rom. and. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. he begins.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee We have spoken of trying and trusting. Surely condemnation was met by the Blood through which we found peace with God and salvation from wrath (Rom. therefore I will take my hands off. 8:6). it is a most active life.' I refuse to act. It is in chapter 8 that Paul presents to us in detail the positive side of life in the Spirit.V. therefore I will no longer try to do it. from now on I trust Thee for that. Why is there no more condemnation? "For . 4:13). then I know my sins are forgiven.": there is a reason for it.
That is not law. Now what of the law of sin and death? If someone passes an unkind remark about me. not only is gravity a law in the sense that it is constant. What is a law? Well. How can I be set free from the law of sin an death? I need deliverance from sin. the same 'something' goes wrong inside. gravity operates. that is sin. and if when I try to please Him in that other thing I again find I cannot. unlike the rule of the road. He 'naturally' sins according to the "law of sin" in his members. The law is there. And the "law" discovered by the man in Romans 7:23 is just like that. Then again. is weakness produced to its limit. But if. There is thus a 'law' of gravity. It is something which happens repeatedly and unfailingly. How can I be delivered from the constant repetition of weakness and failure? In order to answer this question let us follow out our two illustrations further. Whenever the same conditions prevail the same effects are seen. But the same is true if I drop it in New York or Hong Kong. we have said. and crippling the man's will to do good. and it always produces the same results. Like the law of gravity. opposed to that which is good. and still more do I need deliverance from death. but most of all I need deliverance from the law of sin and of death. Why? Because it is against the law of the land. a law is a generalization examined until it is proved that there is no exception. It is a law of sin and of death. strictly speaking. Now if when I try to please God in this particular matter I find I cannot. we all know what is meant by gravity. It always works the same way. applied throughout the empire and having numerous barriers for collection. if I drive a car on the right hand side of the road the traffic police will stop me. That is the effect of gravity. Why? For the same reason that I would be stopped: it is against the law and the law makes no exceptions. We can illustrate this both from statutory and from natural law. and the handkerchief 'naturally' drops by itself without any help from me.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee law of sin and death". But a few years ago a second law came into operation which set aside the likin law. Can you imagine the feelings of relief in those who had 85 . We might define it more simply as something which happens over and over again. there is not only death in me but a law of death. a law which none could escape. Death. No matter where I let it go. when different people pass unkind remarks. There is not only sin in me but a law of sin. in this land. It was an inland tax on the transit of goods. and between death and the law of death? First let us ask ourselves. If you do it you will be stopped too. One of our great burdens in China used to be the likin tax. For example. it is a 'natural' law and not the subject of discussion and decision but of discovery. Or again. The result was that the charge on goods passing through several provinces might become very heavy indeed. it is something constant. admitting of no exception. And so too with the law of death. originating in the Ch'in Dynasty and operating right down to our own day. What are these laws? How do they operate? And what is the difference between sin and the law of sin. then I discern a law at work. at once something goes wrong inside me. but that law in him is relentless and no human will can resist it. He wills to be different. then I discern a law within—a law of sin. If I drop my handkerchief in London it falls to the ground. but. and officers enjoying very large powers. So this brings me to the question. Weakness is 'I cannot'. Each time the thing happens it happens in the same way.
We touched earlier on the matter of our will in relation to the things of God. 'I would do good'. That is the point. it led him only into worse darkness. in fact I cannot deal with the law of gravity. Gravity can do its utmost but the handkerchief will not drop. while admitting there is no meaning in it to them. that has to be pushed and that stops as soon as it is left alone. because another law is working against the law of gravity to maintain it there. The Lord Jesus dwells in our hearts in the person of His Holy Spirit. but "I am carnal. namely the law of life. I do not deal with the law of gravity. but God has put another law into operation . and however much he made up his mind and set himself to please God. Then why does my handkerchief not fall to the ground? Because there is a power keeping it from doing so. The law of sin and death is there all the time. but I have only to place my hand under the handkerchief and it does not drop. it is a law of life in Christ Jesus—the resurrection life that in Him has met death in all its forms and triumphed over it (Eph. but another law superior to it is in operation to overcome it. Why? The law is still there. but all his actions contradicted it. That was part of Paul's trouble in Romans 7. In fact we only have 86 . it simply says that we are not really like that at all. and then think the Christian life a most exhausting and bitter one. For after all. We don't need to force ourselves to speak our native language. and which has grown until heavy stone blocks have been lifted by the power of the life within it. but "by the power of God" (1 Peter 1:5). The law is there. Even older Christians do not realize how great a part will-power plays in their lives. and that law is strong enough to deliver us from the law of sin and death. pulling it down. and it is worse than trying to make water run up-hill.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee suffered under the old law? Now there was no need to think or hope or pray. They force themselves to be what they are not. Like a car without petrol. the very highest point the will can reach is that of willingness (Matt. That is what we mean by the triumph of one law over another. The Manifestation Of The Law Of Life Let us seek to make this practical. If we have to exert so much effort in our Christian living. 20). Some even force themselves to say 'Hallelujah!' because others do it. How can the law of gravity be annulled? With regard to my handkerchief that law is at work clearly enough. sold under sin".the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. We shall learn what it is to be kept. We have all seen the tree which was once a small seed fallen between the slabs of a paving. In just such a manner God delivers us from one law by introducing another law. His will was good. many Christians endeavour to drive themselves by will-power. the new law was already there and had delivered us from the old law. You see. not by our own power. 1:19. 26:41). and if we let Him have a clear way and commit ourselves to Him we shall find that He will keep us from the old law. No longer was there need to think beforehand what one would say if one met a likin officer tomorrow! And as with the law of the land. so it is with natural law.
It is a new discovery of a work already done in Christ. But because we have not believed fully. Why do men use will-power to try to please God? There may be two reasons. Sleep is as much a law as hunger is. and slept well. for the words "made me free" are in the past tense. It is not something fresh from God's hand. but they have not learned to trust in that life. so the law of life is a 'natural' law. and still less do we bring our will to bear upon our heart. Indeed to do so might rather harm than help it. I feel I cannot emphasize this too much. bringing them to the place where they almost cease to believe in the possibility of anything better. Once after several sleepless nights. I discovered that fact once in the following way. For He has given us not only life but a law of life. He answer was: 'Believe in nature's laws'. But now I trusted not only God but God's law of nature. If I "would" it is because I am not. No. there is no absolute necessity for Romans 7 to be repeated in me—either the experience or the conduct. it is a new revelation of what we already have. and I realized that though I had never thought of worrying whether I would get hungry or not. so long as it has life it works spontaneously. It is this lack of understanding that results in habitual failure and sinning. but we shall fall into a different law. I confessed at length to God that the fault must lie with me and asked to be shown where. We may do them for a time. or they may have been born again and the life be there. and that is the chief trouble with most sufferers from sleeplessness. If we will let go our own wills and trust Him. but the law of sin and death wins in the end. Then half an hour can be more profitable than five hours of forced reading. but eventually we shall have to confess: 'How to perform it I know not'. And just as the law of gravity is a natural law and not the result of human legislation. I had been trying to help nature. There is a new law in us which gives us a hunger for it. They may of course never have experienced the new birth.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee to exert will-power in order to do things we do not do naturally. But that should not mean forcing ourselves to read. We may be able to say: 'To will is present with me. Our wills only interfere with the law of life. If I really see this and put my faith in Him. when I had prayed much about it and exhausted all my resources. I said to God: 'I demand an explanation'. So Romans 8:2 speaks not of a new gift but of the life already referred to in Romans 6:23. and certainly not the tremendous display of will-power. and now in Romans 8:2 we read that "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" has come to our aid. You ask. I used to suffer from sleeplessness. but a new unveiling of what He has already given. There is no need for us to think about our eyes. Should we not read the Bible? Of course we should or our spiritual life will suffer. similar in principle to the law that keeps our heart beating or that controls the movement of our eyelids. and I perform that which is good for two weeks'. in which case they have no new life to draw upon. No. or to decide that we must blink every so often to keep them cleansed. And it is the same with 87 . In other words. what I already am I do not long to be. I had been worrying about sleeping. the law of the Spirit of life. we shall not fall to the ground and break. that does not mean that the feeble life we intermittently experience is all God has given us. Romans 6:23 states that "the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord".
. and we all know what men mean by 'cold charity'.. Take the example of talkativeness. for a new appreciation of the life that is ours! What a precious discovery this is! It can make altogether new men of us. Once I was talking to a Christian friend and he turned to me and said: 'Do you know. Oh. If you get up early one morning when the cold is intense and the snow thick on the ground. but it is no longer governing and we are no longer in its grip. and for us to 'fly' is no longer a question of our will but of His life. they are just country folk and have no educational advantages"." He is directing our attention to the new law of life in us. so producing in them a true refinement. . and the life within them is what dominates their consciousness. God has been truly gracious to us. do you say to yourself: 'What shall I do? I am a Christian. let us be fully assured that the will is useless here. But the real question is. encroach thus upon the rights of others.' 'What do you mean?' I asked. But while birds live they overcome it. Are you a person of too many words? When you stay with people. before you know where you are. We cannot. It checks us when. how would they reply? They would say: 'We never heard the name of Newton. that life can say to them: "Your voice is too loud".. We know nothing about his law. But God has never told us to force ourselves to be what we are not naturally: to try by taking thought to add to our spiritual stature. such a man will become truly refined. we put out a hand to look at a book in someone else's room. Some scornfully say: "you can't blame those people for the way they act. or. you are reminded at once of the persistence of that law. Have they the life of the Lord within? For I tell you. they grow. He has given us this new law of the Spirit. for example. Yes. but that life has a law which enables these living creatures quite spontaneously and consistently to overcome the law of gravity. I believe that if anyone is willing to live by the law of the Spirit of life. find yourself once again in difficulty with your garrulous tongue. Yet gravity remains. for it operates in the smallest things as well as in the bigger ones. the Holy Spirit tells us. with testimony.' And yet my friend was himself an educationalist! But it is true. Have you noticed what a trial it is to make an impatient Christian patient? To require patience of him is enough to make him ill with depression. I simple must not talk so much. and there is a dead sparrow in the courtyard.. There is no such inherent power in education. or. For me to exhort you to 88 . "Your motive in passing that remark was wrong. That is why the Lord says in Matthew 6: "Behold the birds. are His words." In a thousand details the Spirit of life can tell them how to act. Worrying may possibly decrease a man's height.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee giving. We fly because it is the law of our life to fly. "That laughter was not right". Forced preaching is apt to result in preaching a warm gospel with a cold heart. reminding us that we have not asked permission and have no right to do so. Consider the lilies". He replied: 'That law has the power to make a man a perfect gentleman. but it certainly never added anything to it. "Be not anxious".'? And for an hour or two you succeed—until on some pretext you loose control and. So today let me be extra careful to hold myself in check. but if I am to glorify the name of the Lord. It is still there. If we will let ourselves live in the new law we shall be less conscious of the old law. with preaching. If we could ask the birds whether they were not afraid of the law of gravity.' Not only is there in them a life with the power of flight. "Consider the lilies.
and experience no difficulty. what the Holy Spirit will do in us. but after the Spirit" (Rom. what the Lord Jesus has done for us. God.. This was the first step. now. it is again here a question not of salvation but of pleasing God. If. because of our inability God took two steps. and secondly. On your return you will just thank God for His new law of life. though he keep silent all day. He intervened to deal with the heart of our problem. (Remember. through me!' And it manifests itself in reality of life—in a true genuineness of moral character. But as Christians we discover a new law in us. But still "the ordinance of the law" remained to be fulfilled "in us". too much play-acting. 'the flesh'.) Now. Love him. who died for sin and in doing so "condemned sin in the flesh". On that basis you can go to your friend's house for two or three hours. There is too much hypocrisy in the lives of Christians. sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin. Every careful reader of these two verses will see that there are two things presented here. or the carnal 'I'. not the life in Christ Jesus. For consider again: a talkative person remains just that. condemned sin in the flesh: that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us. as we "walk. It is He who is sent to take care of the inward side of this thing. and He is able to do so. 'Lord. You see he is lovable and You love him. In the first place. After The Spirit" "For what the law could not do. just as a peach tree is a peach tree whether or not it bears peaches.. It is this spontaneous life that is the Christian life. believing the Lord's Word. we are told. The Fourth Step: "Walk. firstly. pretense gives way to reality when we trust the law of life. He sent His Son in the flesh. Yes.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee exercise your will in this matter would be but to offer you the vain religion of the world. for there is a 'natural' law of talkativeness governing him (or her!). Nothing takes away from the effectiveness of Christian witness as does a pretense of something that is not really there. which transcends all else and which has already delivered us from the 'law' of our talkativeness. Thus God struck at the very root of our trouble by removing the fundamental ground of our weakness. who walk not after the flesh. whether we speak of it as 'our old man'. 89 .. He took to death representatively all that belonged to the old creation in us. It works on the basis of what the Lord sees of possibility in that brother. How could this be done? It required God's further provision of the indwelling Holy Spirit.. we yield ourselves to that new law. That is to say. 8:3). They are. consequently the ordinance of the law cannot be fulfilled in us "after the flesh". in that it was weak through the flesh. it will tell us when we should stop talking—or not start!—and it will empower us to do so. It manifests itself in love for the unlovely—for the brother whom on natural grounds we would not like and certainly could not love. for the man in the street unfailingly penetrates such a disguise in the end and finds us out for what we are. or stay for two or three days. the law of the spirit of life. after the Spirit". "The flesh" is "weak".
5:19. 1:29). and while there it was necessary for me to sleep in one house and take my meals in another. The initiative of my life must be with Him. and a new light and joy came into their lives. which worketh in me mightily" (Col. keep wide open the way for Him to impart it to us. the latter being the home of a mechanic and his wife. it is a walk. I said nothing to my hosts about the Gospel. To walk after the Spirit is to be subject to the Spirit. for a prolonged period of rest to a hill-resort where accommodation was difficult to obtain. Firstly. to "walk after" implies subjection. It only brings me into conflict with God. and. these are sons of God" (Rom. He has come for that very purpose—that He may make real in us all that is ours in Christ. grace is that love expressed and made available in the Son. We are all familiar with the words of the benediction in 2 Corinthians 13:14: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. What the Father has devised concerning us the Son has accomplished for us. That is why Paul contrasts the "works" of the flesh with the "fruit" of the Spirit (Gal. to open to him the Scriptures that he may find Christ there. Praise God. We have learned in China that. and to reproduce in him the character of his Lord. and the love of God. Then secondly. let us. That is His ministry. The Holy Spirit of God is now within him. Walking after the flesh means that I yield to the dictates of the flesh. I went. the grace of the Lord Jesus has made it possible for that spiritual wealth to become ours. the burdensome and fruitless effort I involved myself in when I sought 'in the flesh' to please God gives place to a blessed and restful dependence on "his working. communion is the importation of that grace by the Spirit. his heart has become the residence of a living Person.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee What does it mean to walk after the Spirit? It means two things. be with you all". Only as I yield myself to obey Him shall I find the "law of the Spirit of life" in full operation and the "ordinance of the law" (all that I have been trying to do to please God) being fulfilled—no longer by me but in me. to direct his prayer. Love is something hidden in the heart of God. We always seek to make it clear to a new believer that. There is one thing that the man who walks after the Spirit cannot do. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God. to govern his life. for its realization. it is not a work. when leading a soul to Christ. and the communion of the Holy Ghost is the means whereby it is imparted to us. for there is no certainty when he will again have the help of other Christians. They were ready to listen and to come to Him in simple faith for the forgiveness of their sins. I took care to make clear 90 . When therefore we discover something fresh that the Lord Jesus has procured for us in His Cross. and that is be independent of Him. and the communion of the Holy Ghost. for theirs was a real conversion. apart from asking a blessing at each meal. The love of God is the source of all spiritual blessing. 8:14). late one summer. They were born again. and now the Holy Spirit communicates it to us. For the first two weeks of my visit. and the following verses in Romans 8:5-8 make clear where that leads me. 22). and then one day my opportunity came to tell them about the Lord Jesus. we must be very thorough. I must be subject to the Holy Spirit. when he has asked the Lord to forgive his sins and to come into his life. look in the direction that God has indicated. by our steadfast attitude of subjection and obedience to the Holy Spirit.
but though the wife could read she was ignorant of the Word. with the return of the cold weather. They did not know how to consult God's Book and it was impossible to consult God's messenger. 'We'll refer the matter to brother Nee at the first opportunity. After my departure. and he was apt to do so to excess. 'Why cannot we pray today? Fetch the Bible and see what it has to say about wine drinking. During the cold winter months the man was in the habit of drinking wine with his meals. and that day. We believe that the Spirit of God is resident in us.—Ed. The question is. 'You always listen to Resident Boss!' Many of us know that Christ is our life. the husband bowed his head to return thanks for the meal—but no words would come. 91 . 'Resident Boss 14 wouldn't let me have that drink!' 'Very good. and then. the time came for me to leave them and return to Shanghai. together they asked a blessing on their meal. the wine appeared on the table again. for I was many miles away and it might be months before they could see me. After one or two vain attempts he turned to his wife. as the weather turned colder. and she turned the pages in vain seeking for light on the subject. brother'.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee to them what had happened. said his wife. as he had become accustomed to do.' I had left a copy of the Scriptures with them. but this fact has little effect upon our behaviour. 'Take it away!' he said at length. he said. 'Just drink your wine'. I said. and do we know Him as 'Boss'? 14 'Resident Boss'—The author's own rendering of li-mien tang-chia tih. When eventually the man was able to visit Shanghai he told me the story. and when she had done so.' But still the man found he just could not return thanks to the Lord for that wine. do we know Him as a living Person. Using an expression familiar in Chinese: 'Brother Nee'. 'What is wrong?' he asked.
As we have seen. and so of the full provision He has made. A Gate And A Path Recognizing a number of such phases in the life and experience of a believer. that. lies in an appreciation of the value of the precious Blood. 3:3). and the continual efficacy of the Blood to deal with sins committed. All come to us as the fruit of the work of Christ on the Cross. no single one of them is by itself the whole of truth. in which they would include the matter of leading a holy life. Experience (Subjective). they seem to be marked by certain recurring steps or features. and we cannot afford to ignore any. Revelation (Objective). Then there are those who go further and see that God has included them in the death of His Son on the Cross. God separates a man out of the world to be His. They rightly emphasize the importance of keeping short accounts with God over known specific sins. 2. through the up-to-date blotting out of what he has done on the ground of the shed Blood. and we must be careful to avoid the temptation to over-simplify the work of God. and then only. though these phases do not necessarily occur always in a fixed and precise order. Thus we have: 1. They believe in a holiness which in fact means only separation of the man from his past. and to explain clearly some of the experiences which Christians commonly pass through. as in Faith we accept that fact for ourselves. To do so may lead us into serious confusion. in order to deliver them from sin and the Law by dealing with the old man. What are these steps? First there is revelation. many have gone further still and recognized that consecration (using that word in the right sense) means giving themselves without reserve into His hands and following Him. this always precedes faith and experience. does it become actual as experience in our lives. Thus they stop short of God's basic demands. and starting from them we have already touched upon other phases of experience set before us by God and enjoyed by many. We have sought to make things simple. namely that. And from this as starting-point.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 11: One Body in Christ Before we pass on to our last important subject we will review some of the ground we have covered and summarize the steps taken. All these are first steps. It is always essential for us to remember that. 92 . In them God has a clear foundation on which to build. These are they who really exercise faith in the Lord. and they stop there. we note now a further fact. Through His Word God opens our eyes to the truth of some fact concerning His Son. while each of them is a precious fragment of truth. but they think of the Blood as doing everything. There are children of God who believe that all our salvation. for they glory in Christ Jesus and have ceased to put confidence in the flesh (Phil. and that is holiness. But it is clear that the new discoveries that we make as we walk with the Lord are many. I think we have by now seen clearly the inadequacy of this.
or 'reckoning' (Rom. we again have three steps: the Holy Spirit's work of revelation.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Then further. Remember. We will take first our justification and new birth. by opening the Scriptures to us. etc. and we must beware of forcing any rigid pattern upon the Holy Spirit's working. 6:11). to guide us into all the truth (John 16:13). or 'presenting ourselves' to God (Rom. Would that all Gospel preaching were of such a kind! One thing is certain. 6:6). and the continuing process of consecration. A Wicket gate (Crisis) 2. Lord !' and faith follows spontaneously. and this leads us into a walk of maintained fellowship with Him (the narrow path). 7:25). for He is here for that very thing. there follows the crisis of repentance and faith (the wicket gate). but perhaps any new experience will come to us more or less on these lines. we find again the need for spiritual illumination. This in turn leads us into the 'narrow path' of a walk in obedience to the Spirit (Rom. that our division of Christian experience into various subjects: justification. 22). Revelation. 6:13) on the basis of a walk in newness of life. we may well step into a great deal of experience from the first day of our Christian life. Count upon Him. the gift of the spirit. the crisis of faith. 2. is for our clearer understanding only. This begins with a revelation of the Lord Jesus in His atoning work for our sins on the Cross. Our Lord Jesus spoke of such a gate and a path leading unto life (Matt.. and when such difficulties as lack of understanding or lack of faith confront you. Consider next the gift of the Holy Spirit. A narrow path (Process) Now let us take some of the subjects we have been dealing with and see how this helps us to understand them. in which we initially cease from 'doing' and accept by faith the mighty working of the life of Christ to satisfy God's practical demands in us. 8:4). sanctification. who is given to come along-side and. too. 7:14). 10:29. we note that such experience usually takes the two-fold form of a crisis leading to a continuous process. new birth. that we may see the values of the Cross in regard to 'the flesh'—the entire self-life of man. Going a stage further. There will certainly always be first an opening of our eyes to some new aspect of Christ and His finished work. This too begins with a new 'seeing' of the Lord Jesus as exalted to the throne. and experience accords with this. for which the ground of our day-to-day access is still the precious Blood (Heb. So now we have: 1. Revelation is always the work of the Holy Spirit. and then faith will open a gate into a pathway. deliverance. It does not mean that these stages must or will always follow one another in a certain prescribed order. or 'knowing' (Rom. which issues in the dual experience of the Spirit outpoured and the Spirit indwelling. The picture is not identical in each case. When we come to deliverance from sin. When we see something that God has done in Christ our natural response is: 'Thank you. It is most helpful to think of this in terms of John Bunyan's 'wicket gate' through which Christian entered upon a 'narrow path'. whereby we are initially "made nigh" to God (Eph. Experience: 1. 2:13). Our acceptance of this by faith leads at once to a 'wicket gate' experience (Rom. In fact. that revelation will always precede faith. 93 . even though the full explanation of much of it may follow later. if a full presentation of Christ and His Cross is made to us at the very outset. to the matter of pleasing God.
something that Adam never had. We have dealt at some length in earlier chapters with the two aspects of His death represented by the Blood for sins and guilt and the Cross for sin and the flesh.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee address those difficulties directly to the Lord: 'Lord. the last two are concerned with bringing us into. Before. the release of the life of Christ in resurrection for man's indwelling and empowering for service. re-create and empower man. Lord. The work is finished and need never be repeated. The Working of Death in the natural man that that indwelling Life may be progressively manifest. 2. and He is now "by the right hand of God exalted" (Acts 2:33). They relate to the undoing of the work of the Devil and the undoing of the sin of man. it may help us if we recognize four aspects of God's redemptive work. and bringing into us. nor can it be added to. The Cross of Christ to deal with sin. 3. we pass on to the fourth aspect. 4. possessing God's own life. namely. Of the four aspects of the Cross which we shall now mention. the flesh and the natural man. They may be briefly summarized as follows: 1. make this new thing clear to me. in our consideration of Christ as our life. What was that purpose? God wanted to have a race of men whose members were gifted with a spirit whereby communion would be possible with Himself. and relate more directly to the securing of the purpose of God. open my eyes. In the light of Christian experience and for the purpose of analysis. The Life of Christ made available to indwell. The last will be considered in the two succeeding chapters of our study. was to co-operate in securing His purposed end by defeating every possible uprising of the enemy and undoing his evil works. who is Spirit. Thus we see that the achievement of the Lord Jesus in His death and resurrection comprises both a work which provided for the redemption of man and a work which made possible the realization of the purpose of God. Once in Judaea two thousand years ago the Lord Jesus died and rose again. The Fourfold Work Of Christ In His Cross We are now in a position to go a step further still and to consider how great a range is compassed by the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. we have seen something of its practical outworking. How will it now be effected? The answer is again to be found in the death of the Lord 94 . The last two are not remedial but positive. The first two are concerned with recovering what Adam lost by the Fall. The Blood of Christ to deal with sins and guilt. That was the great plan. help Thou my unbelief!' He will not fail you. we have already dealt with three in some detail. we must say a little more about this third side. We have spoken already of the purpose of God in creation and have said that it embraced far more than Adam ever came to enjoy. Lord. In our discussion of the eternal purpose we have also looked briefly at the third aspect—that represented by Christ as the grain of wheat—and in our last chapter. which I shall call 'bearing the cross'. But in doing so it is essential to keep in mind that the Cross of Christ is one Divine work—not many. however. That race. The first two of these aspects are remedial.
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. 8:35). This is now bone of my bones. for by it. So we have an aspect of the death of the Lord Jesus in Ephesians which we do not have so clearly in other places. And the man said. the standpoint is that of God "before the 95 . love your wives.. belonging to the past. which is not the case. The "eternal purpose" is something in the mind of God from eternity concerning His Son... that he might present the church to himself a glorious church. but it is not what God has in view as His end. enemies. the other corporate. There is something most precious here. and he slept. For generations that has been instilled into us. if we reflect upon it. as though it were only that. on the other hand. The one is largely individual. but we have made the terms almost equal to one another. We have been taught to think of ourselves as sinners needing redemption. 5) we are led progressively to "the love of Christ" (Rom. made he a woman. the ungodly' (Rom. even as Christ also loved the church. In Romans things are viewed from the standpoint of fallen man. that he might sanctify it. I refer to what is contained in those words: "Christ. but in God's sight the Church is a Divine creation in His Son. In Ephesians 5 we have the only chapter in the Bible which explains the passage in Genesis 2. It is that. loved the church". because she was taken out of Man (Heb. It is a mighty death. looking forward. All too often we have thought of the Church as being merely so many 'saved sinners'. In Ephesians. and brought her unto the man. and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman (Heb. not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. 5:25-27). The Love Of Christ Now we must have before us two passages of the Word. one from Genesis 2 and one from Ephesians 5. but. something infinitely greater is introduced. God speaks here rather of "a glorious church. What we have presented to us in Ephesians is indeed very remarkable. 2:21-23). and it has as its objective that the Son should have a Body to express His life. ishshah). holy and without blemish". and he took one of his ribs. and gave himself up for it. and we praise the Lord for that as our beginning. Saved sinners—with that thought you have the whole background of sin and the Fall. ish)" (Gen. with the other it is positive. which the Lord God had taken from the man. Viewed from that standpoint—from the standpoint of the heart of God—the Church is something which is beyond sin and has never been touched by sin. "Husbands. which are of great importance in this connection. but something more. having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word. but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. With the one the view is negative.. and beginning with 'Christ died for sinners. It is something positive and purposive.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Jesus. not only are sin and the old man dealt with and their effects annulled. going far beyond the recovery of a lost position. "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man.
God forbid that I should suggest that the Lord Jesus did not die for purposes of atonement.. From Genesis 3 onwards.. and that type is here in Genesis 2. and the message is of God's love for sinners (Rom. He put the man (ish) to sleep. but answerable to the sleep of Adam in this chapter. This experience of Adam had as its object the creation of Eve. Could we say that Adam was put to sleep because Eve had committed a serious sin? Is that what we have here? Certainly not. yet the apostle does not appeal here to any of those types of His death. from the 'coats of skins' to Abel's sacrifice. and then recall that it was not until Genesis 3 that sin came in. for Eve was not yet even created. 5:8). That is what is taught in these verses. and the atonement a blessed recovery whereby our sins are blotted out and we are restored. Praise God. in Romans it is "we sinned". What is in view in this passage is not atonement for sin but the creation of the Church. and in it we have not only the purpose in Creation but also the scars of the Fall —or there would need to be no mention of "spot or wrinkle". His sleep was not for her sin but for her existence. Note that. But we must always view redemption as an interruption. There were as yet no moral issues involved and no problems at all. for which end it is said that He "gave himself". He did. took a rib from his side and made it into ishshah. Thus. loved the church. as though man were created to be redeemed. but God is saying that we should not make redemption to be everything. and brought her to the man. 1:4). to occupy a very large place in our vision. and the love here is the love of husband for wife. We must remember that today we are in fact in Ephesians 5 and not in Genesis 2. Ephesians was written after the Fall. a woman. 'cleansing' is needed. to men who had suffered from its effects. No. Redemption is big enough. for it is not subsequent to the Fall but prior to it. and the heart of the gospel is: "Christ. but when it is accomplished there yet remains 96 . and on from there through the whole Old Testament. Because we are still on the earth and the Fall is a historic fact. but to this one in Genesis 2. and gave himself up for it" (Eph.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee foundation of the world" (Eph. Adam was put to sleep for the express purpose that something might be taken out of him to be made into someone else. God wanted an ishshah. It foreshadows an aspect of the death of the Lord Jesus that is not primarily for atonement. Now this is one of the marvelous things in the Word. an 'emergence' measure. There is one type of the death of Christ in the Old Testament which has nothing to do with sin. To bring this fact home Paul takes that incident in Genesis 2 as illustration. The Fall is indeed a tragic dip downwards in that line of purpose. wonderful enough. whereas in Ephesians it is "Christ loved". 5:25). as something determined in the Divine counsels. Let us look at it for a moment. That kind of love has fundamentally nothing to do with sin as such. There is thus an aspect of the death of the Lord Jesus which is altogether positive and a matter particularly of love to His Church. where the question of sin and sinners does not directly appear. and if our eyes have been opened to see it we will certainly worship. there are numerous types which set forth the death of the Lord Jesus as an atonement for sin. made necessary by a catastrophic break in the straight line of the purpose of God. That is the picture which God is giving us.
and we have received more than Adam ever possessed. "For whom he foreknew. These are the Biblical figures we have used hitherto in our study to express this truth. Yet in fact this aspect is the very end to which our study of Romans has been moving. he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son. One Living Sacrifice We have said that there is an aspect of the death of Christ presented to us in Ephesians 5 which is to some extent different from that which we have been studying in Romans. Adam was put to sleep. the singular takes the place of the plural. and God is seeking that the only begotten Son should have brethren. Here justification is seen to lead on to glory. them he also called: and whom he called. One grain of wheat has died and many grains will spring up. Then too we must note that Eve was not created as a separate entity by a separate creation. God's 'second Man' has awakened from His 'sleep' and His Church is created in Him and of Him. That is God's method with the Church. and Eve was created out of Adam. 8:29. Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for it. Adam slept. parallel to that of Adam. Why? Because whenever death is mentioned sin is there in the background. a glory that is expressed 97 . Now. for redemption leads us back into God's original line of purpose. 30). but that has in view increase in resurrection. But because of the one work of the Lord Jesus in His death and resurrection (and we must emphasize again that it is all one work) His life was released to become ours by faith. The very purpose of God is brought within reach of fulfillment by our receiving Christ as our life. God has a Son who is known to be the only begotten. to draw her life from Him and to display that resurrection life. but here Adam was not slain. The Lord Jesus laid down His life. The first grain was once the only grain. So the type of the Lord Jesus here is not like other types on the Old Testament. Thus he prefigures a death that is not on account of sin. but Adam's sleep preceded that. but only put to sleep to awake again. now it is changed to be the first grain of many. We remember that it is said of believers that they fall asleep. them he also glorified" (Rom. For God has never forsaken the purpose which is represented by that straight line. and it is into this that the letter is leading us as we shall now see. From the position of only begotten He will become the first begotten. 8:14). In Genesis 3 sin entered into the world and death through sin. The outcome of the Cross is a single person: a Bride for the Son. and to give God that which His heart desires. in the figure just considered. and instead of the Son alone God will have many sons. and that life emerged in many lives. them he also justified: and whom he justified. Adam was never in possession of the life of God as presented in the tree of life. that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: and whom he foreordained. In chapter 8 Paul speaks to us of Christ as the firstborn Son among many Spirit-led "sons of God" (Rom. In relation to sin and atonement there is a lamb or a bullock slain.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee a work to be done to bring us into possession of that which Adam never possessed. rather than that they die.
but alone in isolation man can never fulfill God's purpose. 5). I don't 98 . These are introduced with an emphasis once again on consecration. are one body in Christ" (ch. for our present purpose. as we have seen. 8). or. Intelligent service to God is one service. we are dead with Christ (ch. brethren. to present your bodies a living sacrifice. there follows a parenthesis in which God's sovereign dealings with Israel are taken up and dealt with. But what is implicit here in chapter 8 becomes explicit as we move over into chapter 12. It is a call to us for a united step of faith. No amount of prayer will give sight to the ear—but the whole body can see through the eye. are one body in Christ. Romans 12 and the following chapter contain some very practical instructions for our life and walk. After the first eight chapters of Romans. which is the subject of the last verses of the chapter (8:35-39). Individual Christians are not the Body but are members of the Body. and in a human body "all the members have not the same office". and as a consequence of it: "We. 'What I know. and it is on this basis that the practical instructions follow. In chapter 6:13 Paul has said: "Present yourselves unto God. who are many. in other words. by the mercies of God. We need never feel our contribution is not needed. it is one sacrifice. we are by nature utterly helpless (ch. that "we. in "the love of Christ" for His own. and what I don't know. and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God". We might very simply summarize these chapters thus: Our sins are forgiven (ch. Oh that we might really see this! So Romans 12:3-6 draws from the figure of the human body the lesson of our inter-dependence. but I can see through others who have the gift of sight. perhaps I can walk but cannot work. So Paul's appeal "to every man that is among you" (12:3) is in the light of this new Divine fact. The 'presenting' is personal but the sacrifice is corporate. and the thing to which it has all been leading. and severally members one of another" (12:5). And it is through this kind of service that we prove "what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (ch. But now in chapter 12:1 the emphasis is a little different: "I beseech you therefore. 12). so I receive help from the hands. acceptable to God. before the theme of the first chapters is resumed. the argument of chapter 12 follows that of chapter 8 and not of chapter 11. for it implies contribution to a whole. So (speaking figuratively) I may have only the gift of hearing. I know. It requires a complete Body to attain to the stature of Christ and to display His glory. holy. After this. 6). This new appeal for consecration is made to us as "brethren". The vessel through which the Lord Jesus can reveal Himself in this generation is not the individual but the Body. "God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith" (12:3). therefore we rely upon the indwelling Spirit (ch. It is as though this were the logical outcome of all that has gone before. And this object of our redemption is further set forth. as alive from the dead. 7). the presenting of our bodies as one "living sacrifice" unto God. realize God's eternal purpose in Christ Jesus.. An all-too-common attitude to the things of the Lord is that. Thus.. which we have been studying. 12:2). for if it contributes to the service. God is satisfied. linking us in thought to the "many brethren" of chapter 8:29. which is your reasonable service".The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee not in one or more individuals but in a plurality: in many who manifest the image of One. This is something that goes beyond the merely individual. or. The ear must not imagine itself to be an eye. the subject of which is the Body of Christ.
as must be clear from Matthew 18:19. For the life of Christ is the life of the Body. but that is essentially individual. In the sphere of service this is even more apparent. the Cross must do its work here. "We. after it had been distributed and eaten. allowing doors to close and leaving me ineffectively knocking my head against a blank wall until I realize that I need the help of the Body as well as of the Lord. but such an attitude ignores the Body. I pointed out that though it was inside all of them it was still one loaf—not many. reminding me that in Christ I have died to that old life of independence which I inherited from Adam. His greatest problem is not the outward divisions and denominations that divide His Church but our own individualistic hearts.' But in Christ. When I see this. and can do quite well without. He is still one Spirit in us. One Sunday I was about to break the bread at the Lord's table and I asked them to look very carefully at the loaf before I broke it. and His gifts are given to us for work that builds up the Body. God does not blame me for being an individual. but Christ is not divided even in the sense in which that loaf was. but only self-interest and distrust of others. Let me stress that this is not just a comfortable thought. There is no union. There is a vast difference between the two. Alone I cannot serve the Lord effectively.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee know. The Bible does not just say that the Church is like a body. for all share His life—as though He were Himself distributed among His members. and we are all one in Him." on the basis of oneness with the Body. no fellowship in sin. Yes. The loaf was divided. In Adam I have the life of Adam. and severally members one of another. and He will spare no pains to teach me this. 99 . and that in resurrection I have become not just an individual believer in Christ but a member of His Body. the life that is sufficient in itself and does not recognize its need for and union in the Body. He will bring things to an end. and so cannot provide God with satisfaction. but for my individualism.. 20. I may have got over the problems of sin and the flesh. I must trust Him with others. The life of Christ in me will gravitate to the life of Christ in others. are one body in Christ. As I go on with the Lord I soon discover. This is the very opposite of man's condition by nature. I can no longer take an individual line." All the members together are one Body. and yet still be a confirmed individualist. We cannot get along without one another. or I shall remain in conflict with His ends. not only that the problem of sin and of my natural strength has to be dealt with. I want holiness and victory and fruitfulness for myself personally and apart. the things we do not know others do. I must learn to pray "Our Father. That is why fellowship in prayer is so important. but that it is the Body of Christ. Prayer together brings in the help of the Body. who are many. Then. The Body is not an illustration but a fact. I was once with a group of Chinese believers who found it very hard to understand how the Body could be one when they were all separate individual men and women who made it up. but that there is also a further problem created by my 'individual' life. Trusting the Lord by myself may not be enough.. It is a vital factor in the life of God's people. for without the help of the Body I cannot get through. he must deal with me therefore in this matter also. albeit from the purest motives. I shall at once have done with independence and shall seek fellowship. and we may know them and enter into the enjoyment of them through others.
but when He does it will revolutionize our life and work.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Jealousy will go. 8:38. And yet how precious is the promise and how gracious are the words used of her: "not having spot"—the scars of sin. Sin. 34)—we present a front against which the very gates of Hades shall not prevail. and yet through grace we still have this eternal purpose of God in view as expressed in the statement that He will 'present unto himself a glorious Church'. yet in His great purpose for the Church set forth in Genesis 2 there is no view of sin. It is the Body of Christ in glory. More Than Conquerors Through Him We only see history back to the Fall. In Ephesians 5 we stand within the history of redemption. Our warfare is with angels and principalities and powers (Rom. 6:12) who are set to withstand and destroy the work of God in us by laying many things to the charge of God's elect. are one body in Christ". This is the Church that has satisfied God's heart and has attained dominion. all will go. The age is closing. Competition will go. My interests. expressing nothing of fallen man but only that which is the image of the glorified Son of man. But now we note that the water of life and the cleansing Word are needed to prepare the Church (now marred by the Fall) for presentation to Christ in glory. my ambitions. God sees it from the beginning. for all is now made up and all is new. Alone we could never be their match. It is as though (to speak in finite terms) He leaps in thought right over the whole story of redemption and sees the Church in future eternity. "or wrinkle"—the marks of age and of time lost.. are "more than conquerors through him that loved us" (Rom. Private work will go. and "without blemish"—so that Satan or demons or men can find no ground for blame in her. but what we alone cannot do the Church can. and in the ages to come that thing is to be fully realized. Only the Holy Spirit can bring this home to us in all its meaning. self-reliance and individualism were Satan's master-strokes at the heart of God's purpose in man. and Satan's power is greater than ever. to have it break in upon our spirits by heavenly revelation that "we. We. For now there are defects to be remedied and wounds to be healed. God knew all about sin and redemption.' That is the great need: to see the Body of Christ as another great Divine fact. It will no longer matter which of us does the work. my preferences. All that will matter will be that the Body grows. I said: 'When I see this. 8:37). His Church. Eph. whose very history is now forgotten. There was something in God's mind before the Fall. 100 . who are many. As we put our faith in what He has done—in "God that justifieth" and in "Christ Jesus that died" (Rom. 8:33.. This is where we are now. having a ministry and a (future) history which is altogether apart from sin and wholly of God. and in the Cross God has undone them.
To understand this we must. The True Nature Of The Fall If we have even a little revelation of the plan of God we shall always think much of the word 'man'. He gathered up these two sides of God's creative act into himself to become a personality.) With his spirit Adam was in touch with the spiritual world of God. with his body he was in touch with the physical world of material things. 101 . with a spirit inside to commune with God and with a body outside to have contact with the material world. Hitherto in dealing with the Christian life we have placed our main emphasis upon the crisis by which it is entered. 3:9-11). We shall say with the Psalmist. On the other hand it has made possible what we speak of as 'bearing the cross'. and come after me. It is of him that the Lord Jesus said: "Whosoever doth not bear his own cross. at the risk of being tedious. Clearly these are the positive and the negative sides of one thing. (Such New Testament verses as 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12 confirm this threefold character of man's being. In that Cross He has also made secure beyond possibility of failure that eternal plan which Paul speaks of as having been from all the ages "hid in God who created all things". according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Eph. In this way we shall be able to grasp the principles by which we can come again to live in line with that purpose. an entity living in the world. "a living soul". On the one hand it has issued in the release of His life that it may find expression in us through the indwelling Spirit. moving by itself and having powers of free choice. Equally clearly we are now touching more particularly on the matter of progress in a life lived for God. cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27). our co-operation in the daily inworking of His death whereby way is made in us for the manifestation of that new life. Viewed thus as a whole. that thou art mindful of him?" The Bible makes it clear that what God desires above all things is a man—a man who will be after His own heart. that is. That plan He has now proclaimed "to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God. go back once more to Genesis and consider what it was that God sought to have in man at the beginning and how His purpose was frustrated. but He has not stopped there. We have said that the work of the Cross has two consequences which bear directly upon the realizing of that purpose in us. In Genesis 2:7 we learn that Adam was created a living soul.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 12: The Cross and the Soul Life God has made full provision for our redemption in the Cross of Christ. through the bringing of the 'natural man' progressively into his right place of subjection to the Holy Spirit. Now our concern is more definitely with the walk of the disciple. he was found to be a self-conscious and self-expressing being. So God created a man. "What is man. So we come to a consideration of the natural man and the 'bearing of the cross'. having especially in view his training as a servant of God.
finally orientated. this latter choice involved complicity with Satan. God was seeking to have not merely a race of men of one blood upon the earth. the mind with its reasoning power was developed. we saw that Adam was created neutral. We have to distinguish here between two things. he yielded to Satan and took of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. for he was 'made wise'. He had a spirit which enabled him to hold communion with God. It is that that was in view with the creation of man. created neutral. He would have realized 'sonship'. It is not merely that man has a soul. but it was as yet in abeyance. but that from that day on the soul. and the will was strengthened. turn the opposite way. making him 'desire'. choosing dependence upon God. a purpose which went beyond man himself. That Divine life was represented in the garden by the tree of life. in addition. for the difference is most important. bearing a fruit that could be accepted. he would as a result be 'free' to develop himself on his own lines apart from God. so that in future he could always decide which way he would go. But how could man be instrumental in this? Only by a co-operation that sprang from living union with God. Then again. Standing between the two trees. There was more in view. God does not mind—in fact He intends—that we should have a soul such as He gave to Adam. Such a race will eventually compass the downfall of Satan and bring to fulfillment all that God has set His heart upon. The emotion was touched. were to receive of the tree of life (representing God's own life). so that not only was the man a living soul. God would then have that life in union with men. received. This determined the lines of his development. in other words. He needed a finishing touch somewhere. But what God 102 . God had not yet done all that He intended to do in Adam. If Adam. But if instead Adam should turn to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam would thereby put beyond his reach the attaining of his God-appointed goal. the expression of His life in human beings. From then on he could command a knowledge. so to speak. however. God's goal in man was 'sonship'. The Root Question: The Human Soul Now we know the course that Adam chose. taken in. but a race which had. God was moving towards the fulfillment of His purpose in creating man. if he liked.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee We saw earlier that Adam was created perfect—by which we mean that he was without imperfections because created by God—but that he was not yet perfected. because the fruit was pleasant to the eyes. but from henceforth man will live by the soul. Because. were voluntarily to turn that way and. he had powers of choice and he could. The whole fruit ministered to the expansion and full development of the soul. he 'knew'. but as man he was not yet. for it had in view the securing to God of all His rights in the universe through man's instrumentality. with its independent powers of free choice. But—and here we come to the point—the fruit of the tree of knowledge made the first man over-developed in his soul. or. His life resident within its members. takes the place of the spirit as the animating power of man.
friends. There is something in man today which is not just the fact of having a soul. God must cut that off. On the other hand He is doing a direct work in our hearts to undo that other natural resource that is the result of the fruit of knowledge. insensate. I will not take any step just because I have the power to do so. What does this mean? It simply means that I will not take any action without relying on God. apart from Him. I cannot do it'. The Lord cuts it off and you find you can no longer act on your own initiative. and to that end He is bringing us back. characterless. and a checking and a handing over to death of that other soul-life. When today the Cross is really working in us. You cannot do that. Oh. for God is seeking the fully developed life of His Son in us in order to manifest Himself. No. that has to be checked and dealt with. to Adam's starting-point. Are we keeping within God's appointed limit—within the bounds set by Him in the Garden at the beginning—with regard to the soul. 103 . as an instrument. but in reality our subconscious thought is that really we can do it quite well ourselves. So Paul says: "We which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake. It was this that Satan brought about in the Fall. as to our soul.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee has set Himself to do is to reverse something. Every day we are learning these two lessons: a rising up of the life of this One. 4:11). In our souls there is an uncontrolled development. we still possess a soul. in a true subjection to Him. you have to draw everything from Him. Even though I have that inherited power within me. I will find no sufficiency in myself. I will put no reliance in myself. We may. When we are in that condition. to have power. to decide. say: 'If the Lord does not want it. and whenever we receive something from God the soul will still be used in relation to it. that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh" (2 Cor. the life of the Son of God in us is confined and almost crowded out of action. in a manner of courtesy to God. So now there are two things before us to which our eyes must be opened. I think we all know ourselves in measure. an untimely growth. but which constitutes a living by the soul. a faculty. By taking the fruit. Too often we have been caused to act. We have become 'big-souled'. I will not use it. You have to live by the life of Another. He trapped man into taking a course by which he could develop his soul so as to derive his very life from it. we do not become inert. But the point is. You lose that power to act when you come to know the Lord. or are we getting outside those bounds? What God is now doing is the pruning work of the vinedresser. even if God does not ask us to do it nor empower us for it. but many a time we do not truly tremble at ourselves. to think. but a power which played right into Satan's hands. We must however be careful. To remedy this does not mean that we are going to cross out the soul altogether. We have grown too big in ourselves. Many of us Christians today are men with over-developed souls. These two processes go on all the time. On the one hand God is seeking to bring us to the place where we live by the life of His Son. Adam became possessed of an inherent power to act.
We forget that. My interests have been utterly changed (praise God for that!). and again it is a change of subject but the same power. but it is true. In our hearts we say. it is 104 . they can present a case very convincingly indeed. what I am of myself. We have spoken of soul-power or natural energy. over questions of the world. and essential union with God that has been set up in my spirit. But the Lord Jesus had something to say about this in John 3:6: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh". but I have not changed my method of working. or literature. or poetry. Formerly I used to use my mind to pore over history. we put them on the platform and make preachers of them. and God will not allow that. There are some men who are born orators. That is the whole point. Where did that man's good nature come from? Whence are those splendid managing powers and that good judgment? Not form new birth. The trouble with so many of us is that we have changed the channel into which our energies are directed. they think it is the power. over business. a deep work is effected in my spirit. But that power is not of God. Take for example the human mind. as something developed from my natural birth. over chemistry. But the trouble arises here. Here is a delightfully good-natured man. what a lot it would mean to His cause!' But think for a moment. with a clear brain. but at the same time I carry over with me something which I derive from my natural birth. Before my new birth I had it naturally. so henceforth I employ the same mind in the things of God. Let us take first an obvious illustration of this. for he is not yet born again. the energy of the soul is present with us all. they will not let it reign. without asking ourselves where they really stand in relation to spiritual things. I may have by nature a keen mind. We encourage them to use their natural powers for preaching. they utilize it. I become converted. Those who have been taught by the Lord repudiate that principle as a life principle. Now what am I going to do about it? The natural tendency is this. and our first need is to recognize it for what it is. and. nor allow it to be the power-spring of the work of God. what an asset he would be to the Church! If only he were the Lord's. but we have not changed the source of those energies. Far too many of us in the past have reasoned as follows. they refuse to live by it. what I have inherited of natural gifts and resources. Consider the matter of eloquence. What is this natural energy? It is simply what I can do. Everything which comes not by new birth but by natural birth is flesh and will only bring glory to man. You will find there are many such things which we carry over into the service of God. but now I utilize the same power to study Corinthians and Ephesians that I used before to pursue history and geography. I am born anew. We know we have all been born of the flesh. therefore we need a new birth. splendid managing powers and sound judgment. I used my keen mind to get the best out of those studies. But those who have not been taught of God rely upon it.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Natural Energy In The Work Of God The power. Then they become converted. not God. 'If that man could be a Christian. We are none of us without the power of the soul. in the matter of our resource for handling the things of God. I have therefore changed my subject of interest. But now my desire has been changed. That statement is not very palatable.
most competent in all matters of business.'s turn to pray hard. I knew the Book they haltingly read. but maybe not in the same way as Mr. A. whether naturally gifted or not. We think too little of the source of our energy and too much of the end to which it is directed. B. very largely in the strength of their carnal equipment! Once I met a young brother—young. He will pray: 'Lord. is a very good speaker: he can talk fluently and most convincingly on any subject. As I was talking to him I said. they had much in the Spirit. The point is that. yet on the other hand he is a splendid manager. The following hypothetical case will help us to test the truth of our argument. Both these men get converted. A. they knew the One of whom the Book spoke. is a poor speaker: he cannot express himself clearly but wanders all round his subject. for he knows full well that he has no organizing ability. I had had a good education and was well versed in the Scriptures. What will happen? The position will be exactly reversed. what has the Lord really been teaching you these days?' 105 . I ask them both to take charge of the practical side of affairs at the convention. Let us suppose now that I call on them both and ask them to speak at a convention. and both become earnest Christians. but perhaps without quite the same urgency. forgetting that with God the end never justifies the means. for though he knows his need of the Lord he is not nearly so conscious of his need in business matters as is Mr. We must see this clearly. and is suspect. and fail to realize that our own possession of it. of course will pray too. that is to say. How many Christian teachers today are teaching others as I was then. The Lord had brought him through much tribulation to gain that knowledge of Himself. Mr. will pray too.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee a question not of comparative value but of origin—of where the resource springs from. 'Brother. B. may easily prove a barrier to the very thing that God is seeking to manifest in us. Now let us suppose that. apart from such a working of the Cross. but in practical things he is a very bad manager. instead of asking them to speak. Shortly after my conversion I went out preaching in the villages. Mr. Do you see the difference between natural and spiritual gifts? Anything we can do without prayer and without an utter dependence upon God must come from that spring of natural life. But after several visits I discovered that. among whom were quite a number of illiterate women. they must know the touch of the Cross in death upon all that is of nature. on the other hand. Of course it is not true that those only are suited for a particular work who lack the natural gift for it. Mr.. and their complete dependence upon the God of resurrection. never coming to a point. I had much in the flesh. so I considered myself thoroughly capable of instructing the village folk. Of course Mr. if you do not give me power for this. B. Now what will happen? I have asked the self-same thing of both men. A. in years. Why? Because he is no speaker. but of what powers we are employing to do it. All too readily do we envy our neighbor who has some outstanding natural gift. It is not so much a matter of what we are doing. but who had learned a good deal of the Lord. but who do you think will pray the harder? Certainly Mr. A. I cannot do it'. despite their illiteracy. and that both accept. because he has something of natural resource upon which to rely. B. those women hand an intimate knowledge of the Lord. In the matter of eloquence he has no resources of his own to depend upon. Now it will be Mr.
So it comes to this. but we must stay for a little longer with this matter of revelation. one does not feel the necessity for light. But there will come a day when God opens our eyes. The Light Of God And Knowledge Of course. I see it!' The word 'purity' is a blessed word. the teaching. We may assent to. "The flesh profiteth nothing. It may last for years. Facing a particular issue we shall have to say. by putting His finger on something which He sees and saying: 'This is natural. as by revelation: 'It is unclean. 'Only one thing: that I can do nothing apart from him. I do not mean to say we cannot do a lot of things. it is impure. but that He has said. Origin determines destination. we can go to the ends of the earth and found missions. 'The Lord has shown me that I can do anything. God is the only legitimate Originator in the universe (Gen. When God opens our eyes to see that the natural life is something He can never use in His work. shall be rooted up" (Matt. We are going on shortly to look at the provision He has made for that deliverance. 'I can do many things! In fact that has been just my trouble. and then you may think you will adjust here and improve there and maybe bring it on a better plane.' Until He does so. this cannot abide. then we find we do not enjoy the doctrine any longer. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. We can take meetings. Anything that you plan and set on foot has its origin in the flesh. for we can. that everything I have done and can do apart from Him is nothing!' We have to come to that valuation. Impurity means mixture. this has its source in the old creation.' 'Do you really mean'. 'What then do you mean when you say you can do nothing apart from Him?' He answered. It is only when one has been apprehended by God. 15:13). I said. but it cannot be done. and we can seem to bear fruit. no'. and seeks to go forward with 106 . Purity means something altogether of the Spirit. 1:1). and it will never reach the realm of the Spirit however earnestly you seek God's blessing on it. and what was "of the flesh" originally will never be made spiritual by any amount of 'improvement'. "Apart from me ye can do nothing". we may agree in principle but we can never really see it. and it will never be otherwise.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee He said. and build churches. but remember that the Lord's word is: "Every plant which my heavenly Father planted not." It is only what comes from above that will abide. Oh. Rather we loathe ourselves for the impurity that is in us. Lord. you know.' So I asked. We cannot see this simply by being told it. he replied. God must teach us what is meant. I know I am well able to do lots of things. and we have to accept His estimate and write it down as nothing. Anything for which we are sufficient in ourselves is 'nothing' in God's estimate. 'that you can do nothing?' 'Well. I have always been so confident in myself. God begins His work of deliverance. and even enjoy. I always associate it with the Spirit. but when that point is reached. if one does not set out to serve the Lord whole-heartedly. but we shall never truly loathe ourselves.
and in doing so are bringing themselves into deeper bondage. We are never told in the Word of God to examine our inward condition. "In thy light shall we see light": we shall know something. or to self-knowledge. Now this is a situation which is really dangerous to Christian life. we shall see. the second is the knowledge imparted by that light. to know what is Divine and what is merely of man. It is: How can I know that I am walking in the Spirit? How do I distinguish which prompting within me is from the Holy Spirit and which is from myself? It seems that all are alike in this. by our analyzing our feelings and motives and everything that is going on inside. what do we do? Do we feel it carefully all over with our hands? No. No turning within. There is "thy light". senses or imaginations. for inward knowledge will never be reached along the barren path of self-analysis. This is in no way related to our daily walk in the Spirit.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Him. But the former passage calls upon us to discern ourselves as to whether we recognize the Lord's body or not. vacillation and despair. to understand the difference between things which are spiritual and things which are carnal. we shall be clear about something. We do not want to live in a fool's paradise. it is when there is light coming from God that we see. I think it is so simple. The first light is the light which belongs to God but is shed upon us. It is not concerned with self-knowledge as such. They are trying to look within. Sight 15 The two apparent exceptions to this are found in 1 Corinthians 11:28. Of course we have to have self-knowledge. in fact. of course not. There are several passages in the Psalms which illumine this subject. The strong command of Paul in the latter passage is to examine ourselves as to whether or not we are "in the faith". to discern what is truly heavenly and what is only earthly. Now those two lights are different. and this is in particular connection with the Lord's table. we are Christians. of whether.N.—W. The first is in Psalm 36:9: "In thy light shall we see light". to know what is of the spirit and what is of the soul. to discriminate to analyze. that one finds how necessary light is. In my conversations with younger brothers and sisters one question comes up again and again. and then. to have a spartan will and yet think we are pursuing the will of God. We have to know what is going on within. In that light everything becomes clear. but some have gone further. If we want to satisfy ourselves that our face is clean. We might say that the first is objective and the second subjective. 15 That way ends only to uncertainty. to know whether God is really leading us or whether we are walking by our feelings. we shall "see light". 31 and 2 Corinthians 13:5. No sight ever came by feeling or analyzing. and then trying to pronounce whether we are walking in the flesh or in the Spirit. to have gone altogether wrong and yet not know we have gone wrong. to differentiate. It is when we have reached a position where we would like to follow God fully that we find light to be the most necessary thing in the Christian life. when we have come into that light. But such self-knowledge does not come by our turning within. There are two lights there. It is a question of the existence or otherwise in us of a fundamental faith. No. no introspective self-examination will ever bring us to that clear place. I think that is one of the best verses in the old Testament. There is a fundamental need of light in order for us to know the mind of God. We find a mirror and we bring it to the light. 107 .
There is mixture. do you not. Then it is we see something which we have never seen before. Some servant of God has been used by Him to confront us with His living Word. Then one day. You realize. I am sure. and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. In those days I was very young and had been converted about two 108 . as we go on. the penetrating Scripture of Truth. of both joints and marrow. There is impurity there. and we do not know of anything much wrong with us. Many of us. In spiritual things we are all 'simple'. With this I think we can pass on from the doctrinal to the practical side of things. who is now with the Lord. 4:12. that settles our questions. are living quite honestly before God. there is no longer need to ask if a thing is right or wrong. it is the Word of God. and that Word has made an entrance into us. you ask. The light of God brings us to see the light concerning ourselves. Some of us have known saints who really knew the Lord. But. His Word has come to us in power. in the light of God radiating from them.). If I did but walk into her room. The point is that however much my self-examination may reveal in me that needs putting right. it giveth understanding unto the simple" (Psalm 119:130 A.V. and it is an abiding principle that every knowledge of self comes to us in that way. It is that which discerns our motives and defines for us their true source in soul or spirit. and I always think of her as a 'lighted' Christian. we have seen something which we never saw before. It is for God to come in and search. what it means to say 'Search me'? It certainly does not mean that I search myself. We know where we are wrong. We are convicted. And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do" (Heb. and know my heart". and active. we meet with a fulfillment of that word: "The entrance of Thy words giveth light". whether from our memory of Scripture or from the page itself. careless of my true condition. and when once it has come. and especially is this so in the matter of our own true nature. I have met one such. O God. In the New Testament the passage which states this most clearly is in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "The word of God is living. 13). We are dependent upon God to give us understanding. and sharper than any two-edged sword. and through praying with them or talking with them. and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit. Yes. and we look up and confess: 'Lord. We have been making progress. It may not always be the Scriptures. I see it. what does it mean in practice for us to come into the light? How does it work? How do we see light in His light? Here again the Psalmist comes to our help. And it is here that the Word of God operates. 'Search me' means 'You search me!' That is the way of illumination. We know. such searching never really gets below the surface. That is not the point. How blind I was! Just fancy that for so many years I have been wrong there and have never known it!' Light comes in and we see light. it is not for me to search.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee only comes by the light of God coming in. My true knowledge of self comes not from my searching myself but from God searching me. "The entrance of Thy words giveth light. Or perhaps we ourselves have been waiting before God and. You remember again how in Psalm 139:23 the writer says: "Search me. Of course that will never mean that I may go blindly on. I was brought immediately to a sense of God.
If we throw ourselves open to God. locked and barred places in our hearts. In many places the eyes of Christians have been opened to see that victory over sins. God is light. to tell her that this or that was the thing to do. What I feel more and more the need of in myself. and where that is the case you will find that such a one is bathed in light. You have not yet got to the root of the evil. so full of man. as items. That came later. 239. is a real revelation of ourselves. Light dawned! It simply put me to shame. Adam let in sin by choosing to have his soul developed to a place where he cold go on by himself apart from God. it fears nothing else. is important in Christian life. God secures a race of men who will be to His glory. ignorance of it is a question of light.—Ed. I repeat that I do not mean we 16 This is one of several references by the author to the late Miss Maragaret E. is still something on the outside.16 Light has one law: it shines wherever it is admitted. Let us say again with the Psalmist: "O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me" (Psalm 43:3). they will be a people whose life—yea. we need to be sincere and humble. 109 . Before I could open my mouth she would just say a few words in quite an ordinary way. of his soul-power. There is one thing that must be touched. and who will be His instrument to accomplish His purpose in the universe. He will be the "tree of life" to them. still superficial. Wrong may be a question of natural strength. and to open ourselves before God! Those who are open can see. my mind is set only in creaturely activities. 256-7. With all these things I came to her to try to persuade her. and that that light illuminates others. Our defeat lies then not only in our being wrong but in our not knowing that we are wrong. 266-7. That is the only requirement. Yes. I want nothing for myself'. That is real witness. not merely his sins. she lived for God alone. Foochow. See also pp. whose very breath—is dependent upon Him. Something happened. and we cannot live in His light and be without understanding. where we think with pride that we are right.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee years. a hundred and one things which I thought would be marvelous if they were all brought to fruition. and that is the very life of the man. is the heart of the matter. Barber of Pagoda Anchorage. therefore. When. Holiness. Written in the front of her Bible were these words: 'Lord. Praise the Lord for any movement toward Himself. The trouble comes when we have closed areas. and what I feel that we all as the Lord's children need to seek from God. lots of schemes for the Lord to sanction. He will reveal. My 'doing' was all so natural. any movement back to real holiness unto God! But that is not enough. one desire. She had but one motive. lots of beautiful thoughts. We praise God that sin is being brought to the notice of Christians today more than hitherto. and that was for God. To make the question of sins to be everything is still to be on the surface. if you only regard sins. Oh. Adam did not let sin into the world by committing murder. and in consequence many are walking closer to the Lord in seeking deliverance and victory over them. You can see the natural strength in some but they cannot see it themselves. We may shut it out of ourselves. The question of the personality of the man. and I had lots of plans. I was brought to a place where I could say: 'Lord. 95-6. but here is someone who is not out for them at all'.
Christ is our light. and we shall seek now to examine an aspect of its work which meets and deals with our problem of the human soul. It does for us what doctrine alone can never do. It kills what should not be there. Ezek. I judge: and my judgment is righteous. Dan. 110 . we know how much of us needs God's drastic dealing if He is to use us. and the real threat to the work of God of our unrestrained soul-life and energy. in its widest meaning. and that flash brought revelation and conviction. As never before. We know fear and trembling as we recognize the corruption of man's nature. Such illumination may not come to us all at once. and that light is God Himself. It was always by light from God. "The life was the light of men" (John 1:4). It sterilizes. John. Ezekiel. (Isa. but the will of him that sent me" (John 5:30). In its radiance the 'dividing asunder of joints and marrow' becomes to us a fact and no mere teaching. because I seek not mine own will. Scripture shows us how the saints were brought to self-knowledge. He is the living Word. For light is the purest thing in the world. I speak not of a sensation but of an inward revelation of the Lord Himself through His Word. Paul. all came to a knowledge of themselves because the Lord flashed Himself upon them. 1:17). will come to our help again. it is darkness. But here the Cross. 10:8. but it will be more and more clear and searching. Rev. Daniel. Acts 9:3-5. We can never know the hatefulness of sin and the hatefulness of ourselves unless there is that flash of God upon us. as servants of God we are finished.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee should be for ever looking in on ourselves and asking: 'Now. and we know that. Peter. Luke 22:61. 62. until we see ourselves in the light of God and all our self-confidence is gone. apart from Him. It cleanses. For only a thorough understanding of the Cross can bring us to that place of dependence which the Lord Jesus Himself voluntarily took when He said: "I can of myself do nothing: as I hear. the hatefulness of our own selves. Isaiah. but gradually. and when we read the Scriptures that life in Him brings revelation. 1:28. 6:5. No. is this soul or is it spirit?' That will never get us anywhere.
But he did not. the Holy Spirit came upon Him. No. so the principle of death and resurrection is the basis of our life and service for Him. Here is a challenge. is the fact of our Lord's death and resurrection. So this is the point. and before His public ministry began. You remember that immediately after the Lord's baptism. Just as the fact of the death and resurrection of the Lord is the ground of our acceptance with God. to secure immediate respect for His ministry by appearing miraculously in the temple court. as we well know. As Son of man He had a will. but the conditions of our service are no less definite. have tempted Him to sin in a more thoroughgoing way. and then He ministered. Even the Lord Jesus Himself served on that basis. but the will of him that sent me". He had a will. we know the meaning of baptism: it is a figure of death and resurrection. That thing in Him which is in distinction from the Father is the human soul. After He had been baptized and had voluntarily taken the ground of death and resurrection. or anything which needed cleansing. You will find in Matthew 3 that. our Lord was baptized. it will be helpful if we approach that problem by considering first the principles which govern our work for Him and from which no one who tries to serve Him may deviate. command that these stones become bread". and it was possible for Him to act from the soul—that is. and of course a body. None but He has trodden this earth and known no sin. What does this mean? It certainly does not mean that the Lord had no will of His own. He was baptized not because He had any sin. from Himself. you feel. As we come now to look at the provision that God has made to meet the problem created by the soul-life of man. Being a perfect Man our Lord had a soul. The basis of our salvation. The Basis Of All True Ministry No one can be a true servant of God without knowing the principle of death and the principle of resurrection. which He assumed when He was "found in fashion as a man". He came to do the will of the Father. He only said: "If thou art the Son of God. Some will certainly raise a question as to whether Your claim is real or not. before His public ministry ever began. He tempted Him to satisfy His essential needs by turning stones to bread. as His own words show. Now we must tread very carefully when we touch our Lord. What did it mean? The implication was this: 'If You are the Son of God You must do something to prove it.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 13: The Path of Progress: Bearing the Cross In our previous chapter we have touched several times upon the matter of service for the Lord. just as you and I have a soul and a body. he knew better. but remember His words: "I seek not mine own will. but He did not do it. and you are inclined to wonder why he tempted Him to do such strange things. Satan came and tempted Him. He might rather. Why do You not settle the matter finally now by coming out and proving it?' 111 . to assume without delay the world dominion destined for Him. Yet as Man He had a separate personality from His Father. What does this teach us? Our Lord was a sinless Man. The ministry of the Lord did not begin until He was on that ground.
We all know the meaning of that. and without the values of the death and resurrection of Christ no such witness is possible. this "power from on high" of which He spoke? It is nothing less than the virtue of His death. in the morning. and resurrection as basis. It is death and resurrection that marks God-recognized ministry. But if this is so—if the Son of man has to go through death and resurrection (in figure and in principle) in order to work. Without that you have nothing. Everything He did was on that ground. from the soul—and. blossoms and bears fruit. So we can safely say that all the work which the Lord Jesus did on earth. Now in a similar situation the Son of man takes another ground. that they may be brought to us. by the stand He took. Later He defines it as His basic life-principle—and I like the word in the Greek: "The Son can do nothing out from himself" (John 5:19). It is of course out of the question. The budding of Aaron's rod proved him to be on a true basis. that was the whole tragedy of the garden. Now what is this power of the Holy Spirit. I would refer you to a familiar passage in the seventeenth chapter of Numbers. The Lord made this very clear to His disciples when He left them. That is the reason why the Spirit could not be given before the Lord had been glorified. The budding rod speaks of resurrection. Then. We have seen that the death of the Lord works in different ways and has different aspects. To use another figure. the Holy Spirit is the Vessel in whom all the values of the death. resurrection and ascension. How does He do so? Twelve dead rods are put before the Lord in the sanctuary over against the testimony. That total denial of the soul-life was to govern all His ministry.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee The whole subtle object of Satan was to get the Lord to act for Himself—that is. and that without the shedding of Blood there is no remission. There is a question among the people as to whether Aaron is truly the chosen of God. the Lord Jesus absolutely repudiated such action. We have learned that our old man has been crucified in order that henceforth we should not serve sin. They have entertained a suspicion. and have said in effect: 'Whether that man is ordained of God or not. the Lord indicates His chosen minister by the rod which buds. The matter of Aaron's ministry has been contested. He had died and He was risen. Then only could He rest upon men and women that they might witness. and God will only recognize as His ministers those who have come through death to resurrection ground. prior to His actual death on the cross. we do not know!' and so God sets out to prove who is His servant and who is not. He is the one who 'contains' those values and mediates them to men. We all know that our forgiveness is based upon the shed Blood. resurrection and exaltation of the Lord are deposited. We know how His death has worked in regard to the forgiveness of our sins. even though as an actual event Calvary still lay in the future. and they are there for a night. can we do otherwise? Surely no servant of the Lord can serve Him without himself knowing the working of that principle in his life. Then we have come further and in Romans 6 have seen how death works to meet the power of sin. was done with the principle of death on the cross. If we turn to the Old Testament we find the same thing is there. and we have praised the Lord that here too His death has worked for our 112 . and He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit to come upon them. man had acted from himself apart from God. In Adam.
They are: Matthew 10:34-39. I cannot satisfy God with my powers. Even with all these experiences we are still unsafe for Him to use until this further thing is effected in us. As we have just seen. Mark 8:32-35. and the Cross has to bring him to the place where he says. and then more particularly how this touches the question of our service for Him. personal holiness. to build twelve feet of wall.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee deliverance. because of there being somewhere something undealt with by the Cross. and he comes under the law and the law finds him out. only. We have seen that three times in the Epistle to the Galatians the 'crucifying' aspect of the Cross is referred to as a thing accomplished. and sometimes that of others also. Now we have to see how the Lord has set out to deal with the soul. Further on still the question of human self-will arises. Luke 17:32-34. and to discover the value of the death of the Lord working in this way. That indeed constitutes a starting point for our ministry. In each you have the Lord Himself speaking to us concerning the soul-activity of man. but at the same time we destroy our own work. and in each a different aspect or manifestation of the soul-life is touched upon. and that is by our bearing the cross daily and following Him. There you find a true man of God trying to please God in righteousness. when they have done so. as spoken of in Romans 7 in relation to holiness of life. but still it does not touch the core of the question. to undo it all by themselves pulling down fifteen feet! We are used in a sense. the soul-life or natural life that is here in view is something further than what we have in those passages which are concerned with the old man or the flesh. The Subjective Working Of The Cross We must keep before us now four passages from the Gospels. He is trying to please God by using his own carnal power. These four passages have something in common. in respect of our old man. there is still a great difference between "the flesh". and the need for consecration is apparent. and John 12:24-26. and in Romans 113 . Then another phase is presented to us in Romans 7 where the question of holiness of life is in view—a living. and we find death working that way to bring about in us a willingness to let go our own wills and obey the Lord. I can only trust the Holy Spirit to do that in me. 'I cannot do it. With all the above being known—and known in experience—there still remains this one sphere more which the death of the Lord must enter before we are actually of use to Him in service. In these verses He makes it very plain that the soul of man can be dealt with in one way and in one way only. We have sought to make quite clear that. There may still be the lack of knowledge of what is meant by the soul.' I believe some of us have passed through deep waters to learn this. and the working of the natural energies of the soul-life in the service of the Lord. God emphasizes the thing He has done once for all in crucifying us with Christ on the Cross. as we say in China. Now mark you. How many of God's servants are used by Him.
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6:6 we have the clear statement that "our old man was crucified", which, if the tense of the word means anything, we might well paraphrase: 'Our old man has been finally and for ever crucified'. It is something done, to be apprehended by Divine revelation and then appropriated by faith. But there is a further aspect of the Cross, namely that implied in the expression 'bearing his cross daily', which is before us now. The Cross has borne me; now I must bear it; and this bearing of the Cross is an inward thing. It is this that we mean when we speak of 'the subjective working of the Cross'. Moreover it is a daily process; it is a step by step following after Him. It is this which is now brought before us in relation to the soul, and let us note that the emphasis here is not quite the same as with the old man. We do not have here the 'crucifixion' of the soul itself, in the sense that our natural gifts and faculties, our personality and our individuality, are to be put away altogether. Were it so it could hardly be said of us, as it is in Hebrews 10:39, that we are to "have faith unto the saving of the soul". (Compare 1 Peter 1:9; Luke 21:19.) No, we do not lose our souls in this sense, for to do so would be to lose our individual existence completely. The soul is still there with its natural endowments, but the Cross is brought to bear upon it to bring those natural endowments into death—to put the mark of His death upon them—and thereafter, as God may please, to give them back to us in resurrection. It is in this sense that Paul, writing to the Philippians, expresses the desire "that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death" (Phil. 3:10). The mark of death is upon the soul all the time to bring it to the place where it is always subordinate to the Spirit and never independently asserts itself. Only the Cross, working in such a way, could make a man of the calibre of Paul, and with the natural resources hinted at in Philippians 3, so distrust his own natural strength that he could write to the Corinthians: "I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:2, 5). The soul is the seat of the affections, and what a great part of our decisions and actions is influenced by these! There is nothing deliberately sinful about them, mind you, but it is simply that there is something in us which can go out in natural affection to another person and which as a result can influence wrongly our whole course of action. So in the first of the four passages before us the Lord has to say: "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:37, 38). You note that to follow the Lord in the way of the Cross is set before us as His normal, His only way for us. What immediately follows? "He that findeth his soul shall lose it; and he that loseth his soul for my sake shall find it" (Matt. 10:39, mg.). The secret danger lies in that subtle working of the affections to turn us away from the pathway of God; and the key to the matter is the soul. The Cross has to deal with that. I have to "lose" my soul in the sense in which the Lord meant those words, and which we are seeking here to explain.
The Normal Christian Life
Watchman Nee
Some of us know well what it means to lose our soul. We can no longer fulfill its desire; we cannot give in to it; we cannot gratify it: that is the 'loss' of the soul. We are going through a painful process to discourage what the soul is asking for. And many a time we have to confess that it is not any definite sin that is keeping us from following the Lord to the end. We are held up because of some secret love somewhere, some perfectly natural affection diverting our course. Yes, affection plays a great part in our lives, and the Cross has to come in there and do its work. Then we pass to the reference in Mark chapter 8. I think that is a most important passage. Our Lord had just taught His disciples at Caesarea Philippi that He was going to suffer death at the hands of the elders of the Jews, and then Peter, with all his love for his Master, came up and rebuked Him and said to Him: 'Lord, do not do it; pity Thyself: this shall never come to Thee!' Out of his love for the Lord he appealed to Him to spare Himself; and the Lord rebuked Peter, as He would rebuke Satan, for caring for the things of men and not the things of God. And then to all present the word was spoken once more: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his soul shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his soul for my sake and the gospel's shall save it" (Mark 8:34, 35, mg.). The whole question at issue is again that of the soul, and here it is particularly of the soul's desire for self-preservation. There is that subtle working of the soul which says, 'If I could be allowed to live I would do anything, be willing for anything; but I must be kept alive!' There you have the soul almost crying out for help. 'Going to the Cross, being crucified—oh that is really too much! Have mercy on yourself; pity yourself! Do you mean to say you are going against yourself and going with God?' Some of us know well that in order to go on with God we have many a time to go against the voice of the soul- our own or other people's—and to let the Cross come in to silence that appeal for self-preservation. Am I afraid of the will of God? The dear saint whom I have already mentioned as having had such an influence upon the course of my life, many times asked me the question: 'Do you like the will of God?' It is a tremendous question. She did not ask, 'Do you do the will of God?' she always asked, 'Do you like the will of God?' That question cuts deeper than anything else. I remember once she was having a controversy with the Lord over a certain matter. She knew what the Lord wanted, and in her heart she wanted it too. But is was difficult, and I heard her pray like this: 'Lord, I confess I don't like it, but please do not give in to me. Just wait, Lord—and I will give in to Thee.' She did not want the Lord to yield to her and to reduce His demands upon her. She wanted nothing but to please Him. Many a time we have to come to the place where we are willing to let go things we think to be good and precious—yes, and even, it may be, the very things of God themselves—that His will may be done. Peter's concern was for his Lord and was dictated by his natural love for Him. We might feel that Peter had a marvelous love for his Lord, sufficient even for him to dare to rebuke Him. Only a strong love could bring one to attempt that! Yes, but when there is purity of spirit without that mixture of soul, you will not be led into Peter's mistake. You will recognize the will of God and you will find that that is what your heart delights in alone. You will no longer even
The Normal Christian Life
Watchman Nee
shed a tear in sympathy with the flesh. Yes, the Cross cuts deeply, and we see here once more how utterly it has to deal with the soul. Once again the Lord Jesus deals with the matter of the soul in Luke chapter 17, and now it is in relation to His return. Speaking of "the day that the Son of man is revealed", He draws a parallel between that day and "the day that Lot went out from Sodom" (verses 29, 30). A little later He speaks of the 'rapture' in the twice repeated words: "One shall be taken, and the other shall be left" (verses 34, 35). But between His reference to the calling of Lot out of Sodom and this allusion to the rapture, the Lord says these remarkable words: "In that day, he which shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and let him that is in the field likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife" (verses 31, 32). Remember Lot's wife! Why? because "whosoever shall seek to gain his soul shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his soul shall save it alive" (verse 33, mg.). If I mistake not, this is the one passage in the New Testament that tells of our reaction to the rapture call. We may have thought that when the Son of man comes we shall be taken up automatically, as it were, because of what we read in 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52: "We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump..." Well, however we reconcile the two passages, this one in Luke's Gospel should at least make us pause and reflect; for the emphasis is here very strongly upon one being taken and the other left. It is a matter of our reaction to the call to go, and on the basis of this a most urgent appeal is made to us to be ready (compare Matt. 24:42). There is surely a reason for this. Clearly that call is not going to produce a miraculous last-minute change in us out of all relation to our previous walk with the Lord. No, in that moment we shall discover our heart's real treasure. If it is the Lord Himself, then there will be no backward look. A backward glance decides everything. It is so easy to become more attached to the gifts of God than to the Giver—and even, I should add, to the work of God than to God Himself. Let me illustrate. At the present time17 I am writing a book. I have finished eight chapters and I have another nine to write, about which I am very seriously exercised before the Lord. But if the call to 'come up hither' should come and my reaction were to be 'What about my book?' the answer might well be, 'All right, stay down and finish it!' That precious thing which we are doing downstairs 'in the house' can be enough to pin us down, a peg that holds us to earth. It is all a question of our living by the soul or by the spirit. Here in this passage in Luke, we have depicted the soul-life in its engagement with the things of the earth—and mark you, not sinful things either. The Lord only mentioned marrying, planting, eating, selling—all perfectly legitimate activities with which there is nothing essentially wrong. But it is occupation with them, so that your heart goes out to them, that is enough to pin you down. The way out of that danger is by the losing of the soul. This is beautifully illustrated in the action of Peter when he recognized the risen Lord Jesus by the lake-side. Though with the others he had returned to his former employment, there
we read that "he cast himself into the sea". as we saw earlier. our soul. But. Now we know the way the Lord Jesus took. Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die. verily. even here. The Son died. the soul asserting itself and trying to manipulate things. if we have received Christ. So then death worketh in us." Here we have the inward working of the Cross of which we have been speaking—the losing of the soul—linked with and likened to that aspect of the death of the Lord Jesus Himself which we have already seen depicted in the grain of wheat. This is the secret of ministry. We are living in the soul. When he heard John's cry of recognition: "it is the Lord". and which I will try now to explain. the soul becoming preoccupied with things. His death with a view to increase. the soul becoming preoccupied with things on the earth: these are still small things. Praise the Lord for the reality of His life within us! But why is there so little expression of that life? Why is there an 'abiding alone'? Why is it not overflowing and imparting life to others? Why is it scarcely making itself apparent even in our own lives? The reason why there is so little sign of life where life is present is that the soul in us is enveloping and confining that life (as the husk envelopes the grain of wheat) so that it cannot find outlet. the treasure in the vessel. it abideth by itself alone. 12). and do not yet touch the real heart of the matter. That is true detachment. It is in this aspect of His death that we are called to die. There is new life in us. 4:11. As Paul says: "We which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake. We are coming to our point. that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. Where is my heart? The cross has to work in us a true spiritual detachment from anything and anyone outside of the Lord Himself. "Verily.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee was now no thought of the ship. and he that hateth his life ('soul') in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. It has the power to impart its life to others. His life emerged in many lives. we are working and serving in our own natural strength. nor even of the net full of fishes so miraculously provided. we are as yet only dealing with the more outward aspects of the soul's activity. sharing thereafter with others the new life of God which is in us. we are 117 . The end in view is fruitfulness. it beareth much fruit. We all have that precious possession. but life in you" (2 Cor. There is something which is deeper yet. but "it abideth alone". The Cross And Fruitfulness Let us read again John 12:24. in order that we may become life-imparters. It is here that He makes clear the value of conformity to His death. and came forth as the first of "many sons". as in the above passages) loseth it. namely. He passed into death. but to do so it must go down into death. There is a grain of wheat with life in it. but if it die. 25. The question at issue is always. and. the path of real fruitfulness to God. He that loveth his life (Greek 'soul'. which is that we lose our own natural life. He let go His life that we might receive it. The soul giving rein to its affections. I say unto you.
and take us through difficult and painful ways. and I had to keep going. Such a crisis occurred in the life of Jacob at Peniel. Preaching had become my very life. He had his feet and he could use them. and that He did when He touched the sinew of Jacob's thigh. It is the soul that stands in the way of the springing up of life. He was a different Jacob. dredging deeply that well-spring of nature. our natural power is touched and fundamentally weakened. The Lord may graciously allow you to go on a long while like that—and not only so but with a fair measure of blessing—until one day that natural force impelling you is touched. This is the life-long condition of service that is laid down in the words: "Let him deny himself. and there you have the ministry attested. God had to cripple that strength of nature in Jacob. and follow me" (Mark 8:34). can transform our whole life and service for God. There you have set forth the death and resurrection. Lose it. and he limped from an injury from which he would never quite recover. so that we no longer dare trust ourselves. but he continued to be lame. We never get past that. but the strength had been touched. the life yielded up and the life fained. and from then on you no longer do it because you want 118 .The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee not drawing from God. he "cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27). It is a wicket gate by which we may enter upon an entirely new pathway. It was as though there was something moving within me that drove me forward. which was brought into the sanctuary for a night—a dark night in which there was nothing to be seen—and then in the morning it budded. for that way lies fullness. but he was trying to compass that end through his own ingenuity and resource. in order to get us there. as his change of name implies. He who evades it "is not worthy of me" (Matt. I can tell you this. But how does this work out in practice? How do I recognize that God is dealing with me in this way? First we must be clear about one thing: the soul with its fund of natural energy and resource will continue with us until our death. Till then there will be an unending day-by-day need for the Cross to operate in us. Jacob continued to walk thereafter. He has had to deal with some of us very harshly. But then at last it is that He can begin to use us. At length there comes a time when we no longer 'like' to do Christian work—indeed we almost dread to do things in the Lord's Name. that for a year after I was converted I had a lust to preach. Jacob knew well that God had said: "The elder shall serve the younger". It was the 'natural man' in Jacob that was seeking to serve God and to attain His end. through a deep and dark experience. 10:38). A Dark Night—A Resurrection Morn So we come back to the almond rod. It was impossible to stay silent. Yet here too there may be a crisis that. but He will do it—where. Death and resurrection must remain an abiding principle of our lives for the losing of the soul and the uprising of the Spirit. once reached and passed. and take up his cross. God must bring us to a point—I cannot tell you how it will be.
You will fear to do anything 'out from' yourself. but you will do it just the same. We are no longer living in it. or it may be just one stroke. you have come to a new place which we speak of as 'resurrection ground'. he can never be quite the same again. with the full use of its faculties. we can still have our body. giving you life. 12:7). The true joy you know in doing His will lies deeper than your variable emotions. then you find God releases you into resurrection. 8). you know what kind of sovereign dealing you will incur if you do it. You have known something of the chastening hand of a loving God upon you. there is no need for us to amputate our hands or feet. When the body becomes our life we live like beasts. something that animates you. Father". has known the touch of the Cross. you know what a bad time you will have in your own heart before the Lord if you move out on the impulse of your soul. That is the spirit of the Servant (Psalm 40:7. and that life varies a good deal. we use it. Before that experience you preached for the sake of satisfaction you got from serving God in that way. long-drawn-out process with some of us. 17). we are no longer drawing from it and living by it. of like and dislike. and to the inheritance and glory that are ours "if so be that we suffer with him" (Rom. It comes only when our soul. and your response to the 'Father of our spirits' is: "Abba. God is bringing you to the place where He has but to express a wish and you respond instantly. under control. It is not that you can derive a certain satisfaction from preaching or from doing this or that work for God. When the soul becomes our life we live as rebels and fugitives from God 119 . But when this is really established in you. a God who "dealeth with you as with sons" (Heb. and yet sometimes the Lord could not move you to do one thing that He wanted done. Death in principle may have had to be wrought out to a crisis in your natural life. You discover that what you have lost is coming back—though not as before. you do it now because it is the will of God. When emotionally you are set on His way you go ahead at full speed. in you. There must be that established in you which means that from henceforth you will really fear yourself. The principle of life is at work in you now—something that empowers and strengthens you. He has therefore to weaken that strength of preference. It is the slave of your temperament. and therefore you do it. until you will do a thing because He wants it and not because you like it. like Jacob. Yet such a servant-spirit is what He seeks and will have in us all. No. and regardless of whether or not it gives you conscious joy.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee to do it but because the Lord wants it.but now under discipline. for. but when your emotions are directed the other way you are reluctant to move at all. In the same way we can have our soul. but when it has. If we want to be spiritual people. even when duty calls. and yet the soul is not now our life-spring. The Spirit Himself bears witness in your spirit to that relationship. the seat of our natural energy and will and affections. Let me make this quite clear again. The way to it may be a painful. Every true servant of God must know at some time that disabling from which he can never recover. but God has His ways and we must have regard to them. You may enjoy it or you may not. but such a spirit does not come naturally to any of us. From henceforth what you have lost will be brought back . You are not pliable in the Lord's hands. 8:16. You were living by the natural life.
you will yield ever after to the slightest touch from God. spiritually. It cannot be hurried. and glory in Christ Jesus. There confronts you a blank wall with no door in it.' That is it. And I cannot tell you how long He will take. as he had. educated. but it is never quite the same again. Lie quiet.. 3:3). Afterwards you will find that everything is given back to you in glorious resurrection. I said. We would like to have death and resurrection put together within one hour of each other. is it? When once your back is broken. but it is only for a night. The Lord graciously laid me aside once in my life for a number of months and put me. everything you valued is slipping from your grasp. "I have therefore my glorying in Christ Jesus in things pertaining to God. And then by degrees He brought things back again. The temptation is always to try to help God by taking things back ourselves. I believe. It was almost as though He had forsaken me—almost as though nothing was going on and I had really come to the end of everything. 18). 'It looks all right. 15:19) and that he is ready now to go on to Rome (1:10) and thence. They have learned. we cannot bear to wait. though we still use our soul faculties just as we do our physical faculties. It must indeed be a full night. and He has left no aspect of our need unmet in His Cross. that there will be a definite period when He will keep you there. 'It is a blessed thing when you know the Lord has met you and touched you in that fundamental way. 28). but in principle I think it is quite safe to say this. fitting the two pieces together again carefully. who could claim to serve God "in my spirit in the gospel of his Son" (Rom. That is spiritual service. there must be a full night in the sanctuary—a full night in darkness. Few can have led a more active life than Paul's. but alienated from the life of God. the secret of such a ministry: "We. embracing as it does the whole Mediterranean world. into utter darkness. worship by the Spirit of God. no doubt. and when we have reached that point God can really use us. Yet in all this service. Disciples who have gone this way can. while you yourself have been passed by and are losing out. and have no confidence in the flesh" (Phil.' There was a plate of biscuits between us on the table. truly echo the words of the apostle Paul. He said to me. Seemingly everyone else is being blessed and used.. and that disabling touch has been received. they are now the servants of the Spirit. 1:9). and I picked one up and broke it in half as though to eat it. To the Romans he puts it on record that he has preached the Gospel from Jerusalem to Illyricum (Rom. We cannot face the thought that God will keep us aside for so long a time. but remember.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee —gifted. but that is all. 120 . Then. But the difficulty with many of us is that dark night. He knows what He is doing. to Spain (15:24. But when we come to live our life in the Spirit and by the Spirit. by word and deed" (Rom. All is in darkness. cultured. It will seem as though nothing is happening. 15:17. that the glory of the Son may be manifested in the sons. his heart is set on one object only—the uplifting of the One who has made it all possible. for the obedience of the Gentiles. if possible. and nothing can measure the difference between what was before and what now is! I was sitting one day at supper with a young brother to whom the Lord had been speaking on this very question of our natural energy. The Lord knows what He is doing with His own. For I will not dare to speak of any things save those which Christ wrought through me.
"a bondservant of Jesus Christ". 121 . as truly as he was.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee May God make each one of us.
that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her" (Mark 14:3. that which is signified by the little word "waste". and she brake the cruse. That is His own statement. 18 The author here takes the fairly common view that the "house of Simon the leper" was the home of Mary. The sisters had to work in the house themselves.. "And while he was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Chapter 14: The Goal of the Gospel For our final chapter we will take as our starting-point an incident in the Gospels that occurs under the very shadow of the Cross—an incident that.—Ed. These words bring us to what I believe the Lord would have us consider finally together. among other things. If a shilling will do and you give a point. in its details. it is a waste.. is at once historic and prophetic. Martha and Lazarus. Waste means that you give something too much for something too little.18 No doubt every penny mattered to them. that what Mary has done should always be coupled with what the Lord has done. namely. If three days will suffice to finish a task well enough and you lavish five days or a week on it. we may gather that the family was not a specially wealthy one. Human reasoning said this was really too much. Verily I say unto you. What does He intend that we should understand by it? I think we all know the story of Mary's action well. Waste "But there were some that had indignation among themselves. From the details given in John chapter 12. Jesus said. 6. where the incident follows not long after her brother's restoration to life. 5). Thus the Lord ordained that the story of Mary anointing Him with that costly ointment should always accompany the story of the Gospel. What is waste? Waste means. it is a waste. 9). for we are told that at this feast "Martha also served" (John 12:2 and compare Luke 10:40).. it was giving the Lord more than His due. Yet one of those sisters. saying. And they murmured against her" (Mark 14:4. and poured it over his head. then that is waste. it is a waste. Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world. and the other disciples supported him. To what purpose hath this waste of the ointment been made? For this ointment might have been sold for above three hundred pence and given to the poor. Simon presumably also being a relative of the two sisters. Mary. If two ounces will do and you give a kilogram. If someone is receiving more than he is considered to be worth.. giving more than is necessary. expended the whole thing on the Lord. in voicing a general complaint that Mary's action was a wasteful one. having among her treasures an alabaster cruse containing 'three hundred pence' worth of ointment. as he sat at meat. there came a woman having an alabaster cruse of ointment of spikenard very costly. That is why Judas took the lead. 122 .
He looked at me from head to foot and from foot to head. There are plenty of poor people. He took me into a teashop where we sat down. In 1929 I returned from Shanghai to my home town of Foochow. Do you mean to tell me that this is what you are?' Looking at me with penetrating eyes. help the poor in some practical way? Why pour it out at the feet of Jesus?' (See John 12:4-6. He is worthy for me to be His prisoner. So let us not be troubled. Nothing short of the Spirit of glory was on me then. Judas felt it a waste. He is worthy for me just to live for Him. Why? Because He intends that the preaching of the Gospel should issue in something along the very lines of the action of Mary here.) That is always the way the world reasons. they count such people are really too good for the Lord. and here was my old professor who taught me law in the school.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee But remember. during your college days we thought a good deal of you and we had hopes that you would achieve something great. never had a place in the hearts of the world. on hearing it. I must confess that. is sheer waste. then how can it be a waste? He is worthy to be so served. and I met one of my old college professors. wherever that Gospel should be carried. with no success. I could look up and without a reservation say: 'Lord. no progress. 'We could manage better with the money by using it in some other way. Let me give a personal instance. All the twelve thought is a waste. but that is what the Gospel is for—to bring us to a true estimate of His worth. even water would have been waste. The Lord says: 'Do not trouble her'. He is worthy! What the world says about this does not matter. We must look at this question of wasting on the Lord from two angles: that of Judas (John 12:4-6) and that of the other disciples (Matt. it is the right course that I have chosen!' To my professor it seemed a total waste to serve the Lord. he asked that very pointed question. nothing to show?' But the very next moment—and I have to admit that in all my life it was the first time—I really knew what it meant to have the "spirit of glory" resting upon me. Here Judas stands for the world. One day I was walking along the street with a stick. everything that was poured out upon Him was waste. In the world's estimation the service of the Lord. To Judas of course. that people should come to Him and waste themselves on Him. I praise Thee! This is the best thing possible. 9). 'Can you not do something better with yourself than this? It is going a bit too far to give yourself altogether to the Lord!' But if the Lord is worthy. who had never called Jesus 'Lord'. namely. and for our present purpose we will run together the parallel accounts. and our giving ourselves to Him for such service. 26:8. He has never been loved. very weak and in broken health. asking me: 'Are you still in this condition. we are dealing here with something which the Lord said had to go out with the Gospel. This is the result that He is seeking. Men 123 . everything had gone. My career. do some social service for their uplift. Why not rather give it for charity. Many say: 'Such-and-such a man could make good in the world if only he were not a Christian!' Because a man has some natural talent or other asset in the world's eyes. so any giving to Him is a waste. 'What waste of a useful life!' they say. Not only was ointment waste. my health. my first desire was to break down and weep. and then he said: 'Now look here. The thought of being able to pour our my life for my Lord flooded my soul with glory.
Everything ought to be used to the full in ways they understand. The one concern in my heart was this: 'She is not used!' Constantly I said to myself. Has someone been telling you that you are wasting your life be sitting still and not doing much? They say. just sitting here and doing nothing!' But no. is the one by whom I have been helped most. Of course we know that the attitude of mind is all too common among Christians which says. brethren. your very self. God forbid that I should preach inactivity or seek to justify a complacent attitude to the world's need. if they could secure an entry somewhere and enjoy a greater acceptance and prominence in certain circles. a waste of everything. a waste of energy. then. There are those who have been very concerned with some dear servants of the Lord on this very ground. but something deeper. but we can stand on this ground. every true work is done to Me'. they had indignation. He wants you and me to be used. nothing is too good for Him. though to some of us at the time this was not so apparent. And yet we find that they said the same thing as Judas. It is not first of all a 124 . 9). go somewhere. a waste of money. saying. When once our eyes have been opened to the real worth of our Lord Jesus. As Jesus Himself says here. You know the Book in a most living way. They could be used to help this or that group of people. Do you not see the need around? Why don't you do something? It is a waste of time. that is enough. They could do so much more. that in approving Mary's action at Bethany. To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much. That however is not what is in view here. 'Why does she not get out and take some meetings. and they not only said it but they were very upset. is the secret? Clearly it is this. "When the disciples saw it. But I do not want to dwell too much on Judas. I cannot thank God enough for her. and given to the poor" (Matt. 26:8. Every true work is not done on the poor. I realize how greatly the Lord was in fact using that dear sister to speak to a number of us who. were at that time in His training school for this very work of the Gospel. Let us go on to see what was the attitude of the other disciples. We do not greatly mind what the world is saying. their whole idea is use.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee may say what they like. do something? It is a waste for her to be living in that small village with nothing happening!' Sometimes. 'Here are people who ought to get out into this or that kind of work. but we do very much mind what other Christians are saying who ought to understand. What. She was used of the Lord in a very real way during those years when I was associated with her. 'Get all you can for as little as possible'. that the Lord said: 'It is a good work. But the question is one of emphasis. the Lord Jesus was laying down one thing as a basis of all service: that you pour out all you have. because their reaction affects us even more than does his. 'No one knows the Lord as you do. we can stand that. when I went to see her. I almost shouted at her. very indignant about it. and if that should be all He allows you to do. they think. as young men. Why are they not more active?'— and in saying so. They could then be used in a far greater way. Let me illustrate. I said. unto Him. "the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world". that they are apparently not doing enough. I think. that is not the first thing with the Lord. certainly. Looking back today. I have spoken already of a sister whom I knew for a long time and who.
The first thing is this. But we have to remember this. It is what the Gospel is for. but He reserves to Himself the right to suspend the service for a time in order to discover to us whether it is that or Himself that holds us. The service of the Lord is not to be measured by tangible results. but the Lord is not so concerned about our ceaseless occupation in work for Him. let me say it. the outflow from us of a life that is produced by the very Cross itself—we give that all up to the Lord. a blessed by-product of the Gospel and not its primary aim. but that is not the most important thing. Why did the Lord say this? Because the Gospel is meant to produce this. God's ways 125 . many a Gospel campaign in which we might have a share. The first question is: Has the Lord been satisfied? There is many a meeting we might address. We have been thinking how the sinner will fare if there is no Gospel. the more you find that you are applying the principle of the world and not of the Lord.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee question of whether 'the poor' have been helped or not.. The Gospel is preached in the first place so that the Lord may be satisfied. God meets his need and showers him with blessings. We could labor and be used to the full. The more you think you can do. many a convention at which we might minister. No. It is not that we are unable to do it. the Lord's first concern is with our position at His feet and our anointing of His head. but that is not the main consideration. Whatever we have as an 'alabaster box': the most precious thing. Often enough the giving to Him will be in tireless service. it seems a waste. that in Divine service the principle of waste is the principle of power. the thing dearest in the world to us—yes. even of those who should understand. The principle which determines usefulness is the very principle of scattering. Praise the Lord. That is not His first object. Praise God! the sinner has his part. sinners will be satisfied! but their satisfaction is. that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of" (Mark 14:9). Ministering To His Pleasure "Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached. To some. but that is what He seeks above all. It is impossible. Have you ever given too much to the Lord? May I tell you something? One lesson some of us have come to learn is this. I am afraid we lay too much emphasis on the good of sinners and we have not sufficiently appreciated what the Lord has in view as His goal.. my friends. Yes. Real usefulness in the hand of God is measured in terms of 'waste'. we may say. Our satisfaction comes unfailingly when we satisfy Him first. and the more you employ your gifts up to the very limit (and some even go over the limit!) in order to do it. that everything should be to the satisfaction of the Son of God. The Gospel is not just to satisfy sinners. I have never met a soul who has set out to satisfy the Lord and has not been satisfied himself. that He will never be satisfied without our 'wasting' ourselves upon Him. It is only when He is satisfied that we shall be satisfied and the sinner will be satisfied.
I have all the bad time. I have given up a ministry. If I can only please Thee. why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on me. She hath done what she could: she hath anointed my body aforehand for the burying" (Mark 14:6-8). so happy. in order to go on with the Lord in this way. But would it? You know perfectly well that it would not. It seems as though we are giving too much and getting nothing—and that is the secret of pleasing God. but he has never given it up. what are we after? Are we after 'use' as those disciples were? They wanted to make every penny of those three hundred pence go to its full length. Sometimes it seems that the Lord hears me. when this is so. but sometimes it seems that He passes my by. The principle of waste is the principle that He would have govern us. enough for the Lord to use you but not enough for Him to shut you up—all would be perfectly all right. and ask yourself again what it is that He values most highly. friends. and sometimes He keeps me waiting for a definite answer. He sees souls saved and the Lord blesses his ministry. You feel that were you to follow in that other brother's steps—were you. Now I try to serve Him. not His work. and whensoever ye will ye can do them good: but me ye have not always.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee with us are all designed to establish in us this other principle.' Real satisfaction is brought to the heart of the Son of God only when we are really. namely. while I have all sorts of complications coming to me. He too had a bright future. that our work for Him springs out of our ministering to Him. for it is as important to us now as it was to her then. I do not mind about that. as people would think. and yet he has much that Christians today regard as spiritual prosperity. The Lord waits to hear us say: 'Lord. to consecrate yourself enough for the blessing but not enough for the trouble. Oh. He has never gone this way. He continues on and he serves the Lord. Takes your eyes off that other man! Look at your Lord. Sometimes He uses me. I have foregone certain attractive possibilities of a bright future. He is successful—I do not mean materially. and this is something of which we can have a new application today. Then. In these verses the Lord Jesus introduces a time-factor with the word 'beforehand'. but the first thing for us must be the Lord Himself. You say: 'I have given up a position. it is enough'. The whole question was one of obvious 'usefulness' to God in terms that could be measured and put on record. but spiritually—and I sometimes think he looks more like a Christian than I do. Anointing Him Beforehand "Let her alone. what do I get out of this? He has a good time. I compare myself with that other fellow who is in a certain big system. But we must come down to very practical issues. shall we say. so satisfied. What is the meaning of it all? Am I wasting my life? Have I really given too much?' So there is your problem. After all. For ye have the poor always with you. 'wasting' ourselves upon Him. We all know that in the age to come we shall be called to a greater work—not to 126 . 'She is doing this for Me. I do not mean that we are going to do nothing.
I will set thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matthew 25:21. there will be a greater work. for the work of God's house will go on. Now I suggest that in just such a way the matter of time may be important to us also. Yes. And the Lord will not be satisfied with anything less from us than that we too should have done 'what we could'. But today—what are we doing today? Several days after Mary broke the alabaster box and poured the ointment on Jesus' head. Of Mary the Lord said: "She hath done what she could". who anointed Him before hand. as things apart. for that is not the point here. however small. but they could not always have Him. The poor would always be with them. Today it is His crowning that is in view—when He shall be acclaimed in glory as the Anointed One.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee inactivity. The Lord has to open our eyes to His worth. What does that mean? It means that she had given up her all. Yes. remember. for He had risen. ten thousand. She had lavished on Him all she had. By this. our dearest. dare anyone say it is a waste? The idea of waste only comes into our Christianity when we underestimate the worth of our Lord. be it one thousand. they are as nothing compared with work that is done to the Lord. working for the souls of men and for the eternal good of the sinner—all these so necessary and valuable things—are right only if they are in their place? In themselves. just as in the story the care of the poor went on. represented by this pouring out of the ointment. nothing will be too good. nothing too costly for Him. but yet that it will be most blessed for those who have poured out their all upon the Lord today. There was something. The others never did it. the Christ of God. there were some women who went early in the morning to anoint the body of the Lord. I do not mean the expenditure of our effort and energy in trying to do something for Him. Did they do it? Did they succeed in their purpose on that first day of the week? No. When we see Him face to face I trust that we shall all break and pour out everything for Him. we shall pour out upon Him. good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things. which Mary had to do beforehand or she would have no later opportunity. She had kept nothing in reserve for a future day. and yet on the resurrection morning she had no reason to regret her extravagance. and we shall not count it a shame to have done so. there was only one soul who succeeded in anointing the Lord. and compare Matthew 24:47 and Luke 19:17). then we shall pour out our all 127 . then of course to give Him anything at all. or even a million pounds. His burial was already in view that day in the home in Bethany. and I pay the high price asked for it. But when He is really precious to our soul. What the Lord Jesus looks for in us is a life laid at His feet—and that in view of His death and burial and of a future day. the costliest. will seem to us a wicked waste. and that the whole question for us is : What am I doing to the Lord today? Have our eyes been opened to see the preciousness of the One whom we are serving? Have we come to see that nothing less than the dearest. I believe that in that day we shall all love Him as we have never done now. everything we have. If there is in the world some precious art treasure. "Well done. is fit for Him? Have we come to see that working for the poor. working for the benefit of the world. our most priceless treasure. The whole question is: How precious is He to us now? If we do not think much of Him. the most precious. and it was Mary.
something has been broken in that life. What God is demanding of us now is represented by that flask of alabaster: something mined from the depths. The odor that filled the house that day in Bethany still fills the Church today. has been willing to be imprisoned by Him and has thus learned to find satisfaction in the Lord and nowhere else—then immediately you become aware of something. one who has suffered. you may or may not seem to be much used in an outward way. because You are worthy!'—and the Lord has got what He desired. What is the significance of this? Whenever you meet someone who has really suffered—someone who has gone through experiences with the Lord that have brought limitation. By the breaking of that flask and the anointing of the Lord Jesus. you cannot produce such impressions of God upon others without the breaking of everything. It is rather that you might be able. Everyone could smell it and none could be unaware of it. something turned and chased and wrought upon. It needed but one stroke to break the flask for the Lord. People will scent Christ in you. and impressions create hunger. The least saint in the Body will detect that. one who has not moved freely. to impart God. independently. the presence of God. Perhaps you may have been asking the Lord for a long time that He will be pleased to use you in such a way as to impart impressions of Himself to others. He will sense that here is one who has gone with the Lord. we dare not break it. That kind of life creates impressions. That prayer is not exactly for the gift of preaching or teaching.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee upon Him! But it is a precious thing—indeed it is a far more precious thing to Him—that we should anoint Him now. May He receive such an anointing from us today. Fragrance "And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment" (John 12:3). not of what we do or what we preach. even your most precious possessions. and so you smell the odor. from the very depth of our being. instead of trying to break free in order to be 'used'. and we break it and pour it out and say: 'Lord. and who. and we have given our consent to God's judgment upon it and learnt to know in experience its cutting off. not with any material oil but with something costly. in your touch with others. the house was pervaded with the sweetest fragrance. Immediately your spiritual senses detect a sweet savour of Christ. But if once that point is reached. That which is merely external and superficial has no place here. Something has been crushed. the sense of God. here it is. we cherish as Mary cherished that flask—and we would not. It comes now from the heart. but who has known what it is to let go everything to Him. but God will begin to use you to create a hunger in others. something from our hearts. Dear friends. It has already been dealt with by the Cross. 128 . It is all Yours. but that breaking and the fragrance of that anointing abides. something that. and we come to the Lord with that. because it is so truly of the Lord. at the feet of the Lord Jesus. Mary's fragrance never passes. We are speaking here of what we are.
it meant to her just that. after all.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee and hunger provokes men to go on seeking until they are brought by Divine revelation into fullness of life in Christ. admire its appearance. and together we knelt down and prayed with wet eyes. What are people sensing about us? We may leave many kinds of impressions: we may leave the impression that we are clever. we come to Him with all we have. No true work will ever begin in a life without first of all a sense of need being created. But how can this be done? We cannot inject spiritual appetite by force into others. The first thing for which He sets us here is to create in others a hunger for Himself. There must be something—a willingness to yield. what will be their reaction? They will talk about it. God does not set us here first of all to preach or to do work for Him. I am willing to break my heart in order that I may satisfy Thy heart!' To talk thus of heart-break might with many of us be merely romantic sentiment. I was with her at the time. We 129 . and that is the working of the Cross in us with regard to the pleasure of the heart of God. And so it is with the things of the Spirit. If you set a delicious cake in front of two men who have just had a heavy meal. Hunger has to be created. Many of us have been used to the full—have been used. even the most cherished things in our spiritual experience—and we make known to Him: 'Lord. I am willing to let go all of this for You: not just for Your work. not for Your children. whom she had observed but whom she did not know well. It was not what Elisha said or did that conveyed that impression. which passeth by us continually" (2 Kings 4:9). That is. The Gospel has as its one object the producing in us sinners of a condition that will satisfy the heart of our God. and that I do not mind how much it costs me to do so. By his merely passing by she could detect something. that we are this or that or the other. It demands that I seek His pleasure. Looking up she said: 'Lord. but in the particular situation in which she was. too much—but we do not know what it means to be wasted on God. This is what I feel to be the heart of everything. she said: "Behold now. I perceive that this is an holy man of God. discuss the recipe. drawing them out and on to know the Lord. I always like to think of the words of that "great woman" of Shunem. to be wasted! It is a blessed thing to be wasted for the Lord. not for anything else. The sister of whom I have spoken came once into a situation that was very difficult for her: I mean. all we are— yes. So many who have been prominent in the Christian world know nothing of this. argue about the cost—do everything in fact but eat it! But if they are truly hungry it will not be very long before that cake is gone. that I seek to satisfy Him only. what prepares the soil for the preaching. that we are gifted. but what he was. but for Yourself!' Oh. This matter of our impact upon others turns upon one thing. a breaking and a pouring out of everything to Him—which gives release to that fragrance of Christ and produces in other lives an awareness of need. But no: the impression left by Elisha was an impression of God Himself. we cannot compel people to be hungry. it was costing her everything. In order that He may have that. and it can be created in others only by those who carry with them the impressions of God. she could see. I would say. Speaking of the prophet.
When. 2:14). which always leadeth us in triumph in Christ. The Lord grant us grace that we may learn how to please Him. 130 . like Paul. we make this our supreme aim (2 Cor. 5:9). "But thanks be unto God.The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee like to be always 'on the go': the Lord would sometimes prefer to have us in prison. the Gospel will have achieved its end. We think in terms of apostolic journeys: God dares to put his greatest ambassadors in chains. and maketh manifest through us the savour of his knowledge in every place" (2 Cor. "And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment (John 12:3).
The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Indexes Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2:7 2:21-23 3 3 3 3:4 3:6 14 Exodus 12:13 14:13 26:31 28:36 Leviticus 16 Numbers 17 2 Kings 4:9 2 Chronicles 3:14 Psalms 8:4-8 36:9 40:7-8 43:3 73:25 106:12 110 119:130 139:23 Isaiah 6:5 Jeremiah 17:9 Ezekiel 1:10 1:28 10:14 36:26 Daniel 10:8 Joel 2:28-29 Matthew 1:20 3 5:17 5:18 5:21-48 6 7:14 10:34-39 10:37-38 10:38 10:39 15:13 16:16-17 16:17 18:19-20 20:3 20:6 24:42 24:47 25:21 26:8-9 26:8-9 26:41 27:51 Mark 8 8:32-35 8:34 8:34-35 11:24 14:3 14:4-5 14:6 14:6-8 14:9 14:9 16:16 Luke 2:22 10:40 14:27 14:27 15 15:18 17 17:29-30 17:31-32 17:32-34 17:33 17:34-35 19:17 21:19 22:61-62 John 131 .
The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee 1:4 1:12-13 1:13 1:14 3:5 3:6 3:6 3:8 5:19 5:30 6:57 12 12:2 12:3 12:3 12:4-6 12:4-6 12:24 12:24-25 12:24-26 12:31 15:4 15:5 16:13 17:17 19:30 20:17 Acts 2:16 2:32-36 2:33 2:33 2:33 2:33 2:34 2:34-35 2:35 2:36 2:36 2:38-39 9:3-5 16:31-34 Romans 1 1 1:1-5:11 1:9 1:10 1:16 3 3 3:9 3:23 3:23 3:23 3:23 3:23 3:24-26 3:24-26 3:25 3:28 4 4:5 4:8 4:25 4:25 5 5 5 5 5:1 5:1 5:1 5:5 5:8 5:8 5:8-9 5:9 5:9 5:10 5:12-21 5:12-21 5:12-6:23 5:12-8:39 5:12-8:39 5:12-8:39 5:19 5:19 5:19 5:19 5:19-21 5:20 5:21 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6:1-2 6:1-11 6:2 6:2 6:3 6:3 6:3 6:3 6:3-4 6:4 6:4 6:4 6:4 6:4 6:4 6:5 6:5 6:5 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:6 6:7 6:7 6:8 6:9 6:9 6:10 6:11 6:11 6:11 6:11 6:11 6:11 6:11 6:11 6:11 6:11 6:12-13 6:12-23 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:14 6:14 6:16 6:16 6:19 6:19 6:19 6:19 6:22 6:23 6:23 6:23 6:23 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7:1-3 7:1-4 7:1-8:39 7:3-4 7:4 7:4 7:4 7:4 7:5 7:7 7:7-9 7:12 7:14 7:14 7:14 7:18 7:18-19 7:19 7:23 7:24 7:25 7:25 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8:1-2 8:2 8:2 8:2 8:3 8:4 8:5 8:5-8 8:6 8:6-7 8:8 8:8 8:9 8:9 8:9 8:14 8:14 8:16 8:16-17 8:16-18 8:16-18 8:21 8:29 8:29 8:29-30 8:29-30 8:29-30 8:30 8:31 8:33-34 8:33-34 8:33-34 8:35 8:35-39 8:37 8:38 10:10 11 12 12 12 12 12:1 12:1 12:2 12:2 12:3 12:3 12:3-6 12:5 15:17-18 15:19 15:24 15:28 1 Corinthians 1:30 1:30 1:30 2:2 2:5 2:7-10 3:16 6:19-20 11:28 11:30 11:31 12:4-6 15:45 15:45 15:47 15:50 15:51-52 2 Corinthians 2:14 3:18 4:11 4:11-12 4:18 5:7 5:9 5:14 5:14 5:17 5:17 11:2 13:5 13:14 Galatians 2:20 2:20 2:20 3:24 4:19 4:19 5:16 5:17 5:19 5:22 5:22 5:24 6:14 6:14 6:14 Ephesians 1:3 1:3 1:4 1:17 1:17-18 1:18 1:19-20 2 2:5-6 2:5-6 2:13 2:13 3:9-11 5 5 5 5 5 5:25 5:25-27 6:12 Philippians 2:8-9 2:12-13 3 3:3 3:3 3:10 4:13 Colossians 1:12-13 1:16-17 1:22 1:28 1:29 2:10 1 Thessalonians 5:23 2 Timothy 4:7 132 .
The Normal Christian Life Watchman Nee Hebrews 2:10 2:10 2:10-11 2:11 4:12 4:12-13 7 7 7:7 7:9-10 7:14-17 9:11-12 9:12 9:12 9:14 9:22 10 10 10:2 10:19 10:20 10:22 10:22 10:22 10:29 10:39 11 11:1 11:1 12:7 1 Peter 1:5 1:9 1:18-19 3:20 3:21 3:21 2 Peter 1:4 1 John 1:7 2:1-2 3:9 5:11-12 5:14-15 Revelation 1:17 12:10 12:10 12:11 133 .
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subset: commoncrawl