life each day must be the same as it was on the very first day you
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2. Acknowledge Our Own Inability and Accept Christ As All. Your life each day must be the same as it was on the very first day you crossed the threshold of victory. Each morning upon getting up you will pray, "O God, I am before You as unable and feeble and unchanged as before. But, God, I thank you because You are still my life, my holiness and my victory. I believe during the entire day ahead You will live out Your life in me. I praise and thank You, for all is Your grace, all is done by Your Son."
Yet there are a few things to which you need to pay attention, and these will be discussed below.
Two Kinds of Temptation and the Ways of Dealing with Them
Let us recall that brother mentioned earlier who was knocked off his bicycle while cycling home after a meeting. It so happened that he was not even thinking of losing his temper, yet he exploded. If there had been time to reflect, he might have been able to suppress his temper. But what happened to him did not give him the opportunity to think. Let me therefore observe that the temptations which we daily encounter are of two kinds: one sort of temptation comes suddenly upon us and gives no time; another sort comes slowly to us through progressive suggestions. One kind gives us no time to reflect; the other gives us time to consider. We agree that it is easier to overcome temptation which gives us time to think than it is to overcome temptation which gives us no time to reflect. In view of this, then once we have crossed the threshold of victory, we need to pray concerning these two things every morning; otherwise, we shall fall.
First, we should say to the Lord, "O Lord, deliver me in the midst of temptations which give me no time to reflect, so that I may not sin." The Lord will enable you to overcome such unexpected temptations. Such prayer is most precious. It has delivered many souls.
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We have no time to consider the entire fifth chapter of Romans; I will simply comment a little about it here. Romans 5.12-19 teaches us that our union with Christ is similar to our union with Adam. Previously, we sinned because we were joined to Adam; now we practice righteousness because we are joined to Christ. For example, how many of us have to exert any effort to blow up? None, obviously, because we know that our temper flares up just as soon as it is touched by the slightest provocation. Due to the union with Adam, our losing our temper is most natural. Our union with Adam results in sinning without the need of any resolve or effort on our part to bring it about. Yet this is also true with regard to the life in Christ promised to us by God. You should say to the Lord, "As I previously had been united with Adam so that I could sin without any resolve or pondering, so today I am in Christ in order that I may be patient, kind, or whatever without any resolve, pondering, or resisting on my part. O Lord, though I have no time to reflect, yet I praise and thank You that my union with Christ is as deep as that union was with Adam. Accordingly, when temptation comes to me today, and even if it gives me no time to reflect or resist, You have already manifested Your gentleness, holiness, and victory through me."
If you stand before God on that position, you will overcome this first kind of temptation. As you rise up in the morning, you believe that God will deliver you from temptation which gives you no time to think. Each morning you believe that the life of Christ will live out His victory when you are unconscious of it. The question is therefore reduced to this matter of faith. All the facts of God will become your experience if you believe.
Second, regarding the other kind of temptation which does not arrive suddenly but rather slowly and persistently, what should you do about it? Do not resist, simply ignore it. The whole issue is centered upon Christ. You have not changed; you are still weak and have no power to resist. You cannot and you will not. As you were unable before, you are still unable now. You simply raise your head
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and look at the Lord in prayer, acknowledging that He is able, because He is not weak but is all powerful in you. Stand into this position, and the temptation will flee. When you try to strive and resist, the temptation seems unwilling to leave you. But when you say you cannot but God can, when you glory in His power as well as in your weakness, the temptation immediately vanishes.
The just Shall Live by Faith
Some brothers have asked if they will never sin again once they have crossed the threshold to victory. My answer is, eventually we shall arrive at such a place, but we still have the possibility of sinning. What kind of living do the Scriptures show us? They unveil the fact that the Christian life is one of faith: "the righteous shall live by faith" (Rom. 1.17b).
There are two realms before us: one is the physical world, the other is the spiritual world. With our five senses, we live in the first; with our faith we live in the second. When viewing yourself from your own vantage point, you readily acknowledge you are yet a sinner, unclean and proud, as is the rest of the world. But when viewing yourself in Christ with the eye of faith, you realize your hot temper and hardness are all gone. The problem today is that you must choose daily between these two realms. We human beings are rational, emotional, and volitional in our constitution. Our will is free to choose either of these two worlds, and the one we choose shall be the world we live in. If you rely on the five senses and thereby live in the physical world, you will manifest this world in your life. But if by faith you live in the spiritual world, you will express in your life the spiritual world. In other words, when you are governed by your mind, your feelings and your self-will, you immediately live in Adam; but when you are governed by faith you instantly live in Christ. You are torn between these two polarities: if you rely on feeling, you live in Adam, but if you rely on faith you live in Christ.
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And when you live in Christ, all that is in Him becomes your experience.
The Bible does not teach the doctrine of the eradication of sin. Yet according to God's work and provision and command, no believer should practice sin. We ought to manifest Christ daily, and we should be more than conquerors daily. Nonetheless, the moment we live in our feelings, we fall. We should instead live daily in faith, and thus shall we substantiate all that is in Christ.
Immediately Restored by the Blood After Failure
If we unfortunately fail, however, what should we do? We may at once come to God and lay our sin under the precious blood of Christ. In the very next second, we may look at Heaven and say: "O God, I thank and praise You, Your Son is still my life and my holiness. And Your Son shall live out His victorious life through me." We can be restored in a few seconds. We do not need to wait for five minutes or an hour. Oftentimes, God has already forgiven us and cleansed us from our sins, yet we think we ought to suffer and be punished a little longer so that our sin may be cleansed better. This is making trouble for ourselves. It is still living by feeling, thus living in Adam.
Perhaps someone will ask if after victory there are still failures which require the cleansing of the precious blood? In view of this question, we need first to inquire as to what, if any, is the difference between the time before and after entering into victory, Let me say that there is a vast difference! Before you crossed the threshold of victory, your life was a defeated one. You may have overcome occasionally, but defeat was more your norm. Upon crossing the threshold, however, your life became a victorious one. You may indeed sometimes fail today, yet you are always victorious. Formerly, there were more defeats, few victories; now though, there are less defeats, more victories. Previously, defeat was the rule. Your temper was always bad, your thoughts were always unclean, your
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attitude was always hard, and your nature was always jealous. You were usually bound by these sins, with victory quite rare. But now that you have obtained victory, your failure has become infrequent. Even when you fail today, you are not permanently bound by that sin.
Before victory, you were perplexed after having failed because you did not know how to be restored to the fellowship and the light of God. It seemed as though you had to climb a thousand steps, which was more than you could possibly do. After victory, however, you can today be restored in a few seconds following defeat. You immediately confess your sin, instantly get cleansed by the precious blood, and at once you are able to thank and praise God, because Christ lives out His victory through you again. And such is the difference between the two.
Maintain a Proper Relationship with Christ Daily
"The witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life" (1 John 5.11-12). How is this life that wins given to us? It is done so in the Son. There can be no victorious life without the Son. Whoever has the Son of God has the life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have the life. It is not merely that God gives life to us; He gives this life to us in the Son. To receive this life that wins, we receive the Son of God, not simply receive life. For this reason, whenever our relationship with Christ becomes strained, our life is confronted with a problem. The moment we doubt as to the faithfulness of Christ and His promise, we fail in our life. For God has not given us patience, gentleness and humility; He has instead given us all these in His Son. If our relationship with God's Son becomes abnormal, our victory is instantly lost. We therefore need to maintain a proper relationship with Christ daily.
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Let us say to the Lord each day, "O Lord, You are still my head, and I am still a member of Your body. You are my life and my holiness." If you turn your eyes upon yourself, you lose sight of these realities. But if your eyes are fixed on Christ, you have all these facts in experience. And this is what faith is all about. You cannot lay hold of holiness, victory, patience and humility outside of Christ. But having Christ you have holiness, victory, patience and humility. A Chinese proverb says: Take care of the green mountain, and you have no fear of a lack of wood for fuel. Figuratively speaking, God has not given us wood; He has given us our green mountain which is Christ. As long as this mountain exists, the wood supply of holiness, patience and so forth will just naturally exist and be ours. Hence, by daily believing in the Son of God who lives in us, we have all these things in our daily experience. A principle reason for the defeat of many Christians is because they live by feeling instead of living by faith.
In the event of defeat, it is not because the past experience is untrustworthy, but because faith is missing. Never accept the thought that we need to fail after victory. Before victory, we did need to fail. God permitted us to fail and to fail deeply, that we might know our own powerlessness. But after we know victory, failure is not necessary. And failure becomes incidental when it does occur. In Adam, we feel cold, lifeless, hard and unclean; and so we are what we feel. Today in Christ, however, we declare we have holiness, gentleness and victory; and thus we have these things in experience.
Grow through Seeing the Truth and Accepting Grace
Let us now see what real growth is. We should grow after we have victory. Yet some may boast that all is well now that they have gotten the victory. They may indeed have the victory. Without passing through the gate, one cannot walk down the road. But they should know that they have only crossed the threshold, they as it
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were have only passed through the gate. Only after victory is there the possibility of advancement and growth. Yet we can only manifest victory over the sins we already know, not the sins that we do not know. Hence with regard to the latter sins growth is absolutely necessary.
As regards the particular sin you already know about, let us suppose you have a hot temper. Once knowing the victory that is in Christ, your patience has become so perfect that it cannot be improved. And why? Because this perfect patience is Christ himself imparted to you. The patience you now have is exactly the same as the patience of Christ exhibited in His thirty-three and a half years' walk on the earth. Unless your patience is false, true patience is Christ your patience; therefore, this patience of yours today cannot be more patient. And thus you have manifested the victory of Christ over this particular sin you already knew.
Yet there are sins of which we are not conscious, and the victory in Christ has not been manifested over these sins. We therefore need the word of John 17 in regard to these sins: "Sanctify them [Christ's followers] in truth" (v.17a). On the one side is 1 Corinthians 1.30 which tells us that "Christ Jesus ... was made unto us wisdom from God, both righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (mg.); on the other side is John 17.17a—"Sanctify them in the truth." What sanctifies us in holiness is Christ; what expands our capacity for holiness is the truth. Who understands the entire Bible? No one. We all come to understand it gradually. Truth tells us what is right and what is wrong. So that many things we did not previously know to be sinful, we today consider to be so. Matters in our lives we did not reckon as sins two weeks ago we now realize are sinful. Even things in the more distant past we thought to be good we today look upon as sinful.
Why is there this difference between the present and the past? Because the more we understand the truth, the more sins are
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discovered. And the more we discover sins in our lives the more we need Christ as our very life. So that as the capacity for uncovering sins increases, the need to have Christ also increases more and more. Day by day let us read the word of God carefully so that we may know what is sinful. The more sins we discover, the more we will ask God to show us how Christ is our victory and supply in these areas. Hence the light of the truth is absolutely essential to our growth, for the light of the truth will expose our many faults and our uselessness. As the light of the truth reveals our actual situation, our capacity is thereby enlarged. And the larger the capacity, the more the absorption of Christ to be our very life.
I like very much the word in 2 Peter 3: "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (v.18a). This is the only place in the entire Bible where growth is mentioned. It is a growing in the grace. No believer grows into grace, it is always growing in the grace.
Now grace means that God does for me. So to "grow in the grace" means I need God to do more for me. Five things He has already done for me, yet there are three more things I will need Him to do for me. As my need increases, I need God to do more for me. Such is the relation between grace and truth. Truth points out my lack, and grace supplies my need. Truth shows where I am lacking, and grace replenishes the lack. Hallelujah, God is not only the truth, He is also the grace! The people in the time of the Old Covenant always failed because they had the truth but not the grace. They had the law, yet they did not have the power to keep the law. We thank and praise God that though "the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1.17). We today have the truth to unveil and the grace to supply.
Hereafter you may come to God and pray: "O God, I am forever a beggar. Today I come for my need; tomorrow and the day after tomorrow I will come again for my need. Thank God, I have need
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every day." If you come to Him in this manner, you will grow in grace. Time and again you see your failure, so time and again you ask God for more. You acknowledge you are helpless, therefore you need Him to be responsible for you. You need Him to be more and more responsible for you. Just as soon as you are conscious of your fault, the first thing you do is to pray, "O God, I confess my sin. Once more I learn a lesson. I can never be changed, and I am not going to try to change myself. O God, I thank You, once again I glory in my weakness. I thank You, that because You are able, You can take away my weakness." Each time you glory in your weakness, each time the power of Christ will overshadow you. Every time you say you cannot, every time God manifests His might. By continually doing this, you will constantly grow.
As we have said, there are many sins we are not conscious of, but as we come to know them through the truth of God's word, let us tell God immediately that we have sinned and that we need Christ to live out His life for us. Allow me to give a testimony at this point. After a person did me some wrong, I uttered a few hasty words to him. I knew I should not say these words, yet I argued that since he had wronged me so gravely and had not apologized to me, why should I conduct myself towards him without fault? Nevertheless, God wanted me to apologize. I did not hate the person who had wronged me. As a matter of fact, I had forgiven him. Still, I needed to confess my sin. I figured I was not too bad, yet I was unable to do what the light of truth in Matthew 5 revealed to me I should do: "Love your enemies" (v.44a). I reasoned that if I could love him, I could love anybody. Actually, I had composed a letter in which I had apologized to him for my hasty words. Now, though, I realized I could not love. So I could not send off that letter. I certainly could not write him until I could love him. I did not hate him; in fact, I had forgiven him; but I could not love him. Only God could. For God says love is truth; therefore not to love is a sin. I now wanted to overcome. I must fight the fight of faith. So I told God that unless He caused me to love, I could not love. One day I could honestly say I could not. And one
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day I could also truly say that God could. And on that day, I could love him. So that on the one hand truth says we should love; on the other hand, grace supplies us with the power to love. In dealing with such matters as this that I have just mentioned, sometimes a mere second will do; at other times, it may take several days.
Miss Fischbacher had a fellow worker who continually troubled her with all kinds of harassment. Whenever sister Fischbacher would say there was such and such a thing, she would say there was no such thing; or if Miss Fischbacher said there was no such thing, this fellow worker would say just the opposite. She seemed persistently to try to discredit Miss Fischbacher before men. Our sister tried to be patient with the fellow worker, but was at a loss as to how to deal with the situation. Each time she saw this fellow worker, she showed kindness by patting the latter's shoulder or by shaking hands with her. Outwardly, all appeared well, but inwardly something was amiss.
One day sister Fischbacher read the truth of 1 Peter 1.22: "Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently." She said to herself that she did not even love her fellow worker, how much less, then, could she love her fervently? So she prayed, "O God, I have no victory over this matter. I have found out that it is a sin. You say I must love the brethren fervently, but I cannot." She asked God to deliver her from this sin. She did not hate, yet she could not love. Each time she met her fellow worker, she tried her best to love, but this was impossible.
One day she shut herself in her room and confessed: "O God, I should love her, but I cannot. This is sin. If I cannot love her today, what will happen to me?" She prayed for three hours until the love of Christ filled her heart. At that moment, she could have even died for that sister. She not only loved her, but now she loved her fervently. With such fervent love in her heart, she prayed for her fellow worker the whole night. The next day in the afternoon after work, sister
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Fischbacher prayed for that sister again. And as a result, this fellow worker came through into victory and power.
Now this is an example of what is meant by John 17—"sanctify them in the truth" (v.17a). This is what is meant by growing in the grace. Truth causes you to see sin, and grace supplies you with power to overcome that sin. Do not let a transgression go undealt with once it is found out, for thus shall you grow daily in grace.
There were three English ladies who served the Lord in the interior of China. One was engaged, while the other two vowed to remain single. Yet the sister who was engaged was the unhappiest of all. Although her finacé wrote her often, which gave her comfort, she felt downcast soon afterwards. Spiritually speaking, she was one who drank but was thirsty again.
One day while she was in her room she felt terribly lonesome, so she cried again. The two other sisters then asked her why she felt lonesome. Was not her finacé frequently writing to her? If anybody should feel lonesome, they observed, it should be them. After they had said these words, they returned to their room and began to feel lonesome too. They thought to themselves that they had every right to be lonesome since they were laboring for the Lord in the interior of China without good food and a good dwelling place! Alas, how sin is contagious!
Nevertheless, as they continued to be disturbed, they remembered the word of the Lord to His disciples: "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28.20b). They also recalled the word of the psalmist who said: "In thy presence is fulness of joy; in thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Ps. 16.11). Whereupon they knelt and prayed, "O Lord, it is a sin to feel lonesome. You have said that You are with us to the end of the world; therefore, we confess that feeling lonesome is a sin. You have said that in Your presence is fulness of joy and at Your right hand are
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pleasures forevermore; therefore, we acknowledge that feeling lonesome is sin." And sure enough, once they had dealt with this sin, loneliness never came back to them. Hallelujah!
Each day we may discover a new sin or a new failure in our lives, yet daily there can be the fresh supply of God's grace; "for of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace" (John 1.16). We shall receive, and receive again, of His grace.
One sister who was laboring for the Lord in India worried a lot. One day she read Philippians 4.6: "In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." She saw that worrying was sin and not giving thanks was also sin. Whenever we realize what is sinful, let us come to the Lord and confess it; but at the same time let us also confess that the Lord lives in us. This will be growth in our lives.
The nature of victory in Christ is absolute and cannot be improved upon, but the scope of victory is ever enlarging. The light each receives varies. One who receives more light makes more progress, while the one who receives less light grows less. He who knows more of what sin is receives more of Gods supply, whereas he who knows less of what sin is receives less supply from God.
We should understand the relationship of truth to us as well as the relationship of grace to us. May we be before God daily, saying, "O Lord, I cannot and 1 will not. I thank and praise You, Lord, for I cannot." We should ask God daily to give us light and grace. Even when we fail occasionally, we can immediately be restored in a moment. If we walk day by day in such a manner as this, who can tell how much we may grow? For all is done in and by Christ.
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Hallelujah, this is perfect salvation! God will lead us to go forward in growth and advancement. Satan can do nothing. Praise the Lord, for Christ has already overcome!
The Note of Victory
We will triumph in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: Jehovah fulfil all thy petitions. (Ps. 20.5)
And it came to pass after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. ... And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto Jehovah; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. . . . O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. . . . and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat: Thus saith Jehovah unto you, Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.... Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, nor be dismayed: tomorrow go out against them; for Jehovah is with you. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head and his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Jehovah, worshipping Jehovah. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice. And they rose early in the morning and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in Jehovah your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto Jehovah, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto Jehovah; for his lovingkindness endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten.... And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped.... And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they
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blessed Jehovah: therefore, the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah unto this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for Jehovah had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of Jehovah. (2 Chron. 20.1, 3, 12, 15, 17-22, 24, 26-28)
In the past few messages, we have looked into this matter of how a Christian can be victorious and continue to grow in grace. We now need to look into another matter—the note of victory. As we all know, sometimes people while singing may utter the right words but do so with the wrong tune. The life that wins has its own note and tune. In our lives of victory in Christ there needs to be the right note as well as the right word.
In Psalm 20.5 the word "salvation" can also be translated as "victory" (mg.), and the word "triumph" can be translated as "rejoice." Accordingly, this verse may read as either "We will rejoice in thy salvation" or "We will triumph in thy victory." Actually, there is no difference between salvation and victory, because they are the two phases of one thing.
Perhaps you do not understand what I mean by the note of victory. Let me put it another way by saying that victory has its hallmark. How do you know you have victory? When do you know you have victory? The answer is what Psalm 20.5 tells us: We will triumph in thy victory."
Victory and Triumphing in Victory are Different
Do we know the difference between victory and triumphing in victory? The first is that which is totally done by Christ, whereas the second is that which is done by us. Victory is the work of Christ, but triumphing in victory is our work. Victory is that work which prevails; triumphing in victory is the boasting after victory is
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secured. For instance, in my earlier days I often played cricket. Admittedly, the ball was heavy and the hands ached after playing a while. In a match that would last an hour, we play and sweat, hitting the ball through one wicket after another until hopefully we win. Whenever our school team did win, our fellow students would wave their hats and handkerchiefs and shout for joy. And this could be called a triumphing in victory. The school team had won the victory, but our fellow students in the school triumphed in the victory. Similarly, in the spiritual realm, we can thank God that the victory is all accomplished by Christ! We have not shed any blood at all; nevertheless, we can triumph in victory.
Every Christian will triumph in victory once he obtains the victory of Christ. If there is no hallelujah but only a fountain of tears, then there can be no triumph in victory. Ours is a joyful note because of the salvation of the Lord. We triumph in His victory. When we won the cricket match, we gave the school the victory so that our fellow students could triumph in it. Likewise, our Lord himself has overcome; and He has given that victory to us to let us triumph in it.
Let us shout, Hallelujah! Christ is Victor! I will not say that he who cannot say Hallelujah has not overcome, but I will say that he does not have the right note of victory. The tone of victory is very important. For if the tone or sound is not right, people will doubt your victory, and you probably will wonder too. Peter's accent was Galilean; even a maid could distinguish it. Do we lack that Galilean accent? Or will our voice manifest our victory? May we daily have the Galilean accent so that people recognize that we have followed Jesus the Galilean.
The Triumph of Jehoshaphat
In the Old Testament period, Judah had a king named Jehoshaphat. Let us listen to his note of victory as the story is unfolded for us in 2 Chronicles 20.
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"The children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle" (v.1). At that time, the nation of Judah was very weak. She was helpless against the invading foes. As Jehoshaphat looked at himself, he naturally was full of fear. He was helpless now as he was helpless before. These same old enemies came again. What could he do about them? He was totally helpless.
Nonetheless he feared God. Hence he "set himself to seek unto Jehovah; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah" (v.3). He had no other recourse but to come before God.
He prayed, saying, "O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee" (v.12). He confessed that they had no might of their own, but their eyes were upon God. Let us pause here to make an observation. We have been emphasizing throughout this series of messages that the conditions for yielding are: first, I cannot; and second, I will not; but that as a consequence, we must believe God. This was precisely what Jehoshaphat did. He confessed that they had no strength to fight against the enemies and that they did not know what to do. Yet he prayed, "O God, our eyes are upon thee."
God immediately sent a prophet to them and said, "Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's" (v.15b). The battle is the Lord's. Whether victory or defeat, it has nothing to do with you. Ill-temper, pride, doubt, unclean thoughts, greediness, and all sorts of other sins have no relationship to you—because the battle is not yours, it is God's. Jehovah said, "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still" (v.17a). God wants you to stand still. He wants you to let go completely. You only need to stand there "and see the salvation of Jehovah with you" (v.17b). Do recognize this fact clearly that you and I are not combatants, we are observers.
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Whenever we do not triumph in victory, we are defeated. Let us not be afraid, because God fights for us.
Jehoshaphat took a further step. He not only stood still and watched by the side, he bowed his head with his face to the ground and worshiped God. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem likewise fell before God and worshiped. As he and Judah were attacked by such a great multitude, what did he do? He called the Levites to stand up to praise the Lord. He caused them to go before the army and praise Jehovah in holy array. Was he mad in so doing? The people of the Levites feared neither stones nor arrows. They sang praises to the Lord. And this is the note of victory. This note comes after you know that the Lord has given you the victory and that you have overcome your enemy. Men will counsel that when you see temptation coming, you are to strive and resist. But God makes clear that "when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten" (v.22). Whenever there is singing and praising of the Lord, there the enemy is defeated.
What was the result? "When Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped" (v.24). When God gives victory, He will not let any escape. We probably would leave five or six untouched, but the Lord will not allow any enemy to slip through. It is very meaningful that when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord sent liers-in-wait to smite the children of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir who came to attack Judah. God can only work when you begin praising. Whenever you praise, He works.
I know you have many trials and temptations. These may be in the form of a physical weakness, an adverse circumstance or a business crisis. You will say, what can I do? How can I overcome? You may
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know victory, but by the very asking of these questions it is plain that your note is not right. When you see temptation or trial or trouble coming, you should instead say, Hallelujah! As you say Hallelujah, the enemy is defeated. For our God will work only when you begin to praise. He works the moment you sing.
It is not enough that you confess your inability and believe in God's ability. You should sing from your heart a Hallelujah! You should say, God, I thank You because I am tempted and I am helpless. I thank You, for Your victory is mine. Observe Jehoshaphat, who sang because he believed he had the victory. In the eyes of Jehoshaphat, all his enemies were dead bodies. So he advanced and continued singing. He was not afraid of stones and arrows, for he reckoned his enemies as dead. And as the children of Israel looked out of the watchtower, they indeed saw the dead bodies of their enemies.
Two Stages of Thanksgiving and Praise
"And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed Jehovah: ... Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for Jehovah had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of Jehovah" (vv.26a, 27-28). Thanks and praise are in two stages: the first stage is before accomplishment, the other one is after accomplishment. The great error today is not to praise before accomplishment, to hold back praise until it can be seen what will happen. Many brothers and sisters have confessed their inability and have given up the thought of trying to be able. They have also believed in God's fact that Christ is their victory. But they dare not say, Hallelujah, I have overcome! As one brother admitted, "I want to see if it works." Or as a sister said, "I want to see if it is effective." What they meant was that they
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would only commence to praise God if this proved to be working or effective tomorrow. Yet Jehoshaphat praised twice. Every overcomer has this double praise. Praise before the physical eyes see, and praise after the eyes have seen. And this is the sound of victory, this is the note of triumph. But when there is no praise, the battle is lost.
You ask whether there is victory, and I ask whether there is a Hallelujah. For Hallelujah is the note of victory. The right note expresses genuine victory. It is something beyond pretension. All who overcome sound a certain note. They are joyous and they always praise. By distinguishing a person's accent, you know where that one comes from geographically. Similarly, by listening to the note of a Christian, you know whether he has overcome. The mark of spiritual victory is the ability to say Hallelujah, the ability to say, Praise the Lord, when temptation comes. If you continually look at yourself you are unable to praise. But if you see Christ, immediately you can fill the air with a Hallelujah, praise the Lord! It does not matter if the temptation is stronger, or if the children of Moab and Ammon are more numerous, since the battle is the Lord's and not ours. The Lord is fully responsible for all.
Hence the note of victory is joyous thanks and praise to God. You need not wait till you are actually defeated, defiled and have sinned seriously before you acknowledge your defeat. No, whenever you lose the note of thanks and praise, you have already lost the victory. You need not sin grossly; as long as you are unable to triumph in victory—that is to say, unable to be joyful and to praise and thank God—you have been defeated. Let us clearly understand that the victorious life which God has given us may joyfully sing Hallelujah every day. When the note of praise is missing, the victory is lost.
Keep Victory in Joy
There is a familiar verse in the Bible, which is Nehemiah 8.10c: "the joy of Jehovah is your strength." How does the life which God
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has given us express itself? Through joy. The very air which our Lord Jesus Christ breathed was full of joy and praise. I am still learning this lesson in these years. I have been forgiven, I have consecrated myself, and I have been obedient; yet I feel somewhat miserable, and I murmur a little. I cannot say from the heart, Thanks and praise be to the Lord.
Whenever we cannot say, Praise the Lord, we are already defeated. Oh! Let us all realize that our victory is in the joy of the Lord. Whenever we lose that joy, we immediately lose the victory. We become deflated when that joy is gone. Hence we must keep our victory in the strength of joy. One brother said that he had never known the strength of joy until these days. Victory must be kept in the joy of the Lord as fish must be kept in water.
Rejoice in Afflictions
Yet how can we be joyful? We can quite easily and naturally be joyful and praise God in those things that are pleasant—such as when we cross the threshold of victory or of power. But the Scriptures tell us to be joyful even in many unpleasant things.
"How that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy . . . abounded . . ." (2 Cor. 8.2). Here we are told that the Macedonian believers had abundant joy in time of great affliction. What they had was not merely a drop or two of joy, but joy in abundance. Let us always rejoice with abundant joy, even in great affliction. The life of Christ is the life that wins; therefore, we can triumph in victory. We can praise God with joy even when a great army is attacking us. The characteristic of victory is to be filled with thanksgiving and praise in time of affliction.
Once a brother was a railroad switchman. One day he was hit by a train and lost one of his legs. When he woke up in the hospital, he was asked if he could still thank and praise the Lord. He answered
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that he praised and thanked God that only one leg was cut off! Oh, what a positive difference there is in this brother! For this is the note of victory, a sound of thanks and praise in the midst of great affliction.
"Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold trials" (James 1.2 mg.). "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials" (1 Peter 1.6). "Whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1.8). "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened unto you: but insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4.12-13).
These verses show us how to live in the midst of trial. James tells us of manifold temptations, whether expected or unexpected, coming from foes or from friends, from the heathen or from the brethren, with good reason or not. All kinds of trial will come, yet none should cause us to lose our joy. Remember that when the Bible mentions joy, it often uses such descriptions as "greatly rejoice" or "exceeding joy" or "all joy" or "joy unspeakable." For what God gives is always exceedingly great and full. The joy spoken of in 1 Peter 1.6 is "greatly rejoice"; whereas the "grief" mentioned is "for a little while." Is grief permitted? Grief seems to be unavoidable. Having eyes, tears will fall. Although tears are falling, there is still joy. Hence in 1.8 of 1 Peter, the word of God observes this: "yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory." This joy is unspeakable. How many times before the tears have dried up, the mouth has already uttered, Hallelujah! Or while the tears are still falling, the mouth has said, Thank and praise the Lord!
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Many people shed tears on the one hand, yet praise and thank God on the other. Do recall the words of the hymn, "If the Path I Travel," written by sister Margaret E. Barber:∗ "Let the spirit praise Thee, though the heart be riven" While living on earth, your heart cannot help but be riven sometimes, for it has its feeling; yet your spirit is still joyful. According to the word of 1 Peter 4.12, you rejoice not only during the time of trial but you also rejoice when the trial initially "cometh upon you." In other words, you welcome trial. You thank and praise the Lord for trial is coming.
Some brothers and sisters "lock their eyebrows" when they see trial approaching. But Peter says to rejoice and thank the Lord for its coming. For whenever you are able to thank and praise Him, you are above the trial. There is nothing that enables us to rise above temptation, environment and trouble more than joy and thanks and praise. This is the note of victory which an overcomer ought to sound.
In Chefoo, one sister who had only recently crossed the threshold of victory was severely tested. Her daughter died a few hours later while her husband was far away from home. Many brothers and sisters went to comfort her. Though her eyes were flooded with tears, her face showed smiles. She testified that the loss of a child was indeed painful, yet she could not understand why she was joyful. She thanked and praised God. Those brothers and sisters who went to comfort her were comforted by her instead. This is something no one can pretend. Victory is to be kept by such a note as this. Even in trial there is praise and thanks ascending to God.
Today we Christians on earth are to be God's examples. Are these examples of ours beautiful? Are we different from the world? If we
∗Miss Barber was a missionary lady from England, who was a great help to Watchman
Nee's spiritual life.—Translator
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cry as the world cries and laugh as the world laughs, where is our victory? And where is God's victory? We ought to let the world see that we have joy and strength. Though the world may look at us as mad, yet they cannot help admiring the Christ who causes us to appear as though mad. May God be gracious to us that we may manifest the victory of Christ in afflictions.
"Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you" (Matt. 5.11-12). When men reproach you, you may say you will be patient. When men revile you, you may say you will not speak back. Do not think that being patient and not speaking back are enough. The fact of the matter is you are already defeated. For to endure and not speak back is something the world is able to do. The Buddhists and the Confucianists can do that. You ought to be different from them. When men reproach you, you ought to be able to say in the victory of Christ, "Lord, I thank and praise You," for you consider men's reproach as something joyful. When men persecute you, you ought to say in the triumph of Christ, "Lord, I thank and praise You," because you take their persecution as something to be joyous about. If yours is a genuine victory, you will rejoice and be exceedingly glad. A socalled victory that only endures what the world can endure is not genuine victory, but suppression. What the Lord does is always that which brings joy.
In the light of all that has been said, then, the issue here is whether or not the note is right. Today's problem lies in considering silent patience as virtue par excellence. But when you are reproached by men, are you able to be exceedingly glad? Or do you merely look downward and keep quiet? Many are being persecuted. Many sisters are persecuted by their husbands. Many are being falsely and evilly spoken against. What, sisters, do you do? Do you ask the Lord to keep you from losing your temper so that you will not explode? Do
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you consider not exploding to be victory? You may think you have overcome, but this is not a victory which is given by the Lord. Were it His victory, you would be able to praise and thank Him greatly in the midst of man's reproach and persecution. Let me reiterate that whenever you do not thank and praise God, you are already defeated. For the note and sound of victory is thanks and praise.
Once a brother in the Lord found himself sitting next to his great enemy in a tramcar. He asked the Lord to preserve him. Outwardly he maintained a good attitude by talking to his foe, even talking with him about the current news concerning an upcoming athletic event. But inwardly he was telling the Lord to hasten that foe's departure from the car so that he might maintain his victory. He sighed after arriving at his destination and said it was not easy to have gained this victory. Yet was this a genuine victory in the Lord? Permit me to speak frankly that this was but a lying victory, a man-made victory, an empty triumph. Had it been God's victory, he would not have needed to ask the Lord to keep him and give him patience; rather, he would have said to God that he thanked and praised Him for putting him in such a situation. Even if the ride were longer, it would not matter to him at all.
"Rejoice in the Lord always" (Phil. 4.4a). Whenever the word of God mentions joy, it is often either couched in terms of "exceeding joy" or "full of joy" or "rejoice always." "Always" here means persistently. Have you heard it? If you have not heard, then "again I will say, Rejoice" (4.4b). Such is the thrust of what Paul means to say: if it has not registered with you the first time I said it, then I will say again to you to rejoice! The life that God gives is a joyous one. Joy is the daily expression of a Christian's walk. In spite of tribulation and trials, there is still joy. Its opposite is anxiety. Many are anxious about their children, money or business. But the word of the Lord declares: "In nothing be anxious" (Phil. 4.6). We think we have reason to be anxious, but the Lord counters with, "In nothing be anxious," so that we may always rejoice.
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We sin if we are not joyful even for a single day. Once at a meeting a brother spoke on the theme "In Nothing Be Anxious." One sister present was very unhappy when she heard the message. She argued, how could anyone not be anxious! If the brothers were more anxious, she observed, the sisters might eat better food (this she said because the brothers were in charge of meals that day). The Lord, however, would not let her go till she saw that anxiety was sin indeed. Finally, she obtained the victory.
"Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Cor. 12.10). Paul took weaknesses, injuries, necessities, persecutions and distresses as pleasure and joy. None of you knows what will happen to you. You realize your path on earth will not be entirely smooth. Some of you may have sick relatives, some may face the death of loved ones, and others may encounter persecution. What will you do? If you tell the Lord that you will be patient, your very word will prove to be your defeat. But if you say, "Lord, I thank and praise You," you shall prevail. For then Christ will be manifested in you. Because you give the Lord opportunity to show forth His power, therefore, you can afford to be joyful. Such ought to be your daily life on earth. May you rejoice in the Lord always and offer thanks and praise to His Name.
"In everything give thanks" (1 Thess. 5.18a). "And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col. 3.17). These two verses are all-inclusive. Let us thank and praise God, and let us say Hallelujah. The world of men may be perplexed at our attitude; nonetheless, we still give thanks in all things. And if this is in fact our manner, no temptation or trial can ever be our match. Nothing can touch us. We have the faith to meet temptation, and we can thank and praise God in trial, because we are obedient to Him.
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Some may misunderstand my words here as meaning that I oppose patience. By way of clarification I wish to say that patience is something most precious. We do need to have patience, but not the kind that is derived from clenching one's teeth! "Unto all patience and longsuffering with joy" (Col. 1.11). Patience with joy, not forced patience out of reluctance or sorrow. No, the note of a Christian's daily life is "unto all patience and longsuffering with joy." "In everything give thanks"—such is life in the third heaven.
"More than Conquerors"
Why is it that life is not to be considered victorious unless there is joy? Why do we need to be joyous in order to prove and demonstrate this life that wins? "In all these things we are more than conquerors" (Rom. 8.37). The victory which God bestows on us is of one kind only, which is to say, that "in all these things we more than conquer" (Darby). To barely conquer is not the kind of victory which the Lord bestows. What He gives us is always that "we more than conquer." To barely conquer is no victory at all. But if it be "more than conquer," then there is a joy that pervades it all and proves that this is a victory from God.
Let us realize that what we have is a cup that is running over. Whatever the Lord gives, it always runs over every natural limitation or boundary. If it does not do so, it is not given by Him. The victory the Lord grants is of such magnitude that "whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two" (Matt. 5.39b-41). A victory with leftovers is truly God's victory. To barely overcome is the result of men's own work.
This, then, is the genuine note of victory. May God open our eyes to perceive that unless our victory is one in which "we more than conquer," it is only an imitation—it is merely suppression. But if
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Christ truly lives in us, we will be able to be joyous and thankful in all circumstances. We will be able to say "Hallelujah, praise God!" from now even to eternity.
Consecration
The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that one died for all, therefore all died; and he died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again. (2 Cor. 5.1415).
Neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. (Rom. 6.13)
Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Rom. 6.16)
1 beseech you therefore, brethren, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom. 12.1-2)
1 speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye presented your members as servants unto uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification. (Rom. 6.19)
Being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life. (Rom. 6.22)
Before we conclude this series of messages on the life that wins, it is imperative that we discuss one more subject—that of consecration. For without this, our life of victory will not reach its summit.
Consecration is actually the first thing one does after receiving the life that wins. It is that which one should do after he is saved. On the
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one hand, there are many who have been saved but have never consecrated themselves. This makes consecration absolutely necessary upon their entering into victory. On the other hand, there are some people who, though they consecrated themselves to the Lord when they were first saved, have for many years led a life of continual ups and downs. What they need to do is to consecrate themselves afresh. I dare not say that for others consecration is to be the first act or first expression after victory. I can only say that since the Lord died and rose again for me, the first thing I myself would do after entering victory would be to consecrate myself.
Some contend that consecration must be done before victory. Consecrate, and then conquer. But Romans 6.13 would indicate otherwise: "Neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God"—thereby indicating consecration after victory. One thing is clear however: without death and resurrection, one cannot possibly present himself to God. Only a person who has died and risen can offer himself as a living sacrifice. We have talked previously about co-crucifixion with Christ and about the Lord living in us. We have died and now live with the Lord. In accordance with Romans 6.13, a Christian consecrates himself after he has received the life that wins. Without such life, one's consecration will be rejected by God. For He does not want anything that belongs to Adam and death.
Without this life that wins, a person's consecration is undependable. One day consecrated, but the next day forgotten: today a vow made before God that one is willing to do this or that for Him; tomorrow the vow forgotten. One missionary had attended the Keswick Convention held in England seven times. She confessed that each year she attended Keswick it was like having a watch spring rewound. Annually she had to be reset. Numerous Christians are like this sister. They promise God much in a convention or
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conference, only to forget all about it afterwards. This proves that we do not have the strength to consecrate.
Without the life that wins, your consecration will not be accepted by God. Because what you offer belongs to Adam, and it is dead. Only that which comes from the Lord may be presented to God. What comes out of self is unfit to be offered.
Let us therefore know that the first act after having the life that wins ought to be a consecration of ourselves to God. Now is the time and opportunity to offer; otherwise, there will be a drawing back after a few days.
The Basis and Motive of Consecration
Both Romans 6 and Romans 12 speak of consecration. Why do we present our bodies as living sacrifices? Paul beseeches us by the mercies of God. What are the mercies of God? Romans 1-8 describe His mercies. According to the accepted understanding of the book of Romans on this subject of consecration, Romans 12 follows in thought the first eight chapters (with Romans 9-11 serving as a lengthy parenthesis in which Paul directs his attention towards the Jews and salvation). The things described in the first eight chapters are God's mercies. In the past we were sinners, but God's Son came to earth to atone for our sins through the shedding of His blood. Chapters 3 and 4 speak of the blood and faith; chapter 5, of forgiveness and justification; chapters 6-8, of the cross. On the one hand, the blood is for the remission of sins so that we may receive forgiveness; on the other hand, the cross is for the death of our old man that we may be delivered from the power of sin. Thank God, Christ died on the cross for us, and He also lives for us. And on the basis of such mercies of God, the Holy Spirit through Paul begs us to present ourselves to God.
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We ought to know the purpose of God in creating us and in redeeming us. He wishes for us to manifest the life of His Son and share in His Son's glory. Even before the foundation of the world, God has purposed one purpose, which is to say, that He wants to have many sons just as He has the Only Begotten Son. And thus it states in Romans 8.29: "whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." Why has God done such things? Because He had foreordained us to be conformed to the image of His Son. This is the eternal purpose of God. He purchases and redeems us that He may possess us.
Yet God uses two means to possess us: one is on His side, the other is on our side. On His side, God sent His Son to die for us, to buy us back. According to the right of purchase, we are His bondslaves. Thank the Lord, He has bought us. God once said to Abraham, "He that is born in the house, and he that is bought with money, must needs be circumcised" (Gen. 17.13). Hallelujah, we are not only born of God we are also bought by Him.
We are bought by God and thus belong to Him, yet He sets us free. Although according to the right of redemption, we belong to God, He nonetheless will not force us into service. He will let us go if we desire to serve mammon, the world, the belly, or other idols. For the moment God is inactive: He is waiting for us to move: till one day we say on our side: "O God, I am Your bondslave not only because You have bought me, but also because I will gladly serve You." A verse in Romans 6 unveils a most precious principle concerning consecration. We become God's bondslaves not only for the reason that He has bought us, but also for the reason "that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey" (v.16a).
Here, then, are the two means by which God possesses us. On the one side, we are His bondslaves because He has bought us; on the
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other side, we willingly and gladly present ourselves to Him as His bondslaves. As regards law, we become God's bondslaves on the day He purchased and redeemed us. As regards experience, we become His bondslaves on the day we offer up ourselves to Him. From the viewpoint of right and ownership, we are God's bondslaves on the day we were redeemed. From the viewpoint of practice, we are truly His bondslaves on the day when we voluntarily and gladly give ourselves over to Him.
Consequently, no one will ever be ignorant about his being a bondslave of God, for in order to be His bondslave, the believer will always need to voluntarily present himself. Such consecration is totally one's own choice and initiative. Hence the offerer will know what he is doing. God will not coerce a person to serve Him. And that is why Paul, knowing the heart of God, does not force, he only "beseeches" (see Rom. 12.1a). God delights to see His people offer themselves willingly to Him.
The victorious life and salvation are intimately related. At the time we were saved, we quite naturally would want to present ourselves, because the new life in us has constrained us to do so. Every saved person knows he ought to live for the Lord. Nevertheless, we have no strength. We are surrounded by many contrary things and are not able to live for the Lord. Thank God, though, He gives Christ to us, thus enabling us to consecrate ourselves to Him. We could not be a living sacrifice when we were dead in sins. We were still unable even after we were saved if we continued to live in sins. But now that we have crossed the threshold of victory, Christ is our life and our holiness; consequently, we are able to offer ourselves to God willingly and joyfully.
Mr. D M. Panton told the story of an African slave girl about to be auctioned. Two men bid against each other to purchase her. Both of these men were wicked. The slave girl knew her life would be miserable if she fell into the hands of either. So she wept much.
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Suddenly a third man joined the bidding. The price continued to rise till the first two men could not afford to bid anymore. And thus the girl was bought by the third man. He immediately called a blacksmith to break the girl's chains. He then announced her freedom by saying, "I bought you not to make you my slave; I bought you to make you free." Having said that, he walked away. The girl was perplexed for two minutes. She "woke up" and chased after the man, declaring that from now on till she died she would be his slave.
Now the love of this man towards the slave girl is much like the love Christ has towards us. And as we are constrained by this love, we too will tell the Lord that henceforth we are His willing slaves. God has bought us and He has brought us through death and resurrection. We have received His manifold mercies and therefore we ought to present ourselves freely to God as living sacrifices.
Romans 6 speaks of presenting ourselves—especially our members—to God; whereas Romans 12 speaks of presenting our bodies as living sacrifices. So much is included in this latter consecration. In our previous discussions we talked about letting go and believing so that we might live out the life of God and fulfill His demand. God's demand is none other than that we wholly consecrate ourselves to Him. Such demand is all-inclusive. This is something we cannot do by ourselves; only through the indwelling Christ may we respond to this demand. Naturally speaking, we cannot; but now through Christ we can. Because we have received mercies, we are able.
It was the custom in Old Testament times for a Hebrew slave to serve his master for six years. In the seventh year, he might go out free. If he said he loved his master and would not go out free, his master would bring him to the judge and then to the door to have his ear bored through with an awl. And thus would he serve his master forever (see Ex. 21.2-6). God has saved us and bought us with His blood. He has not redeemed us with corruptible things such as silver