12. Consecration (Chapter Eleven)

12. Consecration (Chapter Eleven)

CONTENTS

THE OVERCOMING LIFE

1. Preface 2. Our Experience (Chapter One) 3. The Christian Life as Revealed in the Bible (Chapter Two) 4. The Characteristics of the Overcoming Life (Chapter Three) 5. How to Experience the Overcoming Life (1) (Chapter Four) 6. How to Experience the Overcoming Life (2) (Chapter Five) 7. Surrendering (Chapter Six) 8. Believing (Chapter Seven) 9. The Proving of Faith (Chapter Eight) 10. Growth (Chapter Nine) 11. The Tone of Victory (Chapter Ten) 12. Consecration (Chapter Eleven)

PREFACE

Volume 24 of The Collected Works is comprised of messages given by Watchman Nee in 1935. With the exception of chapter four, the messages were delivered in Shanghai during September and October of that year. Chapter four was delivered in Chuenchow, Fukien province, in November of the same year. We have included it in this volume because its subject and emphasis are consistent with the content of the Shanghai messages. These messages reveal the excellent Christ who is in us as our victory. Their content is rich and precious. May the God who commands light to shine out of darkness shine in our hearts through these words and lead us into the experience of the riches of life! Amen!

CHAPTER ONE

OUR EXPERIENCE

Scripture Reading: Rom. 7:21; 3:23

THE LIFE THAT GOD HAS ORDAINED FOR A CHRISTIAN

The Bible shows us that God has ordained for every Christian a life that is filled with joy. This life is completely at peace, has no barriers in its fellowship with God, and is not contrary to His will in any way. The life that God has prepared for a Christian is one that does not thirst after the world. It walks apart from sin and is victorious over sin. It is holy, powerful, and victorious. It knows the will of God and fellowships with God without interruption. This is the life that God has ordained in the Scripture for a Christian.

God has ordained a life that is hidden with Christ in God. What can touch this life? What can affect or shake this life? Just as Christ is unshakable, we also are unshakable. Just as He is transcendent over all things, we also are transcendent over all things. Our standing before God is the same as Christ's standing before God. We should never consider that we are destined for weakness and failure. There is no room for such a thought for a Christian in the Bible. Colossians 3:4 says, "Christ our life." Christ is far above everything. Nothing can touch Him. Hallelujah! This is the life of Christ!

The life that God ordains for a Christian is one that is filled with peace and joy. It is a life that is full of activity, vitality, and God's will. But what kind of life do we live? If we are not living the life that God has ordained, we need to overcome and break through in this matter. Consequently, we need to consider our experience today. This is not an easy subject to speak on. Some of our experiences may be quite sad. However, we will see our lack when we humble ourselves. Only then will God grant us grace.

EIGHT TYPES OF FAILURE IN A CHRISTIAN

What kind of life do we live? It is a life that is bound by the law of sin. "For to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not" (Rom. 7:18). Our life is a life of failure; it is bound by sin. God has given us such a high life, but we live a life of failure. According to our experience and the record of the Scriptures, a Christian has eight types of failure, that is, eight types of sin.

Spiritual Sins

Pride is a spiritual sin. Jealousy is a spiritual sin. Unbelief is a spiritual sin. Picking out others' mistakes is a spiritual sin. Lack of prayer is a spiritual sin. Doubting God is a spiritual sin, and failure to commit ourselves to God is also a spiritual sin. There are some who are victorious in spiritual matters, but there are more who are defeated in these matters.

I once was beset by pride. Any kind of pride is a spiritual sin. Any kind of pride that hinders you from going on is a spiritual sin. A proud person cannot stand to see others being better than himself. He cannot bear to see others being more advanced in worldly affairs, and he cannot bear others being more advanced in spiritual matters. If there is anyone who is more advanced

spiritually, he will do anything to find his faults and put him down. Jealousy is a sin in our spiritual life as well as in the Lord's work.

Some are filled with an evil heart of unbelief. If you ask whether or not they believe, they will answer that there is not one word or sentence in God's Word that they do not believe. But if you ask whether or not they trust in God's promises, they will admit that they are unable. As soon as they suffer a little trial, they panic beyond measure. They cannot trust in God's Word at all. Martin Luther's wife once put on a funeral dress and told him that he was in such distress that it seemed as if his God had died.

Many people do not have a proper living or fellowship with Him. Day by day, they live in a loose way. They spend their days without praying or reading the Bible. They spend their days without seeing God's face or fellowshipping with Him. They even spend their days dreading the thought of fellowshipping with the Lord. This is a life of godlessness. We have sinned, we have failed, and we have not lived a spiritual life. Many of us have never been diligent to learn the proper lessons of dealing with the self. Many of us have never been diligent to learn the proper lessons of putting the self aside.

Once there were two brothers who were not on good terms with each other because of a very small matter. They ate meals together, taking their servings from the same plate. One always selected the few choice meats from the plate for himself. When the other saw this, he kept quiet for several days. After two weeks, he could bear this behavior no longer, and he separated himself from the other brother. The kind of person you are is manifested in the small things you do. I love to read the biography of Mr. Hudson Taylor. When he traveled in his preaching itinerary, he almost always chose the worst room and the worst bed. Although these are small things, the way in which a person deals with them shows whether or not he lives before God.

Sins of the Flesh

Not only are there spiritual sins. There are also sins of the flesh. Adultery is a sin of the flesh, undisciplined eyes are a sin of the flesh, and improper relationships with others are also a sin of the flesh. Many have failed in these things. Many have sinned with their eyes because their eyes have not been disciplined. Many are improper in their relationship with friends. These are sins of the flesh. They are sins in one's conduct. Some sins have nothing to do with the body. Other sins are related to the body.

Brothers and sisters, have your eyes been dealt with? I admit that today there are plenty of opportunities for the eyes to sin. You have to deal with this matter before the Lord. There are many Christians who will never experience God's overcoming life unless their eyes are dealt with by the Lord.

Friendship is another thing that we have to watch carefully. A brother may build up an extraordinary friendship with an unbeliever. According to the world, this is not sin. But according to God's ordained life for a Christian, this extraordinary friendship is a sin. This is true also with the sisters. A Western missionary once said that some unbelievers tried to develop extraordinary friendships with him. When he realized that it was a sin, he rejected the friendships.

Sins of the Mind

Not only are there spiritual sins and sins of the flesh. There are sins of the mind as well. Many do not have spiritual sins. To an extent, they have been dealt with in their flesh. But they cannot overcome their thoughts. Some have wandering thoughts. Others have circumventing thoughts. Some have unstable thoughts. Some thoughts are not wandering, circumventing, or unstable, but they are unclean or illusionary. Some are filled with doubts. Others are obsessed with a drive for knowledge. They want to know everything, and they will not stop until they do. Those who have these kinds of thoughts have not experienced the overcoming life. We should not think that there is nothing wrong with us. Few are actually victorious over their thoughts. Many have wandering, unstable, and drifting thoughts. Having drifting thoughts is serious, but having unclean thoughts is even worse. Some have unclean thoughts that tenaciously linger over them. I once met a sister who confessed that her thoughts were always wandering. I met another Christian who confessed that his thoughts were always unclean. This shows that we are not living out the life of God. We have to deal with all these matters.

Imaginations have damaged many Christians. Doubts have also damaged many Christians. For example, when we meet a brother on the street and he is not very friendly, we may think that he is angry with us or that he thinks unfavorably of us. But when we arrive home, we may learn that his unfriendly attitude was related to the fact that he did not sleep well the night before, that he had a headache, or that he was going through some terrible experience. We thought that it was a problem related to ourselves, but actually there was nothing wrong with us. Our imaginations often hurt us, yet we often think that we can discern the hearts of others. We must realize that only the Lord can search "the inward parts and the hearts" (Rev. 2:23). Many imagine that others are one way or another. We have sinned in our thoughts. We have made too many judgments. We have too many illusions. Brothers and sisters, we must come to the Lord and deal with these things. If our thoughts are not dealt with, we cannot enter into a life of victory in God.

There is a brother who has an obsession for knowledge. He has to know the reason for everything. He analyzes everything and wants to know everything. His mind is very active. He does not trust in God, yet he wants to know about every single thing around him. Brothers and sisters, this kind of drive for knowledge is also a sin. We must deal with this as well.

Sins in the Body

There are some sins that are related to the body. They may not necessarily be unclean things. Humanly speaking, they may not be big things. But to a Christian, these are sins. Some pay too much attention to eating. Others pay too much attention to sleeping. Some pay too much attention to health or to personal grooming. Some are bound by the habit of indulging in snacks. Some love their bodies too much. All of these are sins before the Lord.

Many Christians are bound by eating. They have never fasted as a Christian. It is possible to know the kind of person they are from the way they eat. The minute they pick up their chopsticks, others know the kind of person they are. A brother said, "I have a large appetite. My appetite is extraordinarily large." Brothers and sisters, overindulgence in eating is also a sin. Those who cannot control themselves in the matter of eating are committing a sin.

Some have a terrible look on their face when they only lose a little sleep. They become impatient in handling things and talk incoherently. This also is a sin.

Some indulge in eating snacks. They spend a great deal of money on snack food. Others pay too much attention to their personal grooming. They always insist on good clothes. There are also some who are obsessed with health. Everything has to be just right for them. They consider this or that to be poisonous or bad for the body. They are confined and threatened by everything. Brothers and sisters, these are examples of being obsessed with our bodies. Too many people love their own body too much. They cannot suffer at all, and they cannot bear to even approach those who are sick. They are bound by their body. Paul said, "I buffet my body and make it my slave" (1 Cor. 9:27). He put his body under his subjection. Failing to put one's body under one's subjection is a sin. The body should be put under our subjection. Many have sacrificed their prayer in the morning for sleep. Many have sacrificed their time in the Word for food. Many are unable to serve the Lord because they pay too much attention to snack foods and outward appearance. Any negligence in bridling ourselves in these areas is a sin.

Sins in Disposition

Disposition is related to man's character. It is his personal traits. Every person is born with a certain disposition. The Lord has not come to deliver us from sin only, but also from our disposition. Some are born stubborn. Others are born very legalistic. For them, two plus two must be four. They are very proper, but at the same time, they are very rigid. What they regard as right is right, and what they regard as wrong is wrong. They are very unbending. Wherever they are and whatever they do, they are always the supreme judge. There is no doubt that they are often very righteous, but their righteousness has horns. They lack gentleness and sweetness toward the brothers. Their righteousness is hard and unbending. Brothers and sisters, this also is sin.

Others are too weak. They are afraid of bearing any responsibility. Everything is acceptable to them. They are exactly the opposite of the stubborn ones just mentioned. Some are misled to think that a nice man is a holy man. But how many nice men has God used? Was the Son of God a nice man on earth? Brothers and sisters, this kind of disposition is also a sin and needs to be dealt with.

Some are not too hard and not too nice, but they like to exhibit themselves. Wherever they are, they want to be noticed. Wherever they go, they always want to speak. Even when they do not have the opportunity to do anything, they still want to walk around and greet everyone. Wherever they are, they are not satisfied until they let everyone else notice their presence. They make their presence conspicuous no matter where they go, and they can never be quiet.

Some brothers are very withdrawn. Wherever they go, they do not like to exhibit themselves. They always sit in a corner. This is also sin, and it should be dealt with.

Some brothers are very quick. Others are very slow. One brother said once, "Praise God! I have a quick disposition. I lose my temper quickly and I forget about it just as quickly. I can explode with a big temper in the morning, but in five minutes it is over. When I go to work I have forgotten about it." However, his wife and children suffer for the whole day. When he comes back from work, his wife is still suffering. This is very strange to him. He even considers himself to be very good! This is a sin, and it needs to be dealt with also.

Some are slow in everything. A matter can go unattended for a day or for ten days. This is laziness. This disposition also needs to be dealt with.

Every person has his own peculiarity. Although some are saved, they are very severe towards others; they antagonize situations. Everything is important to them. They never take advantage of others, but they never allow others to take advantage of them either. They never hurt others, but if others hurt them, they will take an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. They are very calculating and never let anything go.

Some are not severe to others. But they are very mean. They take advantage of others even when it is only a matter of a few pennies. They do not rob others, but they take advantage even of their servants or chauffeurs.

Some are very talkative. Wherever they go, there is never a dull moment. They gossip about this family and criticize that family. Some are glib about the truths. Whatever they know, they have to speak to others about them. Some like to speak words of exaggeration. They are not lying, but whatever they say, they exaggerate. All these dispositions have to do with our speaking. If we desire to overcome and live an overcoming life, we have to deal with all these things. If we are unable to rid ourselves of these things, we need to overcome.

I have to talk about these matters because the daily walk of Christians today is far from being godly. Some brothers can only see the faults of others; they cannot appreciate the virtues of others. Only words of criticism come forth from their mouths. One time a brother from northern China had a breakthrough in overcoming. Formerly, he could never stop finding fault. When a person came to him, he would point out six or seven things wrong with him. When another came, he would point out six or seven more problems with the second one. I told this brother that he saw so many problems in others because he himself was the problem. This was his disposition, his nature. Brothers and sisters, all of these are sins. Every overcoming Christian lives above these things, not under them.

No Willingness to Obey God's Word

Not only do we have sins on the negative side. The Bible shows us that being negligent before God in our intention to obey His Word is also a sin. Brothers and sisters, how much of God's commandments have you read, and how much have you obeyed? How many husbands love their wives, and how many wives submit to their husbands? A wife once said that she knew that she should submit to her husband; however, she always argued a little before submitting. She eventually realized that she has never had any true submission according to the standard of God's commandment. This, of course, is sin.

How many Christians realize that being sorrowful is sin? The Bible says that we have to always rejoice. How many Christians have obeyed this commandment? We have to realize that being sorrowful is sin. Everyone who does not rejoice has sinned. God's commandment is to be anxious in nothing. If we become anxious, we have sinned. According to God's commandment, being sorrowful and anxious is to sin. Of course, according to man, being sorrowful and anxious is not sin. However, God's Word says that sorrow and anxiety are sins.

We should give thanks in everything. It is God's commandment that we give thanks in everything. In everything we should say, "God! I thank You and praise You!" Even when we encounter difficulties, we should still say, "God! I thank and praise You!" There is a story about a woman with nine children. She thought that the word on not being anxious must be very wrong. She argued that a mother has to be anxious. She thought that not being anxious was a sin. She had lost two children

through anxiety, and she thought she had to raise up the other seven in anxiety. This sister did not see that anxiety is a sin. She thought that it was her duty to be anxious.

To always rejoice is a commandment of God. To be anxious for nothing is also a commandment of God. To give thanks in everything, even more, is a commandment of God. Victory and strength enable one to keep the commandment of God. Those who are unable to overcome cannot keep God's commandments.

Failure to Render to God What He Requires

God requires that we consecrate ourselves absolutely to Him. He requires that we consecrate our wives and children to Him. He also requires that we consecrate our business entirely to Him. He requires that we consecrate all of our money to Him. Every Christian wants to save something for himself. But dear brothers and sisters, we have to realize that in the Old Testament there was the ordinance of tithing, the offering of one tenth; in the New Testament our consecration should be ten tenths. Our house, our land, our wife and children, and even ourselves must be fully consecrated to God.

Many Christians are afraid that God will trouble them. There was a Christian who was very afraid of consecrating himself to God. He said, "If I offer up myself to God, what will happen if He sends sufferings to me?" I said to him in a serious way, "What kind of God do you think our God is? If a disobedient child becomes yielding and tells his parents that he will be obedient to them from now on, do you think that the parents will purposely ask him to do what he cannot do? Do you think that the parents will make him suffer on purpose? If they do, they are no longer his parents but his judge. If they are truly his parents, they will surely care for their child. Do you think that God will give you sufferings on purpose? Do you think that God will play tricks on you on purpose? You have forgotten that He is your Father!"

Brothers and sisters, only those who are consecrated to God have real power. They can place their business in God's hands. They can place their fathers, mothers, wives, and children in God's hands. They can place their money in God's hands. They will not take what God has given to them and waste it in the world. They have consecrated even their own lives to the Lord. Those who are afraid of consecrating their belongings, their material goods, and their relationships with others to God have not yet overcome. The more one consecrates to God, the more strength one has. Those who willingly consecrate to God almost seem to encourage God to take more. They seem to say to God, "Please take more!" The life of consecration is a joyous life. It is a life of power. If a man does not consecrate himself, not only has he sinned, but he is also lacking in power.

Regarding Iniquity and Refusing to Repent of Sins That Should Be Confessed

Many people have dealt with many things, but in their heart they refuse to admit that the things they have dealt with are sins. According to Psalm 66:18, these ones "regard iniquity" in their heart. Their heart loves these sins; they are unwilling to relinquish them. Not only is there a desiring, there is the loving, the regarding, and the unwillingness to relinquish these sins. There is a hidden love toward sin, a heart that refuses to acknowledge the sins as sins. Although we would never admit our love for these things and although our mouth would never say that we crave these things, our heart goes after them even before our feet follow after them. Many times, sin is not a matter of

outward behavior, but a matter of love in the heart. If there are iniquities that we regard in our heart, we have to overcome them.

Many people not only have a heart for iniquity, but they also refuse to acknowledge many of their sins. A believer often offends a brother. When the matter is brought to his attention, he readily admits that he has offended the brother. Consequently, he makes some outward adjustments; he begins to treat the other brother better, shakes his hand in a warmer way, and receives him more affectionately. Brothers and sisters, the most we can do is change our attitude, but God does not recognize this. God does not recognize changes in our attitude. Many things require restitution. Money needs to be returned. Although many people do not have the time to listen to our long stories, we still have to confess our sins.

Concerning confession, the Bible never says that we should tell others of our sins in detail. The Bible never tells us to enumerate our sins like a novel. The Lord says, "If your brother sins..." (Matt. 18:15). It does not matter how many sins there are. When a brother comes to us and confesses, "Brother, I have sinned against you," we have to forgive him. Many hidden stories need not be told. No ear on earth is worthy of listening to all these stories, and no ear on earth could bear them all.

Brothers and sisters, how many sins do our hearts still cherish? How many sins are left untouched? If there are any sins, we have to overcome them. Unless we overcome, we will not be able to prevail over these sins.

OVERCOMING IS NECESSARY AND POSSIBLE

Brothers and sisters, if you find yourself with the sins mentioned above, surely you need to overcome. I do not know how many of these eight different sins you commit. Perhaps you commit only one or two. Perhaps there are more. But God will not allow one or two or more sins to entangle you. You may observe a few flaws in a brother, detect other blemishes in another, and find a few other shortcomings in a third. But brothers and sisters, it is wrong to have so many mistakes. It is unnecessary to have these mistakes. We should thank and praise the Lord that all sins are under our feet. Thank and praise Him. No sin is so great that we have to commit it. Thank and praise Him. No temptation is too great to overcome.

The life that the Lord ordains for us is a life of uninterrupted fellowship with God. Every Christian can carry out the will of God, and every Christian can be completely free from his natural affections. Every Christian can overcome sin completely, and every Christian can overcome his disposition. Every Christian can consecrate everything completely to God and be delivered from the love of sin. Thank and praise the Lord. This is not an idealistic life. It is a life that can be fully realized.

BEING HONEST AND NOT DECEIVING OURSELVES

We have to pray to God that we do not deceive ourselves. God can only bless one kind of people— those who are honest before Him. In Philip's preaching, we see that as soon as the lying before God stops, His blessing will follow. We have to say, "O God, I have lied to You. Forgive me." When we pray this way, the Lord will immediately bless us. Brothers and sisters, perhaps we have said, "O God! satisfy me." But we have to realize that those who are dissatisfied are not necessarily hungry. In order to be satisfied, we must be hungry. When the prodigal son left his father, he wasted everything and longed to be satisfied with the carob pods that the hogs were eating. No one gave him anything. This is being dissatisfied. Some are dissatisfied daily and filled with carob pods in

their stomach. It is one thing to be dissatisfied; it is another to be hungry. How can we be satisfied when we are weak and constantly failing? Although we are not satisfied, we fill ourselves this way and we live this kind of life day after day. What we need is not only dissatisfaction but also hunger. The Lord can only bless one kind of people at this conference: the hungry ones. God does not promise to fill up the dissatisfied ones. Brothers and sisters, let us stop all the lies. We have lied to God long enough. Brothers and sisters, we have failed! We have failed before God! Confessing before men in this way is a glory to God's name. Thank and praise Him! All those who are honest will be blessed. Thank and praise Him! I believe many will meet God this time, and God will bless them.

CHAPTER TWO

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:3

THE EXPERIENCE OF FAILURE

When we were saved, the grace of God filled our hearts with joy. At that time, our life was filled with hope; we thought that from that point on, all our sins would be under our feet. We thought that, henceforth, we could overcome everything. At the time we were saved, we thought that no temptation was too great for us to overcome and no difficulty was too much for us to surmount. Our future was full of a glorious hope. For the first time, we tasted the peace of forgiveness and the savor of joy. At that time, it was so easy and sweet to fellowship with God. We were filled with joy and happiness. Heaven was so close to us. There was nothing that was impossible for us to do. At that time, we thought that every day would be a day of victory.

However, that wonderful condition did not last, and that wonderful hope did not materialize. The sins that we thought were gone suddenly came back. The sins that we thought we had overcome returned. We thought we had left them behind, but they came back to us. Our former temper came back. Pride returned, and our old jealousy flared up once more. We may have tried to read the Bible but to no avail. We may have prayed, but the sweet taste was no longer there. Gone was the former zeal for lost souls. Love began to wane. Some matters were indeed dealt with, but we found others impossible to deal with. Our daily song became one of defeat rather than victory. We saw more failures than victories in our daily life. We began to feel a great lack within. When we compared ourselves with Paul, John, Peter, and those in the first century, we felt that there was a great difference between their experience and ours. We could not help others. We could only speak to others about the victorious part of our experience. We could not tell them of the part in us that failed. We felt that our days of victory were few and that our days of failure were numerous. Daily we lived in misery. This is the common experience of many Christians.

When we were saved, we thought that since our sins were forgiven, they would never come back to us. We felt that once we had joy and peace, they would abide with us forever. Unfortunately, the sins and temptations came back. There were fewer high experiences, and low experiences became common. There were fewer joyful times, and sorrowful times became common. In these circumstances, we experience two things. On the one hand, temptations, pride, jealousy, and temper return. On the other hand, we endeavor to suppress ourselves. As soon as these sins come back, we struggle to suppress them and to stop them from manifesting themselves. Those who are successful in suppressing themselves think that they have overcome. Those who have failed live in a cycle of failure, victory, sin, and remorse. As a result they become extremely discouraged. Shortly after they are saved, either they consciously suppress their sins, or they resign themselves to the thought that victory is impossible. They become despondent and discouraged. On the one hand, they experience some victory; on the other hand, they also experience many failures. When they succeed in restraining themselves, their sins are temporarily stopped. But when they fail, they concede to the inevitability of committing sin.

Brothers and sisters, I would like to ask you a question before God: When the Lord Jesus went to the cross, did He expect us to have the kind of experience we have today? When He was crucified on the

cross, did He know that our life would be victorious one day and defeated the next? Did He know that we would be victorious in the morning and defeated in the evening? Are His accomplishments on the cross insufficient to make us serve Him in holiness and righteousness? Did He shed His blood on the cross only with a view to deliverance from the punishment of hell, without a view to deliverance from the pain of sin? Is His blood shed on the cross only sufficient to save us from the coming eternal pain of sin, without saving us from the pain of sin today? Oh, brothers and sisters, I cannot refrain from saying "Hallelujah!" The Lord has accomplished everything on the cross! When He was on the cross, He dealt not only with the pain of hell but also with the pain of sin. He was reminded not only of the pain of the punishment of sin but also of the pain of the power of sin. He has prepared a way of salvation for us. Such a way enables us to live on earth in the same way that He lived. Brothers and sisters, not only did Christ take care of the suffering of hell; He also took care of the suffering of sin. In other words, His redemptive work has given us not only the position and basis to be saved in a shallow way, but also the position and basis to be saved to the uttermost. We do not have to live the way we do today. We have to say "Hallelujah!" because there is a gospel for sinners and a gospel for "Christian sinners"! The gospel for Christian sinners is preached in the same way that the cross was preached to us before. Hallelujah! There is a gospel today for Christian sinners!

THE GOD-ORDAINED CHRISTIAN LIFE

In the last message, we saw our experience in ourselves. Today we want to consider the kind of life that God has ordained for Christians. According to God, what kind of life should a Christian live? We are not talking about advanced Christians; we are talking about every saved and regenerated Christian, every Christian who has received the eternal life. What kind of life should they live? Only after we know this will we see what our shortages are. What does the Bible say about the Christian life? Let us consider a few passages in the Bible.

A Life That Is Free from All Sins

Matthew 1:21 says, "And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." When I was in Chefoo and Peking recently, a few brothers remarked that in the past they loved calling the Lord the Christ, but that now they like calling Him "Jesus, my Savior!" He is called Jesus because He "save[s] His people from their sins." We have received Jesus as our Savior. We have obtained the grace of forgiveness. Thank and praise the Lord that Jesus is now our Savior and our sins are forgiven. But what has Jesus done for us? "He...will save His people from their sins." This is God's ordination. This is Jesus' accomplishment. The question now is whether we are still living in sin or whether we are delivered from it. Does our old temper come back to plague us? Are we still bound by our sins and entangled by our thoughts? Are we still as proud as before? Are we still as selfish as before? Or have we been delivered from our sins? I have mentioned one illustration many times, and I will mention it again: There is a difference between a life-saving ring and a life raft. When a man falls into the water and is thrown a life-saving ring, he will not drown if he holds onto the ring, but neither will he be delivered out of the water. He will not sink, but neither will he be lifted out. He is neither dying, nor is he living. It is different with a life raft. In the case of a life raft, the drowning person is lifted out of the water into the raft. Our Lord's salvation is not the salvation of a life-saving ring but the salvation of a life raft. He will not stop halfway between dying and living. He will save His people from their sins. He does not leave us in sins. Therefore, biblical salvation saves us from sin. However, even though we have believed, we are not yet saved from sin; we still live in sin. Is the Bible wrong? No, there is nothing wrong with the Bible; it is our experience that is wrong.

What else did Jesus do when He came to us? What does the Bible say about His work? Let us go on.

A Life That Is in Intimate Fellowship with God

Luke 1:69 says, "And raised a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant." Verses 74 and 75 say, "We, having been delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days." God has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David. We have this horn of salvation already. What has this horn of salvation done for us, and to what degree has it delivered us? He has delivered us out of the hand of our enemies. What kind of life does He want us to live after we are delivered? After we are delivered out of the hand of our enemies, is He only interested in our serving Him in holiness and righteousness? Is that all He wants? If this is true, we will only serve Him in righteousness and holiness sometimes. But thank and praise the Lord, His Word says that we should serve Him in holiness and righteousness all our days. We should serve Him in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live on earth. This is the kind of life that God has ordained for us. We should serve Him in holiness and righteousness all our days. Of course, to our shame we must admit that we have not served Him in holiness and righteousness all our days, even though God has delivered us from the hand of our enemies. Either the word of the Bible is wrong or our experience is wrong. The only way our experience can be right is for the Bible to be wrong. In the past, I always wondered what kind of life the Bible expects from a Christian. According to the Bible, everyone who is saved by the Lord should serve Him in holiness and righteousness all his days. If the Bible is wrong, our experience can be justified. But if the Bible is not wrong, our experience must be wrong.

A Life That Is Fully Satisfied in the Lord

John 4:14 says, "But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water gushing up into eternal life." How precious is this word! It does not speak of a special kind of Christian. It does not say that only those who have received special grace from the Lord can have a spring of water gushing up into eternal life. The Lord said this to a Samaritan woman whom He previously had never met. He said that if she believed, she would receive living water. This living water would be in her a spring that gushes up into eternal life. Brothers and sisters, what is the meaning of being thirsty? When one is thirsty, it means that he is not satisfied. Those who drink of the water that the Lord gives will never thirst again. Thank and praise the Lord! A Christian is not only a contented person but a person who is forever satisfied! It is not enough for a Christian to merely be contented. Everything that God gives to us makes us eternally satisfied. But how many times have we crossed the main streets without feeling thirsty? When we pass by the great department stores, are we thirsty? If we crave for this or that, is this not being thirsty? Are we thirsty when we consider our classmates or colleagues and envy their possessions? Yet the Lord said, "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water gushing up into eternal life." What He gives to us is one kind of life, yet we experience something else. The Lord says that He is all we need, but we say that He is not enough. We need this and that before we can be satisfied, but He said that He alone is enough. Is what we received from the Lord wrong or is our experience wrong? One of the two must be wrong. The Lord cannot possibly write us a bad check. Whatever He promises, He will surely give. Our experience in the past was, in the words of one hymn, "a half salvation" (Hymns, #513, stanza 2). Why does the Lord say that a believer will not be thirsty again? This is because he has become different inside. Within him, there are new demands and new satisfactions. Brothers and sisters, are we living before God and serving Him in holiness and righteousness all our days? Are we living

before God every day in holiness and righteousness, as the priest Zachariah spoke of in Luke 1:75? Do we have something within that gushes forth all the time to quench others' thirst? The Chinese have an expression, wu-wei, which means "to do nothing." Christians have to be those who are asking for nothing. We can say that the Lord is enough for us. Are we satisfied with just the Lord? Are we really satisfied with the Lord Jesus alone? If we are not satisfied, it means that there is something wrong with our living.

A Life That Affects Others

John 7:37 and 38 say, "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water." Rivers of living water will flow out of whose innermost being? They will not flow out of only special Christians or the apostles Paul, Peter, or John, but out of all those who believe, out of ordinary men like us. It is out of the innermost being of men like us that rivers of living water will flow. When men touch us, they should be satisfied and cease from their thirst. I had a friend whose simple contact with others made them feel the banality of the world, the foolishness of ambition, and the tastelessness of greed. Someone might feel dissatisfied about something. But as soon as he contacted her, he would find that the Lord is enough to satisfy. On the other hand, one might feel satisfied about something, but as soon as he contacted her, he would find these things to be worthless. The Lord said those who believe into Him will have rivers of living water flowing out of their innermost being. This should be the common experience of all ordinary Christians. What I am talking about is not the experience of special Christians but the experience of all common Christians. Brothers and sisters, do others stop thirsting when they touch us? Or do they continue in their thirst? If others complain about their sufferings and we also complain, if others feel sorrowful and we also feel sorrowful, and if others confess their failures and we also confess our failures, we are not rivers of living water but dry deserts. Even the grass of others will be dried up by us. When this happens, either God is wrong or we are wrong. God cannot be wrong, so it must be we who are wrong.

A Life That Is Free from the Power of Sin

Let us see what happens in Acts. Verse 26 of chapter three says, "God, having raised up His Servant, has sent Him to bless you in turning each of you away from your wicked deeds." Peter's message at the portico of the temple still speaks of our condition today. The Lord Jesus' accomplishment is more than able to deliver us from sin. One basic experience of a Christian should be deliverance from sin. As Christians, we should at least overcome the known sins. We may not overcome the sins that we do not know about. But we should overcome by the Lord all the sins that we know about. We may have many besetting sins that have plagued us for years. By the power of the Lord, we should overcome all these sins. This is the biblical standard. A man should only be occasionally overtaken by offenses. But our experience is that we only occasionally overcome. How abnormal is our experience!

Romans 6:1-2 says, "What then shall we say? Should we continue in sin that grace may abound? Absolutely not! We who have died to sin, how shall we still live in it?" Every person who has believed in the Lord Jesus and has become a Christian is dead to sin. No one who has believed in the Lord Jesus and has become a Christian should live in sin any longer. But how do we know that we are dead to sin? The next verse provides the answer.

Verse 3 says, "Or are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?" In other words, everyone who is baptized and saved is dead to sin. When a person is baptized, he becomes dead in Christ Jesus.

Verse 4 says, "We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life." This should be the daily life of every Christian. Everyone who is baptized should walk in newness of life. This is not a verse for some special Christians; it is for Christians who are saved and baptized. We all have been baptized; therefore, we all should walk in newness of life. This is the experience that God has ordained for every Christian. Are we those who walk in newness of life?

Romans 6:14 says, "For sin will not lord it over you, for you are not under the law but under grace." I treasure this verse very much! Brothers and sisters, who is not under the law but under grace? Is Andrew Murray the only one? Are Paul, Peter, or John the only ones? Or are all those who have believed not under the law but under grace? How many of you sitting here today are under grace? Thank and praise our God, we are all under grace! None of us is under the law.

However, there is another sentence prior to this sentence: "Sin will not lord it over you." Thank and praise the Lord, sin will not lord it over us! Thank and praise Him that victory is not only the experience of some special Christians. Thank and praise God that victory is the experience of ordinary Christians. Thank and praise Him that every saved Christian is under grace. When I was first saved, I saw this verse and treasured it very much. I realized that I had experienced many victories and had overcome many sins. I realized that God had graced me. But there was still one sin which lorded it over me. In fact, a few sins always came back to visit me. I had overcome several sins, but a few other sins often came back to visit me. This was like my experience with a brother one day. I met him on the street and nodded to him. Then I went into a shop to buy something. When I came out, I met him coming my way, and I nodded to him again. Then I went into a second store and bought something else. When I came out, I met him yet again and nodded to him once more. When I turned to the next street, I met him and nodded to him again. I turned on to a second street and met him once again and nodded to him yet another time. In all I met and nodded to him five times that day. We encounter sins the same way that I encountered this brother. It seems that sin purposely tries to meet us. We are always running into it; it seems that it is constantly following us. Temper seems to follow some all the time. Pride and jealousy seem to follow others all the time. Laziness seems to follow one, and lies seem to follow another. One finds himself always having an unforgiving spirit while another is plagued continually by base desires or selfishness. Some find unclean thoughts following them all the time, while others find unclean lusts following them all the time. Everyone seems to have at least one sin which follows him all the time. I had a few sins which continually plagued me. I had to admit that sin lorded it over me! God says that sin will not lord it over me, but I had to confess that something was wrong with me. I had to admit that the mistake was in me and not in God's Word. Brothers and sisters, if we are living a defeated life, we should know that this is not what God ordained for us. We have to know that it is not God's intention for sin to lord it over us. His Word says that sin will not lord it over us!

Romans 8:1 says, "There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." I have expounded on the word condemnation many times. About twenty years ago someone discovered some ancient manuscripts and found that there were two meanings to this word. One is used in a civil context and the other in a legal context. According to its civil application, it can be translated "impotence." Hence, this verse can be translated, "There is now then no impotence to those who are

in Christ Jesus." Brothers and sisters, how wonderful this is! But for whom is this verse written? Is it only for John Wesley? Is it only for Martin Luther or for Hudson Taylor? What does the Bible say? It says, "There is now then no impotence to those who are in Christ Jesus." Who are these ones? They are Christians. Every Christian is a person who is in Christ Jesus, and every one of them is no longer impotent.

Verse 2 says, "For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death." I will repeat a hundred times that it is not special Christians only who are delivered from the law of sin and of death. Every Christian should be delivered from the law of sin and of death. What is the meaning of being impotent? According to Romans 7, it means doing what one hates and not practicing what one wills. It is finding that "to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not." The meaning of impotence is being unable to do anything. The history of many Christians is one of constant resolutions and constant breaking of resolutions. They continually resolve to do something and continually fail. But thank and praise the Lord, God's Word says that no Christian is impotent any longer.

What is a law? It is something that happens again and again. With a law, the same action produces the same result under whatever circumstances the action is performed. A law is a steady phenomenon; it is a constant tendency, a condition that continues to come back. For example, there is the force of gravity. Whenever an object is dropped, gravity will draw it downward. This gravitational force is a law. With some people, losing their temper is a law. They may hold back once or twice, but they are provoked the third time. By the fourth time, they lose their temper. This happens to one brother after another. One may hold back at the beginning, but eventually his temper breaks out. Every time a temptation comes, the same result occurs. We observe that the same is true with the matter of pride. When others say one good word about you, you may not be moved. But when they say a second good word about you, your expression immediately changes and your face shines. A law is anything that gives the same result when it goes through the same steps. Sin has become a law for us. Many brothers are agreeable in some things, but they are provoked as soon as they are stirred up in other things. They can overcome many things, but as soon as they encounter certain other things, they are provoked.

Brothers and sisters, it does not take special Christians to overcome the law of sin. No Christian has to remain impotent. Every Christian can be delivered from the law of sin. All of the above verses are facts; they are not commands. Every Christian should have these experiences. Yet our experience does not quite match God's Word. How sad this is!

A Life That Overcomes All Environments

Romans 8:35 says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?" Verse 37 says, "But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us." Oh, our Lord who loves us has more than conquered all these things! This should be the Christian experience. But in our case, we do not need tribulation or swords to come upon us; as soon as someone gives us a bad look, we lose the love of Christ. However, Paul said that he more than conquered in all these things. This should be the common experience of all Christians. Victory is the normal experience of a Christian; defeat should be the abnormal experience. According to God's ordination, every Christian should more than conquer. Whether we encounter tribulation, anguish, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword, we should not only conquer it but more than conquer it! It does not matter whether there are difficulties. Outsiders may think that we Christians have gone mad. Hallelujah, others can say

that we are mad. We are not concerned about these things any longer, and we have more than conquered them because of the love of Christ. Thank and praise the Lord, this should be the experience of a Christian; it is the experience that God has ordained for us. But what is our actual experience? The Bible has not kept these experiences from us, but we often do not find the way to enter such a life. Before tribulation even comes in abundance, we are already shouting, "I need patience! I am suffering!" If we find the way to this life, we will more than conquer in all these things.

Second Corinthians 2:14 says, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in the Christ and manifests the savor of the knowledge of Him through us in every place." Brothers and sisters, a Christian life is not one that overcomes sometimes and is defeated at other times. It is not one that overcomes in the morning and is defeated in the afternoon. A Christian life is one that overcomes all the time. If you encounter a temptation today and you overcome it, you should not be so happy about it that you can hardly sleep at night. Only the experience of not overcoming should be uncommon. Overcoming should be common and frequent.

A Life with the Ability to Do Good

Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them." Brothers and sisters, remember that Ephesians 2:10 comes after verses 8 and 9. In the preceding verses, it says that we are saved by grace. Here it says that we are His masterpiece, created for good works which God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in. This is not a special experience for some Christians; rather, it should be the common experience of every saved Christian. God saves us in order that we may do good. Brothers and sisters, are our good works according to God's ordination, or are we always complaining while we are doing good? Suppose you are mopping the floor. While you are mopping, you may complain that only one or two people are helping and that others are not helping. This will either result in boasting or murmuring. This is not doing good. Every good work of a Christian should be accompanied by an overflow of joy; we should not be stingy, boastful, or selfish, but generous and ready to give to others. It would be a pity if only the best Christians could do good. God's ordination is that doing good should be the common experience of every Christian.

A Life Filled with Light

John 8:12 says, "Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." This is the life that God has ordained for a Christian. Those who can stay away from darkness and who can walk in the light of life are not special Christians. Every Christian who follows Christ should not walk in darkness and should have the light of life. A Christian who is full of light is nothing more than a normal Christian, while a Christian who does not have the light is an abnormal Christian.

A Life That Is Wholly Sanctified

First Thessalonians 5:23 says, "And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." This is the apostle Paul's prayer for the Thessalonian believers. Since he said "sanctify you wholly," there must be the possibility of being sanctified wholly. It is possible to find no fault in a Christian. God will sanctify us wholly, and He will preserve us complete and without blame.

We are speaking of the Lord's provision for a Christian. The Lord's salvation has given every Christian the power to fully overcome sin, to be fully delivered from the bondage of sin, to trample sin underfoot, and to have unhindered fellowship with God. This is the life that the Lord has ordained for us. This is not merely a theory but a fact, because this is the Lord's provision.

THE NEED TO EXPERIENCE GOD'S FULL DELIVERANCE

Brothers and sisters, what is your experience? If your experience is different from the Bible, you have not received full salvation yet. It is a fact that you are saved, but you have not received full salvation yet. Today I will announce a tiding to you: The Lord's accomplishment on the cross has not only delivered you from the judgment of sin but also freed you from the pain of sin. He has prepared a full salvation so that you do not have to remain in your initial salvation but can daily experience victory while living on earth.

What is victory? Victory is the making up of what is lacking in our salvation experience. It is true that many are saved, but they lacked something at the time of their salvation. God has saved us and graced us. He has no intention that we live a wandering life on earth. He wants us to experience a full deliverance. We need a make-up lesson today because we were not properly saved when we believed. We need the overcoming experience to make up for what was lacking in the past.

Brothers and sisters, has God saved us only to find us repeatedly sinning and regretting? Since God's Son has died for us, should we still sin? Before we were saved, we were bound to sin. Now that we are saved, are we still bound to sin? Before we were saved, sin reigned. Now that we are saved, should sin still reign? Sin is diametrically opposed to God. We should not allow a trace of sin to remain in us. Will God do something contrary to Himself? Certainly not! How evil sin is! A sin is a sin, whether it is a dispositional sin, a sin of weakness, a sin in the body, or a sin in the mind.

Let us say to the Lord, "Thank and praise You; Your accomplishment on the cross has not only delivered me from the punishment of sin but also saved me from the power of sin." May the Lord show us that our experience of salvation was not complete at the time we believed. May the Lord show us the need to overcome. Brothers and sisters, if our experience does not match the Scripture, it means that we need to overcome. May He shine on us and expose us. We should not deceive ourselves by saying that it is inevitable for a Christian to sin. No word will hurt the Lord's heart more deeply than this. Brothers and sisters, do we know what the cross has done? Do we think that the Lord went to the cross just for the sake of leaving us the way we are? We should not lie. We should not boast that we can suppress or control ourselves. Suppressing and controlling ourselves is not victory. The Lord's victory completely crushes sin. Hallelujah! Sin is under the Lord's feet! All of us who have not experienced a continual fellowship with the Lord and who have not experienced the sin-crushing power need to overcome. May the Lord grace us with His blessings.

CHAPTER THREE

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OVERCOMING LIFE

Scripture Reading: 1 Sam. 15:29 (In Hebrew the phrase "the Strength of Israel" can be translated also as "the Hope of Israel." The margin of ASV contains the phrase "the Victory of Israel.")

What is victory? In the Bible, victory is first mentioned in 1 Samuel 15:29, where it says that Victory will not lie nor repent. Indeed, victory is a person. A thing is not a person, and a matter is not a person, but the Victory of Israel is a person. Victory is not a thing or an experience. It is not a matter; it is a person. We all know who this person is; He is Christ! In a previous message I told you that victory is not something from us. It is not our experience; it is a person! Victory is not a matter of what we are, but a matter of Christ living on our behalf. This is why the victory we have will not lie nor repent. Thank and praise the Lord that victory is a living person!

In this message, we will go on to consider what victory is. We need to consider the characteristics of the overcoming life. The Bible shows us many characteristics of the overcoming life. We cannot enumerate all of them in this message. We will instead mention only five of them.

THE MEANING OF THIS LIFE— AN EXCHANGED LIFE, NOT A CHANGED LIFE

Brothers and sisters, victory has to do with an exchanged life, not a changed life. Victory does not mean that one is changed, but rather that one is exchanged. We are very familiar with Galatians 2:20, which says, "I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God." What does this verse mean? It means that our life is exchanged. Our life is no longer in the realm of "I"; it has nothing to do with us anymore. It is not an evil "I" being changed into a good "I," or a filthy "I" being changed into a clean "I." It is to be "no longer I." The greatest mistake we make today is to think that victory involves progress and that defeat involves the absence of progress. This is why we think that everything will be well if we do not lose our temper or if we have an intimate fellowship with God. We think that if we have these things, we will overcome. But we have to remember that victory has nothing to do with us. We play no part in this victory.

One brother once said to me in tears, "I cannot overcome." I answered, "Brother, indeed you cannot overcome." He continued, "I cannot overcome, and there is nothing that I can do." I said, "God has no intention for you to overcome in yourself. It is not His intention that your evil temper be changed to a good temper or that your stubbornness be changed to meekness. God has no intention to change sorrow to joy. His way is to make an exchange of your life. It has nothing to do with you."

One sister said, "It is easy for others to overcome. But it is very difficult for me to overcome. My temper is worse than anyone else's, my thoughts are more unclean than others', and I am more illnatured than others are. I cannot control myself." I answered, "You are right. Not only is it difficult for you to overcome; it is impossible for you to overcome." Do you think that if a man is a little more honest, well-tempered, and simple, it is easier for him to overcome? Never! On the one hand, even if a person becomes gentler, holier, and more perfect, he still has to go, and Christ still must move in before he can overcome. On the other hand, even if he is viler, more evil, and more imperfect than

anyone else, he will still overcome if he lets go of himself and allows Christ to move in. A man who has a bad temper and is morally corrupt needs to believe in the Lord Jesus. A man who has a good temper and is very moral also needs to believe in the Lord Jesus. In the same way, it is not just illtempered and immoral ones who need victory; well-tempered and moral ones also need victory. Thank and praise the Lord that victory is Christ; it has nothing to do with us.

I met a sister once. I have never seen another person who found it as difficult to overcome as she did. She spent two hours telling me about all of her failures from the time she was a youth to the time she was fifty years old. She could not overcome her pride and temper. She was defeated again and again. No one was as eager to overcome as she was. Yet no one found it as impossible to overcome as she did. She told me that if there ever was a person who wanted to overcome, she must be one of them. Yet if there ever was a person who could not overcome, she must be one of them as well. She grieved over her failures and even attempted suicide once because of her failures. She was hopeless. While she was telling me all this, I smiled and said, "The Lord Jesus has another ideal patient for Himself today. There is business for His clinic again!" She was filled with her own sins, her own pride, and her own temper. If you did not know the way to overcome, you might have been infected by her barrage of words. If you did not know what it is to overcome, you may have concluded that she was hopeless. But thank and praise the Lord! Here is a glad tiding: You cannot change, but all you need is an exchange! Thank and praise the Lord! The overcoming life is not a change but an exchange. If it were up to you, you could not make it. But if it is up to Christ, He can make it. The question is whether it is you or Christ who overcomes. If Christ overcomes, it would not matter even if you were ten times worse than you are now.

Brothers and sisters, what is victory? Victory is not you overcoming by yourself. It is Christ overcoming for you. The kind of victory in the Bible is seen in Galatians 2:20: "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." When Fukienese argue, they often use a colloquial expression, si-bu-bien, which means that there cannot be any change until one dies. When I was in Peking, I told the brothers that every one of us has to tell ourselves that we are si-bu-bien. Thank and praise Him that we are not changed but exchanged!

A sister once asked me about the difference between a change and an exchange. I illustrated it with an old Bible. If we want the Bible to change, we have to give it another cover and add glue to the spine. Perhaps we can put new gold foil on the cover. If letters are missing from the pages, we have to make them up. If places have become blurred, we have to trace in the original words. After so much work and so many days, we still cannot be sure whether we have changed it the right way. But if we exchange it for a new one, we can do it within a second. All you have to do is give the bad one to me, and I will give a good one to you. Then everything is done. God has given us His Son. There is no need for us to strive for anything. Once we make the exchange, everything is done!

Let me give another illustration. A few years ago, I bought a watch. The company that sold the watch put a two-year warranty on the watch. But the days that the watch was in the shop were more than the days it was in my home. Every few days the watch would break down, and I had to send it back to the shop for repair. This happened repeatedly. I went to the shop once, twice, even ten or more times. Eventually, I was exhausted. The watch was repaired over and over again, but it was never quite fixed. I asked the company if I could exchange it for another watch. The company said that it could not offer an exchange; it could only repair the watch, but it was never fixed. I became so exhausted that eventually I said, "You can have the watch. I do not want it anymore." The human way is the way of constant repair. During the two years that I owned the watch, it was constantly under repair. With the human way, there is no exchange; there is only the way of repair.

Even in the Old Testament, we see that God's way was not to repair or to change, but to replace. Isaiah 61:3 says, "To grant to those who mourn in Zion,/To give to them a headdress instead of ashes,/The oil of gladness instead of mourning,/The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness;/That they may be called the terebinths of righteousness,/The planting of Jehovah, that He may be glorified." God's way is the way of replacement. God does not change the ashes. Rather, He replaces the ashes with a headdress. He does not change the mourning. Rather, He replaces the mourning with gladness. God's way is never to change, but to exchange.

Thank and praise the Lord. We have not been able to change ourselves for all these years. Now God is making an exchange. This is the meaning of holiness. This is the meaning of perfection. This is the meaning of victory. This is the life of the Son of God! Hallelujah! From now on Christ's meekness becomes my meekness. His holiness becomes my holiness. From now on His prayer life becomes my prayer life. His fellowship with God becomes my fellowship with God. From now on there is no sin too great for me to overcome. There is no temptation too great for me to withstand. Victory is Christ; it is no longer I! Is there any sin too great for Christ to overcome? Is there any temptation too great for Christ to surmount? Thank and praise the Lord! I am not afraid anymore! From now on, it is no longer I but Christ.

THE PRINCIPLE OF THIS LIFE— A GIFT, NOT A REWARD

Please remember that victory is a gift; it is not a reward. What is a gift? A gift is a present; it is something freely given. What we receive as a result of work is a reward. But what we freely receive without doing any work is a gift. The latter is given to us freely; it has nothing to do with what we have done, and we do not have to exert any effort to get it. The former requires our work; we must strive for it before we can have it. The overcoming life which we speak of does not require our own effort. We can look at 1 Corinthians 15:57, which says, "But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Victory is something that God has prepared and given to us. Our victory comes to us free of charge; we do not have to earn it by our own effort.

Brothers and sisters, a great mistake is to think that salvation comes to us freely, while victory comes to us as a result of our own effort. We know we cannot trust in any merit or any work of our own for salvation. We simply need to come to the cross and receive the Lord Jesus as our Savior. This is the gospel. While we think that salvation does not require our works, we also think that we should have good works after we are saved. Even though we do not try to be saved through works, we try to overcome through works. But just as one cannot be saved through good works, one cannot overcome through good works. God says that we cannot have any good works at all. Christ has died for us on the cross, and He is living for us within us. What is of the flesh will always be of the flesh, and God wants nothing that is of the flesh. We think that salvation is through the Lord Jesus' death for us on the cross, but that after salvation, we should try our best to do good and hope for the best. But let me ask, "Though you have been saved for years, are you good yet?" Thank and praise the Lord. We cannot do good. We cannot produce any amount of good. Hallelujah! We cannot do any good. Thank and praise Him that victory is a gift from Him; it is something freely given to us!

First Corinthians 15:56 speaks of sin, the law, and death. First Corinthians 15:57 speaks of God giving us the victory. Victory is a matter not only of overcoming sin, but also of overcoming the law and death. The redemption that God has prepared enables us to overcome not only sin but also the law, and it enables us to overcome not only the law but also death. I wish that I could walk around

the meeting hall and say to each one of you that this is a gospel. God has given this victory to every one of us.

Perhaps you are trying to work out a way to overcome temptation. Perhaps you are trying to work out a way to overcome your temper. Perhaps you are trying to work out a way to overcome your pride or jealousy. You may have spent a considerable time to do what you want to do, but you are disappointed every time. I have a gospel for you. The meekness of the Lord Jesus is yours for free. The holiness of the Lord Jesus is yours for free. The Lord's prayer is yours for free. Everything of the Lord is yours for free. As soon as you receive the Lord Jesus, all that is the Lord's becomes yours. Hallelujah! If this is not the gospel, what is it then? You may think that you have to strive in order to pray unceasingly. You may think that you have to strive for uninterrupted fellowship with God. You may think that you have to strive in order to deal with all the negative things and stop sinning. You may think that you have to strive in order to control your temper. You can confess your sins, but you cannot stop from committing these sins. You lie often, and in spite of your great effort to kick this habit, you continue to lie. I have met many brothers who told me that they do not want to lie, but they cannot change themselves. As soon as they speak something, lies come out of their mouth. I have a gospel for you today! God has given you the holiness of the Lord Jesus for free, the endurance of the Lord Jesus for free, the perfection, the love, and the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus for free. God gives freely to all those who want these things. God gives to you the intimate fellowship that Christ enjoys with God. He gives you the holy life that Christ lived, and He gives you the beauty of the perfection of Christ. These are gifts. If you tried to overcome by yourself, you could not change even if you tried for another twenty years; your temper would not change, and your pride would still be with you. Twenty years from now, you would still be the same. But God has prepared a full salvation for you. This salvation makes Christ's endurance your endurance. It makes Christ's holiness your holiness, and Christ's fellowship with God your fellowship with God. It makes all of Christ's virtues your virtues. Hallelujah! This is the salvation that God has prepared for you! God desires to freely give them to you!

Brothers and sisters, have you ever seen a sinner trying to save himself with his works? I have met many such people. When you meet a sinner, you can tell him that he does not need to do anything because Christ has done it all. God has given him the Lord Jesus. All he has to do is receive Him. In the same way, brothers and sisters, I have a message for you today: you do not need to do anything; Christ has done it all for you. God has given Christ to you. All you have to do is receive. Once you receive, you will overcome. Just as salvation does not depend on your work, because it is free grace from God, victory does not depend on your work, because it is free grace from God. Salvation does not require any of your own effort. Similarly, victory does not require any of your own effort.

I have a Bible here. Suppose I want to give it to you. The words in this Bible were not written by you; the book was not bound by you. You did not put the gold foil on the cover. Everything was done by others, but it is now a free gift to you. This is what victory is to us. It is a free gift from God. We do not work ourselves gradually into victory. We do not work ourselves gradually into holiness or perfection. If there is a victorious man on earth, he must have received his victory from the Lord Jesus.

Recently I met a sister who told me that she had spent twenty years trying to overcome her pride and her temper. The result was not only defeat but also a gradual decline during the past twenty years. She could do nothing about herself. I told her, "If you expect to overcome your pride and temper by yourself, you would not make it even if you had another twenty years. If you want to be delivered from your sin, all you have to do is accept God's gift now. This is God's free gift to you. You

only need to receive and it will be yours. The Lord Jesus is victory. If you receive Him as your victory, you will overcome." Thank and praise the Lord! She has since received this gift of God! We should realize the vanity of our work and the failure in our life. If we accept Jesus Christ, we will overcome.

Romans 6:14 is a familiar verse: "For sin will not lord it over you, for you are not under the law but under grace." How can sin not lord it over us? This can happen only when we are not under the law but under grace. What is the meaning of being under the law? I have said many times that being under the law is for God to demand man to do something. Being under the law means for us to do something for God. What then is the meaning of being under grace? Being under grace means that God is doing something for man. Being under grace is for God to do something for us. If we have to do something for God, the result will be sin lording it over us. The wages of our work is the lording over of sin. If God is doing something for us, sin will not be able to lord it over us. Under the law, we work. Under grace, God works. When God works, sin will not lord it over us. When God works, there will be victory. Everything that comes as a result of our own effort is not victory. Victory is something that comes free.

If there is anyone here who is tired of sinning, who is sick of sinning, who sins so much that he no longer acts like a Christian, and who feels that there is no longer any sense in becoming a Christian, I will tell him that all he has to do is receive this gift, and he will be a victorious man instantly. The principle of overcoming is the principle of grace; it is not the principle of reward. Once you receive this gift, every problem will be solved.

THE WAY TO RECEIVE THIS LIFE— OBTAINED, NOT ATTAINED

The overcoming life is something that is obtained; it is not attained. This matter can only be obtained; it can never be attained. What does it mean to obtain something? To obtain is to acquire something. What does it mean to attain? To attain is to go through a long journey. One has to advance gradually, and there is no assurance of when he will arrive. Hallelujah, Christian victory is not attained by a gradual process. Once I was in Kuling, and Brother Shin-liang Yu was with me. We were climbing up a mountain slowly. The more I walked, the more tired I became. After a while I asked Brother Yu how much longer it would be before we reached our destiny. He told me that it would not be long. But while we plodded on, the destiny was still not in sight. Every time I asked Brother Yu, he would say, "Very soon." Eventually, we reached our destiny. If we had ridden up the mountain on a sedan chair, the situation would have been different; it would have been an "obtaining" instead of an "attaining" to Mount Kuling. Victory is something obtained; it is not something attained. Everything related to the Holy Spirit is received, and everything related to victory is received.

Romans 5:17 says, "For if by the offense of the one death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." According to this verse, victory is a gift and we only have to receive. Victory is not something that is attained through a gradual process. Victory is a gift that is placed in our hand; no effort is required. If I give this Bible to Brother Chang, how much effort does he have to exert to get it? All he has to do is stretch out his hand and he will have it that very second. When I give the Bible to you, it is a gift. Do you have to go home and fast for it? Do you have to kneel down towards Jerusalem three times a day to pray for it? Do you have to make up your mind not to lose your temper? You do not have to do any of these things. Once you receive, everything is yours. What

steps do you have to go through to receive this Bible? You do not have to go through any steps. As soon as you stretch out your hand, it is yours. Victory is a gift. You cannot attain it; you can only obtain it.

First Corinthians 1:30 is a very familiar verse to us. I can recite it to you: "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption." Wisdom is the general subject, and we can set it aside for the time being. This verse says that God has made Christ three things to us: (1) righteousness, (2) sanctification, and (3) redemption. When did God make Christ our righteousness? God made Christ our righteousness when Christ died on the cross. We received the Lord Jesus as our righteousness at that time. Did we have to cry for three days before we received it? Did we receive it only after we apologized to God enough? Thank and praise the Lord! The Son of God has died for us. As soon as we believe, we receive. Unfortunately, in the matter of receiving the Lord Jesus as our sanctification, many of us are going around in circles; we are wasting our time and labor. Receiving the Lord as our righteousness was instantaneous. In the same way, receiving the Lord as our sanctification is also instantaneous. If we try to advance slowly, expecting that we will arrive one day at sanctification, we will never attain it. Those who try to establish their own righteousness will never be saved. In the same way, those who try to establish their own sanctification will never overcome.

What is the difference between obtaining and attaining? The only difference between the two things lies in the time. One is instantaneous, while the other is gradual. There is a story about a man who stole chickens. Originally, he stole seven chickens a week. Later, he resolved to behave better, intending to steal one chicken less each week, hoping that by the end of the sixth week he would cease his stealing altogether. He hoped that his stealing would gradually decrease until he stole no more. Stealing no more in this way is a slow attainment; it does not come instantaneously. Yet the victory that is from the Lord is obtained instantaneously.

The last time I was in Chefoo, I met a brother who had a very bad temper. When he lost his temper, everyone in his family would become very fearful of him. His wife, children, and the workers in his shop would all become fearful of him. Even the brothers in the church were afraid of him because he would disturb the meeting when he lost his temper. He told me that he could do nothing about his temper. I told him that if he would take the Lord as his victory, he would immediately overcome. Thank and praise the Lord, he accepted this word, and he overcame. One day he asked me, "Mr. Nee, how long has it been since I have overcome?" We counted and realized that it had been a month. He said, "During this past month, my wife was sick and dying one day. In the past, when my child was sick, I would be so worried that I would walk from one end of the room to the other and my countenance would drop and I would lose my temper. But when my wife was sick and her pulse was beating irregularly, I spoke to God softly, saying, `It is all right if you want to take her away.' I do not know where my temper has gone." Later his wife's condition improved a little, and he called in an acupuncturist to give her some treatment. He patiently served his wife all the time. On the day I left, he purposely came to see me off. He said that during the past twenty hours, he felt as if someone else's wife was sick because he was not worried at all. This brother owned an embroidery factory, and there were many troublesome female workers working for him. During that same month, many things happened in the factory. In the past, he would have reacted and lost his temper over these things. But during this time, he felt as if they were not his problems. He could even smile when he discussed problems with the workers. He said, "I do not know where my temper has gone." This is obtaining. If this were a matter of attainment, I am afraid that he would not attain given another twenty years. Thank and praise the Lord, victory is obtained, not attained. While you are sitting here, you can obtain it as soon as you say that you want it.

A missionary who went to India brought nothing along with her except her temper. She always lost her temper. She told herself she would be the last person in the world who would ever be patient. A friend who had rendered her spiritual help had found the secret of taking Christ as the overcoming life. She wrote to her missionary friend and told her that the overcoming life is something obtained. When the missionary received the letter, she did according to what the letter said. Three months later, her friend received an answer. In the letter she said, "When your letter came, I realized immediately that this is the gospel! Christ is my patience. As soon as I received it, my temper left. But since I had failed so miserably in the past, I did not dare say anything until I had tried it out for three months. The Indian servants here are very undisciplined and foolish. When I was angry with them in the past, I would slam the door to let them know that I was angry. Since I began to practice what you said, I have stopped slamming the door, and I no longer have a heart to do such a thing." This shows us that victory over sin is something the Lord accomplishes for us; there is no need for us to exercise any effort of our own. If we tried to do it by ourselves, we would not succeed even if we tried for a hundred years.

Brothers and sisters, let me repeat: Victory is not attained but obtained.

THE RECEIVING OF THIS LIFE—A MIRACLE

You may remember that Paul once said, "For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). Whatever we work out is according to God's good pleasure. It is God who causes us to work out everything. God is operating in us to make us holy. We do not have to exert our own effort, because everything is accomplished through God working in us. Such a holy and perfect life does not come about by our own effort; it is absolutely a work of God.

With many people, nothing short of a miracle can deliver them from their wickedness. Some people do not feel their failures; they do not realize how hopeless they are. Others have given up on their temper, pride, or disposition. They realize that they will never overcome unless God performs a miracle. Is there anyone here who can overcome sin? Man's way is to suppress sin. But God's way is to perform a miracle by removing the old man and cleansing the heart altogether. If you realize the meaning of God's victory, you will be overjoyed.

A sister had an exceptionally uncontrollable temper. Her husband, children, servants, and everyone around her were afraid of her. Yet she was a Christian. It was despairing to her to have such a hot temper. A few years after she was saved, she received the Lord Jesus as her victory. Immediately after she had such an experience, she faced a great test. The day after she had received the Lord Jesus as her victory, she woke up and came downstairs to the living room. Her husband and the servants were hanging a chandelier from the ceiling. The chandelier was expensive, but the husband and the servants were not being careful enough. It fell to the floor and shattered at the very moment that she came down the stairs. When her husband saw her coming, he froze and wondered if there would be an explosion of temper. To his amazement, she said calmly, "Just sweep away the broken pieces." Her husband began to wonder. In the past she would have shouted and yelled when even a small cup or saucer broke. He thought that this time she surely would be very mad. When he saw her reaction, he asked, "Did you sleep well last night? Are you sick?" She answered, "I am not sick. God has performed a miracle on me and has taken away my old man." The husband said, "This indeed is a miracle! What a miracle! Thank and praise the Lord! This is a miracle!"

Mr. C. G. Trumbull, the founder of the Sunday School Times Company, is a person experienced in the spiritual life. He realized that the overcoming life is a miracle. He testified once to an elder that after he received the Lord Jesus as his life, not only was his temper gone, but even his desire to lose his temper disappeared. The elder asked, "Do you mean to say that all of our old sins can be removed?" Mr. Trumbull answered, "Yes." The elder then said, "I believe that this is real in you because I believe in your word. But this can never happen to me." Later, Mr. Trumbull invited the elder to pray with him. After a long prayer, the elder also received this fact. Some time thereafter, Mr. Trumbull met the elder again, and he told Mr. Trumball, "I have never experienced in my life what I experienced on that evening. It was a miracle! There is no struggling and no striving. The cravings are gone, and even the desire for sin is gone. This is indeed wonderful. It is a miracle." Not long after, he wrote a letter to Mr. Trumbull and told him of some improper evil influence existing among the board of directors at the place of his work. In the past he would always try to suppress himself. But when he was in the midst of it this time, he was not touched and did not even have an inclination for such sins. What a miracle!

Brothers and sisters, do you have some insurmountable barriers? Do you have some uncontrollable sins? If you do, the Lord Jesus can perform the same miracle on you. You may have been helpless in some areas for years. But the Lord can perform a miracle on you. It does not matter whether your sins are spiritual, carnal, mental, physical, or dispositional. It does not matter whether you can or cannot obey God's will or whether or not you are consecrated, and it does not matter whether or not you have confessed your sins. The Lord can perform His miracle on you. If you cannot consecrate yourself, the Lord can cause you to consecrate yourself. If you cannot endure, the Lord can enable you to endure. He can overcome all the sins mentioned. God is able. When He performs a miracle, everything becomes possible.

THE RESULT OF THIS LIFE— A LIFE OF EXPRESSION, NOT A LIFE OF SUPPRESSION

The result of an overcoming life is a life of expression rather than a life of suppression. The problem with our "victory" is that most of it comes by suppression. There was an old lady who always suppressed her temper when she was irritated. She would maintain her smile outwardly, but she would struggle to suppress herself inwardly. This kind of suppressed life will only result in internal bleeding when it is allowed to continue for years. All the bitterness remains inside with a suppressed life. But thank and praise the Lord! Our victory is a life of expression, not a life of suppression. A life of expression lives out what one has already obtained. This is what Philippians 2:12 means when it says to "work out your own salvation." In the past, we tried to hide ourselves as much as possible. Now the victory of Christ expresses itself. It is expressible. In the past, the more we suppressed, the better it was. Now the more we express, the better it is. Christ lives within us, and we live Him out before men.

Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis had a young lady friend who was a poet. She was very good at helping children understand the meaning of the overcoming life. One day Mrs. Penn-Lewis visited her and tried to find out from her the way to teach children. On that day her friend invited dozens of children to come together to eat. After the meal and before the table was cleaned, a visitor suddenly came. The lady asked the children, "The table is so messy. What shall we do?" The children proposed covering up the table with a clean piece of tablecloth. She agreed and covered the mess on the table with a clean tablecloth. After the visitor left, she asked the children, "Did the visitor see the mess on the table?" They answered, "No." She then asked, "Although he did not see the mess, was

the mess still on the table?" They answered, "Yes." Although the visitor did not see the mess, the mess was still on the table.

Brothers and sisters, many people allow themselves to be unclean within but do not like to be unclean on the outside. The thoughts and feelings in our heart cannot be exposed to men's eyes. We think that we are victorious. Others may commend us for our humility, and we may call it humility. We may appear to have much patience, but actually everything is merely locked up inside. Brothers and sisters, I must say honestly that there is no victory when we suppress everything within us. Victory is when we go and Christ moves in. Victory is something that is expressed.

There was a sister who easily lost her temper. One day her servant broke a vase. Immediately she went to her bed and covered herself with a blanket in an effort to keep from losing her temper. This is a life of suppression.

A hawker may come to you to sell his fruit. You may tell him that you do not want to buy and ask him to go away. He may come the second time, and you may refuse and send him away again. He may come to you the third time. He comes because he wants to sell his fruit. He can control himself and make sure that he does not lose his temper. But this is not overcoming; this is not victory. This is merely a business practice. Suppressing your temper is not victory. Christ overcame by purging man's heart. Hence, victory means purity in the heart.

A brother who is over fifty years old had been reading Confucius's teaching all his life. He had been a Christian for over three years. Although he believed in the cleansing of the Lord's blood, he did not know the difference between Christianity and Confucianism. The Confucian way of cultivation is the way of self restraint: it is trying to achieve sainthood through suppression and cultivation. After he became a Christian, he still tried to practice suppression, always attempting to look away from problems and even eliminating them altogether. Later, he experienced the way of victory. He testified that victory had nothing to do with him. Christianity is different from all other religions. The difference does not lie merely in the cross but in the fact that we have a living Christ living within us. We can preach a doctrine of redemption and also a living Christ. The aforementioned person was a true disciple of Confucius, and nothing inside was exposed. Yet he now testifies that he can let go of himself; he no longer has to suppress himself, and problems no longer arise.

Brothers and sisters, I have to say hallelujah to this! Victory is a matter of letting go of one's self and expression. An overcoming life is none other than Christ Himself.

These five points are the characteristics of this life. Finally, allow me to say an honest word. Please remember that victory, like salvation, is definite. There is a definite date when one experiences it. You are saved on a definite date. (Of course, some have forgotten the month and day of their salvation.) You should also write down the date that you overcome. There should also be a definite date. Everyone should have a definite date when they overcome. This is a specific gate which one passes through. You have either passed through it or have not passed through it; there is no "maybe" in this matter. No one in the world is "maybe" saved; if you are saved, you are saved. In the same way, no one in the world is "maybe" victorious; if you have overcome, you have overcome. Those who have "perhaps" overcome have not overcome at all. All of us should pass through this gate. I cannot speak further today. In the future we will see that victory is not just an individual matter; there is a greater issue at stake. This is all the more reason for us to overcome.

CHAPTER FOUR

HOW TO EXPERIENCE THE OVERCOMING LIFE

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Scripture Reading: Gal. 2:20

NO LONGER I BUT CHRIST

Galatians 2:20 is a very familiar verse to us. This afternoon we will speak more about it. In the last message, we covered the meaning of an overcoming life. We know that the overcoming life is Christ, and we know that the overcoming life is Christ living in us. The question is how can we enter into the experience of this life. Christ wants to be our life and He can make us victorious. But how can Christ be our life? How can Christ live out His life within us? We have heard the gospel and know that Jesus is the Savior, but how do we take Him as our Savior? We know the salvation of the cross, but how can we be joined to the salvation of the cross? The question we will address in this message is how to be joined to Christ, including what we should do before Christ can become our life and before He can live within us. This afternoon we need to look at Galatians 2:20.

We will not consider the beginning of this verse or the end of this verse. We will begin with the middle of the verse. There is a wonderful expression in this verse: "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." We can say that it is no longer I but Christ. What does "no longer I...but...Christ" mean? These five words mean victory. They speak of the overcoming life which we have been talking about for the past few days. The overcoming life is simply (1) "no longer I" and (2) "but...Christ." This is the overcoming life. As long as it is "no longer I" and as long as it is "but...Christ," there is victory. "No longer I" plus "but...Christ" is victory, and all problems are solved.

We saw in the last message that the meaning of the overcoming life is no longer I but Christ. But some questions remain: How can a Christian be no longer himself but Christ? How can one attain such a life? What way should one take before he will become no longer himself but Christ? This is why we have to study Galatians 2:20 carefully. According to Galatians 2:20, "it is no longer I...but...Christ" is in the middle. Before this portion there is a sentence, and after this portion there is another sentence. We have to see Paul's starting point from which he experienced "no longer I...but...Christ." If we see this, we can take the same way, and we will also be "no longer I...but...Christ." Hence, we have to pass through what Paul passed through and follow the same way that Paul took. His way must also be our way.

HOW TO BE NO LONGER I BUT CHRIST

Now let us find out how one can be "no longer I...but...Christ." We have to start from the first sentence of this verse. "I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." How did Paul reach the point where he could say that it was "no longer I...but...Christ"? This is a very familiar word. "I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live." The "I" is out; it is on the cross. The "I" has passed away. Hence, I can say that it is no longer I. However, brothers and sisters, the truth concerning crucifixion with Christ on the cross is not being preached for the first time among us. We have known for a long time that we are crucified with Christ. Why has the doctrine of our crucifixion with Christ not worked with us? Brother Lu, how many years have you

heard about the doctrine of crucifixion with Christ? You have heard about it for over ten years. Is it working in you? Please be honest with us. How much has it worked in you? Not much. I would ask Brother Chi the same question. How much has the doctrine of the cross guided you? How effective is it in you? Do you have the power of Paul? Brother Chi said that he felt that he was beginning to have more power in the last few days. We have known the doctrine of crucifixion with Christ for over ten years, but it has not worked in us. We may say that it has worked a little, but it has been so little that it amounts to almost nothing. We cannot say as Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ," and we cannot follow with the words, "It is no longer I who live." It seems as if the doctrine has not produced much effect in us. I am not merely repeating the doctrine of the cross this afternoon; we know too much already. We want to see the extent to which this crucifixion with Christ should work in us and what we should do before we can say that we are crucified with Christ.

Brothers and sisters, when the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, we did not put Him to death, nor did we put ourselves to death. Christ Himself died there, and God included us in His death. We are all familiar with this. Yet I would ask one thing: While it is true that God has crucified us, what should we do and what process should we pass through before we can say in reality that we are crucified with Christ? In the past we saw what God has done for us, but we did not see where our responsibility lies. We have seen that God has crucified us, but we do not know how we should view our own crucifixion. This afternoon we want to consider the responsibility that we must bear in our crucifixion with Christ.

ACCEPTING GOD'S VALUATION CONCERNING US

Why did God crucify Christ? My intention is not to give a sermon this afternoon but to have a talk with you. This is something that concerns all of us; it is not just something for me. Every one of us should consider this carefully. Why did God want to crucify us with the Lord Jesus? I can illustrate this point with a story. A robber was found guilty before a judge. Since the crime was not too serious, he was sentenced to only ten years of imprisonment. Another robber was also found guilty and was told by the judge that he would be executed. Why was one executed while the other was only imprisoned for ten years? There was still hope for the one who was to be imprisoned. The judge still had hope in him, and the nation still had hope in him. There was still the possibility that this man would become a good citizen. After he was imprisoned for ten years, he would be released. But the nation had no hope in the other robber; he had committed too serious a crime. The nation had no need of such a person, and the only way to deal with him was to execute him. How does God see us today? God has crucified us on the cross. Why did He do this? This may not be a complimentary word, but it is the truth: God has no further hope in us. He has lost all of His hope in us. God considers us as being hopeless and impossible. The flesh is corrupt to the uttermost, and there is no other way for it except death. The work of the Lord Jesus does not change our flesh. God's power cannot change our flesh, and the Holy Spirit cannot change our flesh. Reading the Bible and prayer cannot change our flesh. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. There is no hope, and the flesh can never change. God considers death as the rightful destiny of the flesh. God has lost hope in us. Therefore, He included us in the crucifixion of Christ. There is no hope with us; the only solution is death. As a consequence, the first thing that God requires from a Christian after he is saved is baptism. Baptism is a declaration that God has given up hope in a person and has crucified him. It is also our declaration that we deserve to die and that we ask others to move us out of the way and bury us. Have we seen that baptism is God's declaration and our acknowledgement of our death? It is saying "amen" to God's valuation of us. God says that we deserve to die, and we take a further step by burying ourselves. I have lost hope in myself. There is absolutely no hope in me any longer. I deserve only to die, and I am standing on the ground of death today.

Many Christians have forgotten what they did at the time of baptism, and many have forgotten God's valuation of us. What is God's valuation? His valuation is that we should die. We only deserve to die. There is no other way to take. It is useless to try to repair or mend. There is no possibility of progress, and we cannot change ourselves. We are completely useless, and there is nothing we can do except die. Consequently, God included us in the death of the Lord Jesus. His putting us on the cross is an indication of His valuation of us. Please remember that the cross is God's appraisal of us. God has shown us that we only deserve to die and that there is no hope with us.

But do we accept this fact? Human beings are often self-contradicting, and they often have contradicting thoughts. On the one hand, we have been saying for years that we are crucified with Christ. But on the other hand, we are still full of hope for ourselves. On the one hand, we feel that we are not able, yet on the other hand, we hope that we can become able. We keep stumbling and failing, yet we still hope to overcome.

I once saw a picture of a woman who put the coffin of her dead husband in front of her door for thirty years. She would not allow anyone to bury her husband. She said that her husband was only sleeping, and she was waiting for him to resurrect. We have the same hope concerning ourselves. On the one hand, we believe that we deserve only to die and that we are dead in transgressions already. But on the other hand, we think that as long as there is a breath in our mouth, we can still be of some use. We think that we have failed because we have not been strong enough in our determination and that we will overcome if we do better the next time. We think that we have failed because we are not watchful and that we will be able to stand up to temptation if we are watchful the next time. We think that we have failed because we have not rejected temptation and that we will overcome if we reject the temptation the next time. We think that we have failed this time because we have not prayed enough and that we will overcome if we pray enough the next time. Have we seen what we are doing? God has crucified us on the cross and told us that we are dead. But we have not seen that we are dead; we have not acknowledged that we are dead. We keep hoping that the flame that has been extinguished will flicker again if we give it enough fanning. This is why we are still fanning all the time.

What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? In order to experience this truth, there is one necessary condition which we must fulfill on our part. We must say to God, "You have lost hope in me, and I also have lost hope in myself. You consider me as being hopeless, and I also consider myself as being hopeless. You think that I deserve to die, and I also think that I deserve to die. You consider me as being powerless, and I also consider myself as being powerless. You consider me as being useless in doing anything, and I also consider myself as being useless in doing anything." We have to stand on this ground all the time. This is the meaning of being crucified with Christ. What God has done can never be overturned; they are accomplished facts. But on our side, we have a responsibility that we must fulfill, which is accepting God's valuation of us. God has lost hope in us. We also have to lose hope in ourselves. Whenever we lose hope in ourselves, we will see that "it is no longer I."

The trouble today is that most Christians have refused to open their eyes. They have not seen that God has lost hope in them and given up all demands on them. He considers us as being absolutely useless. I am not afraid of offending Brother Lu here. I can declare this in front of everyone: "Brother Lu is an absolutely useless person." This is putting it in a polite way. Putting it in a less polite way, I would say, "Brother Lu, you are corrupt to the core; you are utterly wicked." But thank the Lord, I can say this not only about Brother Lu but also about myself. We are all corrupt to the core. We are absolutely useless. We are not useful for anything except death. The only way for us to

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