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In this chapter we will consider how a person is saved, enters into the church life, experiences the Body of Christ, and arrives at the manifestation of the one new man. This is how a person gradually experiences the proper sequence of four levels of joy: the joy of salvation, the joy of the church, the joy of the Body, and ultimately, the joy of the one new man.
Man’s thirst indicates that he needs a source to quench his thirst. Man’s seeking for satisfaction is proof that there is something in the universe that can quench his thirst and give him satisfaction. Man needs to know God because only God can be man’s satisfaction. The Lord, the Creator of all things, is the unique One; there is no other God in the universe. When men do not know the true God, they replace Him with other things and establish religions. Generally speaking, there are five major religions: Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judeo-Christian, and Islam. Confucianism teaches acceptable conduct and relationships among people; it is not about God. Buddhism is also not about God; it stresses transmigration, or reincarnation. Taoism teaches that human life is like wind and vapor; it also is not about God. Although Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism are called religions, they do not talk about God and have nothing to do with God.
The Judeo-Christian religion and Islam come from the same source. The Judeo-Christian religion includes Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism. The Scriptures, the Old Testament and the New Testament, which speak concerning God, are the basis of these three. Judaism stresses the Old Testament, whereas Catholicism and Protestantism emphasize both the Old and the New Testaments. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, referred to stories from the Old Testament and the New Testament. Judaism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam all speak concerning God — the sovereign Lord who created all things in the universe.
One day the sovereign Lord of the universe entered into the world by becoming the man Jesus. Apparently, Jesus was merely a man, but in reality He was the omnipresent God. When a person feels that he is a sinner and that he cannot be satisfied in his human life, he can open his whole being from deep within to the Lord and call on His name, saying, “O Lord Jesus, I am a sinner; I need You to save me; I receive You as my Savior.” Then something wonderful will take place deep within him. Jesus, the omnipresent God, will enter into him as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). The emptiness in the depths of his being will immediately be satisfied, and he will rejoice. From the day a person believes in the Lord, he has the joy of salvation. This is the first level of joy.
In 1938 I preached the gospel at my alma mater in my hometown. A professor who was also a judge came to listen to the gospel and was touched. He asked me to tell him how to believe in Jesus. I said, “This is simple. When you get home, shut yourself in your room, kneel down before your bed, open yourself to God, and confess that you are a sinner. You should say, ‘O Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I know that You are the true God who came to be my Savior and that You died for me. O Lord Jesus, I believe in You; please save me.’”
This judge was saved, and he testified that he prayed and confessed his sins to the Lord. After he prayed, it seemed as if nothing had happened. The next morning he went to the courthouse as usual. While he was walking to work, he was suddenly filled with joy inwardly. He looked up into heaven and felt that the sky was bluer. Previously, he hated dogs, but that day a dog that he saw looked lovely to him. He was smiling when he walked into the courtroom. His colleagues asked him if he was happy because he had made a fortune. He laughed and said, “I do not know why, but my heart is rejoicing.” He was still rejoicing when he returned home from work. He was full of joy for several days before he finally realized that he was saved. He prayed to Jesus one night and experienced unprecedented joy the next day. This is a testimony of the experience of the joy of salvation.
In 1940 I was preaching the gospel in Chefoo, and a good number of sisters there had husbands who worked in customs. One day after preaching the gospel, a customs officer asked me how to believe in Jesus. I told him to go home and pray. He was a chain smoker. From the time he stepped into his office until he got off work, he smoked cigarettes. Regardless of how much others advised him to stop, he continued to smoke. However, after praying that night, he did not smoke the next day. At first his colleagues thought that he was playing tricks, but they later observed that he had given up cigarettes. When he discovered that he had changed, he realized that he was saved and had the Lord’s life.
I believe many people can testify that Jesus is the true God, our Savior, our righteousness, and our real satisfaction. Only Jesus can fill the emptiness deep within man. Every believer has experienced the first level of joy — the joy of salvation.
When we are satisfied deep within, we experience the joy of salvation. After experiencing the joy of salvation, we will sense that we have another need, and we will desire to fellowship with the branches of Christ the vine (John 15:1, 5). If we touch Jesus and meet with Him in the morning, we will go to the meeting in the evening. This is to be in the church. Those who have the joy of salvation still need to experience a deeper and higher joy, which is the joy of the church. If we do not go to the meetings to fellowship with other branches, the joy that we obtained at the time of our salvation becomes weaker, fades, and vanishes. However, as soon as we come to a meeting of the church and fellowship with other Christians, our initial joy not only returns but also becomes higher and more satisfying than it was at the time of our salvation. This is to go further to experience the second level of joy — the joy of the church.
If we only attend meetings and fellowship with the saints, we will soon realize that there is a deeper demand within us to know the church in a deeper way, that is, to progress from the church to the Body of Christ. The church is not only an assembly of the called ones; it is also the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). If the church were merely an assembly, an organization, then we would merely be members in an outward way. Then if someone is agreeable to us, we will like him, but if he is disagreeable to us, we will dislike him. At first we will cooperate with those who are agreeable to us, but if they later become disagreeable, we will become cold toward them. Then we will find someone else who suits our taste. If this is our situation, we cannot obtain the deeper, richer joy that touches more of the Lord’s presence. The church is not only an assembly of called ones; it is, even more, the Body of Christ. In the Body of Christ we are not merely members of an organization but members of the Body; our relationship with one another is inseparable.
Sometimes I do not like my feet. I need my two feet when I walk, but for some reason I do not like them when I am sitting. I am not happy with some members of my body. Nevertheless, I cannot say to my feet, “You do not suit my taste, and you do not get along with me. Therefore, you are you, and I am I.” The relationship between me and my feet cannot be severed, because my feet are members of my body. They cannot be separated from my body simply because I dislike them.
If we see the church merely as an assembly of called ones but do not recognize that the church is also the Body of Christ, then our joy in the church will not be deep or long lasting; rather, our joy in the church will fade away. I can testify that when I see that the church is not merely an assembly but also the Body, of which I am a member, then I accept the other members of the Body whether I like them or not. If we see the Body, we can neither be independent nor can we separate ourselves from those whom we dislike. This is the way for our joy to advance to the third level — the joy of the Body.
After we have seen that we are members of the Body, we will again eventually feel that something is missing. Although we have the joy of salvation and have advanced to the joy of the church, we will not be satisfied with having just the joy of the church. After we see the Body of Christ, the joy of the church will be uplifted to the joy of the Body. I believe that many brothers and sisters are saved, are in the church, and have seen and experienced the Body. However, having been in the Body for a period of time, they have a sense deep within that they still need to go forward. We are members of the Body and have Christ as our life. If we go further and take Christ as our person, the Body will become the one new man (2:15; 4:24). In the one new man all the differences and distinctions among the members disappear, and Christ is all and in all (Col. 3:10-11). The Lord wants to show us that the church is not merely an assembly of the called ones or the Body; the church is the one new man. When we see the one new man and become the one new man, our joy will advance and be uplifted from the joy of the Body to the fourth level — the joy of the one new man.
Human history is under God’s sovereign authority. On the surface, every country is autonomous and independent, but in reality, the Bible reveals that the rise and fall of a country depends on God; it is under the sovereignty of the God of the heavens (Dan. 2:21; 4:26). Historians write history from their perspective, but we consider history from our perspective, which is the divine revelation. More than two thousand years ago, according to human history, there was not much communication between countries. Nations had different languages, and there was no advanced means of transportation. If what we now see concerning the one new man had been revealed during that time, there would have been no way for the manifestation of the one new man to be realized. However, under God’s sovereignty, there have been four major events over the past two thousand years of human history, from the birth of Christ until today. These major events were for the producing of the one new man.
In 27 B.C. Caesar Augustus officially established the Roman Empire and ruled over the entire area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The Roman Empire made Greek the common language around the Mediterranean Sea. Hence, when the Lord Jesus accomplished God’s salvation through His death and resurrection and the Holy Spirit sent out the apostles to preach the gospel, the language and the politics of the Roman Empire were unified, sea transportation was developed, and highways had been built throughout the land. In the apostle Paul’s time, Greek was used in every country and city. Because the Roman Empire unified the territories around the Mediterranean Sea, Roman citizens had free access to every area. They did not need to have an identification document or passport. All these things were beneficial to the spread of the gospel. Within less than one century, the gospel spread throughout the area around the Mediterranean Sea.
The second major event was the Reformation and the discovery of the new continent. According to church history, the Reformation led by Martin Luther was an exceedingly great matter. Martin Luther’s Reformation and Columbus’s discovery of the new continent freed the minds of people who had been under the bondage of degraded Catholicism during the Dark Ages. This brought in a great leap forward in human thought and subsequently gave birth to the growth of science and the development of industry. Capitalism, socialism, and imperialism emerged one after another because of the problems caused by mass production.
After Columbus discovered the new continent, Spain became the leading power in the world. Spain was under the influence of the Catholic Church. If God had allowed Spain to remain the leading power, the entire world might have fallen under the degraded and dark power of Catholicism. However, God raised up Britain to defeat Spain, and the entire world fell under the dominion of Britain. Consequently, Britain was able to send Protestant missionaries to preach the gospel everywhere, particularly in Africa and Asia.
God used the British Empire to maintain the world situation so that the gospel of God could be preached everywhere in the world. However, the British Empire was not faithful to God. The British Empire was significantly weakened by the two world wars, both of which were brought to an end by the United States. After World War II God raised up the United States to be the leading power in the world. Due to the inventions and advancements in transportation and technology, mankind has nearly reached the highest level. This has led to much communication between nations, involving exchanges related to culture, the military, and politics.
One hundred years ago it took six months for an American missionary to reach China by boat and another six months for him to return. It took exactly one year for a round trip. Today it takes about twelve hours to travel from Taiwan to the United States by airplane. The distance between places on the earth has decreased because of the modern technology of advanced transportation. Formerly, the Chinese called the Westerners “foreign devils,” and the Chinese were not welcomed in the United States. Hence, it was virtually impossible for the Chinese to visit the Americans. However, this situation is totally changed. There can be communication between the English, the Americans, the Germans, the French, and the Chinese. We need to see that the progress in human history is for the manifestation of the one new man.
We can genuinely say that in Christ, in the church, in the Body, and in the one new man, there is no East and no West. Formerly, the East was the East, and the West was the West; the two sides could not become one. But today we can say that not only have the East and the West become one, but the East, the West, the North, and the South have also become one. Under God’s sovereignty the world situation has connected mankind through science, commerce, and culture. Hence, Christians from every continent can gather in Taiwan and declare in different languages, “Hallelujah, praise the Lord!” All the progress in technology and transportation is for the producing of the one new man.
Two thousand years ago, no one would have dreamed of the manifestation of the one new man. But today we are not only dreaming of the one new man; we are seeing the one new man. This is the age of the one new man. We see the revelation of the one new man in the Bible, and we also have the practice of the one new man on the earth. We have the joy of salvation on the first level, the joy of the church on the second level, the joy of the Body on the third level, and the joy of the one new man on the fourth level. Hallelujah!
