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Our Chinese hymnal has approximately eight hundred hymns. Even though some of the hymns were selected from outside sources, none of them were simply copied exactly or compiled without being revised. Some originally were old English hymns that were spread to China one or two hundred years ago and translated into Chinese. When we adopted these hymns, we revised and edited all of them.
Among the collection of old hymns there were certainly some good ones, but even in these good hymns some of the wording was not according to the truth. For example, one hymn says, “In tenderness He sought me, / Weary and sick with sin, / And on His shoulders brought me / Into His flock again” (Hymns, #1068). The original hymn speaks of being led back to His “fold,” which is not according to the Bible. The fold refers to Judaism as a religious organization. In John 10 the Lord said that He would lead His sheep out of the fold. He also said that there were other sheep which were not of this fold; He would lead them both and they would become one flock (v. 16). The fold is where the sheep are kept temporarily on winter nights, which signify times of trouble. Therefore, the fold is the product of abnormal times. However, the writers of the hymns in Christianity regard the fold as a pleasant thing. This is contradictory to the truth. The Lord Jesus leads people out from the fold, but the hymn writers have opened the fold wide again and called the sheep back in.
A century ago hymns written in English often ended with something related to the “heavenly mansion.” One of these hymns is based on the historical fact of the Israelites’ crossing the Jordan River and entering into the land of Canaan. Canaan is considered the heavenly mansion, and the Jordan, the river of death. There are frequent references to things such as this. Therefore, although an original hymn was actually good, we still revised it, even if only one of the stanzas or a few of the sentences were not according to the truth. In our English hymnal every word and sentence of the eight hundred hymns we use were considered diligently. Afterward, the Chinese hymns were composed based on the English hymns.
Lesson 11 of Life Lessons is entitled “Knowing the Cross of Christ.” It begins by speaking of “the cross of Christ...according to the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory.” Here are three sources of requirements: righteousness, holiness, and glory. The Lord has fulfilled all these so that He “accomplished God’s eternal redemption for us...to become the basis of our eternal salvation.” Here we see both redemption and salvation. Salvation is different from redemption. Redemption was accomplished on the cross, and salvation is the application of the redemption of the cross to us. We receive redemption, and redemption becomes salvation to us. Therefore, redemption is objective and was accomplished on the cross, whereas salvation is subjective and is applicable to us. These are the things that we need to know.
First, we need to know that the cross was prophesied by God. Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf (Gal. 3:13). The Scriptures say in verse 13 that Christ has become a curse on our behalf, but the Chinese Union Version says that Christ was cursed on our behalf. We need to see that Christ not only was cursed, but He actually became a curse on our behalf to redeem us out of the curse of the law. In Genesis 3 the first thing that happened to man after the fall was that he was cursed. Because of man’s fall sin came in; therefore, all of fallen mankind is under God’s curse. Thank Him, the Savior Christ came to fallen mankind, and having been born under law and being under the law, He became a curse on our behalf to bear our curse so that we would be redeemed out of the curse of the law. As it is written, “Cursed is everyone hanging on a tree” (Gal. 3:13). In this way we can see that the cross was prophesied by God.
The Old Testament also prophesied that crucifixion was not an ordinary punishment or execution but an extraordinary one. In the Old Testament there is a prophecy that uses the phrase hang...on a tree (Deut. 21:22). Therefore, when the apostle Peter speaks of the crucifixion of Christ, he uses a similar phrase in 1 Peter 2:24: “Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree.” Galatians 3:13 also says, “Cursed is everyone hanging on a tree.” In the Old Testament the cross was prophesied at an early time, in Deuteronomy 21:22-23. The tree here refers to the cross that was made out of wood. In Deuteronomy the ordinance of the law that God established with man explicitly speaks of a man being cursed by hanging on a tree. As a result, the words in that ordinance became a prophecy, prophesying that Christ would hang on a tree, that is, be crucified on the cross.
Second, we should know that crucifixion was a Roman form of execution. The Jews cried to Pilate, saying, “Take Him away! Take Him away! Crucify Him!” Then Pilate, the Roman governor, said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar,” the ruler of the Roman Empire (John 19:15). This shows us that the punishment of crucifixion was a Roman form of execution. The Jewish form of execution was to stone a criminal to death (Deut. 22:24). However, about sixty years before the Lord’s birth, the Jewish nation fell to Rome. Not long before the Lord was put to death by the Roman governor, the Roman Empire had adopted crucifixion from other nations as the form of execution for the most evil persons.
Thus, when the Jews sought to kill the Lord, they crucified Him through the hands of the Roman governor, fulfilling God’s prophecy in Deuteronomy 21:23 concerning how the Lord would die. This was done by the sovereign hand of God. If the Roman Empire had not adopted crucifixion, or if the Jewish nation had not fallen to the control of the Roman Empire, or if the Romans had destroyed the Jewish nation, then the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus could not have taken place. This shows us the sovereign hand of God — to allow the Jewish nation to fall to Rome and to cause the Roman Empire to adopt crucifixion as the form of execution at that time. These were all for the preparation of the Lord’s death.
Furthermore, we should also know the time when Christ was crucified. Christ was crucified beginning at nine o’clock in the morning: “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell over all the land until the ninth hour” (Matt. 27:45). The situation of the universe changed because the age had changed. From nine o’clock to noon was one period of time, and from noon to three o’clock in the afternoon was another period. Between these two periods, darkness fell over heaven and the earth. In other words, God came in to deal with sin by causing Christ to bear all the sins of man.
Christ was crucified for a total of six hours, from nine o’clock in the morning to three o’clock in the afternoon. In the first three hours it was men who persecuted Him; it was not yet God who punished Him on behalf of us sinners. In these three hours He suffered in martyrdom and not yet for redemption. We need to be clear about this. The first three hours of suffering were for the sake of the truth, in martyrdom, not for redemption. Then at noon the whole earth became dark. From this time until three o’clock, God came to judge Christ in the sinners’ place. According to Isaiah 53, God put our sins on Him (v. 6). In these three hours God judged us sinners and our sins by judging the Lord Jesus. This was not a continuation of men’s persecution of Him. In these three hours He suffered for redemption, not in martyrdom.
Of the same period of punishment on the cross, the first half was in martyrdom, and the second half was in redemption. In the first half, men persecuted Him. At noon darkness fell over heaven and the earth, and God placed our sins on the Lord Jesus Christ. At that time the hands of men stopped, and God came in to judge Him. During this time the Lord cried, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46) The only answer is, “For the sins of us sinners.”
Next, we need to know the accomplishments of the cross. First, 1 Peter 2:24 says, “Who Himself bore up our sins [plural, referring to man’s sins in his outward deeds] in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness.” The first thing that Christ accomplished on the cross was to bear the various sins in our outward behavior, that is, our “personal sins.” Personal sins is a term in Chinese theology that is not commonly found elsewhere. The “personal sins” are the sins committed by man personally. Christ bore our sins on the cross so that we may be saved, passing out of death into life.
Second, Hebrews 9:26 says, “Now...for the putting away of sin [singular, referring to man’s sin in his inward nature] through the sacrifice of Himself.” Sins (plural) refers to man’s sins in his outward deeds, and sin (singular) is man’s sin in his inward nature. On the cross the second thing that Christ did was to remove the sin in our inward nature, that is, the sin inherited by birth. This “original sin” was inherited from Adam, who sinned and passed it on to us. One kind of sin is the “personal sin,” and the other is the “original sin,” the inherited sin. Through sacrificing Himself on the cross, Christ also freed us from the inward, sinful nature. Therefore, the Lord Jesus dealt with the two aspects of sin on the cross. On the one hand, He bore our many sins, which are the sins in our outward deeds, and on the other hand, He also bore our inward, singular sin, which is the sin in our nature.
Third, Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf; because it is written,...‘Cursed is everyone hanging on a tree.’” Christ bore our outward sins and removed our inward sin on the cross, receiving the curse that, according to God’s law, we should have received because of our fall and our sin.
Fourth, Romans 6:6 says, “Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves.” Christ has crucified our old man on the cross, and once our old man died, the body was made of none effect. When a man dies, his body is made of none effect. Those who smoke opium cannot quit no matter how hard they try, because there is an addiction within their bodies. However, once a person dies, his body, having been annulled and made of none effect, can no longer smoke opium. Our old man has been crucified with the Lord Jesus so that our body of sin may be made of none effect, so that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Therefore, Christ not only dealt with our twofold sin on the cross — the personal sins in our outward deeds and the inherited sin in our inward nature — but even more, He crucified our sinful old man that the body of sin might be made of none effect, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
Fifth, Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ.” “I” is our old man. Old man and I refer to the same thing. Since our old man has been crucified with Christ, our “I” is also crucified with Him.
Sixth, 5:24 says, “They who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts.” Not only did Christ crucify our old man on the cross; He also crucified our flesh with its passions and lusts. Here it says that we who are of Christ have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts. We can do this based on what the Lord accomplished on the cross in crucifying our flesh. We can now apply to us that fact that was accomplished by the Lord.
Seventh, Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “...blood and flesh, He [Christ] also Himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil, and might release those who because of the fear of death through all their life were held in slavery.” Because of the fear of death, men were held in slavery and thus became slaves of death. On the cross Christ destroyed the devil, who has the might of death, and released us from the slavery of death.
Eighth, John 3:14-15 says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent [on a pole] in the wilderness.” This is a second prophecy in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament the bronze serpent was lifted up on a pole, and in the New Testament “...so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], that everyone who believes into Him may have eternal life.” Since on the cross Christ destroyed the devil, who has the might of death, He also judged and dealt with the old serpent, who had poisoned mankind, so that all who believe in Christ may have God’s eternal life and pass from death into life. This is typified by Moses’ lifting up the serpent in the wilderness, which brought the Israelites out of death into life.
Ninth, Galatians 6:14 says, “Through whom [Christ] the world has been crucified to me.” On the cross Christ destroyed Satan the devil, and at the same time He crucified the world organized by Satan and hanging on Satan, causing the world to lose its usurping power on those who have believed into Christ.
Tenth, Ephesians 2:14-15 says, “He Himself [Christ]...has made both [the Jews and the Gentiles] one and has broken down the middle wall of partition, the enmity, abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace.” On the cross Christ abolished the Old Testament law of the commandments in ordinances, which separated the Jews from the Gentiles, making them one and creating the two in Himself into one new man, which is the church.
Eleventh, John 12:24 says, “Unless the grain of wheat [typifying Christ] falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit [typifying the members of Christ].” Christ not only dealt with all the above negative items for God and for us on the cross, but through His death on the cross He also released the divine life from within Him into us so that we could become His many members, which constitute His Body.
The above total to eleven major items. The first ten items are negative, and the last item is positive. The first ten items kill and abolish, and the last item releases life and dispenses life into us so that we can be His living members.
Last, we need to boast in the cross. Galatians 6:14 says, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Those zealous for the Jewish religion forced others to be circumcised in order to boast in others’ flesh (vv. 12-13). However, the apostle Paul, being gained by Christ, did not boast in anything but the cross of Christ.
When leading the home meetings, we must remember to do away with tradition, ordinances, rituals, and religion, including reading the Bible and praying in a religious way. However, do not eliminate these things too quickly. If there is a new friend in the home, first introduce him to everyone in a normal way. Do not be short of a human touch, as if you cannot be a human when you take away tradition and religion. This is unnatural and inappropriate. We should introduce new ones or family members among us in a normal and informal way for everyone to become acquainted with each other. We need to contact people in a normal way.
We are often lacking in boldness. Therefore, we need to exercise and not panic. When we go to a new one’s home, whether there are few or many, men or women, old or young, we should not be afraid and certainly not be cowardly. Our cowardice and timidity are bondages that Satan has put on us without our knowledge. We need to break through these. When we speak, we should conduct ourselves gracefully. Our voice should be loud and clear so that people can hear us. We also need to repeat-read, emphasize-read, and pray-read in a flexible way. This will make our meetings new and living.
We also need to see that reading is the most important matter. Good reading enlivens people, but bad reading kills people. We should adjust our voice to be high, low, fast, or slow according to what is appropriate. All this requires practice. A basketball player needs to practice his basic movements every day. The more he practices, the more skillful he becomes. Then his movements will be very spontaneous and skillful when he is in a game.
I hope that once a person is saved, he can use Life Lessons. However, this depends on the individual’s condition. For those who are more seeking, we can give them more, perhaps two lessons every week or two meetings a week with two lessons each time. For others it might not be the same. There is no need to push or restrain people. Simply give them something according to their condition, and do not be rigid. Let those who are slow be slow. If we push them too much, they will not be able to digest what we give them, and they may even be stumbled. However, if we do not adequately feed those who are earnestly seeking and have a large capacity, they may become uneasy. We can compare this to a meal; if the food is suddenly taken away while we are still enjoying it, it is difficult to bear the dissatisfaction within. We need to lead them in a very flexible way, giving people whatever they need. This requires us to spend time in reading the content of the lessons thoroughly so that we can apply it skillfully.
