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Scripture Reading: John 5:1-10, 14, 21, 24-26, 39-40, 43, 46-47
John 5 says, “After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down from time to time in the pool and stirred up the water; the first then to step in after the stirring up of the water was made well of whatever disease he was being held by. And a certain man was there, who had been thirty-eight years in his sickness. When Jesus saw this one lying there and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to get well? The sick man answered Him, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me. Jesus said to him, Rise, take up your mat and walk. And immediately the man became well, and he took up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath on that day; therefore the Jews said to the one who had been healed, It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your mat...After these things Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, Behold, you have become well; sin no more so that nothing worse happens to you...Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wills...Truly, truly, I say to you, He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you, An hour is coming, and it is now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave to the Son to also have life in Himself” (vv. 1-10, 14, 21, 24-26).
Verses 39 to 40, 43, and 46 to 47 say, “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify concerning Me. Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life...I have come in the name of My Father, and you do not receive Me...For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote concerning Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
In the previous chapters we saw that the first two kinds of people whom the Lord Jesus contacted were the moral and the immoral. In this chapter we will consider the impotent, which is the third kind of people whom the Lord Jesus contacted.
The Lord Jesus can meet and supply the needs of all kinds of people. He can supply the need of the moral as well as the need of the immoral. In human society there is another kind of people: the impotent. People who are impotent know what they should do, but they do not have the strength to carry it out. They know that they should do good, and they are willing to do good, but they have no strength to do good. The Lord Jesus can also meet the need of such people. The man in John 5 was impotent because he had been sick for a long time. He was so sick that his entire body was weak and unable to move.
This man was not only sick and weak but also lonely. He was lying by the pool with the hope that he would be healed. However, he lacked the strength to be healed, and no one came to help him. As a result, he remained in a miserable and helpless condition.
Such an impotent and helpless man is a symbol of numerous people who are impotent, lacking strength. His miserable condition is a portrait of many people who do not have the strength to free themselves from their problems. This man represents all the impotent people in the world. Therefore, when we consider his condition, we are actually considering the condition of all the impotent people in the world. This is also our condition, because every one of us is impotent.
After the Lord healed the impotent man, the Lord said to him, “You have become well; sin no more so that nothing worse happens to you” (v. 14). This shows that his sickness and impotence were the issue of his sins. This also means that impotence, the lack of strength, in human beings is the result of sins. If we consider our condition and the condition of others, we will realize that people are impotent because they commit sins and because sin is in their being. Just as sin made this man sick, impotent, lonely, and miserable, sin also makes us impotent and helpless. Who is not impotent? Who can help others? Who has someone to help him? Impotence, helplessness, and desolation are commonplace in human society. Everyone lacks strength, and no one comes to help. As a result, everyone is impotent and wretched. Man’s impotence and wretchedness come from sins. This condition is the issue of man’s sins.
The impotent man had been sick for thirty-eight years (v. 5); he had a prolonged, incurable sickness. Many impotent people are in the same condition. Some people have been playing cards for many years, and they cannot break away from playing cards. People hate gambling and long to break away from this bad habit. Deep within them is the feeling that gambling is a great problem in their human life. They are aware of their sickness and desire to quit, but they are unable. This is what it means to have a prolonged, incurable sickness.
Some people smoke cigarettes. Some may think that this is a small problem, but regardless of how hard these people try to stop smoking, they cannot stop. This is also a prolonged, incurable sickness.
Some people know that they have a bad temper. They do not want to lose their temper, but they cannot overcome it. Once, two women asked me about the problem of losing one’s temper. They asked, “How can we get rid of our temper?” They said that if they would not lose their temper in front of their spouse and children, there would be happiness in their family. They had not been able to control their temper from the day they were married. These women had a prolonged, incurable sickness.
Some people tell lies, some live in hatred, some cheat others, and some always quarrel with their parents. They all want to be freed from these weaknesses, but they are unable to free themselves. They all suffer from a prolonged, incurable sickness.
People are unable to break away from their sickness, because they are impotent. They are unable to deal with a small problem, and they are unable to drop a small habit. This is called impotence, a lack of strength. It is not that there is no way to be freed. There is a way, but there is no strength. There is a method, but there is no strength.
The impotent man had been sick for thirty-eight years, but he was not without a way to be healed. In front of him was a healing pool. From time to time the water in the pool was stirred up, and the first person to step in the pool was healed (v. 4). This is a wonderful way of healing. However, this man was so weak that he did not have the strength to take this way of healing. He could not step into the pool before others, because he had no strength. As a result, he could not be healed. As far as he was concerned, there was a way to be healed, but he lacked the strength to take that way.
Is this not the condition of many people in the world? Many people have a way of salvation, but they do not have the strength to be saved. The people in Judaism, Islam, Confucianism, and Buddhism have a “way of salvation,” but they do not have the strength to obtain the salvation that they seek. Although these ways are unreliable, these people still do not have the strength to obtain the salvation that they desire. For example, the way of salvation in Judaism is to keep the law of God. The way of salvation in Confucianism is to cultivate one’s morality and character. Even though these ways of salvation are not reliable, people do not have the strength to obtain the salvation that they desire. People in the world are seeking salvation in morality. They have a way, but they do not have the strength.
Suppose a man likes to smoke cigarettes. He does not smoke opium; he smokes only cigarettes. One day he says to his colleague, “I hate that I smoke. I will quit smoking today.” His colleague replies, “I bet that you cannot throw away the cigarettes. If you can, I will lose the bet and will give you something.” The man says, “You are taking me lightly! You think that I cannot throw away a small cigarette? If I can throw them away, you lose.” The colleague says, “We do not have to wait for a long time. If you do not smoke for two weeks, I lose.” The man agrees. The first day he grits his teeth and does not smoke. The second day he really begins to struggle. When he sees his colleague, he smiles. He is smiling outwardly but suffering inwardly. On the third day he is unable to resist, so he goes to the restroom and smokes secretly. When he returns to his desk, his colleague asks where he went and whether he smoked. He says that he did not smoke. Now he has told a lie. He has committed two sins. Nevertheless, his colleague can tell that something is wrong. On the fourth day the man is truly suffering because of his craving to smoke some more. Therefore, he sneaks off to the restroom again. This time his colleague follows him and catches him.
This example shows that there seemingly is a way, but the man has no strength. He wants to quit smoking, but he does not have the strength. People are the same in that they try to leave their evil ways and return to the right path. It is not that they do not have a way but that they have no strength.
There is the saying that a general can command an army of two hundred thousand soldiers, but he cannot rule over a small cigarette. Two hundred thousand soldiers listen to him, but he listens to a small cigarette. How weak man is!
Some people are smart, strong, and capable of accomplishing great things, but they cannot throw away a small glass of alcohol. They can control many things, but they cannot control alcohol. Rather, they are controlled by alcohol. This is their impotence. It is not that alcohol is powerful but that they are impotent.
Those who love to go dancing are also impotent. When they see others dancing, they cannot control the urge to dance. When they hear a song, they start dancing inwardly. They cannot stop. Some people dance until midnight and do not want to stop. Someone who loves dancing once said to me, “Mr. Lee, you do not know that dancing is also a suffering. Before I was saved, I danced until after midnight. Then my legs were sore, and my lower back hurt. I would lie in bed and cry out, ‘Why am I in such pain? I will not dance tomorrow!’ But the next evening I was tempted inwardly and had to go dancing.” He did not want to go dancing, but he could not overcome the urge within him. He was tired of dancing, but he did not have the strength to stop this addiction. This is an example of man’s impotence.
Is there even a small problem or a habit, such as a little temper, that you can eliminate? Can you refrain from losing your temper? Many people hate their temper, but they cannot stop themselves from losing their temper. I have seen people who hit and curse themselves when they lose their temper. Then they determine not to lose their temper again. However, on that same day they eventually lose their temper once again. There may even be such people among us. You are capable, but you cannot overcome your small temper. You have many good methods, but you do not have the strength. The Chinese dictionary does not have the phrase moral strength, because there is no such thing as moral strength. The ability to do good, the strength to be moral, is not found in man. Man’s sinning can be likened to water flowing downstream. It is very difficult for man to do good. It is very easy to sin, but it is very hard to do good. The reason for this is that we are impotent, having no strength.
There are many philosophies, doctrines, and methods that try to teach people to do good. The Chinese have Chinese ways. The Egyptians have Egyptian ways. The Europeans and Americans have European and American ways. The Indians have Indian ways. However, can people succeed using these ways? In spite of good religions and human philosophies, people are still in a chaotic condition. This is not because there is no way but because man has no strength.
Chinese philosophy concerning human conduct involves honoring parents, loving siblings, being honest, and having integrity. This way and the teaching of the sages are very good. Every Chinese person knows that he should honor his parents, love his siblings, be honest, and have integrity. However, who honors his parents? Who loves his siblings? Who is honest? Who has integrity? We need to consider this matter. We often are willing to honor our parents, love our siblings, be honest, and have integrity, but we do not have the strength. This is to have the way but not have the strength. Because we have the way but not the strength, we do not do what we will. Therefore, we feel pain and are unhappy.
It was during a feast that the Lord met the man who had been sick for thirty-eight years (v. 1). A feast is a day when everyone is joyful. However, let us consider this man who was sick for thirty-eight years. On the day of a joyful feast was he joyful? His condition can be described as having no joy on a joyful day. Others might have been joyful, but he could not be joyful, because he was a sick, weak, and lonely man with a serious illness. Furthermore, his desire to be healed had not been fulfilled.
Many people are like the impotent man. Outwardly, it is a joyful day, but inwardly, they have no joy. The time is joyful, but their heart is not joyful. Their environment is joyful, but their mood is not joyful. As soon as they think of their habits or problems, they lose their joy. Their longing and desire to be freed from their habits and to be delivered from their problems have taken away their joy. Others may be joyful, but they are not joyful, because their desire has not yet been fulfilled. Some cannot be joyful at their college graduation. Some cannot be joyful at their own wedding because of their problems. People are not joyful when they are bothered by certain habits or problems.
Not only was it during a feast that the Lord Jesus met this man who had been sick for thirty-eight years; it was also on the Sabbath (v. 9). This man was lying on a mat (vv. 6, 8). We should consider whether this man had peace in his heart. He was lying on his mat on the Sabbath, but he had no peace or rest in his heart. His outward environment was peaceful, but his heart was not at peace, because he had not been healed of his sickness, and his need had not been met.
Is this not the condition of many who are in a peaceful situation? They are lying on a spring mattress or sitting on a top quality sofa; they are supposed to be very comfortable. However, they have sins and habits that they cannot overcome; they have been sick for a long time but have not been healed. They feel comfortable outwardly, but they are miserable inwardly. Whether they are sitting or lying down, they have no peace. Regardless of the time and place, those who have sins and bad habits do not have peace. They cannot have peace, because their conscience condemns them of their sins and the habits that have entangled them. They have no peace in their conscience and no joy in their emotions. Some seem to be joyful when they sin, but they subsequently suffer great misery. A person who is involved with immoral and shameful things indulges his lust and seems to have a kind of joy. However, he is afraid that others will know what he does, so he goes against his conscience and lies. When his wife asks, “Where have you been?” he dares not tell the truth. He also does not want his children or parents to know. His outward environment may be comfortable, but he has no comfort or peace inwardly. He is a sick man. How can he have peace in his heart? Many people have this condition.
This man, who had been sick for thirty-eight years, hoped that he could be healed in the pool (v. 7). He hoped that he would have the strength to take the way of healing in the pool. His hopes, however, were empty and not realistic, because he did not have the strength to carry out the way of healing in the pool.
Throughout the ages, people with bad habits or with problems have always had empty hopes; they hope to be healed by a method, and they also hope that they can carry out that method. However, every method is useless.
It is not easy to set aside even one cigarette. It is not easy to throw away a few drops of alcohol. It is also not easy to stop gambling or dancing. A person may succeed temporarily, but the evil demons are always, permanently, waiting for him. The cigarettes are waiting for him. Mah-jongg is waiting for him. The theaters and dance halls are also waiting for him. Often a person gets sick because he has contracted a bacterial infection. Similarly, people commit sins because they are infected with “bacteria.” We should not think that our sickness is solely an outward problem. Our sickness is mainly an inward problem. Sin is not only an outward problem but also an inward problem. The bacteria of lust is in us. The dance halls are waiting for us outwardly, and the dancing bacteria is seducing us inwardly. Sometimes we do not need to go to a dance hall, because we are already dancing inwardly. Those who are obsessed with playing cards sometimes talk about playing cards even in their sleep. They play cards even while they sleep. The bacteria of sin is in our being. We do not have the ability to do good, but we have the bacteria of sin. This bacteria is in us; hence, when it finds a suitable outward environment, it becomes active, and our problems resurface. Initially, a young man may be very good, but in a certain environment he may be corrupt. He becomes corrupt because all the corrupt bacteria within him have found a corrupt outward environment. The combination of the bacteria and the environment brings out his corruption. Once his corrupt nature is manifested, his problem will weaken him, and he will not have the strength to get rid of his problem. Nevertheless, the young man will continue to hope that there is a way for him to be healed and that he can carry out that way. His hopes, however, are empty and futile.
The Lord Jesus told the man who had been sick for thirty-eight years to rise and walk (v. 8). After this John says that the Lord Jesus will raise the dead, that those who hear His word and believe have passed out of death into life, and that the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and will live (vv. 21, 24-25, 28-29). This shows that from the Lord’s perspective, the impotent man was a dead man; he was in death. From our perspective, he was sick. The impotent man also felt that he was sick. However, from the Lord’s perspective, this man was not sick but dead, because being sick and weak indicate death. A person becomes sick and weak because death is in him. Death is the source of sickness and weakness, and it is the ultimate expression of sickness and weakness. Sickness and weakness come from death; they are the precursors of death, and they bring in death. Sickness and weakness are the predecessors of death. A person who becomes sick and weak is getting closer to the gates of death. When he becomes so sick and weak that he cannot breathe, he is pronounced dead. Therefore, from the Lord’s perspective, the impotent man was not sick but dead. This man was impotent because he was dead.
People are dead. They do not merely have problems; they are dead. They are not only impotent but also dead, and they have problems and are impotent because they are dead. Problems, weaknesses, and the lack of strength and ability to do good are the issues of being dead. People are dead; hence, they are sick, weak, and without strength.
Where does death come from, and why does death exist? Death comes from sin and is the issue of sin (Rom. 5:12, 17). Death is in us because sin is in us, and we are impotent because death is in us.
We do not become stronger as we live longer; rather, the longer we live, the weaker and more frail we become. Young people feel that they are strong and believe that they will become stronger with time. However, in reality they will become weaker instead of stronger. Eventually, they will get old. In thirty years the young sisters will become old women. They will have wrinkles on their faces, and their hair will turn white. Their backs will be bent, and they will have lower back pain. They will walk slowly. The young people will eventually manifest these conditions. When they climb stairs, they can take two steps in one stride and ascend quickly. However, in thirty years they will take only one step in one stride, and they will almost be out of breath. The young people will gradually become weak. But this is not yet the end. Eventually, they will lie on a bed and will not be able to rise. Then they will be so weak that they are short of breath. After this they will be so weak that their eyes will stop moving. What does that mean? It means that they are dead. I hope that this is clear.
Hence, we are not living daily but dying daily. When a child is five years old, we can pat him on the head and say, “You are so good. Next year you will be six years old, and the following year you will be seven. In three more years you will be ten. Then you will be taller and bigger.” People tell me that I am almost fifty-five years old and that I will soon be sixty years old. I do not like to hear this, because my age is not increasing but decreasing. For example, I initially had eighty dollars, but I spent five dollars. Eventually, I spent sixty dollars. Now I need to be careful because I have only twenty dollars left. If I continue to spend dollars, I will soon have nothing to spend. Am I saving every day or spending every day? A common Chinese proverb says that it is rare to have someone who is seventy years old. This means that to live to be seventy years old is to live a long life. To live to be eighty years old is to live an even longer life. Suppose a person will live to be eighty years old, but now he is seventy-eight years old. What will be his feeling? He has only two “dollars” left. In two more years, after two more birthdays, his life will be over. The more advanced in age a person is, the closer he is to death. Please do not condemn me for saying this. We should ask the older people who have lived a long life whether they are happy. We might say, “Dear sir, you are already seventy-eight years old. You have lived a very long life.” He will say within himself, “I wish I were only eighteen years old. How good it would be if I could subtract sixty years. Alas! I am already seventy-eight years old. This is not a very good feeling. When I am eighty years old, the feeling will be worse!” The longer we live, the closer we are to death. Our life is not getting longer but shorter. The shorter our life gets, the closer we are to death. Therefore, we are not living daily but dying daily.
Those who have contracted tuberculosis have a tuberculosis bacteria that eats away at them every day, making them weak. If these people do not get sufficient rest and also do not deal with the tuberculosis bacteria in them, they will be weak, and one day the bacteria will kill them. Suppose worms are eating a piano so much that it sounds abnormal. If we do not deal with the worms in the piano, one day there will be nothing left of the piano. Likewise, there are worms of death, bacteria of death, that eat us and cause us harm, making us sick and weak. If we fail to deal with these worms of death, one day they will eventually kill us. All our problems and bad habits come from these worms of death. Our impotence, lack of strength, comes from the bacteria of death. If instead of killing the worms of death, we deal only with our problems and habits in order to eliminate our impotence, our problems will not be solved, and our habits will not be eliminated. Furthermore, we will not be saved from our impotence.
What can kill the worms of death in us? Self-cultivation, teaching, outward methods, and human effort cannot kill the worms of death. Self-cultivation, teaching, outward methods, and human efforts can change only our outward behavior and improve only our outward condition; they cannot terminate the death in us. These can be compared to beautifying a corpse in a funeral home. A corpse can be made beautiful outwardly, but death cannot be reversed so that the corpse becomes living. Likewise, self-cultivation, teaching, outward methods, and human efforts cannot remove death from within man, nor can they make man living. Only life — not self-cultivation, teaching, methods or human efforts — can remove death from man and enliven man. Hence, our need is life.
Our real need is life. The Lord Jesus did not use a method when He told the man who had been sick for thirty-eight years to rise up. Instead, the Lord Jesus made this man alive with life. He did not ask this man to strive or to struggle, but He uplifted him with the power of life. This man had been sick for thirty-eight years; he was almost completely worn out by death. He was barely living under the torture of death. Only the life that is able to swallow up death could save and heal him. This man did not need any method or human effort; he needed the life that can swallow up death.
His need is our need. We have suffered from deadly poison and have sustained deadly wounds. We are dead because of sin, we are dead in sin, we are impotent because of death, and we sin. We cannot break away from sin. Our need is not human teaching or our effort; our need is to be enlivened. No method can extract the deadly poison within us or heal our deadly wounds. No effort can remove the element of death in us or turn back the harm of death in us. Only a living, powerful, and death-overcoming life can swallow up the death in us, giving us the deliverance of life and the healing of life. Such a life is what we, the impotent who are struggling in death, truly need. Such a life, however, cannot be received by any method or exertion, nor is it given by religion.
Methods cannot give us life, and religion cannot give us life. Methods cannot replace life, and religion cannot replace life. Religion can only restrict people outwardly; it cannot give them life inwardly. Religion teaches people based on a set of beliefs instead of giving people life. Religion is a set of doctrines, teachings, rules, and beliefs; it is not life, and it has no vitality. Hence, religion cannot render salvation to those who are dead in sin. Religion cannot meet the true need of those who are impotent because of death.
Many people think that they should turn to religion because human philosophies and moral doctrines cannot solve their problems or meet their needs. As a result, in addition to receiving the teachings of the sages, they also choose a religion. However, religion cannot solve their problems or meet their needs, just as human philosophies and moral doctrines cannot solve their problems or meet their needs. Human philosophies and moral doctrines cannot give people the life that raises them from the dead, nor can any religion give them this life.
The man who had been sick for thirty-eight years was not without a religion. He was in Judaism, which was the orthodox religion in his time. The beliefs, rules, rituals, and laws of Judaism came from God and were ordained by God. Hence, they were genuine and much higher than the beliefs, rules, rituals, and laws of pagan religions. However, such a high, genuine, and orthodox religion could not give the salvation of life to this sick man. If the water in the pool of an orthodox religion could not render salvation to this sick and impotent man, then no water in any other religion can render salvation.
Some people think that if religion cannot solve their problems and meet their needs, then Christianity can. Therefore, they “join” Christianity. But Christianity without Christ cannot solve their problems or meet their needs. Because some people join Christianity but do not receive Christ, they are still impotent and do not have salvation. They entered Christianity, but Christ has not entered into them. They have become “Christians,” but they have not received Christ. They keep the regulations of Christianity, but they do not have the life of Christ. They are “Christians” without Christ. They have a relationship with Christianity, but they do not have a relationship with Christ. They participate in Christianity as a religion, but they do not participate in Christ. They are impotent even though they are Christians, because it is Christ, not Christianity, who gives the salvation of life and makes people strong.
Mere Christianity is a dead religion and cannot give people the divine life. Only Christ can give life, because only Christ is life. Life is not in Christianity but in Christ. Christianity is not salvation; Christ is salvation. Hence, man needs Christ, not Christianity. Just as other religions cannot meet man’s need, neither can Christianity meet man’s need. Only Christ can meet man’s need. Therefore, we are not inviting you to join Christianity; we are asking you to accept Christ. We do not want you to become a Christian who believes in a religion; rather, we want you to become a Christian who receives Christ. Whether Christianity is deformed or proper, it cannot save people. Only Christ can save people.
The Lord Jesus saw the man who had been sick for thirty-eight years lying by the pool and asked him if he wanted to get well. The impotent man thought that the Lord was telling him about the old way of entering into the pool to receive healing. He did not realize that the Lord was going to save him without a method and without his own effort. When he said that he did not have the strength to enter into the pool, the Lord immediately said, “Rise, take up your mat and walk.” These wonderful words mean that this man did not need the pool. He did not need a method, nor did he need his effort or strength. He simply needed to receive the Lord’s word. The Lord’s word has power because the Lord’s word contains life. When the impotent man heard the Lord’s word, he was immediately made well, and he took up his mat and walked. This was not the effect of a method, nor was it the issue of his efforts. Rather, this is the Lord’s salvation of life.
No method can save man, no amount of effort can save man, nor can religion save man. Only the Savior of life, the Lord Jesus, can save man. He is the Lord of life, the living Savior, and He can give the eternal and powerful divine life to man. The Lord Jesus does not give man doctrine, methods, or religion, all of which cannot save man. Only life can save man. Jesus is not doctrine, methods, or religion. He is a living Savior who can bring His living life into anyone. When this life comes, it becomes the vitality and the motivating power for us to walk. It is also the power that replaces all the weaknesses and problems that originate from death.
Man is dead. Hence, he cannot be saved by a method, human effort, or religion. Man needs a living Savior to bring him the salvation of life. When this Savior enters into man, He enlivens man with His life, thus delivering man from death and impotence.
More than twenty years ago in Beijing, there was a man in his sixties who held a high political position. This man became very ill. Before his illness he had some bad habits. One day while he was recovering from his illness, one of his relatives went to preach the gospel to him and exhorted him to believe in the Lord Jesus. He told her, “I think that Jesus is inferior to Buddha.” The next day there was a gospel meeting in Beijing, where the sick were healed by prayer. His relative invited him to hear the gospel. He thought, “I am sick also. It might be good for me to go,” and he went with her to the meeting. When the meeting was dismissed, some people remained to pray and ask for healing. A sick woman, who had been carried into the meeting, asked the preacher to pray for her. After the preacher prayed and laid his hands on her, she said, “I want to sit up.” Her family marveled. After she sat up, she said, “I want to stand up.” After she stood up, she said, “I want to walk.” Everyone recognized that this was a miracle. When the older man saw it, he was touched. He stood in the midst of the crowd and immediately bowed his head and offered a silent prayer, saying, “O Lord Jesus, You are truly a living God. I have seen You heal this woman. I am sick also, but I am not asking You to heal my sickness. I only ask You to forgive my sins. I have committed so many sins in my life. Please forgive me.” After praying, he walked out of the chapel. While he was on his way home, he felt that his whole being had changed. Previously, Chinese opera had been his favorite pastime. He enjoyed going to the theater and listening to foreign dramas at home. This evening, however, he felt uncomfortable and disgusted when he heard the sound of a foreign drama. Later, he realized that this feeling was the result of his being saved by the Lord. Therefore, he said, “I do not want to be an official anymore, and I do not want any position. I just want to carry the Bible and tell the Chinese everywhere that Jesus is the living Savior, because only He can save people.”
This older man was not saved by methods. He was saved because he met a living Savior; he met the Lord Jesus. This Savior is the Spirit, the living God, and the Lord of life, who gives life and power.
We are impotent people who are dead in sin and cannot be saved or healed by any method, effort, or religion. Only the living Savior, Jesus Christ, with His powerful life can save us from death and impotence. But how does one receive His salvation?
You first need to hear His word, the gospel of life, which is also His voice. He said, “He who hears My word and believes...has eternal life and...has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24). He also said, “The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (v. 25). These verses show that in order to receive His salvation of life and pass out of death into life, you must hear His word. His word is the gospel of life, which is His voice. His word comes out of Him as the Lord of life; hence, it contains His life. When you hear His life-containing word, His life will enter into you and save you, and you will pass out of death into life.
That day the man who had been sick for thirty-eight years was saved by hearing the word of the Lord Jesus. This man began to hear the voice of the Lord Jesus when the Lord asked, “Do you want to get well?” (v. 6). This was the voice of the Lord’s gospel. When the Lord said, “Rise, take up your mat and walk” (v. 8), this man heard more of the Lord’s word. The word of the Lord’s gospel, His voice of life, touched the impotent man’s inward being, which was full of death, and caused him to have the vitality of life. Therefore, he was able to rise, take up his mat, and walk. He passed out of death into life and was made alive by hearing the Lord’s word. As soon as he heard the Lord’s word, he lived. Hence, people can be made alive and have the Lord’s life by hearing His word, His voice. This is how to receive living salvation.
After hearing the Lord’s word, you need to believe in His word in order to receive the Lord. When you hear the Lord’s word, you must believe and receive it so that His word can manifest its power. You must believe and receive the Lord’s word so that it can enter into you to save you. The Lord’s word contains His life. Therefore, when you believe and receive His word, His word enters into you, enabling you to receive the life contained in His word. This life is the Lord Himself; hence, it is divine and eternal, and it possesses the power of resurrection and unlimited strength. When this life enters into you, it will raise you from the dead, changing your weakness into strength and turning your sorrow into joy.
The man who had been sick for thirty-eight years received the Lord’s salvation of life by believing and receiving the Lord’s word. When he heard the Lord say, “Rise, take up your mat and walk,” he believed and received the Lord’s word. As a result, the life and power in the Lord’s word enabled him to rise, take up his mat, and walk. This was the Lord’s life entering into him through the Lord’s word in order to be his power for his salvation.
Examples of the Lord’s word of the gospel in the Bible include: “He who believes into the Son has eternal life” (3:36); “He who believes into Him is not condemned” (v. 18); “With the heart there is believing unto righteousness” (Rom. 10:10); “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (v. 13). As long as you are willing to believe and receive His word, you will receive the Lord’s life and His salvation.
You must believe in the Lord’s word in order to receive His salvation. The Bible is the Lord’s word. Therefore, if you want to receive the Lord’s salvation, you must believe in the Bible. If you do not believe in the Bible, you cannot believe in the Lord’s word or in the Lord, because the Bible testifies concerning the Lord (John 5:39-40). The Lord spoke many words, and many portions in the Bible refer to the Lord. Nevertheless, to believe in the Bible but not believe in the Lord is not possible. The Bible and the Lord are inseparable. We cannot be saved if we separate the Bible from the Lord. The Jews separated the Scriptures from the Lord. They believed in the Scriptures, but they would not believe in the Lord. They searched the Scriptures, but they would not come to the Lord to receive life; they would not receive the Lord as their life. As a result, they could not receive the salvation of the Scriptures, which is the salvation of the Lord. Many people are like this. They study the Bible, appreciate the Bible, agree with the Bible, and even believe in the Bible, but they are not willing to come to the Lord, to call on Him, to believe in Him from their heart, or to receive Him as their Savior. They contact the Bible without contacting the Lord. They contact the Bible of letters but do not contact the living Lord. As a result, they receive only doctrines and letter; they do not receive a living salvation, the salvation of life.
The Bible of letters cannot save you; only the living Lord can save you. This living Lord is revealed through the Bible in order for you to receive Him. He put Himself in the words of the Bible in order for you to receive Him. Therefore, if you want to receive the Lord, you must receive the words of the Bible, and if you want to receive the words of the Bible, you must also receive Him. If you believe and receive the words of the Bible in such a way, you will receive the Lord into your being and have His life for your salvation.
You may say, “The Lord Jesus is far away from me in space and in time. How can He come into me?” You need to realize that the Lord Jesus is God and the Spirit; He is eternal and omnipresent. Therefore, as long as you believe in His word and receive Him as your Savior, regardless of the time and the place, He, as the Spirit, will enter into you and give you His life for your salvation. This is not superstition. Many things that we encounter in our daily life are according to this principle. For example, many people have radios in their homes. They only need to turn on the power and tune to the right channel in order for the radio waves in the air to be transmitted into the radio. This is not superstition. The radio waves are everywhere in the air. As long as a radio has a corresponding channel and the power is on, the radio waves will be transmitted into the radio, and there will be sound. Likewise, the Lord Jesus is the Spirit, and He is everywhere in the universe; He is not limited by time. Your heart is like a radio, and repenting, believing, and receiving Him are the way to turn on the radio of your heart and tune it to the right channel. Then He will enter into you, and His life will begin to operate, giving you a living salvation from within. This is not superstition; this is reality. This is as real as radio waves being transmitted into a radio and producing sound. The Lord Jesus is real, the Spirit is real, and His life is also real. It is also real that today He is the Spirit who comes into people in order for them to receive His life. If you repent and believe, that is, open to Him, receive Him as your Savior, and call upon Him, He will enter into you, and you will receive His life and be made alive. Then you will know how effective and real He is.
A person who believes and receives the Lord into his being receives the Lord’s life; he receives the eternal, uncreated, divine life of God. This life has the power of resurrection. A person who receives this life will be made alive inwardly and will pass out of death into life. The life of God will become the vitality in his being, motivating him to do what he is unable to do in himself, just as electricity enters into an electrical fan and makes it turn.
Formerly, we were dead and impotent, powerless within. Then the Lord’s life entered into us. This life is vitality, a power that motivates us. It is like electricity. The impotent man had been sick for thirty-eight years; he was lying on a mat and had no strength to move. But as soon as he received the Lord’s word, the power of the Lord’s life enabled him not only to rise and walk but also to take up his mat. Formerly, the mat carried him; now he took up the mat and walked. The Lord’s life is able to strengthen an impotent man to such an extent.
Some people were unable to live without mah-jongg, without smoking and drinking, without dancing, or without watching movies. Movies were their “bed,” and mah-jongg was their “mat” from which they could not rise. After they believed in the Lord and His life entered into them, they were empowered to overcome and rule over these sinful things, taking up the sinful “mats” that used to carry them and walking away.
The Lord Jesus is the living Savior. His life is powerful, and He can enliven the dead, strengthen the impotent, and deliver people from what binds them. May you receive Him as your Savior so that you may receive His salvation of life.
