Date: October 17, 1936, morningPlace: Amoy
In the history of the Israelites, God's people had three main enemies: the Egyptians, the Philistines, and the Amalekites. The world is signified by Egypt; the power of darkness, who is Satan, is signified by the Philistines; and the flesh is signified by the Amalekites. The Triune God has a triune enemy who frustrates His people from following Him. Outside of God's people, there is the world, under them there is Satan, and within them there is the flesh. These three enemies work together to frustrate God's work among His people.
Egypt typifies the world that binds us; it signifies the worldly living and everything that occupies us and causes us not to serve God. The Philistines typify the authority of darkness, the power of Satan, which frustrates us and disturbs us. The Amalekites typify our flesh. Outwardly speaking, the Amalekites were not as menacing as the Egyptians and the Philistines. They opposed the Israelites who had left Egypt and would not allow them to enter Canaan. The Amalekites cooperated with the Egyptians and the Philistines to stop the Israelites from entering Canaan. This typifies the work of the flesh in us, frustrating us from fully entering into the heavenly position to enjoy God's salvation.
These are the three most damaging enemies that attack our Christian life on earth today. First, the world takes away our love of the Father (1 John 2:15). The world is versus the Father. Second, Satan causes us to rebel against Christ's authority. First John 3:8 says that the Son of God was manifested for the purpose of destroying the works of the devil. Hence, Satan is versus Christ. Third, the flesh lusts against the Spirit within us (Gal. 5:17). Hence, the flesh is versus the Holy Spirit. We can see that the triune enemy is versus our Triune God. The world is versus the Father, Satan is versus Christ, and the flesh is versus the Holy Spirit.
The trouble today is that many Christians love the world and are bound by the world; they do not want to leave Egypt. There are also Christians who do not realize their heavenly position, which is their Canaan. They have never heard of the ascended place of Christ nor experienced it. Thus they are blocked from entering Canaan. Victory over the world is the initial stage of the Christian life, while the heavenly position in Christ signifies the highest peak of the Christian living. This morning we will not speak about the world or Satan. Our emphasis will be on the problem of the flesh. The flesh is manifested not only in our personal lives, but many times in God's work as well. If it were only manifested in our personal lives, the matter would not be that serious. But when it is manifested in God's work, the glory of God will suffer great loss.
How does the flesh manifest itself in the work of God? First, we must know what the flesh is. Once we know what the flesh is, we will know how it is manifested in the work of God. We can know what the flesh is from the Bible. Simply put, everything that originates from the natural life is of the flesh. The flesh is what we have acquired from our natural life; it is what we have inherited and what we possess from birth. Anything that does not come as a result of our regeneration is the flesh. It does not matter how much and what kind it is, as long as it does not originate from our regeneration, it is the flesh. How do we know this? The answer is in John 3:6. The Lord said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Thank God that everyone who is sitting here today has had these two births already. We were all born of the flesh, and we have all been born of the Spirit. These two births often occur twenty to fifty years apart. That which is born of the flesh means that which we received when we came out of our mother's womb. That which is born of the Spirit means that which we received when we were regenerated. There is a time difference between these two occurrences. The birth of the flesh happens first, and the birth of the Spirit happens later.
The Lord Jesus said, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." A regenerated person inherits every spiritual thing that can be inherited at the time of his regeneration. Only after the Spirit begets the spirit are there spiritual things. Do you want to know what is of the Spirit? It is not difficult to know this. All you have to do is to find out what you have received since your regeneration. Then you will know what is of the Spirit. If you set aside all the new things you received from the Spirit's regeneration, the flesh would be all that was left. What does the flesh include? It includes everything that is in the natural realm and everything that you had originally. There are two aspects to the flesh, one is filthy and the other is clean. One is sinful and the other good. Before a man is regenerated, not only does he commit sins, but he commits "goodness" as well. Many non-Christians have good works, but according to God, these good works are not of the Holy Spirit, because they are not born of the Spirit. God wants to remove not only all of man's sins, but all of his goodness as well. Anything that is not from the Spirit, whether good or bad, is rejected by God and must be removed. God only wants that which comes from the Spirit. He does not ask if something is good or evil; He only asks if such a thing is from the Spirit or the flesh. He does not ask about the nature of a thing; He only asks where it comes from. Anything that comes from the flesh is of the flesh. It is easy for man to see the evil and sinful part of the flesh. But it is difficult to discern the good part of the flesh. We must therefore pay particular attention to the good part of the flesh.
There are two aspects to the good part of the flesh. First, there is the wisdom of the flesh. Second, there is the power of the flesh. Let us first consider the wisdom of the flesh. Many fleshly persons can do many things beside committing sins. They have a good mind that is capable of thinking and scheming. They can be quick to understand and apt to speak. This is the wisdom of the flesh. This wisdom was with us before we were regenerated. Since we have believed in the Lord and have been baptized, these things should be condemned. However, after we are saved, we try to serve Him in His work. We want to do everything for His sake, and we try to please Him by testifying for Him. Spontaneously, we apply the wisdom that we formerly employed in our business to God's work. The wisdom that we used to apply to our studies, our business, and our managing of human relationships is now applied to the work of God. We may think that it was wrong to use our wisdom in the world, but right to use it in God's work. I did not realize this truth until I had been in the Lord's work for six or seven years. One day I read John 3:6 which says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." I understood then that whatever is born of the flesh is the flesh no matter where it is applied. Another passage that is in Romans 8 says, "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (v. 8). This verse does not say that the evil of the flesh does not please God. It says that the flesh — as long as it is the flesh — cannot please God. Then I read the Lord's Word in John 6:63 which says, "The flesh profits nothing." It profits nothing whether it is the good flesh or the bad flesh. Only the Lord's word to us is not flesh; it is spirit and life, and only His words can give life. Other than that which is from the new life and the spirit, everything else is from the flesh and is useless.
In God's work, the only wisdom we can apply is spiritual wisdom. We can only work according to God's will. We often read the Bible the same way that we read an ordinary book. But God will destroy the wisdom of man. He has chosen the foolish things in this world to put to shame those who are wise (1 Cor. 1:27). In the spiritual journey, the wise do not have any advantage over the foolish. One does not become more spiritual because he is more wise. There is not such a thing. A wise and thoughtful person is the same as a foolish person when it comes to spiritual matters — both need faith. The wise one may understand things quicker, but this does not mean that he can acquire the spiritual realities faster. He must have faith, obedience, and consecration in the same way that the foolish one does, before he can acquire spiritual things. In order to receive spiritual things, there are no shortcuts; believing, obeying, and consecrating are the only way.
Let us come back to the first aspect of the goodness of the flesh — natural strength or the power of the flesh. Many people are powerful in preaching; they have natural attraction, organizational skills, and management skills. They think that these make them good helpers to God's work. But the power of attraction in preaching and leadership, the ability to save souls, organizational and management skills, and a talent for design and methodology do not add anything to God's work. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; when it sins it is the flesh, and when it applies itself to God's work it is still the flesh. A Chinese is always a Chinese whether he is in England or in China. The place may change, but the person does not change. The evil flesh is abominable in God's eyes, but the good flesh is equally abominable in God's eyes. The flesh cannot please God when it sins, and it equally cannot please God when it applies itself to God's work. The flesh is useless in combating sin, and it is equally useless in doing God's work.
Thank God that He has brought all men down to the same level. No one is "taller" than anyone else. Nothing in the old creation can be brought into the new creation. Nothing in Adam can render any help to anything in Christ. Everything in the old creation, whether power or wisdom, is useless in the building up of the new creation. It is a great mistake for God's worker to think that a man with eloquence, intelligence, articulation, and ability would be a big catch if he ever was saved. He thinks that such a man would be greatly used by the Lord and does not realize that the only things that a man can consecrate to the Lord are things from the first Adam. Do you think that the things of the first Adam can ever render any help to the second Adam? Suppose you see a country person who is poor in words, thoughts, and writings. You preach the gospel to him and he is saved. Suppose another man, who is young, educated, eloquent, and intelligent, is also saved. What would you think of these two persons? You may think that there is considerable hope for the young, educated man because he has a good background. You may think that there is not much hope for the country person, but that the young man is a good piece of material. However, what kind of material is he? He is material destined for hell! Where does such material come from? It comes from the flesh, and it deserves nothing but the fire. Everything that he originally has is the flesh and is abominable. That which is born of the flesh is the flesh, and it has nothing to do with God's work.
Some have asked: "Why is it that some advance so quickly while others advance so slowly? Why is it that some even do not advance at all?" The difference does not lie in their background or in what each one originally had. The difference lies in whether or not a man has exercised faith to receive Christ. The more a man believes, the more he advances. The less a man believes, the less he advances. This is the same as saying that a man will have eternal life if he believes, and that he will perish if he does not believe. There is no difference between being "good" material or "bad" material. A man who is evil by nature is the same kind of material after he is saved as any other person. His degree of advancement depends strictly on the amount of his faith, consecration, and obedience. Everything depends on Christ, not on our natural goodness or shortcomings. Natural goodness and shortcomings do not hinder us or help us in any way. Hallelujah! Before the Lord, everything that is from ourselves is useless. May the Lord break us and show us that everything that originates from the self is useless.
I love John 15:5 which says, "Apart from Me you can do nothing." Prior to 1927, I did not believe this verse. I had read the Gospel of John over one hundred times, and I had read chapter fifteen perhaps over two hundred times. Every time I came to the words "apart from Me you can do nothing," I could not believe it. I thought that I could still do so many things apart from the Lord, and I even experienced His blessings in doing these things. How could I say that apart from Him I could do nothing? When I read this in 1926, I prayed, "Lord, I cannot believe this verse, because I can still do many things without You." At that time I was very good at preaching and drew considerable attention to myself; many people were saved. I could say, "Apart from You I can do a lot!" One day the Lord showed me that apart from Him everything I did was sin. To be able to do nothing apart from Him means that I cannot do what the Lord wants me to do. I may be able to do something apart from Him, but what I can do is not what He wants.
On that day the scales fell off from my eyes. I saw that we can only trust in the Lord for the accomplishment of spiritual works and all that He wants us to do. Apart from Him, we can only do things that we want to do, not the things that God wants us to do. They are not God's work. From that day forward, I began to learn to trust in the Lord in everything. Although I still trust in myself many times, I feel ashamed whenever I do. That was a big turning point in my life. I saw that all of God's work is in Christ, and that apart from Him, anything that I did was sin. Apart from Christ, all works are sin. Anything that originates from the flesh is empowered and energized by the flesh, and God hates the power of the flesh.
Those who are serving the Lord and working for Him must ask what it is that we judge and condemn today. Do we only judge and condemn common sins? Have we judged our wisdom and power? Have we judged the good part of our flesh? All those who have judged their flesh will no longer be proud of themselves. A man who has judged his flesh will feel ashamed when he is proud. Once our flesh is judged, all the glory will go to God and not to us. It will not be related to us any longer. This is the way to serve the Lord.
Who can advance more — those with wisdom or those with power? Actually, neither fleshly strength nor fleshly weakness can help a person to advance. In order to advance, a person has to be seeking, hungry, and consecrated. In order to know whether a person is advancing or backsliding, there is no need to consider the wisdom or power of his flesh. All we have to do is consider his faith, prayer, consecration, and obedience. Saul was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward, yet God did not choose him. David was an ordinary man, yet God chose him. God chooses those whom the world despises. First Corinthians 1:27-28 mentions five kinds of people who are qualified to be chosen by God. They are the foolish, the weak, the lowborn, the despised, and those who are not. How many people believe this word? Do you really believe this word? I am afraid when some find them- selves less intelligent than others, they become discouraged and say to God, "It is useless to choose me. That man is better; he is more useful." Yet God has not chosen him; He has chosen you. You may not believe this, but it matters little whether or not you believe this. As long as God's Word has said it, it is so. God has chosen the foolish things and the weak things of this world, in order to put the wise and the strong to shame.
Last year two brothers came to me in Shanghai. One was slow in thought and the other was slow in words. Both felt called and chosen by the Lord to serve Him, but neither dared to answer His call. One said that his mind was too slow. It took him a long time to understand what would take others only five minutes to understand. The other said that his words were not coherent. They asked if there was any way to improve their eloquence and their mind. I looked at them and said, "As far as I am concerned, both of you are very qualified. No one among us is as qualified as the two of you." They asked why I would say this, and I answered, "The Bible says that God has chosen the foolish things. He has not chosen those who are eloquent or quick in their mind. If you are too good, God cannot use you. God can only use you if you are not that good. He chooses those who have not." I continued, "You two should stand before the world and testify of the power of God. Show the world that wisdom and eloquence are useless. If you are somewhat intelligent, you could not testify in this way for the Lord. But the very fact that you have no wisdom or eloquence qualifies you to prove to the world that God has not chosen the eloquent ones." The law of God was given by Moses. But he did not have any eloquence; his brother was the eloquent one. Yet God chose his brother to be the priest to speak to God, and chose him to give the law and speak to the Israelites. Aaron was eloquent, but God told him to remain in the tabernacle and pray. Moses was not eloquent, yet God told him to speak the law in front of the people. This is the wisdom of God. From this we see that natural wisdom and power account for nothing in the work of God.
Some may say, "Paul was eloquent, and he was intelligent. Why then did God choose him?" Actually Paul was not used by God because of his natural virtues. He was physically weak and did not speak with persuasive words of wisdom. I admit that Paul was intelligent. But you must remember that Paul's wisdom was put under the cross of Christ. He said that he was determined not to know anything among the Corinthians except Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2). A wise man has to do one more thing than a foolish man — he has to reject his own wisdom and power. God does not need man's wisdom or power. As we said yesterday, we have to lose everything in death. The flesh must be dealt with. God is seeking in China for a group of men who would know their flesh. Those who do not know their flesh are not qualified to be God's workers. I am not discouraging men from giving up their jobs to serve the Lord. I am not saying that it is difficult to find men who would want to work for the Lord. I have met dozens of men every year who have a heart to serve the Lord. But I find very few who will condemn their flesh. Many people want to work for God, but they do not realize that God does not want the old creation; He wants the new creation.
We must learn to deny our flesh. In working for the Lord, the crucial point is not the result, but the source. Does something originate from the flesh or from the Spirit? The value of a work is not judged by its result, but by its source. A work does not become more valuable because it produces good result. The value of a work depends on its source. In evaluating a piece of work, one should ask whether it was done by himself or by God. I am ashamed to admit that after I work, even though there are often good results and men receive help, I have to confess to the Lord because it is I, rather than God, who has been doing it. God is leading us day by day to stop our work so that we will realize that we cannot accomplish God's work and that only God Himself can accomplish His work.
Finally, let me remind you of one thing: First Samuel says that God charged the Israelites to smite all the Amalekites and not to spare them (15:3). He is asking us to do the same thing today — to smite all the flesh. This is God's firm stand. One day He will lead you to the point where you will thoroughly hate everything that is of the flesh. There is a definite date when we were saved. There is a definite date when we overcome. There is a definite date when we receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In the same way, there is a definite date when we realize that we are completely useless, and we condemn ourselves and deal with our flesh in a thorough way. Perhaps this day has not come yet. But when that day comes, we will see that everything of the natural life must be smitten; nothing can remain. Sinful things need to be smitten; so do excellent things. Bad things need to be removed; so do good things. Useful things need to be removed; so do useless things. Nothing of ourselves should remain. That day will be the day of our salvation. That day will be the day when we can truly serve the Lord and work for Him.
Prayer: Lord, we confess the sin of being successful in our work. We confess the sin of all our endeavors. Lord, we confess the sin of doing everything according to ourselves. We ask that You calibrate our work according to the light of Your judgment seat.
