Date: December 19, 1936, eveningPlace: FoochowScripture Reading: Col. 3:4; Phil. 1:21; Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 1:30
Last night we pointed out how man tries to overcome by his own efforts and how these efforts are futile. Even God cannot do anything with us when we try to overcome by ourselves. This is why God allows man to fall. He allows man to fall in order to show him the kind of person that he is. Of course, God has no intention for man to fall. But if man does not fall, he will not see himself and not acknowledge that he cannot make it.
We see from the Bible that God's provisions for man are always excellent. The blood of Christ has satisfied God's righteous judgment. The cross of Christ has crucified our old man together with Him. Furthermore, God has dispensed the life of His Son to us. Yet many people think that the life of Christ within us is mainly for us to have some power. They have not seen the salvation of Christ clearly. After they are saved, they try to imitate Jesus, copying Him like they copy calligraphy. Those who copy well are regarded as being good Christians, and those who do not copy well are regarded as being bad Christians. They pray for the Lord to give them the strength to be like Jesus, to be holy and humble like Jesus, to live a heavenly life, and to have a life of prayer like Jesus.
Man wants to do things by himself. No one wants to hear someone saying, "You cannot do anything; you are too evil." Many people have reviled me and have said that Watchman Nee is an evil person. I never get angry about this. On the contrary, I tell them that they have not said enough. Watchman Nee is actually more evil than they think. Within my small heart are the sins of the whole world. God has utterly given up all hope in me; He does not cherish any hope for me. Have you seen this? This is what man has. God does not want man to live his own life. He has given Christ to man so that He would become man's life and so that man would live out His life. This is God's salvation.
What is life? Life is something within our being. Without life we would cease to exist. Christ is our life. If Christ were taken away from us, we would cease to exist. Paul did not say that he wanted to be like Christ, that he had to trust in Christ, or that he had to trust in His power, that he had to imitate Christ, or that he had to take Christ as his pattern. He said that Christ is our life (Col. 3:4), and that for us to live is Christ (Phil. 1:21). Paul recognized that his life was simply Christ, and that he lived because Christ was his life. If Christ had been taken away from him, he would have ceased to live.
God's provision for us in the gospel is for Christ to become our life. What does it mean to say that our life is Christ? Galatians 2:20 says, "I am crucified with Christ." This word is not a goal for us to attain. We could never accomplish this goal, because this is something that only the Lord Himself can do. This verse goes on to say that "it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." In other words, Christ is living within us instead of us living by ourselves. Our heart is deceitful above all things and very evil. Unless Christ lives within us, there is no way for us to not sin. Since man's heart is evil and beyond any remedy, God must set man aside and install Christ His Son within him to be his life.
What is the overcoming life? The overcoming life is simply the Son of God living within us to overcome sin on our behalf — this is the overcoming life. The overcoming life is not the Lord giving us the strength to be holy or pure in our thoughts. No! The overcoming life is Christ being obedient in our place, Christ praying in our place, and Christ being humble in our place. Christ lives in us to do everything for us. There is a world of difference between these two things. Have we seen the difference between applying Christ's power to act in a humble way and having Christ within us as our humility? If we see the difference, we will be blessed.
Last year when I was conducting a conference in Chefoo, Mrs. Witness Lee said to me, "I have overcome in many areas. I have made confessions to my mother-in-law, and my mother-in-law has said that there is no longer any problem between us. But I still have two little children who are quite rowdy. It is difficult for me to overcome in this matter. I try to be patient whenever they are noisy. I can overcome the first five or six times, but I lose my patience when they become rowdy for the seventh or eighth time. Can you pray for me that God would give me a better environment so that I can overcome?" I answered, "No. I cannot ask God to make you overcome; God will not make you overcome, He will only make you fail. Victory is something that only God can accomplish. Christ within you is your victory. God does not help you overcome. If it were up to you to overcome, you might overcome when your children shout four times, but by the fifth time you will fail. But if the Lord takes care of your children in your place, would you lose your patience? You would not lose your patience after they shouted five or ten times. In fact, after fifty or a hundred times, you would still come out more than a conqueror."
Victory is the Lord Jesus living in us. Because the Lord lives in us, He overcomes for us. No temptation is so great that He cannot overcome it. God has not given us Christ to be our example. He has given us Christ to be our life. Four years ago I was in New York, and I met a Presbyterian medical doctor with his wife and four children. The wife was about forty years old, and she was very humble. She came to me and said, "You have to pray for me. Pray that God would give me patience. My four children are driving me crazy. I can tolerate one being rowdy, and I can tolerate two being rowdy. But when three start to become rowdy, my temper begins to flare up. If all four become rowdy, I completely lose control of my temper." I asked, "What do you lack?" She said, "Patience, of course!" I then asked, "Has the Lord ever answered your prayer for patience?" She said, "No." I then said to her, "The Lord has not answered this kind of prayer before, and He will not answer this kind of prayer in the future. You cannot be patient, and you will not be patient. What you lack is not patience." She said, "What do you mean? If I do not lack patience, what do I lack?" I said, "What you lack is Christ, not patience, meekness, or quietness." Patience is Christ. True humility, meekness, and holiness are just Christ.
A brother said to me in Shanghai, "I cannot be patient. What do I have to do before I can have patience?" I told him that there is a toothbrush factory in Shanghai that sells toothbrushes wholesale; it does not sell toothbrushes retail. This is what our God does — He is in the wholesale business; He does not care for retail business. If you want a little patience from Him, He will not give it to you. He has put all virtues in Christ. When you believe and receive Him, Christ becomes yours, and all the virtues also become yours. First Corinthians 1:30 says that God has given Christ to us to be our sanctification. I cannot be sanctified in myself; rather, Christ is my sanctification in me and for me. You may not realize how precious this substitution is. God has given Christ to us to be our sanctification. He is living out a life of sanctification within us and for us. If anyone sees this tonight, I will shake his hand and congratulate him; he is the most blessed man on earth. If you are living by yourself, you cannot be sanctified. But if Christ is living in you, you can make it. This is the victory that God has given us.
Let us consider the characteristics of the overcoming life. First, we must see that the overcoming life is an exchanged life, not a changed life. Victory is not a matter of being changed; it is a matter of being exchanged. We all want to be changed, but God wants to show us that we cannot be changed for the better. God has lost hope in us completely. He knows that we can never be changed for the better. The Foochow dialect has a colloquial expression Shi-wu-bien, meaning no change until death. A person who is Shi-wu-bien is one who can never change, even until his death. Thank the Lord. He has shown us that our life is not changed; it is exchanged.
Once when I was in Shanghai, I bought a watch. At the time I bought it, the shopkeeper gave me a warranty that guaranteed that he would fix the watch free of charge if it broke down within two years. The second morning after I bought the watch, I noticed that it was two and a half hours off. I took the watch to the shop and said to the man, "Why is the watch off by two and a half hours?" The man said, "Okay, okay, I will fix it for you." After two days I went back to pick up my watch. After using it for another day, it was off by an hour again. I took it back for repair a second time. After it was repaired, I took it home. The next day the time was the same as it had been the night before; it had not even moved. I took it back again and asked the man to find why it was not moving. The man said, "Okay, okay, you do not have to say anything more. We will fix it for you." After another week I took the watch home. The next day the watch was three hours fast. I went to the shop again and said to the man, "I have owned this watch for only twenty days. Of these twenty days, it has been in your shop for fourteen days and with me for only six days. Is this your watch or is it mine? Since you cannot fix it, could you exchange it for another one?" But the man said, "There is no such thing as an exchange. The warranty only guarantees repair work. If it breaks down again, you can bring it in and we will fix it for you, until the two year period expires."
Do you see what I mean? Repairing and exchanging are two different things. Repairing involves making good that which is broken, whereas exchanging involves getting rid of that which is old and replacing it with something new. Man's concept is to repair, but God's salvation is to exchange. Most people pray for God to give them power to change for the better. But this is like fixing my terrible watch; no matter how much one repairs it, it will never be changed for the better. The only way is to exchange it for a new one. God's salvation does not help us change for the better; it does not help us to overcome. God's salvation is Christ overcoming for us. God never does a work of changing us; rather, He exchanges our life.
A year or two ago, I was in Chefoo. In a conference that was prepared specifically for Westerners, the subject of victory was brought up. A Westerner asked, "How can our lives be changed?" I answered, "Victory is not a matter of changing our life. Victory is an exchange of life. It is not a changed life, but an exchanged life. Man is concerned only with changing himself. But in God's eyes, man is too deceitful and evil. There is no way for him to be changed. Adam cannot be changed into a son of God, and tares cannot be changed into wheat. Instead, Adam is exchanged for the Son of God, and tares are exchanged for wheat. Today God has crucified our old man through the Lord's cross. Christ is living within us and is overcoming for us. Our life has been exchanged; it is not merely changed."
Here I must mention a story. Last year in Shanghai a Western missionary working for a mission came to me and told me of a person sent by the mission board to work at a school. The man had been in Shanghai for six years already, and no teacher or student in the school could get along with him. He had a terrible temper. No one in the school could do anything about him; neither could the mission board do anything about him. It intended to send him back to America by the first of November. When the Western missionary came to me for help, he said, "This man is very peculiar. He never laughs. Every time he sees others, he gives them a terrible face. He has a hot temper throughout the day, and everyone is afraid of him. When he shows up, others run away. He has been this way for six years. No one can get along with him in the school, and all four hundred students in the school are afraid of him. No matter where he goes, he gets into arguments with others. I am afraid that he is possessed by some kind of demon. Mr. Nee, you are familiar with the teaching on overcoming. What can you do to help him?" When I heard this, I rejoiced in my heart. Here was another hopeless case. Once man becomes hopeless, God has His way. God heals terminal patients. I promised the missionary that I would go and visit the man. After two days, I was in another person's home. That particular man also came. After introductions, everyone left. When I looked at the man, I almost fainted. I had never seen another man like him in my entire life. His eyes, nose, mouth, and every feature on his face seemed to be designed specifically to express anger. I could not have agreed more with the one who spoke with me two days ago. When I saw the man, I froze. Perhaps he was indeed possessed by demons! But when he saw me, he began to cry. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he said to me, "They do not want me anymore." It was hard to tell if he was sad or angry. But his face became even uglier.
I asked him, "How do you feel about yourself?" He said, "I have often bought gifts for others. I preach the gospel to others, and I pray for others. When others are sick, I pray for them, and they become well. But I admit that I have somewhat of a bad temper." I said, "Only somewhat bad?" He said, "Frankly speaking, it is terribly bad! I have a temper like a beast." I then asked him, "Were you like this from the time you were a child, or did you become this way later?" He said, "If I remember right, I have had a bad temper since I was four years old. When I was thirteen years old, my mother died, and my temper grew worse. Today I cannot do anything about my temper. Not only am I not glorifying the Lord, I am actually sinning all the time. I feel that I am the most pitiful man in the whole world. No one will nod at me or speak to me." While he was speaking, he was crying. I began to laugh. He said, "Do not laugh at my bad temper," and I said, "I am not laughing at your bad temper. I am laughing for joy. I am happy that you cannot make it. When you cannot make it, God will have a way."
I then said, "A person like you should not have any problem at all. It is not hard for you to overcome. You can overcome in an instant. The question is not whether you are good or able. The question is whether or not God is able. Victory has nothing to do with yourself. Victory depends on Christ. It is Christ in you who overcomes for you. Victory does not come by trusting in yourself. Victory fully depends on Christ and on Him overcoming for you within you. Victory can only be found in Christ, not in you." He said, "What should I do to stop my temper?" I said, "You do not have to do anything. Just let Christ do everything. Let Him live for you within you. Your eyes should not be set on yourself, but only on God's Christ. He alone can give you the victory." We talked for four hours, but the light still could not penetrate his mind. Later we prayed together, and he prayed, "God, I am too evil. I have lost hope in myself; I can do nothing about myself. From now on, I do not trust in myself. I cannot overcome. God, if You do not overcome for me, I will never make it by myself. From now on, I will not be responsible for myself. You must take responsibility for me!"
After he prayed in such an honest way, he asked, "What should I do after I go home?" I said, "You should do nothing." He began to smile. He took a few steps and then turned back and said, "Is there really nothing that I need to do?" I said, "Indeed, you do not need to move at all. If Satan comes to tempt you to exercise your patience, you should say, `I cannot be patient. I will let Christ be my patience!'" He said, "That is right. That is right." He began to speak to himself, "I do not need to do anything. If I am ever saved from my temper, it is God's work and not my work." After a few days, I asked others about his condition. One man answered, "It is amazing. Truly amazing! The whole school has never been so quiet as it has been in the last few days. We have never seen him so quiet during the past six years as he has been in the past few days. There has been no noise at all. God has demonstrated His miracle and power in this man." Brothers and sisters, if that man could overcome, anyone can overcome. After a few days, he came to our meeting and began to smile. Later his colleagues and students testified that he had changed. Even the mission board that intended to send him home decided not to send him back because of his change.
Do not think that praying and reading the Word alone will give us the power to overcome. I am not saying that we should not pray or read the Word. There is a place for prayer and a place for reading the Word. But prayer and the reading of the Word alone cannot enable a person to overcome sin. Matthew 5 through 7 says that we are the sons of God. It does not say that we have to be sons of God. If it were up to us to be sons of God, we could never make it. Matthew 5:16 says, "So that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens." If a man has good works, the glory goes to the Father. This proves that the good works are done by God through man. This is why the glory goes to God and not to man. If Brother Chi delivers a good message, no one should praise Watchman Nee. If we have good works, why should others give glory to God? The only reason they give glory to God is that these good works are from God; they are done by God.
Another characteristic of the overcoming life is that it is obtained and not attained. You can only obtain the overcoming life; you cannot attain the overcoming life. To obtain means to receive, but to attain means that there is a long way to go. Did you have to strive and struggle for your salvation? No. You experienced salvation as soon as you received. In the same way, victory is obtained. It is not attained through struggling and striving. To obtain means to have something immediately. Let us look at 1 Corinthians 15:57: "But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Thank God that victory is not something that we attain through much labor. Victory is given by God. God has given it to us, and all we have to do is stretch out our hands to take it.
Mr. Trumbull was a very spiritual man. He realized that the overcoming life is a miracle. Once he testified to an elder that his temper disappeared from the time that he had received the Lord Jesus as his life; even the desire to lose his temper had disappeared. The elder said, "I believe this is true in you, but it is not a reality for me." Later Mr. Trumbull invited the elder to pray together with him. Afterwards the elder testified, "In my entire life I never experienced what I experienced that evening. It was a miracle! There was no wrestling and no strenuous work. The urge was gone, and even the desire was gone. It was wonderful. It was nothing less than a miracle." Not long afterwards, he wrote a letter to Mr. Trumbull telling him of an evil power at the place where he worked. In the past he would have tried to suppress himself, but from the time he prayed with Mr. Trumbull, he did not have to suppress himself anymore; even the desire to suppress himself was gone.
There was once an Anglican preacher in England by the name of Mr. W ——. One day his daughter died. When he returned home from the funeral, he wondered what message he would deliver the next day, which was Sunday. He picked the text 2 Corinthians 12:9 as the subject of his sermon, which says, "My grace is sufficient for you." He knelt down and asked God to bless the subject. While he was praying, he asked himself, "Is the grace of God sufficient for me? If God's grace is not sufficient for me, how can I say to others that His grace is sufficient? My daughter has died and I feel sad, heartbroken, and hurt. This means that God's grace is not sufficient for me. I cannot lie." He thought about changing the subject, but there was no time. He could only pray, "God, help me to experience Your sufficient grace. May Your grace be sufficient for me." He prayed for a long time, but nothing seemed to work. Then he glanced casually at a verse on the mantel. The verse had been placed there by his mother while he was at the funeral. The verse was 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you." The words "My" and "you" were blue, the words "is sufficient" were red, and the rest were black. Suddenly he was enlightened by the Lord. He said to himself, "The Lord says that His grace is sufficient for me. Yet I am saying that His grace is not sufficient for me." He began to confess his sin to the Lord, saying, "God, You have said that Your grace is sufficient. Yet I am still praying for Your grace to become sufficient for me." As he was confessing, he was also praising and thanking God for the sufficiency of His grace. Soon he was filled with joy and thanksgiving. The next day, when he stepped onto the podium, he delivered the best message of his entire life. When others asked about the secret of his message, he answered that he saw what faith is after his daughter's funeral. Faith is not asking God to fulfill His promises. Faith is praising and thanking God for what He has spoken. From that time he experienced a great change in his life.
When God's life comes into us, it enables us to live a life on earth that is just the same as the one His Son lived in Nazareth. God is raising up a new race — those who have God's Son as their life and who live out the life of His Son. Philippians 4:13 says, "I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me." The Lord in you is empowering you. You have to see that nothing is too difficult for you because the One within you is empowering you. This One is omnipotent. The Lord does not want you to be an ordinary person; He wants you to live a life that God lives, to speak what no man can speak, to do what no man can do, to experience what no man can experience, and to face what no man can face. When Christ lives in you, you can live such a life.
I want to say one word that may offend some people. Many people who go to church are quite dispensable. Whether or not they are around does not mean much, and whether or not they are gone does not mean much either. God can never use such people, because they have not lived the overcoming life. They cannot testify to the world of the life of Christ and cannot help others overcome. We have to ask the Lord to enlighten us and show us the characteristics of the overcoming life. Thank God that our salvation is a full salvation. God has not only saved us from the judgment of sin, but also from the bondage of sin. God's way of salvation is for Christ to suffer sin's punishment on our behalf, to crucify our old man with Him, and to release His life and dispense it to us. Today He dwells within us. His indwelling constitutes our overcoming life.
Thank the Lord that His throne is in the heavens as well as in man's heart. Thank the Lord that He lives in the heavens as well as within us. He can accomplish God's desire within us. All the great and difficult commandments in the Bible are not for man to keep. They are meant for the Lord to keep. The harder the commandments are, the more they prove that only the Lord can fulfill them. Miss Barber once wrote the following words in her Bible beside the passage in Matthew that says we should love the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, and will: "Lord, I thank You for this commandment." She knew that the Lord was the One who could accomplish this. The commandments in the Bible can only be fulfilled by Christ. Thank and praise the Lord. Christ is our life, and He is our victory.
