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Date: April 12, 1937Place: CantonScripture Reading: Mark 9:5-7; Matt. 17:24-27; Acts 10:14-16, 28-29, 34-35, 43-45
All the verses we have read tonight are related to Peter and his speaking. Peter was particularly fond of talking. He always had something to say even though it was not always the opportune time to say it. Of the many times that Peter spoke, God interrupted him three times. First, the Father interrupted his speaking; then Christ interrupted his speaking; and finally, the Holy Spirit interrupted his speaking. God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit interrupted Peter's speaking three different times. These three instances are very unusual. First, God came in to restrict Peter when he had run out of words. Second, God restricted Peter before he had even begun to speak. Third, God restricted Peter after a lengthy speech as he was about to continue. These three instances were recorded in Mark 9, Matthew 17, and Acts 10.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, the Lord Jesus changed His appearance, and Moses and Elijah suddenly appeared. When Peter saw this, he said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tents, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah" (Mark 9:5). Peter often addressed Christ as Lord (Adonai). But here he addressed the Lord as Rabbi. The Bible continues, "He did not know what to answer." On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter saw Christ as the Rabbi, and he also saw two others in addition to Christ — Moses and Elijah. While Peter was saying, "It is good for us to be here," God would not allow him to go on. He stopped Peter's speaking: "And a voice came out of the cloud: This is My Son, the Beloved. Hear Him!" (v. 7). This was the Father interrupting Peter's speaking.
In Matthew 17 when the Lord was in Capernaum, the temple-tax gatherers came to ask Peter, "Does not your Teacher pay the temple tax?" (v. 24). Peter said, "Yes." After Peter answered, he thought, "What if Christ does not pay the tax?" Therefore, he came into the house to tell the Lord. But the Lord had already prepared something to say to him. Verse 25 says, "Jesus anticipated him, saying..." This means that Christ would not allow him to speak. On the Mount of Transfiguration, the Father interrupted Peter's speaking. Inside the house beside the seashore, Christ interrupted Peter's speaking.
Peter was a Jew, and Jews did not associate with Gentiles. However, God purposely chose Peter to open the door of the gospel to the Gentiles; He did not choose anyone else. One day Peter saw a vision. "He beheld heaven opened, and a certain vessel like a great sheet descending, being let down by four corners onto the earth, in which were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and birds of heaven. And a voice came to him: Rise up, Peter; slay and eat! But Peter said, By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common and unclean. And a voice came to him again a second time: The things that God has cleansed, do not make common. And this occurred three times; and immediately the vessel was taken up into heaven. Now as Peter was utterly perplexed in himself as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made diligent inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate. And they called out and inquired whether Simon, who is surnamed Peter, was lodging there" (Acts 10:11-18). The Holy Spirit then urged Peter to go with them.
The next day Peter went with the messengers of Cornelius. When he arrived at the house, he preached the gospel to the people with the opening words: "In truth I perceive that God is not a respecter of persons, but in every nation he who fears Him and works righteousness is acceptable to Him" (vv. 34-35). Peter evidently perceived the significance of the vision, but did not entirely agree with God. He went on and on with his speaking, but the Holy Spirit did not wait for Peter to finish. He fell upon all those who heard the word (v. 44). This was the Holy Spirit interrupting Peter's speaking. When Peter saw that the Holy Spirit was being poured out on the Gentiles, he said, "Can anyone forbid the water so that these would not be baptized?" (v. 47).
Let us consider the reason God interrupts man's speaking. Of all the books in the Old Testament, Job contains the greatest amount of man's speaking. There is not another book in the Bible that contains more speaking from man. The three friends of Job had much to say; they spoke unceasingly. Even Job spoke unceasingly, and at the end, Elihu opened his mouth to say many words. After Job's three friends finished speaking and after Job and Elihu finished speaking, God began to speak. There are forty-two chapters in Job. Most of them are man's speaking. God only speaks at the end. It seems as if God patiently endured their speaking. From this we can see that God is not only the God who speaks but also the God who listens.
God listened to the incessant speaking of Job and his friends, yet it seems that God did not have the same patience with Peter. Was it because God had become impatient? No, if God were impatient, He could have stopped Job and his friends while they were talking. God was not in haste to stop man's speaking. In reading the book of Job, we see that God likes to listen to man's talking. He can listen to man's talking. God interrupts man's speaking for a definite reason. Sometimes, God cannot allow man to continue speaking, because man will go astray. We should realize that God interrupts man's speaking not because He is impatient; He interrupts man's speaking because what is said should not be said. They are words that should not be heard, words that need to be stopped.
Peter's speaking was interrupted first by God on the Mount of Transfiguration. After the Lord was transfigured before the three disciples, Moses and Elijah also appeared. If you had asked Peter on that day whether he would choose the law, the prophets, or Christ, Peter would have probably answered, "I cannot choose just one. I want all three." Peter, as well as many Christians, wanted to have the law and the prophets in addition to Christ. We all want to have regulations and help from spiritual ones. Christians may think that they have the Spirit living within and that they have Christ as power and life. But they also need outward statutes, regulations, laws, and help from others. This is man's thought; it is not God's way. God the Father spoke to Peter from heaven: "This is My Son, the Beloved. Hear Him!" This means that God will not tolerate our putting Christ on the same level with the law and the prophets. Today those who have not received Christ may want the law and the prophets. However, since we have received Christ, God will not tolerate the law and prophets.
What is the law? The law tells us what is right and wrong in an outward way, while Christ tells us what is right and wrong from within. The law is the outward fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; but Christ in us is the inward fruit of the tree of life.
Eight or nine years ago, I was at Kuling Mountain recovering from an illness. At that time I met an electrician who installed electric lights. He was not very literate. (Today he is able to read the Bible.) As I read the Bible daily, I would read portions of it to him. Later, he was saved. Not long after, I returned to Shanghai. I was somewhat worried about him because he drank quite a bit. Every night he had to drink. He could drink a few bottles of wine at one time without getting drunk. However, every time he drank, he could not stop until he was drunk. I was worried about what would happen after he had spent all his money on drinking. While I was still with him, I often wanted to urge him to stop drinking. But I did not say anything. After I returned to Shanghai, he came to visit me one day. I asked him how he was doing and whether or not he had experienced any temptations recently. He replied, "Mr. Nee, don't you know? I am a wino. I love drinking. After you left, my wife set the table with the food and wine on it. I wanted to drink, and I was getting ready to open my mouth to give thanks for the food. But I could not pray. I asked my wife to bring the Bible to me so that I could see what it said about drinking. I searched for a long time, but I could not find anything regarding the matter of drinking. I thought to myself, `It is a pity that Mr. Nee is not here. If he was, I could ask him.' Since I could not ask you and since my wife and I only knew bits and pieces of the Bible, I thought that it would not matter if I drank. I thought that God was not concerned about this matter, so I prepared a glass of wine. But I could not put the drink in my mouth. I had to ask my wife to take the wine away. Only then was I able to pray and take my supper. I was very puzzled. I told myself that when I went to Shanghai the next time, I would ask you for the reason."
I asked, "Why did you stop drinking?" He said, "I don't know why. All I know is that when I tried to drink, the `householder' in me would not allow it. Therefore, I did not drink." Then I said to him, "Yes, indeed, if the `householder' in you will not allow you to drink, you should not drink. From now on you have to listen to the speaking of the `householder' in you." "The householder forbids it" is the new testament. The new testament is just the living Christ in you. This is completely outside of the law and the prophets. If the Bible were just regulations, if there were no living Christ within you, nothing would work. If Mr. Nee were a prophet in Shanghai, everyone would have to come to Shanghai in order to know God's will. If one must search the law to know what is right and wrong, one must first know to how to read. Does this mean that a person who is unable to read cannot know God's will? Does this mean that one must find a prophet before he can know God's will? Thank God, those of us who can read the Bible are able to know God's will, and the villagers who cannot read the Bible are also able to know God's will, because Christ lives in them.
The Bible only gives us a general direction of how Christ guides us in an inward way. This kind of direction only gives us an outward standard, and while the Bible has many major functions, it cannot replace Christ. The electrician knew Christ; the Christ he knew was an indwelling Christ. This is the new testament. This is the salvation of Christ. We should listen to the speaking of the householder within just as the electrician did.
However, Peter was not this way. In addition to Christ, he had the law and the prophets. The new testament is not Christ plus the law and the prophets. The new testament is Christ replacing the law and the prophets. God's interruption of Peter's speaking was a declaration that Christ cannot be added to the law and the prophets. Rather, Christ replaces the law and the prophets. The law and the prophets are over. Today it is the living God, Christ, who lives in us. This is the new testament.
In traveling to many places, I have found that many Christians often say the right thing. For example, one person may say to another, "You must pray much regarding this matter to see whether or not the Lord will lead you in this way." The other person's response may be, "The Bible says nothing about this." Many people are like this. When situations arise, they deal with them according to the teachings in the Bible. Many people only want outward regulations; they do not care for the inward Christ. However, before finding out whether the Bible says something, we should first find out how Christ is leading us inwardly through the Spirit. Our life and work do not necessarily have to be guided by outward laws. Many people consider the Bible to be the most perfect law; they think that it tells us everything about "do's" and "don'ts," right and wrong. Actually the law for a Christian is not the Bible; the law is the Christ living within him. The Christ living in us is our law. If Christ in us says that something is right, it is right. If Christ in us says that something is not right, it is not right. Often before we read about a certain matter in the Bible, we already know inside how we should conduct ourselves. Some say that when the co-workers are not around, they have no one to consult with and are at a loss. But I say that it is better for the co-workers to not be around, because they can learn to consult the Spirit.
The fundamental difference between Christianity and Judaism is that Judaism emphasizes the outward law, whereas Christianity emphasizes one's personal contact with Christ. The new testament addresses what is right and what is wrong according to life. The new testament is a matter of touching the living Christ and receiving His inward leading. Please remember that in the new testament, once our inward, personal fellowship with Christ is taken away, everything else is futile and useless. Moses and Elijah are a glory of the past. They must not become a hindrance to the new testament. Both the law and the prophets need to be put aside. This is why God interrupted Peter's speaking. Peter had placed the law and the prophets on the same level as Christ.
Brothers and sisters, we all have the same ability to accomplish God's will. The problem is that men will not listen to what Christ is saying inwardly. Instead, they study the Bible blindly or inquire of others. If a certain matter arises and one person says one thing, another says a second thing, and still another says a third thing, whose word should we take? I would ask, "How do you feel inwardly?" Why do we have to take the word of outward teachers? Today we must listen to the speaking of the Christ within us. God's interruption of Peter's speaking meant that the law and the prophets should not occupy any place in us.
Peter's speaking was interrupted the second time by Christ in a house in Capernaum. Peter seemed to be the spokesman of the twelve disciples, and some came to ask, "Does not your Teacher pay the temple tax?" Peter should have asked Christ first. But he did not do this. Instead, when he was asked, Peter mindlessly answered, "Yes." Then he went in to check with the Lord. He had made a decision already; He was only informing the Lord after the fact. On the Mount of Transfiguration, the Father interrupted Peter after he had spoken a few sentences. But Christ did not wait for Peter to speak at all. He anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive custom or poll tax, from their sons or from strangers?" Christ stopped Peter because He wanted Peter to know that no one had authority over Him.
The kings and leaders of the world only collect taxes from outsiders. They do not collect tax from their own sons. The temple tax was for the temple, not for Caesar. In name the temple tax was for God. In reality it was appropriated to the priests. In Matthew 16 and 17 Christ was manifested specifically as the Son of God. The incident with the temple tax occurred immediately after Caesarea Philippi, where the Lord asked the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" and Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In chapter seventeen, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Father said, "This is My Son, the Beloved." Both of these two chapters speak of Christ as the Son of God. In chapter sixteen the recognition was from men. In chapter seventeen the recognition was from God the Father. In chapters sixteen and seventeen, both men and the Father acknowledged Christ as the Son of God. But what about those other than the disciples? Did they acknowledge Christ as the Son of God? At the end of chapter seventeen those who collected the temple tax came to collect tax. If Christ was just another Jew, no one would have bothered to ask about tax. But Christ was different; His words and actions were very particular. He performed miracles, healed the sick, caused the lame to walk, raised the dead, and even proclaimed that He is the Son of God.
Undoubtedly, the Jews saw all of these things. Yet inwardly they doubted whether He was really the Son of God. Peter's answer eliminated the question from their minds because he placed Christ on the same level as all the other Jews. Peter treated Jesus the Nazarene as an ordinary person. He forgot that the Lord was the Son of God. The entire salvation of Christ stands upon the foundation that Jesus the Nazarene is the Son of God. If Jesus the Nazarene is not the Son of God, there is no salvation of Christ. If there is no salvation, there is no church. The church proclaims that Jesus the Nazarene is the Son of God. If we do not know that Jesus the Nazarene is the Son of God, nothing will avail. Therefore, after Peter proclaimed that Christ was the Son of the living God in Matthew 16, Christ said to him, "Upon this rock I will build My church." The Son of the living God is the rock. The church is built upon this rock, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Therefore, if Jesus the Nazarene were just an ordinary person, it would have been impossible for the church to be built up, because there would have been no foundation.
Friends, what is the salvation of Christ? The salvation of Christ is a faith that believes in Christ being the Son of God. Our faith is not the cross, resurrection, ascension, etc. These are only the works of Christ. The Bible does not ask us to believe in His works. It only asks us to believe that He is the Son of God. This means that we are to believe in His person. If we believe in His person, we will spontaneously believe in His works. The Bible says that everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten of God (1 John 5:1). Everything hinges on believing in Him as the Son of God. Do you believe in the Son of God? If you read the book of Romans, the Gospel of Luke, or the Epistle of First John, you will find that everything hinges on whether or not Christ is the Son of God. Perhaps you do not consider this question to be that important. But God considers this question to be very important. When a person believes that Christ is the Son of God, he receives salvation and eternal life. "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life" (v. 12).
Jesus the Nazarene is a man. He is also the Son of God. The Son of God is the very Jesus the Nazarene. This means that the Son of God became a man. If Christ had not put on human form and instead had the sun on His head, a face like lightning, and a voice like thunder, everyone would have naturally believed that He was the Son of God. But the Lord Jesus was not like this. When He came to this earth, He came to Bethlehem and was born as a human being, just like you and me. Then He grew up gradually. Without revelation, men cannot recognize Him as the Son of God.
What is the Christian faith? The Christian faith tells us that throughout history there is one person who stands out uniquely among all men. This person is the Son of God, the God of heaven; that is, He is God Himself. This is the One whom we believe in. The Christian faith is altogether a matter of Jesus being the Son of God. This matter is so important because if Jesus the Nazarene were not the Son of God, it would be impossible for men to contact God, even if we knew that God exists in heaven. Even with such a God, He would not be a revealed God. Men would only know that there is a God in heaven but would not know anything about Him. They would be like the Greeks, who addressed the God in heaven as the "unknown God" (Acts 17:23), that is, a God whom no one knows. Jesus the Nazarene is the God in heaven, the God whom no one could know. Today He has come and put on a human body so that man can now touch Him and know Him.
Paul told us that the Athenians worshipped an unknown God. They thought that the God in heaven was like the lightning in the sky. We can say that Jesus the Nazarene is like the electricity in electrical wire. The electricity in electrical wire makes electricity real and approachable to us; electricity thus becomes something that can be touched, felt, seen, and known. Christianity does not worship a mysterious God. Christianity is about a God who has come to earth; it is about a God who has come among mankind so that man can know and realize Him. God has already come among mankind — this is the Christian faith. If Jesus the Nazarene were not a man, it would be impossible for men to know God. The God in heaven is a God that man cannot see, but Jesus the Nazarene is the revealed God. Jesus the Nazarene is God being seen, heard, and touched by us.
This is why Christ would not let Peter go when he told the ones who took up the temple tax that Christ would pay the tax. Perhaps Peter was ready to pay the tax, and if Christ would not pay it, he would persuade Him to pay. Peter was so sure that Christ would pay the tax. His words to the tax collectors seemed to be a guarantee that Christ would pay. Peter never imagined that Christ would stop him. Although Christ did not do much, His answer was a proclamation that He is the Son of God. O friends, do you know who Jesus is? Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is the God in heaven who has come to earth to be a man. In the end Christ did pay the tax, but not because He was not the Son of God. In His status as the Son of God, He did not have to pay. But He paid the tax because He did not want to offend others. This is a practical lesson for us. It is often not a matter of whether or not we should pay tax. There is also the matter of not stumbling others. Christ would not leave any excuse for others to accuse Him of anything; He did not want to stir up anything. As far as His status was concerned, He had the right to ignore and forget about the tax. He had the absolute sovereign right to do this. But He paid the tax because He would not offend others.
Here lies a principle: We can exempt ourselves from many obligations if we insist on our rights and status. But to avoid offending and stumbling others, we should take care of the obligations anyway. This is the practical cross. It is always precious to exercise a care for others and their interests. A humble Christian is a loving Christian. In asking whether or not something should be done, we often find that the real issue behind the matter is not whether or not something is a sin, but whether or not we are willing to suffer loss. As far as our qualifications, our life in God, and our status as God's sons are concerned, we may not need to pay any tax. But for the sake of bearing the cross, we should do it. Here we see the preciousness of Christ's meekness. Man could not demand one shekel from Him, yet He was unwilling to hurt anyone's feelings. He paid because He did not want to stumble anyone. Christianity is not just concerned with righteousness. It is true that there is righteousness in Christianity, but it is also full of grace. The salvation of Christ enables us to suffer loss, to bear the cross, to not vindicate ourselves, to be defamed, and to please others.
The last verse of Matthew 17 is marvelous. Christ even paid the tax for Peter. The only One who was exempt from paying the tax was Christ. But if Christ did not pay, others would be offended, and it would involve more than just Christ. It would involve Peter and Christ. Therefore, not only was Christ involved in this matter, the Christian (Peter) was also involved. The Lord asked Peter to take the tax money to give to them for "Me and you." We should not cause others to stumble. We do many things that we do not have to do. We are willing to bear the cross so that others will not suffer because we are Christians. Rather, we ourselves would suffer the pain. The Lord seemed to be saying, "From now on every Christian has to work together with Me (`Me and you') to keep others from being unhappy."
Acts 10 shows us the first time the church preached the gospel to the Gentiles. The church had been in Jerusalem for about eight or nine years. But the gospel had only reached the region between Samaria and Jerusalem; it had not reached the Gentile places yet. The Jews thought, "We are Christians, but we are also Jews. To be a Christian is to believe in Christ, to have our sins forgiven, to have God as our righteousness, and to have Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. But at the same time, we are also Jews; we cannot associate with the Gentiles." In the eyes of the Jews, the Gentiles are a filthy and unclean people. But in Christ there is no difference between Gentiles and Jews (Eph. 3:6). If a person wants to be a Jew, he cannot be a Christian believer at the same time. If he wants to a Christian believer, he cannot be a Jew. The believers at that time did not know this; therefore, they brought the Jewish element into the church. God first showed Peter that it was wrong for Christians to dissociate themselves from the Gentiles. Peter, however, only went to the Gentile house reluctantly. Peter thought that if he went to a Gentile home, he had already done them a great favor. He did not know that the Holy Spirit would grant a greater favor to the Gentiles. The Bible says that while Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word (Acts 10:44). Up until this time the thought had never occurred to Peter that the Holy Spirit would descend upon the Gentiles just as He descended on the Jews at Pentecost. Peter could not go on speaking. The Holy Spirit was showing Peter that the grace God gave to the Gentiles was exactly the same as that which had been given to the Jews.
The Holy Spirit descended on the Jews as well as on the Gentiles. This is the salvation of Christ. This is the church. In the church there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. How is the church today? Are there any distinctions between male and female, master and slave, educated and uneducated, rich and poor, Chinese and foreigners? I thank God that we are neither the Chinese Christian Church nor the Anglican Church. The Lord says that in the new man there cannot be Greek and Jew, slave and free man, noble and lowly, rich and poor, respectable and despised (Col. 3:11). In the church we are all brothers and we are all members of the Body of Christ (Matt. 23:8; 1 Cor. 12:12-13).
In Kumming I said to some, "If you have the Chinese you do not have the church; if you have the church you cannot have the Chinese. There is absolutely no such thing as a Chinese Church." After the First World War, several British brothers went to Germany. They were introduced as "British brothers." Right away they made a correction, saying, "We are not British brothers; we are brothers from Britain."
Several months ago I was holding some meetings in Kaifeng. Many important government officials were saved. Afterward, a group of people said, "We cannot go to an ordinary church because the people there do not dress well and the preaching is not that sophisticated." One of the saved officials said, "We should build a big hall and invite a high-class preacher to preach. Then the high-ranking personnel from the party, the administration, and the army can come." I asked them, "What sign would you hang on the outside of the hall?" While they were considering, I said, "You could hang a sign with the words The Christian Church of the Officials. They said that they could not do this. I said, "Why not? That is what your words suggested." I then spoke a very frank word to them: "Outside of the church, you are over the common people, among whom I am one. But in the church there is no difference between officials and common people." This is like what we see here today. All those who are in Christ are brothers. There is no difference in rank or position. Everyone who believes in the Lord receives the same redemption by the precious blood and the same life. If there is the church, there cannot be officials. If there are officials, there cannot be the church. Our church is not an anti-Western church; neither is it a special establishment for a special class of people. Some have asked me whether it is proper to establish a women's church. If there is the church, there are no females. If there are females, there is no church. There cannot be a women's church. The church is established for all those who are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ and who have received the life of the Son of God.
Thank God for interrupting Peter's speaking three times. Through these interruptions we see what the Christian faith is and what the church is. On the Mount of Transfiguration, the Father interrupted Peter's speaking after a few sentences. Inside the house at Capernaum, Christ interrupted his speaking even before he began. In the house of Cornelius, Peter gave a long message, and then the Holy Spirit interrupted his speaking. These three interruptions by the Triune God are very much related to the salvation of Christ and the church. The content of the salvation of Christ and the church is just Christ Himself. The law and the prophets cannot be brought into the picture. The salvation of Christ and the church stands on the fact that Jesus the Nazarene is the Son of God. The Son of God is the only foundation of the church. In the church of Christ there is no difference among races and ranks. The church includes all those who are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ and who have received the life of the Son of God. If any one of these three items is missing, we lose the salvation of Christ and the church of Christ. Therefore, God would not listen to man's speaking. God wants man to listen to Him. God wants man to listen to the speaking of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
