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Date: August 4, 1937Place: SingaporeScripture Reading: Rom. 4:25; Heb. 9:22; Lev. 17:11; Exo. 12:13; Acts 17:31
We have already seen the purpose of God's work. God's original goal is for man to have His life. However, man fell and complicated God's work. Today God not only needs to give life to man, but He also must deal with the things that prevent Him from reaching His goal.
Therefore, God's work in us has two aspects: The first aspect remedies man's shortcomings, whereas the second aspect fulfills His goal. The remedial aspect deals with sins, which hinder man, whereas the fulfilling aspect dispenses God's life into man. In reading through the Bible, we can see that God's work has two aspects and that they are both accomplished through the death and resurrection of Christ. The Lord Jesus said that no sign or miracle would be given except the sign of Jonah (Matt. 12:39; 16:4). The sign of Jonah points to death and resurrection. What is a miracle? A miracle is something that God alone can perform. Aside from death and resurrection, there is no other sign. God's work is altogether centered around death and resurrection. The death and resurrection of Christ have four aspects — two are negative, and two are positive. The two negative aspects of death and resurrection are for dealing with sins; the two positive aspects of death and resurrection are for dispensing God's life to man. These four aspects of death and resurrection enable us to reach God's goal. In this conference, we hope to see the relationship between these four aspects of death and resurrection. Tonight, for the sake of clarity, we will only touch these four aspects in a brief way. This will give us a clear picture as we consider each one in detail later.
The death and resurrection of Christ have four aspects: First, the substituting death and resurrection; second, the identifying death and resurrection; third, the releasing death and resurrection; fourth, the denying death and resurrection, that is, the self-denying death and resurrection. In the Bible these four aspects of death and resurrection are distinct and different. If we are not clear concerning these four aspects of death and resurrection, our work will only produce confusion.
The substituting and identifying death and resurrection are for dealing with sins. The releasing and self-denying death and resurrection are for the fulfillment of God's purpose. We can consider Christ's death in these four aspects: substituting, identifying, releasing, and denying. In the future we also will look at resurrection in these four aspects. These four aspects of death and resurrection are my subject in this conference. Brothers and sisters, do not think that these four aspects of death and resurrection are too difficult to comprehend. If you consider them carefully, you will see that the first two aspects are for dealing with sins and the last two aspects are for the fulfillment of God's purpose.
In the Bible the first aspect of death is denoted by the blood, the second by crucifixion, the third by the flesh, and the fourth by the bearing of the cross. The Bible shows us the blood, the crucifixion, the flesh, and the bearing of the cross. These four things are the various aspects of the work of Christ.
Tonight let us first consider the blood and resurrection, that is, the substituting death and resurrection. Before we study the substituting death and resurrection, let us first understand our relationship with sins. We already know that sins are before God. In the Chinese language, the word gu means "guilt." If I sin, I am guilty before God. I have committed sins, and because I have sinned, I am a guilty man before God. How should God deal with this? In order for God to forgive sins, He must first judge them. When sins are judged, they can be removed. For example, if I commit a crime on the street and a policeman arrests me and brings me before a judge, the judge will not let me walk away. I must either pay the penalty or be imprisoned before he will let me go.
We have sinned, and God cannot let us go. He must judge the sins according to His righteousness. But if God judged us, we could not bear it because we could not satisfy God's righteous requirements. Because God loves us, however, He paid the debt that we should have paid. Originally, man had to pay the debt, but God paid the debt instead. Therefore, redemption is God taking our place in suffering judgment and in the payment of debts. Redemption is the result of God's love, and it is accomplished by the blood of Christ. What is the purpose of the blood of Christ? The blood has nothing to do with man; it accomplishes redemption before God and satisfies God's righteous requirements.
Many Christians have a wrong concept that the blood of the Lord is for cleansing the heart. The blood is referred to over four hundred times in the Old and New Testaments, yet the Bible never once says that the blood is for cleansing the heart. It is strange that Christians would say this when the Bible never speaks of this. One brother asked, "Doesn't Hebrews 9:14 speak of the blood of Christ cleansing our hearts?" In the original text this verse does not say anything about cleansing the heart; it only speaks of cleansing the conscience. In the Bible the blood of Christ is for cleansing our conscience, not for cleansing our heart, because our heart embodies the self, the real I. The real I came from Adam and is by nature unclean. It can never be cleansed no matter how much it is washed.
The Bible calls this heart the stony heart (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26). The stony heart cannot become a heart of flesh no matter how much it is washed. What can we do? God says that the stony heart must be replaced with a heart of flesh. Hence, regeneration does not mean cleansing the old man, but doing away with the old man. One can never wash a statue of mud. The more we wash it, the dirtier it will become. The same is true with respect to our old man. This is why the Bible never speaks of the blood cleansing the heart; it only says that the blood cleanses the conscience.
The conscience gives us a feeling of peace or unrest. The heart is man's self, his real I. What does it mean for the Lord's blood to cleanse the conscience? It means that the blood has taken away our sins before God and that the punishment we deserved before God has been removed. Because of His blood, our sins are forgiven. When we believe in the Lord, we are assured that our sins have been forgiven. The Lord's blood has taken away our sins before God, and our conscience is at peace. Initially, the conscience found fault; the very thought of our sins and the coming judgment took away any peace in our conscience. But as soon as we realize that the Lord's blood has accomplished a vicarious redemption for us, our conscience is at peace immediately. Therefore, the Lord's blood washes away the guilt in the conscience. This is how the conscience is at peace. When the conscience is cleansed, it no longer has consciousness of sins. This is something entirely objective; it is a matter before God and has nothing to do with man. Man does not need the blood. The blood is something required by God; it is the righteous requirement of God. Exodus 12:13 says that when God sees the blood, He will pass over us. It is not man who sees the blood. It is God who sees the blood.
Brothers and sisters, please remember that the blood has nothing to do with man. The blood is for bearing the righteous judgment of God. If sin is not removed, God's purpose cannot be fulfilled. Man has sinned and unless God comes in to save, the sins cannot be passed over. The blood is altogether objective; it is on God's side. The only thing man cares about is peace in his conscience. The blood takes away man's record of sin; it removes man's sins before God. The work of the cross deals with the negative things on man's side. Therefore, whenever the Bible speaks of the blood, it refers to something on the Lord's side.
When I was in the Philippines, a sister asked me, "At the time of the flood, man could not take blood. In the dispen- sation of the law, man could not take blood. In the New Testament time of the apostles, man still could not take blood. Why was man not able to take blood during all three dispensations?" We know there are four dispensations in the Bible: The dispensation of the patriarchs and the dispensation of the law have passed, and the dispensation of the kingdom has not arrived. In the dispensation of the patriarchs, God charged Noah not to eat blood (Gen. 9:4). In the dispensation of the law, God also charged Moses not to eat blood (Lev. 17:10-12). When it comes to the dispensation of the apostles, God also forbade men to take blood (Acts 15:20). What is the reason for this? I asked her, "Do you take blood?" She replied, "The Bible says that we should not take it; therefore, I have never taken blood." I said, "Then next time I dare not break bread with you, because you have not yet been saved. You deserve to go to the lake of fire." She said, "Why? I have never taken blood." I said, "I have taken it." After I explained how I had taken "blood," she said, "In that case I have taken it as well!"
Brothers and sisters, the Bible says that we should not take blood. But Jesus stood up one day to announce that His blood was true drink (John 6:55). God's intention is for us to only take a certain kind of blood. In the entire universe there is only one kind of blood that we can take. This means that in the entire universe there is only one salvation and only one Savior. Only this blood can accomplish redemption before God. If we reject this blood, there will be no other sacrifice for sins (Heb. 10:26). If we do not take this blood, there is no other blood we can take. This is the only Savior, and there is no other salvation under heaven or on earth (Acts 4:12). Praise God! We have all taken this blood. The Bible forbids the taking of other blood so that we would only take this blood. Please remember that whenever the Bible speaks of blood, it refers directly or indirectly to the righteous requirements of God. Only the blood of Jesus can accomplish redemption. Only His blood can bring about God's redemptive work. By the blood of Jesus, man's sins before God are taken away.
We know that the Father sent the Son to shed His blood for us. Through the shedding of blood, He could forgive us in a most righteous way. But how do we know that the blood of Jesus cleanses us of all sins? Two thousand years ago He bore our sins and died on the cross. How do we know that God is satisfied with the blood? How do we know that it can redeem us from our sins? How do we know that it is trustworthy? Suppose God said that it was not adequate, what would we do? Suppose God said that one Savior is not enough, and that there needs to be two. Suppose He said that one shedding of the blood is not enough, and that it needs to be shed again. What would we do then? We know that the blood is God's demand; God's righteous judgment required the Lord to shed His blood. But how do we know that this judgment is adequate? How do we know that it has satisfied God's righteous requirements? Praise God that He not only caused Christ to die, but He also raised Him from the dead. Resurrection is God's response to the blood of Christ. When the blood was offered to God, God responded with resurrection. The blood is something man sends to God, whereas resurrection is something God sends to man after He has accepted the blood.
The Lord said, "If I be lifted up..." (John 12:32). For whom was the Lord lifted up? He was lifted up to God for our sins. Once God was satisfied with His death, He resurrected Him from the dead as a proof for all to believe (Acts 17:31). The Bible does not ask us to believe in the death of Christ; rather, it asks us to believe in His resurrection. If we read our Bibles a few more times, we will be clear about this. Tonight I am sweeping away trash with a broom in my hand. When we tell others to believe in the Lord, we often tell them to believe in the Lord's death and to be saved by His blood. But where in the Bible does it say to believe in the Lord's death? Where does it tell us to believe that the Lord has shed His blood to be the Savior of man? Many people are preaching doctrines that are not found in the Bible. Of course, we should not spread the word that Mr. Nee is telling people not to believe in the Lord's death and not to believe that the Lord's blood is for redemption. What I mean is that the Bible tells us to believe in the Lord. It does not tell us to believe in the Lord's death but in His resurrection (Rom. 10:9). When we believe in the Lord's resurrection, we are justified. The Bible charges us to believe in the Lord. It does not charge us to believe in His death, but in His resurrection.
Perhaps my words seem confusing to you, but please remember that the blood is a matter before God. It is up to God to say whether the blood is sufficient for redemption; we do not need to worry about it. God considered the blood to be sufficient for redemption; therefore, He raised Christ from the dead. Once we see that the Lord has been resurrected, we know that the Lord's blood is trustworthy, that it is able to take away our sins, and that we can be justified. Romans 4:25 shows the relationship of the Lord's death and resurrection to us: Jesus was delivered for our offenses, and He was resurrected for our justification.
Now let me ask, "Which came first — Jesus' being delivered or our offenses?" I believe all of us would say that Jesus was delivered because there were offenses. If this is the case, we should apply the same principle to the phrase "raised for our justification." This means that He was resurrected because we were justified. The Lord's resurrection proves that we are justified before God. The proof of forgiveness is the Lord's blood; the proof of justification is the Lord's resurrection.
Suppose I owe Mr. Tang a sum of money, and he takes me to court. The judge sentences me to three months in jail, but neither I nor my good friend Mr. Yang has any way to repay the debt. So my good friend volunteers to go to jail on my behalf. As soon as Mr. Yang goes into jail, I am free. But even though I have the freedom in my body, my heart is still not free, because I do not have the assurance that his substitutional imprisonment will solve the problem. Therefore, my heart has no peace while he is still in jail. When will my heart be free? I have to wait until Mr. Yang is released from jail and my case is closed. Only then will my heart be free. The release of Mr. Yang is a proof that my case has been concluded. If it were not concluded, the judge would not have let him go.
The instant the Lord died, the problem of our sins was resolved. But if the Lord had only died and remained in death without resurrecting, we would be worried because we would not know whether or not His blood had satisfied God's righteous requirements. The Bible says that the Lord's death is for God and that the Lord's resurrection is for us. God is concerned that if man only believed in the Lord's death, his heart would not be at peace. Therefore, God not only caused the Lord to die, He also resurrected the Lord from the dead. When we see His resurrection, we are assured that our sinful case has been concluded. Otherwise, why would God release Him? God resurrected Christ from the dead as a proof that He is satisfied with His judgment on sins. This proves that the Lord's blood has satisfied God's demands.
God accepts the death of Christ, and we accept the resur- rection of Christ. God does not ask man to believe in Christ's death but in His resurrection. The resurrection of Christ is a proof that His death is sufficient. With His resurrection, we are justified. Romans 4:25 shows us that Jesus died because we have sinned and that He resurrected because we have been justified. In order to prove that we are justified, Jesus was resurrected. Jesus went as a man to God and paid the debts. He has already presented the blood to God.
Suppose I owe Brother Tang some money and cannot repay him at the present time. What should I do? I can save some money here and there — several hundred dollars in Shanghai currency and some currency from Canton, Swatow, Amoy, Foochow, England, the United States, Vietnam, the Philippines, and other countries. After awhile, I may think that there is enough money for the payment and take the money to him. However, I have no idea whether or not the money can be used and whether it is enough to cover my debt. I can give him the money and say, "I think this is roughly what I owe you. Here, the money is yours." Who do you think will do the detailed calculations? Will it be the one who returns the money or the one who receives the money? Surely it will be the one who receives the money. He must determine whether the money he has received is valid currency and whether or not the total amount is enough. I do not need to worry about anything. I can just wait for him to sign and issue me a receipt, and then I can leave.
Whether or not the blood of Jesus is able or sufficient to accomplish redemption is not our concern. It is God's business, and God takes care of it Himself. The Lord's blood has redeemed us before God and paid our sin-debts. Consequently, God has issued a receipt to man — the Lord's resurrection. Acts 17:31 shows us that resurrection is God's declaration that the Lord's blood is sufficient to redeem us. This is why He gave us resurrection as a receipt. Resurrection is the proof that our sins have been forgiven.
Friends, what do we believe when we believe in the Lord? We believe that God has resurrected Him from the dead. If we have any doubt about our salvation, we should look at the proof of acceptance. Even if God tells us that we are not justified, we can show Him resurrection as the proof of our acceptance. We can boldly and confidently say to God, "If I have not been justified, why have You issued the proof?" We know that the Lord has resurrected, and if we believe in His resurrection, we are saved. These are the two substitutionary aspects of the Lord's death and resurrection. These two aspects are objective because no changes are required on our part. They deal with the sins we have before God. Have we been forgiven? Are we justified? These matters are God's business; they are the objective facts. May God bless us.
