Place: UnrecordedScripture Reading: Gal. 2:20; 3:26—4:1a, 6-7, 28, 31; 5:1; John 15:4a; Rom. 6:5-7, 11; Eph. 2:4-6; Phil. 1:21a; 1 Cor. 1:30
Prayer: Lord, under Your light we feel ashamed, because even though we are surrounded by riches, we are living in poverty. Although there is living water all around, we are still thirsty. Show us the riches that are found in Christ, and that we are made to partake of these riches through the grace of God. It is not our faith, but Your selection that counts. It is not of our will, our consecration, or our obedience, but fully Your free provision, grace, and mercy. You are the One who sowed, and You are the One who gathers. Lord, open our eyes to see the riches of Christ. In the name of the Lord, amen.
The book of Galatians shows us that the principle of the believer's living is being an Isaac, one who inherits. Isaac entered into glory, and Christians will also enter into glory. Just as Isaac was begotten through promise, Christians are also children through promise, and just as Isaac became an heir, Christians are also made heirs of God.
Romans speaks of sinners receiving grace, whereas Galatians speaks of sinners not remaining in the same place but going on in grace after receiving grace. Romans speaks of initial grace, while Galatians speaks of ongoing and sustaining grace. The apostle said that having begun by the Spirit, one should not be perfected by the flesh (3:3). The matter is not what we are going to do or what we are going to give to God. Grace is not our striving to be good or changing for the better. Grace is our looking to the Lord's mercy. It is not a matter of what we should do but a matter of looking to His grace. Isaac was an heir, not an initiator. The same is true with Christians today.
The New Testament shows us two parts in the work of Christ. First, we are in Christ, and second, Christ is in us. One is a union in Christ, and the other is a union in us. Historically, first we are in Christ and then Christ is in us. This is why the Lord said in John, "He who abides in Me and I in him..." (15:5). Our abiding in Christ includes all the facts related to our being in Christ, while Christ's abiding in us is related to the life of Christ. When a Christian abides in Christ, he touches all the facts related to being in Christ. When Christ abides in a Christian, he touches Christ as his life. Being in Christ involves the inheritance of all that Christ has accomplished in the past. Christ's being in us involves our receiving of all that Christ is and has today. When we are in Christ, everything that Christ has accomplished from the past to the present becomes our enjoyment. When Christ is in us, everything that Christ will accomplish between now and the future becomes ours.
For a Christian to be in Christ means that God has put him in a new position; he now has a new beginning. "The Christian in Christ" is something that spans from the past to the present; whereas, "Christ in the Christian" is something that spans from today to the future. The former was accomplished once for all in Christ, and the latter continues from here until eternity. The Bible says, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 1:30). This means that God has delivered us out of the old man, the self, the world, and Satan into Christ.
Romans 1 through 4 tells us that man is wrong in his conduct, while Romans 5 through 8 tells us that man is wrong in himself. A man's conduct is wrong because his person is wrong. This is why man has to die. If we are crucified with Christ, we believe that we will live and ascend with Christ. By the law of the Spirit of life, we will live in the spirit. Only crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension can terminate the old things. But how can we be crucified, raised, and ascended? We do not have to die, resurrect, or ascend by ourselves. This is the work of God. He has joined us to Christ. "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus." This is one of the most precious verses in the Bible. We have to realize how important this is.
Suppose you put a banknote in the hymnal. If the hymnal is thrown into the fire, the banknote will be burned as well. If you mail the hymnal to England, the banknote will go to England as well, because the banknote has been joined to the hymnal. The same principle applies in our crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension with the Lord. Our natural self, whether good or evil, meek or rash, patient or impatient is crucified in Christ; it is terminated. Now we are resurrected in Him and in the new creation. Therefore, we do not need to look at what we were or are outside of Christ.
In 1927 I was in the upper room in Wen-teh Lane, and the Lord showed me that my crucifixion with Christ was an accomplished fact. Before that time I acknowledged the teaching of our crucifixion with Christ as much as anyone else. I could say as much as anyone else about the reason for our crucifixion with Christ. I could preach as well as anyone else concerning the doctrine of our union with the cross. I cannot deny that I had some experience of crucifixion, but there were problems within me. I saw that there were still many hindrances within. I tried hard to deal with them, but I could not say that I was dead; I was not there yet. I spent four months asking the Lord to show me that I was crucified with Him and to bring me into such a crucifixion. Daily I received some light, but the light was not strong enough. I studied the Bible diligently, and every time I came across the words, "I am crucified with Christ," I repeated them to myself. But I still could not believe them. It was impossible for me to believe them. I prayed every day, and I dropped all my work and tried to deal with this one thing. One day I woke up, and between 8:00 and 10:00 in the morning while I was in prayer, I suddenly saw that my death in Christ was something joined to Christ, in the same way that the banknote is joined to the hymnal. My eyes were opened, and these words came to my mind: "There is only one, not two." It was impossible for Christ to die without my dying as well. Has Christ died? Indeed He has! What about me? Immediately I jumped out of my chair and said, "Hallelujah! I have died also!" Just as Christ has died, I have died. Christ is not any more dead than I am, nor is His death any surer than my death. What God has done in Christ He has done in me. Christ has died; therefore, I have also died. Christ resurrected; therefore, I have also resurrected. Christ has ascended; therefore, I have also ascended. I ran down the stairs and met a brother. Grabbing him, I said, "Don't you know that I am dead?" He was bewildered. I said, "Don't you know that Christ is dead?" He said, "I do." I told him, "Just as He died, I have also died." From that day on, I have never denied what I have seen. This is the inheritance we have in Christ. It is not by struggling or striving that we inherit all these things. We must be those who are in Christ before we can share our inheritance with Christ. Some people have made the cross a teaching. But to others, it is a vision and a revelation. Everything God has done has been done in Christ, not in us. When we are in Christ, all these things become ours.
"Christ in the Christian" has to do with what is about to come; it has nothing to do with the past. It has to do with the present and the future. Christ is in us, not for the purpose of dealing with problems, but for the purpose of imparting the power of life to us. When we are in Christ, we enjoy His work and His experience. When Christ is in us, we enjoy His life and Himself.
Christ is in the believers to live for them and within them. This is the believers' inheritance. Christ does not live in the believers so that they can learn to be like Christ, imitate Him, copy Him, or take Him as their pattern. He is not living in the believers so that they will slowly advance and gradually attain after five or ten years. Paul preached Christ crucified and resurrected, not the believers crucified and resurrected. Believers do not live merely by the power of Christ; rather, Christ lives within the believers by becoming their life.
God has given Christ to the believers to be their life. There is no need for believers to help God by exercising their will, because this fact is a law. Life has its law, and this law is spontaneous; it is not something that one has to work out. The law of the Spirit of life is a natural law. Anything that is unnatural, that comes by struggling, striving, or laboring is not the result of taking Christ as life.
It is not enough to merely know life. We must know the law of life. A law is something that never changes. Circumstance, experience, and feelings all change, but a law never changes. The law of gravity is the same for everything everywhere; it does not change with time or place. We do not have to worry whether the law of gravity will function; it operates spontaneously. As long as we live according to the law of the Spirit of life, power will come spontaneously. The secret to the Christian life is not to invoke the life of Christ but to allow the life of Christ to invoke us. When we are faced with a problem, all we have to do is say to the Lord, "I cannot do it, but Your life within me can." We do not have to exert extra energy to do anything or believe in anything. This life spontaneously expresses itself. This is God's inheritance for us. God's inheritance is just Christ.
The wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption spoken of in 1 Corinthians 1:30 are not things but a person. These things all point to a person — Christ. A Christian is different from a worldly or religious person. A Christian is a person in whom Christ operates; he is a person in whom Christ lives and on whose behalf Christ lives. Those in the world have to struggle using their own energy, but all that a Christian needs is a little faith. The Lord is within us, and He is our sanctification, righteousness, humility, and patience. Christ is everything to the Christian.
Many people emphasize faith, but their kind of faith is often nothing but a kind of work. Many people pay attention to obedience, but the obedience they talk about is nothing but work. These human endeavors are not the result of Christ's operation within man. On the one hand, we must see that we are in Christ and that all of Christ's past experiences are ours. On the other hand, Christ is in us to be our life and to live for us. All we have to do is believe in a simple way — this is what Isaac represents. This is enjoyment, and this is inheriting God's inheritance. Thank God that it is of God that we are in Christ and Christ is in us.
