Date: December 1940Place: UnrecordedScripture Reading: Col. 3:4, 11; John 8:24, 28
If all that a Christian knows is that he has embraced the Christian faith and that this is a noble thing to do, I do not believe that such a person can go on in a good way. This thought may be noble, but only in a negative sense. What we need is light in a positive sense.
A Christian who does not know that Christ is his life does not know what reality is. Unless a man receives God's light and sees the things in Christ, he is like a blind man who is oblivious to all the physical objects around him. Those in the world only know the things of the world, and we call them the unbelievers. But if a Christian only knows the "things" in Christ, such as love, work, virtues, etc., he will still be short of God's standard. These things resemble Christ and are actually very close to Christ, but they are merely things. Too few Christians today are after Christ Himself. Most of them are after the things of Christ. These things have filled their whole being. However, many other Christians can testify from their own experience that the things they once treasured have turned out to be nothing but dead "things."
There are certain things that Christians consider very important. Without these things, they seem to feel that they can no longer be Christians. If you remove these things from them, they will feel that they are no longer Christians. They will feel very strange when a person calls himself a Christian yet does not have these things.
There are two kinds of Christian experiences. Some experiences are Christ, while other experiences are things. With the latter, you cannot say that Christ is not in the experience, but neither can you say that Christ is the experience. Many experiences begin as Christ but end up as things. Many experiences are part Christ and part things. The same is true with many works and behaviors — they are part Christ and part things. How can one say that an experience is all Christ, without any trace of "things"? Many experiences of Christ were real the first time a person experienced them; they were living, but they have become dead.
In the eyes of the Lord experience should not be limited by time. There is no past tense in spiritual things. Some testify, saying, "On such-and-such a date, the Lord led me a certain way, and I experienced certain things." If you check with them again whether or not they really had such an experience on that certain date, they confidently say "yes." But those who testify about their own experience are only testifying about things; they are not testifying about Christ. These things might have been Christ at the time they experienced them, but they have become things. In our testimony, we should say, "On such-and-such a date, I experienced Christ for the first time." This means that we have continued to experience Christ. When some people testify about their salvation, they feel they have the Lord's presence. Yet they are only testifying about a thing or an event.
Many people come to us with a hope. They see others receiving a revelation, and they hope to have the same. Eventually, they become disappointed. Those who hope to find do not find, because their hope rests on a thing. The Lord does not give us things. He does not intend to give man merely things. Many people do not ask for the Lord Himself; they merely ask the Lord to do something for them. When the thing is done, the Lord is set aside. They want the Lord to visit them and give them the things that are spoken of in others' testimonies. They want the experiences for the sake of giving good testimonies, not for the sake of gaining Christ.
Only those who seek after the Lord alone will see; those who seek for experience will not see. In fact, only those who seek after the Lord will have the experience; those who seek after the experience will not find it. Those who seek after the Lord will have the experience of Romans 6; those who seek for the experience of Romans 6 will not find it. They may be able to speak and pray about it, but they will not have the experience of it.
Many Christians feel ashamed of themselves because they do not have many gifts. It is true that some have profound wisdom, quick mentality, power, eloquence, or great faith. But are these things Christ? There is a big difference between gifts and Christ.
I was once proud of my own wisdom. I thought that I was wiser than others. At that time I was living in darkness, the same as some of you are. Like Paul, I could say, "I advanced...beyond many contemporaries" (Gal. 1:14). Today I realize how foolish and shameful I was. At that time, however, I considered myself wonderful and sincere. I even believed that my advancement was real. When I first became a Christian, I spent a great deal of time in the Word. Once I read Andrew Murray's book, The Spirit of Christ, and I was so attracted by it that I did not want to eat or sleep. I just wanted to read on; I could not put it down. Later, I read Philippians 3:3, which says to "serve by the Spirit of God." I cannot quote the verse verbatim tonight, but the power of this word still remains with me today. Someone can understand the teaching of Philippians 3:3 and pass it on to others. But when I read it, I asked myself, "Am I reading this, or is it Christ who is reading this?" That night, for the first time, I experienced an aversion for "things." I was not grasping on to Christ, but to things. Up to that point it had been only a teaching, a kind of research; it was not Christ.
In spiritual matters it is very easy to have spiritual "things" without having Christ. This is the greatest work of Satan. When something becomes a thing or an object, it becomes dead. Today there are many works, testimonies, and studies that can only be considered as things, not Christ. It is not easy to replace Christ with ornaments and physical objects, but it is very easy to replace Him with experiences, gifts, and works.
A few weeks ago, someone asked me, "What is your opinion concerning miraculous things?" To tell you the truth, I have not seen many miraculous things. But when I have seen them, there has been very little of Christ in those things. Many people pride themselves in these things. They advertise these things and regard them as necessary for their power and recognition. Little do they realize that they are merely things. I am not against anyone having these things. But like Paul, I would say, "Moreover I show to you a most excellent way" (1 Cor. 12:31).
In 1926 I intended to work in a certain place. I felt that I should not go, but I went anyway. I could not say that I was rebelling against the Lord, but neither could I say that I was obeying Him. I did not find peace and could not pray. I could only utter some formal prayers and read the Word in a ritualistic way. The result of the work was good and many people were saved, but I was grieving. It was Sister Barber's wish that I not leave Foochow, but when someone wrote to her and told her of the result of the work, she commended me for the first time. However, I still did not feel at ease. I was working by the gifts that God had given me; I considered these gifts as things. They were merely things and not Christ. Today I can say that my gift is just Christ. This gift is a person. If I am related to the gifts without being related to Christ, the gifts will only be things. Although the Corinthian believers had gifts, their gifts were dead because Christ was not there.
Once light comes, everything is stripped away. Everyone treasures and boasts in the gifts. When a man has some gifts, he often thinks that he is better than others. When we have light, we will see that our gift and power are nothing but Christ. The very empowering strength is Christ. This is not just a slogan; it has to be a genuine seeing. Real gifts are not things; they are Christ Himself.
Prayer and the study of the Word are two common aspects of the daily walk of a Christian. But to many, these two things are just things. The day I read Andrew Murray's book, I asked myself, "Is your Bible reading Christ or is it merely a thing? Are your many prayers Christ or are they things?" If something has no life, it remains a thing. All that we struggle to do apart from Christ and all that we accomplish without contacting Christ are merely things. God may not want us to know a great deal of knowledge, or He may not want us to know it yet. But many of us have a lust for knowledge. We want to know the answers to all the problems in the Bible. If we cannot solve these problems, we cannot sleep or eat. Many of us engage in studies against our inner guidance. Others may not know if we are touching things or touching Christ, but we know.
When the disciples went to fish, they labored for the whole night without success. When the morning broke, Someone asked if they had anything to eat and told them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. At that very moment they knew that it was the Lord. Touching the Lord is very different from touching things. Things are rigid, dead, cold, and outward; they cannot touch a person.
The church can never be cheated. Although many young believers cannot articulate a point with their mouth, they know inwardly and can tell if something is Christ or just a thing. I am not saying that Bible reading is unnecessary. I am saying that all the spiritual things spoken of in the Bible are just Christ. Every thing that is apart from Christ is not Christ; it is merely a thing.
Every Christian, whether or not he is a worker, should have his own work in the church. Brother Austin-Sparks used to say, "We can never say if our work is of the Lord, nor can we say how much of our work is of the Lord and how much of it is of ourselves. We know only after the work has left our hand." I heard this remark from him seven or eight times during the year I stayed in London. I believe this word. When a work is no longer in our hand and others criticize it as being not of the Lord, we will feel unhappy, discontented, or uncomfortable. This proves that the work was a thing, not Christ. God is not after our work, but after Christ. One day our work will go away, but Christ will remain.
Paul intended to preach in Asia, but the Holy Spirit forbade him. This was recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (16:6). But it was really the non-acts, rather than the acts of the apostles, that were recorded. Our obedience to the Lord depends more on what we do not do than it does on what we do. In fact much of man's "inactivity" is God's very "activity."
The church should realize that all things are in Christ. I like the word in Luke 17:7-8: "But which of you, having a slave who is plowing or tending sheep, will...not rather say to him, Prepare something that I may dine, and gird yourself and serve me." Plowing is a work to gain the outsiders, whereas tending sheep is a work to take care of the insiders. Many people pay attention only to the first two works and neglect to "serve me." This service is our service to the Lord apart from our work. A day will come when the Lord will show us how vain and shameful our work has been. We have been laboring on things only. We have been taking care of the business of the church, but we have not been serving Christ. This is a very positive light.
For many Christians behavior is a thing. Their humility, meekness, and zeal are nothing but performances. However, God wants to show us that the very characteristic of Christianity is just Christ. Yet we give others the impression that the characteristic of Christianity is things. All of the virtues are good and necessary, yet Paul did not pursue after the knowledge of virtues but the knowledge of Christ. Christ is the unique virtue.
All religions are the same, and they are good. But they only touch the virtues, the things, and not Christ. They touch our conduct, goodness, love, diligence, sacrifice, and suffering for others. However, God is after Christ. All He wants is for Christ to do all of the work within us. He does not care about what we do or what we can do. If we do not see ourselves in a thorough way, we do not see the Lord. The real behavior is the Lord working in us. It is the Lord who is loving in us, the Lord who is humble in us, and the Lord who is meek in us. Everything is the Lord.
The Lord said that His name is "I AM." No other name in the Old Testament is greater than this name — "I AM" (Exo. 3:14). Is the Lord the "I AM" in this and that matter? This is the crux of the issue. In everything we have to ask: Is this the Lord? Two thousand years of Christianity have shown us that everything that is not Christ will go away. True Chris- tianity is just Christ. Is Christ our power? Is Christ our love? Is Christ our meekness? Many people can only say that Christ gives them power, love, and meekness. But I will tell you that Christ can do something deeper than this. He will not only give you power, love, and meekness, He will be everything to you. Only those who take Christ as everything in this way can say, "Christ our life" (Col. 3:4). Many people can recite this verse, but we need a new beginning today. We need to not only recite this verse, but to live out this verse.
Prayer: Lord, these words are feeble, ineffective, and ordinary. Many are familiar with them already. May You speak to us personally and accomplish what no man can accomplish. Just as the Israelites left Egypt once and for all, give us a vision and deliver us from all the substitutes once and for all. Lord, may there be nothing in us that would replace You. All we can do is imitate You, but these imitations are not You. Open up the meaning of the words "Christ our life" to us. Many of us need to be torn down before we can be built up. May we find Christ everywhere. We can say this, but we often do not see it from deep within. May this matter be deeply rooted in us so that we will not see it just once, but all the time. May we find Christ everywhere, and may Christ be our all because He is all and in all. May we testify that Christ is indeed everything in the church. May Christ be everything to many of us. May Christ be all of our things, and may we take the lead to experience Christ as the One who is all and in all. In Your name we pray, amen.
