Date: November 18, 1941Place: 7 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong KongScripture Reading: 2 Cor. 1:8-10
We must realize that a Christian possesses everything that he should receive at the time of his regeneration. Through regeneration a Christian receives a new life. God does not mend the natural life; He does not repair the old life. The natural life and the old life are the very sphere of the cross's operation. God's intention is to give the natural life and the old life a fundamental and final blow.
Esau was a sinner who was moral, whereas Jacob was a supplanter who feared God. He wanted spiritual blessings and God's presence but was very natural. He did not deny himself, and his maneuvering, energy, and cleverness were always with him. This is why God had to give him a fundamental blow at Peniel. Any blow from God that allows us to resume our former condition cannot be considered a fundamental blow.
Jacob sought for blessing, yet he had to flee. He wanted to be the firstborn, yet he had to leave his family and parents. After God touched the hollow of his thigh at Peniel, he became lame forever. From that point on, he limped whenever he moved. The strength of his natural life was thoroughly dealt with by God. Many people receive revelation and light after they have been dealt with. But the degree of the power that is produced from this touch depends on how deeply God has touched us. We need God's light to expose our true nature. Once it is exposed, we are no longer able to return to or recover our old condition. This is what we mean by a fundamental blow. A fundamental dealing means that there is no returning to our former condition.
Everyone has to pass through death. As soon as a man is born, he is heading in the direction of death. But before death actually comes to a man, he may not feel the power of death. He may never have thought of death until a doctor tells him that he is terminally ill with tuberculosis. Then there is an immediate "verdict of death." This does not mean that there was no death prior to this point. It merely means that he did not see the imminence and reality of death. But when he sees it, he is crushed. Many people know the doctrine of the cross, and they can even preach it. Nevertheless, the cross is a fuzzy subject to them. But once God touches them and they hear the verdict of death, the cross becomes real to them. Once God touches a man, he becomes crippled. Lameness is a mark of God's drastic operation on man.
There is a great difference between God's doctrines and God's light. Jacob met God; he was touched by Him, dealt with by Him, and became lame. Acting lame does not work. Those who act lame may limp when they think about it, but when they are fighting to get on a bus, they forget about their "lameness." This kind of "lameness" is only a change in conduct; it is not a change in life. Those who are truly lame can do nothing but limp. Neither those who are running nor those who are pretending to be lame have been touched by God. God's children today are filled with behavior because podiums are filled with doctrines, and doctrines produce nothing but artificial behavior.
I have seen God crippling men who were quite strong, and I believe that He can cripple us too. He will take away our confidence in ourselves so that we will no longer trust in ourselves. This is the verdict of death. A day will come when God will deal with us in a severe way. He will pronounce a verdict of death on us. Then we will be able to say that everything is of God. What we have today is not of God, and what we had before was not of God. But when we are touched this way, our denial of the self will be spontaneous, and our prayer will flow out in a most unpretentious way. Those who are touched by God do not need to set anything to memory. Those who are truly lame may forget about their lameness, but as soon as they take a step and try to walk as others do, they find that they are crippled. They fall at the first step. Our mind may forget that we are lame, but our legs will never forget that we are lame. The cross is God's greatest destruction; it has destroyed the whole old creation. This destruction comes from the operation of light, and this drastic work forever removes any hope of recovery.
