Date: 1940Place: Unrecorded
The victory of Christ is unlimited, but man-made victory is artificial and limited. Many people can overcome to a certain extent by their own power, but beyond that point they can no longer overcome. Some mothers can withstand one or two rowdy children. But if they have more, they can no longer endure. Man-made victory is limited. Only Christ's victory is unlimited. Christ is life to the believers. He is living within the believers and living for them.
The problem today is that believers will not stand on the ground of victory and allow the Lord to live out of them. On the contrary they try to live out their old self. Colossians 3:3-4 says, "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory." This shows us the two aspects of Christ's work. On the one hand, the believers are in Christ. On the other hand, Christ is in the believers. Christ being in the believers means that He is our life, power, wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption. The believers being in Christ means that we enjoy everything that Christ has accomplished including His crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension. We should consider both aspects together. Some people see these two aspects at different times, while others see them at the same time. Personally, I saw my being in Christ first, then Christ in me two years later. If a Christian does not see these two aspects, he is like a person in a river, but who is thirsty, or he is like a person in a gold mine, but who goes away with empty pockets.
The God of Isaac speaks of God giving His Son to us. All we have to do is enjoy. The God of Jacob speaks of God disciplining us through the Holy Spirit. The God of Isaac speaks of God's gift, while the God of Jacob speaks of God's carving work. Paul often spoke apparently contradictory words. On the one hand he said, "There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). Our sins are cleansed through the precious blood of the Lord. We can be strong and victorious. Yet on the other hand Paul said, "Sinners, of whom I am foremost" (1 Tim. 1:15), and "I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling" (1 Cor. 2:3). These words tell us about a God who is our enjoyment and who also disciplines us.
Some Christians try to reckon themselves dead (Rom. 6:11). But the more they try to reckon, the more they are alive. It is not a matter of reckoning ourselves dead, but a matter of whether or not Christ's death is a fact. The word reckon in the original language is a term used for bookkeeping in accounting. It refers to a definite fact. Reckoning ourselves dead is not a matter of feeling but a matter of fact. Our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of Abraham speaks of God as our Father, the God of Isaac speaks of the gifts in Christ, and the God of Jacob speaks of the discipline in the Holy Spirit. We need to have a knowledge of all three aspects.
