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God is a God with a plan. All of God’s work in the universe, from eternity past to eternity future, is accomplished according to His plan. This plan must be accomplished through man and also in man. Hence, God wants to gain all His created and redeemed people for the accomplishment of His plan.
Do not think it is an accident that God uses us today. God’s use of us is altogether based upon His predetermined plan. Everyone that God uses is within the realm of His plan. Because God’s plan is carried out only in man, God has to use man to a very great extent. As long as someone is a citizen of a certain country, he is within the sphere of usefulness to that country and can be used by it. Likewise, we who belong to the kingdom of God are within its realm of usefulness.
Everyone who has been saved has the position and the potential to be used by God. God confirms man’s usefulness to Himself not only by creating and redeeming man but also by calling him. The reason God created and redeemed man is that He intends to use man. However, as far as man’s feeling is concerned, creation and redemption are not enough to convince man that God intends to use him. Therefore, God must also call man to confirm to man His intention to use him. In other words, we may feel that although God has created and redeemed us, He may not necessarily use us. Only when we are clear about God’s calling us can we say with assurance that God intends to use us. Therefore, to us God’s calling is a confirmation of His intention to use us. Now the question we must ask ourselves is, “Has God called us, and how do we know that He has called us?”
We may have the concept that understanding God’s calling is a difficult matter. Actually, we only need to ask ourselves if from the day we were saved until now we have ever had the feeling of wanting to be used by the Lord or have ever heard within us a soft, gentle voice saying that the Lord wants to use us. If we have had such a feeling, then we can know that the Lord has called us. For us to have a heart that is willing to be used by the Lord is the result of a tremendous work of the Lord. This work is far greater than the Lord’s work of creating us.
The Lord’s work of creating us was not as great as His work of putting within us a heart that is willing to be used by Him. His working in man in this way is His greatest way of visiting man. In other words, this work is His coming to man and His visiting with man. How did we get a heart that desires to be for the Lord’s use? Previously, we did not even care for Him, yet to our surprise we now have the desire to be for His use. This proves that this is the Lord’s visitation and that the Lord’s grace has come to us.
During the past thousands of years God has come to man and visited man numerous times. Regrettably, not many in the church today have sensed His visitation. God is always coming to man, yet man often puts Him aside. We should not think that in order to have God’s calling we must hear a voice like thunder from heaven or see a great light as Paul did on the way to Damascus (Acts 9:3; 22:6). Actually, in principle, the gentle, small voice within us is no different from the calling that Paul received on the road to Damascus. We may use sunlight as an illustration. Although there is a difference between the intensity of the heat of the dim light seen at dawn and that of the bright rays seen at noon, the sun is one and the same. Likewise, while God sometimes calls man in extraordinary ways, most of the time He comes to man and visits him in an ordinary way. God’s visitation of man is the confirmation of God’s desire to use man and the beginning of His use of man.
The Lord’s visitation marks the beginning of God’s use of man. Without the Lord’s visitation, we have no way to be called. Thus, it is the Lord’s responsibility to visit us. However, the Bible shows that while the Lord has the responsibility of visiting, we also have a responsibility — the responsibility of paying a price (Matt. 8:19-22; 16:24-27; Luke 9:59-62). Moses and David in the Old Testament and Paul and Peter in the New Testament were those who paid a price through the Lord’s visitation. When the Lord met Paul on the road to Damascus, He did not immediately give him power, revelation, or gifts. Rather, the Lord told him to enter into the city and let a little disciple called Ananias tell him in just a few sentences what he had to do (Acts 9:5b-6, 10-17). Because Paul was willing to pay this price, he was greatly used by the Lord (Phil. 3:7-8). On the one hand, the Lord always visits man, but on the other hand, man must always pay a price. Therefore, our being useful to the Lord begins with His visitation but also depends on our willingness to pay a price.
The price one has to pay after answering the Lord’s call is limitless. No one can say that he has fully paid the price and that there is nothing more to pay. Not even the apostle Paul could say this. Instead, he was always forgetting the things which were behind and stretching forward to the things which were before, pursuing toward the goal, until one day he even gave up his life (vv. 12-14; 2 Tim. 4:6-8). When Paul wrote 2 Timothy 4, he had already paid almost all that he could have paid, yet he was still pressing on. All of us have been visited by the Lord, and the visitations we have received were the same. However, due to the differences in the price that each of us has paid, our usefulness in the Lord’s hands may differ from one to another. Because Paul paid a greater price than others, his usefulness was also greater than that of others.
Some might say that the Lord has mercy on whom He wills (Rom. 9:18). However, this word was spoken in regard to Gentiles, such as Pharaoh who had not yet been visited by God (vv. 15-17). We who have been saved by grace have already received the Lord’s visitation (Eph. 2:4-5, 8). Therefore, now the question is not whether we have received the Lord’s visitation but whether we are willing to pay a price. Our usefulness in the Lord’s hands altogether depends on the price we pay. If we pay a big price, our usefulness will be great; if we pay a small price, our usefulness will be limited.
Throughout the years the Lord’s visitation has not been rare, yet the Lord is constantly groaning because the price we are willing to pay is too small. This is why the Lord’s work today can only advance slowly and the Lord still cannot come back. The Bible shows clearly that the Lord is waiting for man to pay a price and be used by Him by answering His call. In Isaiah 6:8 the Lord said, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” We may not have a deep enough understanding of this word. This word implies that the Lord has a great heart’s desire in the universe and that He is waiting for man to answer His call. He intends to work in every age, yet there is a shortage of people who are willing to pay the price and answer His call. Whenever there is someone on earth who is willing to pay the price and answer the Lord’s call, the Lord will surely use him. The extent of man’s answer determines the extent of the Lord’s use of man.
The first person in the Bible to “go up to a mountain” was Noah. He arrived at the mountains of Ararat by being in the ark and passing through the flood (Gen. 8:1-5). The emphasis of the judgment by the flood was not on judging sin but on judging the God-offending world. Noah’s going up to a mountain symbolizes his being delivered from the judgment and escaping all the situations of rebellion against God. When he reached the mountain, all the situations of rebellion toward God were over. Therefore, in the Bible going up to a mountain to be before God first indicates deliverance from rebellion. Although the whole world had fallen into a state of rebellion against God, those who went to the mountain with Noah came out of the rebellion. Second, it indicates ascension to the heavens through death and resurrection. Because Noah had been delivered from rebellion and had gone through the flood — a type of the experience of death and resurrection — he entered into a new age to represent God’s authority on earth. The significance of Noah’s going up to a mountain is the same as all those who would go up to a mountain after him. Every time God leads someone up to a mountain, His intention is that this person would be delivered from rebellion and would pass through death and resurrection to enter into a situation of representing God’s authority on earth. This is a summary of the significance of man’s experience of going up to a mountain.
In the Bible there is another aspect of the significance of going up to a mountain — one goes up to a mountain for revelation. In many such instances, from Abraham’s going up to Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:1-2) to John’s being on the island of Patmos (Rev. 1:9; 21:10), the emphasis given to these experiences in the Scriptures is the receiving of revelation. Abraham’s going up to Mount Moriah was originally for consecration, but in the end it was for revelation. By going up to a mountain, Abraham came to know God as Jehovah-jireh and to know God’s work on earth, because God’s promise to Abraham was concerning the work He would accomplish on earth. Following Abraham, Moses and Elijah also received revelation when they went up to a mountain (Exo. 19:20; 1 Kings 18:42). In the New Testament the Lord’s bringing His disciples up to a mountain was also for revelation (Matt. 5:1). Finally, John’s being brought up to a mountain when he was on the island of Patmos was especially for receiving revelation. In John’s experience of going up to a mountain we see the ultimate significance of this matter — being delivered from rebellion, passing through death and resurrection, representing God’s authority on earth, and receiving an exceedingly mysterious revelation.
The fact that one must go up to a mountain to receive revelation indicates that the receiving of revelation requires the paying of a price. In other words, to go up to a mountain is to pay a price. The Lord’s teaching on the mountain in Matthew 5—7 came after His teaching in the synagogues (4:23) and was also apart from His teaching in the synagogues. The teaching in the synagogues was common, general, and heard by a great number of people. However, after teaching in the synagogues, the Lord brought His disciples to the mountain. The teaching on the mountain was the teaching concerning the kingdom of the heavens; this teaching was high, specific, and heard only by a few who came to the Lord by following Him up the mountain. To go up to a mountain is to pay a price and come to the Lord by drawing near to Him. Throughout the generations very few have been able to understand the teaching in Matthew 5—7, because very few have been willing to pay a price.
If we want to receive revelation, we must determine to willingly pay a price, and we must also draw near to the Lord within. These are the basic requirements for us to have the experience of going up to a mountain and for us to receive revelation. It was by fulfilling such requirements — paying a price and drawing near to the Lord — that Abraham, Moses, and the Lord’s disciples were able to receive revelation. It was especially so in the case of John on the island of Patmos; he received the revelation while he was paying a price and drawing near to the Lord on the Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10). We all should learn this lesson.
The Gospels mention numerous times that the Lord called different ones. Strictly speaking, the Lord’s calling is not mainly for people to be saved but for people to follow Him. For example, there are Scripture verses such as, “Come after Me” (Matt. 4:19), “Follow Me” (9:9), “Sell your possessions...and come, follow Me” (19:21), “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead” (8:22), and “No one who puts his hand on the plow and looks behind is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). These verses show again and again how great is the price that must be paid by those who desire to follow the Lord.
In the Gospels the Lord’s unique requirement for those called by Him was that they forsake all their possessions (14:33). This was how the early disciples were called to follow the Lord. For example, Peter said, “We have left all and followed You” (Matt. 19:27). All means “everything.” If a person with five thousand dollars gives five thousand, and another person who has fifty thousand dollars gives fifty thousand, then both paid everything they had as the price. In the Lord’s eyes, both of them have paid the same price. One day the Lord praised the widow who cast two lepta into the treasury, because she had cast in all that she had, even her whole living (Mark 12:42, 44). Therefore, for us to pay a price does not necessarily mean that we spend the most but that we cast in everything we have. One who casts in everything is one who pays a price. The Lord never counts how much we pay. Instead, He counts whether we have paid all.
The “all” required in the Gospels is all that we have, including our parents, wives, children, brothers, sisters, houses, businesses, academic degrees, positions, fame, preferences, ambitions, and lives. All these items are the price that is required in the Gospels. Many of us today, however, have not completely severed our relationships with our relatives. This does not mean that we should outwardly cut off all human relationships. Rather, it means that we should cut off all emotional ties. In short, the Lord wants us to leave all that we have. This is the most severe demand He has of us.
Whenever we touch the Lord, He will demand something from us. This will always be the case. The Lord is never satisfied with the price we have already paid. Whenever He touches us, He will ask us for something. We experience the Lord’s most evident presence when He is requiring something of us. On our side, the only time that we will not sense that He is demanding something of us is when we have lost our fellowship with Him. On the Lord’s side, His demand upon us will cease only when the new heaven and new earth are established.
Today is the time for the Lord to use man and to gain man to do His work. Hence, He is continually requiring something of us, and His requirements are becoming greater and greater. At first the Lord’s requirements are small, but gradually, His requirements become greater, deeper, and more severe. If we try to suppress the feeling that He is requiring something, we will suffer a great loss because our fellowship with Him will be interrupted. After a long period of time without fellowship, the Lord will no longer have a way in us, and consequently, He will be forced to turn to someone else. However, if we consent to His demands, learn to obey, and are willing to pay the price, our feeling will become more and more sensitive, even to such an extent that almost all day long we will have the feeling that the Lord is asking something of us.
If we do not go along with His demands and are not willing to pay a price, then there will be two results. First, on our side, we will be like the young man who went away sorrowing (Matt. 19:22). Second, on the Lord’s side, the Lord will not be able to manifest our usefulness to Him. For this reason we would rather be wrong trying to obey than disobey altogether, and we would rather obey too much than obey too little. If we answer the Lord’s requirements, there will also be two results. First, we will be full of joy, and second, the Lord will be able to manifest our usefulness.
We must realize that the basic requirement to being used by the Lord is to consent to His demands. A person who consents to His demands can be used by the Lord even though he may not have a great deal of knowledge of the truth. He can still be used by the Lord even though he may not pray very frequently. The power we gain by paying a price to answer the Lord’s demands is often greater than the power we receive through numerous prayers. The power we receive by paying a price to answer the Lord’s demands is often greater than the power we receive through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. People pay attention to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, yet they do not see that on the day of Pentecost those who received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit had paid a great price. They had left everything to be in the upper room in Jerusalem and had prayed steadfastly in one accord (Acts 1:13-14).
Many people would like to receive the power brought in through the outpouring of the Spirit, yet they are not willing to learn the lesson of paying a price. Hence, they carry out many works, yet their works cannot last and do not have a lasting effect. If a worker wants his work to remain and to last a long time, he must learn the lesson of paying a price. How much the work can remain depends on how much the worker has learned this lesson. The power for doing the Lord’s work lies in one’s learning this lesson, and in order to learn this lesson, one must pay a price. A person’s usefulness before the Lord is based upon how much of a price he has paid before the Lord. We all admire how useful people such as Paul and Peter were to the Lord, yet we neglect the fact that they paid a great price before the Lord. If we are not useful to the Lord today, the only reason is that we are not willing to pay a price, not willing to answer His demands, and not willing to forsake our reputation, our education, our position, our future, and our whole life. Hence, we do not sense the presence of the Lord, we rarely contact Him in fellowship, and naturally, we have little usefulness before Him.
The price in Philippians 3 is different from the price in the Gospels. The price in the Gospels refers to all that we have, whereas the price in Philippians 3 refers mainly to all the things that enable us to serve the Lord. For example, all things in Philippians 3 denotes our abilities in service (v. 8). We may have the ability to serve, to preach, to testify, and to visit the saints. We may also have eloquence and experience. All these things are included in the price required of us in Philippians 3. The revelation in Philippians 3 is that we should pursue the experience of Christ and the power of His resurrection (v. 10). Therefore, we need to pay the price by giving up all that we have — our theology, eloquence, doctrines, knowledge, and experience — in exchange for Christ, the experience of Christ, and the gaining of Christ. Paul forsook all things that he might gain Christ (v. 8). In other words, he forsook all his abilities in the service of God that he might gain Christ as his ability. We need to cast aside our ability, our eloquence, our doctrines, and our messages and let Christ be our ability, our eloquence, and our message. Only by paying a price in this way will we be able to gain Christ.
Let us use the matter of visiting the saints as an illustration. Since we have gone out frequently to visit the saints, gradually, we have learned something concerning this matter. Therefore, we may think that we are experienced in this matter. However, if we do not give up our experience in the matter of visitations on account of Christ, we will not be able to experience Christ through the visitations. Because we want to retain our ability, Christ has no chance to come in. However, if we go to visit the saints by putting aside our experience, then we are no longer depending on our ability. Our ability to visit the saints, which was a gain to us, we have counted as loss on account of Christ. Although we have the ability, we give it up and count it as refuse. In exchange we gain Christ and experience Christ.
The price in Philippians 3 is not a price experienced in a Christian’s initial stage. The price experienced in a Christian’s initial stage is the price in the Gospels. The price in Philippians comes after the price in the Gospels. One who has not paid the price in the Gospels cannot pay the price in Philippians 3. The price in the Gospels does not require any qualifications — it is the initial price, whereas the price in Philippians 3 requires certain qualifications. Only when a person has paid the price in the Gospels will he be able to serve in Acts, and only when a person is serving in Acts will he have the experience and qualification to pay the price in Philippians 3.
After paying the price in the Gospels, a person will have numerous experiences in the service of God. However, if he stops there, holding on to those experiences rather than giving them up, eventually, he will not have any fresh experiences and will therefore be unable to have more experiences of Christ. Hence, Paul says that we should forget the things which are behind and stretch forward to the things which are before (v. 13). Regardless of how good our past experiences were, they are the things which are behind and have to be forgotten (cf. vv. 5-6). If we preached the word once and saved three thousand, we still have to forsake that experience and count it as refuse that we may gain the living Christ. Unless we are willing to forsake our past experiences, we will not be able to have a fresh experience of Christ, and without a fresh experience we will not have new usefulness in service. There are some whose usefulness before the Lord is old — not fresh and living, because they are not willing to pay the price referred to in Philippians 3 and are therefore short of the experience of Christ and the power of His resurrection.
The price in Philippians 3 may be likened to Abraham’s offering of Isaac on the altar (Gen. 22:1-2). Abraham had received Isaac as a promise from God, yet he still had to offer Isaac back anew. Likewise, we still need to offer to the Lord the lessons that we have learned before Him in the past. This is the price in Philippians 3, which is a higher price. The price in the Gospels is paid by a follower of the Lord in the initial stage of his experience. The price in Philippians is paid by one who has already been serving the Lord to a certain extent and has a considerable amount of knowledge of the Lord, a considerable measure of spirituality, a considerable degree of obtainment, and a considerable amount of experience. At this time the price revealed in Philippians 3 will require him to give up all these “considerables,” that is, to give up all things. Although these things are good and are “Isaacs,” they are all things of the past. Therefore, he has to forget them and pay them as the price so that he may have some new experiences. Only by this can he have a fresh and living usefulness in service.
Another place in the Scriptures that mentions the paying of a price in a very clear way is Revelation 3:18. There it mentions buying three things: gold refined by fire, white garments, and eyesalve. These are all matters related to a price. Furthermore, it is the Lord who asks us to buy.
Gold signifies God’s nature, God’s element. In the church in Laodicea there was much clay but very little gold. In other words, in their midst there were too many things that were outside of God, and there was too little of the element of God. Therefore, the Lord counseled the believers to buy gold. With regard to white garments, the color white denotes purity, the absence of mixture, and garments refer to our walk and conduct. Hence, white garments signify a walk and conduct expressing the purity of God. Third, eyesalve is for anointing the eyes. When the eyes have an ailment and are unable to see, there is the need to buy eyesalve to cure the eyes and make them bright again. In normal situations the inner nature of a Christian should be pure, and his outward living should be white and bright. All these items require us to buy, to pay a price. God’s intention is to accomplish His eternal purpose through man. Thus, after the Lord calls us, we need to pay a price so that we may become useful to Him.
