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Nearly all Christian teachers have isolated Matthew 16:21-28 from verses 16 through 19 of the same chapter. They have regarded verses 16 through 19 as a section concerning Christ, the church, and the kingdom. To my knowledge, no one has connected these verses to the following verses. Because of this, many have been veiled from seeing the fact that verses 21 through 28 disclose the way to build the church. Years ago we saw the revelation concerning Christ and the church and the prophecy that Christ would build His church. However, until recently, we did not see the way to build the church. In verses 21 through 26 we have the keys to realize the building of the church. The practical and definite way for the church to be built up among us is found in these verses.
In these verses we have not only the death and resurrection of Christ but also three keys that we need to exercise: the denial of the self, the bearing of the cross, and the losing of the soul-life. If we use these three keys, we are immediately and spontaneously on the way to the building of the church. In the past we did not have the definite and practical way to build the church. But now we have seen the three keys. We need to deny the self, take up the cross, and lose the soul-life. As we have pointed out, to take up the cross is not a matter of suffering but of accepting the will of God. It is to accept the church and every believer as God’s will. Every believer in Christ is God’s will for you. Furthermore, the church is the will of God. Thus, both the church and all the believers are a cross to us. We need to take up this cross and bear it. In the foregoing chapters we have considered the first two keys. In this chapter we shall consider the third key.
Verse 25 says, “For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it.” This verse begins with the word For, indicating that it is an explanation of the previous verses. The Greek word rendered “soul-life” or “life” (KJV) is psuche, the word for soul. Although it is correct to render this word as “soul-life,” it can also be rendered “soul.” Actually, this translation is preferable here. Rendered this way, verse 25 speaks of the saving and the losing of the soul. There is a difference between the soul and the soul-life. The soul is our natural being, whereas the soul-life is our human life. These two are inseparable.
Luke 9:25 says, “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself?” This verse does not speak of the soul or the soul-life but of the self. When this verse is compared with Matthew 16:26, we see that the soul is the self and that the self is the soul. However, there is still a difference between the soul and the self. According to the context of Matthew 16, the self in verse 24 is the embodiment and expression of the soul in verse 25. Moreover, the expression of the self is mainly through the mind. For this reason, verse 23 speaks of setting the mind on the things of men, not on the things of God. Therefore, in verses 23, 24, and 25 respectively, we have the mind, the self, and the soul. The soul is embodied in the self, and the self is expressed through the mind.
In verse 25 the word soul indicates enjoyment. If you consider the context of verses 25 through 27, you will see that the Lord was speaking about the enjoyment of the soul. To save the soul is to allow the soul to have its enjoyment. Thus, the self is the expression of the soul, and the soul itself is the enjoyment. To lose the soul means to lose the enjoyment of the soul, and to gain the soul means to have the enjoyment of the soul.
As tripartite men, we have three kinds of enjoyment: physical enjoyment, spiritual enjoyment, and psychological enjoyment. Physical enjoyment includes the enjoyment of fine food and of a pleasant place to rest. Spiritual enjoyment includes the enjoyment of God’s presence, God’s blessing, God’s speaking, and God’s grace. Between the physical enjoyment and the spiritual enjoyment there is the psychological enjoyment, which includes things such as the enjoyment of sweet music, the satisfaction of being praised by others, and the pleasure of being with our intimate friends.
Which of these three types of enjoyment do you think is the highest? According to the New Testament, both the physical enjoyment and the spiritual enjoyment are for the soulish enjoyment. The reason for this is that God did not create man as a body or as a spirit but as a soul. In Matthew 11:29 the Lord Jesus said that if we would take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, we would find rest for our souls. This kind of rest, however, needs to be supported by the rest of the spirit. If our spirit does not rest in the Lord, our soul cannot be at rest. Soulish rest needs to be supported by spiritual rest. Those who attend nightclubs may be satisfied in a fleshly, soulish way, but they do not have the support of spiritual satisfaction. Because they lack this support, their fleshly and sinful satisfaction is vain. However, the rest we enjoy in our soul is lasting because it has the support of the rest in the spirit, the support of spiritual satisfaction.
The highest enjoyment is neither the physical nor the spiritual but the soulish. The physical enjoyment is for the soulish enjoyment, and the spiritual enjoyment supports the soulish enjoyment. As human beings, we all seek enjoyment. There is no one on earth who does not seek it. Even children desire enjoyment. The children’s enjoyment is mainly in their soul. Soulish enjoyment dominates their actions and behavior. The behavior of children is genuine because with them there is no performing. But as we grow up, our behavior ceases to be genuine because we learn to perform. Genuine enjoyment is soulish enjoyment. Therefore, what the Lord was talking about in Matthew 16 was the soulish enjoyment.
The Lord said that whoever desires to save his soul will lose it, and that whoever loses his soul for His sake will find it. For both the losing of the soul and the saving of the soul we shall be rewarded. Matthew 16:27 says, “The Son of Man is to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will repay each man according to his doings.” If we deny the self, take up the cross, and lose the soul, we shall receive one kind of reward. But, if we save the soul, we shall receive a different kind of reward. One way or another, at the time of the Lord’s coming, we shall be rewarded.
This reward, however, is not strictly a matter of the future. This is proved by verse 28: “Truly I say to you, There are some of those standing here who shall by no means taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” The Lord will come in two ways, in His coming in the future and in His coming in His transfiguration. The Lord’s transfiguration on the mountain was a form of the coming of the kingdom. In both types of comings there is a reward according to our doings, according to whether or not we deny ourselves, take up the cross, and lose the soul.
We need to understand this matter of the saving or losing of the soul in the light of our experience. We also need to remember that the subject of the last half of Matthew 16 is the building of the church, and that we should not isolate verses 21 through 28 from verses 16 through 19 since these verses are concerned with the way to build up the church. Suppose the brothers living in a brothers’ house have seen the vision concerning Christ and the building of the church. They realize that the Lord desires to recover the church life for His economy. However, the living situation in the house may not be very encouraging. Perhaps no one is willing to do the dishes. Because of the discouraging situation, some of the brothers may consider moving out of the house. But if they move out, they will be saving their souls to have an easy way for themselves. One brother may actually move from that house to another house, where, after a few weeks, he learns that the situation is the same. Then he moves to a church in another part of the country, concealing the reason for his move under the cloak of seeking a better church life. By making this move, he is saving his soul. When he arrives in the new locality and moves into a brothers’ house there, he finds the situation even worse than the one he left. At this point, disappointed with the church life, he may decide to leave the church entirely. If he does this, he will be saving his soul to the uttermost. By this we see that to please the self is to save the soul.
Now we need to see what it means to lose the soul. In the process of the building of the church, we should not save our soul. Rather, we must always lose it. Do not move from one brothers’ house to another to seek a better situation to make things easier for yourself. Every brother is God’s will, and you need to bear each brother as a cross. If others will not wash the dishes, then you should wash them. But if you feel sorry for yourself because you are the only one to wash the dishes, the gate will be opened for Satan to come forth. He will tempt you to move out of the brothers’ house. When such a temptation comes, you need to use the third key, the key of losing the soul. If you use this key, you will say, “Praise the Lord! Tomorrow I shall wash even more dishes. Satan, don’t talk to me anymore. The more you talk to me, the more dishes I will wash. I am willing to lose my soul to the uttermost.” After a short period of time of losing the soul, there will be a transfiguration in the church, and in this transfiguration you will be rewarded positively. In the church life and in all the meetings you will have the highest enjoyment of the Lord’s presence. But those who have been saving their soul will be rewarded negatively during this time of transfiguration.
The Lord’s interest today is with the building of the church. But how can we, as fallen human beings, be built up together? It is difficult even for a husband and wife or for parents and children to be built up together. We all want enjoyment for ourselves and react against anything that touches our sense of enjoyment. Apart from the losing of the soul, it is impossible for the church to be built up. If someone offends you, you may be unwilling to forgive him simply because you enjoy being able to condemn him. Because forgiving him is not enjoyable to you, you have no interest in forgiving him. This is true not only in the church but also between husbands and wives. Sisters, once your husband has offended you, you may enjoy holding on to that offense. Holding on to it and refusing to forgive him affords you psychological pleasure. This is the saving of the soul. If you save your soul in this way, you cannot have a proper family life. In order to have a proper family life, we need to lose our soul. Our soulish enjoyment must go. If you are willing to lose your soulish enjoyment, you will be rewarded one day when the Lord comes into your family. At that time, the Lord will save your soul. You were willing to lose it, but when the Lord comes in, He will save it and cause you to have great enjoyment. For the building of the church there is the crucial need that we all learn to lose our soul. Do not keep any enjoyment for your soul. Rather, lose it for the Lord’s sake.
With respect to the losing of the soul, the Lord did not speak about suffering. Do not think that if you lose the soul, you will suffer. If you have had some experience with this matter, you will know that apparently the losing of the soul is a suffering, but actually it is a real joy. If a sister loses her soul by forgiving her husband, that will be a joy to her and to her family. It will issue in the building up of the proper family life. The same is true in principle with the building of the church. To lose our soulish enjoyment is a joy because as a result we see the building up of the church. If you are willing to lose your soul in a practical way, others will be nourished by you and built up through you. This is not a suffering; it is a joy.
Hebrews 12:2 says that the Lord endured the cross because of the joy that was set before Him. The Lord did not go to the cross with tears; rather, He went joyfully. His going to the cross was His losing of His soul. But because He foresaw the result, He did not feel sorry for Himself about losing His soul. He knew that through His death many grains would be brought forth (John 12:24).
The need today is that we all learn how to lose our soul. In the church life do not insist on preserving any soulish enjoyment for yourself. This does not mean, however, that those in the brothers’ houses are expected to work like slaves. The parents of some of the brothers may misunderstand this. If you have the grace, you will realize that the losing of the soul is not a form of slavery. As you are washing dishes in the brothers’ house, you will be happy and willing to lose your soulish enjoyment to satisfy others.
The losing of the soul is the basic factor in our being built up together. It is not only a matter of denying the self or of bearing the cross but of losing the soul. We need to lose all our present soulish enjoyment for the Lord’s sake, for the sake of the church, and for the sake of all the saints. If you are willing to lose your soul for the sake of others, those with you will be enlightened, nourished, and filled. This is the way the church is built. If all the saints are willing to lose the soul, what a wonderful situation there will be among us. There will be no offenses and even no need for forgiveness. If we are like this, we shall be rewarded with a prevailing transfiguration. But if we are not willing to lose our soul, we shall not share in this transfiguration. On the contrary, for us the church life will be darkness, and, during the time of transfiguration, we shall be rewarded with suffering. Instead of being joyful, we shall be in darkness. This is a negative reward for being unwilling to lose the soul.
Our willingness to lose the soul for the Lord’s sake will cause the church to be transfigured. In other words, it will bring in a revival. Every genuine revival is a coming of Christ, a present coming of Christ with His reward (not His second coming in a physical way). He rewards the faithful ones positively and the unfaithful ones negatively. I have seen this happen in the church life. When a revival, a transfiguration, came, some were enjoying and others were gnashing their teeth in darkness.
How I thank the Lord for showing us these three keys, the keys of self-denial, bearing the cross, and losing the soul! If we deny ourselves, we shall not have any opinions. When I was working with Brother Nee in China, I realized that he had been appointed by the Lord to take the lead. Therefore, I did whatever he said. However, this did not mean that I did not sometimes have a better way to do certain things. According to my knowledge, my way would sometimes have saved a great deal of time. Nevertheless, I did not say a word, simply because I did not want Brother Nee to feel that I was dissenting with him. Instead of taking the time necessary to make my way clear, I denied myself, forgot my way, and followed Brother Nee’s way. Actually, this not only saved time; it also saved us from the feeling of dissension. We all are human. If we say contrary things to one another, it is difficult to avoid the feeling of dissension. This feeling is subtle, and it may give rise to friction between us.
In 1934 Brother Nee conducted a conference in Hang-chow. At this conference I met a certain co-worker whom Brother Nee knew very well. Regarding him, Brother Nee said, “This brother is very good. Whenever you tell him to go west, he will go east.” However, Brother Nee did not criticize this brother. At first, I did not understand Brother Nee’s language, although his word impressed me. Eventually, I learned that this brother was exactly like Brother Nee had said. In those days we were all learning to deny the self. If we had insisted that this brother go in a certain direction, it would have meant that we were not denying ourselves. We had to deny ourselves to fit into his situation. We knew that if we told him to go west, he would go east. Therefore, if we wanted him to go west, we would suggest that he go east. Then he would go west.
Because similar situations exist among us today, all the elders need to learn to be flexible. They also need to become familiar with the various dispositions of the saints. The way to learn this is by denying the self. Although a brother may always act contrary to what we say, he is still a brother. He is the will of God for us, and we must deny the self and take him up as a cross. As we endeavor to do this, we also need to lose our soulish enjoyment.
Husbands and wives argue with each other because they find it enjoyable. The reason a husband is not willing to lose the case to his wife is that it would mean the losing of his soul. But if a brother loses his soul by losing the case to his wife, the Lord will reward him by coming in at a certain point to save his soul. That will be the time for the soul to have its enjoyment. This illustrates the fact that the family life is built up through the losing of the soul. There cannot be a proper family life without the losing of the soul. For the sake of the family, you need to lose your enjoyment. Then the Lord Jesus will reward you in a positive way when He causes a transfiguration to take place in your family.
The same is true in the church life. In the church we all need to learn to lose our soul, to lose our soulish enjoyment. By losing our soul, a transfiguration will take place. Then in the Lord’s transfiguration we shall be rewarded positively, and the Lord will save our soul. If you consider your experience, you will find that this is true.
Without the third key, the losing of the soul, the first two keys do not work very well. We need the last key, the losing of the soul, in the church life. In every aspect of the church life we need to lose our soul. If we lose our soulish enjoyment, we shall not argue with the brothers. Therefore, the losing of the soul is the way for the church to be built up. By the exercise of the three keys, the gates of Hades are locked up, and the doors of heaven are opened. When Hades is locked up and the heavens are opened, we shall have an excellent church life. This excellent church life is the kingdom today. This is the way for the church to be built up.
