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In the foregoing chapter we saw that the power of resurrection requires death as its base. If there is no death, it is impossible for the power of resurrection to be manifested. The four Gospels reveal this principle very clearly. The Gospels are a record of a person who always lived under the death of the cross. Jesus was crucified not only at the end of the Gospels but throughout His life. As He was growing up and as He came into the ministry commissioned by God, He was continually under the death of the cross. In other words, He lived a crucified life. Based on the death of the cross, His resurrection power was manifested.
The Lord Jesus had two kinds of life, the divine life and the human life. He had the divine life for the purpose of expressing God and the human life for the purpose of having God expressed in man. In order for Him to accomplish such a marvelous expression, He had to continually set aside His human life so that His divine life could be manifested. The Lord Jesus made the decision regarding the setting aside of His human life, not by His divine life but by His human life. This decision had to be made by the Lord Jesus as a man, not as God. God had already decided that the human life should be set aside for the expression of the divine life. However, it was necessary for the man to agree with God’s decision. Thank the Lord that, as a man, the Lord Jesus decided of His own free will to set aside His human life so that His divine life might be expressed.
This matter of the will brings us back to Genesis 2. When God created man, He created him with a free will. The first man, Adam, was defeated; however, the second man, Jesus, came, also with a free will, and He was victorious. The entire universe — including Satan, the angels, and the demons — was watching to see what the Lord Jesus would do. Everything depended upon the decision He made with His will. Would He choose the will of God or something else? God’s will was that Christ use His free will to choose God’s will. Hallelujah, He did choose God’s will! In Gethsemane the Lord prayed, “Not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). To deny our will and to choose God’s will means that we die on the cross.
Christ’s commission was to express God in man. For this, He needed two kinds of life. In order to express God, He needed the divine life, and in order to express God in man, He needed the human life. As a man desiring to express God in His humanity, the first thing He had to do was to put His human life aside. This decision was not easy to make. Let me use once again the illustration of married life. Some sisters are eager to get married, but every sister who gets married must be prepared to be killed. The reason there are so many separations and divorces is that the wives are not willing to be killed by their husbands. Instead, they want to be emancipated. From the very beginning of her marriage, a sister must determine to take her husband’s will. In every culture a bride wears a head covering during the wedding ceremony. This indicates the bride’s submission to the will of her husband. For a wife to submit to her husband’s will requires that she put herself to death.
When the Lord Jesus was about to begin His ministry, He was baptized. Baptism signifies burial, termination. Being buried in baptism was the inauguration of the Lord’s ministry. During the three and a half years of His ministry, the Lord lived as a crucified and buried person, living always under death. This experience of death was the base for the manifestation of the power of resurrection. Where death was, there was resurrection.
For the sisters, marriage also is a form of baptism, a kind of burial. Forty years ago, I used to give a pleasant word at wedding meetings. But now if I am asked to say something, I tell the couple that marriage is an altar upon which they will be slaughtered. Sisters, do not forget that to be married is to be buried. If you want to get married, you must be ready to be buried. If you realize this, you will have a happy married life, for your marriage will be in resurrection.
In marriage God requires more of the wife than He does of the husband. God does not ask the man to be killed by his wife, because in marriage the man represents God. God is the universal man, the universal Husband. In a marriage the husband represents God as the universal Husband. If the wives are willing to be buried and to live a married life that is under the killing of the cross, the power of resurrection will be manifested, and all the troubles will disappear. I can assure the sisters that Satan, the evil angels, and the demons will be terrified by their termination and burial and will not bother them. The reason you are bothered by so many things is that you are still so alive.
As we have pointed out, the first thing the Lord Jesus did when He came out to minister was to be buried by John the Baptist. This indicates that He exercised His will to terminate His natural life. When John the Baptist wanted to hinder Him from being baptized, the Lord seemed to say, “No, I must be baptized. You must put Me into the water.” By being baptized by John, the Lord indicated that He was willing to put away His human life and to keep it always under the cross. For this reason, in the four Gospels we see a crucified and resurrected life. To repeat, the Lord was crucified and resurrected not only at the end of the four Gospels but at the beginning. Eventually, the time came for the Lord to be crucified physically. Then, after this consummate death there was the ultimate resurrection. Thus, wherever death is, there is resurrection.
How much the power of resurrection can be manifested in us depends upon how much death we enter into. If we do not get into death at all, there will be no resurrection. If we have a little experience of death, a little of the power of resurrection will be manifested. The basic principle is this: the more death, the more resurrection. In Philippians 3 Paul wanted to gain Christ and be found in Him in a condition of not having his own righteousness but of living out God as his righteousness. He wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection by putting himself aside and living under the death of Christ. The result of living under Christ’s death is knowing the power of His resurrection.
It is difficult to say what the power of resurrection is. Speaking of Christ, Paul says in Romans 1:4 that He was “designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead.” Here Paul says that Christ was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit. This indicates that power is according to the Spirit out of resurrection. This proves that the power of resurrection is the Spirit. The Spirit is the reality of the power of resurrection.
In a previous chapter we pointed out that the Spirit is what remains after we set ourselves aside. If unbelievers set themselves aside, nothing will remain, for they do not have the Spirit as the remainder in them. We are different. If we put ourselves aside, we have the Spirit as the remainder within us. What is set aside is the self, and what remains is the Spirit. If a brother will set himself aside when his wife is arguing with him, the Spirit will come out. This is the power of resurrection. We need to do only one thing — always put ourselves aside. To do this is to put the self under death and to keep it on the cross. When we do this, we live a crucified life and have a base for the power of resurrection to be manifested.
Christian teachers have been talking about the Holy Spirit for centuries. Nevertheless, it is difficult for anyone to define the Holy Spirit. According to practical experience, not theology, the Holy Spirit is what remains after we put ourselves aside. The Holy Spirit that remains in us is unlimited. Sometimes young sisters have told me, “Brother Lee, you have a great deal of the Holy Spirit. But the young sisters have very little of the Spirit.” It does not matter whether you have much of the Spirit or little. What matters is that you have Him. As long as you have the Spirit, there is no limitation. However, the Spirit may seem limited if we are not willing to put ourselves aside.
A number of times sisters have come to me in tears. On the one hand, I felt sympathetic toward them, but on the other hand, I would not sympathize with them. They were crying because their environment was difficult or even unbearable, but they forgot about the Spirit. If they would be willing to put themselves aside, they would not shed so many tears. Rather, they would immediately be happy in the Lord. But if we are not willing to set ourselves aside, take up the cross, and put ourselves under death, the Holy Spirit will seem limited in our experience. Sisters, you have a spiritual checking account with unlimited savings. Because you have such an account, you can write a check to cover any situation. The way to write a check is to put yourself to death and, through death, to enter into the Spirit as the reality of resurrection. Whenever you find yourself in a difficult situation, do not weep or pity yourself. Instead, put yourself aside, and keep yourself under the cross. Then spontaneously resurrection will be manifested in you, and you will be able to sing with joy these lines from a hymn by A. B. Simpson:
If we set ourselves aside, this will be our experience. There is no need for us to endeavor to go to Calvary. Rather, we simply need to exercise our will to decide to put ourselves aside. When the circumstances are difficult, do not feel sorry for yourself but take up the cross and remain under the death of the cross. Then you will discover that where death is, there the power of resurrection is also. Immediately, the Spirit, the power of resurrection, will rise up within you, and you will sing with joy, “’Tis not hard to die with Christ.” You will find yourself glad to go all the way to Calvary. This is the Christian life. The more we go to Calvary, the more of the power of Christ’s resurrection will be manifested. The more we know the power of His resurrection, the more we will be happy to go to Calvary. This is a cycle. It is not a form of suicide; it is an enjoyment of resurrection power. We enjoy going to Calvary, and we enjoy the power of Christ’s resurrection, the Spirit of holiness. This is the reality of the power of resurrection.
Today’s Christianity is far away from this mark. For this reason, we are fighting, not against anyone or against any doctrine but against religion. The battle today is between Christ and religion. The Lord’s recovery is a matter of the living Christ, not a doctrinal Christ, a Christ in theory or theology. The Christ who is the reality of the power of resurrection is the life-giving Spirit. The Lord’s recovery is for such a Spirit, but Christianity is for religion. In order to experience Christ, we must go all the way to Calvary. At Calvary there is a wonderful death, a death that brings in resurrection. After we have put the self on the cross, what remains will be the Holy Spirit. With this remainder we will sense the power of resurrection. This is the power of Christ’s resurrection. Like A. B. Simpson, we will go all the way to Calvary, not sorrowfully and with weeping but joyfully and with singing. We will enjoy death through the power of resurrection.
We go on from the power of resurrection to the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. Although it is wonderful to enjoy the power of Christ’s resurrection, the power of resurrection is not mainly for our enjoyment. In God’s economy there is no selfish enjoyment. The power of Christ’s resurrection is for the producing and the building up of the Body. God’s intention is not to express Himself through certain individuals; it is to express Himself through a Body composed of many believers. Thus, the expression of God in man is not an individual matter but a corporate matter. If we put ourselves aside and remain under the death of the cross, we will enjoy the power of resurrection. Immediately, the power of resurrection will produce the Body. This goal of producing and building up the Body stirs up opposition. Satan knows of this goal, and he stirs up opposition against it. The goal of building up the Body always arouses opposition. When the opposition comes, we suffer. In this way we enter into the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.
Philippians 3:10 speaks of knowing Christ, of knowing the power of His resurrection, and then of knowing the fellowship of His sufferings. According to Colossians 1:24, these sufferings are for the Body. In this verse Paul says, “I now rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His Body, which is the church.” When I was young, I was troubled by this verse. I said, “Christ’s sufferings have been completed. How can Paul say that there was something lacking in Christ’s sufferings?” I honestly thought that Paul was wrong. How can we say that anything related to Christ is not complete? Nevertheless, the Bible reveals that there is something lacking in the sufferings of Christ. Although everything else related to Christ is complete, His sufferings are not complete.
Christ’s sufferings have accomplished two things. First, His sufferings have accomplished redemption. Without suffering, Christ could not redeem us. Second, His sufferings have also accomplished the producing and building up of the church. Thus, within His great sufferings, there is a part for redemption and a part for the producing and building up of the church. The Lord Jesus was on the cross for six hours. Strictly speaking, only the last three hours of His suffering on the cross were for redemption. During these hours Christ became sin in the eyes of God (2 Cor. 5:21), for God gathered all of man’s sin, placed it upon Him, and condemned Him. That was the reason the Lord cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46). Before He went to the cross, the Lord Jesus said that He was not alone, because the Father was with Him (John 16:32). But when He was made sin, He suffered God’s judgment and condemnation. This was Christ’s greatest suffering, and through it He accomplished redemption. It is impossible for us to share in this aspect of Christ’s sufferings. If we say that we can share in this aspect, we blaspheme. He alone suffered God’s judgment on the cross for the accomplishment of redemption.
However, Christ suffered not only for redemption but also for the producing of the Body. In the Gospel of John, Christ is described as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (1:29). But He is also presented as the grain of wheat that fell into the ground to produce many grains (12:24). The Lamb suffered for redemption, whereas the grain suffered for reproducing. Although we cannot share in Christ’s sufferings for redemption, we can share in His sufferings for reproducing and for building up the Body. Christ was the one grain, and we are the many grains. As the many grains, we must suffer in the same way the one grain suffered. The one grain did not complete all the sufferings that are needed for the building up of the Body. For this, there is something lacking, and the lack must be made up by you and me. There is a portion for each of us to make up.
When we put ourselves aside and remain under the cross, the power of resurrection will be our portion. Immediately, opposition will rise up against us, and we will suffer. This suffering is in the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ for the building up of the Body.
At this point we need to differentiate between two kinds of sufferings — the sufferings of Christ and the sufferings that come from our mistakes. Do not think that all the sufferings you undergo are for the building up of the Body. For example, you may suffer because you make a mistake in driving. Perhaps you make a wrong turn and go several miles out of the way, and this causes you to suffer. This suffering, however, is the result of a mistake or carelessness; it is not the suffering of Christ for the producing of the Body. Likewise, if you make an error in your financial records and find yourself several hundred dollars in debt, that is also the suffering caused by error, not the suffering of Christ. However, suppose on your job you enjoy the power of Christ’s resurrection. Because of this, your superiors may oppose you, either passing you up for a promotion or causing you to be dismissed from your job. This suffering may be counted as the suffering of Christ for the producing and building up of the Body. Thus, one category of suffering is due to our mistakes and wrongdoings, and the other results from our testimony.
When we set ourselves aside and experience the power of resurrection, our testimony will be very strong. This will arouse the opposition of the enemy, and we will suffer. This kind of suffering is the suffering of Christ. We all need to know the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, the sufferings that make up what is lacking of Christ’s sufferings for the building up of the Body. This should be not merely doctrine but an experience in which we enjoy Christ.
The Gospels reveal that the Lord Jesus was always suffering opposition. In suffering opposition we experience Christ and enjoy Christ. By experiencing and enjoying Him in this way, we come to know Him experientially. The more we pass through death, the more Christ’s resurrection power becomes our enjoyment; and the more we have the enjoyment of resurrection power, the more we know Christ by our experience. In other words, the very Christ whose life is recorded in the four Gospels lives His life again in us and in the same way. Therefore, we know Him, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. The Christ revealed in the Gospels becomes our experience, and we follow in His footsteps as He repeats His life in us. Because He repeats His life in us, we become one with Him in His steps. We follow Him by enjoying Him and by being one with Him. This means that we even follow Him in His suffering life. How wonderful this is! If you read the book of Acts again, you will see that Peter, James, John, Paul, and all the apostles were such people. The Christ revealed in the Gospels was lived out again in Acts. In the Gospels He was lived out in the person of Jesus, in Acts He was lived out in the apostles, and now He intends to live out Himself in us.
We should know Christ not only by revelation, thus having the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. We need to know Him also by enjoying Him, by experiencing Him, by being one with Him, and by having Him live within us and walk with us. In this way we know Him not merely in an objective way but much more in a subjective way. Thus, we know Him both by revelation and by experience. Eventually, He becomes us, and we become Him. This enables us to say with Paul, “To me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). We will also be able to say that Christ is being magnified in us. This is the book of Philippians. This book reveals how to know Christ in an experiential way. It tells how to know Him, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. As we know Him in this way, we can say, “Christ is being magnified in me. To me, to live is Christ.” Then we will go on to say, “Oh, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him!” Eventually, as we will see in a forthcoming chapter, we will be able to say, “I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me” (4:13).
