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Scripture Reading: Rom. 8:9-10, 16; 10:4-13
The book of Romans is a sketch of the Christian life and the church life. Also, God’s full salvation is made very clear in this book. Yet something in this book that is extremely vital has been greatly neglected by Christianity. In this chapter we want to see what this vital thing is.
Romans 9 tells us that we are vessels to contain God. Now we need to see something from chapters 8 and 10 of Romans. Romans 8 deals mainly with the Spirit. Verse 9 says that we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us, and this Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ. Then verse 10 says that Christ is in us. This shows that the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and Christ are synonyms. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ is Christ Himself. Today this wonderful Spirit is in us.
Verse 16 shows that this wonderful Spirit is in our spirit. This verse says that the Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit, not with our mind or with our heart. So in this one simple verse there are these two spirits. The wonderful Spirit with a capital S bears witness with our spirit with a small s. The divine Spirit witnesses with our human spirit, and these two spirits mingle together as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17).
Ezekiel 36 reveals that the Spirit of God is in our spirit (vv. 26-27). John 3:6 tells us the Spirit begets the spirit: “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Then John 4:24 tells us that God is Spirit, and we worship Him in our spirit. Our spirit worships God the Spirit. Also, Romans 8:16 tells us that the Holy Spirit, the divine Spirit, is with our spirit. The wonderful Spirit today is with our spirit. This means that Christ is in our spirit. This is the revelation in Romans 8.
Following this, Romans 9 tells us that we are vessels containing Christ. Christ is the wonderful Spirit, and we are the vessels to contain Him. But how can we take Christ into us? The way is in chapter 10. In chapter 8 we see Christ as the wonderful Spirit; in chapter 9 we are the vessels to contain Christ; in chapter 10 there is the way to take Christ in. In other words, in chapter 8 is the content; in chapter 9 are the vessels, the containers; and in chapter 10 is the way for the containers to take in the content.
The verses from Romans 10 in the Scripture Reading at the beginning of this chapter show us the way to take in Christ. Verse 4 says that Christ is the end of the law. If you desire to take in Christ, you surely have to realize this. Nearly all of us are under a certain law. The Jewish people are under the law given through Moses, but I am afraid that you are still under a certain law made by Christianity or made by yourself. There are the Moses-made law, the Christianity-made law, and the self-made law. I believe that we all have some self-made law.
You may wonder what I mean by a self-made law. Then I would ask you, “Don’t you have the intention to work more for the Lord?” Surely this is very good, but this is a self-made law. A husband may pray, “O Lord, help me to love my wife.” A wife may pray, “O Lord, help me to submit myself to my husband.” These are self-made laws. Even you may have made up your mind that from now on you will call on the name of the Lord. Even this is a law made by yourself. Then you would say, “What shall we do?” Even this desire to do something is a self-made law. If you make up your mind that from today you will pray-read the Bible, this is a law. I assure you that all who have ever made such a law have had a failure. Trying to do anything is a law. Do not try to do anything. Just forget about doing something. But how can you forget about doing? Even if you try to forget about doing, that is still a law.
We need to see that when Christ comes to us, this is the end of our self-made laws. I cannot help you, but if Christ comes to you, you will be stopped. Christ is the end of the law. Saul of Tarsus is a good example for us. He was a man under the law made by Moses and by the Jewish religion. He was also under the law made by himself. He was trying to keep all the laws made by Moses, all the rules made by Judaism, and all the desires and intentions set up by himself. While he was trying his best to keep all the laws, the light and the voice came from the heavens, and he fell to the ground (Acts 9:3-4). That day on the way to Damascus the one who was trying his best to keep the law and persecute Jesus fell on the ground and called, “Lord!” He said, “Who are You, Lord?” (v. 5). Even before he came to know the Lord, he called on the Lord (cf. Rom. 10:13).
At that time the Lord Jesus came into Saul. We know this because his whole activity was stopped. He was stopped from the Moses-made law, he was stopped from the Judaism-made law, and he was stopped from his self-made law. Christ is the end of the law. Saul was so intelligent, clear, and strong, yet he was stopped and became blind. He lost his sight. He could not do anything, and he did not know where to go. Before that time, he was a leading one, one whom others followed. But after Jesus came into him, his sight was lost. He did not know what to do or where to go. He needed somebody else to lead him (Acts 8:8). He was fully stopped. This is because Christ is the end of the law.
In the same way, if Jesus would grant you a gracious visitation, your whole activity would be stopped. You may pray, “From now on, Lord, help me to love my wife.” “From now on, Lord, help me to submit myself to my husband.” “From now on, Lord, help me to pray-read.” “From now on, help me to do this or that.” But as long as you have so many doings, this proves that you are short of the gracious visitation of the Lord Jesus. His visitation will stop all your activities because He is the end of the law.
I am afraid that many of you still have certain desires, certain intentions, and even certain schedules. All these are your self-made laws. I cannot tell you to stop. If I did, this would also be a law. Do not promise me that from tonight you will stop your activity. This is another law. When Jesus came to Saul of Tarsus, he was fully puzzled. He said, “Who are You, Lord?” He lost his direction. Before that time he was so clear and bold in taking the lead. But after meeting Christ, he did not know where to go or what to do. I do not want this fellowship in this chapter to open your eyes. Instead, I hope that it will blind you. Have you lost your sight? Or are you still clear? Do you still know what to do? It is a real blessing to lose your sight. Saul of Tarsus lost his sight and his direction because Christ as the end of the law came into him.
In Romans 10 Paul says, “‘Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven?’ that is, to bring Christ down; or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ that is, to bring Christ up from the dead” (vv. 6-7). You do not need someone to bring Christ down from the heavens for you or to bring Christ up from the abyss for you. As the last Adam, He has come down from the heavens and has risen up from the abyss. He was incarnated, coming down from the heavens. He was resurrected, rising up from the abyss. He has completed all His traffic. Now where is He? Christ, who is the end of the law, is not far from you. Paul says that He is in your mouth (v. 8). Many say that we have to believe in the Lord Jesus in our heart. This is true, but we also need to exercise our mouth. Romans 10 says that you have to confess, “Lord Jesus,” with your mouth (v. 9). You should not merely exercise your heart; you also have to use your mouth.
Many of you have not used your mouth. You may say that you have prayed much, but have you ever shouted, calling on Jesus with your mouth? Use your mouth not just to pray to the Lord Jesus but to confess the Lord Jesus, to call upon His name. I hope that you all would underline the word mouth in Romans 10. You have to use your mouth to call on the name of the Lord Jesus. Romans 10 does not say that the Lord is rich to all who believe in Him, worship Him, meditate on Him, or pray to Him. It says that the Lord is rich to all who call upon Him (v. 12). Have you ever called upon the Lord? I am sharing something with you that is missed by Christianity. Many will tell you that you have to believe in the Lord Jesus. Then you have to confess your failures and sins to the Lord and pray much. But in today’s Christianity, the matter of calling on the name of the Lord has been and still is missed.
I would like to illustrate the difference between calling and praying. If my house were on fire, I could come to someone and say, “Sir, my house is on fire, and we are short of water. Please come to help us.” This is an illustration of what it is to pray by saying, “Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. You are my Redeemer. I need You.” But a person whose house is on fire can also cry out, “Fire! Fire!” This is what it is to call on the Lord’s name — “O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus!”
When Saul of Tarsus fell on the ground on his way to Damascus, he cried out, “Who are You, Lord?” Later, the Lord went to Ananias and told him to visit Saul. Ananias was concerned and told the Lord, “He has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon Your name” (Acts 9:14). While Saul was on the way to Damascus, he wanted to bind all the ones who called on the Lord Jesus day by day. Suddenly he fell down to the earth and said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you persecute” (v. 5). Without his being conscious of anything, Jesus came into him.
If we call on a person who is real, true, and living, he will come to us. Is Jesus real today? Is Jesus living? Surely He is. When we call, “O Lord Jesus,” He comes to us with all His riches. The Lord is rich to all who call upon Him. Whoever calls upon His name shall be saved (Rom. 10:12-13). Do not consider that being saved is such a simple thing. When we believed in the Lord Jesus, we were saved, but we also need to be saved throughout our Christian life. To be saved is not merely to be delivered from hell, to be rescued from God’s eternal judgment. That is too negative. To be saved is to get into the full enjoyment of all the riches of Christ. Christ is so rich. He is everything to us. We can enter into the enjoyment of all the riches of Christ by calling on His name — “O Lord Jesus.”
On his way to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus did not know that when he called, “Lord,” Jesus came into him. Later, in Galatians 1 he told us that it pleased God to reveal Christ in him (vv. 15-16). God revealed Christ in Saul when he fell to the earth and called, “Who are You, Lord?” In a sense, he was stopped from keeping all laws. In another sense, from that time, Paul was brought into the riches of Christ. He began to be saved from many things into the riches of Christ.
Romans 8 tells us that Christ is the life-giving Spirit who is the very content to us. Chapter 9 tells us that we are the vessels to contain Him. Then chapter 10 tells us the way that we, the vessels, can take Christ, the content, into us. The way is to call on Him. Today He is the life-giving Spirit. He is the last Adam. He came down from the heavens and came up from the abyss. He has completed His incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. Now He is not merely the last Adam. He is the life-giving Spirit. He is the living Word, the living Logos, and He is in your mouth. The only thing that can be in your mouth all the time is the air. Christ today is the life-giving air. What you need is not to exercise your mind to understand but to exercise your mouth. If you open up your mouth and call, “Lord Jesus,” He will get into you.
When you preach the gospel, you may talk a lot and try to convince people and change their concept. But the more you try to convince them, the more they will have something to reason about. That is the wrong way. You need to cause them to open up their mouth and call, “Lord Jesus!” The way to take the Lord in is to call upon His name. Do not think that this is a small thing or that this is something new invented by us. This is an ancient thing that has been lost and missed by today’s Christianity. By the Lord’s mercy, He has recovered this with us.
The practice of calling upon the Lord is not only in the New Testament but also in the Old Testament. Isaiah 12:2 tells us that God Himself is our salvation and our song. Verse 3 says that He is the springs of salvation, and we have to draw water from these springs with joy. Then the following verses tell us how to draw out this water. Verse 4 says we have to give thanks to the Lord and then call upon His name. Verse 6 says that we should cry out and give a ringing shout.
How do we drink the waters of salvation? Some may say that we should quietly meditate on the Lord or study the Word. But Isaiah 12 tells us clearly that God is our salvation and our song. He is the springs of salvation. We have to draw water out of these springs not by meditating, not by being silent, but by giving thanks to the Lord, by calling upon His name, and even by crying out and giving a ringing shout. According to Romans 10, if we are going to enjoy the Lord’s salvation and get into the enjoyment of all the riches of Christ, we have to exercise our mouth to call upon His name. And according to Isaiah 12, the way to draw the living water out of the springs of salvation is to give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, and even cry out and give a ringing shout.
The Lord is the all-inclusive living Spirit. He descended from the heavens to become a man as the last Adam and ascended from the abyss to be the life-giving Spirit in resurrection (1 Cor. 15:45b). Now He is the pneuma, just like the air in your mouth. If we would open up our mouth, deep from our heart and with our spirit, to call “Lord Jesus,” He would get into us. This is the way to take Christ into us, the vessels. He is the content, and we are the containers. The way for us, the containers, to take Him in as the content is to exercise our mouth to call upon His name: “O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus!” In this way all the bottles, the vessels, will be filled up with Christ not only as their salvation but also as all that He is in His unsearchable riches. Here Romans 10:12 says that the Lord is “rich to all who call upon Him.” The way to enjoy Christ in all His unsearchable riches is to call upon Him!
