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I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20
During the past few evenings we have seen the kind of life that we live and the kind of life that God requires of us. We have seen the human way of victory and God’s way of overcoming. We have seen what the overcoming life is and the characteristics of this life. Tonight we will speak on the way to experience this overcoming life. We will first consider a very important question: How can we enter into the experience of this life and how can we gain Christ?
The verse we read tonight shows us the way to experience this life. Let us skip the first part of Galatians 2:20 and concentrate on the part that begins with “It is no longer I who live.” This is the life we should experience. It is no longer I who live. On the negative side, I can say that it is no longer I who live. On the positive side, the overcoming life is “Christ who lives in me.” This is what we covered in the last few days. Paul’s letter to the Galatians shows us that he attained, experienced, and entered into the experience of such a life. Let us study the way he attained, experienced, and entered into the experience of this life. The way Paul entered is the same way that we should enter. Paul’s entrance was according to two phrases. The first phrase occurs before the portion in verse 20 that says, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me,” and the second phrase occurs after this portion. The first phrase is “I am crucified with Christ.” This is the first condition for entering into the experience of this life. The second phrase is “The life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God.” This is the second condition for entering into the experience of this life. Through these two conditions, Paul gained Christ as his righteousness, sanctification, and victory. Let us consider these two things in detail.
The first condition is “I am crucified with Christ.” What does this mean? Why must we be crucified with Christ before we can have this overcoming life? Brothers and sisters, how many persons are living within us today? We know that as soon as we believe, the Lord lives within us. Second Corinthians 13:5 says, “Do you not realize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are disapproved?” We who have believed in the Lord know that we are not disapproved. It is a definite fact that the Lord is in us. But it is unfortunate that the Lord is not the only One who lives in us; we ourselves also live within us. In order to experience the Lord as our overcoming life, we have to move out. We have to move out, which means that we have to let go. If we move out, we will experience the overcoming life.
Yesterday, a sister asked me how she could have the overcoming life. My answer was that she had to relocate. If two families live within one house and the relationship is not good between them, the only thing that is needed is for one family to relocate. This is not a matter of whether or not we have Christ in us, because the minute we believed, Christ began to live in us. It is not a matter of whether or not He is in us; it is a matter of whether or not we have moved out. As co-tenants, we are very unclean; we have committed all kinds of sins. As soon as we move out, everything will be all right. Hence, the first condition is that we move out; we have to relocate.
God’s Word says, “I am crucified with Christ.” But is it not true that we have not succeeded, even though we have tried to move out many times? We have pretended to die many times, but we are still alive. We have tried to kill ourselves many times, but we have not succeeded. Sometimes it seems that we have died, but we are still alive. We have often tried to crucify ourselves, but we are still not dead. What is the problem? We need to take a closer look at this matter tonight.
Tonight all the brothers and sisters who are sitting here have seen the fact of the cross. We know that when the Lord was crucified on the cross, He not only took away our sins but also crucified our person. We are familiar with the teaching of Romans 6 already. We know that when the Lord died on the cross, He not only bore our sins, but He also crucified our old man together with Him. We know that the matter of sin has been dealt with, and that we ourselves have been crucified with Him. We have paid much attention to this truth for many years. It is true that we are crucified with Christ, but why has this truth not produced an effect on us? It is true that the Lord was crucified on the cross, but why are we not yet dead? The Lord has brought me to the cross, but I am still I. I am still bound, and I am still weak. I still fail, and I am still powerless. The Bible says that I have been crucified with Christ, but why am I still so powerless? Many saved Christians continue to strive and work, hoping that they can eventually overcome. Yet victory always seems to be far away from them.
Brothers and sisters, we have to realize that it is one thing for the Lord Jesus to accomplish salvation, and it is another thing for us to receive this salvation. Preparing a meal is one thing, but eating the meal is another. It is one thing for the Lord Jesus to accomplish something for us. It is another thing for us to receive what the Lord has accomplished. Paul showed us how we should receive the Lord’s death. Romans 6 shows us that every one of us is dead. Hallelujah! Every one of us is dead! Romans 7 shows us that even though every Christian should be dead, in reality we are still alive. Since we should be dead already, why are we still alive? Romans 6 shows us the objective truth, while Romans 7 shows us the subjective experience. Romans 6 presents the fact, while Romans 7 presents the experience. Today many Christians are very familiar with Romans 6, which tells us that our old man has been crucified with Him. They know that we should no longer be slaves to sin, that we are delivered from the bondage of the law, and that we should reckon ourselves dead to sin daily. They know all this, yet nothing works for them. The teaching remains a teaching, and they are still the same. The teaching tells us that we are crucified with Christ, but we say that we are still alive. The teaching tells us that we are delivered from sin, but we say that sin is still in us. The teaching tells us that we are delivered from the bondage of the law, but we say that we are still under the law. What is the problem?
Romans 7 tells us a great fact—man does not agree with what God has done. Man is not willing to accept God’s judgment. Brothers and sisters, why did God put us on the cross? He put us on the cross because He knows that we can do nothing and that we are absolutely useless. There is no way that we can be improved, corrected, or make any headway. We are completely useless. There is no hope for us except to be crucified. I once patted the shoulder of Brother Tsong-jie Hsu and said, “Tsong-jie Hsu is utterly corrupt. He is utterly corrupt. If there were any hope in punishing him, we could still punish him. If there were any hope in putting him in jail, we could put him in jail. But it is useless to punish him or to put him in jail. There is no hope in him. The only thing to do with him is to execute him. Tsong-jie Hsu is utterly corrupt. There is no hope in him. The only way is to crucify him.” You and I are as corrupt as Tsong-jie Hsu. Consequently, we deserve only to be crucified on the cross.
The cross is nothing other than an appraisal of ourselves! The cross appraises us and determines that we deserve only to die. God’s appraisal is that we deserve only to die. God’s evaluation of me is that I must die. If we realize that the cross is our appraisal report, if we know that we are absolutely useless, and if we know that we are not even capable of having right thoughts, we will agree that we deserve only to die. God says that we deserve only to die and that we are absolutely useless. But do we still want to produce some good of our own?
Recently the Chinese government announced a new law on the prohibition of opium. Anyone who goes through compulsory treatment and still takes opium will be executed. Suppose a person has been taking opium for a long time. He has gone through compulsory treatment but is back on opium again. When the government finds out about it, he will be put to death. What do you think the person will do? Since he is going to be executed, will he try to find a doctor from Shanghai to give him a few injections to stop his addiction, even though he is scheduled to die tomorrow? It would be meaningless for him to do this. A criminal that has been sentenced to death no longer thinks of improvement. He has no further need of progress. All he is waiting for is death. God says that we deserve only to die and that there is no way to improve or correct us. We cannot make any further headway. God’s final ruling is that we should die; we deserve only to die.
We think that before we were saved, we could not improve, correct, or make any headway in ourselves and that we should let go of our past. But now that we are saved, we think that we should try to improve, correct, and make some progress in ourselves in order to please God. Consequently, after we are saved, we make up our mind to be good. Brothers and sisters, how many times have we made up our mind to be good? How many times have we succeeded in becoming good? We have made many spiritual promises to God. We have told Him that we will obey this and that word of His. We have promised that we will get up early in the morning and that we will be zealous the next day. In spite of all our promises, however, how much have we achieved? One Western sister said that she had promised God more than thirty things, but that she had fulfilled none of these promises. We have not accepted God’s evaluation of us. We have not accepted God’s judgment of us. We have been sentenced to execution already, but we are still trying to find a doctor.
What is the cross? The cross signifies God’s despair of man! The cross tells us that God has given up hope in man! What is the cross? The cross tells us that God is proclaiming, “I cannot improve man; I cannot correct him. I cannot make any headway with him. I can only crucify him on the cross.” The strange thing is that we already know this fact. We already know that God considers us hopeless and that we deserve only to be crucified. But at the same time, we still think that we are not that bad. Therefore, we make resolutions every day. We say, “God, I promise that I will do this and that. From now on, I will no longer lose my temper.” But none of these promises work. Sometimes we think that our resolutions are not strong enough, and we try to do a better job the next time. We make more resolutions, and after we lose our temper, we vow that we will not lose our temper the next time. But we find ourselves still losing it, and we make a third resolution. This was the way Paul lived: “For to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not” (Rom. 7:18). He was always making resolutions, failing, making resolutions, and failing over and over again. This was not only Paul’s life but the frequent experience of many of us today. Brothers and sisters, are we through making resolutions? God says that we deserve only to die and that we are absolutely useless. He says that there is no hope in us.
What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? It means that God has given up hope in us and that we also have given up hope in ourselves. For God to crucify us with Christ means that God has no further hope. For us to say that “I am crucified with Christ” means that we also have no further hope. God sees through our condition; He knows that we are completely useless and that there is no further hope in us. What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? It means that we have given up all hope. We admit that we can never please God. God can do nothing except put us to death. There is no hope in a man of flesh. The only thing left for us to do is die. We deserve only to die.
Brothers and sisters, do you have any sick persons in your home? I have been to five or six homes where the husband, wife, or children were sick. Whenever the family lost hope in a sick person, they would say, “Mr. Nee, if it be God’s will, I hope he or she goes quickly.” Why would they say this? They said it because they had no further hope. When all hope was lost, they wished that the sick one would die quickly. Now God is telling you that there is no further hope in you; He can only crucify you. It would be well if you could also say that there is no further hope in you and that the only way is to be crucified.
Our problem today is that we are very familiar with Romans 6, but we are still making resolutions like the person in Romans 7. We still make promises to God and still think that we are somewhat useful. Although we are very clear about Romans 6, we are behaving in the way of Romans 7. In Romans 6 God told Paul that he was useless. In Romans 7 Paul told himself that he was useless. Brothers and sisters, God is clear about us. He gave up hope on us long ago. According to God’s evaluation we are not worth anything. He has already told us that we are useless. The question is how do we evaluate ourselves. If we also give up hope in ourselves and say that we are useless, we will experience deliverance immediately. God allows us to lose our temper, to be proud, jealous, and dishonest. He allows sin to turn us upside down. This is His way of telling us that we cannot make it. But how do we respond? We think that our first resolution was not strong enough and that we have to make a stronger resolution. We think that it may work the second time. But it still does not work. This is the experience of Romans 7. Romans 6 is merely the teaching, whereas Romans 7 leads us into the reality of Romans 6.
If anyone here told me that I was hopelessly corrupt, I would shout, “Hallelujah! I, Watchman Nee, am hopelessly corrupt.” Hallelujah! Paul could do nothing about himself. He suffered many years. He deserved only to be crucified. Today if you declare that you are no longer useful, you will experience deliverance immediately. Those who try to be good will never be saved. Similarly, Christians who resolve to be good Christians will never overcome. Brothers and sisters, God’s cross has not misjudged you. Day after day, I love to do one thing: I love to declare that I was useless yesterday, that I am useless today, and that I will be useless tomorrow. I will be useless forever.
God wants us to accept the appraisal of the cross because by accepting the appraisal of the cross, we accept the Lord as our sanctification, perfection, and victory. If we still cherish some hope and still have a glimmer of faith in ourselves, God will have to continue His work on us. He will not stop operating in us until we completely lose hope in ourselves. God has to take us to the point that we have no hope at all in ourselves. He does this so that we will accept the cross. God is leading us to this point because He wants us to realize that we are not able in ourselves, and He wants us to acknowledge this.
Many people realize that they cannot do anything in themselves. However, they still have not overcome. Why? This happens because God requires that we also fulfill another condition.
I met a sister yesterday who spent two hours telling me her history of failure. While she was speaking, I was smiling. Finally, I asked her, “Are you willing to concede now? Do you still have some hope in yourself? Have you failed enough?” She admitted that she could not make it, but she still lacked one thing. The first thing that God shows us is that we cannot make it. We have to lose hope in ourselves. But this alone will not bring us to victory. It is one thing for us to acknowledge that we cannot make it, but it is another thing for us not to try to make it. I said to her, “Your realization that you cannot make it is good and right. But you have not realized that you are still trying to make it. Don’t you see that you are still trying to make it? Since you know that you cannot make it, you should have stopped your own work. Don’t you see that you are still trying even though you say that you cannot make it?” She admitted that she could not make it, but at the same time, she did not see that she was working and hoping that she could make it. I asked her a few times, “Don’t you realize that you are still working? Don’t you realize that you are still trying to overcome?” She was struggling and trying. This is why she could not overcome. She asked me what she should do. I told her that she needed only to accept the cross, acknowledge her weakness, and stop trying or expecting to make it. I said that the minute she tried to do anything, she would fail. She asked, “If I fail in spite of doing everything, won’t I fail even more if I don’t do anything?” This is where the problem lies with many people. They know very well that they cannot do anything, and they know very well that they are absolutely powerless, yet they are still struggling and striving. The result is that there is still no victory, and they still cannot overcome.
In experiencing the overcoming life, there are two very important conditions in regard to surrendering. First, we have to acknowledge God’s appraisal that we are not able in ourselves. Second, we should not try to become able. Rather, we should lose hope in ourselves completely. A brother once told me that he could not believe. I told him that he should give up trying to believe. He remarked, “What kind of teaching is this?” I said, “All you have to do is tell God that you cannot believe. God is waiting for you to acknowledge that you cannot believe.”
What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? It means that henceforth I am not responsible for my own victory and I am not responsible for my own failure. My things are in Christ’s hands. Suppose a sister serves a cup of tea, and while you are picking up the cup, she holds on to it and will not let go. On your side, you are trying to drink the tea, but on her side, she is still holding on to the cup. Even though she says that she is serving you the tea, she will not let go of it. Without her letting go, you cannot drink the tea.
What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? The first meaning of being crucified with Christ is to let go. The second meaning is to not try to take control. You should tell God, “From now on, I offer myself to You. From now on, victory is Your business, and patience is Your business.”
A brother once asked what it means to be victorious. I told him that being victorious is resigning, and resigning is expiring. It means that victory is no longer his business.
Once I met a sister and told her, “You have to do only one thing. Just say to God that from now on, you can do nothing, and that you are not responsible for anything.”
We cannot stop losing our temper, we cannot suppress ourselves, and we cannot surrender. From now on, we should give up and not worry or care about anything anymore. When we come before God, we often tell Him that we cannot make it, or that we cannot do anything. However, when we walk away from His presence, we pick up everything ourselves again. Brothers and sisters, whatever we bring to God when we come before Him must be left with Him when we leave His presence. Those who know how to leave things with God will experience deliverance.
Once I delivered a manuscript to a sister and asked her to make a clean copy of it for me. But when I left, I took the manuscript with me. Although she was willing to do the copying work, there was no way that she could do it. This is how we pray today. We say with our mouth, “God, please help me.” But after we pray, we take up everything ourselves again.
Hence, the most important thing is to let go. We have to say, “God, I cannot overcome, and I do not intend to overcome. Neither will I try to overcome.” This is being crucified with Christ. How wonderful this is! “I am crucified with Christ”!
When you wake up in the morning, Satan may tell you that you are not good, that you are the same in this and that matter. You may become sad. However, what are you going to do? You should say, “I have known for a long time that I am utterly corrupt. I have given up hope in myself. I do not intend to make any more headway in myself.” If you say this, you will immediately become well. This is very amazing! This is not a matter of a change but of an exchange. You have to grasp hold of God’s accomplished facts. If there were any usefulness in you, God would not have crucified you on the cross. God has put you to the cross and put you in Christ because you are utterly corrupt. Therefore, you should let go. What should you do practically? You should say, “God, I cannot improve myself, and I do not intend to improve myself. Lord, from now on, I am through; I will not try to make it anymore, nor do I intend to make it anymore.” Brothers and sisters, do you dare to let go?
I have mentioned the story of the doctor who smoked cigars. He was over seventy years of age and had been struggling with cigars for years. One day in a meeting, he began to talk about his struggle with smoking. A young man who knew the Lord said, “If I were you, I would not struggle.” The old man said, “If I cannot quit even if I struggle, wouldn’t it be more difficult to quit if I did not struggle?” The young man said, “No! If I were you, I would say to God, ‘I cannot stop smoking. You quit for me.’” The old man thought that there was some sense to the young man’s word, and he did so accordingly. He told God, “I cannot quit smoking. I will not struggle to quit any longer. Lord, I commit this matter to You. I will not take control any longer. Please quit for me.” Every day he smoked twelve to twenty cigars and had been doing this for fifty years. He surrendered on that day, and the next day he told others that he had woken up for the first time without thinking about smoking.
Brothers and sisters, if you think that you can become holy, you will surely fail. If you think that you can become perfect, you will surely fail. If you think that you can become patient, you will surely fail. God sees us as being beyond any possibility of repair or improvement. Can you say with Paul that you are crucified on the cross? You are utterly corrupt and useless, and you deserve only to be nailed to the cross. This is what Paul meant. When I was in Peking, I asked a brother if he was through. He said, “Thank and praise the Lord, I am through!” This is a basic qualification: We must see before God that we are completely useless and that there is no way to improve or correct ourselves. All we have to do is to tell the Lord, “From now on, I commit everything to You. You do everything for me.”
Some brothers and sisters acknowledge that they cannot make it. They acknowledge that they are through and that they have been crucified with Christ. But why have they still not overcome? Why do they still fail? Why have they not yet realized victory? Brothers and sisters, there is another word which we must not forget.
I am crucified with Christ. I am through. God says that I am utterly corrupt, and I also say that I am utterly corrupt. God says that I am absolutely useless, and I also say that I am absolutely useless. God says that I deserve only to die, and I also say that I deserve only to die. “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” This is a fact. It is a fact that it is no longer I who live, and it is a fact that Christ now lives in me. Why is it that it is no longer I who live? Two minus one is one. When Adam is subtracted, what is left is, of course, only Christ. Formerly the two lived together. Now one has moved out, and Christ is the only One left. This is a fact. But how can this fact be manifested? The unique way is faith.
The gospel of God shows us that He has given us His Son. God’s Son has become our righteousness, our redemption, and even our holiness. We do not have to receive Him as our life first and then expect Him to give us His perfection, patience, and meekness later; He is our life already. The Bible shows us that Christ is our Head already. Just as a head has a feeling for the body, being responsible for it and ruling over it, Christ is the Head to us. We do not have to ask Him to be our Head and we do not have to ask to be His Body. He is the Head already, and we are His members already. This requires faith on our part. On the negative side, we have surrendered to Him. But on the positive side, do we believe that Christ is our Head and that He has the proper place in us, bearing our responsibility and ruling over everything for us? Do we believe that He is our Head, as the Bible says, and that He assumes all of the responsibilities as the Head? God’s Word says that He is the Head. Do we believe that He is indeed our Head? Do we believe that there is no responsibility upon us any longer and that He will be responsible for everything from now on, even being responsible this very minute?
God’s Word also shows us that He is the vine and we are the branches. It does not say that He will be our vine and we will be His branches. We do not become His branches and He does not become our vine in the near future when our spiritual condition is more advanced. We should bear fruit the same way that He bears fruit. We should be full of virtues the same way that He is full of virtues. He is giving us all the juice, life, and power for fruit-bearing. He is the vine, and we are already His branches. He is now supplying us within with His life, holiness, perfection, and all that He is. Brothers, do we believe this? Do we believe that He is now our tree and that we are now His branches? When we believed in Him as our Savior, we were completely joined to Him. (Of course, there was still the mixture. Now even the mixture is gone.) Do you believe in this? You do not have to try to do anything to join yourself to Him, because God has made you one tree with the Lord already. Do you believe that He will treat you in the same way that a tree treats the branches? You do not bear fruit for Him. Instead He bears fruit through you.
God has shown us also that the union between the Lord Jesus and us is like the relationship of food to our body. He is the blood that we drink and the flesh that we eat. He is the One who sustains our life. Just as food supplies all our inward needs, and just as we die when we are cut off from this supply, so also is the Lord Jesus to us.
God shows us in His Word that we are joined to the Lord Jesus. He is our Head, our tree, and our food. We do not have to ask God to empower us to live as Jesus lived. God has given us His Son, who is responsible for us, who is living for us, and who is the power of life to us. God gave Him to us in order that all His perfection, fellowship, joy, and riches may be lived out through us. In the past, we did not understand this truth, and we tried to build up our own holiness, thereby denying God’s holiness. Now on the negative side, we have ceased from our own work. But this is not enough. God’s Word says that He has given us His life. We must believe that He is our life. He can express through us everything that He has. He will give us whatever we need. We should believe that He has already done this.
The secret to victory is realizing that it does not come gradually. By faith we know that Christ has become our victory. Victory is just Christ, and faith substantiates everything that Christ is in us. God’s grace has given the Lord Jesus to us. All that we need to do is receive what God has given to us by faith. When this happens, Christ’s life, power, freedom, and holiness will be manifested in us.
This mysterious union has been accomplished by God. He has made Christ’s unsearchable riches ours. Do we believe this? Do we believe that all that is Christ’s is now ours? Do we believe that God has given His holiness, perfection, life, power, and riches to us? God has joined us to Him and made Him our Head, our tree, and our food. Now He is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption, and He is living His life out of us. Do we believe this? God is inviting us, as well as commanding us, to believe that our union with the Lord is the same as His union with God. In such a union all of His patience, meekness, purity, and goodness become ours. Just as we believed that He is our righteousness, we should now believe that He is our holiness. Brothers and sisters, many people have failed in this very matter. They know God’s way of victory, but they do not have the faith. They know that they do not have the power, but they do not know the power of Christ. They know the utter corruption of their own flesh, but they do not see that God has given the riches of Christ to them as a gift.
How do we receive a gift? We do not have to do anything. All that we need to do is receive. When we believe in God’s Word, we receive His grace. This is the gospel. When we receive by faith, the Holy Spirit makes our faith the starting point of God’s miracles. If a man has never experienced God’s power, he will not think much of it. But those who have experienced it know the reality of this faith. When we believe that everything that is in Christ is ours, the Holy Spirit will cause all that is in Christ to be ours. What a gospel this is! Everything that is Christ’s becomes ours through faith! By faith Christ’s perfect life is lived out of our mortal body day by day! By faith it is not only “no longer I who live,” but it is also “Christ who lives in me”! Beyond any doubt, Christ is living within us and for us! But this can come only by faith!
Brothers and sisters, God cannot tell us to believe that which is unbelievable. Some brothers and sisters will let go and resign when you ask them to do so, but they cannot believe. While they say that they believe, they also say that they prefer to wait and see for a few days. It is true that letting go is an important step. But a more important step is allowing the Lord Jesus to live out His victory from within us. Once we let go, we should believe. God says that if we believe that the Lord has died for us on the cross, He will give us eternal life, and if we believe that the Lord is living within us, He will give us the overcoming life.
I know that this is where many people have failed. They cannot believe that the Lord is living within them, and they cannot believe that the Lord has overcome for them. When I asked one sister whether she had let go, she said yes. When I asked how she let go, she said, “I tell God that I can do nothing. I will not take charge of anything anymore. From now on, I will commit everything to Him whether I experience victory or failure.” However, if you asked this sister whether she had experienced victory, she would say that she dare not say anything. Why would she dare not say anything? She answered that she did not feel that she had overcome and had not seen the effect of overcoming. I told her that if she believed in God’s fact and if she believed that the Lord Jesus is the victory and that He lives in her, she should believe immediately that she has overcome. But if she looked for results, she would never experience victory.
Brothers and sisters, the way to receive grace to overcome is the same as the way to receive grace for forgiveness. We tell a sinner that Jesus has died for him on the cross and that when he believes, his sins will be forgiven. If this person believes, his sins will surely be forgiven. If you ask whether or not he has believed, he may say that he has. But if you ask whether or not his sins are forgiven, he may say no. Why is this? He may answer, saying, “I have heard that when a man is forgiven of his sins, he will have joy and peace. I do not have joy and peace yet. I must kneel down to pray until I have joy and peace. Then I can say that my sins are forgiven.” If someone says something like this, you will surely say to him, “Even if you kneel and pray for a year for joy and peace, you will not have it. You will have joy and peace when you believe that they will come to you.” In the same way, if you fulfill the condition for God to give you victory, if you let go, if you resign, and if you lose hope in yourself, you can immediately believe that you have received the overcoming life. God’s Son is living out His victory within you. Once you believe, the result will follow. But if you wait for the result to come, you will never see the result even if you kneel and pray.
Brothers and sisters, if you want to wait for the result before you dare say that you have the overcoming life, you are believing your own experience and not God’s Word. Brothers and sisters, once we believe in the Lord’s Word, the experience will follow, the feeling will follow, and the victory will follow. Paul did not say that he felt that he had overcome. He said, “The life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God.” Although you may feel that you are cold and that there is nothing to smile about, you can still thank and praise the Lord, saying, “The life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God.”
I may look healthy and vigorous. But actually there is not a day when I do not feel tired. According to my feeling, there is not a day that is exciting to me. Every day that I wake up, I feel cold and indifferent. Satan comes to me many times and says, “You do not experience any feeling of joy; every day you are so cold and indifferent. Is this what you mean by having Jesus living within you? You were cold and indifferent in the past, and you are cold and indifferent now. Is this the experience of victory in Christ?” When this happens, God always gives me an answer. I tell Satan, “If I feel anything, it will be myself who is living. But if I believe, I will be living by faith in the Son of God. If I feel anything, it will be my flesh that feels it. But if I believe, I will live by faith in the Son of God. It is my flesh that feels, but it is God’s Word that I believe.” If you believe in God’s Word, the Lord will live out His victory within you. God says that as long as you fulfill the condition, Christ will live out His victory for you. You can therefore say, “God, I thank and praise You! What I feel does not count. The greatest lie in the world is my feelings. Feelings and Satan are the best companions. God, I thank You because I can believe in Your Word and not in my feelings.” Only God’s Word is real; all feelings are lies. Therefore, brothers and sisters, no matter what kind of temptation comes and no matter what kind of feeling you have, you should say, “I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God. I do not bear any responsibility. I let go.”
Once you let go and believe, you will see the Son of God fighting the battle for you. He will overcome for you. The Son of God has taken away your temper. He has taken away your stubbornness, pride, and jealousy. Hallelujah, there is only one Overcomer in the whole world! Hallelujah! Everyone is weak! Hallelujah, we are all failures, and we are all useless! Hallelujah, only the Lord is the Overcomer! Hallelujah, throughout history there is only one Overcomer! Hallelujah, this is the reason we boast in the Lord Christ! Brothers and sisters, what do we have that we did not receive? What can we boast? Do you point your finger at the robbers and the prostitutes? Except for God’s grace, we would be the same as they are. Hallelujah, we are not changed but exchanged!
Brothers and sisters, all we have to do is fulfill the conditions. On the one hand, we cannot make it, and we should not try to make it. On the other hand, we live in the faith of the Son of God. This is victory. Hallelujah, He has accomplished everything! We have to ask God to show us that His Son has accomplished everything and that we do not have any part in His work. This is victory.
