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Romans 8:3 says, “That which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Moreover, Romans 6:5-6 says, “If we have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death, indeed we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves.” Furthermore, verses 8 through 11 go on to say, “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more; death lords it over Him no more...So also you, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus.” These verses show us that Christ is the centrality of God.
God’s center and purpose in the universe is Christ. Although this purpose was not plainly written but hidden in a mystery, it is obvious that God’s intention and purpose is Christ. Hence, Christ is God’s centrality, God’s purpose, and God’s mystery (Col. 2:2). One day God removed the veil and showed us this mystery, the revelation of God. This revelation is Christ. This revelation is not related to religion but is of Christ. The revelation is not that if we practice religion properly, we will have no problem; rather, it is that when we are in Christ and have no problem in our relationship with Him, we truly will have no problem before God. Everything hinges not on religion but on Christ. Therefore, we must spend much time and effort to know who Christ is.
If we read the New Testament carefully, we will see that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily (v. 9). Christ is God Himself; He is God (Rom. 9:5; John 1:1). One day He became flesh and came into the midst of mankind, yet within Him was the very God. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ. The Bible speaks much concerning this. We cannot find God or possess God outside of Christ. All that God has is in Christ. Who is Christ? Christ is God’s dwelling place. Moreover, the Bible also reveals to us that when God was incarnated, He put on the flesh. Christ is God, but one day He came to the earth and put on humanity. This is the Word becoming flesh (John 1:14). The Word is God, and flesh is man. Also, Romans 8:3 tells us that when Christ was sent to the earth, He became flesh; that is, He came in the likeness of the body of sin, the likeness of the flesh of sin. When the Lord Jesus became flesh, He put on the body of sin, the flesh of sin. In other words, He was God putting on humanity.
Christ was the incarnated God; He was God putting on the flesh. In Him one could meet God, and in Him one could also meet man. Everything of God was in Him, and everything of man was upon Him. He was the mingling of God and man. Everything of God dwelt in Him, and everything of man hung upon Him. Hence, in Him was God’s fullness, God’s glory, God’s life, God’s nature, and everything of God. At the same time, He also put on the flesh of man. Hence, man’s weakness, man’s body of sin, and everything of man were upon Him. Even though He put on man outwardly, inwardly He was without sin (2 Cor. 5:21). Although He did not have the sins of the flesh, He did have the likeness of the flesh of sin. All the problems of man were put on Him. When He was on earth, outwardly He was the same as all men. But on the day that He went up to a high mountain and the God of glory was manifested from within Him, Peter, James, and John saw in Him the glory of God (Matt. 17:1-2). Therefore, we all should be very clear that Christ was the God of glory putting on humanity. Everything of God was in Him, and everything of man was upon Him. He was God yet man.
One day this Christ, who was God yet man, went to die on the cross. There on the cross the flesh, the humanity that He had put on, was crucified. This is a great mystery. Even though inwardly we may have a deep realization, outwardly we do not have the proper utterance to express this. Christ was God mingled with man. Whatever is of God is glorious, but whatever is of man is problematic. Everything in Christ that was of God was glorious, holy, spiritual, and of life. But the human elements in Christ were all problems, not only concealing the glory of God but also hindering the life of God from being expressed.
One day Christ was put to death on the cross with His human body, with the humanity He had put on. What was crucified was nothing other than the humanity He had put on. As a result, the problem of the flesh, which He put on in His incarnation, was solved on the cross. Christ’s death dealt with the flesh and the humanity that He had put on and also released God’s life—the glorious life—from within Him. On the one hand, the death of Christ on the cross solved all the problems of man, dealing with all the things of man that had become problems to man. On the other hand, the death of Christ released God with everything of God and of the Spirit from within Him.
What a wonderful story this is! When Christ, as the incarnated God who put on humanity, was crucified on the cross, on the one hand, He crucified the humanity He had put on, and on the other hand, He released the God who was in Him. This is the sum total of Christ’s death and resurrection. We have said before that Christ is the mingling of God and man. Then what is Christ’s death? And what is Christ’s resurrection? Christ’s death terminated everything of man, and Christ’s resurrection released everything of God. Everything of man was dealt with, and everything of God was released—this is the death and resurrection of Christ. Regrettably, among God’s children today, very few have been enlightened by God and have had their eyes opened to see that the Christ whom they have received is such a Christ. Let me ask again, “Who is Christ?” Christ is the One in whom God and man converged and were mingled together. What is Christ’s death? Christ’s death is the termination of everything of man that He had put on. And what is Christ’s resurrection? Christ’s resurrection is the release of all the fullness of God that was in Him.
Christ is the One in whom God and man converged. God is glorious and holy, whereas man is sinful, evil, and full of troubles and problems. Yet such a humanity that is subject to troubles and problems was put on Christ as the God who is glorious and holy. This Christ is the mingling of God and man. When the Lord Jesus was walking on the earth, within He had God’s nature with God’s glory and God’s life, and without He had man’s body of sin. Inwardly, He was God with the holy and glorious life of God; outwardly, He was a man with the body of sin—He had put on the man of humiliation. In such a situation what did He do? How was the sinful man without dealt with so that the glorious God within could be released? We can liken this situation to placing a treasure, such as ointment, into a base vessel and then being unable to get it out. The solution would be to break the outer vessel so that the ointment, the inner treasure, could be released. When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, the treasure that was within Him was God Himself, and the outward, base vessel was man’s body of sin. God put Himself into a difficult situation. As the God of freedom, He confined Himself in a man so that seemingly He could not get free. One day, however, He was crucified, and the humanity that He had put on was also crucified. Man was completely dealt with on the cross. Then He resurrected, and in resurrection He released everything of God that was within Him.
In His resurrection Christ became the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). As such a Spirit, He is omnipresent. He enters as life into anyone who calls on Him and believes into Him. When He as the Spirit enters into a person and lives in that person, immediately that person receives Him and His life, and he is joined to Him as one spirit (John 20:22; 1 Cor. 6:17). At this time His death becomes that person’s death, and His resurrection becomes that person’s resurrection, because that person has been joined to Him (Rom. 6:5).
When we preach the gospel, we usually tell people that the Lord Jesus died for us to bear our sins. But what is the meaning of the death of the Lord Jesus? The death of Christ, who was God yet man, dealt with all human elements and human problems. Praise the Lord that we have been saved. Christ has come into us and has joined us to Himself so that His death, which dealt with all our human elements, becomes our death. When we are joined to Him, we are also joined to His death. Romans 6:5a says, “We have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death.” His death deals with all our human elements, such as our pride, our temper, our naturalness, and our flesh. His death specifically deals with everything that comes out of man.
This is the revelation of Christ. He not only died but also resurrected. His death dealt with everyone who belongs to Him. After we are saved, His life comes into us, and as the Spirit, He lives in us and is joined to us. Hence, His death has dealt with us. The whole New Testament tells us that the self, the old man, and the old “I” of a person who belongs to the Lord have been crucified with Christ (v. 6; Gal. 2:20). When Christ died, we died with Him in His death. Thus, the Christian faith declares that on the cross our Savior Christ has dealt with all those who belong to Him; the salvation of God tells us that we have been dealt with on the cross. This is truly a tremendous matter in the universe.
Although the Bible tells us that all those who belong to the Lord were already terminated on the cross, do we really know that we too have been terminated on the cross? Do we believe that the death of Christ has already terminated us? I am afraid that not many people have such a realization. This is why we do not have a strong sense that we have been terminated already. Suppose a group of people had all been executed and terminated. Can you imagine how serious a thing this would be? If someone were to ask us, “Do you belong to the Lord? Do you know that you have been crucified with the Lord Jesus?” We might say, “Yes, we belong to the Lord, and we have been crucified with the Lord Jesus,” yet we may not have any feeling at all about this. If we really have seen this vision inwardly, our meetings will have a different atmosphere, and our living will be different. The northerners will have been dealt with, and the southerners also will have been dealt with. Those who are from Canton will have been terminated, and those who are from Shantung also will have been terminated. This is an earth-shaking matter!
Because Christians do not see who Christ is and what the cross is, today’s Christianity has become a degraded religion. Regardless of how much religious education we have received or how many religious concepts we have, if we really see that we have already been executed, we will no longer have any religious concepts. This will not be possible. Only those who take Christ as a religion will bring their religious concepts with them. This only proves that they have never been dealt with by the cross. If they were really under the death of the cross and were executed by the cross, they absolutely would not bring their religious concepts into the church. If we have truly been executed by the death of the cross, when we go to Kaohsiung, we would not bring our religious concepts to the church in Kaohsiung. If among us we still have some religious concepts, this shows that we have not seen the death of the cross—we have not seen that we have been identified with the Lord in His death, that we have been crucified with Christ, that we have been executed in Christ, and that we are finished. Because we have been identified with Christ, His death generates the effect in us of putting to death everything that comes from us or belongs to us.
Therefore, in this Savior, with whom we have been united, not only is there death, but there is also resurrection. In whomever Christ’s death operates, in him Christ’s resurrection will also operate (2 Cor. 4:11). Romans 6:8 tells us that if we have died with Him, we believe that we will also live with Him. If we have truly seen that we have died with Christ, this experience of co-death will immediately operate in us, enabling us to experience Christ’s resurrection. Christ’s resurrection releases both God’s life and nature. Through Christ’s death everything of man has been dealt with; through Christ’s resurrection everything of God has been released. Once we are saved, we are identified with Christ and His death. Once we see this identification, we will immediately declare that we have died with Christ. As a result, all thoughts, persons, and teachings will lose ground in us because in Christ we have died and been dealt with. No method in the whole world is as thorough as death in solving man’s problems. All the problems that we cannot solve by any other means are solved upon our death.
Most likely all of us have had the experience of losing our temper and then of being very bothered and wishing that the problem of our temper would be dealt with as soon as possible. The best way for us to deal with our temper, however, is to die. Once we are dead, we will not lose our temper anymore. The only way for us to be a husband or wife who does not lose his or her temper is to die. Neither Confucius, Socrates, nor Wang Yang-ming can help us to solve the problem of losing our temper. The best solution is death. Some sisters are bothered by their talkativeness and have made up their mind again and again not to speak excessively. However, when a situation arises, their mouth is out of their control. There are too many stories like this. The only solution is death. Death solves all the problems. Whether it is a problem in our family with our spouse and children, or a problem in our company with our colleagues, the only solution to all our problems is death. When we die, everything is finished, and all our troubles are gone. Opium smoking is a serious addiction. In order to get rid of such an addiction, there is no other way except death. Death is a big release and is the best solution. Do not think that death deals only with the negative or bad things. In fact, death deals not only with bad things but also with good things, things that are considered positive, such as our meekness, our love, our humility, and our patience. As long as these things are of the self, they will be finished upon our death.
In Christ’s salvation there is the element of death. Complete salvation comprises Christ, His death, and His resurrection. The death of the Lord Jesus and His resurrection constitute complete salvation. The salvation that God gives us is Christ plus His death and resurrection. Every saved one has received Christ, and everyone who has received Christ is identified with Him. Moreover, to be identified with Christ is to be identified with His death and His resurrection. Romans 6 clearly mentions that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death and have been buried with Him (vv. 3-4). If through baptism we died and have been buried and raised with Christ, does this mean that we are really dead? Yes, we are dead. It is true that we may know that we have been baptized into Christ’s death, but we still may not have been inwardly enlightened to receive the revelation that Christ’s death is actually our death. In 1930 I was baptized and died with Christ, but not until 1933 did God show me that I had been crucified with His Son and was already terminated and done away with in Christ. Both the evil and the good in me have been terminated. I have been terminated in Christ’s death. His death is my death.
The death of Christ is a great item in His salvation. All that comes out of man and everything that belongs to man, sin, the old creation, the flesh, the world, and Satan have been dealt with through Christ’s death. Nevertheless, where His death is, there also is His resurrection. He died, but He was also resurrected. Through His resurrection everything that belongs to God has been released. Only those who have seen Christ’s death and resurrection can live in Christ. They see that Christ’s death has already dealt with them, and at the same time they also see that the resurrection life of Christ dwells in them for the glory of God to be expressed through them. Once they see this death and resurrection, they are delivered from themselves and live in God. This is God’s revelation, this is service with revelation, and this is absolute deliverance from religious concepts.
Suppose that we all are clear about Christ’s death and resurrection, and a brother comes to us and says, “The church ought to be such and such. It ought to be exceedingly zealous and do many good works.” After hearing these suggestions, we should first ask, “Brother, when you say these things, are you hanging on the cross, or have you jumped down from the cross?” The question here is whether or not our concepts have passed through the death of the cross. Have we passed through the dealing of the cross? Are we those who are truly hanging on the cross, or have we jumped down from the cross? Only those who have experienced the cross can express something of Christ. Whatever has not passed through the dealing and death of the cross is something of man, of the natural being, and of the old creation. These things may be good in man’s eyes, but they are not of God.
What are the things that are of revelation, and what are the things that are of the natural being? What are the things that are of God, and what are the things that are of religion? Here is the big test. Have we received the breaking of the cross? How much have we been worked on by the death of the cross? Objectively speaking, Christ is one with His death and resurrection, yet subjectively speaking, how do we experience Christ? To experience Christ is to see His death and resurrection and to live in His death and resurrection. Since we are those who belong to Christ, God will open our eyes to show us that all that is out of us has been hanged on the cross—even our entire being has been hanged on the cross. Everything we are has already been dealt with on the cross. When we see this, we will be able to say, “I have been crucified with Christ. The ‘I’ with its religious concepts has been crucified with Christ, and now it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. I do not know what religion is, what it is to sin, or what it is to do good; I have already died to all these things. Now it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”
When we see and know that it is no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us, then when we encounter a certain matter, we will test ourselves and ask if we are on the cross or if we have come down from the cross. We will immediately be clear about what has its source in religion and what has its source in revelation, and about what has its source in the natural man and what has its source in God. The focus of God’s salvation is not the original goodness or evilness of man; rather, the emphasis of God’s salvation is that the original man has been dealt with on the cross. Moreover, it is that God has gained the ground in this man who has been dealt with on the cross. This is absolutely not a matter of religion, nor even of Christianity; it is a matter of Christ. The cross dealt with man, and resurrection released God. Christ’s death dealt with our human element, and Christ’s resurrection released God’s element to the fullest extent. The more we pay attention to Christ’s death and resurrection, the more we will touch the spiritual things and be before God. If we do not pay attention to Christ’s death and resurrection, then regardless of how much people praise us, we still will have too much of our fallen human element. Hence, in our daily living we have to pay more attention to our identification with Christ’s death and resurrection.
