Authors: Watchman Nee
Hudson Taylor was a most spiritual person in Christ. Once
he wrote to his sister and said that he did not know why he was always defeated
without any victory. To say that he did not know the truth would be incorrect,
for he actually knew it. But the result was that truth remained truth and he remained
himself. There was no connection between the two. So he sought God earnestly,
hoping that he might be connected to the truth in experience. Later on, Hudson
Taylor wrote again to his sister, reporting to her that the scales had finally fallen
from his eyes for, formerly, he had sought unsuccessfully to be in Christ: that
he had used every means to put himself in but that he had always come back out:
that he had found no way to get himself into Christ, all his attempts having
been in vain. Praise God, however, for he now understood, having finally seen that
he was already in Christ. It was no longer a matter of how to enter but how not
ever to get out—how never to come out again. Hudson Taylor had at last seen
that the Lord had said that He is the True Vine and we His disciples are the
branches (John 15:5a). Therefore, we are already in Him and that He is ours and
we are His—that there is no need in trying hard to be a branch but instead
realizing that the believer in Christ has been born again as a branch.
Let us suppose that here is a person named Mr. Tang. He
kneels down and earnestly prays, “O God, have mercy on me. Make me a Tang.” God
will say, “What? Are you not already a Tang?” Or to use another illustration,
here is a flower pot that is ridiculously asking to be a flower pot. Just so, since
we are already branches, there is no need to ask to be branches. Whatever God
has said, it is already done. We have no need to pray but to praise. What is
faith in regard to the truth of the believer’s co-death and co-resurrection
with Christ? It is a believing that you and I are already united with Christ. Therefore,
let us praise God, for He has put us in Christ.
Do consider
this, that
you very
well know that you are saved. You very well have the assurance because you believe
that the Lord Jesus has shed His blood to redeem you of your sin. You had trusted,
you had believed, and you accepted Christ and His salvation. Would you ever ask
God to save you again? No, for you know that God has said in His word that whoever
believes is saved. And you believed and know you are saved; and hence, you immediately
praise God and declare that you are saved.
Likewise is it in this matter of our being united with
Christ. We do not need to ask God to cause us to
be
united with Him, for all who belong to Christ are already united
with Him. We simply need to believe in our having already been united, there being
no need for prayer. If we believe that we have already been united with Christ,
we naturally also believe that our old man died in Christ: there is no further
need of our dying. The only need is for us to praise God. If you see that you are
dead in Christ, then you shall see that sin has no power over you. When God
says you are dead, it is true. Never ask for death anymore; for all has been done.
May God open our eyes, causing us to see that His work has
already been
accomplished.
The blood has been shed.
The cross has put old man Adam to death. All the negative work of redeeming us
of Adam’s fall has been achieved. For us, let us only believe. May God grant us
light to see that all has been accomplished in
Christ.
[‡]
“Therefore I say unto you,
All
things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive
[§]
them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24).
In these past few evenings we have been considering how
the death and resurrection of Christ on the cross has four facets to His work.
We have come to see the blood, the cross, the flesh, and the bearing of the
cross. We have already considered at some length the first two facets: how
Christ has redeemed us from sins and has also crucified our old man. These two facets,
which are concerned with the blood and the old man, are both done
in Christ
. The other two, those of the
flesh and cross-bearing, are to be done by Christ
within us
. So, the work of Christ can be divided between what is done
in Him and what is done in us. John 15 says: “Abide in me, and I in you” (v.
4a). We can say that the first two facets of Christ’s work are concerned with His
word to “abide in Him” and the last two facets are related to His word, “I in
you.” Blood and crucifixion are those facets of His work which we know we have
received in Christ, while what is later to be spoken about regarding
the flesh and bearing the cross are
those facets of Christ’s work which He will do in us. For us to be in Christ
needs our
faith,
and for Christ to do His work in us
requires our obedience. Faith and obedience are the two most important spiritual
exercises for Christians to engage in.
Faith
is believing
I am already
in Christ, that I am already one with Him, that whatever is His is mine, that all
His experiences I too have experienced. Thus, living faith
is
believing
that whatever is Christ’s is also mine. What Christ will do in
us, however, requires not only faith but also obedience: we need to obey His
leading. When the Lord works in us, sometimes it is an urging, at other times
it is a forbidding. Sometimes we do not move when we should, so He will cause
us to know what to do. At other times we are doing things in the flesh, and He
will therefore check us within and cause us to sense that such things should
not be done again. So the Lord frequently impels us or prevents us. To believe
and obey is to listen to His moving and forbiddance. Oftentimes we sense within
us a kind of soundless voice, a sort of senseless sense. We can neither see nor
hear nor touch, but we seem to see, to know and to sense. Such inward motion causes
us to know what should or should not be done. Hence, to be obedient is to obey
that inner leading. Obedience is more than obeying the Bible; it is also
obeying the inner leading. In order to have a victorious Christian life we must
know what is obedience as well as what is faith. On the other hand, if there is
neither living faith nor obedience, doctrinal truth will only be in the brain
and not also in spiritual experience.
Christians must exercise faith to receive all that is in
Christ, and they likewise need to exercise obedience to accept all that Christ
will do in them. The way of victory is therefore twofold: one is faith and the
other is obedience. The efficacy of the blood needs faith, not obedience,
because blood is the work of Christ. All that is accomplished in Christ must be
received by faith, not by obedience. The fact of the old man having been
crucified is not to be obeyed but to be believed. Exercise faith to believe that
you have already died in Christ.
Believe you have already received all things prayed and
asked for, and you shall have them. This evening we shall see what living faith
is. How can we possess all the riches in Christ? Everybody is familiar with this
word “faith,” yet much so-called faith is not genuine faith. Such faith
produces nothing. For instance, the Bible tells us that our old man has already
died and many Christians declare that they believe this; nevertheless, their
faith has no effect upon their Christian walk. Let us therefore search the
Scriptures and learn what faith really is. Let us first acknowledge that what
many people’s faith
is,
is but a consent of the mind; it
is not a believing in the heart. Their brains may approve of a teaching or
preaching as being reasonable and good. However, let us never consider this to
be faith. The mind’s acceptance of someone’s teaching or preaching as being good
or reasonable
is not necessarily believing
the truth.
What is faith? Let us listen to what the Lord has said:
“All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for,
believe that ye received them [past tense], and ye shall have them.” This is
the only place in the whole Bible that tells us what faith is. Indeed, this is
the one place in the entire Bible which tells us how to believe. The Romanized
Amoy Bible is even more accurate in translating the Greek verb for the English
word “received” as “already received.” Believe you have already received and
you shall have.
So what is faith? Faith
is believing
I have already received. It
is not believing
I shall,
I will, or I must receive but is believing I have received already. Just in
case you have not grasped how great is the difference here, let me explain
further that if a person only believes he shall or will receive, such faith is
faulty. Only one kind of faith is true; namely, that when you believe, you believe
you have already received. This kind of faith shall receive God’s promise. What
enables God to give us all the riches of Christ arises from the exercise of such
faith. Today’s problem lies in the fact that many of God’s children claim they
have faith, they believing they
shall
receive. Yet those who have believed in this fashion for millions of times have
failed to receive. For God does not deem this kind of faith to be true faith.
He will not hear it. One kind of faith alone is acceptable to Him. The words
“have already received” are most important. Believe that we have already received,
and we shall have. Otherwise, merely
expecting
to receive is not faith at all.
Let me illustrate this matter factually in order to help us
to see that by believing that we have received we shall have. Let us suppose
that here is a sinner, and that you share the gospel with him, showing him that
he is a sinner and how Jesus Christ has accomplished the work of redemption for
him. After talking to him at length, you want to know whether he has believed. So
you ask him, and he replies that he wants to believe and to receive the Lord’s
forgiveness of his sins in order henceforth to be able to approach God through having
trusted in the Lord Jesus. When you hear this, you are initially overjoyed, for
you apparently have a gospel fruit.
You then ask him to pray asking for God’s forgiveness of his
sins. So he prays: “O God, please forgive my sins for I am a sinner who should
be condemned. Thank You for causing the Lord Jesus to die for me and to shed His
blood for me. I pray, for Christ’s sake, that
You
forgive
my sins and cause me to be a saved person.” What would you think of such a prayer?
Nothing could be better. If a person should pray such a prayer, he would most surely
have passed the “gospel test,” for such is considered to be a good standard
prayer.
However, the fact of the matter turns out not to be so, because
as you kneel by his side and ask him if his sins are now forgiven, his answer
is as follows: “I believe God will save me; God will forgive my sins.” Alas,
you shiver at the two times of his saying “God will”—for he has said he
believes that God will forgive him of his sins and save him. Can it be said
that this man has been saved? All of us should realize that his sins have not
been forgiven, that he is not yet saved. For his faith only extends to the
point of “will.” He thinks he fully believes, but actually he has not believed.
Then what is the true expression of faith here? It is expressed
when, having been asked of him after his prayer if his sins have been forgiven,
this sinner answers by saying, perhaps even with tears: “Thank God, my sins
have been forgiven because of Christ. Thank God, I am saved.” That is true faith
being expressed. Faith is not a believing that one’s sins “
may
”
or “shall” be forgiven but a believing that one’s sins
have
been forgiven. True faith is not a believing that you shall or
will be saved, but a believing you
have
been saved. Such is the only kind of faith which the Bible gives us.
What, then, is faith? Faith is not believing what
shall
nor
will
be done; true faith is believing what
has
been done. How strange that many know what faith is when they
are saved: they having believed that they had in fact been saved rather than
that they will or shall be saved. But when it comes to this second truth of
truths, they relinquish their former faith. At the time of salvation they knew
they were saved through faith. But in the second stage of truth, they only
believe they
shall be
delivered. Too
many Christians, having learned the lesson of faith once, have lost their faith
when it comes to the other work of Christ.
Let us see how we are to be delivered from sin. Six years
ago someone came to meet with us. He was head of the trustees of a native Christian
gathering. He was quite sick at heart. Nine-tenths of the salary of this
group’s pastor came from him. He was not only one who gave
much,
he was also very zealous for the Lord. He often came to our Bible study.
One Sunday morning he came to my home. I asked him if
there was anything I could do for him. As I asked, his tears fell down. I asked
him to tell me why. He said the following: “Mr. Nee, you do not really know me.
You think I am zealous and love the Lord. Yet you do not truly know what kind
of person I am. Although I am indeed zealous and love the Lord, I have a
problem—my temper: simply over a little matter I will instantly leap up and angrily
throw things around. I really feel bad afterwards. How can a Christian behave
in such a way? I ask for the Lord’s forgiveness. But when, soon after I pray, I
see my staff do something wrong, I repeat doing the same thing. Even with my
family, I treat them similarly. I am a Christian, but I act in such horrible
manner. Although I know my sin, and even after I confess, my temper flares up
again anyway.”
He continued by saying: “I have a number of employees in
my store; I tell them to work on Sunday and their Sunday work is to attend the
Sunday church service. Yet because of my bad temper which I lose once or twice
every day, they refuse to believe in the Lord. I preach the gospel to them;
secretly, however, they say among themselves: ‘He believes the Lord and is a
Christian, but he is not any better than others; so why should we believe?’
When I hear this, I am deeply troubled, for I shall be the cause of their
eternal death. I ask God for forgiveness and determine not to lose my temper
again. Alas, however, there is no improvement. My temper again goes out of
control. For example, last night I quarreled so loudly that all my neighbors
heard me. Over a tiny matter I threw things around in the store, even breaking
the glass window. For me, to lose money is a small thing; what troubles me most
is the word of my employees, who say: ‘How can a Christian be so bad?’”
He still went on, saying: “I knew my sin and I could not
sleep last night. I do not like losing my temper, but I do it again and again.
Today is the
Lord’s day
. It happens that this morning
is my turn to speak. I tell myself today that I must not lose my temper, for if
I do, I will not be able to speak. A little while later, my wife brought me a
hot soup. She herself could tolerate the heat, but I could not. So I got angry
and threw the bowl at her. I have quarreled and consequently today’s sermon is
gone.”
“I am a Christian,” he continued, “but my temper is
devilish. What can I do? I come to you today for this reason—please, Mr. Nee,
think of some way to help me. Whatever way, help me to get rid of my temper.”
As he spoke, I could tell he was truly grieved. But as I
listened I began to laugh. He said, “Mr. Nee, you must help me, anyway.” He was
now crying. Yet the more he cried, the more I laughed. So he said, “Mr. Nee, I
am so miserable.” In reply I said: “Yes, you are miserable, but I am glad.” “I
am helpless,” he cried. “There can be nothing better,” I responded. “Mr. Nee, please
do not joke with me.”
I countered with the following words of explanation: “I said
to you that I am glad over this development because the Lord is able to heal
this kind of disease. Concerning other diseases some are able to cure
themselves and others get well through doctors, but such a disease as yours
only the Lord can cure. You shall know that the Lord will heal you. Yes, you
sense your bad temper, but I see that the Lord is greater than your temper. He
can heal you instantaneously.” “How can it be so easy?” he asked; “you have not
seen my temper. Had you seen it, you would realize that it is not so easy to
heal.” But I repeated to him: “Even if your temper were ten times worse, the
Lord is able to heal you at once.” I assured him of this again.
I now asked him to read Romans 8:2. Then I asked him what
this word of God says there. He replied that God has said that the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made us free from the law of sin and death. So I
asked him where the Holy Spirit made him free from the law of sin and death. He
answered, “In Christ.” I therefore said to him: “If you yourself are truly in
Christ, what does the Bible say here? It says that the Holy Spirit in Christ
sets you free from sin. In your case, what is the sin? It is your temper. The
Holy Spirit in Christ has set you free so that you are delivered. Why is it,
then, that you are still undelivered?” He answered, “Oh, today, I hope God will
set me free.” I continued by asking him: “Does the Bible tell you that the Holy
Spirit
shall
set you free? No, what
God says here is that the Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus
made
you free. What does the word ‘made’ mean? This verb ‘made’ is cast
in the past tense. It thus means that the deed being described has been
accomplished already in the past. Which is reliable, God’s word or your word?
Do you think God would lie?”
In response he said that he would never take God’s word
as being a lie. He believed in the word of the Bible. Yet he had not been delivered.
So I pointed my finger at him and told him that God would never be afraid of
his temper, even if it were ten times worse. I went on to say that the sin he
had committed this morning surpassed all the sins he had ever committed through
the years. “This morning,” I said to him, “you committed the greatest sin—the
sin of unbelief. There is no sin greater than that. You have the wicked sin of
unbelief in you. Ask God to remove this wicked sin of unbelief from you which
will enable you to believe.”
I then told him that I myself had to speak today. “I must
be quiet for
awhile
. So I must now go upstairs and I
shall leave the sitting room to you for you to remain here and ask God for
forgiveness and ask Him to remove this wicked heart of unbelief from you so
that you can be delivered. Then ask God to deliver you that you might believe
Romans 8:2.” Accordingly, I went upstairs and after half an hour I came down
and inquired how he was. He replied, “Mr. Nee, everything is now fine. I am
completely delivered. I am truly set free.” Praise God, he went back home
rejoicing.
This man’s faith which he had exercised that morning is
an example of living faith. This man himself could not rid himself of his bad
temper. That morning he truly believed and he was delivered. I was not to see
him again thereafter for almost two months. One day, however, I met him on a trolley
car and asked him how the matter was. He said, “Praise God, I am still free!”
Another six months passed. I then saw him again, and again I asked how he was.
He once more said, “Thank God, I am still delivered.” Two years later, I met
him in Hong Kong. I was able to remember him and inquired again how he was. Once
more he replied, “Thank God, I am delivered.”
What, then, is true faith? It
is not
believing
that God
will
do,
but in believing God has already done. The “made” in this Bible passage speaks
of a past accomplished fact. Let us never change the “made” to “will be” or
“shall be.” Let us instead thank God that in Christ He has already set us free.