XXIII. REVEALING THE DEPTHS OF GOD
TO THE BELIEVERS
The Spirit reveals the depths of God to the believers (1 Cor. 2:10). Every bit of the depths of God is Christ. Christ is so deep, and the contents, the very constituents, of our messages are concerning Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul taught that Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom (v. 24). Christ is wisdom to us from God as our righteousness, as our sanctification, and as our redemption (v. 30). These aspects of Christ are the depths of God. As the Spirit reveals the depths of God, Christ, to us, we are renewed, sanctified, transformed, conformed, and glorified. Only the Spirit can reveal the depths of God to us.
XXIV. APPLYING THE DEATH OF CHRIST
TO THE BELIEVERS
The Spirit applies the death of Christ to the believers (Rom. 8:13b). When I was a young Christian, I heard that according to the Bible, I had been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20a). But I wondered how I could have been crucified with Christ. Spacewise He was in Palestine, and timewise He died nearly two thousand years ago. I could not figure out how I could have been crucified with Him at the same time. Later I realized that when Christ was crucified, according to God’s economy we were included in Him. This is an accomplished fact.
I still did not know, however, how to experience the death of Christ. I was told that I had to reckon myself as having been crucified with Christ according to Paul’s word in Romans 6:11, but reckoning did not work. The more I reckoned myself as having died with Christ, the more I seemed to be alive. Eventually, Brother Watchman Nee came to the conclusion that the very death revealed in Romans 6 can be applied only by the Spirit in Romans 8. Romans 8:13b says, "If by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live." This means the Spirit applies Christ’s death to the practices of our mortal body. The Spirit indwelling us works to apply the death of Christ as the killing element to kill all the practices of our troublesome body. Reckoning does not work, but the application of the Spirit works.
(The Christian Life, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
