THE WAY TO KNOW THE POWER
OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
When the Lord put Himself under death, this death gave the best opportunity for the divine life within Him to come forth. Although He lived in the human life, He did not live out the human life. Instead, He lived out the divine life. The human life in Him was put to death, and His divine life was lived out. The result was the expression, not of Jesus of Nazareth, but of the very God, the divine Person within Him. This is the way to know the power of Christ’s resurrection.
By the Lord’s mercy and grace, we have come to know that the desire of God’s heart is to express Himself through us. This expression, however, cannot be by our human life, but must be by the divine life within us. For this expression, we must be willing to put aside our human life. The Lord may give us certain helpers to assist us in this, a wife or husband, children, and the brothers and sisters in the church. Our environment helps us to be crucified. Nevertheless, we must be willing to be put under the death of the cross and to live a crucified life. This death will afford the opportunity for the divine life within us to be lived out. In this way we will know the power of resurrection. If we still preserve our natural life and pray that God will help us in certain matters, we are wrong. God will not answer the prayers to preserve our natural life, nor will He render any help to our natural life. Rather, He will say, "Don’t pray for Me to help you. Go to the cross and remain there. If you are willing, I will help you to be put on the cross." This is what it means to live the crucified life.
In our family life and in the church life, we all need to go to the cross and remain there. The best way to know the power of Christ’s resurrection in our married life is to go to the cross. The unique way is not to pray; it is to be crucified. This is true, not only in our family life, but even the more in the church life. To be a good brother or sister among the saints in the church life requires that we go to the cross to be crucified. Do not pray for God to change others. God will never answer such a prayer. Instead, go to the cross and remain there. This is the way that is according to His economy. If we are willing to go to the cross and stay there, we shall know the power of Christ’s resurrection.
THE WAY TO MANIFEST THE DIVINE LIFE
AND TO DEFEAT THE ENEMY
If you read the four Gospels again in the light of this vision, the Gospels will all be new to you. You will see that they are a record of a crucified life. In nearly every chapter we find the Lord Jesus living under the cross. He lived this way for the release of the divine life. Because He lived a crucified life, He was never defeated. It is possible to defeat a living person, but not a crucified person. The best way to escape the attacks of the enemy is not to counterattack; it is to go to the cross. When Satan attacks you, go to the cross and remain there. That is all you need to do. Satan cannot defeat a crucified one. As we have seen, crucifixion affords a base for the power of Christ’s resurrection to rise up that the divine life may be expressed. Thus, there is no need for us to counterattack. In fact, it will not always be necessary even to pray. What we need the most is to go to the cross and stay there to live a crucified life. If we do this, the divine life will be released and manifested. As long as we are willing to go to the cross and to remain there, everything will be in the power of resurrection. This is the way to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. This is not a matter of doctrine, but of experience. May the Lord give all of us the willingness and the determination to go to the cross and stay there that we may know the power of His resurrection.
(The Experience of Christ, Chapter 15, by Witness Lee)
