In this chapter and the five subsequent chapters we will consider God’s salvation from various perspectives. I hope that the words in these chapters will help those who have not yet believed in the Lord Jesus to make the best choice, that is, to receive the dynamic salvation of the Lord and thus obtain satisfaction in their human life.
The Bible is not merely a classical writing; it is the clearest and most definite record of God’s salvation. The Bible says concerning salvation that the gospel of God “is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). Our experience also testifies that the Lord’s salvation is marvelous and powerful. This salvation not only saves people out of death into life (John 5:24) but also becomes everything to man so that man may receive God’s many blessings (Gal 3:14; Eph. 1:3). The Bible shows also that the Lord is able to save to the uttermost and guard from stumbling all those who come forward to Him by believing (Heb. 7:25; Jude 24). Those who have received the Lord can testify that He has delivered them out of a life of misery so that they may have peace and joy in His life (John 16:33; Rom. 14:17).
Everyone who has had some experience in the human life knows that this life is full of suffering and misery. However, the most unpleasant thing about the human life is that its end is vanity. No matter how great a person’s accomplishments are, what position he has attained to, and how much enjoyment he has had in the world, the end of his life is still vanity of vanities. Some people may seem to be satisfied after they have become successful or famous. However, as soon as their situation changes, they will sense the vanity of human life. Others seem to be interested in what they are doing as long as they are busy. But after what occupies them is completed, they quiet down and then sense vanity of vanities. Some others may find meaning in life when they are striving to accomplish something. However, once they have accomplished what they are striving for, they sense the vanity of human life. Ecclesiastes 1:2 and 14 say, “Vanity of vanities...I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and indeed, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.” Everyone who has not received the Lord has in the deepest part of his being a sense of emptiness and a longing, a desire, that cannot be explained. The human life without God is empty and void, and everything that is done to fill this void ends with a greater sense of emptiness. Thus, there is a deep longing within human beings. This longing is a longing for God, and in simple words, people feel empty because they do not have God within them. None of the things in the human life can satisfy man. They only leave him with a sense of emptiness, because none of these things are the meaning of human life. God is the true meaning of human life. Thus, when people do not have God, they sense that their life is meaningless and that it is vanity of vanities.
There is a saying in Chinese that means “everything has its unique function and purpose.” Whether an electric fan, a microphone, an organ, a piano, a lamp, or a chair—everything has its unique function and purpose. We need to ask what the function and purpose of man is and why human beings exist in the universe. We know that people are on the earth not merely to exist and be satisfied by wearing nice clothes and eating good food. We have an inward realization and an inexplicable feeling that the human life should have a higher meaning than this. However, we may not know what this higher meaning is. Many philosophers have spent their entire lives studying the meaning of human life. Although they have written many books trying to explain the meaning of human life, our experience tells us that the answers they have given do not satisfy the longing within man.
We can find the answer to the meaning of human life when we come to the Bible. The Bible tells us that human beings were created for God. The purpose and meaning of our human life is to be a vessel to contain God and to express God (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 9:21, 23; 2 Cor. 4:7). Thus, human beings are on the earth to glorify God so that He may be satisfied. In the past some of us had a sense of emptiness within because we did not know the purpose of our human life. God created us to be vessels filled with Him so that we may glorify Him. If we do not see this purpose, we are like an object that has lost its intended function and usefulness.
The unique purpose of an electric lamp is to manifest the function of electricity by allowing electricity to shine as light through it. The shining of light through a lamp is the glorification, the expression, of electricity. Hence, the purpose of a lamp is to be a vessel to contain and be filled with electricity so that electricity can be expressed and manifested through it. If we try to use a lamp for any other purpose, that lamp will be worthless. If such a lamp could speak, it might tell us that it feels empty and that its existence is meaningless. This is because the lamp is unable to fulfill the purpose of its existence and is in an unsatisfactory condition. However, if we put the lamp in its proper place so that electricity can flow into and shine out of it, the lamp will function properly. If it could speak, it might immediately say, “This is where I should be. Here electricity can flow through me and be expressed through me. This is the purpose for which I was made. This is where I find genuine satisfaction.”
As human beings, we are similar to lamps in the sense that we exist for the expression and manifestation of God. If we allow God to flow through us and express Himself through us, we will have satisfaction, joy, and peace, and we will sense that our human life is full of meaning. Apart from this we can have no rest, satisfaction, or meaning in our human life. When we consider the totality of the human situation today, we will see that the living of many individuals is not proper, that many families are unhappy and damaged by divorce and separation, and that society as a whole is not in harmony. All these problems can be traced back to one origin—God is outside of man. A man’s living is not proper because he does not have God within him, families are damaged and unhappy because they do not have God in them, and society is disorderly and in disharmony because it does not have God within it. All the problems in life and all the difficulties in human society are due to the absence of God. When a person has God, he has the solution to all the problems in life and the way to overcome all difficulties.
The more we consider our situation, the more we may sense an inner emptiness, and the more we observe others, the more we will realize that human beings are always lacking something and are never fully satisfied with anything. Sociologists have spent much time in trying to find the solution to the lack of satisfaction in the human life, yet all their labor has been in vain. Some have suggested that the emptiness within man can be filled with education, and others have said that man’s need can be met by raising his standard of living. However, history and our experience prove that the emptiness within man and the lack in human society cannot be solved by education or by the raising of living standards. Education trains a person’s mind, and a higher standard of living provides enjoyment for the human body; however, neither of these take care of the need hidden deep within man. There is a need within man that is deeper than the need of his body and deeper than the need of knowledge in his mind.
It is true that a person in poverty who is unable to sustain his life will know the need for material supply. However, when he does not need to worry about his basic necessities, such as food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, he will realize that material things cannot satisfy him. He may feel that he should seek satisfaction in the psychological and intellectual realm by advancing his education. However, many rich people have obtained as much enjoyment as is possible in the psychological and intellectual realm. Some have received a high level of education, and others have enjoyed many kinds of entertainment, yet in the midst of all this enjoyment, many find that they still have a need deep within them. This need cannot be satisfied by material things or by psychological enjoyment from knowledge, entertainment, and music. Many people have exhausted their energy in pursuing physical and psychological things with the hope that they would obtain satisfaction and fill the emptiness within them, but all their efforts have been to no avail.
The need deep within man is the need for God Himself. Man not only has a body with its physical senses and a soul composed of the mind, emotion, and will; he also has a human spirit, an organ deep within him (1 Thes. 5:23). Man is the most highly endowed of all creatures because there is a spirit within man (Job 32:8; Zech. 12:1).
According to the Bible, man has not only a body outwardly and a soul inwardly but also a human spirit deep within him. The human spirit is an organ for man to contact, receive, and have fellowship with God. God is Spirit (John 4:24). Thus, man, who was created in God’s image and according to His likeness (Gen. 1:26), has a spirit. God created man with a spirit so that He can have a relationship with man. God created a spirit in man so that man can contact God. Man’s spirit has the ability to contact God.
In order for a light bulb to receive, absorb, and shine out electricity as light, it needs a filament. The spirit within man can be compared to the filament in a light bulb. Man’s spirit is for contacting and receiving God so that man can manifest and express God. If the filament in a light bulb is broken, it will not give out light even if the glass of the bulb is fully transparent. In the same way, a person may enjoy material things, a high education, and all kinds of psychological entertainment. But if he is unable to contact God with his human spirit and allow God to shine through him, even if he cultivates his moral character and perfects his behavior, he will not be able to express God and thereby fulfill the purpose of his human life.
A light bulb that does not have electricity passing through it loses its intended function and the purpose of its existence. Similarly, if we do not have God in our spirit, we will have the sense that our human life is meaningless. If we do not have God as our Lord in the depths of our being, our human life will have no center and will be unable to reach its highest purpose. We will simply drift on the sea of human life, going east when the current goes east and going west when the wind blows west. When trials come, we will have no way to cope with them. When temptations arise, we will be unable to overcome them. When we encounter darkness and corruption, we will have no power to stand or escape defilement. This is because we do not have God within us as our center.
When we do not have God as our center, our human life is meaningless, without aim or direction. As a result, we have no satisfaction within or destination without. We have only the sense that we are persons who are wandering aimlessly without meaning or purpose. Consequently, when we calm ourselves down, especially in the dead of night, and consider our life and our future, we have the sense that everything is meaningless. Then we begin to ask ourselves, “Why do I exist and what is the purpose of my being where I am? Where will I be tomorrow? What will my end be?” We fall into this situation because we do not have God, and we have no answer to these questions because He is not our center. No one can answer these questions for us. However, once we receive God into us, we will receive a clear answer to all these questions.