In the past several weeks, we have seen the experience and growth in life in the books of Romans, Philippians, and 2 Corinthians. My burden in giving these messages is that you would gain the crucial factors and elements concerning the experience and growth in life, not just some general knowledge.
Some of the crucial factors and elements for our experience and growth in life are mentioned in Philippians 2:12-14. We must work out our salvation by dealing with murmurings and reasonings. In verses 12 through 14, murmurings and reasonings are mentioned with the two great factors of God’s operation and our working out of God’s salvation. It seems that murmurings and reasonings are rather small and insignificant, but in our experience of life, these are two very important items with which we need to deal.
Everyone murmurs and reasons. To deal with murmurings and reasonings is not very easy, because only a dead person does not murmur. To make a decision not to murmur does not work. Although it is difficult to refrain from murmurings and reasonings, we must realize that as long as we murmur and reason, we are defeated in working out our salvation in our daily life. In order to work out this salvation, we must pray, “Lord, grant me to know You and the power of Your resurrection and the fellowship of Your sufferings, being conformed to Your death.” While the Lord Jesus lived on this earth, He never murmured, because He lived a crucified life, a life which was always under the cross. The way to be delivered from murmurings and reasonings is just to die, but we cannot crucify ourselves. Brother Nee once said that no one can commit suicide by crucifixion because crucifixion requires another person to be involved. We need to know the fellowship of His sufferings, that is, to participate in the sufferings of Christ.
In married life, if one is not careful concerning murmurings and reasonings, the issue may be separation and divorce. In a sense, married life represents all kinds of corporate life. When a number of people work together, speak together, or play together, they are considered a team. A married couple or a family may also be considered a team. The church life is a team life.
The Apostle Paul aspired to know three crucial factors: Christ, the power of His resurrection, and conformity to the death of Christ (Phil. 3:10). Without these three factors, we do not have the reality of life. Some philosophers, such as Confucius, taught a great deal about having a high standard of ethics. But without Christ, His resurrection power, and His death, all of these teachings are merely vain talk. Paul’s teaching was not in vain, because his teaching was full of these three factors. These three factors-Christ, His resurrection power, and His death-must not remain only historical to us; they must become our experience and daily salvation.
Home | First | Prev | Next