Abraham "divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another...behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces." This is the proof. It is a picture of the way of the cross. What does it mean to divide "in the midst"? To divide in the midst is to die; it is the cross. What does it mean to pass "between the pieces"? To pass "between the pieces" is to die, which also means to pass through the cross. God showed Abraham that his inheritance of the land was based on the work of the cross, and that his seed was able to stand in this land through the death of the cross.

We have to realize that the cross is the foundation of all spiritual living. Without passing through the cross, we cannot live for God on this earth. Even if we can give a message on the cross, it will not produce any spiritual effect unless we are first dealt with by the cross. Only those who have passed through the cross will have the smoking furnace and the burning lamp. In other words, only those who have passed through death will have the purging, cleansing, and genuine light.

The problem with many people is that whenever they find themselves with a little power or a little achievement in the work, they think that they are useful in God's hand. Actually, there is not such a thing. The whole matter depends on the kind of substance you bring into the Lord's work. If you bring something of yourself into the work, you have failed already. You have not failed because you cannot speak, you are not powerful enough, or you are not familiar enough with the Scripture. You have failed because you are the wrong person. The cross has not done its work in you. We have to be clear that only those who have passed through the cross will inherit the land. Those who have not passed through death will not inherit the land. We need the purifying work. How difficult it is to be pure in the Lord's work! What does it mean to be pure? To be pure means to be without any mixture. In our work for the Lord, how easy it is to say one word in the spirit and the next word in the flesh. How easy it is to say one word by the Lord and the next word by ourselves. This is mixture, and this is impurity. Consequently, we need the Lord to bring a smoking furnace to pass through the pieces in order to conduct a purifying work in us. The efficacy of the death of Christ will make us a pure person. The Lord does not want us to be a mixed person. He wants to purge us so that we may be pure.

What passed through the pieces was not only a smoking furnace but also a burning lamp. Before there is the smoking furnace, there must first be the cross, and before there is the burning lamp, there must also be the cross. Hence, in order to have real light, one must first pass through death. A person who has not passed through death may be very clever and knowledgeable; others may think that his words are very intelligent. But such a person does not possess any piercing light. The burning lamp, the genuine light, comes from the cross. It comes from the act of passing through the pieces, that is, from passing through death. No one can fulfill the ministry of God's work based on his human wisdom or knowledge. In order to fulfill such a ministry, one must have the experience of the cross before the Lord. It is easy to preach the doctrine of the cross, but these verses show us that only those who know and experience the cross can stand for God.

After Abraham divided everything in the midst and laid each piece one against another, he fell asleep. Suddenly a great darkness fell upon him. A person who does not know the cross will think that he is more than qualified to work for the Lord and that there is nothing to be fearful of, but a person who knows the cross will see great darkness falling upon him. He will realize that he can do nothing and that he is totally incapable of doing anything by himself. When a person is brought by the Lord to the place of weakness and when he feels that he cannot do anything and is not worthy of doing anything, he can begin to work for the Lord. When we truly see that this work is the Lord's work and that we are useless and when we truly see the Lord's holiness and our filthiness, the Lord will begin to use us.

How did Abraham inherit the land? God showed him that he had to pass through death; he had to pass through the cross. Only by going through the way of the cross will we inherit the land, and only then will we be able to live for God continuously on this earth.