There are many things on this globe which people treasure. I would like to tell them, however, to throw those things away. I have diamonds to give them! This is the gospel. The gospel imparts to us something other than what we have. It offers us God Himself.
The Jews believe that they have God, but actually they do not. God is in Christ. God in Christ is the treasure. Without Christ we do not know where God is; He cannot be traced. I would like to tell my Jewish friends that what they have is not real. What I would share with them is real. This sounds proud, but it is not. It is spoken out of love. I may have come from a nation despised by the western people, but nonetheless I do have something beyond what they have.
In a private talk with me in 1933, Brother Nee spoke with me about the Lord’s move. After Count Zinzendorf and the Moravian brethren, he said, the Lord unquestionably raised up the Brethren in the 1820s under the leadership of John Nelson Darby. These British Brethren were much used by the Lord. Before very long, however, they were damaged by division because of their excessive attention to doctrinal considerations. Because of them, Europe was spoiled for the practice of the church. This poison also spoiled the United States.
According to Brother Nee’s observation, the Lord around 1920 had a need for His recovery to be carried on. Because both Europe and America were no longer pure soil, the Lord was forced to go to a heathen, primitive land. Concerning the church practice, China was virgin soil. The gospel had been brought there. The Bible was there. The Lord’s name was known. The denominations also, sorry to say, were present; but there was little Brethren practice. Sixty years ago China was truly virgin soil in the matter of the church life. This afforded the Lord a new beginning, distinct from the denominational practices and purely according to the Bible.
Now sixty years have gone by. Revelation after revelation has come to us. It is not surprising that when Brother Nee’s books were translated into English, many seeking Christians were ready to devour them. New light was there. New expressions were used. Remember that the source was the Nazareth of China. Can anything good come out of Nazareth (John 1:46)? Yes! That was where Jesus Christ came from!
The Lord has very much opened up Romans 8 to us recently. For fifty years I have been speaking on Romans 8. Now it has become a new chapter. The other day I was looking into Godet’s exposition of Romans 8. What is there is old and general. It is common to a number of seeking Christians. Where can we find something fresh about the law of the Spirit of life?
Western culture is based upon Hebrew religion, Greek philosophy, and Roman politics. When we say that the West is under the influence of the Hebrew religion, we are including Judaism, Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. The Hebrew religion presents people with God and ethics. The essence of religion is to behave and teach according to one’s beliefs about God. The Jews have a belief about God. I do not say they believe in God. I believe in God-I am not boasting-but my Jewish friends only believe about Him. They do not really believe in Him. In any case, because of their belief, they preach and teach their children about God and try to behave according to what they believe. The western world, Europe and America, is made up of the descendants of Japheth, one of Noah’s three sons. These make up the white race. They are under the influence of the Hebrew religion and its offshoots.
The Chinese are under the teachings of Confucius. Even in their dreams the Chinese people, some nine hundred million of them, are governed by his ethics!
In this message what I have to say is beyond the Hebrew religion. It will leave the teachings of Confucius far behind. The pure revelation of the Scripture levels all of them. According to the revelation of the Bible, I say to the westerners, Forget the Hebrew religion! To the easterners, Forget Confucius’ teachings! I have no choice. I have a commission and a burden. The Apostle Paul also acted according to this principle. He offended both Greeks and Jews, calling them both fools and stressing that God alone was wise (1 Cor. 1:19-27; 2:6-16).
We must come back to the Bible. What I have to say is extraordinary. If you have a Chinese background, as you read, do not entertain the thought that Confucius deals with this point also. If you come from a western background, as you are reading, do not say to yourself, “My pastor said the same thing five years ago!” What the Bible teaches is higher and deeper. Please learn to pick up the God-given discernment. The focus of what the Bible reveals is other than what Confucius and the Hebrew religion teach.
Home | First | Prev | Next