Throughout the centuries, Christians have argued about doctrines and practices. For example, there has been much disputation about baptism, head covering, foot-washing, and about loudness or quietness in Christian meetings. In Galatians 6:15 Paul says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” (Gk.). Forms and regulations do not avail anything, because they are not Christ. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is the new creation that is in Christ Jesus. The new creation that Paul refers to is Christ wrought into our being. When Christ is wrought into us, a new creation takes place within us. Furthermore, this new creation is not merely an individual matter; it is a corporate matter involving the corporate entity of the new man, the Body of Christ.
God’s concern is not foot-washing, the length of our hair, or how many times we have been baptized. God cares about how much of Christ has been wrought into us. God is not concerned whether or not we are humble or proud, crude or gentle. He cares only that Christ is wrought into our being. Again and again I wish to proclaim that God cares only for Christ. Morality, ethics, forms, and regulations cannot produce a church that matches Christ. Only Christ Himself wrought into us can produce a church to match Himself.
The church is the Body of Christ. Only what comes out of Christ can be part of the Body of Christ. This means that mere gifts, teachings, and power cannot produce the Body. Nothing other than Christ wrought into the saints can produce the Body of Christ. Our eyes need to be enlightened to see this vision. In Ephesians 1 Paul prayed in a specific way, asking that our inner eyes be enlightened so that we may see that God’s intention is to work Christ into us. God does not desire to adjust us or to improve us. His intention is to work Christ into us.
In a very real sense, we need to repent more of our goodness than of our evil. When you are good to your wife in a natural way, you need to repent and say, “Lord, forgive me. This is not Christ. In myself I may be good, but I am not living by Christ. Lord, I am good in a natural way, but I do not give You the opportunity to live out of me.” We all are full of regret when we do things that are bad, but we may not realize that we need to be even more repentant when we do good things apart from Christ.
In 2:10 Paul says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God before prepared that we should walk in them.” We should not think that we are able to work for God or to do God’s work. We are God’s workmanship. This indicates that God does not expect us to work for Him. On the contrary, He is seeking the opportunity to work upon us. If we consider our situation, we shall realize how much work remains to be done on us. God does not need us to work for Him. Rather, He will work on us until we become His masterpiece. We, the church, are the masterpiece of God’s work, expressing God’s infinite wisdom and divine design. The reason we are God’s masterpiece is that Christ is being wrought into us. We can boast to God’s creation that we have Christ in us. The more Christ is wrought into us, the more we become part of God’s workmanship, God’s masterpiece.
In 1934 I met a certain brother in Shanghai. Before I met him, I heard many good things about him. At that time, I was not able to discern between Christ and good behavior. Eventually, through the help of Brother Nee, I realized that although this particular brother was good, not much of Christ was lived out of him. We all need to learn the difference between natural goodness and Christ. A person may be good in certain aspects, but these good things may have nothing to do with Christ. Our desire should not be to become a good brother or sister; we should desire to become a “Christ” brother or a “Christ” sister. If we would be God’s masterpiece, Christ must be wrought into us. This should be not only a revelation, but also a revolution that takes place within our being. Oh, may we all see clearly that God does not desire us to be good Christians, but to be “Christ” Christians, those who have Christ wrought into them and lived out of them.