Exodus 12:16 says, “And in the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.” This verse says that on the first and last days of the feast of unleavened bread no manner of work was to be done. This signifies that in the enjoyment of God’s salvation, there is no place for our work. We must learn to stop our doing. We must cease from every kind of work. Do not resolve to be a loving husband, a submissive wife, or a child who honors his parents. All this is human work. The only thing we are permitted to do is eat. This indicates that as we partake of God’s salvation, there is room only for enjoyment, not for working. Do not try to do anything—just eat and enjoy.
The situation of today’s Christianity is just the opposite. Instead of eating, there is working. Sermon upon sermon is given charging people to engage in certain kinds of work. This contradicts the principle of God’s salvation. God’s salvation does not allow us to do any work.
Due to our serpentine nature, immediately after we were saved or revived, we made up our mind to do certain things. Some resolved not to lose their temper; others decided to be humble. But the Lord makes no allowance for this kind of work. In God’s salvation we are only allowed to eat.
In contrast to the writings of the religions of man, the Bible charges God’s people concerning the first and last days of the feast to do nothing except eat. If the children of Israel worked on these days, they would have broken the principle of God’s salvation. Salvation is for our enjoyment; it does not require our work or our doing. Nevertheless, even many zealous Christians are cut off from spiritual fellowship simply because they are engaged in so much work. To add human labor to God’s salvation is to insult God and to cut ourselves off from fellowship.
We find it difficult to stop working and to keep eating. Instead of eating without working, our habit is to work without eating. Some may complain of too much spiritual eating. They may even say that they are bored with such eating. Talk like this circulated among us some time ago. This kind of word comes from the Devil, the enemy of God. As soon as a word is spoken against eating the Lord, it is followed by a suggestion that we work or engage in a certain activity. What a devilish contradiction of the principle of God’s salvation! I repeat, God’s salvation requires that we stop our working and do nothing except eat.
It is even possible for prayer to become a work that God forbids. Some of the saints may decide to spend more time in prayer. In such a case, their prayer may become a work that breaks the principle of God’s salvation. To one who resolves to pray in this way, I would say, “Do not allow prayer to become a work. Instead of praying in a natural way, you must eat the unleavened bread.”
When I was young, I engaged in much work for the Lord. I read books about how to be holy, how to pray, and how to overcome sin. These books encouraged me to work and to do certain things. Then one day I saw the light that God does not want us to work—He wants us to eat. If we would feast unto Him, we must stop our doing.
Suppose a brother invites you to his home for a feast. After you arrive, however, you spend a great deal of time working for him. You mow the lawn, trim the trees, and wash the windows. But all your work is offensive to this brother. What he desires is that you sit down at the table and feast with him. The more you feast, the happier he will be.
We all must learn to drop our natural doing. However, this is not easy for us to do. As we drop our doing, we need to maintain our eating. But if we do not eat, we should not stop working. Most Christians work without eating, but we must learn to eat without doing. Let us drop our doing, but continue with our eating.
Exodus 12:43 says, “This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof.” Verse 45 goes on to say, “A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof.” These verses indicate that strangers and hired servants were not permitted to eat the Passover. In the Old Testament strangers represent two categories of people: the unbelievers and the natural man. We may readily agree that the unbelievers are strangers, but we may not agree that our natural man is also a stranger who is not allowed to partake of the Passover. Actually, our natural man is no different from an unbeliever, for our natural life is always quick to go along with the way of an unbeliever. Hence, the natural man and the unbelievers are of the same family.
Notice that in Exodus 12 the natural man is the stranger linked to the hired servants. A hired servant is one who serves for wages, for compensation. The natural man always works for God in order to receive compensation. This is commonplace in today’s Christianity. For the most part, Christianity has become a religion in which strangers are hired to work for wages. Although a hired servant may receive wages, with him there is no grace, faith, or enjoyment. If we try to enjoy the Passover according to the principle of a hired servant, we shall find that we have no position to partake of the Passover.
Those who work as hired servants have the attitude that they labor and God pays them their wages. But in Romans Paul indicates that we are not to work for our salvation. Romans 4:4 and 5 say, “Now to the one who works, the reward is not reckoned according to grace, but according to debt. But to the one who works not, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.” Speaking of the selection of grace, Paul declares in Romans 11:6, “But if by grace, it is no longer out of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace.”
In the words of Galatians 4:7, we who believe in Christ are no longer servants; we are sons. Children simply enjoy the family life. They do not labor as hired servants in order to share in this enjoyment. Our enjoyment of God’s salvation is according to the principle of free grace, not according to the principle of a hired servant who works for recompense. As far as salvation is concerned, our labor means nothing. God allows us to enjoy the Passover not as wages, but only as a free gift of grace.
It is clear that the natural man cannot enjoy Christ as the Passover. If a person is still in the natural man, he has not come to the month Abib, which means sprouting or budding. This means that he has not experienced a new beginning in Christ. With such a one there is no sprouting of the divine life through regeneration. To have a new beginning is to no longer be a stranger, to no longer be a natural man. On the contrary, it is to be regenerated and to become a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
Do not partake of the Passover as a natural man or as a hired servant, and do not have the attitude that you work for God and that He pays you. We do not receive God’s salvation because of our labor. If we remain in the natural man or regard ourselves as hired servants who work for recompense, we have no right to partake of the Passover.