In the Life-studies we have pointed out three books in the New Testament which reveal things either replacing Christ or opposing Christ. These books are 1 Corinthians, Galatians, and Colossians. In 1 Corinthians knowledge and gifts are there. It is not secular or sinful knowledge but spiritual knowledge, scriptural knowledge, fundamental knowledge, and gifts. These two categories of things in 1 Corinthians frustrate many Christians from living Christ. The Corinthians had knowledge and gifts. They were not behind in knowledge or in gifts, yet they were short of Christ. They didn’t live Christ, and they were not built up; rather they were divided. In Galatians, religion, law, and ordinances were replacing Christ. In Colossians we saw that culture and many isms such as Judaism, Gnosticism, asceticism, were replacing Christ. If you dig into these four books which we call the heart of the Bible—Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians—you can see a hidden thing. By my experiences I have a term for this hidden thing—peculiarity. Although Paul didn’t mention peculiarity in a clear way, it is implied.
Many of you have had a lot of dealings. You have dealt with sin, with the world, with your self, with this, and with that. But still something is hidden within you; it has no name, yet it is hidden within you. Such a thing is within you all day, not only replacing, but resisting Christ; something within you is secretly and in a hidden way resisting and restricting Christ. Knowledge and gifts may replace Christ, but they do not resist Christ that much. But your peculiarity is resisting Christ all the time. It is a hidden stronghold. It is not a high tower, so visible and exposed. A high tower is easy to cast down. But here is something small in size, yet intense in its solidness. It is small, yet it is so strong within you. It is hidden and even invisible within you; something powerful within you is resisting Christ all the time. Christ has nearly no way to go on within you. The longer you stay in the church life, the more knowledge you pick up, the more attributes, qualities, and qualifications you have, the harder this peculiarity within you becomes in resisting Christ. I’m afraid many of you can testify that today you do not live Christ as much as you did six years ago. According to your qualifications, qualities, and attributes you are much higher than six years ago, but concerning the living of Christ you are lower. Why? Because six years ago your peculiarity was not as strong as it is today. It was not as hidden and concealed as it is today. Today it is hidden within your qualifications and spiritual qualities. All of these things have become layers of the covering of this hidden thing—peculiarity. I hope that you would not take this merely as a doctrine. I hope this is a word which can penetrate into the very center of your peculiarity, penetrating through all the strong layers of qualifications and qualities. I must say a warning word because I know the peril. In a previous message I pointed out to you that some spiritual people have had a miserable ending to their life. By the time they died physically, they were also dead spiritually. They died with their peculiarity fully developed. This is my deep concern. As the church life is going on year after year, our peculiarity is becoming stronger and stronger and stronger. Eventually this very thing will confiscate all of us. This hidden factor within you that resists Christ makes you useless.
Why is there no building among Christians today? Apparently, it is because people have different doctrinal opinions. Apparently, it is because people interpret the Bible differently. Actually, the real dividing factor is the peculiarity. I contacted many spiritual giants in the past, and I never saw any two of them who would work together. Every spiritual giant stood by himself. Apparently, it was because they simply held different opinions and saw different things in the Bible. But if you check into the matter you could see that was not the real dividing factor. The real dividing factor was their peculiarity.
By the Lord’s mercy we have been preserved and held together by His grace, by the ground of oneness, and by the truth. We thank Him for this, yet we all have to admit that within us this hidden factor is still undermining and restricting us from living Christ. We don’t live Christ today as much as we should. Also we have to recognize that we do not have much building. We have very much togetherness but not that much building. We may have even an overcoming situation and an appearance of being holy and spiritual, but we don’t have much of the real building up of the Body. What is the undermining factor? Peculiarity! This is the thing that eats us up from within and frustrates the living of Christ and the building of the Body. It is biting, eating, and undermining secretly. Without your awareness it is there working all the time. I hope this kind of heart-to-heart word could really open your eyes, not to see others, but to see yourself. You need to see that the reason you don’t live Christ so much and you’re not built up so much is your peculiarity.
Christ is unique and Christ is common. Christ could never be peculiar. And the Body is one. For nearly one-half century both in speaking and in writing I have fought against all kinds of divisions. But now I realize that the real dividing factor within us is our peculiarity. This is the root of all the outward division. We are here keeping the ground of genuine oneness, yet within us there is a factor keeping us from being built up. What is the reason you are not built up? It is nothing but your peculiarity. Your peculiarity is the hidden factor that is within you all the day eating you up and all the day resisting Christ and all the day restricting you from living Christ. It is all the time keeping you from being built up. Don’t blame anything else or anyone else; the problem is the peculiarity. With the young ones this is the problem, and with the older ones it is even more of a problem. The older you are, the more peculiarity you have. It is really risky to be in the church for a long time and not live Christ and not be built up. The light you have seen has been keeping you here and will not allow you to take another way. You have to stay here. But if you don’t live Christ the longer you stay here, the more peculiarity grows. Eventually this hidden thing will confiscate you. In the early days of your church life you were useful, but in the latter days of your church life you just become useless.
This is the problem, but what is the treatment? I’m sorry, but I don’t have the treatment. Only the Lord Himself has the treatment. You must go to Him and put all your blame upon your peculiarity. Learn to condemn your peculiarity. Only the Lord knows when the treatment will come. But you have to pray, “Lord, have mercy upon me. I don’t like to stay in the church life until I become forfeited.” There is the danger that this could happen. Go to the Lord and let the Lord say something and let the Lord do something. Only the Lord can deal with the peculiarity.