Since the Lord Jesus dealt with sin on the cross, is sin still in us today? Is sin alive or dead in us today? And how about the law of sin now? We all must admit that sin is still one of our biggest problems. Furthermore, the Lord also dealt with the old man on the cross, but is our old man truly dead? Hebrews 2:14 says that the Lord destroyed the devil through death. This is a fulfillment of the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 concerning bruising the serpent’s head. However, is the devil alive or dead today? It is true that these were all dealt with in the all-inclusive death of the Lord Jesus, but in our feelings and our practical experiences, sin still lives, the old man also still lives, and the devil lives even more.
On the surface, it seems that the Bible contradicts itself. On the one hand, Hebrews 2:14 says that the Lord Jesus partook of blood and flesh and destroyed Satan through His death on the cross. But Paul, who wrote Hebrews, also told us to beware of the devil lest we be taken advantage of by him, for we are not ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor. 2:11). In Ephesians 6:11 Paul also exhorted us to put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil. If Paul were here, perhaps someone would ask him how he could reconcile his words. Furthermore, at the end of the Bible, in Revelation 20:1-3, there is a strong angel coming with a great chain in his hand to lay hold of Satan, bind him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss. If Satan was already dead, why would there still be the need to bind him? And after one thousand years, he will then be released again to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth (vv. 7-8). That will be his final activity, in which he would deceive the nations on the earth to rebel against God for the last time. According to these records, has Satan, the devil, been dealt with?
We must realize that the revelations in the Bible always have two sides: one side is the fact and the other side is the fulfillment. Likewise, we need two kinds of seeing: one kind is the actual seeing and the other kind is the seeing by faith. The actual seeing is the seeing according to what we actually feel. According to this kind of seeing, Satan is not dead, our old man is not dead, and the sin in us is not dead. But according to the seeing by faith, that is, according to God’s view, all these items which we see as alive are already actually dead. This may be illustrated by the fact that although the Lord Jesus was crucified two thousand years ago, in God’s eyes He had already been crucified from the foundation of the world (13:8).
The reason that the Bible gives us revelations is to produce faith in us that we may have the seeing of faith. Faith is not something which we have naturally; faith is produced by seeing certain persons, things, and matters which we appreciate. For example, when you see a piece of clay, you do not treasure it in your heart and therefore you do not have faith in it; instead, you reject it. However, when you see a diamond, you appreciate it in your heart and thus faith is spontaneously produced. Thus, the book of Revelation shows us a treasure, and because we appreciate it, faith is produced in us. On the one hand, faith is not by sight; on the other hand, faith greatly requires seeing, that is, it requires revelation. The Bible is full of revelations, and even the last book is called Revelation, a book that reveals the treasures. Therefore, today when we read the Bible, we need to learn not only to read the dead letter but even more to see the revelations contained therein. Once we see the revelation, faith will spontaneously be produced in us. Once we have faith, we are living in the vision, and as a result, our old man, sin, and the devil will all be dead in our experience. However, if we do not live in the vision which Revelation has shown us, our old man, sin, and the devil will all be alive.
We must realize that all persons, things, and matters are false and that only God and His words are real. While we are living on the earth, we must believe only in God and in His words and not in the environment that we see. This means that we must believe in God’s view and not in our actual view. We have to declare: “It is a lie that Satan lives! It is a lie that sin lives! And it is a lie that our old man lives!” This is because, according to God’s view, actually all these items have already died. However, this requires us first to have a revelation, a vision, to see that they are all dead, and then to make the declaration in faith. Vision is the scene shown to us by God’s revelation; our faith is produced from the seeing of the vision. As a result, we acknowledge and experience what God has revealed to us.
Today we are here not just to study the doctrines in letter, nor are we here conducting a seminary. What we are doing is to dig out the treasures that are buried underneath the letter of the Bible and to show them to you for your realization. In God’s eyes all the negatives things in the universe have already died. Satan has died, sin has died, and our old man has died. These are accomplished facts in the eyes of God. Revelation is a book completely of prophecies. According to the nature of prophecies, the verbs used should be in the future tense. But the strange thing is that nearly all the verbs in Revelation are in the past tense, indicating that all the things referred to in the book have all been accomplished. This means that God sees all those things as things that have already been accomplished. Those who have the vision will say, “Amen!” Where are we today? If you see according to God’s view, you will say, “I am not in the city of Taipei; rather, I am in the holy city, New Jerusalem!” This is because in God’s eyes we are in the New Jerusalem now. However, when those who are without a vision read the book of Revelation, they think that it is still too early to enter into the New Jerusalem, since Paul and John have been waiting for two thousand years and have not yet entered. Therefore, they consider that the New Jerusalem is something that will take place a long time from now. Actually, in faith, we are already in the New Jerusalem.
Sin, Satan, and the old man are already dead! We should have this vision and declare in faith: “Already dead! Already dealt with!” The key is in what you believe. If you believe that it is dead, then it is dead; if you do not believe that it is dead, then it is not dead. The Bible is a covenant, including the old covenant and the new covenant. The fulfillment of a covenant is conditional. The condition for the old covenant is the law, whereas the condition for the new covenant is faith. This is why many places in the New Testament mention faith (Eph. 4:5, 13; 1 Tim. 1:4; Titus 1:4; 2 Pet. 1:1; Jude 3). But how can we have faith? In illustration, there are many jewelry stores in Hong Kong. When you go to visit any jewelry store, the owner will not only ask you verbally to buy the gems, but even more he will also display the gems before your eyes. Once you see them, you have faith. The entire Bible, especially the New Testament, is a revelation that shows us the facts according to God’s view. When you see it, you have faith.
Today many Christians have not seen these treasures, so they show people only “stones and clay.” Consequently, the more they preach, the more people do not believe. But when we preach, we need only fifteen minutes to get people saved. This is because we show them the treasures instead of speaking to them about such superficial matters as going to heaven or going to hell. When they see the treasures, they will believe and desire to receive salvation. The way to be saved is to repent (Matt. 4:17), to call (Rom. 10:13), and to believe into (John 1:12-13), which is to receive. When we receive, we obtain salvation. This is exactly our practice.
What is covered in this chapter is a great vision and a great deliverance. I hope that you all could see, receive, and enter into it. For example, concerning the truth about sin, you need to find all the verses in the New Testament that mention sin (singular) and then study them and pray over them, asking the Lord to give you the vision. Then you will realize that sin has already been crucified and it has been condemned by God. Then you will be able to thank and praise the Lord, and you will have faith. Likewise, concerning Satan, the world, and the old man, as you see each item, you receive it and obtain it. Then what you learn is real, thorough, and subjective.
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