Watchman Nee

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The Believer's Ultimate Attitude Toward The Flesh
      GOD'S VIEW OF THE FLESH WE CHRISTIANS NEED to be reminded once again of God's judgment upon the flesh. "The flesh," says the Lord Jesus, "is of no avail" (John 6.63). Whether it be the sin of the flesh or the righteousness of the flesh, it is futile. That which is born of the flesh, whatever it may be, is flesh, and can never be "unfleshed." Whe ...read

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
      WHAT is the normal Christian life? We do well at the outset to ponder this question. The Object of these studies is to show that it is something very different from the life of the average Christian. Indeed a consideration of the written Word of God--of the Sermon on the Mount for example-should lead us to ask whether such a life has ever in fact b ...read

The Christian and Psychic Force
      We have already seen how Adam was endued with unusual and astonishing abilities when he was created God. These seemingly miraculous powers fell together with Adam. People who are ignorant tend to think that at his fall Adam lost all of his wonderful powers. But the evidences produced by modern parachology indicate that Adam had not lost his origina ...read

THE COMMITTED LIFE
      THROUGH the period from Adam to Abraham God spoke to men. We are not told, however, that He appeared to them. His first appearance was to Abraham in Mesopotamia (Acts 7. 2). God was there laying claim to a man. This was a fresh move on His part; and here in Canaan is another. In the Flood God had judged the whole world; He had not touched and claim ...read

THE COVENANT OF GRACE
      One striking feature marks the thirteen years that followed Ishmael's birth. Throughout them all God did not speak to Abraham. His record is empty. What we have done on our own, God leaves us to get on with; He does not speak. But when Abraham was 'dead'-dry and old, and could no longer have a son if he wanted one - then, God spoke to him. The ...read

The Cross and the Holy Spirit
      MANY, IF NOT MOST, believers were not filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment they believed the Lord. What is even worse, after many years of believing they continue to be entangled by sin and remain carnal Christians. In these pages which follow, what we intend to explain regarding how a Christian may be set free from his flesh is based upon the ...read

The Cross and the Soul
      THE CALL OF THE CROSS ON AT LEAST FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS and recorded in the four Gospels the Lord Jesus called His disciples to deny their soul life, deliver it to death, and then to follow Him. The Lord fully recognizes that this is the sine qua non for any believer who desires to follow Him and to be perfect like Him in serving men and in ob ...read

THE CROSS OF CHRIST
      We have seen that Romans 1 to 8 falls into two sections, in the first of which we are shown that the Blood deals with what we have done, while in the second we shall see that the Cross* deals with what we are. We need the Blood for forgiveness; we need also the Cross for deliverance. We have dealt briefly above with the first of these two and we sh ...read

The Dangers of Soulish Life
      THE MANIFESTATIONS OF SOUL LIFE THE MANIFESTATIONS OF SOUL life can be separated generally into four divisions: natural strength; self -conceit, hard and unyielding towards God; self-styled wisdom with many opinions and plans; and emotional sensation sought in spiritual experiences. These are due to the fact that the life of the soul is self, wh ...read

THE DIVIDE OF THE CROSS
      The kingdom of this world is not the kingdom of God. God had in His heart a world-system- a universe of His creatingwhich should be headed up in Christ His Son (Col. 1. 16, 17). But Satan, working through man's flesh, has set up instead a rival system known in Scripture as "this world "-a system in which we are involved and which he himself dominat ...read

THE DIVINE WOUNDING
      Issac's life was peaceful, with no strivings. Jacob's way was Issac's long struggle throughout. For Isaac everything went easily; Jacob found even the simplest things presenting difficulties. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, all three; so we cannot have Isaac without Jacob, nor, praise God, Jacob without Isaac. We ourselves are in th ...read

THE ETERNAL PURPOSE
      We have spoken of the need of revelation, of faith and of consecration, if we are to live the normal Christian life. But unless we see the end God has in view we shall never clearly understand why these steps are necessary to lead us to that end. Before therefore we consider further the question of inward experience, let us first look at the great ...read

The Experience of Soulish Believers
      THE LIFE OF SOULISH BELIEVERS THE SOUL VARIES inevitably from person to person. It cannot be stereotyped. Each of us has his particular individuality--a uniqueness which will extend on into eternity. It is not destroyed at our regeneration. Otherwise, in the eternity to come life will be most colorless indeed! Now since there is this variation i ...read

The Experience of Soulish Believers
      THE LIFE OF SOULISH BELIEVERS THE SOUL VARIES inevitably from person to person. It cannot be stereotyped. Each of us has his particular individuality--a uniqueness which will extend on into eternity. It is not destroyed at our regeneration. Otherwise, in the eternity to come life will be most colorless indeed! Now since there is this variation i ...read

THE FACE OF GOD
      There is one very striking peculiarity about the history of Jacob, namely, that God never preached to him, He only gave him promises. Jacob was a man who stuck at nothing to accomplish his ends. What should we do with such a man? Surely at least we should exhort him a little, preach to him about his failings. Yet from beginning to end, God never ...read

The Fall of Man
      THE: MAN GOD fashioned was notably different from all other created beings. Man possessed a spirit similar to that of the angels and at the same time had a soul resembling that of the lower animals. When God created rnan He gave him a perfect freedom. He did not make man an automaton, con trolled automatically by His will. This is ev ...read

The Flesh and Salvation
      THE WORD "FLESH" is basar in Hebrew and sarx in Greek. Seen often in the Bible, it is used in various ways. Its most significant usage, observed and made most clear in Pauls writings, has reference to the unregenerated person. Speak ing of his old "I" he says in Romans 7: "I am fleshly" (v.14 Darby). Not merely his nature or a partic ...read

The Fleshly or Carnal Believer
      ALL BELIEVERS could, like Paul, be filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment of belief and baptism (cf. Acts 9.17-18). Unfortunately many still are controlled by the flesh as though not dead and raised up again. These have not truly believed in the accomplished fact of Christ's death and resurrection for them, nor have they sincerely acted upon the ...read

THE GIFTS, OR THE GIVER?
      ABRAHAM had learned that God is Father. This it was that made possible his prayer for Abimelech's household. He knew that neither their troubles nor Sarah's hindered God in the least. He knew that ultimately fruitfulness depended neither on them nor on himself. It was God's gift. He could not have prayed for the people of Gerar if he had still been ...read