Amazing Grace (7 page)

In 1929 I was in Foochow. Where I lived was about a
two-hours
’ boat ride from the city. At that time we had among
us a sister in the Lord who had a serious eye disease. So she had gone to Foochow
for treatment. The doctor there told her that her eye was in such serious condition
that even after her recovery she would need to wear glasses. The doctor agreed
to treat her eye on a daily basis and would soon provide a pair of glasses for
her.

Soon after this she heard me speak on faith. She
believed, and she also prayed before God, saying: “My eye problem is very
serious. I will need to go to Foochow every day hereafter for treatment. And even
after I am recovered, I will have to wear glasses for life. Not only will this
cost money, it will also be time-consuming.” So she asked God for His healing.
After she prayed she believed that God had healed her eye. So her heart was at
peace and joyful.

However, she had already set up the next appointment with
the doctor. What should she do now? A Christian should not violate an
appointment
and
 
a
person was obviously not going to be able to sell one’s prescription glasses to
others. So she went anyway. The doctor applied medicine to her eye and supplied
the glasses to her. As she was returning on the steamer she thought in her
heart that since she had believed in God’s promise and God had already healed
her eyes, what—she asked herself— should she do with the glasses and the
medicine? In her mind came the thought that she would take the glasses and the
medicine home and observe the situation regarding her eyes for a few days. In
case she was not healed she could yet use them. But there came a counter voice
within her, saying: “Have you believed that God has already healed you?” “I do
indeed believe. What, then, can these things do for me?” But Satan said to her:
“You should not take action too quickly. You have already spent quite a lot of
money.” Now she knew it was Satan’s voice. So she began to praise God and threw
the medicine and the glasses into the river. She was full of joy. She would
later testify that she had never been
so
happy as she was
at that moment. A week later her eyes were as well as anybody else’s. One day,
during the church assembly, she stood up and testified regarding her
experience.

A few days afterwards I heard another story. A Christian brother’s
eyes had a problem. He went to the same doctor whom the sister had consulted.
The doctor gave him medicine as well as spectacles. On that very day he had
listened to the testimony of that sister. So, on his way back on the steamer,
he told himself that since God had healed her, He could and would heal him too.
“She had believed
God,
I have also believed God, who
is not partial. He certainly can heal me.” So with this kind of faith, he cast
the medicine and the spectacles into the river. Upon his return he told his
story to our brother Faithful Luke, stating that God would heal him.

One day shortly after this,
brother
Luke came to me and told me how the faith of such and such a brother had
greatly improved. When I heard it, I said: “That sister’s eye disease has really
been healed, but I dare not guarantee this brother’s healing.” Brother Luke
asked why. I replied that he had better take that brother to the doctor. Brother
Luke thought that I was being too hard on him. But I said to him that it was
because that brother did not have faith. Brother Luke said to me: “But he threw
away those things that were worth more than twenty dollars, and he also stopped
visiting the doctor. Are not these indications of faith?”

It so happened, however, that four weeks later the eyes
of that brother had gotten worse. So he came to see me and asked me why God had
healed that sister but not him. I told him that he had thrown away those things
for his eyes too quickly, for he had not had faith. But he replied, “I do
believe that God is able to heal me. Also God wants me to go to Kodiem to
preach the gospel, and at my return He without doubt will heal me.” So I told
him to come see me after his return. Yet when he came back from Kodiem he was still
not healed. I need to report that from 1929 up till today 1937 he has needed to
wear a high-degree pair of spectacles and is still visiting the doctor. Why is this
so? It is due to his lack of true faith.

Living faith
is not believing
that God
will
heal me; rather, it is believing
that God has already heard my prayer. Whenever you believe that God has already
heard you, your prayer has already been answered. That brother with the eye
problem had believed from the first day that God
would
heal him, but that was of no effect. The Bible tells us of
only one kind of faith: believe that you have received whatever things you have
prayed and asked for and you shall have them. To believe that things asked for of
God will or shall or can, comes from ourselves. Let us realize that, in this
particular context, such words as “shall,” “will,” “able” and “can” are inappropriate,
even negative, words. Living faith has nothing to do with such words. The words
conveying living faith are “has been,” “is” and “already.” Hence, whatever is
related to Christ, let us see that just as you believed and were saved, so now
you believe and you are victorious; for all the riches of Christ—whether the
baptism in the Holy Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit, the healing of
sickness, and all other blessings from above—are all yours.

Whenever you have God’s word and you lay hold of it,
believing that this word is yours, then that word belongs to you. Faith without
God’s word is false faith: it is useless and has no effect. Faith must have the
word of God. Romans 8:2 and 6:6a are two of God’s words. If we lay hold of God’s
words and believe them we shall already have the benefit of them.

The Lord Jesus said, “All things whatsoever you pray and
ask for.” How inclusive is this word? It includes everything: all the promises
of God, all His abundant blessings, and all His accomplished facts. So simply believe
that you have received them and you shall have them. May God give us light and
cause us to know what living faith is. With such faith, all our difficult
problems are solved. This, then, is the first lesson we must learn, and such
shall be useful throughout our entire Christian life. May God bless
us.
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“And he said to them, Verily I say unto you, There are some
here of them that stand by, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see
the kingdom of God come with power. And after six days Jesus taketh with Him
Peter, and James, and John, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart by
themselves: and he was transfigured before them; and his garments became
glistering, exceeding white, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them. And there
appeared unto them Elijah with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And
Peter answereth and saith to Jesus,
Rabbi,
it is good
for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for
Moses, and one for Elijah.
For he knew not what to answer;
for they became sore afraid.
And there came a cloud overshadowing them:
and there came a voice out of the cloud,
This
is my
beloved Son: hear ye him. And suddenly looking round about, they saw no one
anymore, save Jesus only with themselves” (Mark 9:1-8).

We are all quite familiar with this passage of Scripture.
In the days of His sojourning on earth the Lord Jesus was clothed with flesh.
He is the Son of God, and He now becomes the Christ of God—that is, the
Anointed of God sent to earth on a mission. How can we explain this? As to His
person He is the only begotten Son of God; and according to His work He is also
the Christ of God. Matthew 16 tells us that He is both the Son of God as well
as the Christ of God (v. 16), for the Son of God alone can be the Christ of
God. He originally is the Son of the living God, full of glory, position and
authority. But when the Word became flesh (John 1:14a), He came to the world as
it were in disguise; and in His flesh people could not see Him as the Son of
God. They only saw Him as a sibling to his half-brothers in the flesh named Simon,
Judas, Joses and James (Mark 6:3). Furthermore, John the Baptizer was His flesh-and-blood
cousin. So people could only see Jesus in the flesh and thus they could never
understand the other reality which lay behind His flesh. Men knew Him only as
Jesus of Nazareth and even questioned whether anything good could come out of
Nazareth (John 1:46a). Therefore, unless people receive revelation of the Holy
Spirit, they cannot more fully see Jesus.

Who is Jesus? He is the Son of God in disguise. What, in
this context, does disguise mean? It means taking upon oneself another fashion or
appearance than what one originally is. The Word becoming flesh was a disguise
of the Son God. By taking on flesh, God the Son disguised himself. Hence,
people saw the disguising flesh and did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God.
People could see Him, touch Him, hear Him, eat with Him, and even preach and
cast out demons with Him; yet they could not recognize Him as the Christ. They
even could call Jesus, Rabbi, as in the case of the rich young ruler and the
religious teacher Nicodemus (Matthew 19:16-22, John 3:1-12). They could witness
His personal relationship with God, yet they could not discern who Jesus really
is.

Moreover, when Jesus asked His disciples who did men say
that He was, they answered that some said Elijah, others said Jeremiah (Matthew
16:14). Why did they not say He was Daniel or Zechariah? Most likely it was because
among all the Old Testament prophets, there was no one stronger than Elijah: how
he had condemned all who opposed God: how he had battled with the ungodly prophets
of Baal and overcame them all (I Kings 18:16-40). How about Jeremiah? He was a
most tender person whom people called the weeping prophet, for whenever he
confronted situations beyond his power to cope he cried.

So on the one hand, people said that Jesus was Elijah,
for He hated sins so strongly; but on the other hand, other people saw Him weep
for sinners, the poor, and Jerusalem—and so they said Jesus was Jeremiah.
Though they seemed to know Him as the One who was better than the rest, yet all
they could recognize Him to be was a prophet like Elijah or Jeremiah. Men knew
only the outward appearance, they having seen Jesus’ relatives, His daily work,
and something of His human character; nevertheless, they did not in the least recognize
Jesus for who He truly is.

There came a day, however, that Jesus took Peter, James
and John up a mountain and there He was transfigured before them: His garments
became white and His countenance shone as the sun. What did this mountain-top
experience signify for these disciples? It was Jesus revealing His original
self to these men. He at this moment was divesting himself of that outward
disguise which had prevented people from recognizing His true nature. Moreover,
when Jesus was transfigured atop the mountain, He was not changed into what He
was not but was changed into what He originally is. Thus people could recognize
Him as He really is—the eternal Son of God.

The Bible tells us that the church is built on what Jesus
termed “this rock” (Matthew 16:18). The Roman Catholic Church considers Peter to
be the rock of that phrase of the Lord’s. Actually it is a misreading of
Scripture, for in the relevant Bible passage the word “Peter” in the original
Greek means “stone” or “a small stone.” And thus Jesus had said to Peter, “You are
a stone, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Can we therefore see that
the church is not built upon Peter but upon “this rock”?

Now what is the meaning of “this rock”? People, in
recognizing Jesus as the Christ and as the Son of the living God—thus
signifying both the work and the person of Jesus, have rightly concluded that
this very affirmation is the rock. Hence, “this rock” refers to the revealed
Christ. Knowing Jesus as both Christ and Son of the living God is not that
which has been revealed by men but is only revealed by the Father who is in
heaven (v. 17b).

All who only hear the Lord from men and merely know
something
about
Him are not
Christians. Whoever is not built on the rock are not in the church. Today
everybody may receive revelation. Knowing Jesus in His person and work does not
come from what men say of Him but must arise from a personal and direct
recognition of Him. Many who read the Bible or listen to sermons remain
unchanged because such activities are men’s work and not God’s. The work of God
is to reveal His Son. Each and every would-be Christian must himself receive
revelation from God; then he will know who Jesus truly is and with living faith
accept Him as Lord. In this way each person will have a relationship with God.
To know God and to know Jesus as the Lord is what a Christian is.

A person must not solely take notice of Jesus’ outward appearance
and thus classify Him as merely one among the ranks of the prophets Elijah and
Jeremiah. One needs to know Jesus in the depth of one’s heart. And it is this which
makes a person a Christian. All who have not ascended the mount of
transfiguration do not actually know the Lord Jesus. The problem today is in
people knowing only the outward appearance of Jesus but not the
inward
Man. People may have read or been
exposed to questions and answers concerning Christian truth, but they are still
ignorant of the Bible and of Jesus. Their knowledge of Him is merely outward
and is for the most part useless. He is to be known inwardly, that is to say, He
must live in a person. True Christians look through His outward appearance and
see His inward nature and character. Others may only observe the appearance,
but Jesus’ followers know His inside and thus have direct relationship with
Him. Here, then, lies the difference between Christians and the world: all
Christians will have ascended the mount of
transfiguration,
otherwise they will simply be traditional Christians or Christians in name
only. They do not know the inward Lord.

What is being a traditional Christian or a Christian only
in name? Let me use an illustration. Suppose there is a pastor’s son here who
reads the Bible morning and evening, prays, and is well acquainted with Bible
stories. Fifty-two weeks of every year he attends a church service. Moreover, he
is well acquainted with the teaching of Christianity and knows all his
pastor-father’s sermons. Nevertheless, he is not saved; indeed, he does not
know how to accept Jesus as his Savior and thus his way is that of a
traditional Christian. Whatever he has learned or acquired regarding Jesus has come
from men and not received directly from God.

But thank God, one day the illumination of the Holy Spirit
comes to this pastor’s son. He himself has now met the Lord Jesus and formed a
direct relationship with Him. He now truly knows the Lord. Such is the
difference between knowing Jesus inwardly or only outwardly. Sadly, many so-called
Christians only see the disguised Jesus and not His real self. But once they
receive revelation and perceive His true image, they will have come to truly
know Him.

Let me inquire,
How
do you know
Jesus? If you know Him in the very depth of your heart, you have died and risen
together with Him, and His victory is yours. Jesus Christ in you is a reality, an
actuality that is nothing vague or obscure. May I say frankly that whoever has
not the revelation of seeing Jesus as the Christ the Son of God is not a true
Christian.
He has no relationship with “the rock” and is thus
an outsider.

Jesus asked His disciples one day, “Who do men say that
the Son of man is?” We need to know the revealed Christ, and to believe and
receive Him with living faith. If so, that will show that the kingdom of God
has come to us. Without being born again no one can enter the kingdom of God,
but those who have received revelation on the mount have entered the kingdom.
Those who do not have revelation of the mount have not been born again, and
hence, they have no part in the kingdom.

Romains 14:17 tells us: “the kingdom of God is not eating
and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” All things
spiritual are in the Spirit. A person who has not received revelation from the
Holy Spirit with regard to knowing Jesus knows nothing of spiritual things. If
you commence talking to him of spiritual things, he will begin to develop a headache,
for all things shared with him mean nothing to him. He has not seen God, not known
Christ, and would never understand the things pertaining to God’s kingdom. He
may consider himself well-informed, yet all he knows is merely outward. So for him
the Lord Jesus is but a misunderstood personality. The problem today lies in
the fact that what the Christ is whom many children of God know is not
sufficient. Permit me to say
that
 
knowing
the true Christ does not come
from knowledge and words of a pastor or teacher; on the contrary, one must himself
receive light and revelation directly from God. This is the primary requirement
in a genuine Christianity.