dealing with our rebellion and our natural capability through the cross

Becoming a Christian is not an end in itself, rather, it is a beginning of a new life which is not according to our concept or our human disposition. This new life is all about taking care of the living Christ within us by turning to Him, fellowshipping with Him, and doing everything in oneness with Him.

There are many obstacles in the way of His life in us, and in this portion today two of them are mentioned – rebellion and our natural abilities and capabilities. We need to learn to cooperate with the inward operating Christ – it is God who operates in us both the willing and the working – so that we would be saved from rebellion and have our natural abilities pass through the cross.

Rebellion – the sin of disobeying the sense of Christ

What is rebellion? We may not be those who commit sins outwardly, so we think we are OK… but the sin that we commit the most frequently and which is also more severe/critical is not outward an visible but it is inward, the sin of disobeying the sense of Christ in us.

The Lord operates and moves in us to make us clear what His will is and what His present leading is for us. But if we don’t obey or cooperate with His moving and speaking within but rather go against the feeling He gives us within, this unwillingness and opposition is rebellion. We may do what we want to do, and it may still be “good”, but we will not have the way of life.

The Lord Jesus in us is a living Person, and He constantly is giving us an inward sense of life – the mind set on the spirit is life and peace (Rom. 8:6). We need to follow the inner anointing which teaches us everything (1 John 2:27).

But many times we choose to do something or go somewhere against the feeling within – the Lord may want us to stay home and spend more time with Him in His Word, but we want to go and visit someone. It’s not that we want to commit a sin – we want to visit a new one and fellowship. If we do not listen to the feeling from the Lord within, we act in rebellion and we don’t have the Lord’s presence with us.

The Lord Jesus is our real Boss

We need to realize that it is not us who is the boss but it is the Lord Jesus who is the real Boss in us. The Lord is the Head, He directs us as members of the Body, and we need to listen to Him, to His feeling within us. The Apostle Paul had no rest in his spirit because he didn’t find Titus; even though a door was opened to him in the Lord, he went another way (see 2 Cor. 2:12-14).

If we listen to the sense of life and peace in us, the Lord always leads us into triumph in the Christ! We are just captives in His triumphant procession, those who never stop celebrating Christ as the winner and the victor. Christ has conquered us, and we are His captives!

Our natural capability is a serious problem

In Christianity being a capable person or someone with the ability to speak, sing, play an instrument, or do something – is uplifted, promoted, and recognized. But in the church life in the Lord’s recovery we realize that, according to the revelation in the Bible and our experience, the problem of the natural capability and ability is serious.

If we are not dealt with by the cross in our natural capability, Christ has no way in us and He has no ground in our being. We may be capable and talented, able to do so much and speak so well, but if the Lord has not dealt with our natural capability, if we did not go through the cross, our capability is problem to God’s life and doesn’t allow us to be built up in the Body of Christ.

It’s not that the Lord doesn’t need people who are capable – He needs all kinds of people to use them for His glory; but unless these pass through the cross and let the cross break them and deal with their natural capability, they cannot be useful in the Lord’s hand. We shouldn’t treasure our natural capability but rather come to the Lord to be dealt with by Him.

May the Lord have mercy on us to shine on us that we may see that even such a good thing as our natural abilities and capabilities – if they are not dealt with by the cross – are obstacles to God’s life in us. We need to experience the breaking of the cross and allow these obstacles to be dealt with and removed, so that Christ’s life may be lived out of us!

The solution to the obstacles: the cross!

God gives us only One Person – Christ (not many things, gifts, matters, etc), and God has only one way – the cross. The only solution to all the obstacles in us – the obstacle of our human concepts, our hypocrisy, our rebellion, and our natural capabilities – is the cross of Christ. For Christ’s life to be unhindered in us, we need to experience the breaking of the cross and allow these obstacles to be dealt with and be removed.

The Lord said that if we want to follow Him we need to deny ourselves, take our cross, and follow Him (Matt. 16:24-25). The cross today is in the Spirit mingled with our spirit – whenever we turn to our spirit and exercise our spirit, the cross is being applied to us inwardly, and His life will flow!

Lord Jesus, have mercy on us and continue to shine on us and expose any obstacles to Your life. We want to cooperate the best we can with Your inward operating in us. Lord, keep us in our spirit today – keep us in the place where the cross is, so that the obstacles may be dealt with and removed, and Your life may flow. Lord, have a way in us. We don’t want to hinder Your life in us.

References and Further Reading

• Sharing inspired from, Knowing Life and the Church (pages 35-37, by Witness Lee),  as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Taking the Lead as Elders and Responsible Ones, week 2.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Dig away, dig away, dig away, / All self-seeking in my heart dig away!
  # Through the Cross, O Lord, I pray, / Put my soul-life all away; / Make me any price to pay, / Full anointing to receive.
  # I would cease completely / From my efforts vain, / Let Thy life transform me, / Full release to gain;