Deep Calls unto Deep: Sending Roots into Christ and having Deep Experiences of Him

The kingdom life – the life and living of the kingdom of God – is a life that can take root downward and bear fruit upward; deep calls unto deep, so Christ needs to take root down in our heart, and we need to take root deep in Christ as the all-inclusive Christ.

When the Lord Jesus came into our heart, He sowed Himself as the seed of life; our heart is the soil into which He sowed Himself, so our heart needs to be the proper soil for the Lord to grow into.

On the other hand, we as living plants in Christ have been planted into Him, and we need to take root deep in the soil of the all-inclusive Christ as the good land. Our heart needs to be dealt with to be free of rocks (hidden sins, lusts, and desires) and thorns (the anxieties of this life) for the Lord as the seed of life to grow in our heart and bear fruit.

May we cooperate with the Lord to deal with anything that hinders the growth of the seed of life, so that the Lord may take root deep down in our heart, and we would send root downward and bear fruit upward.

We need to develop a strong root system underneath the ground; there has to be much more hidden times with the Lord and transactions with Him than what others can see outwardly.

We need to have a hidden life with the Lord, sending roots deep down into the all-inclusive Christ and allowing Him to make His home in our heart.

One person who had deep experiences of Christ was the Apostle Paul; he was a pattern to us all, and he testified in 2 Cor. 12 how he had marvellous and high experiences of God, but he never talked about these experiences to anyone.

Yes, he did admit he had such experiences, but he never told us what were these experiences and what the Lord told him during this time.

We need to have deep experiences of Christ, and we need to keep these experiences hidden; we cannot “expose our roots” with the Lord before men, but rather, we need to have much rich, deep, and hidden spiritual life and experiences with God yet without telling others about it.

The Lord may tell us to share some of these experiences with some saints because of their need; however, if we boast of our experiences of Christ, we lose the depth of these riches.

Only when we have deep experiences of Christ and do not boast about them can we live in the reality of “deep calls unto deep”, for we can share things concerning Christ from the depths of our being to touch others in the depths of their being.

Sending Roots Deep Down in Christ in our Hidden Life with Him to Grow with the Growth of God

Psa. 42:7 says, “Deep calls unto deep”; the only way others can respond deep within to what issues from within us is if we deal with our heart so that it may be the proper ground for the Lord to be rooted there, and if we send roots deep down in Christ.

Anything that is not from the depths will never reach the depths of others; we need to experience Christ as the deep things of God in the depths of our being.

The kingdom life is a life in the depths, a life that can take root downward and bear fruit upward (see Isa. 37:31; Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20). For us to have the growth upward we first need to take root downward.

On the one hand, we need to allow Christ as the seed of life to take root deep in the soil of our heart as the good earth (Matt. 13:23), for He has been sown into us as the kingdom seed.

On the other hand we, as living plants in Christ, need to take root deep in the soil of the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land (Col. 2:6-7).

What does it mean for our heart to be the good earth for the seed to grow in us? The good earth signifies the good heart that is not hardened by worldly traffic, that is without hidden sins, and that is without the anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches.

For our heart to be the good earth we need to daily allow the Lord to deal with these things in our heart so that we can grow with the growth of God (Col. 2:19).

Because we have been planted in Christ as the reality of the good land, we need to take time to absorb Him; especially in our times with Him in the morning, we need to send our roots deep down into Him, take time to behold Him, and take time to absorb Him.

In Matt. 13:4-8, 18-23 the Lord spoke and interpreted the parable of the sower; while the sower sowed, some seeds fell beside the way, some on rocky places, some into the thorns, and some into the good earth, showing us the four different ways for man to receive the word.

Among these different conditions, one is the rocky places; there’s a little earth on the surface, but underneath there are rocks, so when the seed falls into this kind of ground, it springs quickly, but as soon as the sun comes out, it withers because of the lack of root.

A root is the growth that occurs beneath the soil, and leaves is part of the growth that occurs above the soil. In other words, for us to have roots deep in Christ we need to have a hidden life, and for us to have leaves means we manifest the life within.

The trouble with many Christians is that, while there’s much apparent life, there is very little secret life, because there is a lack of hidden life.

If all our spiritual experiences are manifested and we speak of them to others, then all our growth is upward, and there’s no downward growth; if this is the case, we are persons who only has leaves with no root, and we are on shallow ground.

The Christian who parades all his virtues and experiences before men and who doesn’t have anything in the depth of his being has no root; such a one won’t be able to stand in the day of trial and temptation.

May God work in us so that we can take root downward. May we cooperate with the Lord to send roots deep down in Christ in our hidden life and experience with Him, so that we may grow with the growth of God!

Lord Jesus, we want to send roots down in Christ in our hidden life and experience with Him. May we be those who have much growth “beneath the soil” by sending roots deep down in Christ to absorb Him and grow with the growth of God. Oh Lord, we give You our heart; deal with our heart so that it may be a good soil for the kingdom seed to grow in us. May our heart be freed from worldly traffic, hidden sins, self-seeking, self-interest, and self-pity. Amen, Lord, make our heart the good ground for You to grow in us. May we take root downward in Christ and grow upward with the growth of God!

We need Deep Experiences of Christ by Sending Secret and Hidden Roots in Christ, Deep Calls unto Deep

We need deep experiences of Christ like that of the apostle Paul, as he testified in 2 Cor. 12:1-4. He said that he knew a man in Christ fourteen years ago, whether in the body or outside the body – he didn’t know but God knows – who was caught to the third heavens and to Paradise.

Paul paid a visit in his experience to Paradise and to the third heavens, and here he heard unspeakable words, which are not allowed for a man to speak.

Yet Paul kept this experience secret for fourteen years, and he didn’t tell anyone about it. His roots were deep beneath the soil; even when he testified of his experience, he didn’t say what were these things that the Lord told him.

If we want to have Paul’s work, we need to have his “root”; if we want to have Paul’s outward conduct, we need to have his inner life; if we want to have Paul’s manifest power, we need to have Paul’s secret experience.

This doesn’t mean that we should not testify of what we experience of Christ, but we must realise that many experiences need to be hidden; we need deep experiences of Christ by sending secret and hidden roots in Christ, and when we speak to others, we speak Christ Jesus as Lord (2 Cor. 4:5).

To be without root is to be without any hidden treasure, to be without any hidden life or hidden experiences; it is essential that some of our experiences of Christ and with the Lord remain covered, for if we uncover everything, we lose everything.

Whatever king Hezekiah uncovered before the messengers from the king of Babylon, he also lost (see Isa. 39:2-8).

Whatever secrets we have with the Lord must be preserved; we should not be eager to tell others our deep experiences of Christ but rather, only if He moves within us to reveal something, then we should dare to reveal it.

In the Body in the fellowship the Lord may want us to share some experience with a brother, so we should not withhold it, for that would be violating a law of the members of the Body of Christ – the law of fellowship.

In the Body of Christ there’s a flow of life among the members; we need to learn the need for safeguarding the hidden part we have before the Lord, the experiences of Christ that are not known to others.

If our life has no depth, our superficial work will only affect others superficially; only “deep calls unto deep”.

But if we have deep experiences of Christ by sending secret and hidden roots in Him, what we share with others will be “deep calls unto deep”, for our deep experiences will speak to the depth of others’ being.

A pure and beautiful spiritual life is derived from inward, hidden, and uninterrupted fellowship with God. If we send forth roots “like the trees of Lebanon”, we will “bud like the lily” (see Hosea 14:5); such a life is capable of bearing much fruit (vv. 5-7).

The trees of Lebanon are majestic, sending roots deep into the soil; but what comes out is budding like a lily, which signifies having a pure life of trusting in God in the midst of an intermixed and complicated situation.

In order for us to live a life in the depths, it is necessary to have direct and intimate fellowship with the Lord; as Song of Songs 4:12 says, we need to be like a garden enclosed, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed for the Lord’s private enjoyment.

As His loving seekers, we become a garden for Christ’s private satisfaction, and what we have is all for our Beloved’s delight and for no one else.

If today’s believers would close up a little more and seal up tighter, their work would become more prevailing.

May the Lord grant us grace and may He do a deeper work in us through the cross so that we may strike deep roots and live a hidden life in the depths to fulfill God’s requirements and satisfy His heart!

May we have deep experiences of Christ by sending secret and hidden roots in Him until “deep calls unto deep”!

Dear Lord Jesus, we love You, we open to You, and we want to strike deep roots into Christ to live a hidden life in the depths of Christ so that Your heart’s desire may be satisfied! May we be saved from merely having an outward living for others to see; may we send roots in Christ in secret in our fellowship with Him so that we may live in the depths of Christ and experience “deep calls unto deep”. Amen, Lord, may our inward, hidden, and uninterrupted fellowship with God result in a pure and beautiful spiritual life with God and before men. Grant us grace and do a deeper work in us through the cross so that we may strike deep roots and live a hidden life in the depths to fulfill God’s requirements and satisfy His heart!

Read this article in Romanian – puteți citi acest articol în limba română aici – Adâncul cheamă adânc: să prindem rădăcini în Cristos și să avem experiențe profunde cu El.

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 37, ch. 7, “Deep Calls unto Deep”, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Development of the Kingdom of God in the Church Life and the Christian Life (2019 spring ITERO), week 2, Living the Kingdom Life by Living a Hidden Life.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Touching deeply, richly I / Of Himself experience, / Thus the law of life I touch / And His clear anointing sense. (Hymns #769)
  # Lord, I treasure the sweet flow of life, / And my soul-life at last I lay down; / O Lord, deepen the pure flow of life; / At Your coming may life be my crown. (Hymns #1191)
  # Yes, Lord, impress our heart / That we must take You in each day; / The seed will have its way; / Your growing brings the kingdom here to stay— / Lord Jesus, grow in us. (Hymns #1132)