To love the Lord with the first love is to give Christ the first place in everything, and this means that we need to give Christ the first place in our work and in our speaking. Even in working for the Lord, we may do something out of ourselves and with a hidden motive to gain some glory for ourselves.
We need the Lord to purify our heart and our intentions so that the goal of our work would be Christ. Many people say they do great works for God – but they may have their own agenda, their own interest, desiring to make a name for themselves. In our service to God and in our speaking, Christ must be the first – He must have the preeminence!
Christ is the first in our work for God
“God’s work from eternity to eternity has always been with the view that His Son would have the first place in all things. Therefore, our work should also be for Christ.” (W. Nee, Collected Works)
The success of our work in the eyes of God depends on how much Christ is in it, and how much Christ gains the glory and is being expressed. As long as God gains something, we should rejoice – even if it is not through our hands, we should rejoice. In doing things for God we should give Christ the first place, seeking His glory, ministering Him, and giving Him the preeminence. The result is that the work is Christ’s, not ours.
Christ is the first in our speaking
In our speaking to others and in our speaking for the Lord, Christ should have the first place. Paul said in 1 Cor. 2:2, “For I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified”, and in 2 Cor. 4:5 he said, “we preach… Christ Jesus as Lord.”
Our message should be Christ, and we should take the cross whenever we speak something for the Lord. The cross is God’s way to deal with everything and to eliminate anything of the flesh so that Christ might have the first place in us. Our central message is nothing else but Christ – Christ is the center and Christ is the goal!
Giving the Lord the first place in everything
Our human life is complicated, complex, and even complicating. The more we grow in the human life, the more complex our life becomes. There are so many aspects of our life and our living, and our person becomes very complicated and also very involved with a lot of things. This is why there are many ways – not just one way – to give the Lord the first place so that we would love Him with our first love.
Note: I have to say it again and again, these practical points below – though they come from the Word of God – are not “my own invention” or “my own discovery”; they are from the ministry of brother Nee and Lee, and they are for the building up of the Body!
- For us to love the Lord with the first love we need to take Him as our centrality (our holding center) and our universality (our everything). We need to take Christ as the center, the content, and the circumference of our personal universe (see Col. 1:17-18). Christ is the holding center of the universe – but what about our own personal universe? Is Christ the center?
- Giving the first place to the Lord in all things means to aspire and to determine to gain the honor of being pleasing to the Lord in all things. We are determined – whether at home or abroad – to gain the honor of being well pleasing to the Lord (2 Cor. 5:9), to walk worthily of the Lord and to please Him in all things (Col. 1:10). Just like Enoch, we want to obtain the testimony that we are pleasing to Him (Heb. 11:5-6).
- We need to give the Lord the preeminence by having a clear sky between us and the Lord (see Ezek. 1:22, 26). The sky between us and the Lord needs to be clear like “awesome crystal” so that we may see the Lord’s throne – nothing needs to be between us and the Lord, so that we would be filled with the heavenly atmosphere, condition, and situation of His ruling presence. We need to allow the Lord to rule in us in such a way.
- To love the Lord with our first love is to hold Him as the Head (Col. 2:19). This practically means that we need to stay intimately connected to the Lord, take Him as the Head (not deciding things in and for ourselves), and we need to enthrone Christ as the Ruler and the Decider of everything in our life.
- To give the Lord the first place in our life means that we ask for the Lord’s counsel in all the details of our Christian life and our Christian work. In Joshua 9:14 we see that we can take others’ advice or opinions without asking for the counsel of Jehovah, and this offends God and ends miserably. In everything we need to let our requests be made known to God, and His peace will guard our hearts (Phil. 4:6-7).
- Loving the Lord with the first love is giving the flow of life the preeminence in all that we are and do (see Ezek. 47:1 and Rev. 22:1-2). The flow of the Lord Jesus as the Spirit is within us, and we need to give the flow the preeminence in everything we are and do. If we give the flow the first place, the Lord shines on us, He redeems us, He reigns in us, He flows in us, and He supplies us within!
- Giving the Lord the preeminence in us means being dominated, governed, directed, led, and moved by our mingled spirit. We are not governed by the environment; we are not directed by the situations; we are not led by our others to do and say things – we need to care for the rest in our spirit (2 Cor. 2:13-14) and allow the Lord to make us His captives, to defeat us, and never let us win.
- Ultimately, to love the Lord with our best love is to enthrone Him with our praises! The highest work we as God’s children can do for God is to praise the Lord – He is enthroned upon the praises of His people (see Psa. 22:3; 119:164; 34:1). When we praise the Lord, we enthrone Him and we give Him the first place in everything. He is the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Lord Jesus, have the first place in us. In all our work, Lord, You be the source, the means, the purpose, and the goal. In all our speaking for You, Lord, may Christ be the center and everything! Lord Jesus, keep us intimately connected to You and holding You as the Head to give You the first place! May there be nothing between us and You, so that we would be under Your throne, having Your ruling presence in us. Praise the Lord!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee (vol. 11), and the outline for this week, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Taking the Lead as Elders and Responsible Ones, week 1.
- Recommended reading: Giving Christ the First Place, and, Overcoming the Loss of the First Love;
- Hymns on this topic:
# Jesus Lord, You’re our first love; / You’re the One we love the best.
# Nothing between, Lord, nothing between; / Let me Thy glory see,
# Sing aloud your praises to the Lord of all. - Picture source: nature wallpaper.
