Please turn again to Philippians 3:10.
That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed unto His death.
Dear Heavenly Father, as we gather together in the name of Thy beloved Son, we do look to Thee to reveal Thy Son afresh in us today.
We do praise and thank Thee because it is Thy good pleasure to reveal Thy Son to us. How much Thou dost desire to show us!
We pray that Thou wilt grant to us this morning the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we may know Him.
We pray that Thou wilt again create within us a longing, a passion, a desire for Thy Son. We pray that Thou wilt even enlarge our capacity for Him, that we may be filled with Him.
We do commit this time again into Thy hand. What man cannot do, we believe that Thou canst.
We pray that Thy will, Thy desire, for this hour may be accomplished. We give Thee all the glory.
In the name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thank God for gathering us together again this morning. Every time God’s people come together, it is an opportunity for us to receive from God more of His Son. So may our hearts really be open to Him, that we may be filled once more with Himself.
This morning, we will share together on the death of our Lord Jesus.
We mentioned yesterday morning that the death of our Lord is a great mystery. He Who is equal with God, and yet He emptied Himself. He took upon Himself the form of a bondslave, and being found in fashion as a man, He was obedient to His Father, even unto death—the death of the cross.
What love is behind this! We see the love of God the Father. He loved us so much that He was willing to spare not His only begotten Son. We see the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who condescended Himself to such a degree that He was willing to give Himself as a sacrifice for us sinners.
His death is different from all other deaths. Under the Romans, many people were crucified, but they died for their own sins. We remember even one of the robbers who was crucified with Christ. He confessed, “We receive the due reward of our deeds.”
Brothers and sisters, throughout the Christian centuries—especially in the early centuries—many believers were crucified for believing in the Lord Jesus. They died a martyr’s death. But our Lord’s death is not a martyr’s death.
His death is different; it is unique. There is only one death that is of this nature. It is the atoning death. He died that we may live.
Usually, we remember the date of our birth. We celebrate birthdays. But our Lord Jesus does not ask us to remember His birth. He asks us to remember His death.
Why? His life on earth was so perfect that, in a sense, His life is our condemnation. As we look at Him, we are ashamed of ourselves. He is the only One Who is worthy to see His Father’s face. We are not.
So if He had only come to live—only to demonstrate the perfect life that God requires—we would not be saved, but rather condemned. But thank God, He came to die.
You remember, on the last day, when He had that Passover feast with His disciples, He took the bread and gave it to His disciples, saying:
This is My body, which is broken for you.
Do this in remembrance of Me.
Afterwards, He took the cup, blessed the cup, and said:
Drink ye all of it.
This is the blood of the new covenant.
Do this in remembrance of Me.
It is the command of our Lord Jesus that we remember His death. Why is His death so memorable? Because His death is unique. His death is different from all other deaths.
Yesterday morning, we dealt with the fact of His death. This morning, we would like to go a step further—to see the meaning of His death.
The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, said:
I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
The Corinthians were famous for their intellect. Yet Paul made a decision: he would know nothing among these Corinthians except Jesus Christ and Him crucified, because this is what the Corinthians needed most. Only this could solve their problems.
We may think, “Jesus Christ and Him crucified—why has the cross become a sign of victory and glory?” Not because of the wood. It is because of the One Who was crucified on that cross. It is the Person Who makes the difference.
We do not worship the cross. We worship the One Who died on the cross. It is He Who gives meaning to the cross.
Thank God that the meaning of His death is manifold. In His death, He has accomplished so much. His death is all-inclusive, and we just look to the Lord that He would give us understanding and revelation, that we may see the depths of the meaning of His death.
Of course, we have to begin from the very beginning. We remember in Galatians 1:4: He died for our sins.
Brothers and sisters, until one day we are convicted of our sins, we will not appreciate His death. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. This was our condition.
But unfortunately, most of us in the beginning did not realize where we were. We thought much better of ourselves than we really were. Of course, very few people will say that they are sinless. Most people confess that they have sinned, but most people consider their sins to be very minor.
We compare ourselves with other people, thinking that we are so much better than most other people. I remember when I was young. I was brought up in a Christian family. I was educated in mission schools. At that time, on Sunday, the whole student body had to march to the church building to attend the meeting.
Even though I knew the gospel, I believed mentally that Jesus is the Saviour of the world. But I never had the thought that I needed to be saved.
I was not perfect, but I thought I was better than most people. What can a student do? In comparison with society, we were so much purer and better. So I always had the idea that others needed to be saved, but not me.
I knew all the truth about the gospel, and mentally I accepted Jesus as the Saviour. But I was too good for Him. I did not need Him.
Brothers and sisters, this shows how much we are in darkness. Not until, by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit begins to work upon our conscience—He began to touch my conscience—and then I suddenly realized, “I am the chief of sinners.”
I found that in me there is nothing good. From the top of my head to the bottom of my soul, I was full of sin.
I was at that time a teenager, but sometimes when I was alone, I would weep for my sins. I thought there was no hope. It was only during that period that I began to seek the Lord. I knew He was the Saviour. I realized, now I need Him.
Brothers and sisters, is that not our story? Thank God that He sought us. It is not we who sought after Him; it is He Who came to seek and to save the lost.
The Bible tells us that God has put all our sins upon Him. He bore in His body our sins. He is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.
So, brothers and sisters, the first meaning of His death is that by His death He atoned for our sins. Though our sins may be as scarlet, they shall be washed as white as snow.
When we trust the Lord Jesus, believing that He shed His blood for the remission of our sins, we receive the forgiveness of our sins. God can justly forgive us because He has already received His Son as our substitute.
I think this is something that we all understand. And how thankful we should be! But unfortunately, we forget. We forget what God has done for us in the death of Christ.
At the beginning, whenever we thought of the cross, whenever we thought of the death of our Lord Jesus for us, whenever we thought of His shed blood, our hearts were melted.
But how about today? Every time we come to the Lord’s table to remember His death, how do we come? Do we come with a cold heart, just recalling something of the past? Is it no longer a present experience? Has our first love grown cold?
Oh, how we need the Lord to restore our first love, that whenever His name is mentioned, whenever His death is remembered, He will once again melt our hearts, that we may prostrate ourselves before His love and thank Him for that.
That is the first meaning of His death: He died to save us from our sins.
But His death is much more than that. His death not only atones for our sins; His death delivers us from the world.
The apostle Paul says:
But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
That is Galatians 6:14. You remember the story of the children of Israel. All the people in Egypt were sentenced to death. On that night, when the angel of destruction passed through the land, he would enter every house and slay the firstborn.
But thank God, He made provision for the children of Israel. If any family of the Israelites did not believe in God’s provision, did not take the lamb and slay it, and did not put the blood upon the door, then their firstborn would also be slain.
But thank God, He provided the paschal lamb. Not only must the lamb be slain, but the blood had to be put on the doors. When the angel of destruction passed by, when he saw the blood, he would pass over.
The story was told that during that night, in one family of the Israelites, the firstborn was trembling. He asked his father, “Has the blood been put on the door?” Because if it had not, he would be slain that night.
That night, the children of Israel, believing in God’s provision, not only had the lamb slain, but the blood was on the door. And that night there was joy in the family. But in every family of the Egyptians, at midnight there was bitter crying for the firstborn.
Brothers and sisters, this is our story. Christ is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. But having the Lamb slain is not enough. You have to put the blood on the door. We have to receive the blood of the Lord Jesus into our hearts. Only then will the angel of destruction pass by.
But that is not the end. The children of Israel, after they had slain the lamb, had to eat the lamb to give them strength. They had to be prepared for the journey, because on that night God would lead them out of Egypt.
The Bible tells us that God did not lead them by the ordinary route from Egypt to Canaan. God did not lead them by the way of the Philistines, the land route. He led them around through the Red Sea, so that after they crossed the Red Sea, they had no way to return to Egypt.
God delivered them out of Egypt. You remember when God sent Moses to Pharaoh. God said:
Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
At first, Pharaoh said, “I do not know God.” Later, when the plagues began to come upon them, he said, “Okay, you can serve God, but do not leave here.” Moses said, “No. We have to go three days’ journey, totally separated from Egypt, and then we will serve God.”
The men, the women, the children, the cattle—everything had to go, because there can be no serving God in Egypt. There can be no worshipping God in Egypt.
The death of our Lord Jesus is so complete. We often think that His death only delivers us from the wages of sin, which is death. We ignore that His death separates us from the world.
You remember on the day of Pentecost, after Peter delivered that message of salvation, he declared that they had crucified the Lord, but God had raised Him up and anointed Him as Lord and Christ. Many were pricked in their hearts and asked, “What shall we do?”
Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, that you may receive the promise of the Father.” With many words he testified, “Be saved from this crooked generation.” Those who believed were baptized, and three thousand were baptized.
Now, brothers and sisters, why is it that we who believe in the Lord Jesus must be baptized? Is not believing enough? Believe, and you shall be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, and you shall have eternal life.
Then why is it that after you have believed, you must be baptized? What is the meaning of baptism? Baptism is to be saved through water from the world.
The blood saves us from our sins. No amount of water can cleanse. Then why should we be baptized? Because by baptism, we act out what Christ has done for us.
We believe that in His death, we died. We died to the world. We are buried, so far as the world is concerned, and then we come out of the water in newness of life.
In baptism, we declare that we no longer belong to the world.
You know, in many heathen countries, you may believe in the Lord Jesus, but if you are not baptized, you will not be persecuted. But once you are baptized, then you become an outcast. Why is it so? Because they know that if you are baptized, you are separated from the world.
You no longer belong to the world. You belong to Christ.
Brothers and sisters, it is the death of our Lord Jesus that separates us from the world.
The world is a system—a system organized by Satan, the adversary of God. He organized the whole world into a system. He rules over the system. He is called the god of this world; he is called the prince of this world. He uses the world to control people, to oppose God and to oppose the purpose of God.
That is what the world is. The world wants you to belong. If you do not belong, it will hate you, and it will kill you.
That is what happened to our Lord Jesus. The Lord came into this world, but He did not belong to this world. He was under the heavenly rule. He was altogether different.
The world persecuted and crucified the Lord. But when our Lord was crucified, the ruler of this world was cast out. The world crucified the Lord, but on the cross the world was crucified.
Brothers and sisters, God has delivered us out of this world. In Colossians, it is said that He has delivered us out of the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
We have been transferred. We do not belong to this world. We are in the world, but we are not of the world. We are heavenly people living in a foreign land. We are strangers and sojourners.
We are passing through. We are going to the city with foundations, the city of which God is the builder. That is where we are. That is what we are. That is what the death of our Lord Jesus has accomplished for us.
Do we realize that we do not belong to this world? Do we realize that if we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us? Do we realize that to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God?
Is there this separation in our Christian life? Our Lord has already accomplished this deliverance. We are a separated people. Brothers and sisters, do we appreciate it? Are we conformed to His death?
You find that the Lord’s death has done so much more than just having our sins forgiven. We are delivered people—in the world, but not of the world. The Lord allows us to live in this world to be a testimony to His name.
The world is a system. Whether it is religious, political, economic, educational, or social, you find that it is all one giant system, and it is all under the rule of the god of this world. Thank God for delivering us.
You remember the apostle Paul. He lived in the religious world. Very few young people are like Paul, because young people usually are interested in material things, the things of this world. But Paul did not seek the things of this world; he sought religious things.
He made great advancement in Judaism. He was more advanced than his contemporaries. He had quite an accomplishment in Judaism. Perhaps his ambition was to be like his master, Gamaliel, that great teacher in Judaism. That was something he boasted of.
But how mistaken he was! What is wrong with religion? Having a religion is better than having no religion, but look at this young man. He was the most religious person at that time. He accepted the traditions of the fathers. He considered Jesus an impostor, and he thought that persecuting Him was serving God.
Oh, how blind, how dark! Yet one day, on the road to Damascus, the Lord met him there. The glory of the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ put an end to his ambition in the religious world.
He was completely delivered. He looked upon what was past as loss that he might gain Christ. Brothers and sisters, he was delivered from the religious world.
Think of another person. You remember the story of Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector. During that time, a tax collector was considered a traitor because they collected taxes for the Romans and oppressed their own people.
The Jewish people looked down upon tax collectors. They considered tax collectors alongside prostitutes. Yet this man was so rich. He was in the economic world and also in the political world, and yet his heart was not satisfied. He wanted to see Jesus.
But he was very short. When Jesus travelled, lots of people crowded around Him. Yet he wanted to see Jesus so much that this grown man, this well-known man, climbed into a tree in order that he might see Jesus. Now, would you do that?
When our Lord came under that tree, the Lord looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down. I want to live with you tonight.”
Brothers and sisters, that moved the heart of Zacchaeus. He tumbled down from the tree. He stood before the Lord, and he said:
Behold, Lord, I give away half of my property; and if I have defrauded anyone, I will pay back four times.
In other words, he bankrupted himself. He was delivered from the economic world. Oh, Christ took away the love of money.
This is what the death of our Lord Jesus has done for us. When you think of the death of our Lord Jesus, how can you live in this world system and not be separated?
More than that, the death of our Lord Jesus also delivers us from the law.
In Romans 7:1-6, the apostle Paul tells us our relationship with the law. Even though we were not given the Ten Commandments, the spirit of the Ten Commandments was inscribed upon our hearts. Whether Jew or Gentile, we are all under the law of God. According to the law, no one can be justified. We are all under the tyranny of the law.
The apostle Paul used an illustration. He said the law is like a husband, and we are married to that husband. As long as the husband lives, you are under the law of your husband; you are bound by him. If you go and join yourself to another man, you become an adulteress.
This husband is a hard husband. Oh, he is so legalistic. He is so demanding. He is an absolute tyrant. Living under his law is unbearable. Where is the deliverance?
The apostle Paul said that when your husband dies, then you are free from the law. You can be married to another person. But unfortunately, our former husband, the law, never dies. We hope he will die, but he seems to live forever. There is no help. What can you do?
Is that not true? The law is a cry upon our conscience. Whenever we say something wrong, even a little bit wrong, it will not let us go. It will bother us. We cannot sleep. We cannot eat.
It is so demanding. It is a perfectionist. The law is holy. The law is spiritual. But we are in the flesh. Where is our hope?
We find today that people are under condemnation. Even many believers live under condemnation. They live with a guilty conscience. You know, if you live with a guilty conscience, it is not living.
Can you be delivered? Ah, God is so wonderful. The law never dies, but God can make you die.
But you say, “If I die, then I am finished.” Ah, Somebody will die for you. And when He died, you died with Him.
That is the reason why the Bible says, when our Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, not only did He bear our sins—the things we have committed—upon His body, but at the same time, He died as us. He not only died for our sins; He died for us.
In Romans 6:6, we read:
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him.
In the eyes of God, there are only two men throughout human history. God sees only two men: the first man, Adam; and the second Man, Christ.
All that came out of Adam are in Adam. We all became sinners, and in Adam all die. So, brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus came into this world. He is the second Man, but He is also the last Adam.
He came to conclude, to terminate, the Adamic race so that He could begin a new mankind.
Brothers and sisters, being the last Adam, when He died, in the eyes of God we all died. And when He was raised from the dead, we were raised together with Him. We became a new race, a chosen race, a people for God’s own possession, that we may set forth the excellencies of God.
Now, oftentimes we use an illustration. Especially among the Chinese, we consider our ancestor to be the Yellow Emperor. Suppose that during one of his battles, the Yellow Emperor had been killed. Where would we be today? No longer here. That race would have been terminated.
So, brothers and sisters, in Christ, when He died, we all died. Our old man was crucified with Him. Do you believe that? You believe He bore your sins in His body. Why do you not believe that He took you away?
We have been identified with Him in His death, and we are identified with Him in His resurrection.
By the death of our Lord Jesus, we were made dead to the law, that we might be alive unto a new Husband, and that is our Lord Himself.
We are no longer under law. But does it mean we can be lawless? No. The Bible says we are under grace. Remember, we are always under something. Do not think that we can be free as a bird and fly everywhere. Either you are under the law or you are under grace.
The yoke of the law was so heavy that we could not bear it. Thank God, under grace we have a new Husband—Christ—Who loves us so much that He wants to give everything to us.
Do you think His demand is less than the law demands? No. Love demands more than the law, but love supplies.
This is our life. We are not under the law; we are under grace. We do not live here under bondage. We live here for love’s sake.
So, brothers and sisters, what an emancipation! You can live above even what the law requires, because there is life and there is grace being supplied.
The apostle Paul says:
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself up for me.
Oh, how He liberated us from the law!
In connection with that, of course, He delivers us from our flesh.
In Romans 7, you find a conflict in Paul’s life. He said, “I have a new mind. I know what God wants, and so far as my inward man is concerned, I want it.”
But I discover that in the members of my body there is another law. What I want to do, I cannot do. What I do not want to do, I do. This law of sin and death still controls me.
Oh, wretched man that I am! Who can deliver me from this body of death? Thank God, through Jesus Christ.
Brothers and sisters, when the Lord opens our eyes, on the one hand He delivers us from the law. We realize that the law, as our husband, is outside us and oppressive, because the power of sin is the law. He delivers us from the law, and then He delivers us from our flesh.
This old flesh of ours, this old man, is the self-life. It is so defiled. It is under the law of sin and death.
But thank God, those who believe in the Lord Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
We are now out of this law of sin and death. We are under the law of the Spirit of life.
Romans 8:1 declares that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has delivered us out of the law of sin and death, that we may live by the life of Christ.
No longer live I; Jesus Christ lives in me. This is what our brother was speaking about in the evening.
Now the death of our Lord Jesus is even more than that. Why? Because by His death, He has put away the one who has the power of death.
The Lord said:
If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Myself.
The judgment of the world has come, and the prince of this world is cast out. In Colossians, we are told that He has taken principalities and authorities captive and exhibited them openly by the cross.
So, brothers and sisters, on the cross of our Lord Jesus, He defeated all the evil powers. The evil powers thought that they had got rid of Him. On the contrary, by His very death, He destroyed the one who has the power of death.
By this very token of the cross, He has led all principalities, authorities, and evil powers as His captives. He has overcome. Oh, the cross is a sign of victory!
Brothers and sisters, today we have no fear of the powers of darkness. In the mighty name of our Lord Jesus, we claim the victory. We overcome all the evil powers by the mighty name of our Lord.
Further than that, by His death, He opens a new and living way for us to approach the throne of grace.
That is Hebrews 10:19 and following. You know, brothers and sisters, in the Old Testament, in the tabernacle and later in the temple, there was a veil—a heavy veil—that separated the Holy of Holies from the holy place.
In the Holy of Holies, there was the ark, the mercy seat, and the glory of God. But there was a veil that veiled His presence.
In Old Testament times, the high priest could enter behind the veil only once a year, with blood and incense. The smoke was to cover the ark, and the blood was to atone for sins.
The high priest would go in hurriedly and hurriedly return, because in those days the way to the Holiest was not open. No one could enter the presence of God and live.
Thank God! You remember when our Lord Jesus was crucified. At the time when He said, “It is finished,” He gave up His spirit. This was outside the gates of Jerusalem.
But when He died, the veil in the temple in Jerusalem was rent from top to bottom.
In His death, the veil represents the flesh, the body, of our Lord Jesus. He is the perfect Man. He is the only One able to live in the presence of God. When He was on this earth, He saw His Father’s face all the time.
But because He was that perfect Man, in a sense He served as a veil separating us from God. If you lived on the King’s side of the veil, you were in the presence of God. If you lived outside the veil, even if you lived close enough to burn incense, the presence of God was still veiled.
That road, that way, was blocked by the veil. On one side, our Lord lived daily before the Father. On the other side, if He had only lived and never died, no one could come into the presence of God.
But the veil was rent from top to bottom—God did it. When the body of our Lord Jesus was broken on the cross, the veil in the temple was rent from top to bottom.
A new and living way is now open for us. We can enter within the veil and live in the presence of the holy God. This is what His death has done for us.
Why do we linger in the outer court as if we know nothing but the forgiveness of our sins? We only know the brazen altar. We appreciate Christ as the sacrifice, but that is all.
Why do we not serve in the holy place? Many believers are just believers, but they are not functioning.
Why do we only serve and work, thinking that this is all, and yet do not live daily in the presence of God?
The way is open. We should live in the very presence of God, and out of that living we come out to serve. We come out to bring people to Him. This is what the death of our Lord Jesus has accomplished for us.
Do we appreciate it? Do we see what His death has done for us?
And more: in Colossians 1, by the blood of the cross, He reconciles all things unto Himself.
You know, the death of our Lord Jesus has done so much for us human beings. But the death of our Lord Jesus has done much more than just for human beings. He reconciled the whole creation back unto Himself.
He not only cleansed us with His blood, but the whole creation today is groaning under the yoke of corruption and vanity, waiting for that day of restoration.
And thank God, that day is coming. He will reconcile all things back to the fullness of God. Everything will speak of the glory of God. It is because of His death.
What a mighty death! May the Lord help us.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do ask that Thou wilt open the eyes of our heart, that we may see the various accomplishments in the death of our Lord Jesus.
Oh, that we may know Him in His death, that we may have a firm foundation in our faith, that we may be able to go on.
We thank Thee for all that Thou hast done for us. Teach us how to appreciate and appropriate, that these may not be just outward truths, but become inward experience.
We ask in the name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus.