Let us turn to 2 Corinthians 4:6.
For God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness,
is He who shined in our hearts,
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Let us have a simple word of prayer.
Father, we want to thank You because tonight You have called us by Your grace. We thank You for this glorious truth. Thank You for reminding us that Your eternal purpose is to conform us to the image of Your beloved Son.
We see tonight that we are in the school of Christ, and we indeed learn Christ. We declare that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Lord, listen to our prayer. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.
We all know that the theme of the conference this year is to be conformed to the image of His Son. My responsibility is to speak concerning learning Christ.
According to Paul’s interpretation and his own experience, when he speaks of learning Christ, his emphasis is not merely to learn something about Christ.
The best explanation is found in Galatians 2:20:
I have been crucified with Christ;
and it is no longer I that live,
but Christ liveth in me.
Paul was alive, but he did not live according to his own way. He lived according to the way Christ lived on earth.
On the road to Damascus, Paul met the Lord. He had heard concerning the glory of God, and he knew from Ezekiel something concerning the image of the glory of God. Yet he never thought that, on the road to Damascus, he would see the glory of God with his own eyes.
The glory of God was manifested in the face of the Lord Jesus.
Through the four Gospels, the Holy Spirit shows us, from four different angles, what kind of Person our Lord is. In Matthew, we see that He is King. He became our Savior, and the image is the image of a lion.
It is the same thing Ezekiel saw in the vision of the four living creatures. There were four different faces. What Ezekiel saw was the life before the throne.
How do you describe the life before the throne? On one hand, it is described by the lion; on another hand, it is represented by the ox. The glory of God is manifested in the face of Christ.
Not only do we see the glory of God; we also are glorified. To be glorified is to be conformed to the image of His Son.
Last evening, we went through the Gospel of Matthew to see the image of the lion. Our Lord is the King.
The life to which we attain is the life of a king. When we are conformed to the image of His Son, however He is King, we shall reign in life as well.
First He was humbled, and then He was exalted. He first went through the cross, and then He received the crown. He was a King on the cross.
Under the cross, our Lord was silent. Yet on the cross He spoke seven words. His reaction was glorious; it was kingly.
In our daily life, many times the Lord arranges our environment so that we may turn the other cheek, walk the second mile, love our enemies, and pray for them.
It is not enough merely to love our brothers. When we love our enemies, that love is complete.
Ye therefore shall be perfect,
as your heavenly Father is perfect.
This is the story of being conformed to the image of His Son. The entire Gospel of Matthew shows us the way in which we may be conformed to that image.
In Revelation 3, when the Lord calls the overcomers, how do we overcome? Our overcoming is based upon His overcoming. In Matthew, we see how He overcame.
The overcoming life is involved in this word: “It is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me.” How the Lord overcame, we overcome. On the cross, our Lord walked the second mile so that we might walk the second mile.
In Matthew, we are brought before the school of Christ. Yes, we are sons of the kingdom, like young lions. But we learn lessons in the school of Christ.
When you read Matthew 10, there are two important lessons. The first lesson is how we speak.
For it is not ye that speak,
but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.
We do not speak on our own. We should know how the Holy Spirit speaks in us. Then, when we come before an important person or face an important juncture, we will know how to speak.
Many times, when we come to an important situation, we do not know how to speak because we have not learned in our daily life how to let the Spirit of the Father speak.
How you speak shows what kind of life you have. When we speak, it should be the Spirit of the Father speaking. One who allows the Holy Spirit to speak proves that he has learned Christ.
Beneath the cross, the Lord did not say a single word. We can be conformed to Him in this matter. That is the first point.
The second point is the lesson of the cross.
And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me,
is not worthy of me.
When we come to Matthew 13, the Lord shows us that through His word He has begotten us, and we have become sons of the kingdom of heaven. The sons of the kingdom are the good seed sown in the field.
When we were saved by grace, we were all good seed. The seed is like a grain of wheat falling into the ground.
When wheat matures, it needs the sun. When the sun shines upon it, the portion facing the heavens becomes ripe, while the portion closest to the ground and nearest the roots becomes dark. It is dying to the earth, but it is aligned toward heaven. In this way, the life becomes mature.
On one hand, Christ puts us in the school of Christ. On the other hand, He sows us as good seed in this world. In this world we learn many lessons.
There are many sufferings in this world. Many times we encounter difficulties and misunderstandings. Yet through these things we can be conformed to the image of His Son.
I remember when I was still a student. At that time, I wanted to attain the highest level of education, so I had an adviser from whom I could learn.
I felt that I had attained a higher level of education by learning from this professor. But I discovered that this professor had a very strange temper. Then I realized that he had been tailor-made by the Lord for me.
I remember that I had done a very good project. I felt that if I showed it to the professor, he would be very glad. So I gave my results to him.
He did not quite understand what I had written, and he became very angry. Face to face, he took my paper, threw it on the floor, and told me to leave.
I had to ask myself, “Should I leave now, or should I pick it up from the floor?”
By His grace, I was able to pick up that paper from the floor.
Later, when I had finished my thesis, that same professor was the one who approved it. The paper he had thrown to the ground was included in that thesis.
When I received my PhD, I thanked the Lord. The degree I received was a double degree. On one hand, I received it from my professor; on the other hand, I received it from the Lord’s own hand.
Brothers and sisters, can you see it? The Lord sows us in this world. When you can pick up the paper from the floor, that means you are strong. But if you become upset and simply leave, that means you are the weakest of all.
Our life is a kingly life. Whatever the situation may be, we need to be kings. Whatever the situation, we should not be defeated.
When we reach Matthew 16 through 18, the Lord says that He will build His church. How can we be conformed to the image of His Son? Of course, we are in the school of Christ.
There are two places in the school of Christ: one is the field, and the other is the church. What lesson do we learn in the church?
The Lord said:
Except ye turn, and become as little children,
ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The Lord first spoke of the universal church, and then He spoke of the local church. These words are placed between these two matters.
When our Lord builds His church, He builds it according to the measurement of the kingdom of heaven. In the kingdom of heaven, all are little children.
This kingdom is a kingdom of little children. When we become too big, we continually strike our heads.
I remember staying in Japan for a year. Everything there seemed small—the refrigerators, the rooms, and the ceilings. The ceilings were low, and you could easily strike your head.
Why do we continually fall and hurt ourselves in the church? It is because we are too big. The church is the place in which we are converted and become like little children.
Then we can seek our brother, gain our brother, become one with our brother, and forgive our brother.
Peter thought that forgiving seven times was enough. But the Lord said:
I say not unto thee, Until seven times;
but, Until seventy times seven.
This is the way shown to us in Matthew.
Let us use a simple example. Every day we speak. When you hear someone speaking, you can know something of whether he is living as a king.
Among the twelve disciples, Peter spoke the most. Wherever he went, he always had something to say.
On the mount of transfiguration, when the Lord was transfigured, Peter thought that he needed to say something. He said, “Let us make three tabernacles.” But he did not know what he was saying.
A person who always needs to speak cannot control his own tongue. He simply has to speak.
If someone is to be kingly, we need to see how the Lord controls His tongue.
One day, those who collected the temple tax came to Capernaum and asked Peter, “Doth not your master pay tribute?”
Peter should have said, “Wait a moment. Let me ask Him.” But Peter immediately answered, “Yes.”
When Peter entered the house, the Lord asked him:
What thinkest thou, Simon?
The kings of the earth, from whom do they receive toll or tribute?
From their sons, or from strangers?
Peter answered, “From strangers.” Then Jesus said:
Then are the sons free.
The Lord had to teach Peter a lesson. Peter had spoken the word that the Lord Himself should have spoken. He needed to learn to be conformed to the image of Christ.
The Lord said:
Go thou to the sea, and cast a hook,
and take up the fish that first cometh up;
and when thou hast opened his mouth,
thou shalt find a piece of money:
that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
The coin was one shekel, while the temple tax was half a shekel for each person. One coin was enough for the Lord and Peter.
But Peter had to go fishing. He knew how to cast a net and catch many fish at once, but now he had to use a hook and catch one fish. He needed to learn patience.
The fish near Capernaum is often called Peter’s fish. When it is young, it carries small fish in its mouth. Even when the small fish have grown, it continues opening its mouth as though it is looking for something to swallow.
If it finds a bottle cap, it will take it. If it finds a coin, it will take it. It has a big mouth.
The Lord was showing Peter, “You have a big mouth. You said yes concerning the tax before you had heard Me speak. You cannot control yourself.”
Peter had to learn this lesson. He could not remain a big mouth.
Many people claim that Peter was the first pope of the church. But the church should not have words of its own; the church’s words must be the words of Christ.
Whenever the church has a big mouth, the church fails. When we have no words of our own, then the Lord’s words can flow.
Peter learned a wonderful lesson. On the day of Pentecost, his mouth became a golden mouth. When he opened his mouth, three thousand were saved; later, five thousand were saved.
This is conformity to the image of Christ.
When we read Mark, the Gospel of Mark shows us that Jesus is the Servant of God.
On one hand, He is diligent. In the Gospel of Mark, the word “immediately” appears again and again. There is a command from heaven, and immediately there is obedience on earth.
Slow obedience is disobedience.
Today we also serve God. But do we go immediately?
If you read the first four chapters of Mark, you will be amazed. These chapters are like a record of the Lord’s intense service. He was so busy that He did not even have time to eat.
When we speak of the Servant of God, we remember the description in Isaiah 52:14:
His visage was so marred more than any man,
and his form more than the sons of men.
When people saw our Lord, they said:
Thou art not yet fifty years old,
and hast thou seen Abraham?
The Lord was only about thirty years old, yet people thought He was over fifty. He suffered much as He served.
His face was marred. They covered His face, and they struck His face. This was the King; yet He was also the Servant.
When you read Mark from chapter 1 through chapter 16, you see a marred face. From a person’s face, you can often see something of his entire life.
Many young mothers were beautiful before they were married. They were the jewels of their families; they were like princesses. Yet for the sake of their children, their faces become marked with weariness and sacrifice.
From Mark 1 through Mark 16, you see that Christ is like an ox.
The Gospel of Mark has sixteen chapters. The first part shows us the ox in the field; the final part shows us the ox on the altar.
The Servant of God serves in the field. His sphere of work is indeed in the field. But the highest service is on the altar.
Our Lord gave the highest service to God because He put Himself on the altar and fulfilled God’s purpose.
Many times today we serve and are very busy. Every day we are in the field, but our story contains only the first part and not the second part.
On one hand, we see our Lord in the world. He healed many who were sick. This world is diseased and polluted. He came to seek sinners. Before He became the Savior, He became the Friend.
In the world, in the field, He was the Servant of God. Yet at the same time, He served in the house—the house of His disciples. He had two spheres of service.
He served at home, and He served in the world. He told His disciples:
It shall not be so among you:
but whosoever would become great among you
shall be your minister.
Whoever would be greatest must be servant of all; whoever would be chiefest must be slave of all. On one hand, He served in the house. On the other hand, He served in the world.
Likewise, we serve in the house of God, and we serve the world. If we are to be great, we shall be servants of all. If we are to be chiefest, we shall be slaves of all.
In the Gospel of Mark, there are two blind men. One is near the Sea of Galilee, and the other is near the Dead Sea. Both represent the disciples. The Lord wanted to open their eyes.
Only when the Lord opens our eyes do we know how to serve God.
The disciples had forgotten bread, and this became an issue. But the Lord asked them whether they understood.
When I brake the five loaves among the five thousand,
how many baskets full of broken pieces took ye up?
And when the seven among the four thousand,
how many baskets full of broken pieces took ye up?
The Lord was showing them that a grain of wheat cannot simply remain wheat. It must become bread in order to feed others.
Of all the miracles the Lord performed, the feeding of the five thousand and the feeding of the four thousand were the two miracles in which the disciples participated. The Lord wanted them to know the meaning of service.
A mature life is a life that can feed others. Wheat must be ground and pressed before it can become bread.
Then, near the Dead Sea, we again see the matter of blindness. The Lord said:
The cup that I drink ye shall drink.
The last six chapters of Mark show us the matter of the cup. What do we use to serve? The Lord put Himself on the altar. He became the burnt offering and the sin offering.
Paul said:
I am already being offered,
and the time of my departure is come.
What is the drink offering? In the Old Testament, when the priests offered sacrifice, they took wine and poured it upon the offering. That was the drink offering.
Paul said, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Before he was martyred, he said that it was time for him to be poured out.
The grapes go through the winepress, and finally the wine is poured out. One who is truly conformed to the image of God’s Son becomes one who serves the Lord.
The question is not how much wine a person has drunk, but how much wine he has poured out. The life of service is the life of pouring out.
This is the ox on the altar. However the Lord is, we shall be also. However the Lord served God, we shall serve God as well—in the field and on the altar.
How can we be conformed to the image of our Lord? The Lord tells us:
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Why does the Lord speak of a yoke? A yoke is placed upon an ox. If we work according to our own will, the field will become a mess. We need to take His yoke.
We are like young, wild oxen. We need to be yoked with Him. At the beginning, we want to go our own way, and we are not obedient. But the older ox is obedient.
As we are yoked with Him, we see His humility and gentleness. We learn His way. Before, we had no peace and no rest; but now we learn Christ and find rest.
The secret of being conformed to the image of His Son is union with the Lord. We must be united with Christ.
Paul said in Philippians 3 that he counted all things loss in order to gain Christ and be found in Him. The beginning point is union with Christ, and the ending point is union with Christ.
Because we are one with Him, we learn from Him and gain rest. This is the result of union with Christ.
There was a health center in England for those who were terminally ill. Usually, terminally ill patients were distressed because they knew they did not have much time left.
There was a missionary from India who was also terminally ill. Yet on his bed, he was always rejoicing and at rest.
The officials decided that whenever a new patient came, they would place that patient beside the bed of this missionary.
At first, the new patients were troubled and noisy. But as they looked at this missionary, who was always rejoicing and peaceful, they gradually became calm.
This is the secret of union with Christ. This is the secret of being conformed to the image of Christ. This is how Paul learned Christ.
When we come to Luke, we see that Jesus is the Son of Man—not only the Son of Man, but the perfect Man.
Luke was the only Gentile author in the New Testament, and his Gospel was largely written for the Greek world. The Greeks were always seeking the ideal and perfect man.
To the Greeks, the perfect man had to be a philosopher, a poet, an athlete, and everything else. They wanted to find such a perfect man.
Luke bears witness to the Greek world: “The perfect Man for whom you have been seeking cannot be found in the world, but I have found Him in Jesus Christ.”
Luke, as a physician, observed life—from birth through maturity. His Gospel shows us that the Lord Jesus is the perfect Man.
He was one hundred percent man. He began in the cradle and grew into maturity. Luke alone gives us such a full account of the Lord’s human growth.
The Son of God is eternally glorious; there is no concept of growth with respect to His deity. But when our Lord came to earth as the Son of Man, He grew, yet without sin.
His life may be seen in three stages: the hidden thirty years, the fruitful three years of public ministry, and the final half-year in the way of the cross.
For thirty years, our Lord was before the Father as a tender shoot and as a root out of a dry ground. That was a hidden life.
The Bible tells us that when the shepherds found Him, He was a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. That was the sign.
Our Lord’s life began in a manger. Yet He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
At the age of twelve, He was found in the temple, listening and asking questions. Although He was the Son of God, He humbled Himself to learn.
That is humility. At the age of twelve, you do not merely see the glory of God; you see a life that is growing.
Then, for eighteen years, what did He do? The Bible says that He was a carpenter, and that Joseph was a carpenter.
As the Son of God, He created all things. Every tree was created by Him. Yet as the Son of Man, when He took up the saw, He had to learn by observing Joseph. That is humility.
He humbled Himself and became obedient. However He listened to Joseph was how He listened to God.
The Lord said:
The Son can do nothing of himself,
but what he seeth the Father doing:
for what things soever he doeth,
these the Son also doeth in like manner.
He learned this lesson in His hidden life. When He was manifested after thirty years, He was fruitful, and a voice came from heaven:
This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.
Our Lord came in the form of man and humbled Himself. In Taiwan, we once met a very high-ranking government official who was also a brother.
One day, people were looking for him because they needed to discuss an important matter. Finally, they found him at the meeting place. To their surprise, this high official was sweeping the floor.
That is humility.
Our Lord humbled Himself and became completely obedient. On the mount of transfiguration, He showed forth His glory—the glory of the Son of Man.
As to life, He had matured; as to work, He had completed the purpose of God. He could have returned to the Father. He could have ascended.
But the Bible says that He was obedient unto death. For us and for God’s purpose, He descended from the mount of transfiguration and went all the way to Calvary.
He chose the way to the cross in order to accomplish God’s will. The cross not only gave us salvation; through the cross, His life was imparted to us.
The Bible says that when the days were fulfilled that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.
Here we see the face of the perfect Man. On the mount of transfiguration, He chose the cross. His face was set toward Jerusalem, toward the winepress.
Not only would He accomplish the work of salvation, but He would impart the life of the grape to all. This is the glory of the Son of Man.
The way of the final half-year is from Luke 9 to Luke 19. Our Lord went through the winepress for us, and at the very end He ascended to heaven.
When God became man, He intended that man should become a true man according to His original purpose. When we receive Jesus as our personal Savior, His cross becomes for us the tree of life.
The more we become like Christ, the more truly human we become. Many people become less human as they become more self-centered; but Christ is the true Man, the Man of men.
Finally, we come to the Gospel of John. The Son of God is represented by the eagle.
This is a transcendent life. John describes our Lord as the One who came down from heaven, even the Son of Man who is in heaven.
When the eagle comes down, it comes swiftly, yet it remains a creature of the heights. So the Lord came down from heaven, yet He remained in fellowship with the Father.
The entire Gospel of John shows us that Jesus is the Son of God. The life of Jesus is a transcendent life.
There are two keys that open this Gospel. The first is John 1:18:
No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son,
who is in the bosom of the Father,
he hath declared him.
In the Gospel of John, the word “bosom” is mentioned twice. The Son is in the bosom of the Father. He abides in the Father, and the Father abides in Him. Therefore, He declares the Father.
The second key is found in John 13:23:
There was at the table reclining in Jesus’ bosom
one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
John represents you and me. He was in the bosom of the Lord.
Do you see the two pictures? The Son is in the Father’s bosom, and we are in the bosom of the Lord.
When we are conformed to the image of His Son, we are in the bosom of the Lord because He is in the bosom of the Father.
The Son abides in the Father, and the Father abides in the Son. Therefore the Lord says:
Abide in me, and I in you.
What is the result? We manifest the Lord. This is the way of conformity to the image of the Son: abide in Him; be in His bosom.
In the Gospel of John, the Lord speaks much of “I” and much of “the Father.” The Father and the Son are one. This is the life of the eagle—the transcendent life of the Son of God.
The way is not only the way of the cross; it is also the way of fellowship. When we abide in the Lord, His word abides in us.
The eagle has been given special eyes. Human eyes cannot look directly at the sun without being blinded. Yet the eagle can look toward the sun.
Our Lord is in the Father’s bosom. He looks upon the glory of the Father and is not blinded. He beholds the beauty of the Father.
Likewise, when we are in the Lord’s bosom, we can behold His beauty.
Paul says:
But we all, with unveiled face
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are transformed into the same image
from glory to glory.
John says:
When he shall be manifested,
we shall be like him;
for we shall see him even as he is.
We become like Him because we see Him. We can only see Him with eagle’s eyes. When we see Him, we are naturally transformed from glory to glory.
After a husband and wife have been married many years, they often begin to resemble one another. For twenty or thirty years, they have looked at one another, imitated one another’s gestures, and shared one another’s life.
How are we conformed to the image of His Son? The Gospel of John shows us: we must be in His bosom, as our Lord was in the Father’s bosom.
I would like to share a true story concerning the hymn, “Thou Hidden Love of God.”
If I am not mistaken, this was one of the hymns John Wesley loved most. It is a poetic masterpiece, but more importantly, it has touched many lives because of the experience of its author, Gerhard Tersteegen.
Tersteegen was a German believer who grew up near the Rhine. He loved the Lord and was one of the godly men associated with the Pietist movement.
He wanted a profession that would enable him to draw close to the Lord. Therefore, he rented a house and bought a weaving machine.
He felt that weaving would enable him to spend time with the Lord. On one end, he would open the Bible; at the same time, he would weave.
From five in the morning until nine in the evening, he ate only one meal. His family could not understand his way of life and neglected him.
Even when he was sick, his family did not care for him. During those five years, he felt that he was alone. Yet he learned the lessons that the Lord had learned.
After five years, he gained freedom and went home. He reconsecrated himself to the Lord.
He wrote a covenant to the Lord with his own blood. A portion reads:
Our Lord, from this evening to all eternity,
Thy will, not mine, be done.
Command and rule and reign in me.
I yield myself up without reserve,
and promise, with Thy help and power,
rather to give up the last drop of this my blood
than knowingly and willingly,
in my heart or in my life,
be untrue or disobedient.
He used this blood covenant of love to express his heart.
When he was about thirty years old, there was a great revival in that area. Many people needed help. He had no more time to remain hidden.
He opened his house, and people came to him. Many were helped by him. Thousands of people came from afar, and even though some had only fifteen minutes with him, they received help.
He was never strong physically. In his final years, he called himself “a candidate for death.” Yet every second of his life was lived for the Lord.
Near the end of his life, he suffered greatly. He said, “If I am to die now like a child, I shall be satisfied.”
One day, he said, “Malachi has preached to me today.” He was referring to Malachi 3:
But who may abide the day of his coming?
and who shall stand when he appeareth?
for he is like a refiner’s fire,
and like fullers’ soap:
and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.
He said, “He will sit. It is not all done at once. It is not all done at once. He still finds something to refine in me.”
Amy Carmichael once saw a silversmith refining silver. She asked him, “When is your work done?”
The refiner answered, “When I can see the reflection of my face in the silver, my work is done.”
Today, at the right hand of the Father, what is the Lord doing? He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.
When is His work done? When He sees His own face in us. The glory of God is manifested in the face of Jesus Christ. This is to learn Christ.
This is what it means to say, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live.” However Christ lived on earth, He now lives in us.
May the Lord give us His word and touch the deepest part of every young brother and sister.
When you are at the dawn of your life, are you willing to be like a tender shoot before the Lord? Are you willing to allow the Lord to work in your life?
May we live in the Lord’s bosom and look upon His face. As we look upon His face, we are transformed.
Then, when people see us, they see the humility, patience, and gentleness of Christ.
When the church gathers together, people should be able to see the personality of Christ. The personality of Christ is His image.
May we be able to say, “I tremble, and I burn. I fear because I am not like Him; yet my heart burns because I want to be like Him.”
Lord, we commit these words into Your hand. If You are willing, please use these words to comfort the elderly and encourage the young.
May we not return the same way we came. May this weekend be a special weekend. May we not only hear the glorious message, but may we walk in a glorious way.
Lord, listen to our prayer. In Jesus’ precious name.