Will you please turn to the letter to the Philippians?
For to me to live is Christ.
Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before,
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
I can do all things in Him that strengtheneth me.
May we have a word of prayer.
Our Father, as we continue in Thy presence, we look to Thee that Thou wilt open Thy Word to us, and open us to Thy Word, that Thy Word may really be spirit and life to us, that Thou mayest be glorified. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is a great joy for me to be here with you all. As I waited before the Lord, I felt led to review with you something that is most fundamental, most essential to our Christian life.
What I am thinking of is the secret of Christian living. Thank God that He has saved us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God that we are called Christians. Thank God that, to all who are redeemed of the Lord, there is a desire to live like Christ.
I do not believe that anyone who is redeemed of the Lord does not have such a desire. We all know that to believe in the Lord Jesus is not just an end. We believe that we who believe in Him should live according to Him.
You know, in the early days, when the name Christian was first given, it was found in Acts 11:26:
And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Because when the gospel was preached in Antioch, many Gentiles believed in the Lord. They not only believed in the Lord Jesus as their Saviour, but they were also exhorted to continue, to abide in the Lord. And they were being taught to be disciples of Jesus Christ.
Only at that time did the world begin to realize that here was a people totally different, and they gave them the nickname, “Christian.”
You know, at that time that name was a mockery. It was a sarcastic way of speaking of that people. But today, we believe that the word Christian is an honorable name. We do not call ourselves by any other name but the name of Christians.
But, dear brothers and sisters, in the beginning, when the name was given, the dear brothers and sisters in Antioch earned it. Are we today worthy of this name? What price have we paid for it?
We all know that if we want to be real Christians, it is not just a matter of simply believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, though that is great. But to earn that name, Christian, we know that we have to live like Christ. Anything less than that is unworthy.
And I believe, dear brothers and sisters, we have all tried. We try very, very hard. But the more we try, the more we find it is impossible.
I believe this is something that must be in the heart of every true believer: How can I live like Christ? It is more than just a matter of believing in Him; it is to live like Him. This is something very, very essential and very, very basic to us as Christians.
I am thinking of the apostle Paul. Of all the letters written by the apostle Paul, there are two letters that give us an intimate knowledge of Paul himself. In 2 Corinthians, we find the secret of Paul’s ministry; and in the letter to the Philippians, we find the secret of his living.
So this morning, we would like to go into this letter to the Philippians and consider: What is the secret of Christian living? How can we live as Christians?
Actually, the secret is very simple. You know, when you really come to the truth, it is always simple. It is human beings who make things complicated. We complicate the whole thing.
So this morning, we would like to come to the simplicity that is in Christ. Now let us hear what Paul says. What is the secret of his living as a Christian?
In Philippians 1:21, he simply says this:
For to me to live is Christ.
He does not say, “I am Christ.” Far from it. He just says, “For to me to live is Christ.” If you look at me, yes, I am Paul; but the One who lives in Paul is not Paul—it is Christ.
Now this is the secret of Christian living. You know, dear brothers and sisters, we are so complicated. If you hear something simple, you say, “How can it be? How can I live a true Christian life?” Nobody can. If you think you can, you are lost.
There is only one Person who can live a Christian life, and that Person is Christ Himself. But, dear brothers and sisters, as you look back to your own experience, have we not all tried to live as Christians? And we really try very, very hard. But we find it is impossible.
Now remember: there is no possibility of anyone other than Christ living like Christ.
The wonder of the salvation of the Lord is this: He not only died for us, but He also lives for us. He not only died on the cross two thousand years ago for us, but even today He lives in each one of us.
Christ lives in us not merely to guarantee us heaven. Christ lives in us in order to live through us.
So the secret of Christian living is an open secret. It is as if He says, “If you want to live a Christian life, do not live yourself, but let Me live in you and for you.”
It sounds very simple, but it is not simple.
Now, how did Paul come to this simplicity that is in Christ? If anyone on this earth could try to live as a Christian, I think none could surpass Paul. He had such a strong will. Before he believed in the Lord Jesus, he had already manifested that strong will. If he wanted anything, he would get it. He would pay any cost for it.
And when he was saved, he desired to live a Christian life. But he found it was impossible. How did he come into this simplicity that is in Christ? How did he come to the point where Paul was willing to step aside and let Christ take over?
Very simply, listen to Galatians 2:20:
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.
Brothers and sisters, our problem is here. We have believed in the Lord Jesus. We have a new life. We have Christ in us as life. We are supposed to let Christ live through us.
After we believe in the Lord Jesus, we are supposed no longer to live ourselves, but to live only by Christ. But it does not work that way. Even though we believe in Christ Jesus, and we know that He lives in us, and we know He has the power to do that, we will not give up.
Our old man, our flesh, is so strong. As we used our flesh to commit sin, now we use our flesh to try to live like Christ.
The whole problem lies in this: Who is to live from now on? Formerly, it was I. What a mess I made! Now I have believed in the Lord Jesus, and He lives in me, but I still struggle to live by myself.
How can we get rid of this “I,” “my,” and “me”? I cannot destroy myself. How can I annihilate this self? What should I do?
Thank God, when Christ was crucified on the cross, He did something much more than we suppose. Not only did He bear our sins in His own body, that our sins might be forgiven, but He took all of us—the old Adam—and crucified us with Him on the cross.
It is as if He is such a great Man that He included all of us in Himself. And when He died, I was crucified with Christ.
I cannot crucify myself. This is one thing nobody can do. You can kill yourself, but you cannot crucify yourself. Only God can do it, and He did it in Christ Jesus.
And Paul believed. He said, “I have been crucified with Christ.” Now, if I am crucified with Christ, no longer I. I think this is very clear.
But strangely, I find myself still living. I still live. My appearance seems to be the same. As I lived before, so I live now. But that is only the appearance. The reality is now different.
Because I have been crucified with Christ, that old “I” life has been crucified with Christ Jesus. The physical “I,” the person, is still here; but the one who lives in this “I” is no longer me. It is Christ who lives here.
Outwardly, I am the same, but the reality is as different as heaven and earth. I live in the flesh, but not I—it is Jesus Christ who lives here. Formerly it was I myself who lived, but now it is Christ who is using me to live.
And this is not a matter that you can see with your naked eyes. It is a matter of faith, because faith is the ability to substantiate something into you and make it a living experience.
But strangely, my faith is weak. Sometimes I believe; sometimes I do not. But thank God, Paul said, “I live by faith”—not my faith, but by the faith of the Son of God. His faith never changes. Once He has done it, it is done.
He loved me and gave Himself for me. So, dear brothers and sisters, it is very simple. I hope all of us today will leave our complexity and return to the simplicity in Christ.
We have to simply believe what He has done, and He will see to it that it works.
So thank and praise God. We who are here this morning may seem as if every one of us is different, but thank God, the reality is that every one of us is the same: it is Christ who lives in you. And you can say, “For me to live is Christ.”
Everyone can say that. And if you are able to stand on that, you will find the secret of Christian living.
But, brothers and sisters, sometimes we want to ask a question: Is this true? “For me to live is Christ.” But how do I know that it is Christ who is living?
You will find in Philippians 2:5 that he says:
Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
You know, this matter of the mind is the key. The way you live is governed by your mind. If you are earthly minded, you become earthly. If you are heavenly minded, you live heavenly.
Our natural mind is earthly; it is satanic. And that is the reason why you find people in the world living earthly, worldly, satanically. It is our mind that directs our living. You live as you think.
The old Greek philosopher said, “I know I am because I think.” So our mind is very important. Thank God, we have Christ as life in us, but unfortunately, we still have an old mind. Our minds still direct our way in the old pattern, and that is why the life of Christ within us is not able to break out.
Does God make provision for that? Of course He does, because He knows us more than we know ourselves. His provision is perfect. But there is something that God wants us to cooperate with Him in.
When Christ died on the cross, for whom did He die? For everyone. His work is able to save everyone ever born on this earth. But why is it that not everyone can be saved? The reason is that some believe and some do not believe. If you do not believe, you do not receive it. It does not mean it is not there; it is there, but it does not come to you.
And the same thing is true here. God never does anything against your will. He created us with a free will, and He respects it. Therefore, He wants us to cooperate.
You know, in Romans 12, we all know that the book of Romans, from chapter 1 through chapter 11, shows us the mercies of God. After all the mercies of God, what does God want us to respond?
He says in Romans 12:1:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
After we have received all the mercies of God, His love ought to constrain us not only to believe in Him, but to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him.
Brothers and sisters, why is it that we who believe in the Lord Jesus say that it is all a free gift, that it is all grace, yet He wants us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice? It is not because He lacks anything. It is still for us, because there is so much more waiting for us when we present our bodies as a living sacrifice.
Consecration is the most basic, the first Christian experience. And consecration is not only a duty, but it is the way for every believer really to live a Christian life—not only to receive Christ, but to allow Christ to live through him.
You must present yourself to Him as a living sacrifice. You know, consecration is not that you give yourself to Him in order to work for Him. Consecration is that you give yourself to Him so that He may complete His work in you.
Because He will not do anything against your will, you have to give Him permission. You have to give Him the right—the right over you. And if you give Him that right, He will pour His grace upon you.
Why is consecration so important? Because if you consecrate your life to the Lord and give Him the right to your life, you say, “My life is here. Now You can do anything You like with it.”
When you do that, the Holy Spirit can do something which you cannot do. We hear people say, “I changed my mind.” May I ask you, can you change your mind? You may change your mind from this to that, but it is still within the realm of the old mind.
Nobody can change his mind, and that is the reason why nobody can live a new life. The Holy Spirit is the only One who can transform your mind.
When you consecrate your life to Him, you experience the renewing of your mind.
You like the world, so you are conformed to the world. It is useless to tell young people not to love the world, because they say, “I am not like you old men who have tasted all the sourness of the world. I want to taste it myself.”
Brothers and sisters, why do you love the world? Because in your mind the world is lovely. Can you change your mind? You cannot. The Holy Spirit can, but it is based upon your consecration.
If you really give yourself to the Lord—let go of yourself to the Lord—then He will transform you. That is the renewing of the mind.
And when your mind is renewed, you know what happens? You look at the world, and you look at the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. You begin to prove the good and perfect will of God.
And when your mind is changed, the Christ-life within you is released, so you can live as a Christian.
So, brothers and sisters, it is very, very important. For us, to live is Christ. You have to have your mind renewed, and then you find everything is supernaturally natural.
It is not something you try, struggle, or strive to do. That is what we did before. Now it is so natural, but it is supernatural.
Only the mind of Christ is lowly, humble, and obedient even unto death. How can we deny ourselves? Nobody can. But thank God, when the mind is renewed, you find that denying self is natural. The cross is a treasure, because it gives us Christ and brings us more of Christ.
So, brothers and sisters, how do we know that we are living a Christian life? How can we say, “For me to live is Christ”? The mind of Christ is in you.
When your mind is renewed, you are living. So, brothers and sisters, it is not a matter of outward appearance. We may look like real Christians.
You know, when we were young, we heard that Christians should be humble. So we tried to be humble. But the more we bowed, the more we said, “See how humble I am!” That is not humility.
Real Christian living means that, from within, there is a heavenly mind. Therefore, you are able to live the heavenly life.
When you come to chapter 3, Paul says, “I press on.” You know, Christian life is never static. It is always pursuing.
The strangest thing in the Bible is this. Twice in the Gospels, we find that the Lord is always going forward. In Mark 6, you remember the day when our Lord Jesus used five loaves and two fishes to feed five thousand people.
He sent the people away, and He sent the disciples away also. Then He was alone in a mountain place. After midnight, He came walking on the water.
The disciples were rowing the boat, and they saw our Lord Jesus passing by. The Bible says that He was going forward. He was not coming to the boat. The disciples cried out, “It is a spirit!” And then, of course, we know the story.
On another occasion, in Luke 24, you remember the two disciples who went from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They said that Christ was crucified, and even though some women said that He had risen, that was too wonderful to believe.
So they were talking with sadness. And our Lord came among them. The Lord began to tell them all the prophecies in the Old Testament and how it all happened in Christ. The hearts of these two disciples became very warm.
But they arrived at Emmaus, and Jesus seemed to be going forward.
You know, the Lord is always going ahead. You cannot ask Him to stay put. In spiritual life, it is the same thing.
Thank God, we believe in Him. Thank God, we are saved. Thank God, we have consecrated ourselves. Thank God, we have our minds renewed. And thank God, we have experienced something of Christ living in us.
But do not stop. Always pursue, because He is still ahead. Not only during this life, but in eternity. That is the thrill of eternity.
You will not be merely there, playing the harp and singing. You are going to know Him more and more, deeper and deeper. There is no end. Is that not wonderful? Christian life is worth living—not only now, but for eternity.
So, brothers and sisters, Paul did not say, “I have arrived. Now I can rest.” No, he said, “I press on.” I pursue Christ. I know He is still ahead. I know there is something more of Him.
I must press on and pursue. It is with effort. It is not a matter of just loitering around. You have to learn to pursue Christ.
So, brothers and sisters, for those who are more aged, let me encourage you—and encourage myself. Do not think that this is the end. There is always something more ahead. We have to pursue, and we should run as fast as we can.
Brothers and sisters, do not ever stop. Remember, Christ is always ahead.
And then you find in chapter 4, verse 13:
I can do all things in Him that strengtheneth me.
Brothers and sisters, it is not just a matter of the renewing of the mind. It is not merely a matter of outward pursuit. It is a matter of overcoming.
Paul said, “I know how to be full, and how to be hungry. I know how to meet every kind of circumstance.”
We think that our circumstances control us, that our circumstances make us what we are. But the Bible does not say that. We are able to rise above every circumstance and learn Christ through every circumstance.
He can do all things through Him who gives power. But you need an initiation. How are you initiated into this overcoming power of the life of Christ—the power that overcomes all circumstances?
We will be surrounded by all kinds of circumstances. Sometimes it is adversity; sometimes it is abundance. You know, abundance is sometimes more difficult than adversity.
God will use all kinds of circumstances to train us to show forth the mighty power of the life of Christ. Have we been initiated into it?
I wonder whether it happened in 2 Corinthians 12. You remember Paul, who had received such visions. In order that he might not be proud, God allowed Satan to put a thorn in his flesh.
Paul was teaching the victory of Christ, but people said, “Look at him.” We do not know exactly what that thorn was. It may have been connected with malaria, because he travelled in areas where malaria was present, and malaria can affect the eyesight. We do not know.
So Paul prayed to the Lord: “I am teaching the power of God, but look—I have this infirmity. How can people believe me? Take this away from me, that I may be really used by You.”
The Lord said:
My grace is sufficient for thee: for My power is made perfect in weakness.
“I will not make you strong, but I will overcome your weakness.”
Brothers and sisters, Paul said, “I will glory in my weaknesses.” Who wants to boast of his weakness? This is very unnatural. We boast of our strength. But one day, when you are able to boast of your weakness, you have found the secret.
Because God wants to show that His power is made perfect in your weakness. After Paul was initiated into this secret, he could meet any circumstance, and he was always above and not below.
This is the way Christ lives, and this is the way that Christians can live a Christian life.
So, dear brothers and sisters, how do you know that it is Christ who lives in you? You know there is nothing for us to boast of except our weakness and to boast of His strength.
This is the way Paul lived—not Paul, but Christ. And if Christ had done it in Paul, He can do it in everyone.
May the Lord lead us in this way of Christian living.