A not too long together excerpts from Finest of the Wheat (available online pdf, btw, fwiw, today)
Just some paragraphs not necessarily in the same lessons he gave, from The Finest of the Wheat........
The Church is not a company of Christians working their way heavenward, but a company of Christians who are actually now citizens of heaven.
Our Lord once said, “No one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven” (John 3.13). Note how these two different positions synchronize in Christ. There is no change of time or place with Him. Of God it is written: “the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning” (James 1.17). He is that in himself. He is that in His Christ: He is that in His Church. . . . Spiritual progress is not a question of attaining to some abstract standard, not a question of pressing through to some far-off goal; it is wholly a question of seeing God’s standard.
Spiritual reality has this outstanding characteristic, that it bears no mark of time. The time factor vanishes the instant you touch that reality. From the human point of view there is such a thing as prophecy, but from the divine viewpoint no such thing exists. “Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee” (Ps. 2.7). With God it is
Spiritual Reality 493
always “this day.” Our Lord says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22.13). He is both together, both at once. It is not that at one time He is first and at another time He is last. He is first and last simultaneously. Nor is it that having been Alpha for some time, He becomes Omega later on. To the contrary, He is Alpha and Omega from eternity to eternity. He is always first and last; and He is always Alpha and Omega. In the sight of man He is not Omega till He is manifested as Omega; but in the sight of God He is Omega now. g God’s standard
We must learn to live in the Holy Spirit, otherwise we may
Spiritual Reality 485
exercise “good” conduct without touching the spiritual reality. What is meant by living in the Holy Spirit? It means not doing anything by or out from ourselves. Whatever is done by the self is of the flesh, and whatever is of the flesh is definitely not spiritual reality. Spiritual reality is spiritual, not fleshly. To put it simply, spiritual reality is what one touches by the Holy Spirit. The thing which that one so touches is living and real. The conduct of a Christian is not real if it is not in the Holy Spirit. His conduct can never be a substitute for the real thing before God. It can neither help others nor edify himself. May God be merciful to us that we may realize that to live in the Holy Spirit is to live in spiritual reality.
Supply and Reality 2 Corinthians 4 especially shows us how there is supply where there is reality. “Always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body” (v.10). Where the dying of Jesus is exhibited, there is the manifestation of the life of Jesus. In other words, since the dying of Jesus is in us, the life of Jesus is also in us. This refers to those who know the dying of Jesus and in whom the life of Jesus is manifested. “
For every obsession there is a cause. We will try to find out some
490 The Finest of the Wheat
of the basic causes by looking closely through the Scriptures.
Love Darkness
People love darkness rather than light. This is a main cause for obsession. Such abnormal love reveals the straying of the heart, hence such ones are easily obsessed. In order to avoid difficulties and to save themselves from troubles, they dare not face the light but try to comfort themselves that they are right. Gradually they really believe they are right. Thus are they obsessed. The Jews rejected the Lord Jesus because they loved darkness rather than light (John 3.19). They had no light for they dwelt in darkness. They imagined that it was reasonable for them to hate and to reject the Lord Jesus. “If I had not done among them the works which none other did, said the Lord, “they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father” (John 15.24). Why? Because they were obsessed. They hated the Lord without a cause. We need to know that wherever there is darkness and no light, there are erroneous concepts, false confidence, and wrong judgment. There is an element of obsession in each and every error. The consequence of not loving the light is obsession.
Pride is also a major reason for obsession. “The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee” (Obadiah 3). This reveals that the greatest reason for self-deception is pride. Those who deceive themselves into obsession are probably all proud people. If a Christian sets his heart on vainglory and position before men, he may start to pretend to be what he is not in order to deceive people. Gradually he begins to deceive himself and to become obsessed. Once he becomes proud he can easily imagine himself as being something extraordinary. Slowly he will take what he fancies as the truth. Thus he falls into obsession. Brothers and sisters, never consider pride to be an insignificant sin,
Spiritual Reality (pg)491
for pride can easily propel us into obsession. Let us therefore learn to be humble.
Receive Not the Love of the Truth Not receiving the love of the truth is another big cause behind obsession. It is shown in 2 Thessalonians that for those who “received not the love of the truth . . . God sendeth a working of error, that they should believe a lie” (2.10-11). This is indeed a most terrible aftermath. People are obsessed by believing lies. They believe things which are non-existent. Because of their not receiving the love of truth, they just naturally incline towards lies. “Buy the truth, and sell it not, yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding” (Prov. 23.23). Truth needs to be bought, that is, a price must be paid. Blessed are we if our hearts are well prepared for the truth of God. We will love the truth and accept it whatever it may cost us. But oftentimes men do not have the love of the truth in them. They distort the truth and even discard it. Finally they actually believe it is not the truth. They proclaim as untrue what is the truth and preach as the truth what is untrue. They seem to do this with confidence. This definitely is obsession. . . .
Seek Not the Glory That Comes from the Only God Not seeking the glory which comes from the only God is also a factor in obsession. “How can ye believe, who receive glory one of another, and the glory that cometh from the only God ye seek not?” asks the Lord Jesus (John 5.44). For the sake of coveting glory from men the Jews rejected the Lord and lost eternal life. How very lamentable! This inordinate love of glory from men inclined their hearts to a lie. As a consequence, they believed in falsehood. They became increasingly confident of themselves. They were none other than obsessed. . . .
Just some paragraphs not necessarily in the same lessons he gave, from The Finest of the Wheat........
The Church is not a company of Christians working their way heavenward, but a company of Christians who are actually now citizens of heaven.
Our Lord once said, “No one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven” (John 3.13). Note how these two different positions synchronize in Christ. There is no change of time or place with Him. Of God it is written: “the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning” (James 1.17). He is that in himself. He is that in His Christ: He is that in His Church. . . . Spiritual progress is not a question of attaining to some abstract standard, not a question of pressing through to some far-off goal; it is wholly a question of seeing God’s standard.
Spiritual reality has this outstanding characteristic, that it bears no mark of time. The time factor vanishes the instant you touch that reality. From the human point of view there is such a thing as prophecy, but from the divine viewpoint no such thing exists. “Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee” (Ps. 2.7). With God it is
Spiritual Reality 493
always “this day.” Our Lord says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22.13). He is both together, both at once. It is not that at one time He is first and at another time He is last. He is first and last simultaneously. Nor is it that having been Alpha for some time, He becomes Omega later on. To the contrary, He is Alpha and Omega from eternity to eternity. He is always first and last; and He is always Alpha and Omega. In the sight of man He is not Omega till He is manifested as Omega; but in the sight of God He is Omega now. g God’s standard
We must learn to live in the Holy Spirit, otherwise we may
Spiritual Reality 485
exercise “good” conduct without touching the spiritual reality. What is meant by living in the Holy Spirit? It means not doing anything by or out from ourselves. Whatever is done by the self is of the flesh, and whatever is of the flesh is definitely not spiritual reality. Spiritual reality is spiritual, not fleshly. To put it simply, spiritual reality is what one touches by the Holy Spirit. The thing which that one so touches is living and real. The conduct of a Christian is not real if it is not in the Holy Spirit. His conduct can never be a substitute for the real thing before God. It can neither help others nor edify himself. May God be merciful to us that we may realize that to live in the Holy Spirit is to live in spiritual reality.
Supply and Reality 2 Corinthians 4 especially shows us how there is supply where there is reality. “Always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body” (v.10). Where the dying of Jesus is exhibited, there is the manifestation of the life of Jesus. In other words, since the dying of Jesus is in us, the life of Jesus is also in us. This refers to those who know the dying of Jesus and in whom the life of Jesus is manifested. “
For every obsession there is a cause. We will try to find out some
490 The Finest of the Wheat
of the basic causes by looking closely through the Scriptures.
Love Darkness
People love darkness rather than light. This is a main cause for obsession. Such abnormal love reveals the straying of the heart, hence such ones are easily obsessed. In order to avoid difficulties and to save themselves from troubles, they dare not face the light but try to comfort themselves that they are right. Gradually they really believe they are right. Thus are they obsessed. The Jews rejected the Lord Jesus because they loved darkness rather than light (John 3.19). They had no light for they dwelt in darkness. They imagined that it was reasonable for them to hate and to reject the Lord Jesus. “If I had not done among them the works which none other did, said the Lord, “they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father” (John 15.24). Why? Because they were obsessed. They hated the Lord without a cause. We need to know that wherever there is darkness and no light, there are erroneous concepts, false confidence, and wrong judgment. There is an element of obsession in each and every error. The consequence of not loving the light is obsession.
Pride is also a major reason for obsession. “The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee” (Obadiah 3). This reveals that the greatest reason for self-deception is pride. Those who deceive themselves into obsession are probably all proud people. If a Christian sets his heart on vainglory and position before men, he may start to pretend to be what he is not in order to deceive people. Gradually he begins to deceive himself and to become obsessed. Once he becomes proud he can easily imagine himself as being something extraordinary. Slowly he will take what he fancies as the truth. Thus he falls into obsession. Brothers and sisters, never consider pride to be an insignificant sin,
Spiritual Reality (pg)491
for pride can easily propel us into obsession. Let us therefore learn to be humble.
Receive Not the Love of the Truth Not receiving the love of the truth is another big cause behind obsession. It is shown in 2 Thessalonians that for those who “received not the love of the truth . . . God sendeth a working of error, that they should believe a lie” (2.10-11). This is indeed a most terrible aftermath. People are obsessed by believing lies. They believe things which are non-existent. Because of their not receiving the love of truth, they just naturally incline towards lies. “Buy the truth, and sell it not, yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding” (Prov. 23.23). Truth needs to be bought, that is, a price must be paid. Blessed are we if our hearts are well prepared for the truth of God. We will love the truth and accept it whatever it may cost us. But oftentimes men do not have the love of the truth in them. They distort the truth and even discard it. Finally they actually believe it is not the truth. They proclaim as untrue what is the truth and preach as the truth what is untrue. They seem to do this with confidence. This definitely is obsession. . . .
Seek Not the Glory That Comes from the Only God Not seeking the glory which comes from the only God is also a factor in obsession. “How can ye believe, who receive glory one of another, and the glory that cometh from the only God ye seek not?” asks the Lord Jesus (John 5.44). For the sake of coveting glory from men the Jews rejected the Lord and lost eternal life. How very lamentable! This inordinate love of glory from men inclined their hearts to a lie. As a consequence, they believed in falsehood. They became increasingly confident of themselves. They were none other than obsessed. . . .
