Ⅳ
Christ is our life—Col. 3:4:
A
The life of God is the life of Christ, and the life of Christ has become our life—v. 4; John 5:26:
１
For Christ to be our life means that He is subjective to us to the uttermost—1:4; 14:6a; 10:10b; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:10, 6, 11.
２
It is impossible to separate a person from the life of that person, for a person’s life is the person himself; thus, to say that Christ is our life means that Christ has become us and that we have one life and living with Him—John 14:6a; Phil. 1:21a.
B
The truth that Christ is our life is a strong indication that we are to take Him as life and live Him in our daily life—Col. 3:4; John 6:57:
１
Christ must be our life in a practical and experiential way; day by day we need to be saved in His life—Col. 3:4; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 5:10.
２
The new man is the spontaneous issue of our taking Christ as our life and living Him—Col. 3:3-4, 10-11.
Ⅴ
There are two possible ways of our life and work before God—the way that leads to life and the way that leads to destruction—Matt. 7:13-14:
A
In order to take the way that leads to life, we need to enter in through the narrow gate and then walk on the constricted way—vv. 13-14:
１
The narrow gate deals not only with outward conduct but also with inward motive.
２
The old man, the self, the flesh, the human concept, and the world with its glory are all excluded; only that which corresponds with God’s will can enter in—v. 21; 12:50.
３
First, we need to enter in through the narrow gate and then walk on the constricted way, a way that is lifelong and leads to life—7:14.
４
The word life in Matthew 7:14 refers to the ever-blessed condition of the kingdom, which is filled with the eternal life of God; this life is in the reality of the kingdom today and will be in the manifestation of the kingdom in the coming age—19:29; Luke 18:30.
B
The broad way is according to the worldly systems, satisfying the natural tastes, to get the crowd, to maintain a career of man, and to achieve man’s enterprise; the destruction to which the broad way leads refers not to the perishing of a person but to the destruction of a person’s deeds and works—1 Cor. 3:15; Matt. 13:31-33; Rev. 2:13, 20; 17:4-5.
C
The way of the Lord’s recovery is the way of life that leads to a living reward in life in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the coming age—Psa. 16:11; Jer. 21:8; Matt. 19:29; Luke 18:30; 1 Cor. 3:13-15; 15:58.
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 7:13-14 Enter in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it.Who can enter through the narrow gate spoken of in Matthew 7:13? Only the kingdom people with the nature described in the nine blessings in chapter 5. Those who enter the narrow gate must be poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, making peace with all men, willing to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and willing to be reproached for Christ. Only those with such a nature can enter through the narrow gate. Furthermore, those who enter through this narrow gate must be under the higher laws of the kingdom, the complemented and changed laws, and they should not have any anxiety concerning their living. Rather, they must have the confidence that their heavenly Father is taking care of them. Moreover, they should not be lazy or idle, but diligent and industrious. These are the people who enter through the narrow gate and walk on the constricted way. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 297-298)
Today’s Reading
The gate is narrow and the way is constricted because the new law of the kingdom is stricter and the demand…is higher…. It deals not only with outward conduct, but also with inward motive. The old man, the self, the flesh, the human concept, and the world with its glory are all excluded. Only that which corresponds to God’s will can enter in….To enter the gate is simply to begin walking on the way, a way which is lifelong.We all are happy to be in the Lord’s recovery and appreciate the recovery very much…. As one in the Lord’s recovery, are you walking on the constricted way? We all must be able to say that we are not taking the way of Christianity, but the way of constriction….Those in Christianity can use rock music or other worldly methods in their services, but we cannot…. All young people desire to be free,…to put off all restriction. When [they] graduate from high school, they are like caged birds wanting to be free. However, many are so free that they have no constriction, no restriction. We in the Lord’s recovery, on the contrary, are taking a constricted way….We in the Lord’s recovery must walk in our spirit. Living in spirit and walking in spirit restrict us. Even when we are loving, rejoicing, and happy, we must be under restriction. We must not be like those who throw off all restraint in their excitement. Rather, we must be excited within the limit of the spirit. This must even be true in the meetings. Although we may fully release our spirit, we should be restricted as far as physical activity is concerned. In everything, we need to take the constricted way, not the broad way.
We must take the constricted way in our fellowship with the brothers. Do you intend to praise a brother? You must praise him in a constricted way. Are you about to rebuke a brother? You must rebuke him in a constricted way. Are you having fellowship with some brothers? This is excellent, but you must fellowship with them in a constricted way. Sometimes when you are having fellowship, you forget all limitation. You go on hour after hour without taking care of the need for food or rest. Furthermore, in your fellowship you talk…about everyone without any restriction. Praise the Lord that we are truly free. Nevertheless, we still have the limitations, restrictions, and constrictions.
Life in Matthew 7:14 refers to the ever-blessed condition of the kingdom, which is filled with the eternal life of God. This life is in the reality of the kingdom today and will be in the manifestation of the kingdom in the coming age (19:29; Luke 18:30). In the Lord’s recovery today we are taking the constricted way which leads to life. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 298-299, 301)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1979, vol. 1, “Basic Lessons on Life,” lsns. 3,7-8,11-15; CWWL, 1981, vol. 1, “God’s Eternal Intention and Satan’s Counterplot,” chs. 2-3