«　WEEK 2　DAY 2　»

　　Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him, for he who comes forward to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

　　Luke 9:23 And He said to them all, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

　　God requires you only to believe that He is [Heb. 11:6]. The verb to be is actually the divine title of our Triune God. In Exodus 3 Moses asked God what His name was. God answered that His name is I Am Who I Am (vv. 13-14)… He is the only One. In the whole universe, nothing else is. Only One is. He is, because He is real. All other things created by Him are not real. This is why Solomon, the wise king, said that all things are vanity (Eccl. 1:2). You think you are, but you are vanity… The sun, the moon, the living creatures, the heavens, and the earth are all vanities. Only One is. This is, the verb to be, implies existing. He is the One who was existing, who is existing, and who is to be existing. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” pp. 276-277)

　　Jesus is the great I Am. He told us, “I am… the life” (John 14:6a). “I am the resurrection” (11:25). “I am the door” (10:7,9). “I am the good Shepherd” (v. 11). “I am the bread of life” (6:35). He is the real food… This food is Jesus, the great I Am. He is the breath (20:22), the living water (4:10, 14), and the tree of life (15:1; 14:6a; Rev. 2:7). He is God (John 1:1;… Rom. 9:5), the Father (Isa. 9:6; John 14:9-10), the Son (Mark 1:1; John 20:31), and the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17; 1 Cor. 15:45b). He is everything to us.

　　We are today, but eventually, we will not be tomorrow. So in the whole universe we are nothing. If a husband realized that only God is and he is not, then he would not love his wife by himself and in himself… If you realized that in the whole universe only God is, would you buy anything you want? You would realize, “I am not. I am nothing. I don’t go shopping, but He is, so He goes.” The brothers need to ask themselves, “Is it me or Christ who is the husband to my wife?” If a sister has a husband who does not take Christ as the One who is, she will be miserable. But if her husband is Christ, she has the only Husband, the unique Husband. Only Christ is the Husband. No husbands are real husbands… Do you come forward to God? If you say yes, then you have to believe that God is, implying that you are nothing.

　　The person marrying a couple could say to them, “Are you the dear bride, and are you the dear bridegroom?” The bridegroom should say, “No. I am not. But Christ is.” The bride should say, “… I am so ugly and poor. I am not pretty. Christ is the beautiful One. I am not the bride, but He is.” This is a believer. When you say what Paul said, “It’s no longer I, but Christ,” you believe that God is. To believe that God is, is so deep. It implies that you realize that you are not, but He is. You are not means that you do not exist. This is what the Bible means when it says to deny yourself. When a sister is about to be married, she… should not feel that she is the most beautiful and wonderful one. If she does, her marriage will be finished. That is not a believer’s marriage. A believer who is about to be married should say, “Lord, I am going to marry this man. Lord, You know I am nothing. I cannot be the proper wife. I am nothing, Lord.”… This is the blessing of denying yourself in everything.

　　To deny yourself equals to believe that God is, and to believe that God is equals to deny yourself. This is because you believe that only He is. In the whole universe He is, and all of us are nothing… Only He should be everything. Only He should exist. So Paul says, “I have been crucified. It is no longer I, but Christ.” (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” pp. 277-279)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” ch. 7; CWWN, vol. 42, ch. 48