Ⅱ
In order for us to follow the Lamb and go on to maturity to become the firstfruits, we must walk with God by faith to escape death and obtain the testimony of being well pleasing to God:
A
The way to escape death and obtain the testimony of being well pleasing to God is to walk with God—Gen. 5:22-24; Heb. 11:5-6:
１
To walk with God is not to override God, not to be presumptuous, not to do things according to our own concept and desire, not to do things according to the current of the age, and not to do anything without God—cf. Psa. 19:12-13; Josh. 9:14b; Luke 24:15.
２
To walk with God is to take Him as our center and everything, to live and do things according to God and with God, according to His revelation and leading, and to do everything with Him—Rom. 8:4, 13-14; Gal. 2:2a; 2 Cor. 5:14-15.
３
To walk with God means that we do not live by what we are or can do but by the immortal life, which is Christ Himself—vv. 4, 9.
４
To walk with God is to have habitual fellowship with God, to be in constant touch with the Lord, and to be under His constant infusion—1 John 1:3; Phil. 4:6; 2 Cor. 3:16, 18.
５
To walk with God is to continually exercise our spirit to enjoy the Blessed Trinity—Jude 14, 19-21.
６
To walk with God implies the denying of our self and everything that is of our self so that we may be one with Him; it implies that we have given ourselves to Him, that we will give in to Him and let Him take the lead—Matt. 16:24-25; 2 Cor. 2:13-14.
B
To walk with God is to walk by faith—5:7; Heb. 11:5-6:
１
Faith means that we believe that God is—vv. 1-2, 6; 2 Cor. 4:13, 18:
ａ
Without faith it is impossible to please God, to make God happy— Heb. 11:6a.
ｂ
To believe that God is, is to believe that He is everything to us and that we are nothing—John 8:58; Eccl. 1:2.
ｃ
To believe that God is implies that we are not; He must be the only One, the unique One, in everything, and we must be nothing in everything—Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5.
ｄ
To believe that God is, is to deny our self; in the whole universe He is, and all of us are nothing—Luke 9:23.
ｅ
I should not be anything; I should not exist; only He should exist—it is no longer I, but Christ—Gal. 2:20.
ｆ
At his conversion the Lord told Saul of Tarsus, "I am Jesus"—Acts 9:5:
⑴
The Lord was saying, "I am the great I Am; I am the One who is; you must believe that I am and that you are not."
⑵
Eventually, Saul was over, and Paul came up—13:9.
ｇ
This is faith—"O the joy of having nothing and being nothing, seeing nothing but a living Christ in glory, and being careful for nothing but His interests down here"—J. N. Darby.
２
Faith means that we believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him—Heb. 11:6; Gen. 15:1; Phil. 3:8, 14:
ａ
Enoch's reward was the highest degree of life—escape from death— Heb. 11:5a; 2 Cor. 5:4; Rom. 8:6, 10-11; 5:17.
ｂ
The Lord is a rewarder, and we need to be His seekers—Psa. 27:4, 8; 42:1-2; 43:4; 73:25; 119:2, 10.
C
Enoch, as the first person to be raptured, is the representative of all the overcomers who will be raptured while they are living—Matt. 24:37-51; Rev. 14:1; Luke 21:34-36:
１
Our being raptured depends on our being mature in the divine life by our walking with God—Heb. 6:1a.
２
Enoch continually walked upward with God day and night for three centuries, becoming closer to God and more one with God each day until "he was not, for God took him"—Gen. 5:24; cf. S. S. 8:5a.
Morning Nourishment
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 …If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
He who comes forward to God must believe that God is (Heb. 11:6b). This is very simple. God requires you only to believe that He is. The verb to be is actually the divine title of our Triune God…Moses asked God what His name was. God answered that His name is I Am Who I Am (Exo. 3:13- 14). Our God's name is the verb to be. He is I Am Who I Am. He is the only One.
In the whole universe…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)…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)
Today’s Reading
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…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; 20:28-29; 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. Our life is a false one…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. The brothers need to ask themselves, “Is it me or Christ who is the husband to my wife?”…If her husband is Christ, she has the only Husband, the unique Husband. Only Christ is the Husband. No husbands are real husbands. They are all vanity. Do you come forward to God? If you say yes, then you have to believe that God is, implying that you are nothing. You are finished. It would be good to speak a word like this at a wedding. 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 not the bride…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…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…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. I should not be anything. I should not exist. Only He should be everything. Only He should exist. So Paul says, “I have been crucified. It is no longer I, but Christ.” I would like…to refer to what Darby said: “O the joy of having nothing and being nothing, seeing nothing but a living Christ in glory, and being careful for nothing but His interests down here.” This is faith. We care for nothing but His interest. We should always say, “Not I, not me, not my, not mine; but He, Him, His. He is the first and the last and everything in between.” (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” pp. 277-280)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” ch. 7