THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The Cross of Christ
Message Five—Denying the Self, Taking Up the Cross,
and Losing the Soul-life for the Building Up of the Church

Scripture Reading: Matt. 16:16-28; Luke 23:34; Heb. 12:2; Gal.2:20; Phi. 2:2; Rev.12:11

I. In Matthew 16 the way to build up the church and the enemy of the building are revealed:

A. Christ, the Son of the living God, builds the church on Himself as the rock, with stones such as Peter, a transformed person—vv. 16-18.

B. The gates of Hades, Satan’s authority or power of darkness, attacks the church to frustrate the Lord from building up the church—v. 18.

C. In order to build the church, the Lord had to pass through death and enter into resurrection—v. 21:

1. The church was produced through Christ’s death and resurrection—John 12:24.

2. The way to build the church is to be crucified and resurrected—cf. 2 Cor. 4:10-12; Gal. 2:20.

D. Peter, with a good heart, rebuked the Lord and tried to prevent the Lord from going to Jerusalem to be crucified—Matt. 16:22:

1. It was not Peter but Satan who came out through one of the gates of Hades, the gate of Peter’s self, to try to frustrate the Lord from building up the church—v. 23.

2. The self, the mind, and the soul-life are the main gates through which Satan comes forth to attack and damage the church—vv. 23-26.

II. The building up of the church depends on the shutting up of the gates of Hades through the exercise of three keys—Matt. 16:24-26:

A. We need to learn to exercise the key of denying the self—v. 24:

1. The self is the embodiment of Satan; the self is the soul plus the satanic mind, the mind of Satan—Gen. 3:1-6; Matt. 16:22-23:

a. The self is the embodiment of the soul-life, which is expressed through the mind; thus, the self, the soul-life, and the mind are three-in-one.

b. Behind these three is Satan, who manipulates the self in order to damage the church—v. 23.

2. The self is the soul declaring independence from God:

a. The Lord does not have regard for what we do; rather, He has regard for our dependence on Him—7:21-23.

b. The enemy of the Body is the self; because the self is something independent, the self is the greatest problem, the greatest frustration and opposition, to the building up of the Body:

(1) We should depend not only on God but also on the Body, on the brothers and sisters—Exo. 17:11-13; Acts 9:25; 2 Cor. 11:33.

(2) The Lord and the Body are one; hence, if we are dependent on the Body, we are also dependent on the Lord, and if we are independent of the Body, we are spontaneously independent of the Lord.

(3) When we are dependent, the self is gone, and instead of the self, we have the Lord’s presence and are full of peace.

(4) If we exercise the key of denying the self to lock up the self, it would be impossible for us to be offended—cf. Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60.

(5) Only when the self has been utterly dealt with by the cross are we able to touch the reality of the Body of Christ and come to know the Body.

B. We need to learn to exercise the key of taking up the cross—Matt. 16:24:

1. To take up the cross simply means to take up the will of God; the cross is God’s will—cf. 26:39:

a. The Lord Jesus was willing to be crucified so that through His death, His life might be released to produce and build up the church—John 12:24; 2 Cor. 4:12.

b. The cross was a great suffering to the Lord, but He cared not for the suffering but for the fulfillment of God’s purpose—Heb. 12:2; Col. 1:24.

2. Let him take up his cross means that we are not forced to bear the cross but that we willingly take it up—Matt. 16:24.

3. The one church is God’s will, and every brother and sister in the church are God’s will; thus, to bear the cross is to bear the church and to bear all of the saints that we would have the genuine oneness—John 17:21-23; Eph. 4:3, 13; 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 2:2.

4. We need to remain on the cross, keeping our old man under the termination of the cross day by day—Luke 14:27; Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10; 1 Cor. 15:31.

C. We need to learn to exercise the key of losing the soul-life—Matt. 16:25:

1. To save the soul-life is to please the self by allowing the soul to have its enjoyment; to lose the soul-life is to lose the enjoyment of the soul:

a. Receiving God into man’s spirit and expressing God through the soul should be man’s joy and amusement—cf. Neh. 8:10; Rom. 14:17.

b. The Lord Jesus lost the enjoyment of His soul in this age so that He might find His soul-life in the coming age; we must do the same—John 10:11; Isa. 53:12.

c. If we save our soul-life in this age, we will lose it in the coming age, but if we lose our soul-life in this age, we will find it in the coming age—Matt. 16:25.

d. We need to love the Lord Jesus and to hate and deny our soul-life, not loving our soul-life even unto death—1 Cor. 16:22; 2:9; Luke 14:26; 9:23; Rev. 12:11.

2. If we are willing to lose all our present soulish enjoyment for the Lord’s sake, for the sake of the church, and for the sake of all the saints, others will be nourished by us and will be built up through us; this is not a suffering but a joy—Heb. 12:2.

3. The kingdom reward of sharing the King’s joy in ruling over the earth in the manifestation of the kingdom depends upon whether or not we save our soul-life in this age or lose it—Matt. 16:25-28; 25:21, 23.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

THE THREE KEYS

Verses 21 through 26 not only expose the gates, but also reveal the keys. The first key is the denial of the self. Self is an open gate, but self-denial is the key that shuts it. The second key is the taking up of the cross. This means that the cross is a key to shut up the self, the soul, and the mind. The third key is the losing of the soul. Therefore, the three keys here are the denying of the self, the taking up of the cross, and the losing of the soul. Day by day we need to use these keys. Yes, Peter used the keys on the day of Pentecost and in the household of Cornelius. But we also need the three subjective keys found in this portion of the Word. The principalities and powers in the heavenlies are gates. But in addition, the self, the soul, and the mind are three crucial subjective gates. If these subjective gates are locked, no principalities or powers will be able to come in.

USING THE KEY OF SELF-DENIAL

As we have seen, Matthew 16 speaks about the building up of the church and also about the gates of Hades and the keys of the kingdom. Without the keys to lock the gates, the church cannot be built. Because there has been so little exercise of these keys, the church has not yet been built. We may talk a great deal about the building. However, when certain things take place to touch us, the self is open. Because we are open to Hades, something from Hades—Satan—comes out. How we need to use the key of self-denial to lock the self! The way to keep from being offended by others is to lock up yourself by denying yourself. Blessed are those who are not offended.

There is no excuse for being offended. When the Lord Jesus comes and sets up His judgment seat, He will tell us to settle our account with Him. He may ask us why we were offended in certain places. But if we make excuses for ourselves, the Lord will not accept them. The problem is not the offense—it is the self. Certain viruses are very contagious. However, no virus can cause a table to be sick. If you can be offended, it is a proof that you are full of self. If my self has been locked up, I will not be offended no matter what you do to me or how you treat me.

LOCKING UP THE SELF FOR THE BUILDING

Matthew 16 has been veiled for centuries. Perhaps you have read this chapter again and again and again without knowing what the Lord was really saying. But now the Lord has given us further understanding to see how the church can be built up through the exercise of the keys. We need to be afraid of ourselves and use the key to lock up ourselves. We should do this not only in the church life, but also in our family life. If you exercise the key to lock the self, you will have no problems in your marriage. All the problems are from Satan who comes out through the gate of the self. When this gate is locked, Satan is confined, and there are no problems.

In these messages I am not concerned with mere doctrine. Instead, I am presenting to you what I have learned through years of suffering. We need to find out how the church can be built up. If you say that the church is built up through the cross and the resurrection, that is still too doctrinal. We need to go on to learn to exercise the key of self-denial to lock up the self in every situation. Whether a situation is for you or against you, you must lock up the self. Whether the brothers love you and welcome you or hate you and do not welcome you, you still need to lock your self. If you do this, there will be no problems, and it will be possible to have the building of the church. But without the locking up of the self, there is no possibility of having the building. (The Exercise of the Kingdom for the Building of the Church, msg. 3)

THE MEANING OF THE CROSS

We need to know the genuine meaning of the cross. Yes, the cross is a matter of suffering. Crucifixion was the method used by the Roman government to execute criminals. No doubt, to the criminal, the cross was a suffering because he did not choose to be crucified. On the contrary, he was forced to be crucified. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, however, was altogether different. He was not forced to suffer crucifixion; He chose it. This was His own preference. He was not compelled to go to the cross; He was willing to do so because His cross was God’s will. Hence, His crucifixion was for the fulfillment of God’s will. The Lord was willing to take up the cross and be crucified for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. In other words, Christ was not forced to die like a criminal. Rather, He was willing to be crucified that through death His life might be released to produce the church.

No doubt, the cross was a great suffering to the Lord, but He had no thought of reducing the suffering. Rather, when He was offered the wine mingled with gall, He rejected it (Matt. 27:34; Mark 15:23). The Lord did not care for the suffering; He cared for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. When He was on the cross, the Lord suffered greatly. But that suffering was not forced upon Him. He took it willingly. In Matthew 26:39 the Lord prayed to the Father, “Not as I will, but as You will.” At that same time He also prayed, “Your will be done.” The Lord was willing to take up the cross, to go to the cross, and to remain on the cross until God’s will had been fulfilled. This is the significance of the first mention of the cross in the Bible.

A TESTIMONY OF THE GENUINE ONENESS

All the demons and evil angels are observing us and examining our testimony. Thus, our testimony is not merely before men, but before the whole universe. What a shame it is if we talk about the building, but do not actually have the building because of our natural preferences! We need to pray, “Lord, help us and grant us the sufficient grace. We want to bear the cross so that no evil angel may be able to say a negative word about our testimony. We are here as the testimony of the building, and we want there to be no ground for the demons and evil angels to say anything.” Man may not know what is taking place, but all the demons and evil angels understand what we are doing. They know what is in our heart and whether or not we are willing to take up the cross. If we are willing to bear the cross, then we are a real testimony.

A battle is raging today not simply before men, but before all the evil powers. Thus, we must have no preferences, no choices except the will of God; and we must take up the cross, that is, take up the will of God. If we have seen the vision of the one church and of all the saints as the members of the one Body, then we shall have no choice and no personal taste. We should not care for our taste, feeling, or consciousness. Rather, we should care only for God’s will that we would have the genuine oneness, the oneness that can stand the investigation of all the demons and the principalities and powers. We want to have the testimony before the evil powers that we are a people with the genuine oneness because we are all willing to take up the cross. We are not suffering like criminals, but we are happy cross-bearers. I believe that at this end time throughout the entire earth there will be a people bearing such a testimony. (The Exercise of the Kingdom for the Building of the Church, msg. 4)

THE SOUL AND THE SOUL-LIFE

Verse 25 says, “For whoever desires to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it.” This verse begins with the word “For,” indicating that it is an explanation of the previous verses. The Greek word rendered “soul-life” or “life” (KJV) is psuche, the word for soul. Although it is correct to render this word as “soul-life,” it can also be rendered “soul.” Actually, this translation is preferable here. Rendered this way, verse 25 speaks of the saving and the losing of the soul. There is a difference between the soul and the soul-life. The soul is our natural being, whereas the soul-life is our human life. These two are inseparable.

USING THE THIRD KEY

Now we need to see what it means to lose the soul. In the process of the building of the church, we should not save our soul. Rather, we must always lose it. Do not move from one brothers’ house to another to seek a better situation to make things easier for yourself. Every brother is God’s will, and you need to bear each brother as a cross. If others will not wash the dishes, then you should wash them. But if you feel sorry for yourself because you are the only one to wash the dishes, the gate will be opened for Satan to come forth. He will tempt you to move out of the brothers’ house. When such a temptation comes, you need to use the third key, the key of losing the soul. If you use this key, you will say, “Praise the Lord! Tomorrow I shall wash even more dishes. Satan, don’t talk to me anymore. The more you talk to me, the more dishes I will wash. I am willing to lose my soul to the uttermost.” After a short period of time of losing the soul, there will be a transfiguration in the church, and in this transfiguration you will be rewarded positively. In the church life and in all the meetings you will have the highest enjoyment of the Lord’s presence. But those who have been saving their soul will be rewarded negatively during this time of transfiguration.

The Lord’s interest today is with the building of the church. But how can we, as fallen human beings, be built up together? It is difficult even for a husband and wife or for parents and children to be built up together. We all want enjoyment for ourselves and react against anything that touches our sense of enjoyment. Apart from the losing of the soul, it is impossible for the church to be built up. If someone offends you, you may be unwilling to forgive him simply because you enjoy being able to condemn him. Because forgiving him is not enjoyable to you, you have no interest in forgiving him. This is true not only in the church, but also between husbands and wives. Sisters, once your husband has offended you, you may enjoy holding on to that offense. Holding on to it and refusing to forgive him affords you psychological pleasure. This is the saving of the soul. If you save your soul in this way, you cannot have a proper family life. In order to have a proper family life, we need to lose our soul. Our soulish enjoyment must go. If you are willing to lose your soulish enjoyment, you will be rewarded one day when the Lord comes into your family. At that time, the Lord will save your soul. You were willing to lose it, but when the Lord comes in, He will save it and cause you to have great enjoyment. For the building of the church there is the crucial need that we all learn to lose our soul. Do not keep any enjoyment for your soul. Rather, lose it for the Lord’s sake.

THE CHURCH TRANSFIGURED THROUGH THE LOSING OF THE SOUL

The losing of the soul is the basic factor in our being built up together. It is not only a matter of denying the self or of bearing the cross, but of losing the soul. We need to lose all our present soulish enjoyment for the Lord’s sake, for the sake of the church, and for the sake of all the saints. If you are willing to lose your soul for the sake of others, those with you will be enlightened, nourished, and filled. This is the way the church is built. If all the saints are willing to lose the soul, what a wonderful situation there will be among us. There will be no offenses and even no need for forgiveness. If we are like this, we shall be rewarded with a prevailing transfiguration. But if we are not willing to lose our soul, we shall not share in this transfiguration. On the contrary, for us the church life will be darkness, and, during the time of transfiguration, we shall be rewarded with suffering. Instead of being joyful, we shall be in darkness. This is a negative reward for being unwilling to lose the soul.

Our willingness to lose the soul for the Lord’s sake will cause the church to be transfigured. In other words, it will bring in a revival. Every genuine revival is a coming of Christ, a present coming of Christ with His reward (not His second coming in a physical way). He rewards the faithful ones positively and the unfaithful ones negatively. I have seen this happen in the church life. When a revival, a transfiguration, came, some were enjoying and others were gnashing their teeth in darkness.

How I thank the Lord for showing us these three keys, the keys of self-denial, bearing the cross, and losing the soul! If we deny ourselves, we shall not have any opinions. When I was working with Brother Nee in China, I realized that he had been appointed by the Lord to take the lead. Therefore, I did whatever he said. However, this did not mean that I did not sometimes have a better way to do certain things. According to my knowledge, my way would sometimes have saved a great deal of time. Nevertheless, I did not say a word, simply because I did not want Brother Nee to feel that I was dissenting with him. Instead of taking the time necessary to make my way clear, I denied myself, forgot my way, and followed Brother Nee’s way. Actually, this not only saved time; it also saved us from the feeling of dissension. We all are human. If we say contrary things to one another, it is difficult to avoid the feeling of dissension. This feeling is subtle, and it may give rise to friction between us.

Without the third key, the losing of the soul, the first two keys do not work very well. We need the last key, the losing of the soul, in the church life. In every aspect of the church life we need to lose our soul. If we lose our soulish enjoyment, we shall not argue with the brothers. Therefore, the losing of the soul is the way for the church to be built up. By the exercise of the three keys, the gates of Hades are locked up and the doors of heaven are opened. When Hades is locked up and the heavens are opened, we shall have an excellent church life. This excellent church life is the kingdom today. This is the way for the church to be built up. (The Exercise of the Kingdom for the Building of the Church, msg. 5)