LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Read and pray: “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” (John 21:18)
Death Is a Termination to Man
As we have pointed out, man was also on the cross. When the Lord Jesus died, man also died, and that death meant the termination of man. All the negative things related to man were terminated on the cross. Praise the Lord that we all were terminated on the cross!
Through the all-inclusive death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, all the riches of God were released. The death of Christ on the cross was a wonderful release for God and a wonderful termination for us.
We all need this vision of the altar. We need to see that, regardless of our age, we all were terminated on the cross at the same time. The riches of God were released there, and all the negative things were also terminated there. Therefore, the all-inclusive death of Christ on the cross was our termination and the release of God.
The mingling of God with man began when the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Through His incarnation, God came to man. But the mingling of man with God began on the cross and was fully accomplished in resurrection.
Through the Lord’s death and resurrection, we were put into God and mingled with God. Therefore, through incarnation God came to man, and through death and resurrection man was put into God. Everything that we are and have was terminated on the cross, on the altar. Through the cross, the divine life was released, and then this life was given to us through Christ’s resurrection.
If we bury a grain of wheat and a small stone, something living will grow out of the grain of wheat, but the stone will remain buried. Through His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus as the grain of wheat was released, but we, a “dead stone,” were terminated. Although we were terminated in this way, the divine life was imparted into us to make us wonderful persons.
Originally, we were not wonderful. Before we were saved, we were outside the wall of the temple complex, and we loved ourselves very much. After we were saved and passed through the gate into the outer court, we no longer loved ourselves as much; however, we still had a certain amount of self-pity.
However, after entering into the inner court, we no longer love ourselves or have pity on ourselves; rather, we hate the self. As we go further and arrive at the altar, we see that the self is horrible, which we loved when we were outside the wall, despised in the outer court, and hated in the inner court, had already been terminated. Once the self has been terminated, there is no need to love it, pity it, or even hate it. Rather, we should simply forget the self and leave it on the altar.
We have pointed out that since the cross, the altar, occupies a central place in our relationship with God, we cannot avoid it. In fact, as soon as we enter through the gate, we begin to realize something concerning the cross. The cross is implied in the gate, which typifies the Lord Jesus, who fulfilled all the requirements of the Ten Commandments and then died on the cross to satisfy the righteous requirements of God’s law.
The cross is also implied in the eating of the sacrifices, which passed through death. This eating takes place on the pavement. Furthermore, the kitchens and the tables where the sacrifices are slaughtered both imply the cross. This indicates that throughout the holy building of God, we can see the cross — in the main gate, on the pavement, in the corner kitchens, and on the tables, in the inner court.
The cross, therefore, is not only the center but also the circumference. The cross spreads in all directions and in every corner. After we have been saved, we will encounter the cross everywhere. Apart from the cross, it is impossible to contact Christ or to have Christian spiritual experiences.
Although we encounter the cross throughout our Christian life, we experience the cross in a particular way when we come to the altar at the center of God’s building. To go to the altar in the center is to realize that everything we are and have has been terminated on the cross.
Here we have a definite experience of the cross, not merely a superficial knowledge of the cross. In our fellowship with the Lord, we are brought to a point where we touch the cross in a definite way and sense that God will no longer allow us to live in our natural man.
This brings us to have a great breakthrough and an absolute submission to the cross. As a result, we will know what the natural life is and what it means for the old creation to be stripped. This is the experience of the cross as the center. It grieves me to know that although many of us have heard messages about the cross, few actually live a crucified life.
For example, we cannot live a crucified life in our married life. If a married brother and his wife argue with one another, this indicates that they are not living a crucified life. If they were living a crucified life, they would not accuse one another or defend themselves.
Those who live a crucified life do not defend themselves when they are attacked or criticized. They experience the termination of their Adamic life and of the old creation through the death of the cross and enjoy the riches of God and His divine element, which were released through the cross.
When some people, especially the young ones, hear this word concerning the altar, they become afraid and think that it is better not to love the Lord or seek Him. They think it is proper simply to enter through the gate into the outer court and enjoy Christ on the pavement; they think there is no need to go beyond the inner gate, which leads into the inner court toward the altar. They fear that it is dangerous to approach the altar and become a burnt offering.
We need to realize that since the Lord has had mercy on us, we cannot escape Him. We were not saved by our own will. Rather, while we were wandering in the world, with no intention of entering through the gate, the Lord brought us to it. Apart from our own choice, we believed in Christ. This is altogether a matter of God’s selection, His mercy, and His careful seeking.
The principle is the same with regard to our loving and seeking the Lord. If we do not believe in the Lord, love Him, and seek Him, we feel uncomfortable and dissatisfied. However, the more we love the Lord and seek Him, the more we are satisfied. This also is a matter of the Lord’s mercy.
Because of His mercy toward us and His working within us, we have no choice but to go forward; we cannot go back. If we do not go forward toward the altar but instead try to return to the outer court, we will feel uncomfortable. Therefore, we need to go forward more and more until we reach the altar.
Eventually, all those who are spiritual and who seek the Lord will end up at the altar, where they will be terminated, even destroyed, by the Lord. Apparently without reason, the Lord strips them and deprives them of everything.
God puts to death everything that we are and everything that we have. Madame Guyon experienced this and could say that God gave her the cross. Because we love the Lord and seek Him, sooner or later we will know the cross, which will strip us, deprive us, and bring everything to death. We will be forced to pass through death, even if we are not willing to do so.
We do not experience the cross in a complete way once for all; we experience it repeatedly. Those who seek the Lord will encounter the cross in every direction. At one time, they will encounter the cross through their children. At another time, they will encounter the cross through their spouse or because of illness.
At other times, they will experience the cross through the church or through the co-workers. The reason the cross is everywhere is that we must pass through the cross in order to contact God. Thanks to the Lord, God gives us the cross, and the cross gives us God. Those who love God are those who experience Him the most, and they are the ones who pass through the cross the most.
🌿Enjoy more:
Hymn: Praise the Lord - "His Death"
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