The Gospel of God(Vol.1)

《The Gospel of God(Vol.1)》

CONTENTS：

THE GOSPEL OF GOD (1)

1. Preface
2. Sin, Sins, and the Sinner (Chapter One)
3. God's Love, Grace, and Mercy (Chapter Two)
4. The Nature of Grace (Chapter Three)
5. The Function of the Law (Chapter Four)
6. God's Righteousness (Chapter Five)
7. The Work of Christ—Redemption (Chapter Six)
8. The Work of Christ—Resurrection Because of Our Justification (Chapter Seven)
9. The Work of the Holy Spirit—Enlightening and Fellowship (Chapter Eight)
10. The Way of Salvation—Faith Versus Law and Work (Chapter Nine)
11. The Relationship Between Faith and Work in James 2 (Chapter Ten)
12. The Way of Salvation—Faith Versus Repentance (Chapter Eleven)
13. The Way of Salvation—Not Being Confession or Prayer (Chapter Twelve)
14. The Way of Salvation—Faith Versus Loving God or Being Baptized (Chapter Thirteen)
15. The Way of Salvation—Faith(Chapter Fourteen)

PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION

As has become manifest to Christian readers throughout the earth, Brother Watchman Nee was especially entrusted by the Lord with the burden to help the believers in the truth of God's full salvation. In the spring of 1937 Brother Nee delivered a series of twenty-six messages on the basic truths of the gospel of God to the church in Shanghai, China. These messages compose the contents of Volumes 28 and 29 in The Collected Works. The matters covered are comprehensive, ranging from man's sinful condition before salvation to his destiny in the coming age. In Volume 28, Brother Nee presents the particulars of God's salvation, that is, man's sins; God's love, grace, and mercy; the nature of grace; the function of the law and God's righteousness; the work of Christ and of the Holy Spirit in God's salvation; and faith as the way of salvation. In Volume 29, Brother Nee covers in detail the issues of eternal security of salvation and God's way of dealing with the believers' sins both in this age and in the age to come. For both issues Brother Nee presents persuasive responses from the Scriptures to various understandings current among Christians.

The messages in this series were spoken by Brother Nee in Chinese and were transcribed by hand as they were being given. The handwritten notes have been translated into English and edited as necessary. As much as possible, the spoken nature of the messages has been preserved. Many of the illustrations Brother Nee used were drawn from his life in China at the time.

These messages demonstrate the Lord's commission to our brother and His equipping of him with the revelation in His Word. May the Lord richly bless all who read and see these truths released by the Lord through our brother.

CHAPTER ONE

SIN, SINS, AND THE SINNER

THE NATURE OF THIS MEETING—THE TEACHING OF THE GOSPEL

Tonight we begin a series of Bible-study meetings. But before we begin, I would like to first say a few words concerning the nature of these meetings. I do not know if there are some here who are with us for the first time. Some who come for the first time find it very hard to locate our address. Many have complained that the street we are on is difficult to locate. Some have even said that though they were actually sitting here, they did not know how to leave from here after the meeting. They did not know which way to turn to get to that auto shop they saw as they came here, and they did not know how to walk from there to the tram stop or to the bus stop. Even though they were here, they were not sure of and could hardly remember the way they came. This is the case with many Christians in their Christian life. If you ask them if they have believed in the Lord, they will say yes. But if you ask them how they have believed, they will say that they are not sure. They are not clear at all about the way they were saved.

The meetings that we are having now are not revival or gospel meetings. And while the subject of these meetings is the gospel, they are not gospel meetings. We are not preaching the gospel this time; instead, we are teaching the gospel. Why do we need to teach the gospel? Many have been saved and have become Christians, but they still do not know how they have become Christians. What we are doing today is telling people how they have become Christians. In other words, we are telling them that they turned south from Aiwenyi Road and walked straight ahead to that auto shop they saw, that they turned from there to Wen-teh Lane where we are now, took a few steps from there to the window of our meeting hall, turned at the entrance of our hall and walked to a trash can by the door of the meeting hall, and then entered into the meeting hall. This time we are not persuading people to come in; rather, we are telling them how to come in.

If there are some sitting here who have not believed in the Lord, they may be disappointed. What we are doing this time is showing those who have believed how they have believed. Some brothers and sisters may be very clear about the gospel; they may already know what we are speaking about. But I hope that the Lord would bless us and grant us new light. You must be clear that these meetings are Bible-study meetings and are meant for those who have believed but do not know how they have believed. This time I am not trying to encourage you or revive you. I am merely pointing out the direction to you. In other words, in these meetings I am nothing more than a tour guide.

SIN, SINS, AND THE SINNER

I will begin with a very basic foundation concerning the gospel. Yet I hope that in every meeting we will advance a little. In this first meeting, our subject is one which most people do not like to hear about, but one which is unavoidable. Our subject in this meeting is sin, sins, and sinners.

The Bible pays much attention to the matter of sin. Only when we are clear about sin can we understand salvation. If we want to know about the gospel of God and the salvation of God, we must first know what sin is. We must firstly see how sin has affected us and how we have become sinners. Only then will we be clear about what God's salvation is. We will first consider the ABCs. We need to see what sin is, what sins are, and who is a sinner.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SIN AND SINS

We can easily tell the difference between sin and sins: sin is singular, and sins are plural. However, we need to distinguish between sin and sins. If you cannot differentiate between the two, it will be impossible for you to be clear about your salvation. If someone is not clear about the difference between sin and sins, even if he is saved, his salvation is probably an unclear one. What is sin according to the Bible? What are sins? Let me give a brief definition first. Sin refers to that power within us that motivates us to commit sinful acts. Sins, on the other hand, refer to the particular individual sinful acts that we commit outwardly.

What is sin? I do not like to use terms such as "original sin," "the root of sin," "the source of sin," or the like. These are terms created by theologians and are unnecessary for us now. We will remain simple and consider this matter from our experience. We know that there is something within us that motivates and forces us to have certain spontaneous inclinations; it compels us toward the way of lust and passion. According to the Bible this something is sin (Rom. 7:8, 16-17). But not only is there this sin within us that forces and compels us, there are also the individual sinful acts, the sins, which are committed outwardly. In the Bible sins are related to our conduct, while sin is related to our natural life. Sins are that which are committed by the hands, the feet, the heart, and even the whole body. Paul refers to this when he speaks of the practices of the body (Rom. 8:13). But what is sin? Sin is a law that controls our members (Rom. 7:23). There is something within us that compels us to sin, to commit evil, and this something is sin.

If we want to differentiate clearly between sin and sins, there is one portion of the Scriptures which we must consider. It is the first eight chapters of the book of Romans. These eight chapters show us the full significance of sin. In these eight chapters we find one outstanding feature: from chapter one through 5:11, only the word sins is mentioned; sin is never mentioned. But from 5:12 until the end of chapter eight, what we find is sin, not sins. From chapter one through 5:11, Romans shows us that man has committed sins before God. From 5:12 on, Romans shows us what kind of person man is before God: he is a sinner before God. Sin refers to the life that we have. Prior to Romans 5:12, there is no mention of the dead being made alive, for the problem there is not that one needs to be made alive, but that the individual sins that one has committed need to be forgiven. From 5:12 on, we have the second section. Here we see something strong and powerful within us as a law in our members, which is sin, that compels and drags us to commit sinful acts, that is, sins. For this, there is the need of being freed.

Sins have to do with our conduct. Hence, the Bible shows us that for our sins we need forgiveness (Matt. 26:28; Acts 2:38; 10:43). But sin is that which entices and compels us to commit sinful acts. Hence, the Bible shows us that we need to be freed from sin (Rom. 6:18, 22). Once I met a missionary who talked about "the forgiveness of sin." Right away I stood up and grasped his hand and asked, "Where in the Bible does it say `the forgiveness of sin'?" He contended that there are many such cases. When I asked if he could find one for me, he said, "What do you mean? Can you not find even one place that says this?" I told him that nowhere in the entire Bible are the words the forgiveness of sin mentioned; instead, the Bible always speaks of "the forgiveness of sins." It is the sins that are forgiven, not sin. He did not believe my words, so he went to look this up in his Bible. Eventually he told me, "Mr. Nee, it is so strange. Every time this phrase is used, a little s is added in." I believe that you can see that it is the sins that are forgiven, not sin.

Sins are outside of us. That is why they need to be forgiven. But something else is inside of us, something strong and powerful that compels us to commit sins. For this we do not need forgiveness; for this our one need is to be freed. As soon as we are no longer under its power and have nothing to do with it, we will be at peace. The solution to sins comes from forgiveness. The solution to sin, however, comes when we are no longer under its power and have nothing to do with it. Sins are a matter of our actions and are committed one by one. That is why they need to be forgiven. But sin is within us, and we need to be freed from it.

Therefore, the Bible never says "forgiveness of sin" but "forgiveness of sins." Neither does the Bible speak about being "freed from sins." I can assure you that the Bible never says this. Instead the Bible says that we are "freed from sin," rather than from sins. The only thing that we need to escape and be freed from is that which entices us and compels us to commit sins. This distinction is clearly made in the Bible.

I can compare the two in this way:

Sin, according to the Scriptures, is said to be in the flesh; whereas sins are in our conduct.
Sin is a principle in us; it is a principle of the life we have. Sins are acts committed by us; they are acts in our living.
Sin is a law in the members. Sins are transgressions that we commit; they are activities and real acts.
Sin is related to our being; sins are related to our doing.
Sin is what we are; sins are what we do.
Sin is in the realm of our life; sins are in the realm of the conscience.
Sin is related to the power of the life we possess; sins are related to the power of the conscience. A person is governed by the sin in his natural life, but he is condemned in his conscience by the sins committed outwardly.
Sin is something considered as a whole; sins are something considered case by case.
Sin is inside man; sins are before God.
Sin requires our being made free; sins require our being forgiven.
Sin is related to sanctification; sins are related to justification.
Sin is a matter of overcoming; sins are a matter of having peace in one's heart.
Sin is in man's nature; sins are in man's ways.
Figuratively speaking, sin is like a tree, and sins are like the fruit of the tree.

We can make this matter clear with a simple illustration. In preaching the gospel, we often compare the sinner to a debtor. We all realize that to be a debtor is not a pleasant matter. But we must remember that it is one thing for a man to have debts; it is another thing for a man to have a disposition for incurring debts. A person who borrows again and again is not that concerned about using others' money. The Bible says that Christians should not be debtors (Rom. 13:8); they should not borrow from others. A person with a borrowing disposition may borrow two or three hundred dollars from someone today, then two or three thousand dollars from someone else tomorrow. Even if he is unable to pay back his debts, and his relatives or friends have to pay back the money for him, after a few days he will begin to consider borrowing again. This shows that to borrow is one thing, but to have a borrowing disposition is another. The sins that the Bible describes are like the outward debts, while sin is like the inward habit and disposition; it is like the mind that is inclined to borrow easily. A person with such a mind will not stop borrowing just because someone else has paid his debts. On the contrary, he may borrow even more because others are now paying his debts.

This is why God is dealing not just with the record of sins, but also with the inclination toward sin. We can see that it is important to deal with the sins, but it is equally important to deal with sin. Only when we see both of these aspects can our understanding of our salvation be complete.

WHO IS A SINNER?

Now we need to ask the question: Who is a sinner? I know that some of the brothers and sisters here have been believers for over twenty years. Some have even worked for the Lord for over fifteen years. My question can be considered as one of the ABCs of the Bible. Who is a sinner? I believe that many would answer that a sinner is someone who sins. If you check Webster's dictionary, I am afraid that you would get the answer that a sinner is one who sins. But once you read the Bible, you will have to reject this definition, because it is not that the ones who sin are sinners, but that the sinners are the ones who commit sins. What does this mean? Many among us have read the book of Romans. I have heard many say that Paul, in proving that everyone in the world is a sinner, mentioned in chapter three that all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God (v. 23). God seeks the righteous and finds none; He seeks those who understand and who seek after Him and finds none; all have lied and have turned aside (vv. 10-13). Hence, it seems that Paul is saying that everyone in the world is a sinner. But be careful. Do not be too quick to say this. Does Romans 3 mention the sinner at all? If anyone can find the word sinner in Romans 3, I will thank him for it. Where is the sinner mentioned in this chapter? Please note that the sinner is never mentioned here. Some have said that because Romans 3 talks about man sinning, it proves that man is a sinner. But Romans 3 does not mention the sinner. It is Romans 5 that talks about the sinner. Therefore, we must make the distinction: Romans 3 is on the problem of sins, and Romans 5 is on the problem of the sinner. All that Romans 3 tells us is that all have sinned. It is only in Romans 5 that we are told who the sinners are.

Everyone who was born in Adam is a sinner. This is what Romans 5:19 tells us. If you open up J.N. Darby's New Translation, you will find that he used the words have been constituted sinners. We are all sinners by constitution. When you write a resume, there are two things that you must put in. One is your birthplace, and the other is your profession. According to God, we are sinners by birth, and we are those who sin by profession. Because we are sinners by birth, we are always sinners, whether we sin or not.