LESSON THIRTEEN
APPRECIATION OF THE LORD JESUS

2 Cor. 5:14 For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died;

15 And He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to Him who died for them and has been raised.

FAITH COMING FROM SUCH AN APPRECIATION OF CHRIST

Proof that the faith in Galatians 2:20 is both the faith of Christ and the faith in Christ is found in Paul’s words at the end of the verse. He concludes the verse by referring to the Son of God as the One “Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” In writ¬ing these words, Paul was filled with appreciation of the Lord Jesus. Otherwise, at the end of such a long verse there would have been no need for him to speak of Christ loving him and having given Himself for him. He could have con¬cluded with the expression, “the faith of the Son of God.” But as he was speaking of the way he now lived, his heart was filled with gratitude and appreciation. Faith comes from such an appreciation of the Lord Jesus. The faith in Christ and the faith of Christ issues from the appreciation of Christ.

FAITH BRINGING AN ORGANIC UNION IN WHICH WE
AND CHRIST ARE TRULY ONE

In 2 Corinthians 5:14 and 15 Paul says, “For the love of Christ constraineth us: because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” As we consider these verses, we can see that Paul’s faith came from an appreciation for the constraining love of Christ. The more we appreciate Christ’s constraining love, the more faith we shall have. This faith is not produced by our own ability or activity. Rather, it is produced by the working in us of the very Christ whom we appreciate. In our apprecia¬tion for the Lord Jesus. we shall say. “Lord, Jesus I love You and I treasure You.” As we speak such words to the Lord, He operates within us and becomes our faith. This faith brings an organic union in which we and Christ are truly one.

A TRUE STORY DURING THE BOXER REBELLION IN CHINA

I would like to tell you a true story which confirms the point that the faith which operates in us comes from our appreciation of the Lord Jesus. During the Boxer Rebellion in China, hundreds of Christians were martyred. One day in Peking, the old capital of China, the Boxers were parading down the street. Sitting in the back of a wagon was a young Christian woman who was being led away to be executed. She was surrounded by executioners with swords in their hands. The atmosphere was terrifying, filled with the shout¬ings of the Boxers. Nevertheless, her face was glowing as she was singing praises to the Lord. The stores were closed because of the rioting. However, a young man was observing this scene through a crack at the front of a store. Deeply impressed with the young woman’s glowing face, happiness, and songs of praise, he decided at that moment that he would find out the truth about the Christian faith. Later, he did learn the truth and became a believer in Christ. Even¬tually, he gave up his business and became a preacher. One day, when he was visiting my home town, he told me this story of how he had become a Christian.

The point here is that this young woman could be filled with praises in the midst of such a terrifying situation because faith was working within her. She was filled with appreciation of the Lord Jesus. Because she loved Him so much, He spontaneously became the faith within her. This faith produced an organic union in which she was joined to the Lord. This organic union is a basic and crucial aspect of God’s New Testament economy.

THE FAITH OPERATING IN US

In Galatians 2:20 Paul says that the life we now live in the flesh we live in faith, the faith of the Son of God. We live the divine life, not by sight or by feeling in the way we live the physical and soulish life. The divine life, which is the spiritual life in our spirit, is lived by the exercise of faith stimulated by the presence of the life-giving Spirit.

In speaking of faith, Paul refers to “the faith of the Son of God.” What is the meaning of the little word “of” here? This word implies that the faith mentioned in this verse is the Son of God’s faith, the faith which He himself possesses. However, in interpreting this verse, we and many others have said that this phrase actually means faith in the Son of God. Nevertheless, the Greek does not use the preposition “in” here. I have spent a good deal of time trying to under-stand this matter. After consulting the writings of a number of leading authorities, I have become fully convinced that here Paul is not speaking of the Son’s faith, but of faith in the Son. However, we still need to explain why in this verse, as well as in 2:16 and 3:22, Paul does not use the preposition “in.” We cannot gain a proper understanding of this simply by studying the Scripture in black and white letters. We also need to consider our experience.

IT IS CHRIST REVEALED TO AND INFUSED INTO US

Paul wrote the book of Galatians both according to truth and according to his experience. According to our Christian experience, the genuine living faith which operates in us is not only in Christ, but also of Christ. Hence. Paul’s meaning here actually is “the faith of and in Christ.” Paul’s thought is that the faith is both of Christ and in Christ.

We have pointed out that faith is our appreciation of what the Lord is and of what He has done for us. We have also pointed out that genuine faith is Christ Himself infused into us to become our ability to believe in Him. After the Lord has been infused into us, He spontaneously becomes our faith. On the one hand, this faith is of Christ; on the other hand, it is in Christ. However, it is too simple merely to say that this faith is Christ. We need to say that it is Christ revealed to us and infused into us. Faith is related not only to the Christ who has been infused into us, but also to the Christ who is infusing Himself into us. As Christ operates in us, He becomes our faith. This faith is of Him and also in Him. (Life-study of Galatians, pp. 90-93)

References: Life-study of Galatians, msg. 10