Not the law of letters

In his ministry Brother Nee emphasized Christ as our life (Col. 3:4). In the introduction to some of his books he expressed that his burden was not on other matters, not even on the normal practice of the church life. Instead, he strongly stated that all our co-workers must know Christ as life. When I began to minister in Taiwan, my stress was always on Christ and the church. After I came to the United States, we began to compile our hymnal. Previously, Brother Nee had selected one hundred eighty-five hymns for our use out of about ten thousand that he considered. I realized that we were short of proper hymns on Christ, the life-giving Spirit, life, and the church as the Body of Christ. In order to fill the gap, I wrote approximately two hundred hymns. Within two months in 1961 alone, I wrote eighty-five new hymns, many of which were translated into English. These include "Oh, what a life!" (Hymns, #499), "O glorious Christ, Savior mine" (Hymns, #501), and "Not the law of letters, / But the Christ of life" (Hymns, #541). These hymns stress Christ as life very much. In addition to those selected by Brother Nee, I selected six hundred more from the hymns of Christianity. Including the new hymns that I had written, the number of hymns in our new hymnal was one thousand eighty. At the beginning of the hymnal we added an introduction and a table of contents. By reading the table of contents of our hymnal, anyone can see that we have a proper knowledge of theology. Among the denominations there is not a hymnal with as complete a collection of hymns as ours, covering many items of truth and experience from the preaching of the Triune God to the consummation of the New Jerusalem. Thus far, no one has been able to criticize or condemn this collection.

All things, great or small!

(Hymn #541 in Hymns)

For centuries Christians have had this revelation in their hands. However, it has been neglected. Although Christ has been revealed adequately, definitely, emphatically, and fully, in the experience of Christians He has been replaced by many other things. Although there are millions of Christians in this country, not many have paid adequate attention to Christ in us, the hope of glory. This has been true even among us. In particular, culture has replaced Christ. In 1961 I wrote the hymn, "Not the law of letters, but the Christ of life" (Hymns, #541). But in this hymn I did not say anything about culture. When I wrote it, I did not see that culture was the strongest and most subtle replacement of Christ in our experience. Nevertheless, more than forty-five years ago, I saw that God does not want anything other than Christ. Although this vision is very clear, I must confess that I still do not live Christ adequately. From time to time, I have been distracted from Christ to other things.

What we need today is not more and better teachings. Our need is to experience the living Christ. Stanza 1 of Hymns, #541 says,

Not the law of letters,
But the Christ of life
God desires to give us,
Saving us from strife;
It is not some doctrine,
But 'tis Christ Himself
Who alone releases
From our sinful self.

I say again, we should not try to overcome any problem. It is Satan, the subtle one, who tempts us to try to overcome. We simply need to turn to our spirit. When we encounter trials, sickness, and other difficulties, we should not set our mind on these things. Rather, we should turn our mind to our spirit, calling, "O Lord, O Lord, O Lord." If we will practice this, we will enjoy the Lord and be filled with Him.

No philosophy, element, or religion can conform us to Christ. The law of Moses cannot conform us to Christ. Only Christ can conform us to Himself, and nothing else. Some may be bothered that we are belittling religion. They may say, "We are Christians; shouldn't we love Christianity?" But we need to be those who love Christ, not any "anity." Nothing can or should replace Christ.

Stanza 3 of Hymns, #541 says, "Not philosophy nor/Any element/Can to Christ conform us/As His complement;/But 'tis Christ Himself who/All our nature takes/And in resurrection/Us His members makes." No philosophy, regardless of how good or high it is, can produce the Body of Christ as the complement to Christ. Ethical teaching, such as James's mixed teaching, can never make members of Christ. The members of Christ can be produced only by the teaching according to God's New Testament economy. Stanza 4 says, "Not religion, even/Christianity,/Can fulfill God's purpose/Or economy;/But 'tis Christ within us/As our all in all/Satisfies God's wishes,/And His plan withal."

What is the significance of our blending? It is not an organization of any nature. The first stanza of Hymns, #541 says, "Not the law of letters,/But the Christ of life." Then stanza 4 says, "Not religion, even/Christianity,/Can fulfill God's purpose/Or economy." Our blending has nothing to do with the dead letter, any religion, or anything of Christianity. The significance of our blending is the reality of the Body of Christ. This reality is nothing but the group of God's redeemed who have all been made God, the God-men, by God. They live a life not by themselves but by another life which is within them. This other life is the Triune God processed and consummated to enter into them and to take them as His abode, His dwelling place.

Every nation has its own traditions. The Chinese have their traditions that were handed down from their ancestors through the generations. These traditions are in the blood of the Chinese people. In the same way, the Japanese, the Arabs, the Indians, and the Jews all have their own traditions.

We all know that when someone is born, he is right away under the four great, permeating influences of culture, religion, ethics, and tradition. Today the entire human society is influenced by these four items, even to the extent that man has become a composition of these four items. Simply put, man is an entity of culture, religion, ethics, and tradition combined. I have spoken about these four matters, but these are not my burden; my burden is Christ. These four items are not Christ; they are all replacements of Christ.

Stanza 3 of Hymns, #541 says,

...

No philosophy or ethical element can produce the members of Christ, nor can they produce the Body of Christ—an organic church. Stanza 4 says,

...

All our problems are due to our lack of Christ. If we lack Christ, we are like a human body lacking nutrition, and this allows all kinds of sickness to come in. Once the nutrients are balanced and complete, then the sickness goes away. This is similar to what stanza 5 says,

...

The purpose of God's New Testament economy is first to make sinners the members of Christ so that they can be constituted the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5). The third stanza of Hymns, #541 speaks of this truth:

Not philosophy nor
Any element
Can to Christ conform us
As His complement;
But 'tis Christ Himself who
All our nature takes
And in resurrection
Us His members makes.

This is a miniature of Romans 12. This hymn was written thirty years ago and shows that the light was very clear among us concerning this matter even in 1960. We can see that to constitute sinners as the Body of Christ is fully a matter of life. The purpose of God's New Testament economy is to make this Body the fullness, the corporate expression, of the processed Triune God.

Hymn #541 in Hymns is concerning the experience of Christ versus all things. It speaks of the things that replace Christ, such as the law of letters, philosophy, and religion. All these things are really "Shebnas" which replace Christ. According to Isaiah 22, Shebna was "fired" and replaced by Eliakim as the steward over the king's house. Darby said that Shebna typifies a false Christ. He should be removed and replaced by Christ. Christ should not be replaced by us. Instead, we should be replaced by Christ. All of us are "Shebnas" who should be removed and replaced by the real Eliakim. Christ, our Eliakim, should replace everything and everyone in God's economy. We should sing Hymn #541 with such a realization.