Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted
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Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted, Not I, but Christ be seen, be known and heard; Not I, but Christ in every look and action, Not I, but Christ in every thought and word. |
| Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord, Oh, to be lost in Thee, Oh, that it may be no more I, But Christ that lives in me. |
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Not I, but Christ to gently soothe in sorrow, Not I, but Christ to wipe the falling tear; Not I, but Christ to lift the weary burden, Not I, but Christ to hush away all fear. |
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Christ, only Christ, no idle word e’er falling, Christ, only Christ, no needless bustling sound; Christ, only Christ, no self-important bearing, Christ, only Christ, no trace of I be found. |
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Not I, but Christ my every need supplying, Not I, but Christ my strength and health to be; Christ, only Christ, for spirit, soul, and body, Christ, only Christ, live then Thy life in me. |
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Christ, only Christ, ere long will fill my vision, Glory excelling soon, full soon I’ll see; Christ, only Christ, my every wish fulfilling, Christ, only Christ, my all in all to be. |
To have the rings without the overlaying gold is to be poor in gold. It is to have the Triune God as the rings but not as the gold overlaying the boards. To be in such a condition is to be poor in God. We need to learn to confess that we sometimes are poor in God. We may be rich in the self but quite poor in God. Therefore, we need the initial Spirit to spread throughout our being; that is, the initial gold must spread out in order to overlay us. As we grow in the Lord, the Spirit spreads within us and overlays us with Himself.
The gold did not overlay some inferior or corrupt material; it overlaid acacia wood. Although the acacia wood was very good, it was not the purpose of the tabernacle to express the wood. This indicates that God does not want man to be expressed; rather, He wants to see the expression of Himself. God desires for Himself to be expressed upon man. This requires that man be covered with God, even overlaid completely with Him. In our hymnal there is a hymn entitled "Not I but Christ." The chorus goes like this:
Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord,
Oh, to be lost in Thee,
Oh, that it may be no more I,
But Christ that lives in me.
To be lost in the Lord is to be overlaid with Him and to be hidden in Him. When we are concealed within the Lord Himself, He becomes the expression.
When the apostle Paul was Saul, he was a very aggressive young man. Everything with him was "I, me, my, and mine." With Saul it was "I first, my and mine in the middle, and me last." Everything was Saul of Tarsus. But the Lord Jesus knocked him down on the road to Damascus, and Saul asked, "Who are You, Lord?" (Acts 9:5). The Lord said, "I am Jesus" (v. 5). The Lord was saying, "I am the great I Am. I am the One that is. You must believe that I am and you are not." Eventually, Saul changed his name. Saul was over, and Paul came up (Acts 13:9 and note 1). This Paul was the one who told us, "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." This is to believe that God is.
Nothing can make the unique God happy except one thing. That is faith. Faith is to believe that God is. Then I would check with you, "If only God is, where are you?" The first stanza of Hymns, #483 says, "Buried with Christ, and raised with Him too;/What is there left for me to do?/Simply to cease from struggling and strife,/Simply to walk in newness of life./Glory be to God!" Where are you? You are in the tomb. Today who are you? You need to say, "It is no more I, but Christ." I would like again to refer to what Darby said: "O the joy of having nothing and being nothing, seeing nothing but a living Christ in glory, and being careful for nothing but His interests down here." This is faith. We care for nothing but His interest. We should always say, "Not I, not me, not my, not mine; but He, Him, His. He is the first and the last and everything in between." "Christ, only Christ" (see Hymns, #591—stanza 5).
Mansfield, Ohio, United States
I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, but not I but Christ lives in me. And the life I live I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me! The big I must be crucified so that He can be the little I living in me and I in Him. Oh that I would know Him more, that He would increase and I would decrease. Oh what a thought! ❤️
Methuen, Massachusetts, United States
This song welled up in me this morning from a longing in me to experience Christ in every look and action. Oh how we need a deeper mingling with Christ every day by eating and enjoying Him as the Tree of Life. "Lord live Your life in us for the building up of Your body!
Arlington, TX, United States
oh to be lost in thee !
Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
Please Lord Jesus make this song my daily experience and expression throughout my fleeting years in your priceless name I plead Amen
Ikotub, Lagos, Nigeria
Never to live for self again.
Willing to strict my legitimate right..
No to self, Yes to the Lord.
No longer going to be I.
Removing all rights unto my life
Johannesburg South, Gauteng, South Sudan
Christ only Christ, No trace of I be found! No idle word ever falling! Oh Lord kill every trace of I in me that Christ may live His life in me uncontested. I want to be lost in thee.
Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
Take me to this point and never let me leave it O Lord! Let every other thing, person, name, issue, fade. Without Christ, I'm nothing. Why should I hold on to transience?!
Arlington, TX, United States
Not I but Christ be seen be known be heard in me.
Yes, Christ , He is the higher and nobler principle of life.
Everyone must replace life’s ambition with that of Christ, for that is what God wants us to be. That we may find fulfillment and satisfaction in life. Earthly goods are vain pursuits of life but the pursuit of Christ is one’s place of peace and security. Thank you Jesus for allowing me to know you. You turn my world upside down and conquered all my fears. I love you Lord.
Scottsbluff, Nebraska, United States
Pleased to come across this hymn that was unfamiliar to me! Fit well with my devotion time this morning on keeping Jesus in the forefront of my thoughts, words, and actions in these contentious times.
Sparkill, NY, United States
The words to this song have long touch my soul, especially now, during this Covid season; " Christ, onlu Christ, every need supplying, my health and strength to be".