1Peter 1:18-19 “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

Watchman Nee (Nov. 4, 1903 – May 30, 1972) was a leader of China’s underground church, establishing local churches that has resulted in one of largest movements of Christianity the world has ever seen. In this Easter weekend, here is our first article on Pastor Nee, from his famous book “The Normal Christian Life”, where we pull out 15 key insights from Chapter 1 – “The Blood of Christ”:

CHAPTER 1: THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

1) In all His dealings with us, God works by taking us out of the way and substituting Christ in our place. The Son of God died instead of us for our forgiveness. He lives instead of us for our deliverance.

2) We can speak of 2 substitutions – a Substitute on the Cross who secures our forgiveness and a Substitute within ourselves who secures our victory.

3) Our Dual Problem: Sins and Sin. In the first section in Romans (1:1 through 5:11) we find the plural word ‘sins’ given prominence, while in the second section (5:12 through 8:39) the word ‘sins’ hardly occurs once, and the singular word ‘sin’ is used again and again and is the subject mainly dealt with.

4) Why is this? It is because in the first section it is a question of the SINS I have committed before God, which are many and can be enumerated, whereas in the second it is a question of SIN as a principle working in me. No matter how many sins I commit, it is always the one sin-principle that leads to them.

5) I need forgiveness for my sins, but I also need deliverance from the power of sin. The former touches my conscience, the latter my life. I may receive forgiveness for all my sins, but because of my sin I have, even then, no abiding peace of mind.

6) I appreciate the blessed fact of God’s forgiveness, but I want something more than that: I want deliverance. I need forgiveness for what I have done, but I also need deliverance from who I am.

7) The Blood of Christ deals with what we have done, whereas the Cross deals with who we are. The Blood disposes of our sins, while the Cross strikes at the root of our capacity for sin.

8) The Blood of Christ is for atonement and has to do first with our standing before God. Our sins are forgiven, not because God overlooks what we have done but because He sees the Blood. The Blood is therefore not primarily for us but for God.

9) The whole trouble with us is that we are trying to feel the Blood’s value and to estimate subjectively what the Blood is for us. We cannot do it – it does not work that way. The Blood is first for God to see. We then must accept God’s valuation of it. In doing so we shall find our salvation.

10) We must believe that the Blood is precious to God because He says it is so (1Peter 1:18-19). If God can accept the Blood as a payment for our sins and as the price of our redemption, then we can rest assured that the debt has been paid.

11) I approach God through the merit of Jesus Christ alone, and never based on my attainment; never, for example, that I have done something for the Lord today. I must come by way of the Blood every time.

12) What is your basis to approach God? Is your approach based on something far more secure, namely, the fact that the Blood has been shed, and that God looks on the Blood and is satisfied?

13) Whether you have had a good day or a bad day, whether you have consciously sinned or not, your basis of approach is always the same – the Blood of Christ. God’s acceptance of that Blood is the ground upon which you may enter, and there is no other.

14) No conscience could ever be clear apart from the Blood. It is the Blood that gives us boldness.

15) Our faith in the precious Blood and our refusal to be moved from that position can alone silence Satan’s charges and put him to flight (Romans 8:33-34). Oh, what an emancipation it would be if we saw more of the value in God’s eyes of the precious Blood of His dear Son!
“The Evidence of Faith’s Substance” _ Article #598