"Not I, But Christ"

By Watchmen Nee

"For me, to live is Christ" -- Philippians 1:21

What should the relationship be between God and us?
The principal relationship is that Christ should be our life.  Once Christ has become our life, we are able to imitate Him. After He is our life, we may ask Him to give us strength...

The Secret of Christian Life
Many people greatly misunderstand Colossians 3:4 ("Christ, our life..."), Phil 1:21 and Galatians 2:20, especially the latter 2. In Philippians 1, Paul tells us that, "For me to live is Christ." To him, this is a fact. But among God's children today, there is a great misunderstanding. They think, "For me to live is Christ," is a goal to reach. They must try to so live that they may arrive at the goal. It is a standard to reach; it is their expectation. Let us remember, however, that Paul is not telling us here that his goal is "to me to live is Christ." He is not saying that he must go through many years, trials, and dealings of God before he can reach the goal. What he is saying is that the reason why he lives is Christ. Without Christ, he cannot live at all. This describes his present condition, not his goal. This is the secret of his life, not his hope. His life is Christ, he lives because Christ lives in him.

Galatians 2:20...Is it a hope? Is it a goal? Is it a standard to arrive at? Many make it so. They hope that one day they will arrive at the place where they no longer live, but Christ lives in them. This is their goal. But what they fail to see is that this is God's way of victory, not a goal or a standard. It does not say what I should do that I may live; neither does it say what I can do to make me live. It simply says that Christ lives in me.

Galatians 2:20 is not a standard or a goal. It is not something which is set high above man for him to exert his utmost strength to reach. Rather, it is the secret of life.

"I have been crucified with Christ; that it is no longer I that live, but Christ that liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me." -- Galatians 2:20

Watchman Nee became a Christian in mainland China in 1920 at the age of seventeen and began writing in the same year. Throughout the nearly thirty years of his ministry, Watchman Nee was clearly manifested as a unique gift from the Lord to His Body for His move in this age. In 1952 he was imprisoned for his faith; he remained in prison until his death in 1972. His words remain an abundant source of spiritual revelation and supply to Christians throughout the world...to read about his ministry and testimonies, go to http://www.watchmannee.org.

There are many men and women of God who have given their life to serving God and to make known the gospel, like Watchman Nee, who were willing to be imprisoned for their faith. What they believe in, they believe with their life! If I ever came to that, would I be able to press on?! Was watching a program on SBS last night, about missionaries in Morocco, a neighbouring Muslim country of Tunisia in North Africa. The program was interesting because it shed light on comments and views from both the Christian and Muslim perspective. The Muslims were actually aware that these so called "historians and English teachers" were actually evangelists (as they called them) who are here with a motive to share the gospel through their vocation. And they were pretty against it. A political commentator shared that these "Christian Evangelists" were actually risking their lives, cause the Muslim extremists could have them killed at any time...hmmmm...It is against the country's law to convert Muslims. Is it then going against the authorities of the country by trying to share the gospel with Muslims? Even the Christians themselves were divided in this issue. A reformed Pentecostal church pastor shared his view that the evangelists and missionaries from other countries who come to Morocco wanting to share the gospel were in fact not right in their approach because they were trying to convert Muslim Moroccans, which is against the country's law. A muslim can be killed, imprisoned and face a life of being ostracised by their own community if they ever turned to Christianity. With so many issues and obstacles, Joey (my housemate) who was watching the program asked me, "Ah! So you still going to Tunisia?".....I looked at her and answered meekly..."Go...Go! Still go...."

P.S. The photo below shows one of the many beaches and the Mediteranean sea in Carthage, Tunisia. Beautiful, hey???? ....
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