Nee states in Chapter 4 of The Normal Christian life, in reference to Romans 6, 7, & 8 that, "the conditions of living the normal Christian life are forefold: (a) Knowing, (b) Reckoning, (c) Presenting ourselves to God, and (d) Walking by the Spririt." Each so important that he didicates a chapter to each.
With regards to knowing Nee emphasizes that we must understand that our old man died on the cross with Christ. He says, "In His death we all died. None of us can progress spiritually without seeing this... The self you loath is on the cross in Christ. And 'he that is dead is freed from sin' (Rom. 6:7) This is the gospel for Christians."
It is important here to remember that "sin" is the nature within us that percipiates "sins" (the actions). "Sin" seems to continue to influence our lives beyond salvation. Nee is going somewhere with this - knowing we died with Christ thought.
He says, "If we are preoccupied with the power of sin and with our inability to meet it, the we naturally conclude that to gain the victory over sin we must have more power. 'If only I were stronger,' we say. 'I could overcome my violent outbursts of temper,' so we plead with the Lord to strengthen us that we may exercise more self-control...
But this is altogether a fallacy; it is not Christianity. God's means of delivering us from sin is not by making us stronger and stronger, but by making us weaker... God sets us free from the dominion of sin, not by strengthening our old man, but by crucifying him; not by helping him to do anything, but by removing him from the scene of the action."
So as Christians we receive forgiveness but invariably have a continuing struggle with our dead nature, the nature of sin. In ourselves we think we need to build spiritual muscles to resists, but what really needs to occur is we need to; one, recognize that old nature was crucified with Christ, and two, walk in the weakness of this death. The end result is this knowledge will fuel and lead us to the experience of this. An individual, custom tailored by God, experience. Walk with God long enough and you will enter into this experience. But it is your experience, not someone else's. Nee says, "many Christians are using their special experience and their special scriptures to FIGHT other Christians. The fact of the matter is that while Christians may enter into the deeper life by different ways, we need not regard the experience or doctrines they stress as mutually exclusive, but rather complementary."
So God, when working on this place of surrender in our life will take us there on our very own unique path. This place is often preceded by, or found in, crisis. But God's response is not to help us out, but to help us understand we are removed from the action... we are already dead. And He does so not for us to be the next thing in Christianity, to be the carrier of some doctrinal banner, but rather in concert with those around us who are entering in, already in, or coming out of the same experience.
We have a human tendency to want to "do something," to live right. This is the problem, this is the strength we must avoid to find the weakness. Some think "to live 'in Christ,' (means) how to draw the sap out of the Vine into himself." No... we are in the vine. There is no need to "draw" -- just be.
Nee concludes the chapter with dialog from one individual in the midst of this experience. It is powerful and I will conclude with it as well.
"Here, I feel, is the secret: not asking how I am to get sap our of the Vine into myself, but remembering that Jesus is the Vine - the root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit, all indeed. I have not got to make myself a branch. The Lord Jesus tells me I am a branch. I am part of Him and I have just to believe it and act upon it. I have seen it long enough in the Bible, but I believe it now as a living reality...
I do not know how far I may be able to make myself intelligible about it, for there is nothing new or strange or wonderful - and yet, all is new! In a word, 'whereas once I was blind, now I see'... I am dead and buried with Christ - aye, and risen too and ascended... God reckons me so, and tells me to reckon myself so. He knows bests... Oh, the joy of seeing the truth - I do pray that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know and enjoy the riches freely given in Christ."
Then from Nee himself, "If we recognize the fact that we are in, we make no effort to enter. If we had more revelation, we should have fewer prayers and more praises. We spend so much time praying for ourselves just because we are blind to what God has done."
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