The Divide of the Cross

2 Corinthians 5:17, "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new."

In Chapter 5 of The Normal Christian Life, Watchman Nee deviates from his discussion on four conditions of the normal christian life to The Divide of the Cross.

With a chapter titled that, one might think he is going to reference the discussion of the offense the cross creates and resulting division among men. In actuality the divide he is speaking of is the division between the old and new. Or the division between the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God. Nee describes it this way, "... in Satan's hand, the first creation has become the old creation, and God's primary concern is now no longer with that, but with a second and new creation. He is bringing in a new creation, a new kingdom and a new world, and nothing of the old creation, the old kingdom or the old world can be transferred to the new. It it a question now of these two rival realms, and of which realm we belong."

This is critical to the Christians life. As the cross is going to be shown to be that doorway between the old and new. It is the doorway between flesh and spirit, the world and the kingdom of God. God is not about fixing a broken creation. The old creation is never to be "fixed" but rather it will pass away. Instead we have an opportunity to go to the new now. This passage is through surrender, through the cross and its representation of laying everything down. Naked on the cross is where the entrance to the kingdom of God lies.

Nee highlights this with, "'delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His Love' (Col. 1:13). Our citizenship henceforth is there. But in order to bring us into His new kingdom, God must do something new in us. He must make of us new creatures... 'That which is born of flesh is flesh'; and 'flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit in corruption' (John 3:6; 1 Cor. 15:50). However educated, however cultured, however improved it be, flesh is still flesh. Our fitness for the new kingdom is determined by the creation to which we belong... Are we born of flesh or spirit? Our ultimate suitability for the new realm hinges on the question of origin.The question is not 'good or bad?' but flesh or spirit?"

Awareness of this spirit realm and rebirth into it are critical. The seeking of the kingdom of God, the Father's spiritual realm, coupled with faith, will lead to coming to know Christ in new and powerful ways. We will share in the experience of Christ's baptism.

"... Are ye ignorant that all we who are baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him through baptism into death" (Rom. 6:3-4). We must now ask ourselves what is the significance of these words.

Baptism in scripture is associated with salvation. 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved' (Mark 16:16)... What is salvation? It relates not to our sins, nor to the power of sin, but to the cosmos or world system. We are involved in Satan's world system. To be saved is to make our exit from his world system into God's."

Nee, with a little logic and doctrine, transitions the reader from knowledge and reckoning faith to now focus on the unseen, the spiritual side of life. As we go forward in the book this exploration will get deeper.

Nee on Knowing

2 Corinthians 5:17, "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold they are become new."

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."

The Cross of Christ

Matthew 16:24, "... if anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."

Continuing our in depth look at The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee we come to "The Cross of Christ." That place where we deal with the nature of sin. Where the habitual return to it is addressed.

Nee points out that, "There is peace with God, but there is no peace with myself. There is in fact, civil war in my own heart."

Civil war in my heart... that is a concept I can relate to. As Nee rightfully acknowledges, "The blood can wash away my sins, but cannot wash away my 'old man.'" This is because we did not become sinners by our actions, "but because of what Adam has done and become."

"At the beginning of our Christian life, we are concerned with our doing, not with our being."

Can I stop here for a moment? I am 45 years old. I was saved 30 years ago. Until recently all I have been concerned with is doing. I have prayed for the sick and seen them healed. I have traveled north, central, and south America for Him... doing. In 2011, I just now am concerning myself with "BEING." So I guess by Nee's definition the first 30years of my life with Christ was the beginning.


Nee continues, "we are distressed rather by what we have done than by what we are. We think that if only we could rectify certain things we should be good Christians, and we set out therefore to change our actions. But the result is not what we expected. We discover our dismay that it is something more than just a case of trouble on the outside - that there is in fact more serious trouble on the inside... we try to be humble, but there is something in our very being that refuses to be humble. We try to be loving, but inside we feel most unloving... The we come to the Lord and say, 'Lord, I see it now! Not only what I have done is wrong; I am wrong.'"

We have to come to the place where we understand "I am wrong." Oh, not some admitting to being wrong in the moment. There is a place with Christ where you know everything about you is wrong. A place where He will stand and allow you to compare yourself to Him; and with that comes a subjective understanding that "I am wrong." Everything about me is wrong when compared to Christ. Nee does not go into this, but this is the prayer. That we could see ourselves compared to Christ. This image as compare to Him is our true self. This discovery of true self allows God to continue in His work with us.

The chapter continues with Nee's discussion of how we were born with the nature of sin, born from Adam. How Christ as the last Adam crucified that nature of Adam on the cross. That "the cross is thus the mighty act of God which translates us from Adam to Christ."

It doesn't come out in this chapter, but the end effect is that the cross becomes an ongoing aspect of life. Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." The deliverance of the cross on the nature of sin is that we "take it up." Not that we hang from it, not that we commit spiritual suicide, but that we carry it in our soul. It's weight will come to bear on our nature and deliver us over time.