The Third Step—
Applying the Blood and the Death of the Cross
The third step in enjoying God is to trust in the blood and the death of the cross. The blood deals with our sins, and the death of the cross deals with our person. When we come to God, exercise our spirit, and learn to cooperate and be mingled with Him, we will discover that we have two problems. We have the problem of sins outwardly and the problem of our person inwardly. There is the outward transgression and the inward self, the outward mistakes and the inward old creation. Those who have touched God’s presence realize these two levels of frustrations.
Our lack of feeling that we are sinful and lack of realization that we are a problem are strong proofs that we have not touched God sufficiently; we are not living according to His countenance. Whenever we touch God and live in His countenance, we will see that we are dirty and full of sins. We will also realize that our person, which is of the old creation, is a big frustration to God. At such times we will immediately apply the blood and say, “Lord, cleanse me with the blood. Cleanse me with the blood.” The more we go to God and exercise our spirit to cooperate with Him, the more we will be mingled with God and sense the need for the blood.
Every part of our being, from the circumference to the center, is full of defilement. The lack of the sense that we are defiled and filthy proves that we are not living in God’s countenance. If we are living in His countenance, we cannot utter one word of prayer without pleading for His blood. Before the prophet Isaiah touched God’s countenance, he could boast in himself. But as soon as he saw God’s glory and came before His face, he cried, “Woe is me, for I am finished! / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell” (Isa. 6:5). He was not able to stand before the Lord of glory. He needed the cleansing of the blood. Whenever we touch our spirit, and whenever we touch God and sense His presence and mingling, we will realize that we are unclean. Even if we spend one hour praying for cleansing, we will still need the cleansing of the blood in the next hour. Only when we touch God can we discover, realize, and see our filthiness. A believer once said, “Even my tears of repentance require the cleansing of the blood.” We need to repent even for our repentance for sins.
How unclean are our inward parts! Our motives and thoughts are impure, and they are mixed with acts of the self and of self-interest. Our thoughts, views, words, and attitudes cannot withstand God’s searching under His light. Even if we proclaim to be the cleanest of believers, we will find that we are in fact the most defiled once God shines on our inward and outward conditions. It is under this light that we find the cleansing of the blood most necessary.
Without the blood God will not accept us. Without the blood even our conscience will not approve us (Heb. 10:19; Rom. 2:15). An enlightened and cleansed conscience will always condemn us as being filthy; it will rebuke us. We may think that we said something in love, but our motive was impure. We may think that we love the brothers, but pride and self-glorification are hidden within our love. Our condemning of others for not having as much love as we have shows that our love is mixed with the expression and manifestation of the self. When the Lord shines on us, we will realize that what we consider to be a most holy love is altogether filthy and needs the thorough cleansing of the blood. For a long period of time I would spend thirty out of forty minutes of my prayer time confessing my sins. Only a few minutes were left for intercession. I can testify that the more one touches God’s presence and His countenance, and the more one mingles with God and cooperates with Him, the more he feels a need for the cleansing of the blood.
In the morning we should each touch the Lord’s presence, turn to our spirit, and pray by being mingled with Him. If we would do this, we will no longer be as free and careless as we have been in the past. Once we touch God and cooperate with Him, light will shine in us, and we will see that we are defiled in this item and wrong in that item. If we are wrong in our attitude toward our husband and in our thoughts concerning our children, we will confess, “Lord, cleanse me with Your blood.” Before we finish this confession, another thought may come concerning how we wronged our parents. While we confess this, a third thought may come to us related to pride in our demeanor when we spoke with a brother. We may respond, “Lord, forgive me. Cleanse me with Your precious blood.” As soon as we make this confession, another thought may come revealing that our prayer at the Lord’s table was full of self-boasting and glorification. Immediately, we should pray, “Lord, forgive me. Cleanse me again.” As soon as we utter these words, another thought may come that we were improper in our behavior toward our household help. After confessing this, still another thought may come. Such feelings of condemnation touch one point after another. As we realize that we are full of problems, there is almost no way to proceed with our intercession. The entire time of prayer may be taken up with confession and prayer for forgiveness and cleansing. If this is our condition, we are blessed. We have touched God. We have met the Lord.
Our prayer is most likely outside of God if, without any consciousness of sins and mistakes, it is easy to pray for this or that matter as soon as we kneel down. We have not touched God. We should read Daniel 9 again and consider his prayer. In effect, in his entire prayer, he said, “Our fathers have sinned against You. We have sinned against You, and I have sinned against You. If You do not grant us mercy, we have no way to proceed.” Daniel was a man under the light. He knew himself, realized his corruption, and confessed and grieved at length. He made confession over and over again and prayed for forgiveness. After confessing, he simply made a short intercession at the end: “God, remember Your holy habitation and Your holy city for Your own sake” (cf. v. 19). Over ninety percent of that long prayer was confession; only the last part was intercession, but this was enough to touch God’s heart.
Suppose a brother comes to God and prays in spirit by cooperating with God. He touches God and senses His presence, and God’s light shines on him, exposing all his failures and hidden thoughts. At such a time he is aware of his evil doings and sins, and he trusts in the blood. He sees that the blood of the cross is not only for saving him from hell but also for maintaining his fellowship with God. When he draws near to God in this way, he enjoys the efficacy of the blood. He can point to specific incidents and say, “Lord, I apply the blood to this matter and to that matter.” The more he prays this way, the more his conscience is purged, his spirit is revived, his heart is set at rest, and his inner being is filled with God’s presence. Perhaps his entire prayer is simply a long confession, and he does not ask for much in his prayer. But after praying, he is inwardly filled with God’s presence and is overflowing with God Himself. He has enjoyed God and has tasted God.
We need not pray for so many miscellaneous items. The Lord’s Word says that we should seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to us (Matt. 6:33). The heathen pray exclusively for these things because they do not know God. As those who know God, we should not pray in this way. We should touch God’s presence in our spirit and pray by cooperating with Him. When we discover any sin in us, we should confess, ask for the cleansing of the blood, and enjoy the redemption that comes through the cross.
When we touch God, we will see not only the outward sins but also the inward self. We will see that our entire being is full of the self. The self is even the center of all our relationships. It is the center of our relationship with our husband, our wife, our children, our parents, and the church. Consequently, God cannot mingle Himself deeply with us because we are full of the hidden self. In everything our consideration is the self. We are number one. We are number two. We are number three. We are number four. We are the first, we are the last, and we are everything in between. The Holy Spirit will show that we are not only full of sin but also full of the self and the old creation. Then the Holy Spirit will lead us to the death of the cross. When the Spirit points out our sins, we receive the cleansing of the blood. In the same principle, when the Spirit exposes the self, we have no choice but to accept the death of the cross. We will condemn ourselves, abhor ourselves, reject ourselves, deny ourselves, and apply the death of the cross through the Spirit who abides in us. We will enjoy the death of the cross. Then the crucifixion of the old creation will no longer be doctrine to us; it will be our practical experience. In our fellowship with God in His presence we will experience the death of Christ in a very real and practical way. Through the Spirit who abides in us, the self will be put to death. On the one hand, we will experience the cleansing of the blood; on the other hand, we will experience the death of the cross.
The Fourth Step—
Living in the Spirit of Resurrection
As we experience the first three steps, we spontaneously will experience the fourth step, which is to be in resurrection. As cleansed, redeemed, and crucified persons, we will immediately be brought into resurrection and ascension. We will be in the Holy Spirit and be free and transcendent. The Holy Spirit will fill us, pour Himself upon us, nourish us, and mingle Himself with us. We will have the Spirit’s presence in everything. Our sins will be cleansed, the self will be crucified, and our entire being will be in the Spirit of resurrection. We will be brought into the realm of resurrection, the realm of heaven, that is, the realm of God. We will be persons in God, enjoying God, filled with Him, and knowing how to apply Him in everything. God will not only be mingled with us; we will also be brought into the very being of God.
In such a realm of resurrection and ascension we will be sanctified, shining, and victorious. In such a realm God becomes our presence and our guidance. When we stand up to speak, God is our speaking, our message, and our eloquence. When we preach the gospel, God is our gospel and our power. In such a realm God is our all in all. He becomes whatever we need. Not only are we in God, but also He is in us. In addition to contacting Him with our spirit and cooperating with Him in prayer, we will be cleansed and crucified, becoming persons who experientially enjoy the Lord’s redemption and the crucifixion of His cross. In this redemption we are put to death, and the Spirit of resurrection brings us into the realm of resurrection. Our entire being is in God. We are fully in God, that is, in the spirit, in heaven, in resurrection, in life, and in the new creation. We are persons in the new creation, in life, in resurrection, in heaven, in the spirit, and in God. Moreover, our inner being is God Himself, and our outward expression is His expression. Every part of our being will be God, and we will be persons who fully enjoy God.
However, this is not a once-for-all experience; neither can a person reach this peak with one attempt. We need continual experiences of this. At a certain time we may feel that we have reached the peak. However, we will later realize that it was not the peak and that there is still a need to go deeper and higher. Although we may experience much grace when we touch the Lord’s presence again, we will also sense our sins again and need the cleansing of the blood again. Under this shining we will discover more of our hidden self and realize our need to embrace a deeper death. Going through those experiences repeatedly, we will enter into a deeper resurrection and touch, absorb, enjoy, and appropriate God in a deeper way. This is the way to grace and blessing. May the Lord have mercy on us all and bring us into this realm!