The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee

“ Reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, and alive to God in Christ Jesus” Step 2: Faith or “Reckoning” (Romans 6:11) Instead of praying for myself, I need to recognize what God has already done and praise him for it! Do you think that God would cleanse all my sins and then leave me to get rid of the sin-producing factory myself? Just like I don’t have to do anything for my justification, I don’t have to do anything for my sanctification. My old self is so weak that it can’t get any weaker. I don’t have to try to be dead, buried, or risen-I am already dead! God reckons me as dead, buried, and risen, and tells me to recon myself in the same way.ĭeath is utter weakness. Trying to exercise self-control doesn’t work, because I’m powerless and need to set myself aside all together-God has already killed my sinful flesh, so I can stop my human striving and self-effort. The reason we’re free from sin’s dominion isn’t because God strengthened our old man, but because God crucified him. Man’s way is to suppress sin in hopes of overcoming it, but God’s way is to erase the sinner altogether. My old, sinful self died on the cross in Christ, and Romans 6:7 says that “whoever is dead is freed from sin.” “Our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, so that we should no longer be in bondage to sin”

Step 1: Revelation or “Knowing” (Romans 6:6) When Jesus resurrected, he became “the second man,” initiating new race of men that will never die. Jesus was “the last Adam” who absorbed Adam’s sin nature and took it to death. The Lord included me in his death which allows me to identify myself in Him. Since we came into Adam’s race by birth, the only way out must be by death. Trying to fix our outward behavior only reveals how deep-seated our sin truly is.Ĭhrist’s blood can’t remove us from Adam’s race. If I behave like a Nee I am a Nee, but if I don’t behave like a Nee I’m still a Nee. We’re born with indwelling sin no matter how we behave. The flesh is too bad to be cleansed-it must be crucified altogether. The reason we are forgiven isn’t because God overlooks what we’ve done, but because He sees Christ’s blood. Jesus took our place on the cross to secure our forgiveness from sins, and the Holy Spirit takes our place within to secure our victory over sin. God forgives our individual sins through the blood of Christ, and He delivers us from our indwelling sin through the cross of Christ. Man has 2 problems: Sins (our individual deeds) and sin (our indwelling nature).

Watchman Nee’s The Normal Christian Life summary: notes, quotes, & highlights The Blood of Christ

The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee