Resting in Christ's Perfection

Published: 9 June 2026

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” — Romans 8:1, KJV

Learning to rest, not strive

In our pursuing of the Lord, we should not be too subjective. Do not insist that the Lord do anything for you. Instead, rest in Christ. Although you desire progress, holiness, and meekness, it is impossible for you to enter into rest unless you see the perfect accomplishment that Christ, who is now at the right hand of God, has obtained.

God told Balaam that there was no evil in the house of Jacob. But later the Israelites fell into idolatry and fornication. We first sit, and then we walk. We do not walk first and then sit. We rest, then we can walk.

We have to see that in Christ and before God, we cannot be any more perfect than we are now. The garment that I have is the same as Christ's; we are most perfect in the eyes of God. We are accepted by God to the same degree that the Lord Jesus is accepted.

Resting in the finished work

You have to learn to rest in Christ's perfect work. You have to see that in Christ you can access God's throne immediately. We have a basic need, which is a conscience void of offense. This is a conscience that is free from sin and even from the consciousness of sin. The Lord Jesus' blood can make you this clean. You are perfect in God.

“For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.” Hebrews 10:2, KJV

There are two places in the Bible that speak of our sins being dealt with: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) and the worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins (Hebrews 10:2). On the one hand, there is no good thing in our flesh. On the other hand, we are perfect in Christ. This contradiction is normal.

The grave is behind us

We have to learn to see that we are already buried in the grave. There is no need to waste any effort on ourselves. The Lord's work is perfect. The blood of His Son Jesus has cleansed us from all sins. Our conscience is at peace. There is no need to be nervous. You have to rest in the Lord.

Do not be a living person who constantly deals with a dead corpse. The Lord is your holiness, and there is no need to seek holiness in yourself or to deal with yourself any longer. You have to accept the perfection that is in Christ. Do not struggle to improve yourself. Even if you are wrong, there is no need to be anxious. You cannot control your self. Let go of the self. Let go, and you will be anxious no longer. If you keep your eyes on yourself, not on the perfection you obtained in Christ, you will never have the rest.

The covering of skin

Suppose you had an enemy who always tried to hurt you, but who is now dead. Perhaps you have even seen his grave with your own eyes. If you are still afraid that he will knock on your door and hurt you, your fear is groundless.

On the one hand, you have seen the perfection you inherited in Christ. On the other hand, you still find so many things wrong with yourself. There is no need to try to deal with the wrongs. There is only a need to rest in Christ's perfection. Unless you can do this, your sleepless nights will not end; you still will be unable to sleep at night.

Once you try to deal with your problems by your own strength, you become anxious. Relax and do not be introspective. Do not look at yourself, but on the Lord alone, and you will have rest.

If a man keeps looking at himself, he will not be able to stand in front of Satan. Man was not able to remain in a covering made of leaves but needed a covering made of animal skin, because coverings made of leaves could be torn apart, while coverings made of animal skin could never be torn apart. If you put on Christ, God will not see your wrongs. God will not set His eyes on the covering of leaves. He will only set His eyes on the covering of skin, because only skin lasts and covers forever.

Look not inward, but to Christ

The more a man looks inward, the worse he becomes. Never look inward. Even if you are wrong, you should not care. If you are not clear about your position in Christ, you will not be able to deal with your self. We are indeed very near to God. Christ is our all; He is our perfection. Through Christ, we can draw near to God in the most intimate way.

We may not have adequate knowledge of the objective facts and are involved with too many subjective dealings. Once we see the Lord of glory, perhaps our own problems will go away.

Extracted from CWWN, Set 3 Volume 58: Spiritual Judgement and Examples of Judgement, Chapter 48, Example 44. A fellowship given by Watchman Nee on 24 August 1948 during his training for co-workers in Kuling, published by Living Stream Ministry.

Lord, teach us to rest in the perfection You have already given us in Christ. Turn our eyes from ourselves to Your Son. Let us cease from our striving and find our rest in Him alone. Amen.