Reflection
The Proper Daily Relationship with Christ
Victory is not in receiving the gifts of God apart from the Son, but in receiving the Son Himself.
Published: 31 May 2026
“And this is the testimony, that God gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” — 1 John 5:11–12, KJV
Have you seen this? How is the overcoming life given to us? It is given to us in the Son. There is no way for us to receive the overcoming life except through the Son. He who has the Son of God has life, and he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
When God gives us His Son, He is not giving us just the prescription but the very Doctor Himself. God does not merely give us life; He is giving us this life in His Son. Having the overcoming life is not just a matter of receiving life; it is a matter of receiving the Son of God.
The Problem of an Improper Relationship
Therefore, when our relationship with Christ is improper, problems develop. Once we doubt Christ’s faithfulness and His promises, we will have problems within. God does not give us patience, meekness, or humility independently of Christ. He gives us patience, meekness, and humility in His Son. The minute we are not right with His Son, we lose our victory.
This is why we need a proper daily relationship with Christ.
Every day we should say, “Lord, You are my Head, and I am Your member. Lord, You are still my life, and You are still my holiness.” If we turn our eyes to ourselves, we will find none of these things. But if our eyes are turned to Christ, we will have everything.
The Mountain, Not the Firewood
This is faith. We cannot hold on to holiness, victory, patience, or humility apart from Christ. Once we have Christ, we have holiness, victory, patience, and humility.
The Chinese have an expression: “As long as the green mountain remains, there is no fear of the shortage of firewood.” God is not giving us “firewood”; He is giving us the “mountain.” As long as the “mountain” is there, the “firewood” will be there.
“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” — Isaiah 55:10–11, KJV
Living by Faith, Not by Feelings
We believe that God’s Son is living within us. The biggest reason for failure in many Christians is that they live by feelings and not by faith.
When we fail, it does not mean that everything we have experienced up to that point is void and invalid. It merely means that something has gone wrong in our believing. We should never think that a person needs to fail after he has overcome. Before we overcome we have to fail; God wants us to fail and fail miserably. But after we overcome, there is no need to fail! Even when we fail, such failures should only be occasional ones.
When we are in Adam and we feel cold, callous, and unclean, it means that we are indeed cold, callous, and unclean. But when we are in Christ, we should tell ourselves that we have holiness and victory. Whatever we say we have, we will have.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV
Extracted from CWWN, Set 2 Volume 24: The Overcoming Life; Chapter Nine: Growth. A fellowship given by Watchman Nee in 1935 in Shanghai, published by Living Stream Ministry. Used with respect and thanksgiving for a faithful servant of the Lord.