Deny the Self

The "self" is the soul declaring independence from God. What a marvelous statement! 

A genuinely saved person is always dependent on the Lord. He has no meaning in life apart from the Lord. His living and conduct is always dependent on the Lord Himself. Yet here is a critical point of taking "dependence" on the Lord to one extreme. In fact, there are many who have taken this case to its extremity, to the extend that they don't listen to anybody but "the Lord." Such people have no concept of the Body of Christ and they are spiritual egoist living to themselves for themselves under the cloak of "spirituality." To them, they are overtly confident in their dependence of the Lord and generally has a hidden tag on themselves, "The Lord speaks to me.." So their attitude is, "who are you to say anything when the Lord already said?" There is no feeling for the Body, much less, care for the Body. To them all that matter is, "Thus spake the Lord!" And that's it. To me, these people are far more dangerous than a normal believer who fellowship and pray together with the fellows believers. 

Today, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Body is one with the Body of Christ comprising His many believers. Since the Head and the Body cannot be separated, they are one and uniquely one. To genuinely depend on the Lord, the Head, is to depend on the members of the Body, the fellow believers. If one is genuine in seeking the Lord, he definitely would treasure the fellowship of the members of the Body. In fact, Christ does not speak from the heavens directly, but in many practical cases, He speaks through the Body, with the Body and for the Body.

In the New Testament there are many instances of the Head speaking through the Body. In fact, almost the entire Bible is written by God through men. God did not write them and sent them down from heaven as "the Book." God speaks through the prophets, priests, kings, and many others. That's how God carries out His work. And He still does the same even today.

So, to depend on the Lord is also to depend on the Body as well. 

The self has declared independence from the Lord. To deny the self is to depend on the Lord and also on the Lord's Body; the many believers in fellowship of the one Spirit. This is the message that has been shaping my Christian life these days. 

The saints, including myself, have been experiencing this dependence on the Lord and the Body these days. We indeed have been experiencing deeply this matter of depending on the Lord and on the Body for many practical matters, both great and small. Be it personal or family matter, be it professional or career, or even financial and many other matters, these days we have been enjoying a lot of fellowship. Not that we can solve one another's problems, but in sweet fellowship the Lord does speak and shows the way. This is a good understanding on denying the self; not depending on the self alone, not even merely on the Lord alone. but on the Lord as the Head and also on the Body.

Deny the self, depend on the Lord, and also on the Body! This is the best way to deny the self.