Cooperating with God’s Judging and Giving Grace Even though God’s judgment is to clear out the negative things within us, His purpose is to give us grace so that we may have a new beginning. God does not stop with judgment. His judging puts an end to everything that is old in order for Him to gain new ground and begin a fresh work. He wants to create more and to give more grace. God judges in order to give grace, and He gives grace after He judges. Concerning the Holy Spirit, John 16:8 says, “When He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment.” This is the judging God executing His judgment through the Holy Spirit. God judges His people in order to convict them and to open the way for them to receive His grace. If we ignore His shining and reject His judging, we will close the way to God’s grace, and as a result, we will lose His blessing. If we are willing to accept His judging and be convicted by it, we will open the way for Him to give us grace so that His blessings can reach us. God judges us in order to bring us into His grace. God’s intention in judging man, especially His people, is to open a way for His work of grace; hence, we should have a proper attitude toward His judging. We should be humble and bow down to God’s judgment; we should judge ourselves according to His judgment. Then He will open a way for His rich blessings to come upon us. The more thoroughly we receive His judgment, the more we will receive His grace. However, if we are insensitive to God’s judgment or even defy it and remain in darkness, His judgment will become our loss. The effect of God’s judging us, whether it is a gain or a loss, depends on how we receive it. In order to do any work of grace in man, God needs man’s cooperation. God’s judging is not an exception. God’s goal is not to judge us; He wants us to receive His judging light so that we can be blessed. The more thoroughly we receive His judgment, the more grace we will receive, and the more we will grow in the divine life. Those who do not act upon God’s judging light cannot receive grace. In order to be regenerated, man must receive God’s judgment. The Spirit convicts man concerning sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment. When a person judges himself according to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, he is immediately saved by grace. Otherwise, God has no way to save that person. This shows that in order for us to receive grace from God, we must cooperate with His judging. Isaiah 57:15 says that God will dwell with the contrite and lowly of spirit. A person with a contrite and lowly spirit is a person who receives God’s judging. Verse 14 says, “Cast up, cast up; prepare the way; / Take up the obstacle out of the way of My people.” From the context, the obstacle in this verse refers to those who are proud and unwilling to judge themselves according to God’s light. They are proud, self-righteous, and unwilling to examine themselves; hence, they are filled with obstacles and fall into desolation. God says that we should take the obstacle out of the way. Our present need is still to remove the obstacles if we want God to give us grace. A believer who is proud and conceited will condemn and criticize others, looking only at the splinter in their eye but not considering the beam in his own (Matt. 7:3). He is stumbled by pride and self-conceit, and the way for him to receive grace is blocked. Furthermore, he can become an obstacle, frustrating others from receiving God’s grace. If we are considerate of the Lord’s heart, we will learn to be humble and judge ourselves according to His light. Instead of being proud, we will see our poor condition and our weakness, and we will realize our need for the Lord’s mercy and rebukes. When we are willing to place such a demand on ourselves, rather than on the saints, our contriteness and humbleness will open the way to receive God’s grace. The apostle Paul says, “If we discerned ourselves, we would not be judged” (1 Cor. 11:31). David said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; / A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (Psa. 51:17). In order for the Lord to revive our locality, many of us must humbly accept the Lord’s rebuke in His judging light. This is the way for us to receive grace, and it is also the way for the church to bring in God’s blessing. Extracted from "The Living God and the God of Resurrection" (22), authored by Witness Lee, originally published in "Ministry of the Word" Chapter 101, November 1959 by Living Stream Ministry
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 20:36:36 +0000
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