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NOT I, BUT CHRIST: WATCHMAN NEE EXPLAINS HOW TO DIE IN ORDER TO TRULY LIVE | GOD IS SPEAKING | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: NOT I, BUT CHRIST: WATCHMAN NEE EXPLAINS HOW TO DIE IN ORDER TO TRULY LIVE
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Summary
Core Theme
The core theme is that true, victorious Christian living stems not from intellectual knowledge or self-effort, but from a profound spiritual transformation that prioritizes the human spirit's communion with God over the soul's self-awareness and the body's sensory experiences.
Have you ever wondered why even after
attending church for years, your inner
struggles remain the same? Why despite
knowing the word does your heart still
race with the same worries? This is the
question that defines our true spiritual
condition. Perhaps the issue isn't about
how much you know about God, but how
much you allow him to know you. Who has
checked if they are subscribed to this
channel? If you haven't yet, please
subscribe so that the Lord can continue
to reach you with his word. This could
be the message that transforms your
spiritual life forever. Watchman knee
teaches us a fundamental truth that many
of us overlook. Man is a tripartite
being, spirit, soul, and body. This
isn't an abstract concept, but the key
to understanding why so many Christians
live defeated lives despite all their
biblical knowledge. In 1 Thessalonians
5:23, Paul writes, "May God himself, the
God of peace, sanctify you through and
through. May your whole spirit, soul,
and body be kept blameless at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ." Notice that
Paul doesn't only mention the body and
soul as we often think, but adds a third
dimension, the human spirit. This
distinction is not merely academic. It
is the foundation for understanding how
God operates in our lives and why we so
often do not feel his presence even when
we pray fervently. Write in the
comments, "My spirit longs for more." If
you feel that there is a deeper
dimension to the Christian life that you
have yet to fully experience. The body,
as Watchman Knee teaches, is our
awareness of the physical world. Through
the five senses, sight, hearing, touch,
taste, and smell, we interact with the
environment around us. The body is the
outer vessel, the earthly house
mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:1. But how
many of us allow this more superficial
dimension to dominate our existence? How
many Christians live solely in the realm
of the senses, seeking physical
experiences and immediate
gratifications? The soul, in turn, is
our self-awareness. It is the center of
our personality where the mind,
emotions, and will reside. When the
Bible states that the soul that sins
shall die in Ezekiel 18 20, it refers to
this aspect of our nature that can
choose the path of disobedience. The
soul is the conscious eye, the place
where we make decisions, experience
feelings, and form thoughts. Many
believers never go beyond this level.
They possess an intellectual faith,
religious emotions, and moral decisions.
But something is still missing. As
Watchman knee noted in the spiritual
man, many Christians live as sooulish
men, not as spiritual men. This is a
piercing truth that we need to confront.
Modern Christianity is filled with
activities for the soul, Bible studies
for the mind, music for the emotions,
moral decisions for the will. But where
is the nourishment for the spirit? The
human spirit is our consciousness of
God. It is the deepest place of our
being created specifically for communion
with the creator. John 4:24 tells us
that God is spirit and those who worship
him must worship in spirit and truth.
Note that Jesus does not say we should
worship God with our mind or emotions
but in spirit. The human spirit contains
intuition, the ability to perceive
divine reality directly, communion, the
means of communication with God, and
conscience, the inner witness of divine
will. Before the fall of Adam, the human
spirit dominated his constitution. There
was perfect harmony between spirit,
soul, and body, with the spirit leading,
the soul expressing, and the body
executing. Sin inverted this divine
order. The spirit was suppressed, the
soul took control, and the body often
tyrannized over both. Salvation,
therefore, is not just the forgiveness
of sins, but the restoration of the
original divine order. The spirit once
again in communion with God and
exercising authority over the soul and
body. Romans 8:6 powerfully expresses
this truth. The mind of the flesh is
death, but the mind of the spirit is
life and peace. When the soul is in
charge, we experience spiritual death,
anxiety, fear, confusion. When the
spirit revived by the Holy Spirit takes
control, we experience life and peace
regardless of our external
circumstances. Declare below, "Holy
Spirit, govern my heart." If you want to
experience this divine restoration in
your own life, the tragedy for many
Christians is that they try to live the
Christian life in the power of the soul.
They use their minds to understand the
Bible, their emotions to feel the
presence of God, and their will to make
moral decisions. All of this has its
place, but it is not the foundation of
the Christian life. As Watchman Knee
repeatedly emphasized, "True Christian
life begins when it is no longer I who
live, but Christ who lives in me."
Galatians 2:20. This I that must be
crucified is not just our evident sins,
but the very life of the soul that wants
to serve God in its own strength.
Consider how this truth applies to your
daily experience. How many times do you
try to solve spiritual problems with
natural resources? When facing
temptation, do you rely on your
willpower or on the life of Christ in
your spirit? When seeking guidance, do
you primarily depend on your reason or
on the spiritual intuition that comes
from the Holy Spirit dwelling in your
human spirit. One of Watchmen kn's
deepest teachings is the principle of
the cross. In the normal Christian life,
he explains that Christ's cross has two
aspects, substitutionary and
identificatory. The substitutionary
aspect deals with what Christ did for
us, dying for our sins. The
identificatory aspect deals with what
Christ did with us, dying to sin. The
first addresses the guilt of sin. The
second addresses the power of sin. Many
Christians understand only the first
aspect. They know that Christ died for
their sins, but they do not realize that
they died with Christ. Romans 6:6
states, "We know that our old self was
crucified with him so that the body
ruled by sin might be done away with,
that we should no longer be slaves to
sin. This is an objective reality, not a
subjective experience. When Christ died,
you died with him. When Christ rose
again, you rose with him to new life.
The Christian life is therefore not
simply about imitating Christ or trying
to live according to his principles. It
is about allowing Christ's life to
manifest through us. As Watchman knee
emphasizes, God does not want us to
produce something for him. He wants to
be our life. True holiness is not
self-control but surrender. Not me
controlling my sinful nature but me
yielding myself to Christ so that he can
live his life through me. This truth has
profound practical implications. When we
face temptation, our natural response is
to fight against it. But Paul tells us
in Romans 7 that this struggle only
strengthens sin. True victory comes not
from the struggle, but from surrender,
recognizing that we are dead to sin and
alive to God in Christ Jesus. It is not
by effort, but by faith that we
experience the liberation that Christ
has secured for us. The path to a deeper
life according to Watchman Knee begins
with revelation and ends with
experience. First, we need a revelation
from the Holy Spirit about our true
condition. We must see that we are
completely incapable of living the
Christian life in our own strength. Then
based on this revelation, we exercise
faith, not faith in our efforts, but
faith in Christ's finished work.
Finally, this faith leads to experience,
the lived reality of Christ's life
manifesting through us. Proclaim with
faith, not I, but Christ. If you are
ready to abandon your efforts and enter
into the rest of Christ's life, many
Christians fail at this crucial point.
They want to experience abundant life
without going through the cross. They
desire the power of Christ without the
death of self. As Watchman Ni observed,
the resurrected life of Christ can only
be released through death. We cannot
experience the fullness of Christ's life
while holding on to our own. Unless a
grain of wheat falls to the ground and
dies, it remains alone. But if it dies,
it produces much grain. John 12:24.
Consider how this truth applies to your
daily struggles. That anxiety that won't
let go. That habit you can't seem to
overcome. That relationship that remains
difficult. Perhaps the problem isn't
that you aren't trying hard enough.
Maybe the issue is that you are trying
too hard. Christian victory does not
come from trying more intensely, but
from trusting more completely. One of
the most powerful examples that watchman
knee uses in his teachings is the
difference between trying and trusting.
Imagine a person trying to lift a heavy
stone. They exert themselves, sweat, and
may manage to raise it a few inches
before giving up exhausted. Now imagine
the same person trusting a powerful
machine to lift the stone. They simply
press a button and the stone is lifted
effortlessly. This illustrates the
difference between living by the
strength of the soul and living by the
power of the spirit. In Romans 7, Paul
describes his experience of trying to
live the Christian life through his own
efforts. For I do not do the good I
want, but the evil I do not want is what
I keep on doing. This is the universal
experience of all who attempt to
overcome sin by sheer willpower. But in
Romans 8, Paul describes liberation. For
the law of the spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has set me free from the law of
sin and death. Victory does not come
from human effort but through the
operation of a higher law, the law of
the spirit of life. Watchman knee uses
another enlightening analogy, the
difference between rowing a boat and
sailing. Rowing represents our attempt
to make spiritual progress through human
effort. Sailing represents our
dependence on the wind of the spirit.
Both can move the boat forward. But one
relies on human effort and quickly leads
to exhaustion while the other depends on
divine power and brings rest even while
in motion. Perhaps you are tired of
rowing. Maybe your arms ache from trying
to live the Christian life in your own
strength. Today God is inviting you to
let go of the oars and hoist the sail of
faith. As Hebrews 4:11 says, "Let us
strive to enter that rest."
Paradoxically, our ultimate effort is to
enter into the rest of faith. The
practical path to a deeper spiritual
life according to watchman knee involves
three crucial steps. Know, reckon, and
present. First, we need to know our
position in Christ that we have been
crucified, buried, and raised with him.
This knowledge is not merely
intellectual, but a spiritual revelation
that transforms our understanding of who
we are. Secondly, we must reckon this
reality is true in our daily experience.
When temptation comes, we see ourselves
as dead to sin. When fear arises, we
consider ourselves raised with Christ.
Thirdly, we present ourselves to God as
instruments of righteousness, available
for his will and purpose. This process
is neither automatic nor instantaneous.
It is a journey of faith that requires
patience and perseverance. There will be
failures and setbacks, moments of
clarity and periods of confusion. But as
we persist on this path, we gradually
experience more of the reality that is
already ours in Christ. As 2 Corinthians
3:18 says, "And we all with unveiled
faces contemplating the glory of the
Lord are being transformed into the same
image from glory to glory by the spirit
of the Lord." Leave a comment. Today I
choose to live by the spirit. If this
message has touched your heart and you
are determined to apply it, one of the
greatest barriers to experiencing this
deeper spiritual life is what watchman
knee refers to as the natural mind. The
natural mind cannot understand the
things of the spirit. As 1 Corinthians
2:14 states, "The person without the
spirit does not accept the things that
come from the spirit of God, but
considers them foolishness and cannot
understand them because they are
spiritually discerned." Our minds need
to be renewed by the Holy Spirit so that
we can discern and follow God's
direction. This renewal of the mind is
not an intellectual process, but a
spiritual one. It's not about acquiring
more biblical knowledge, but about
allowing the Holy Spirit to transform
the way we think. Romans 12:2 urges us.
Do not conform to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, so that you may
test and approve what God's will is, his
good, pleasing, and perfect will. A
renewed mind is characterized by several
distinct attributes. First, it is a mind
that thinks from Christ, not from self.
Second, it is a mind that seeks things
above, not things on the earth. Third,
it is a mind that spiritually discerns,
distinguishing between soul and spirit,
between what is merely good and what is
truly of God. Fourth, it is a mind in
harmony with the spirit, not at war with
it. Fifth, it is a mind under the
lordship of Christ, taking every thought
captive to the obedience of Christ. How
can we develop such a mind? Watchman
knee suggests several spiritual
practices. First, we should feed our
minds with the word of God. Not just
reading it, but meditating on it until
it penetrates our inner being. Second,
we should practice inner silence,
learning to quiet our thoughts to hear
the voice of the spirit. Third, we must
exercise spiritual discernment,
constantly asking, "Does this come from
the soul or the spirit? Is this my
thought or the mind of Christ?" Fourth,
we should entrust every decision, big or
small, to the leadership of the Holy
Spirit. The result of this renewal of
the mind is a new spiritual sensitivity.
We become able to discern God's will not
only in major decisions but in every
aspect of daily life. We develop what
watchman knee calls intuitive knowledge.
The ability to perceive God's direction
directly through the spirit without
primarily relying on rational analysis.
This spiritual sensitivity is not
reserved for superch Christians or
spiritual leaders. It is the birthright
of every child of God. John 10:27
assures us, "My sheep hear my voice, and
I know them, and they follow me." If you
are a sheep of Christ, you have the
innate ability to hear and recognize his
voice. The problem is not that God
doesn't speak, but that we often tune
into the wrong channels. Another crucial
aspect of spiritual life according to
Watchman Knee is what he calls the way
of the cross. This is not an abstract
concept, but a practical reality we face
every day. The cross was not just a
historical event. It is a continuous
principle in the Christian life. In Luke 9:23,
9:23,
Jesus says, "If anyone would come after
me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross daily and follow me." Note that
Jesus speaks of taking up the cross
daily, not just once. What does it mean
to take up the cross daily? It means
accepting the limitations, difficulties
and sufferings that God allows in our
lives as instruments to break our own
will and strengthen our dependence on
him. These crosses can take many forms.
A difficult relationship, fragile
health, financial limitations, a
persistent weakness. What matters is not
the specific form but our response to
it. The natural response of the soul is
to rebel against these limitations, to
seek to escape them or at least to
complain about them. But the spiritual
response is to accept them as coming
from the hand of a loving father who
knows exactly what we need for our
spiritual growth. As Watchman Knee
points out, God is more interested in
forming Christ in us than in making us
comfortable. This acceptance is not
passivity or fatalism. It is an active
surrender that says not my will but
yours be done. It is a conscious
cooperation with the work of the Holy
Spirit in our lives. It is to recognize
like Paul that when I am weak then I am
strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10. Because in
our weakness the power of Christ is
perfected. The way of the cross
inevitably leads to the experience of
resurrection. As Jesus taught, "Unless a
grain of wheat falls to the ground and
dies, it remains alone. But if it dies,
it bears much fruit." John 12:24. Death
always precedes life in the divine
economy. The cross always precedes the
crown. The descent always precedes the
ascent. This is the pattern established
by Christ and replicated in each of his
followers. The fruit of this resurrected
life lived from the spirit is
multifaceted. First, we experience a new
freedom. Not the freedom to do what we
want, but the freedom to do what we
must, the freedom to live according to
the purpose for which we were created.
Second, we experience a new peace, not
the absence of external conflicts, but
the presence of inner harmony even
amidst life storms. Third, we experience
a new power, not to fulfill our
ambitions, but to accomplish the will of
God, whether it is easy or difficult.
Perhaps the most distinctive mark of
spiritual life is what watchman knee
calls the rest of faith. This is not a
rest of inactivity but a rest in
activity. It is working from rest not
for rest. It is living in the reality
that the work has already been
accomplished in Christ and that our
responsibility is not to produce it but
to manifest it. Hebrews 4:9-10
describes this rest. There remains then
a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
For anyone who enters God's rest also
rests from their works, just as God did
from his. This rest does not mean that
we stop working, but rather that we
cease to rely on our own strength and
begin to work in the power of God. As
Jesus said, "Very truly I tell you,
whoever believes in me will do the works
I have been doing, and they will do even
greater things than these because I'm
going to the Father." John 14:12. Have
you experienced this rest of faith? Have
you encountered the paradox of being
extremely active without feeling anxious
or overwhelmed? Have you felt the
difference between working for God and
allowing God to work through you? This
is the secret to truly victorious
Christian living. Not less work, but
work of a different quality, not less
responsibility, but a new capacity to
fulfill it. If you've made it this far,
I want to thank you for taking the time
to read this message. I hope that
watchman kn's teachings on spirit, soul,
and body have enlightened your
understanding and strengthened your
faith. If this message has touched your
heart, please leave a comment saying,
"This truth set me free so I know that
you received this message." Don't forget
to like this video if it has brought
clarity to your spiritual life. Your
interaction helps spread this message to
others who also need to hear these
transformative truths. If you're not
already subscribed to the channel, click
the subscribe button to receive more
content that will strengthen your faith
and deepen your relationship with God.
And before you go, I have a video here
on the side that perfectly complements
what we talked about today, diving even
deeper into Watchman Knees's teachings
on living in the spirit. Click on it and
continue this journey of spiritual
discovery with me. May the Lord richly
bless your life as you apply these
truths, allowing the spirit, not the
soul, to govern your being. In Christ,
you already have everything you need to
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