LESSON ELEVEN – FACT, FAITH, AND EXPERIENCE

Eph. 2:8 — By grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

In the present age of grace, everything is “by grace” (Eph. 2:8). Everything being by grace means that everything is done by God. Man does not have to do anything to be saved because “to the one who works, his wages are not accounted according to grace, but according to what is due” (Rom. 4:4). Because God deals with man according to grace, there are certain facts.

FACT

God has accomplished everything for man. Since everything has been accomplished, certain “facts” exist. And since they are existing “facts,” man does not have to accomplish what has already been accomplished. All of God’s works are complete.

However, God’s grace is a righteous grace. This is why, with the “facts,” there is still the need for human cooperation. What kind of cooperation is this? It is not to add anything to what He has finished but to have man acknowledge that what God has done is real. This is faith.

FAITH

Faith is to acknowledge that what God has said and done is true. Faith is to accept the facts, that is, to acknowledge them as facts.

Faith is a “cashing in.” I use the words cashing in in the sense of one cashing a check at the bank. Suppose someone gives you a check. That the bank has the money is a fact. For you to cash the check for money is to acknowledge the fact that the bank possesses whatever amount is written on the check. It takes faith to “cash in.” With faith, one can cash in and thereby have the money to use. Now, to spend the money is the “experience.” To have the money in the bank is the “fact,” to cash the check is “faith,” and to spend the money is “experience.” In God’s grace, what He has done for man are facts. But man must still experience these facts.

EXPERIENCE

To experience God’s grace is to claim by faith the facts that God has accomplished for man. These facts are accomplished by God. What man needs is faith. The facts belong to God, and the experience belongs to man. Thus, faith is God’s facts becoming man’s experience. What the Bible shows us is simply “fact, faith, and experience.”

FACT VERSUS EXPERIENCE

We should be very clear concerning the distinction between the fact and the experience. These two things are two different aspects. In the first case, it is what God has accomplished for us; it is the position that God has given to us. In the second case, it is what we practice; it is our enjoyment of what God has given to us. At present, believers tend to go to the extreme. Some (actually the majority) do not know the riches they have in the Lord Jesus. They do not know that everything that the Lord Jesus has accomplished is theirs already. They plan and scheme to secure grace. They try to work out all kinds of righteousnesses by their own strength in order to meet God’s demand and satisfy the inclination of their new life. Others (not a few) think that they understand God’s grace all too well. They think that the Lord Jesus has already exalted them to a matchless position. They are satisfied already and do not seek to put into practice experientially the grace that they have received from the Lord Jesus. Both kinds of people are wrong. Those who pay attention to experience and forget the facts are bound by the law. Those who pay attention to the facts and despise experience take grace as an excuse for indulgence. On the one hand, a Christian should understand through the Scriptures his lofty position in the Lord Jesus. On the other hand, he should examine under God’s light whether or not his walk matches the grace of his calling.

NEEDING TO EXERCISE FAITH

God has placed us in a most lofty position. Through our union with the Lord Jesus, all of the Lord’s accomplishments and victories are ours. This is our position in fact.

The question now is how we can experience all of the Lord Jesus’ accomplishments and victories. Between the fact and the experience, that is, before the fact can be turned into experience, before God’s accomplishment can be turned into man’s practice, there is still the step of faith.

This step of faith is nothing other than the “utilization” or “management” of the inheritance. The Lord has left us a  will. He has died, and the will is now in effect. We should no longer hold an indifferent or unconcerned attitude. Instead we should rise up to “utilize” the inheritance that we have received so that we can enjoy, or experience, the blessing of the inheritance.

What we need now is nothing other than the utilization by faith of what God has promised to us; we should “cash in” by faith what God has prepared for us in the Lord Jesus. For the one who is to inherit a will, there are two things he has to do before he can enjoy and experience the inheritance. First, he has to believe that there is an inheritance.…If we do not have this faith, not only can we never expect any spiritual experiences, but we are sinning against God and doubting His work! Second, those in the world manage an inheritance with their physical strength. But for us to manage our spiritual inheritance, we have to use our spiritual strength, which is faith. As this spiritual inheritance is already ours, we must advance one step further by faith to “cash in,” to utilize, and to manage our inheritance in the Lord Jesus.

PRACTICE

Facts are God’s promises, His redemption, His works, and His free gifts. Faith denotes the way man believes in God, trusts in His work and redemption, and claims His promises. It is a kind of working and attitude through which God’s facts are transformed into man’s experience.

Experience is the proper living of the believers, which they secure through believing in God. It is the expression of the life of Christ practiced in the believers’ living. Experience is the realization of all of Christ’s accomplishments and victories. It is the practical application, manifestation, and living out of God’s facts. The histories of all the saints recorded in the Bible belong to this category.

Not only those who are teachers but all believers should know the interrelationship of these three: fact, faith, and experience. Otherwise, they will be confused in their living and in their teachings. Furthermore, they will find many contradictions and apparent disagreements in their reading of the Bible. (CWWN, vol. 1, “Fact, Faith, and Experience,” pp. 53-54, 56-59)

Reference: CWWN, vol. 1, “Fact, Faith, and Experience,” ch. 4

I’VE BELIEVED THE TRUE REPORT

Experience of Christ— Fellowship with Him – 551

• I’ve believed the true report,
  Hallelujah to the Lamb!
  I have passed the outer court,
  O glory be to God!
  I am all on Jesus’ side,
  On the altar sanctified,
  To the world and sin I’ve died,
  Hallelujah to the Lamb!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
I have passed the riven veil,
Here the glories never fail,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
I am living in the presence of the King.

• I’m a king and priest to God,
  Hallelujah to the Lamb!
  By the cleansing of the blood,
  O glory be to God!
  By the Spirit’s pow’r and light,
  I am living day and night,
  In the holiest place so bright,
  Hallelujah to the Lamb!

• I have passed the outer veil,
  Hallelujah to the Lamb!
  Which did once God’s light conceal,
  O glory be to God!
  But the blood has brought me in
  To God’s holiness so clean,
  Where there’s death to self and sin,
  Hallelujah to the Lamb!

• I’m within the holiest pale,
  Hallelujah to the Lamb!
  I have passed the inner veil,
  O glory be to God!
  I am sanctified to God
  By the power of the blood,
  Now the Lord is my abode,
  Hallelujah to the Lamb!