Laced With Grace – Christian Devotions

Sit, Walk, Stand

By Ann Van Hine June 25, 2018 Reflection, Scripture

My copy of Watchman Nee’s Sit, Walk, Stand is falling apart. I have definitely gotten my monies worth out of this 64 page book that originally cost me seventy-five cents. Sit, Walk, Stand is a study of Ephesians taken from Watchman Nee’s sermons spoken in China in the late 1950’s “when the author and his fellow Christians enjoyed a liberty in the service of God that is rare today.” Angus Kinnear, Preface to the Fourth Edition, London 1962

Watchman Nee states there are two parts to Ephesians – Doctrinal (Chapters 1-3) and Practical (Chapters 4 -6) and three subdivisions each with a key word:

 Our position in Christ– Ephesians 1 -3.21 – SIT

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 2:6 NIV

 

Our Life in the World – Ephesians 4.1 – 6.9 – WALK

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” Ephesians 4:1 NKJV

 

 Our Attitude to the Enemy– Ephesians 6.10-24 – STAND

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:11 NIV

 

It is counterintuitive to think my Christian life should be anchored in sitting. I mean I must have to do something.

“Our natural reason says, If we do not walk, how can we ever reach the goal? What can we attain without effort? How can we ever get anywhere if we don’t move…If at the out try to do anything, we get nothing; if we seek to attain something, we miss everything. For Christianity begins not with a big DO, but with a big DONE.” page 11-12

 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—” Ephesians 2:8 NIV

Watchman Nee goes on to explain that “when we walk or stand we bear on our legs all the weight of our own body, but when we sit down our entire weight rest upon the chair or couch on which we sit.” I love that imagery. Sitting with Jesus my entire weight, all of me plus what I carry are resting in Him. Wow, I feel relaxed already.

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength  he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” Ephesians 1:17-21 NIV

 

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:6-9 NIV

Let us not forget that “We began our Christian life by depending not upon our own doing but upon what He had done…The Christian life from start to finish is based upon this principle of utter dependence upon the Lord Jesus.” Watchman Nee, Sit, Walk, Stand page 12

Next time I will share thoughts on Walk. But for now let’s return to the beginning and sit awhile.

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