We need to be a sanctified people before sinners as well as before

We need to be a sanctified people before sinners as well as before

by the cross, the greater the filling of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes your heart may ache, sometimes your trials may be too much to bear, sometimes you feel it is impossible to run the course. These are the crosses which keep burrowing down through you in order to enlarge your capacity to make you fuller and richer.

Under such circumstances, do not be afraid of shedding tears or of having the heart wounded. If you can bear the digging up and the burrowing down, you will be used of the Lord. But if you fret and have controversy with God, you at once lose your victorious life and any outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be of no help. Therefore, be before the Lord and let His cross pierce deeply and cut you. Each cutting of the cross severs something from you that you love and long for. These cuttings are the work of the cross for the increase of your measure of grace. The greater your capacity, the more the grace.

Someone may consider himself as having already been cut and wounded by the cross and filled with the Holy Spirit. Actually, however, he is as a mere shell that is filled with water; such cannot yet be termed true affliction nor a real filling. When we are confronted with things that are opposite to our wish, they can enlarge us the most if handled properly. Each time we submit ourselves under the will of God in such matters and allow the cross to cut us, we give opportunity to the Holy Spirit to fill us once more.

4. What is required of us in giving testimony. We need to be a sanctified people before sinners as well as before professing Christians. Unless we experience the cross and are filled with the Holy Spirit, our testimony before men will be weak and incomplete. We should let people know the centrality of God as well as the full counsel of God. We should let them see that we have offered ourselves up to God to fulfill His will. We seek for God's ultimate purpose and not just to testify to minor truths.

Do not freely auction up your life of victory. Having been poured upon by the Holy Spirit, you should testify more as to how the Lord delivers you from sin and lives for you. This will create a hunger in people's heart. If your service is to be effective, you must stir up the desire of the people. As you are led of God, you should clearly tell them how the Lord becomes your victorious life and you should help them to empty themselves for the filling of the Holy Spirit.

There is yet another matter you should pay special attention to; which is, that you should not treat the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as something of a

curiosity that is to be propagated everywhere you go. Only when you are led by the Lord should you testify to it. If a person has a need for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, take him to your Lord, gather a few, and then pray together till he receives the Spirit's outpouring.

6 Still More on the Spirit's Work and His Outpouring∗

∗Notes of message given at Shanghai, sometime during 1938-1942, a more exact date

unobtainable.—Translator

A. The Work of the Holy Spirit We find that in the Old Testament times the Holy 6Spirit provided people with new life; yet we find the same work being done by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament period: the granting of new life. So that with respect to this matter of new life, both the Old and New Testaments agree, all occurrences of lifegiving work included therein having been that of the Holy Spirit. Let us never think that the granting of new life is a specialty to be found only in the New Testament. The Lord told Nicodemus (who at that moment was still under the Old Testament dispensation) that he being the teacher of Israel ought to have understood the new birth of which He was then speaking (see John 3.10). This is therefore strong evidence that those in the Old Testament era must have been conversant about this matter of life, too.

What, then, is the basic difference between the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament period and in the New? What can we say is the special work of the Holy Spirit found in the New Testament which sets it apart from the Old Testament? One thing which is certain about this matter in the Old Testament is, that we never find being mentioned that the Holy Spirit dwelt in men. Yes, there is no doubt that during those earlier times He worked in human hearts, but He never took up His abode there. We cannot find a single verse in the Old Testament which states that the Holy Spirit dwelt in man. We do indeed read about the Holy Spirit falling upon men, but not about His dwelling in them. In relation to the Spirit, the Old Testament scriptures always use the word spi— which is "upon"—and never use the word en—which is "in." In the New Testament, we still see mentioned the Holy Spirit falling upon men. He indeed continues to do this kind of work, but He does far more in this new era. As the moment for the Lord's betrayal approached, Jesus said: "he [the Holy Spirit] abideth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14.17c). This is a totally new

work. Henceforth, the New Testament scriptures will speak of man as the temple of the Holy Spirit, which means that the Holy Spirit dwells in men.

Therefore, we see in the New Testament era the twofold work of the Holy Spirit: (1) He comes upon men; (2) He dwells in men. His coming upon men is still for power, for doing miracles, and for witnessing. His dwelling in men is for sanctification. In dwelling in us, the Holy Spirit supplies Christ to us to be our life and to enable us to bear the fruit of holiness.

By carefully distinguishing the above-mentioned twofold work of the Holy Spirit, we come to realize that certain concepts about the Holy Spirit are erroneous. Many consider all their problems solved if they experience their own "Pentecost." But now that they have had their Pentecost, is their problem of sanctification being resolved? Does it help them to overcome their temper? No, it has not settled this matter of overcoming sin. For Pentecost can only bestow gifts, not fruits.

When Paul looked at the condition of the church in Corinth, he did not say, "The situation here is so bad that we must stop everything." Many teachers would cast the Corinthian church out because of all the carnal things present there. Not so with Paul; he brought in something to balance the Corinthian believers: "Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Cor. 3.16) In essence he told them they needed to learn what was meant by the Holy Spirit dwelling in men.

These teachers would also teach us, saying: "Gifts are kindergarten stuff. We are now grown-ups. We do not need to play with things such as tongues. Our faith has made much progress. We are more advanced than the apostles. So we will throw all these things away." On the other hand, too many of those who advocate the gifts of the Holy Spirit think that aside from gifts there is nothing more, they ignoring the importance of the development of the inward life. They despise people who have not had the same experience as they; namely, that of the outpoured Spirit. They boastfully declare, "On such and such a day, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit." Both of these concepts are wrong: the word of God indeed saying, "forbid not to speak with tongues" (1 Cor.14.39b); and it also saying, "moreover a most excellent way show I unto you" (1 Cor. 12.31b)— which is the way of love that is introduced in the verse immediately thereafter (13.1) and fully discussed in what follows in this now famous "love chapter" of the Bible.

In the New Testament we see the two sides of the Holy Spirit. From about the time of the Lord's last supper with His disciples to the day of

Pentecost the Bible mentions the Holy Spirit four times: (1) at around the time of the Last Supper Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as the Comforter: "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, . . . for he . . . shall be in you" (John 14.16-17); (2) after the Last Supper the first mention of the Holy Spirit occurred on the evening of the Lord's resurrection. Jesus breathed on the disciples and said to them, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit" (John 20.22b); (3) before His ascension the Lord said, "Behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24.49); and (4) the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2.1-4). The belief is commonly accepted that the promise of the Comforter was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, but this interpretation is not according to the word of God. John wrote John 14, but he also wrote John 20. In Chapter 14 the Lord is recorded as promising that "the Father ... shall give you another Comforter" (v.16). Then in Chapter 20, that promise is shown to have been fulfilled. Before the death of the Lord there is no mention in the Scriptures of the promise of the Holy Spirit coming upon men. No, before His death the Lord had only promised that the Holy Spirit would dwell in men. Then, on the day of His resurrection, He breathed on His disciples and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit" (20.22). What is breath? Breath is life. If we cease to breathe, we cease to live. Christ breathed on His disciples and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit."

Now did the Lord also say to His disciples at this time, "You must wait for fifty days"? No, He breathed on them; and there and then they received the Holy Spirit. So John 14 was fulfilled in John 20. The promise made at about the time of the Last Supper was fulfilled on the day of the Lord's resurrection. Only after forty days further had passed did the Lord say to His disciples, "Tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24.49). Hence Pentecost was the fulfillment of Luke 24, the final chapter of that Gospel. Both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts are written by Luke; and therefore, the material in Acts 1 can be reckoned as Chapter 25 of Luke, for it is a continuation of Luke's Gospel. Acts is but Luke's continued narration of events. This would only be natural.

From all the above we can see that the indwelling Holy Spirit is given by the breathing of the Lord. It is based on His resurrection and is for life. That Spirit that comes upon me comes through the glorification of the Lord, and it is for service.

B. The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit In our consideration together today we would like to inquire into four different passages of Scripture that have to do with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. From each one and from all of them together we can perhaps draw a few conclusions and derive some spiritual principles which can help us to better understand, appreciate and experience this aspect of our Christian walk.

Acts 2.32-41 . In reading this section of Acts 2 we must pay special attention to verse 33: "he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear." On the day of Pentecost the Lord Jesus had poured forth the Holy Spirit. What is this pouring forth based upon? A careful reading of this entire passage will reveal that it is based on the exaltation of Jesus! It is not because of our clean heart or our earnest seeking and fervent prayer, but because of Christ having been highly exalted: "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made Jesus both Lord and Christ" (v.36). The outpouring of the Spirit did not occur to prove man's goodness and sincerity but to prove to all the house of Israel that Jesus is Lord and Christ. How does God prove this? The "therefore" in verse 36 connects with verse 33. What did they see and hear? It was the Holy Spirit being poured forth. The outpouring of the Spirit of God is the evidence of the Lordship of Jesus (cf. John 7.39).

The Spirit has already been poured forth. This is the gospel. One day, after I had explained this truth to a person in Christ, he knelt down and prayed, "Lord Jesus, You have received from the Father two things: glory is for You yourself, and the Spirit is for me. You have already been glorified, but I have not yet had the Spirit." Then he quickly corrected himself and said, "It is not possible for anyone to say that You have not been glorified. Likewise, it is also impossible to say that I have not had the Spirit." Immediately the Holy Spirit came upon him.

Forgiveness of sins is based on the finished work of Christ on the cross. The outpouring of the Spirit of Christ is based on His being on the throne. This is to say that the outpouring of His Spirit is based on His glorification (compare again John 7.39). The condition for the outpouring of the Spirit, therefore, is His glorification, and not my being and doing. I have not done anything to have my sins forgiven, so I need not do anything to receive the Spirit. Let us read verse 38 of Acts 2, which says: "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." The condition for receiving

that spiritual gift is the same condition for receiving the forgiveness of sins. By fulfilling the condition for the forgiveness of God, we also fulfill the condition for receiving the Spirit. If I go to the store, pay ten dollars for two books and take away only one book, need I— in going back for the other book—again pay ten dollars?

Acts 8.14-17 . This passage relates how the Spirit fell upon the Samaritan believers. People may be saved individually, such as in the case of the robber on the cross. But the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the present case is not for the individual member; instead it is for the whole body of Christ. For the outpouring is given to unite all the scattered members into one Body. It is like cement that unites the separated stones into a single construction, "for in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body" (1 Cor.12.13a). In the case of the Samaritans, Philip had not gone out to Samaria as one sent out by the Church. If the Holy Spirit had fallen upon the Samaritans at the time of Philip's preaching to them, the oneness of the body of Christ would have been lost. The apostles from Jerusalem therefore came and laid hands on them, a procedure thus demonstrating their unity with them. This expressed the oneness of the body of Christ, and so the Holy Spirit immediately fell upon the Samaritans. Thus right from the commencement of Church history, God revealed the principle of order. The Samaritans were saved all right, but they had not yet experienced the fellowship of the Body. This principle must be established before the Holy Spirit could be poured forth.

Acts 10.44-48 . "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them that heard the word." If, as He had done to the Samaritans, God had had Peter lay hands on these Gentiles gathered in the house of Cornelius as their way of receiving the Spirit instead of letting the Spirit fall directly upon them, would Peter have been willing to do so? The laying on of hands implies union, recognition. Would he as a staunch Jewish believer have recognized these Gentile hearers of the gospel? Even if he had laid hands on them and the Spirit had come down, how would the Christian brethren in Jerusalem have reacted? They would have said to Peter, "This is all your fault. If you had not laid hands on the Gentiles, this thing would not have happened!" They would most likely have held on to their Jewish viewpoint. As it turned out, Peter did not lay hands on those who gathered in Caesarea at the house of Cornelius the Roman centurion. He had not even mentioned the Spirit in his message. Yet while he was still speaking, the Spirit fell upon all of them. Consequently,

Peter could boldly say, "Can any man forbid the water, that these [Gentiles] should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we [Jews]?" Because the Holy Spirit had indeed come down, what could Peter say?

Acts 19.1-6. The coming down of the Holy Spirit on this subsequent occasion is to reinforce further what had happened earlier at Caesarea. For on both occasions the outpouring fell upon the Gentiles. These here at Ephesus were true believers because (1) in verse 1 they are referred to as "disciples," a term synonymous with Christians (see 11.26); and (2) if they were not already truly saved, then Paul could have been accused of preaching baptismal regeneration. Paul baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus. By this they bore witness to the fact that they were united with the Head. And the laying on of hands immediately followed thereafter to testify to the fact that they were united with the whole body of Christ.

The above four passages of Scripture prove that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon believers is what the whole Body enjoys together. They also point to the power of ministry that was so much evident in these early servants of God. Why is it that there are so few today with real power? It is because most are lacking in the incorporating work of the cross in their lives. Having the "inside" Spirit as well as the "outside" Spirit results in power that was so evident in the ministry of these earlier ministers of the gospel. Paul talked much about the power of the resurrection of Christ. Without experiencing the inward resurrection life, there can be no real power. Resurrection is that life which enters into death and comes forth again, with all natural power having been eliminated. We possess natural strength, intelligence, personality and other facets of our undealt-with soul power. These must be cast aside before there can be the power of resurrection. All which does not come through regeneration must be let go. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3.6). How we depend so much on our natural strength to do sacred works! With our own earthly eloquence, we miss out on having divinely spiritual utterance. How we need a turning. We need to have revelation, to see the hatefulness and vanity of all these natural powers. God has no use for our natural power and wisdom, and many other soulish things.

7 The Holy Spirit and the Law∗

∗Notes of message given at Chuenchow, Fukien Province, 20 November 1935.—Translator

We believers ought to live by the Holy Spirit, not by the law. Many do not know what the law is, hence they are equally ignorant of what the Holy Spirit is. They know neither what it means to live by the law nor what it means to live by the Spirit. Moreover, the reason for our failure in God's work is due to our working by the law and not by the Holy Spirit. Working according to the law gives no power nor spiritual result, for law deals with judgment.

What the Law Is The Old Testament law is not limited to just the Ten Commandments but also to the hundreds of rules and statutes that were subsequently given. All of them together constitute the Old Testament law. The children of Israel in the Old Testament period had the law. But so does the Church of the New Testament have law (see later below).

What is really the principle of the law? The law is God's will inscribed on stone or written on paper, from one to thousands of articles. If people keep these thousands of precepts, they will be able to distinguish good from evil, right from wrong. They will know where they should go and not go, what they ought to do and not do. This is the law, and it is the law of death. When people conduct themselves according to such dead law, they put God behind their backs. Such a situation can be likened to a student who is able to keep the rules of his school without ever having to see the school principal for a whole month. This is what the law is. All matters pointing to right and wrong, good and evil are made known through the written-out law. All are kept intelligently —that is, by the mind— and not by means of the guidance of the God who dwells deep within. Such is the keeping of the law.

Like the student mentioned above and his school principal, many have the knowledge of good and evil, right and wrong without ever having to have any communion with God. Such knowledge is useless, and such people are

under the law. By this principle, you can understand how many things are done under the law. Men love the law because it causes them to know right and wrong quite easily. Most people are afraid of living by the Spirit; they prefer to live according to certain rules. Although keeping the law is something rigid and dead, it is nonetheless also easy, for you are able to know how many articles you have kept and which article you have lacked observing. The law leads people away from God, for with it men can leave God outside without having to draw near to Him. But we who know Christ as life should never live again under the law: we must live by the newness of the Holy Spirit (see Rom. 7.6).

Living under the Law Let us now discuss what walking according to the law is. It was not until a few years ago—that is, in 1928—that I began to see what keeping the law means. I had been a preacher for some years, yet I did not know what it was. So far as theological knowledge was concerned, I could expound it. But I did not know it in practical experience. During that year, which was after the Lord had healed me of a very serious sickness, I was recuperating at a beach and I met Simon Meek. We lived there together. His health was also poor and he asked for my help. I asked him wherein I could help, and he answered that he could be helped if I could tell him whether divine healing was scriptural. I told him that God was most certainly able to heal; and yet Timothy still used a little wine, Epaphroditus was also sick and not healed, and that Paul's eyes had gone so bad that he could not see small letters. But I also mentioned many in Scripture who had been healed. Whereupon brother Meek replied that the way I had answered was actually no answer at all. It was at this moment that I instantly realized what keeping the law was. Were the Bible to give us the statutes in successive steps, we could easily follow God's instruction. And such could be called the keeping of the law. But God wants us to have fellowship with Him directly and follow after the revelation He gives. Only then can the Holy Spirit work.

People like to have everything clearly defined in the Bible. For example, concerning the very matter of divine healing, we would like to see the Bible spell out plainly whether or not God will heal us. Yet in the Bible we have on the one hand sickness healed and on the other hand sickness unhealed. The Bible does, not set forth a rule in this matter. For as in all matters God does not want His Church merely to keep the dead letter without coming before Him to

ask. He takes pleasure in having us pray before Him and quietly wait. He does not want us to have any reliance upon anything except himself.

The law is the past wish of God, not His present desire. Men always try to learn God's present desire through His past wish. But God looks for us to commune with Him, and through the Holy Spirit come to know his present desire. He does not want us merely to keep the law. Hence, we need to have fresh communion with God every day in order to know His will.

The law has its second-hand effect in regulating one's life. But God has no desire to prearrange everyday church life. He wants to teach us how to maintain moment-by-moment communion with Him that we may know His will concerning ourselves. Were I to fix the life of a certain worker, he might be able to keep my rules for a day, a week, even a month without ever needing to have fellowship with me or ever needing to inquire of me about any matters. Such is the effect of the law. All who are able to do God's will without ever having fellowship with Him are but keeping the law.

In Shanghai, I had a servant. He was a brother in the Lord. One day I came to realize how it was indeed best for me to serve the Lord with my spirit and not by law, because that was what the Lord desired. I wanted to test this out by seeing if I could succeed in treating my servant with the spirit and not with the law. In ordinary circumstances it is generally convenient to follow the law that is set down. If I were to lay down laws and directives, my servant would find it easy to follow and I myself must also keep it. But I agreed with my servant that I would not give him any instruction beforehand, and that he must not decide for himself but come and ask me on each occasion before proceeding to do anything. Several times, while I was talking with a friend, he interrupted our conversation and asked if I wanted to eat or drink something. I told him to wait. As a result, my servant found it much easier to serve according to rules than to have to ask me each time. From this we can see that keeping the law is quite easy, but working according to the leading of the Holy Spirit is not so easy. Regardless whether easy or not easy, God's desire is clear. We cannot take the easy way. We must walk in God's ordained path, which is not to live under the law but to live under the Spirit.

Life in the Spirit Life in the Spirit has no set rule. It lays aside all dead rules and seeks directly the will of God. It can be likened to the illustration of my servant cited above. After he has swept the floor, he does not know what the next work

should be for him to do. Should he serve a meal at twelve o'clock or do something else? But life in the Spirit is very much like that: work only when there is the revelation of the Holy Spirit and at other times just wait on the Lord. Let us cite another example. How do we know whether a person is saved and ready for baptism? Should we examine him with every article of the truth on salvation and baptism? And if he can answer all the questions, can he then receive baptism? This would be doing things according to the law.

On the other hand, suppose you meet an old country lady who is illiterate and ignorant of Bible terminology. You question her about her regeneration, repentance, forgiveness and so forth. On none of these questions is she able to answer, yet she has peace in her heart. Will you allow her to be baptized? The issue does not lie in whether the candidate for baptism can pass your procedure and answer your various questions. It rests in whether she is really saved. Many country folk are not familiar with terminology, but they truly have the peace and the joy of the Lord within. Such people, though their minds be less bright than ours, are truly saved souls.

During meetings in Shanghai for the breaking of bread, strangers frequently visited us without previous notice. How long must we ask them to wait before they are allowed to partake of the bread and wine? Wait a week or a month according to some rule? If we know that the visitor is saved, can we not immediately invite him to partake of the bread and wine? There should be no need to wait.

Let us never lay down any law, but let the Holy Spirit work in each person. Everything in the Bible is living, that is to say, living in the Holy Spirit. If we turn all Biblical things into rules and regulations, they become dead. In order for Bible truth to be living, it must be in the Spirit. Take, for example, how on one occasion you received a message from the Lord, preached it, and many got saved. Next time you thought that because the last time you gave this same message it saved many souls it would certainly obtain the same result again. So you decide to preach the same message, but this time nobody got saved. You reflect that the message which saved souls before would no doubt save souls again. Nevertheless, it did not save any soul. Let us realize that the same message, if it is delivered in the Spirit, can and will indeed save souls; if repeated according to the law, however, it cannot save souls. Such is the difference between that which is done according to the Spirit and that which is done according to the law.

All that is not according to the living guidance of the Holy Spirit is the

law. How frequently we use our past guidance of the Holy Spirit as today's guidance. Yet we need to learn that past guidance used today turns into a matter of the law. Do not imagine that since the Holy Spirit led once before, He will necessarily give the same leading today. Copying yesterday's leading is walking according to the law. Even in obeying Bible truth it can also become a matter of obeying the law. Today if you receive baptism only because the Bible says so, without also inwardly being led by the Spirit, this, too, can turn into a matter of observing the law. We must do what the Bible says, plus have an inner leading. The joining of these two gives accurate guidance.

Someone argues that because the Bible does not say a certain thing is wrong, therefore it must be right. This is altogether a thing of law. Many write and ask if to do or to say such and such a thing is wrong. My answer is: Do you have the Holy Spirit in you? If you do, why not learn to know the Spirit's guidance within you? I am not a fortune-teller, so I cannot know God's will for you. You instead must learn to recognize the inner guidance of the Holy Spirit.

In living according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, the first question we should ask ourselves is, What does the Holy Spirit say? Delay asking what the Bible says until a little later. Always first ask what our inside says. Today the majority of believers will first search to see what the Bible says; they do not first ask what the Holy Spirit in them says. This is rather abnormal. New Testament believers have the Holy Spirit indwelling them, which is a most precious reality. We ought to learn to know the leading of the Spirit within us. In the Bible can be found a distinction between principle and command. A believer needs indeed to keep the command of the Bible, but he must also practice the principle behind the command. For example, let us consider the subject of head-covering. If you practice head-covering simply because of 1 Corinthians 11, you are still as uncovered. For whoever keeps the word of the Bible without having the Spirit's leading in keeping the word is not acting any differently from that one who disobeys the word. Such keeping is a keeping of the letter and is in appearance only. The issue, therefore, is what does the Lord say within you? If it is indeed the Spirit of the Lord who leads you to obey a certain truth in the Bible, your action is truly an obedience to God.

The Old Testament period was the dispensation of the law. Today, though, is the New Testament era. Unfortunately the Church today has too many Judaized Christians. They take the Bible as the law and try to keep the law. Many simply ask others what they should do. This shows they are unable to seek after the Holy Spirit that is within them. All these actions are abnormal.

Guidance of the Spirit Confirmed by the Bible Sheep know the voice of their shepherd. Many surmise that if they did not know the letters of the Bible they could not know the rules of holy living, and thus they would sin every day. In fact, however, the opposite is the truth. Depending on the guidance of the Holy Spirit is far better than depending on our own keeping of the Bible. For we may forget, but the Spirit of God never forgets. You will therefore probably ask, If the work of the Holy Spirit is so important, do we still need the Holy Bible? In theory, the guidance of the Spirit within us should be enough; but in practice, because our understanding of the inward guidance is subject to error, we still are in need of the Holy Bible. In other words, though we follow the inward guidance of the Holy Spirit and not just follow the teaching of the Holy Bible, yet we check our everyday inward guidance with the Bible. As we obey both the inward and the outward guidance, we are truly obeying God. Hence, we must have the guidance of the Spirit within and obey the teaching of the Bible without. We must always check our inward guidance with the Bible teaching. If it does not agree with the Bible, such guidance is not the leading of the Holy Spirit but is the working of our emotion. The root of all things lies within.

In Chefoo, two people one day asked me whether they should leave their denomination. I answered them that I did not know. They then said, "Does that mean that you oppose our leaving the denomination?" So I asked them this instead: "May I ask you, How is life in the denomination? Is your inner life while in the denomination overflowing? If so, you should remain in. Otherwise, you should come out." It is therefore not a matter of right or wrong, but an issue of life.

Also in Chefoo, a well-known lady missionary sought me three times to talk about sects. On the first two occasions I refused to talk with her. On the last occasion, due to her determination and also because of my being led by the Holy Spirit, I only used five minutes to talk with her. Then we had tea together. I simply told her I was in a big circle and that she was in a small circle within that big circle. Two days later she came early in the morning to see me and to tell me that on the previous night she had sent out three letters of resignation. I said to her, "You should not be influenced by me. This thing must only be done by God. God alone can tell you to leave a denomination." "Well", she replied, "last night as I sought God, I saw that the small circle within the big circle is a state chosen by men, and such a choice of man is sin. I felt it was God's will

for me to leave the denomination. So last night I rose up and wrote those letters of resignation." I shook her hand. Thereafter, she walked positively in the way of the Lord, and was never negative.

We who do the work of the Lord should be careful to teach the believers to allow not only the Bible to lead them but the Holy Spirit to guide them inwardly as well. We must not use outward standards to unify the saints in order to maintain an external harmony. If so, the Holy Spirit will have no place and no outlet. We must not be a Moses giving people only the letters of the law. For our law is the Holy Spirit: "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8.2). The Holy Spirit teaches us all things: "the anointing [the teaching of the Holy Spirit] which ye received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any one teach you; but as his anointing teacheth you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, abide ye in him" (1 John 2.27 mgn.). We must learn to hearken to the guidance of the Holy Spirit within us. By only keeping the outward law we just might end up living apart from God. But if we live by the inward Holy Spirit, we cannot for one moment depart from God and live.

8 The Function of the Anointing Oil∗

∗Notes of message given at Shanghai, sometime during 1938-42, a more exact date

unobtainable.—Translator

Before God, Anointing Oil Is Sanctification Leviticus 8 narrates how Aaron was anointed, and Leviticus also speaks of his subsequent ministry of offering sacrifices. Before David became King he too was first anointed with oil, by Samuel. Then he began to serve God according to the ministry God had given him (see 1 Sam. 16.12-13). All this clearly shows that ministry follows anointing. For a person to have a ministry before God, he must first have received an anointing. Even the Lord Jesus followed the same order: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: he hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4.1819). So in looking through God's word, we find that one who is useful in God's hand must first have received an anointing from Him. If he has not been anointed, he can neither serve God nor work for God.

This matter of having the anointing oil may quite easily be viewed as an outward thing in the minds of God's children. We may quickly link anointing oil with power, as Peter said (see Acts 10.38). It is true that anointing oil and power are associated together because God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. Indeed, the Holy Spirit and power are linked together, and the Holy Spirit is the power of God. Nevertheless, even though the Holy Spirit as power in man is the result of anointing, it is not all that God has in mind when He anoints. We should understand that the primary significance of being anointed is not that we have been granted power to speak in tongues or to do wonders and miracles. Rather, it is the fact that we have been set apart for God.

The anointing oil is mentioned many times in the Old Testament, but there we do not find it being linked with power. In the Old Testament, anointing

has but one meaning; which is, that it signifies that the anointed belongs to God. Just as we say that such and such a book is ours and we stamp our seal upon it, so God says that this or that person is His and anoints him with oil. Anointing oil is applied to indicate separation: it is also to indicate sanctification: in short, it means that the person receiving the oil is being set apart to be entirely for God or to be holy for God.

This being entirely the Lord's is the first condition of spiritual ministry. No one can have a ministry before God if he has not been sanctified unto Jehovah. In fact, only those who are set apart for Jehovah have any ministries. They alone can work for God. Whenever consecration ceases, work also stops. Whenever the "setting apart" changes, then ministry changes too.

When the Holy Spirit came upon the Lord Jesus, the first consequence was not for Him to commence working; rather, it was the receiving of God's recognition: "This is my beloved Son" (Matt. 3.17). This was the word spoken at that moment by God. Hence, anointing expresses God's right of possession. Here is a person about whom God can say, "He is Mine," about whom God can say, "He is to be sent and used by Me." Only then do we see that there is power. Yet it is only natural that there would be power. And the result is that the poor shall hear the gospel, the blind shall see, the captives shall be freed, and the acceptable year of the Lord shall be proclaimed.

Anointing Oil Is Power upon Others God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then the Lord Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil. See again Acts 10.38. It says there that God anointed Him. What is this anointing? It is twofold: the Holy Spirit, and also power. This is both wonderful and precious. For the Holy Spirit upon us is the anointing oil, but upon others it is power. The power of the Spirit is discovered in others, but in you yourself it is the anointing oil. When the anointing is upon you, people touch power through you.

Consequently, our consecration before God naturally produces power upon others. So that the matter of power is not the first issue here, it is but the second. If the issue of consecration is solved before God, the issue of power on others is automatically resolved. Whenever consecration becomes a problem, power also becomes a problem. Anointing always gives power. This can be seen in David. This can also be seen in Aaron.

Anointing Oil Is Teaching in Us As you learn to serve God, you often discover one particular fact, which is, that when you stand up to speak, you clearly have the anointing upon you if you truly speak for God. You do not have to force yourself or to exert great strength in speaking. You know indeed that you have the anointing upon you. Your words are quite common and simple, and yet the more you speak, the more powerful are your words. You sense the anointing. And when you sense the anointing, others feel the power. On the other hand, sometimes when you are speaking, you feel like a blown-out tire. You sense no life and people do not find power. The difference is in the anointing. Where there is anointing, there is power. But when there is no anointing, there will be no power. Hence, anointing upon you yourself means quickening; in others whom you touch it means power.

"And as for you, the anointing which ye received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any one teach you; but as the anointing teacheth you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, abide ye in him" (1 John 2.27 mgn.). The word here is very comprehensive. The anointing shall teach us in all things. Divine teaching is vastly different from human teaching. Man's teaching is very complicated, for it involves many reasons and many words. But the teaching of the anointing is not so. It does not tell you many, many things, nor does it use many, many words. It teaches you quite simply by its presence or absence. This is its characteristic. Suppose, for example, you today are going to do a certain thing. If this is of the Lord, then when you make a move, you have the anointing; and thus you know that this is right. If, on the other hand, this is something you should not do, you will immediately feel like a tire blown out. Then you likewise know that this is wrong. The teaching of the anointing does not employ or involve reasoning. To the contrary, were reasoning involved, our human mind would have to be replaced since our mind, being so inferior to God's mind, has no way to understand His reason.

In view of all this, our sense of right and wrong must be judged according to the presence or absence of the anointing and not according to reason. All the children of God should learn a lesson here: in things pertaining to God we do not reason but look for a quickening sense from the Holy Spirit. Ofttimes as we attempt to do something, we can think of its reasonableness. But as we begin to do it, we feel as though we are accomplishing it alone since the Lord is not present with us. This indicates that there is no anointing. It also

tells us we are wrong.

Take as another example your attempt to communicate to others. If you have no anointing, the more you talk the less the strength, and the longer you talk the emptier within. You sense an incredible dryness. On the other hand, if you have an anointing and a burden in you, the more you work the louder the amen inside you. You feel easy and light. You know this is what God wants you to say and do.

Therefore, no child of God should make any move if he does not sense the anointing in him. Were he to move on his own, he would instantly feel dead. Without the anointing, the more active he is outwardly, the more chilly he feels within, and others cannot touch anything. But with an anointing, others can feel there is power coming out of him. So, then, the consequence of this anointing for God's servant is teaching and knowledge; and for others it is power.

Many brethren are seeking for power and many are seeking for life. The word of God tells us, however, that "death worketh in us, but life in you" (2 Cor. 4.12). All who seek life in themselves shall never find life, since it is death that works in us in order for life to be in others. Similarly, let us not look at ourselves to see if we have power. Let us simply ask ourselves, Do we have the anointing oil? Anointing in us means power in others. If we seek for power, power may not come at all. And if it does come, it will most likely be only the external, miraculous and sensational kind of power, not that spiritual power spoken of in God's word.

How sad that some of God's children are seeking a power that can be felt! They think if they are conscious of power, they have the assurance of being useful to other people. This is altogether wrong. For what we need to pay attention to is not power, but anointing. Do we abide in the Lord in obedience to the teaching of the anointing? Anything which is not done in accordance with the teaching of the anointing will not give life to people. We may say many words which please itching ears. We may even say many meaningful words. But without the anointing we will immediately sense there is neither spiritual reality nor life. Only when we ourselves have the anointing before God will people naturally be helped, touch life, and even touch the Lord himself.

There is another point we must take note of here. The anointing of which we have been speaking is not just for the individual, nor is it for an individual alone to experience. It is for the body of Christ. The precious oil which had been poured upon Aaron's head ran down upon the beard and came all the way

down upon the skirt of his garments (see Ps. 133.2). Under such situation, you realize how good and how pleasant it is (see v.1). Consequently, we not only seek the teaching of the anointing in us individually; we also seek for the teaching of the anointing throughout the body of Christ. Believers do not receive merely the guidance of the anointing that dwells within them individually, they also receive the guidance of the anointing that dwells in the body of Christ. For there in the Body, the Lord orders and leads in many things. How, then, can we go against the anointing in the Body?

We can illustrate it in this way. A certain brother was scheduled to lead a meeting, but he felt empty within. So he asked another brother to take his place. On the way, that brother felt he should give his testimony. Ordinarily he did not like to give a testimony, but this time he did because the anointing in him felt that way. It so happened that evening that two friends who had not come to the meeting for quite some time were present. They had quit coming previously because they had heard the gospel a number of times but had failed to understand anything. That evening they were urged to come again, and the brethren were praying for them, asking God to give a suitable word. The result was that the brother's testimony, as guided by the anointing, was given especially for these two friends. This is an example of the teaching of the anointing working both in us as individuals and in us as a corporate body. Let us always remember that we can never sense God more than the anointing upon us. The measure of the anointing in us is the limit of our service to God. Any excess will cause loss. We can only keep within the boundary the Lord has appointed to us.

After we truly experience the anointing, we begin to know what the ministry of the word of God is. We come to know how to serve Him with His word. For when we have the anointing, we have His word. Therefore, we serve God according to the anointing. It is God who causes us to notice what He notices. It is God who gives us word by which to serve Him and to serve His children.

Finally, I would exhort all you brothers and sisters here to consecrate yourselves thoroughly to God. All ministries are based on consecration. The anointing which God gives you proves you are His. With that anointing, you have the consciousness that you are His. You are the Lord's. With the anointing, you are aware of what the Lord wants you to do. And when you carry it out, there will be power upon other people. That power is not like the power we imagine in our mind which enables us to speak loudly in the pulpit or to

perform wonders and miracles. No, this power enables people to touch life when you serve. This power is the result of none other than the divine anointing. May God bless us that we may abide in the Lord in accordance with the teaching of His anointing.

9 The Body Being Anointed∗

∗Notes of one of the messages given by the author at a conference held in Shanghai, August 1939.

—Translator

The Bible shows us that God's anointing oil is for the one who fully satisfies His heart, even His Son Christ Jesus. Why, then, is the body of Christ, the Church, also anointed? Psalm 133 tells us that the precious oil which was poured upon Aaron's head ran down his beard and came down upon the skirt of his garments. When a person is anointed, the oil is poured upon the head, not upon the body of the anointed. But after the oil is poured upon his head, it flows down till it covers the entire body. This is a picture of Christ and the Church. The head is Christ, and the body is the Christ. Christ is the Anointed of God, and the Church is His body. So that when Christ is anointed, His entire body is also anointed. Christ is the great Anointed One, we the members are little anointed ones. Yet we are not anointed individually, but are anointed together in Christ at His anointing. We can never be anointed in ourselves. For the Scripture says, "Upon the flesh of man shall it [the holy anointing oil] not be poured" (Ex. 30.32a). We are therefore anointed in Christ.

Condition for Anointing Is the Natural Being Buried Luke 3.22 speaks of what happened to the Lord after He was baptized in the river Jordan: "the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." Again, in Luke 4.18, we read: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. . ." Hence after His baptism in the river Jordan, the Lord received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Genesis 8 narrates how after the flood Noah opened the window of the ark and sent forth a dove. Inasmuch as the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, she returned to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the earth. (Noah's ark passing through the flood is a type of baptism.) At Christ's baptism, the Spirit of God descended upon Him as a dove. This

indicates that He received the anointing of the Holy Spirit at the time of baptism. We too receive the anointing of the Spirit at our baptism.

Baptism signifies the burial of all the old and the natural. Anointing after baptism suggests that the flesh must be buried before we can receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit. If it were not because of the Lord we would not be able to come up out of the water because all which belongs to us ourselves is destined to be buried. That which can rise up after burial is on resurrection ground for it is in Christ. We are baptized in Christ; that is to say, in Him and with Him we pass through death and burial and we experience resurrection. So when He received the anointing, we too were anointed. In Him we died, were buried, resurrected, and anointed.

The Use of Anointing What is the value of the anointing? Through the anointing, grace flows to the whole body of Christ. The usefulness of the anointing is in maintaining the relationship between the Body and the Head. It is also useful in affirming the relationship among the members of the Body. The anointing is the function of the Holy Spirit in men.

The relationship of the Holy Spirit with Christ and the Church can be likened to the nerve system found in the human body. This system connects and directs all the various parts of the body. Through the nerve system the head controls the action of all its members. It is also through the nerve system that all the members are joined with one another. All the members of the body function in obedience to the direction of the nerve system. In following the nerve system, they follow the head. In like manner, in the spiritual body it is the Holy Spirit who communicates the thought of the Head to all its members. As members of the body of Christ we must submit ourselves to the authority of the Holy Spirit. Our submission is submission to the Head. When we grieve the Holy Spirit, we thwart the relationship between ourselves and the Head. How do we hold fast the Head? Through obeying the Holy Spirit.

The Teaching of the Anointing In the Bible the Holy Spirit is symbolized by many different things, such as wind, living water, fire, and so forth. All these show forth the various aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit. But what is presented in 1 John 2.27 is especially precious. Here it speaks of the anointing of the Holy Spirit which is the teaching of the Holy Spirit. How does the Spirit teach? He teaches by the

anointing. How do we come to know the will of God? Not by research, nor by balancing pro and con, but by the teaching of the anointing. It is the Holy Spirit who communicates the mind of Christ to us. We have no need to ask all the time, "Is this the will of God?" For "we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2.16b). When the Head wants a certain member of the Body to move, He makes him know this by the Holy Spirit. As we obey the anointing, life will freely flow in us. But if we resist the anointing our relationship with the Head is disrupted and the flow of life also ceases.

Why is it that many believers do not know the Lord's guidance? It is because they are not in subjection to the Head. For the anointing does not come up from the Body; rather, it comes down from the Head. Only when believers are directly under the Head can they receive the anointing that runs from the Head to the whole Body.

The anointing may also be referred to as "the anointing of the Lord." We know that oil is a substance which is soft and soothing in its application. The Holy Spirit does not teach us in any rough or wild way. For here He is not likened, as elsewhere in the Bible, to the blowing of strong wind or to the burning of fire. On the contrary, here He is likened to a soothing ointment that is applied within us. Such is the way the Holy Spirit instructs us. Where the anointing is, there is God's work. For God's work depends not on words, Bible interpretation, reasons or judgments. God works within us. His inner guidance comes as a kind of inner life-consciousness. This kind of lifeconsciousness is the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Lord does not employ external forces to control the body. Rather, we are told that "the life was the light of men" (John 1.4).

The way to know God's will is not by inquiring if this or that matter is right or wrong, but by sensing whether you have life or not. If you sense death in yourself in a matter, it discloses the fact that there is no positive anointing. And if you proceed to do it without such anointing, then you are not moving under the authority of the Lord. Sometimes as you go visiting those in need, for example, you sense a freezing within you. Yet according to the Biblical principle as well as human concern and compassion, you should go. But the further you go, the colder your heart becomes. This indicates that the Holy Spirit is instructing you not to proceed. On the other hand, at other times when you go visiting, you are as one anointed with precious ointment, you feeling quite natural and comfortable in proceeding. This too is the anointing of the Holy Spirit in you, which in this case produces the teaching for you to go. If at

that time you follow this anointing, your strength increases and amens will be multiplied in you.

The essence of the teaching of the anointing of the Holy Spirit is not a matter of right or wrong, good or evil, yea or nay. It is essentially an inner consciousness of life. The works of many people are done according to the way of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, its fruit having originally been eaten by the very first man. This is the so-called principle of right and wrong that had its beginning in Adam. But in Christ, God's working is an issue of life, a matter of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Where the anointing is, there is life. The presence of the anointing and life justifies the matter and confirms it as being of God.

As a consequence, people who are intelligent and knowledgeable in Bible truth may not necessarily understand God's will and work better. Sometimes brothers and sisters in the rural areas know far more of the will and workings of God, for what they depend on is not knowledge but life. If the ability to know the divine will and work were solely a matter of reason and intelligence, then God would be guilty of partiality and unfairness, and woe to the illiterate country folk who have not the intelligence to know God's will! But God is not partial to anyone. Whether you are intelligent or not, clever or foolish, the teaching of the anointing of the Holy Spirit is in you. If you follow the Spirit's anointing within you, you will know God's will and do His work.

The Anointing and the Law In the Old Testament period, when people brought out God's word, it became the law to them. In the New Testament era, if people bring out God's word without at the same time having the anointing of the Holy Spirit, God's word too becomes law. Let us notice, however, that whenever the Lord Jesus brought forth God's word, that word became life and spirit (see John 6.63b). The apostles also brought forth God's word as life and spirit. On the other hand, the Pharisees, although they too brought forth God's word, did not have the anointing of the Holy Spirit. So their words became dead law to be rigorously kept.

Many believers receive baptism and the laying on of hands according to the word in the Bible, yet to them these words are nothing but laws to be kept. Whoever follows only the letter of the word, that one is a disciple of Moses and not a disciple of Christ. Christians who walk rightly are those who have the anointing of the Lord. In the body of Christ there is no law save "the law of

the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8.2): that is, the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Hence we who live in the body of Christ must live by the Spirit's anointing and not by the letter of the law. We must do everything according to the anointing of the Holy Spirit—which is to say, according to the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

How to Be Anointed How can we be anointed? Psalm 133 is a principal passage in the Old Testament on anointing. We know that Psalms 120 to 134 are together referred to as "the songs of degrees or ascents." These were the songs sung by the children of Israel as they gathered together three times a year to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem and ascend Mount Zion—God's habitation. These fifteen songs—whose subject matter, though varied, are all interrelated—served as the singing repertoire of the Israelites as they, in keeping with the progressive degree of meaning of the songs themselves, ascended step by step and higher

and higher towards their goal.∗ Needless to say, moreover, during their

pilgrimage, they left off speaking about economics, education, war, politics or any other mundane topic. Instead, as they traveled along, their hearts were turned more and more towards Zion, towards God himself; and so from all over the land they ascended towards Jerusalem degree by degree in keeping with the content and character as it were of each song of ascent. And when these pilgrims arrived at the place and moment for singing the next to the last of these songs, they broke forth with the opening words of Psalm 133: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; that came down upon the skirt of his garments" (vv.1-2).

∗ For an indepth study of these fifteen Psalms, the reader may wish to consult Stephen Kaung, The

Songs of Degrees (New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers, 1970).— Translator

Now this dwelling together by these Israelites, which was the nearculmination of their pilgrimage begun weeks and months before, resulted in a corporate unity that was devoid of division and independence. There on Mount Zion in the presence of God they put aside all former disagreement, jealousy,

hatred and so forth. And just as is described in the verses of this psalm, these gathered united Israelites were able to receive God's anointing: even God's blessing of life forevermore (see v.3). They experienced the spiritual reality of what is pictured for us in physical terms by the psalmist: for as the oil is poured upon the head of Aaron the high priest, it flows down upon and beyond the beard and even reaches to the very skirt of his garments, thus making it possible for everything that is beneath Aaron's head to be touched by the anointing oil too.

Psalm 133 in the Old Testament is comparable to much of Ephesians 4 in the New Testament, especially with respect to the twin matters of unity and fellowship. When we who are in the body of Christ diligently keep the unity of the Holy Spirit (see Eph. 4.3), we have His anointing. We need to stand under the Head—even Christ our Great High Priest—and live in His body in order to have the anointing. Many fail to receive guidance because they have not stood in the proper place. They have not stood under the Head; they have not obeyed the anointing of the Head; they have not even lived as it were in the Body. For us to be anointed and to enjoy true Christian fellowship, we must submit ourselves under the headship of Christ on the one side and live in the Body on the other.

The basis of the believer's fellowship is grounded in Christ. We can fellowship with one another because Christ is the life of the Body and Christ is the Head. On the other hand, the enjoyment of fellowship is grounded in the Holy Spirit. The more we enjoy the anointing of the Spirit the more we are in the fellowship of the Body. Whether or not we believers enjoy fellowship, however, is something conditional; it depends on whether our natural life is being dealt with; that is to say, we must let the cross deal deeply with the flesh and natural life. Our natural flesh is worthy of death, worthy of being crucified on the cross and laid in dust and ashes. We cannot rely on our own mind: we are not fit to follow our own will: we must give Christ absolute sovereignty and let Him be Lord. By accepting the dealing of the cross over our natural life, obeying the headship of Christ, and living out the Body life, we shall have the anointing of the Holy Spirit and shall enjoy the fellowship of the Body.

PART THREE

SPIRITUAL JUDGMENT (OR DISCERNMENT)∗

∗ Part Three consists of four messages that cover this overall subject. They were presented in

Chinese by the author before an audience of his fellow-workers on four consecutive days in 1948: 29 and 30 September and 1 and 2 October. As was the case with the messages that comprise Part One of this volume, the author delivered these messages on spiritual judgment during the lengthy First Workers Training Session that was convened during the summer of 1948 at the Conference Center which had been established by the author on Mount Kuling, near Foochow, China. Derived from the extensive notes taken down in Chinese by several participants present at the Workers Conference, the contents of these four messages have now been translated into English.—Translator

1 The Principles of Spiritual Judgment

The judgment we shall be talking about here is not the judgment of a court as seen in modern society. It is spiritual judgment. First and foremost, we must recognize that unless we can discern, we will have trouble in serving the Lord. For we can be too easily deceived. On this matter of judgment or discernment, therefore, we need to take note of a few principles.

The Five Principles (Criteria) of Judgment The first principle concerns truth or the discipline of the Holy Spirit. As you converse with a brother or a sister, you should notice if his or her lessons are learned from the truth or from the discipline of the Holy Spirit. Some incline to the one side and some lean to the other. Some bend to the truth, while some tilt to the discipline of the Spirit. Learning from truth means that a person acts according to the word and relevant teaching of the Bible which he has heard. Or he obeys the Lord when he is moved by what he reads of the Scriptures or what he hears from preaching. On the other hand, learning from the discipline of the Holy Spirit means that after a person has experienced the dealing hand of the Lord upon him, he is gradually broken by the Lord and is delivered from his early stage of insubordination, murmuring, fret, or opinions into a state of obedience. This is a learning from the circumstances of his environment as so arranged by the Holy Spirit.

Hence one person may learn to obey through teaching and another person may learn to obey through dealings. As a worker for the Lord you need to discern on which side of this issue that brother or sister belongs. If there is learning on both sides, that is the best. With such a balance as this, a Christian can walk uprightly. God's worker must therefore be acquainted with both ways of learning. Then he can detect which way is absent or present in a given brother or sister. He must know in his heart where the need is in this person or that. Some believers know nothing about the discipline of the Holy Spirit, and hence they are hard and raw. Others are in just the opposite ignorance; that is, they have no ability to learn from truth and relevant teaching. Thus they are ignorant of many truths and are not obedient to many commandments in the Bible.

The second principle or criterion by which to render judgment has to do

with the outside versus the inside. Some have only the first and none of the second. They may learn much in matters of the truth, but their obedience to these truths is all outward: they are outwardly baptized, they outwardly practice head-covering, and so forth. Nevertheless, there is no inward learning. Some others, though, may encounter various unpleasant situations and pass through many difficulties—all these being the result of the discipline of the Holy Spirit upon their lives—and yet all these things touch only the outside, stop there and never reach the inside. From this we may conclude that a life under the discipline of the Holy Spirit may be lived outwardly or lived inwardly.

Let us take, for example, the case of a person who is sick. He is one who is under the Spirit's discipline. Now on the one hand he may appear to be submissive outwardly, but on the other hand he does not have inward joy and praise because of his illness. Though outwardly he may declare, "If I am sick, I am sick," this is at most patiently and passively accepting the discipline; it is not an inward attitude of praise and thanksgiving. Such discipline has merely touched the outside. Yet if in accepting the sickness he not only patiently endures the discipline of the Holy Spirit but also takes the further step of praising the Lord, such discipline impacts upon the person inwardly.

As we have seen, however, this person can neither give thanks nor praise. He is simply forcing himself to subject himself under the mighty hand of God. The impact of such discipline upon him is only outward. But if he can bring himself to praise and thank God for giving him this discipline and if his heart can be full of joy, then God's discipline will reach its end in that life. When discipline becomes something inward, the person will not ask for quick relief from his sickness so as to feel comfortable. Instead, he will be able to praise and thank the Lord for what He has done and to confess that what the Lord has done is all well.

As another example, someone may see the error of being in a sect and come out of it; but in his having done so, sectarianism has unfortunately not left him. For his love of the brethren has not increased and his fellowship is still restricted. For instance, when he meets a brother he may appear to be open, even embracing and kissing that brother. Even so, though he exhibits an outward expression of brotherly love, there is no real sense of love inwardly. All is acting and pretending. All is outward, not inward.

Let us who seek to serve the Lord understand that all the virtues mentioned in the Bible point to the being of a person, not his doing. So that in

the process of discerning, we need to have a clear picture of the life of a given brother or sister as to whether it is inward or just outward. If only the latter, we must lead him to the inward. Many say a certain brother is very good. But how good is he? Is it an inward or an outward goodness? The difference is great. We must learn to distinguish the inward and the outward of a life.

The third principle or criterion to be used by God's workers in rendering judgment or discernment pertains to the issue of the spirit versus the mind. On the one hand many spiritual things register in man's spirit and on the other hand in man's mind. It is very difficult for some to judge from the words and terms which another person uses whether the thing to be judged is emanating from the spirit or from the mind. For people can adopt the same words and terms from either source because they have had little or no dealings of renewal in their mind. But if you as one who must judge in such matters have had spiritual experiences and have learned much in your spirit, then you can perceive whether a person's speech is coming from his mind or from his spirit. You can discern the inward difference. When someone speaks out of his spirit, you can touch that spirit as soon as he speaks. Conversely, you touch the mind of the speaker when he speaks out of his mind. Spiritual things that stay only in the mind become ideals which carry no spiritual value. Furthermore, if someone's spiritual life relies solely on mental knowledge, his life becomes empty and devoid of any spiritual worth. The lives of believers must not be managed by the mind.

Let us see, then, that to judge a speech whether it emanates from the spirit or from the mind is the initial step in spiritual discernment. He who cannot distinguish spirit from mind is unable to render spiritual judgment. Such an inability is a serious problem in divine service. For wherever we who serve the Lord come and go we must learn to discern. We must be able to sense at once whether a person's spirit or mind has come forth. For though the words may be the same, those which come out of the mind do not have the same flavor as the words which come out of the spirit. In Shanghai, people frequently reported that a certain brother spoke well. When I went to hear him, however, I found that all he said came out of his mind. I made the same discovery when another person was reported to have preached exceedingly well. In several contacts I then had with this man I could only meet his mind.

Let it be recognized that some words we hear spoken are from the spirit and some words from the mind; which means we must not be deceived by the spoken words. Sometimes young people may think they can speak the same

words that other brothers have spoken, and even speak better. But actually those other brothers speak out of their spirit whereas the young people too often speak out of their mind. The quality between the two is quite different. Yet unless you are able to discern this qualitative difference, you will be easily deceived. A person who grapples with God's word in his mind without any engagement of his spirit in the learning process may have something to say; but because his spirit was given no place, what he said was useless. A worker for the Lord must learn to differentiate between what is of the mind and of the spirit.

The fourth principle or criterion to follow when rendering spiritual judgment relates to the natural and the spiritual. When you who are God's worker are dealing with a brother or listening to his testimony, you should use your spirit to search out his spiritual condition. You might make up a list showing what kind of person he is naturally and what kind he is spiritually. As he opens his mouth, you will recognize what kind of man he is: whether clever, fast-speaking, lazy, confused, quick-tempered, careless, humorous, joking, talkative, naughty, inaccurate, or whatever. Each person has his own characteristics, and if you have the time, you can put the predominant characteristics of each person on a list, for no one is able to conceal himself for too long. True, at the beginning he may be able to control himself; eventually, though, he will expose himself, for as he continues to speak, he will reveal his characteristics to you. Hence when you listen, you can generally disregard his initial words since usually they are spoken under control. But after a while, his own self will begin to show forth, for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matt. 12.34).

Now once you have discovered his natural characteristics, you can then shift your attention to the other facet to this to learn how he is before the Lord. Perhaps his temper has been dealt with; perhaps his speech or attitude or selflove has been dealt with. Through his experiences a person may have learned some lesson about physical problems. By this you may know that God has done something in his life. From the word of his testimony you can discern how much he has learned before the Lord, how much God has worked in his life, and how much Christ is being incorporated in him. All these are building up his life.

For this reason, you need to know a person both on the natural side and the spiritual side. You must determine what kind of a man he is naturally, and also how much upbuilding is taking place in his life. You should also take note

how his spirit and natural characteristic blend together. With regard to some people, of course, this point may be rather hard to ascertain. Yet even if you are able to judge this, you may not be able to prescribe the remedy. For example, some people are quick in thought, but due to their much discipline, you will need to ask yourself whether such quickness needs to be dealt with. This depends on discerning whether their natural characteristic of quickness interferes with their being good Christians. How we must learn to discern! We need to know people's condition clearly before we can direct their way.

The fifth and final principle or criterion that needs to be mentioned has to do with distinguishing between the spirit and emotion: between what is emanating from a believer's spirit and what is emanating from his emotion. It is much easier to apprehend the difference between the spirit and the mind than to discern the difference between the spirit and emotion. It is quite difficult to differentiate when man's spirit comes forth and when his emotion comes forth. Even so, we still must learn this difference, for some speak out of their spirit while others speak out of their feelings.

The spirit, like the soul, has its knowledge and emotion. Spiritual knowledge differs from mental knowledge in that the latter proceeds from the mind and therefore you cannot touch the spirit at all. If a person's knowledge springs forth from his spirit you will inwardly sense reality and respond with an amen. You will feel comfortable inside. If a person's speech originates from his mind, though, his words may sound correct and yet you inwardly detest them.

Now when a believer's speech sallies forth from his spirit, it gives you a comfortable and joyful feeling. As his spirit comes forth, your spirit echoes. If, however, what he says arises from his emotion, it is difficult for you to discern whether he speaks from his emotion or from his spirit. If the spirit of a believer launches out with thought we will only sense his spirit and not his thought. But if his spirit pushes forth with emotion we can feel both, for the spirit is in the emotion. We will sense the spirit as well as the emotion. How easily we mistake emotion for spirit.

How, then, are we going to distinguish between these two? It is really difficult to explain, but I will try my best to elucidate. We say that when a person's spirit comes forth it carries with it emotion. If his emotion and spirit are at one, his spirit will be echoed in you. By this you know that his spirit is clean and gentle, yet strong. But when a person's spirit comes out with his emotion and you sense that his spirit and emotion do not agree, then his

emotion is released but you cannot find his spirit. And as your spirit is being touched by his emotion you have a sense of being defiled. As a matter of fact, whenever there is emotion but not spirit present, you always feel inwardly polluted. When the spirit and emotion are one, however, you inwardly experience joy and can amen it. Now should we ever detect any defilement of our spirit, we must reject it altogether. In this entire matter, we must apply ourselves diligently to learn to discern between the spirit and emotion.

Basic Condition for Spiritual Judgment Let me mention one more thing. In our endeavor to exercise spiritual judgment, there is a fundamental condition to be met: we ourselves must receive strict judgment before God. I cannot give you any method as to how to discern. I can only say that your knowledge of others depends on your knowledge of yourself. Unless you know yourself, you will not be able to know others. After you yourself have been strictly judged by God, you can easily discern your brothers and sisters. When another person's spirit comes forth, how can you know if his spirit is right or wrong? You can only know because you have inwardly learned your own lessons, you have passed through judgment, you have had inner experience. You can measure those things which come out from other people by your own experiences, and thus you will be enabled to know immediately where they stand. If there is a lesson you have not learned, then you cannot detect its error in others and thus you will unknowingly let it pass. But if in that area you have been severely dealt with by God, then as soon as something similar appears in others, you will know and recognize it at once.

Hence the basis of our knowledge of people is found in ourselves being judged. To the degree that we know ourselves, to that degree will we know our brothers and sisters. If we have not been judged before God, no amount of methods will be effective. What we ourselves have not passed through can never help other people through. But with sufficient dealing we shall be able to detect others' problems and help them get through their difficulties.

We ourselves need to have more dealing. The more we learn before God about ourselves the better we are able to know our brothers and sisters. Otherwise, we are unaware where and how they have gone wrong. We need to be dealt with by the Holy Spirit in large and small matters. What we ourselves have experienced enables us to understand the actions or proclivities of others. For as a matter of fact, men are more or less alike. Their temper, nature,

desires and so forth are not that far apart. Their ways of error and sin lie within a limited range. Everyone is a descendant of Adam; all therefore inherit Adam's life. And hence, should we be enlightened to better know ourselves, it is almost certain that we can better know our entire world. Just bear in mind that in every descendant of Adam can be found a full-fledged Adam. It therefore becomes relatively easy to diagnose others if we have learned to know ourselves. Let us not fancy that if we can just learn a certain technique we can know people. No, we must first learn the lessons about ourselves before we can ever use any method. Our usefulness depends upon our willingness to be dealt with by God. Whatever dealings we avoid experiencing before God will be precisely those areas in which we cannot help others. So let us not be so foolish as to play truant in this regard. For if we do play truant, it will only lessen our spiritual usefulness.

What is ministry? Ministry is supplying others with what we have learned before God. No learning, no supply. All our happenings, arrangements and disciplines are for the sake of preparing us for the ministry. True discipline of the Holy Spirit increases the richness of ministry. The less you pass through, the less help you can give to others. The more difficulties you encounter and the more discipline you experience, the better you are able to lead people to fullness. The scope of ministry will be determined by the amount of the Spirit's discipline in your life. If you have not learned anything, then all you can say to your brothers and sisters are but trivial, humorous words—words which can never hit the target. But if you have learned much, you can discern whether or not people's problems have been resolved. Moreover, you will not be easily deceived.

Take, for example, the matter of the gospel. This is at least one issue about which you know something. No person can deceive or cheat you about whether or not he is saved. Even so, the principle will be the same for you when it comes to deeper spiritual issues: it all depends upon your learning and experience before the Lord. The more you learn, the sharper will be your discernment. A casual touch with a brother will quickly tell you what is wrong.

May I therefore beg you, for the sake of fulfilling your ministry in serving the Lord, that you gladly and willingly put yourself in God's hand and accept the discipline of the Holy Spirit. Unless there is a building up within, there can be no work without. All God's works are done deep within a man, not merely in his mind. Not because of two or three years' study of the Bible

are you able to be a preacher. How easy it would be if the Lord merely required His disciples to recite some sermons. Instead, He desires to bring them through much practical learning.

The reason why we desire to know people is for the sake of helping them, not for the sake of curiosity. It is to build them up, not to destroy them. In order to be useful, we must unconditionally, unreservedly, and joyfully commit ourselves into God's hand and accept the discipline of His Holy Spirit. The measure of your acceptance here determines your future usefulness elsewhere. The more the discipline, the more the enlargement and usefulness. We should not instruct people merely with teaching. We must accept the discipline of the Holy Spirit that can lead us into spiritual fullness and service.

2 Spiritual Judgment: Using Our Spirit

Yesterday we spoke on the importance of spiritual judgment or discernment. Today we would talk more specifically about the importance of using our spiritual senses. Whenever you are communicating with people, you give them opportunity to talk so that you may have the opportunity to know and discern with your spirit. It is rather difficult to know a person if he keeps his mouth shut. It is rare that you are able to see through a silent man. You may perhaps sense the quality of his spirit, but you cannot explain it with understanding. Sometimes you may indeed detect something wrong with his spirit, but in what way it is wrong you cannot tell. In our messages about the character of God's workman, we mentioned how a worker needs to learn to

listen.∗ He should cultivate the habit of listening. Even if a person is talking

about nonsense or is just pretending, you still have to listen. Without having this habit of listening, you close the door to knowing people. For it is through people's speech that you come to know them. What is most to be feared is if they should keep their mouths shut. But once they talk, it becomes God's opportunity for us to get to know them. Especially with those talkative people, in fact, you are able to know them quite much.

∗ This particular trait—"able to listen" —is in fact the subject of the very first in a series of messages

on the overall topic of "The Character of God's Workman" which the author delivered at this same lengthy summer workers conference on Kuling Mountain in 1948 at which the present messages on spiritual judgment were also given. See Watchman Nee, The Character of God's Workman (New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers, 1988), translated from the Chinese. Translator

When a person begins to talk, you should prepare your spirit to touch his spirit. Yesterday we mentioned five principles or criteria to follow in rendering judgment. With these five as a foundation, let us use our spirit to sense and to discern. For a person's spirit is manifested in his talking. He is not able for long to cover his spirit with words. For as he speaks, his spirit will come forth. While he is talking let us listen on the one hand and use our spirit to contact him on the other. It is certain that how he talks will disclose

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