EXCERPTS FROM THE MINISTRY

DENYING THE SOUL

Although the Lord is in our spirit, our spirit is very much stuck to our soul. This is why the writer of Hebrews tells us that our spirit must be divided from our soul by the Word of God. Just as the marrow is encased within the bone and the bone must be broken before it can be seen, so our spirit, where Christ dwells, is so much sealed within the soul that our soul must be broken before it can be revealed. For this reason the Lord told us many times that we need to lose our soul and deny our self. In all four Gospels the Lord Jesus exhorted us to lose the soul, forfeit the soul, and deny the self. The soul must be denied because it has covered up the spirit. There is only one way to get to the marrow—by breaking and crushing the bones and the joints. The Lord is in our spirit, and His grace is in our spirit, but the way to Him is by crushing the soul day by day.

What is the soul? As we have already pointed out, the soul is simply the self. The self is the very center of the human being and is the human being, and it is the self which must be crossed out. We should not cross out others and put others on the cross, but we must put our own soul on the cross. If any man will follow Christ, he must deny his soulish life and take up his cross daily. Not just yesterday or just today, but day by day we have to apply the cross to the soul. With so many Christians there is nothing but their ego. From the first word to the last, it is always I...I...I. But the Christian life is “no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” How could it be “no longer I but Christ”? It is by having the “I” crucified. I have been put on the cross, and the cross is now on me. I have been crossed out, so there is no more I. Whenever I conversed as a young Christian, I was in the habit of using the word I. But, praise the Lord, in these days I dare not use the word I but always we. It is not only “I” but also many others—including Christ.

If any man would follow Christ, he has to do three things: deny the “I,” take up the cross daily, and follow Christ, who now is not only in heaven but in us. It is easy to follow Him when we first deny the self and apply the cross. To deny the soul means that we turn from ourselves to the spirit. Then in the spirit we will meet Christ. Why do the four Gospels tell us negatively to deny the soul, whereas later all the Epistles tell us positively to live and do things in the spirit? It is because today the Lord Jesus is in the spirit, and His grace is in the spirit. To follow Christ is a matter of dealing with the spirit, and this is the mark of God’s economy. We need to stress again this mark of God’s economy! We all must be clear that God’s eternal plan is to dispense Himself into our spirit. He has done this already, for He is now in our spirit to be our life and everything. All our needs are met in this wonderful Spirit who is in our spirit.

ABIDING IN THE SPIRIT

After we were saved, we were given too much religious teaching. We were taught many things: that God is the Creator, and we are the creatures; that we have to fear God, serve Him, and please Him; that we must try our best to do good; and that we have to do something to glorify His name. These were the kinds of teachings that we received. There is nothing wrong with these religious teachings; in a sense they are good. But they are not related to the mark of God’s economy.

Many of us have also received ethical teachings, such as, we have to be good, humble, patient, nice, and loving; we must not lose our temper, and we have to honor our parents; husbands must love their wives, and wives must submit to their husbands. These are the good, ethical teachings.

But, listen. This is what the Lord told us to do: Abide in Me and I in you. I am the vine; you are the branches. As the branches, you have to abide in Me. Forget about the religious and ethical teachings. Just remember one thing: you are a branch of Christ. Abide in Him, and let Him abide in you. But if we are going to abide in Christ, we must know where Christ is. If we are going to abide in a house, we must first know where the house is located. Can we abide in Christ by abiding in the mind or in the emotion? No, we can abide in Christ only by abiding in the spirit. The Lord Himself and His grace are in our spirit. Thus, in order to abide in Christ, we must discern our spirit. When we abide in Him in the spirit, He will have the opportunity to take possession of us. He will then have the ground to fill and occupy us. All His riches will be wrought out through our spirit, and we will bear fruit to glorify Him. This is not a religious or ethical teaching; this is life in Christ.

The purpose of this book is not to give teachings or cause us to be more religious and ethical. No! It is to help us realize God’s eternal purpose of dispensing Himself into us as our only portion, as our life and as our everything. Let us henceforth live by Him and enjoy Him as our all. Where is the key, that is, the mark? It is in our spirit. Such a wonderful, all-inclusive, unlimited God has limited Himself to dwell in our spirit. How small and how limited we are, yet God is within us, dwelling in our spirit. This is not a matter of teaching someone to be religious or ethical; it is the Triune God becoming everything to us in our spirit. Therefore, we must learn to discern our spirit, deny our soul all the time, and turn continually into our spirit. We must forget our surroundings and abide in Him and let Him abide in us. Then fruit will become the outworking of the inner life, which is Christ Himself in our spirit.

The religious way for us to be a Christian is to rise up early in the morning and pray, “Lord, I thank You for this new day. Help me today to do what is right and not to do anything wrong. Help me today to glorify Your name and do Your will. Lord, You know that my temper is not good. Help me not to lose my temper. Lord, how nice it is to be so patient and humble. O Lord, help me to be patient and humble.” Perhaps we did not pray exactly in this way, but in principle this is just the way that we have prayed. This is not a spiritual prayer but a religious, ethical prayer. You may ask me, “How, then, shall I pray in the morning?” I would suggest that you say, “Lord, I praise You. You are the wonderful One with the Father in the Spirit. How glorious it is that Your Spirit is in my spirit! Lord, I look to You, I behold You, and I worship You. I thank You and praise You. I fellowship with You.” Forget about being religious and doing good. For the whole day you will be in the heavenlies. There is no need for you to think, “Be careful, don’t rush, don’t lose your temper.” But just pray, “Lord, I do not know any temper, any humility, any patience, any this or that; I know only You, the glorious Christ, the all-inclusive Christ.” Fellowship with Him, praise Him, and sing Hallelujahs. Then you will see the victory. When you come to the church meeting in the evening, you will be in the heavenlies. It will be so easy for you to release your spirit and release the spirit of others. This is the mark of God’s economy.

Make it your responsibility not to miss the mark. Here is a map with clear instructions. There is no need for you to miss the way. Why stick to a “mule wagon” when today you have a “jet,” and not only a “jet” but a “rocket”? I wish to tell you where the “rocket” is—it is in your spirit. When you turn to the spirit, it is much more than being in a new Ford. It is like being in a jet. And sometimes, in the morning, it is just like a rocket. You feel as if you are in the third heaven, so transcendent. This is not a joke. A real Christian should have such wonderful experiences of Christ as these. When you cannot endure a difficult situation, and the suppression is beyond your strength, turn to your spirit and look unto Jesus. You will rise far above it, transcendent and victorious. Everything will be under your feet.

Many times I have been in trouble, not knowing what to do or what decision to make. The more I analyzed the situation, the more confused and complicated I became. Then I said, “Lord, let me forget all this. Let me come back to the spirit and look to You.” The enlightening when we do this is so glorious. The all-inclusive One is right here in our spirit. “Abide in Me and I in you”—this is the secret. When we discern the spirit, then we can abide in Him and find that He is the all-inclusive Triune God. He is the wonderful, all-inclusive, all-sufficient Spirit indwelling our spirit. Whenever we return to our spirit to contact Him, we are in the light, we are in the life, we are in the power, we are in the heavenlies, we are with the Triune God, and the Triune God is with us. How glorious! This is not just a teaching but a real testimony of what I enjoy and experience all the time. Learn to aim at the goal of God’s economy and never swerve away. Always keep to this mark to fellowship with Him, look to Him, and behold and reflect Him day by day by denying the soul and exercising the spirit.