Ⅲ
The Spirit deals with our outer man, our self, our natural disposition, by the killing element of the cross in the compound Spirit, by the discipline of the Spirit, by the shining of Christ as the Spirit, and by the church life, fruit-bearing, and lamb-feeding:
A
In order to deal with our natural disposition, we must deny the self and apply the killing power of the cross; we need to see and realize in our experience that the compound, all-inclusive Spirit in our spirit includes the precious death of Christ and the sweetness and effectiveness of Christ’s death, which can kill our natural disposition—Exo. 30:23-25; Phil. 1:19; Rom. 8:13:
１
Christ as the compound Spirit is our medication to heal us, enliven us, and kill all the negative things within us; when we take Him as our medication, we enjoy “the putting to death of Jesus,” or the killing of Jesus—2 Cor. 4:10-11.
２
In the Spirit there is the killing element of the cross; when we reject ourselves in the morning to receive God into us, we have the sense during the day that a killing process is going on within us.
B
The goal of the discipline of the Holy Spirit is for us to be a broken man; God has to put us in a place of total inability and total helplessness before He can have a way in us; the purpose of the trials through which we pass is so that we can receive the benefit of knowing God for Him to be expressed—1:8-9; 12:9-10; Isa. 40:28-31; Hosea 6:1-3:
１
The breaking of the outer man is the breaking of our natural disposition; our natural disposition makes it hard for us to release our spirit; a person who is not broken by God cannot be entrusted with the Lord’s work; what we are originally, including our natural appearance and taste, does not match God and is not compatible with God—Jer. 48:11.
２
Whatever we are by birth, whether good or bad, whether useful or not, is natural and altogether a hindrance to the Holy Spirit in constituting the divine life into our being; for this reason our natural strength, natural wisdom, natural cleverness, natural disposition, natural shortcomings, natural virtues, plus our character and habits, must all be torn down in order that the Holy Spirit may form in us a new disposition, new character, new habits, new virtues, and new attributes.
３
In order to accomplish the work of reconstitution, the Holy Spirit of God moves within us to enlighten, inspire, lead, and saturate us with the divine life; He also works in our environment to arrange every detail, person, matter, and thing in our situation to tear down all aspects of our natural being in order that He might conform us to the image of Christ as the firstborn Son of God—Rom. 8:28-29.
４
Everything in our environment has been measured to us by our God; He orders everything around us, the only purpose of which is to break our conspicuous, obtuse, and hard spots—Psa. 39:9; Matt. 10:29-30; Luke 12:6.
５
If the outer man is not broken, the inner man will not be released; the earthen vessel has to be broken before the treasure can be released (2 Cor. 4:7); as long as the ointment is in the alabaster box, the fragrance will not be released (John 12:3).
６
A person who is not broken cannot submit to others; only those who have experienced Christ as their life of submission know the rebelliousness of their natural disposition—Phil. 2:5-8.
７
Anyone who is boastful has not been broken, anyone who blames others has not been broken, anyone who thinks he is something when he is nothing has not been broken, and anyone who competes with others has not been broken—3:3; 1 Cor. 6:7; Gal. 5:25-26; 6:3.
８
Someone who has never been pressed, mistreated, depreciated, or wronged by others is raw, wild, and useless to God; we should not have the mistaken concept that all the saints will admire and respect us because we have been sent by God, called by God, and entrusted with His work; one who respects us today may deride and trample us under his feet tomorrow; this is the way of one who serves the Lord—John 2:23-25; Acts 14:11-13, 18-21; Mark 11:8-10; cf. 15:9-15.
C
Deliverance from our natural disposition also comes from the inner shining of Christ as a great light; this shining is seeing what God sees—Prov. 4:18; 20:27; Psa. 18:28-29; Matt. 4:16; Luke 11:34-36; Acts 9:3-5; 22:6-10; 26:13-19; Eph. 5:13; Phil. 2:15-16:
１
The greatest thing in the Christian experience is the killing that comes from the shining of the divine light; the shining is the saving, and the seeing is the deliverance; everyone who truly sees a vision of the Lord in His glory is enlightened in his conscience regarding his uncleanness—Isa. 6:1-8.
２
The Lord grants us much light to expose us and to humble us; only this kind of shining will remove our pride, and only this light will stop our fleshly activities and break our outer shell with our natural disposition; the more we see God, know God, and love God, the more we abhor ourselves and the more we deny ourselves—Job 42:5-6; Matt. 16:24; Luke 9:23; 14:26.
３
We should not try to be magnanimous or forbearing by the effort of our self, our natural disposition; rather, we should learn to prostrate ourselves in God’s light, receive His breaking, and allow the environment to break us and tear us down.
D
If we are not useful in the Lord’s hand for taking care of people, it is due to our natural disposition; the church life, fruit-bearing, and lamb-feeding are three matters that kill our natural disposition; to deal with our natural disposition, we must love God by contacting God to be infused with Him as grace, and we must love people by contacting them to infuse them with God as grace—John 21:15-17; Eph. 3:2; 4:29; 1 Pet. 4:10.
Morning Nourishment
2 Cor. 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us.10 Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
We have Christ as the treasure in a poor earthen vessel (2 Cor. 4:7). We may think that we are quite good, but in reality we are not good…. None of us is better than others; we are all descendants of Adam with the same fallen nature.
We need to realize that the natural life is the enemy of God and of Christ…. If we intend to follow the Lord, the first condition is that we deny ourselves and apply the killing power of the cross to the self constantly [cf. Matt. 16:24]. We need to… [let] the cross put the self to death. In order to follow the Lord, we do not need teaching; neither do we need to be adjusted in our behavior. Rather, we need to be put to death; we need to be broken. (CWWL, 1968, vol. 2, pp. 450-451)
Today’s Reading
Our disposition is our self…. It is in us, and it is us. Our disposition makes it hard for us to release our spirit…. The breaking of the outer man is the breaking of our disposition…. It is easier to deal with our disposition when we are young. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 3, “The Experience and Growth in Life,” p. 138)Watchman Nee saw that what we are by nature means nothing; only what the Spirit constitutes within our being counts. Whatever we are by birth, whether good or bad, whether useful or not, is natural and altogether a hindrance to the Holy Spirit in constituting the divine life into our being. For this reason our natural strength, natural wisdom, natural cleverness, natural disposition, natural shortcomings, natural virtues, and natural attributes, plus our character and habits, must all be torn down in order that the Holy Spirit may form in us a new disposition, new character, new habits, new virtues, and new attributes. In order to accomplish this work of reconstitution, the Holy Spirit of God moves within us to enlighten, inspire, lead, and saturate us with the divine life. He also works in our environment to arrange every detail, person, matter, and thing in our situation to tear down what we are naturally. He may arrange to place a certain person in our home in order to tear down our natural quickness or slowness. He may arrange certain matters to abolish our natural cleverness or dullness. He may arrange another situation to tear down our natural wisdom or folly. He uses all kinds of persons, matters, and things to tear down all aspects of our natural being in order that He may conform us to the image of Christ. (Watchman Nee—a Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, pp. 115-116)
The Lord often chastises us, but we turn our attention to men and take the wrong track. Our attitude before the Lord should be as the psalmist said, “I did not open my mouth; for You have done this” (Psa. 39:9). We have to remember that it is not our brother, sister, friends and relatives, or any other person who is dealing with us. It is God who is dealing with us. We have to see this. We have to realize that the Lord has been disciplining us and dealing with us all these years. Because of our ignorance we have put the blame on others or even on fate. This is total ignorance of God’s hand. It is wrong. We have to remember that everything has been measured to us by our God. The amount, the length, and the intensity of what befalls us are all measured by Him. He orders everything around us, the only purpose of which is to break our conspicuous, obtuse, and hard spots. May the Lord be gracious to us and show us the meaning of His work in us. May He grant us much light to expose us and to humble us. (CWWN, vol. 54, “The Breaking of the Outer Man and the Release of the Spirit,” p. 244)
Further Reading: Watchman Nee—a Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, chs. 15-17; CWWN, vol. 57, ch. 25; CWWN, vol. 52, “The Character of the Lord’s Worker,” ch. 3