Ⅲ
Solomon was a man full of natural ability but not a man of life, a man whose wisdom was a gift, not a measure of life; the careers he accomplished were evidences of his capacity from the God-given gift of wisdom, not manifestations of the ability of the maturity of life—Heb. 6:1; Col. 1:28-29; Phil. 3:12-15:
A
We need to see the difference between our natural ability and the ability that has passed through death and resurrection; we need to realize the impotence, the insufficiency, of our natural being and natural ability in the things of God—Acts 7:22; Exo. 3:2-3, 14-15; 1 Cor. 2:14; Phil. 3:3-9; 2 Cor. 3:5-6.
B
We should not have any trust in our natural being in the things of God; rather, we must learn to reject our natural being and exercise our spirit in everything for the organic building up of the Body of Christ—Phil. 3:3; Rom. 8:4; 1 Tim. 4:7.
C
In the Lord’s recovery there is no place for our natural being; the churches in the Lord’s recovery, as parts of the living Body of Christ, will spontaneously reject anything that is natural—1 Cor. 12:12-13.
D
In the building of the church, every natural thing in us must be broken before we can be joined together; we can be built only after we have been broken in our natural being—Hymns, #837, stanzas 6 and 7.
E
Natural ability is egocentric and causes us to become proud, resulting in boasting and self-glorification; resurrected ability is not proud and does not boast in itself—cf. Col. 1:17b, 18b; Phil. 3:3; 2 Cor. 12:9.
F
Natural ability is selfish, and all its schemes and devices are for the sake of the self without any regard for the will of God; resurrected ability is for the will of God; it has been broken and is not for self and has no element of self—cf. Matt. 16:24.
G
Natural ability causes self-reliance and self-confidence, acting on its own and causing us to depend on ourselves and not on God; resurrected ability relies upon God and does not dare to act according to self, though truly able and capable; resurrected ability is controlled by the Holy Spirit and does not dare to act according to its wishes—cf. 2 Cor. 1:8-9; 4:6-7; 12:7-9.
H
Natural ability has no divine element; it seeks its own glory and satisfies its own desires; it is mingled with the elements of flesh and temper; therefore, when it is disapproved, it is provoked; resurrected ability is devoid of the flesh—cf. 1 Thes. 2:4.
I
Natural ability is temporary and is unable to withstand tests, setbacks, or opposition; resurrected ability extols the Father, acknowledging the Father’s will—Matt. 11:20-26; John 2:19; Acts 2:24.
J
Those who serve according to natural ability desire rewards or appreciation from others; those who serve according to resurrected ability desire to win Christ and are determined to gain the honor of being well pleasing to Him—Phil. 3:8; Gen. 15:1; Heb. 11:5-6; 2 Cor. 5:9.
K
Natural ability likes to manifest itself, to be known by man, and to be carried out in front of man; resurrected ability likes to do things in secret to be one with the “God who hides Himself ” and to “take root downward and bear fruit upward”—Isa. 45:15; 37:31; Matt. 6:4, 6, 17-18.
L
Natural ability and capability apart from life are like a snake, poisoning God’s people; life is like a dove, supplying God’s people with life and causing us to become a person who expresses in his humanity the bountiful God in His rich attributes through His aromatic virtues; life causes us to become like a lily growing out of brambles and like a bright star shining in the dark night—cf. Exo. 4:1-9; Matt. 3:16-17.
M
Whenever people try to bring their natural ability into the church, the reality of the church is lost; only that which passes through death and resurrection can be brought into the church—1 Cor. 3:16-17.
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.1 Thes. 2:4 But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who proves our hearts.
In the church service we must reject our natural strength and ability, which are acquired by us either through birth or through learning. Any of our natural strength and ability is unprofitable to the church service in life. Today it is possible that we may act and do some service for the Lord on our own according to our natural strength and ability but not according to God’s will. Because we have the strength and the ability, we feel that we do not need to pray, to wait on the Lord, to seek the Lord’s will, or to look for the Lord’s leading. This was exactly what happened to Moses. When he slew an Egyptian to protect his fellow Hebrew, he did this on his own and not according to the Lord’s will (Exo. 2:11-12). The sad situation in today’s Christianity is that people work for the Lord mostly on their own by their natural strength and ability... They may pray only for the Lord to bestow His blessing upon what they do. They do not pray that much for the Lord’s will, because they trust in their natural strength and ability. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,” pp. 140-141)
Today’s Reading
When we work in our natural strength and ability, the goal is to seek our own glory, and the motive is to satisfy our own desire. If we see this vision, it will kill our self-seeking and impure motive... We should do things simply because the Lord leads us to do them. We should not do them because we have something to achieve for our goal... The goal must be the Lord’s.Our own desire and our own goal for our glory are one with our natural strength and natural ability. The natural strength and ability need to be dealt with by the cross... To overcome our natural strength and ability is a great, subjective lesson; it is more subjective than dealing with sin. In a certain sense, our natural strength and ability equal our self, our natural constitution. Our natural strength and natural ability are the embodiment of our self. This is why after the denial of the self we need a lesson on rejecting the natural strength and ability and dealing with them by the cross. The natural strength and ability are useful if they are dealt with by the cross. After being dealt with by the cross, they are in resurrection.
Peter was self-confident in his natural strength and ability even to the point of thinking that he would follow the Lord both to prison and to death (Luke 22:33). Peter was tested, and he denied the Lord three times, even before a little maid (John 18:15-18, 25-27). Peter was absolutely defeated and became a complete failure (Matt. 26:69-75). He did have a heart to love the Lord, but he was too confident in his own strength, his natural strength. His love for the Lord was precious, but his natural strength had to be denied and dealt with. The Lord allowed Peter to fail utterly in denying the Lord to His face three times, so that his natural strength and self-confidence could be dealt with. Through his failure Peter learned to serve the brothers by faith in the Lord and with humility (Luke 22:32; 1 Pet. 5:5-6). Peter was really broken and was turned from the natural ability to something in resurrection.
We all must learn to reject the natural strength and ability. Our natural strength and ability must be dealt with and put on the cross. Then they will be in resurrection and full of the divine element, and whatever we do in the church service will be a ministry of the divine element to others. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,” pp. 141-142, 144-145)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,” lsns. 16, 20; CWWL, 1989, vol. 3, “The Experience and Growth in Life,” chs. 21-25