Date: February 9, 1941Place: ShanghaiScripture Reading: Gen. 3; Heb. 4:12; 5:13-14
When man ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he brought in spiritual death. Man became spiritually dead in the eyes of God. The more that a man lives in the condition of death, the more he is involved in the knowledge of good and evil. As soon as a man departs from the life of God, he will be in the knowledge of good and evil. The knowledge of good and evil is a sign of death. If man had eaten of the fruit of the tree of life, he would not have needed an outward knowledge of good and evil, because life itself can differentiate between good and evil. There would have been no need for man to acquire the knowledge of good and evil by eating the fruit of that tree. The more a man knows life, the more he knows God, and the less he will need to rely on some outward knowledge of good and evil. But when man ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he separated himself from the tree of life and from God. Today man has fallen completely into the realm of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Those who are unregenerated, who do not know God, and who know nothing about life like to talk about good, evil, philosophy, ethics, morality, decency, indecency, right, and wrong.
Man's communication with God is not based on good and evil, but on life. Life contains the proper knowledge of good and evil, and this knowledge of life is a mark of maturity in life. In Genesis 3 there is the knowledge of good and evil that is the result of the tree of knowledge, while in Hebrews 5 there is another knowledge of good and evil that comes from the discriminating between good and evil. The knowledge of good and evil in Genesis 3 is death, while the discrimination between good and evil in Hebrews 5 is an expression of the growth and maturity of life. This shows us that Christians should have the knowledge of good and evil. Furthermore, this knowledge is a mark of the maturity in life.
Some Christians continue to live according to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil after they are saved. They are constantly trying to tell the difference between good and evil. They often ask if they should do this or that. There are other Christians, however, who can discriminate between good and evil. But their discrimination is a discernment from God as to what is good and what is evil. This kind of discrimination is spiritual; it is the proper kind of knowledge for Christians. Christians should be able to tell the difference between right and wrong. There is a need among Christians to differentiate between that which is good and that which is evil. Hebrews 5:12 says that Christians should know "what the rudiments of the beginning of the oracles of God are" and what the deeper things are. This kind of discriminating is not an ordinary kind of discrimination. It is a discrimination of the spiritually deep things from the shallow things, the babes from the full-grown. Not only is there the need to discriminate between that which is outwardly good and evil, but in the eyes of God, there is the need to discriminate between the good and evil even among all the "good" things. In the eyes of God some are taking solid food and some are taking milk; some are babes and some are full-grown.
A new Christian thinks that all believers are wonderful in their life, their work, and their daily walk. But gradually he will be able to discriminate between the good and the bad. This is the beginning of maturity. When one is mature, he will know whether a certain thing is evil in the eyes of God even though it may be considered good in the eyes of men. This is the mark of maturity. Unfortunately, the church today is filled with too many childish things, and many Christians are still in the infant stage. They still cannot discriminate between the rudimentary things and the mature things. Before the Lord we must learn to have a spiritual knowledge of good and evil and not remain in the infant stage. We should have our faculties exercised for discriminating between good and evil.
In 1925 I was in the midst of publishing the second issue of The Christian, covering Daniel, 2 Thessalonians, and Revelation. At that time I was not very knowledgeable concerning the prophecies, and I wrote about them in a very brief way. I attached to it a preface and sent it to the printer. I felt very good about it and did not have much regret about printing it. Moreover, I received over three hundred responses from readers telling me that they had liked it and received help, encouragement, and admonition from it. I felt quite proud of myself. One day, as I was with Miss Barber, I asked, "Have you received a copy of The Christian that I edited? What do you think of its content?" She was not interested in this at all, talking only about her tea and cakes. I tried a few more times to draw her attention to my magazine, but she kept on talking about tea, cakes, and candies. When I was about to leave, she said one word to me, "Brother, one day you will discover that good things are not necessarily good." I asked if she was referring to the second issue of The Christian, and she said yes. She continued, saying, "If I had to put out ten issues of The Christian, I would not put those things in one of them. I would write on something else." At that time I did not appreciate what she said. But day after day, I began to realize that it is not how much we can produce and achieve, but how much God has done. Everything that issues from man is futile, whether it is human wisdom or human power.
One time I took a sister to visit Miss Barber. The sister did something wrong, and after Miss Barber spoke with her, she cried from morning until the afternoon. I went back and asked Miss Barber, "Do you know that she has been crying?" I thought that her repentance was wonderful. But after Miss Barber heard my word, her reaction was very cold. I tried my best to describe how repentant the sister was, but Miss Barber replied, "She is pitying herself! I do not like to help this kind of person." At that time I could not quite take these words. I felt that Miss Barber was compassionless, uncaring, and unsympathetic toward others. But after a year or two I found that she was right. I thought that repentance, tears, weeping, and remorse for one's own sins were the right things to have. But she was able to discriminate between good and evil. This is not a matter of criticism or compassion, but a matter of seeing or not seeing. The one who had the vision had the spiritual knowledge of good and evil, but I did not have it.
Once I took over sixty co-workers to see Miss Barber. She said "If five or six from among these ones remain to follow the Lord, we should be thankful and praise the Lord." In reflecting on her words today, I can see that it is just about that number that are still following the Lord in a genuine way.
Miss Barber possessed this spiritual ability to discriminate between good and evil. The good and evil that I am speaking of here are different from the good and evil that ordinary men speak of. In many instances what is good and evil to man may be exactly the opposite in the eyes of God. Those who are good at criticizing others often have a wrong spirit. But those who have the knowledge of good and evil have the right eyes for things. Because their eyes have seen the light, their words are a kind of spiritual discernment rather than a kind of criticism.
I appreciate Brother Austin-Sparks because he also has such a spiritual ability to discriminate between good and evil. One man lived together with me for a few months; however, Brother Austin-Sparks seldom saw him. Yet he knew this man more than I did. We are not here to criticize others. Those who criticize others will not have God's blessings. But we do need a kind of spiritual discernment. Our knowledge of good and evil should not only be applied to people, but should be applied to things as well. Many times in making judgments on things, those who have the light can tell the difference between good and evil. Those who have seen the light do not even need to seek after God's will; they are already clear about God's will within themselves.
Genesis 3 and Hebrews 4 and 5 are three places in the Bible that speak of the knowledge of good and evil. The discriminating between good and evil in Hebrews 5 is spiritual; it is a mark of maturity. Hebrews 4 tells us how we can discriminate between good and evil, and where the power of discrimination lies. Only God can discriminate between good and evil because all things are laid bare before His eyes and cannot be hidden. There are many things which are unknown to man, but God says that those who are spiritual can discern all things (1 Cor. 2:15). This is what Hebrews 4 speaks of. God's word can divide and cut asunder man's soul and spirit, discerning the true nature of things. Soulish ones criticize others and exercise their mind to split hairs over small things. But spiritual things can be known only in an inward way. A person must first be dealt with. Before he can have a clear vision before God concerning all things, he must first have God's word.
Many Christians ask questions all the time. The greatest temptation they face in trying to know God's will is their constant introspection, self-analysis, and attempt to find what is of God and what is of themselves. They want to know what is of the spirit and what is of the soul, what is spiritual and what is carnal. Such ones will never understand God's will. For man to make judgments in himself will result in nothing but error. In John 13—15 Philip, Peter, Thomas, and Judas asked many questions, but in chapter fourteen the Lord told them that a day would come when they would no longer need to ask anything, because the Holy Spirit would teach them of all things when He came (v. 26). When a person asks questions, this proves that he does not have the presence of the Holy Spirit. Those who know the Spirit do not need to ask questions. Those who have God, who have the anointing, and who have God's word are clear within; they do not need to ask anything.
In Psalm 139:23 the psalmist asked God to search and know his heart. This is because man's heart is wicked above all things. A man can deceive himself; he can be cheated to think that he is the best. But in the eyes of God, what we consider the best may be the worst. God never asks us to engage in introspection. He never asks us to discern what is of the spirit and what is of the soul. This is not the responsibility of the Christian; it is the responsibility of the word of God. God's word is living and is sharper than any two-edged sword. It can divide and cut asunder man's spirit and soul. Some may say, "I have read the Bible a few times, but I do not feel that my spirit and soul have been divided." We must realize that the dividing of the spirit and the soul has to do with our seeing. It has to do with revelation, not with our studying. Those who strive to know are living in darkness; they are not living by the law of life.
Those who have not seen the light may think that they have been a good Christian for many years. They love the brothers and sisters, offer material offerings, and have dealt with sin and the world, etc. They may be very satisfied with themselves, and others may say that they are good Christians, having received much help from them. But when God's light shines on them, they will see that many of their so-called good works are actually the most defiled and offensive works in the eyes of God. They will discover many of the things they do are actually sins in the eyes of God. Revelation can never come about through human wisdom. Before Paul was saved, he opposed Christ and persecuted the Christians, thinking that he was serving God. He was the most zealous among all the Judaizers and was more advanced than his contemporaries, yet he was opposing God's work. A man may think that his motives are pure, that he is for God, but in reality he may be doing a work that is against God. Such a one is living in darkness; he does not have God's light. Today the dividing line between everything rests with God's word. Once we have light within, we will see everything. This is totally different from the knowledge of good and evil that is spoken of in Genesis 2 and 3.
I am not saying that it is useless to read and study the Bible, and I am not saying that it is useless to listen to messages. I am saying that these things alone cannot solve our problems. What we need is God's light. When the living word of God comes, we can no longer live as before. God's word will kill us, and His light will remove all that is not of God. We may think that we have a great deal of goodness in us, but when God reveals Himself, we will see that all of our goodness is but refuse. Then we will begin to gain spiritual knowledge. Our faculties will become more exercised. We will be able to discriminate between good and evil, and we will grow and mature.
At the beginning of his Christian life, a Christian should not analyze himself. He should not ask so many questions; instead, he should learn to look to the Lord and ask the Lord for revelation and light. Once he has the light, he will be able to discriminate between good and evil. His mouth may not be able to clearly articulate the difference, but his inner being will be very clear. The real issue is whether or not one has God's word and God's light. When God's word comes, the thoughts and intents of the heart will be divided and exposed like the bone and the marrow. The human mind is incapable of understanding the things of the Spirit. The things of the Spirit are things that eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, and hearts have not imagined (1 Cor. 2:9). The soulish man cannot comprehend the things of God (v. 14). Inward judgment has nothing to do with good and evil or even the apparent right and wrong of matters. It has to do with God's word within us. It is God's word that divides the spirit and the soul. Only God's word can operate this way.
I used to work in Amoy. Sometimes when the work was finished, I would find the result encouraging; men had received help and rewarded me with praises. But deep within, I felt like something had snapped; I felt like a deflated tire. At other times the result of the work would be the same, but I found myself filled with strength inwardly, more so than before I had worked. All the workers should learn from the Lord, who in quenching the Samaritan woman's thirst, was filled Himself. If a work does not bring inward satisfaction, there must be something wrong with the work. The Lord's food was to do the will of the One who had sent Him and to finish His work (John 4:34). A worker must learn to seek after God's word and to work according to His living guidance. He should not work according to what he thinks is good, but according to what the Lord thinks is good.
After a man is regenerated, the first thing he should do is to allow God's word to come into him and to divide his spirit and soul. I do not know how many of the things that we have done were done out of ourselves, our ideas, and our concepts of good. We even considered them to be God's will. Many people need to repent and confess for what they have repented and confessed about. Many times even our tears are unclean in the eyes of the Lord, and they need the cleansing of the blood. We must see the worldliness of the love that we have known. We must see that the fellowship that we have known has been nothing more than social enjoyment. The light of the cross must come into us to wreck us and expose our wickedness. If we have never passed through such a thorough experience, we may bear the cross, do our work, exercise our love, preach our gospel, and render our help to others. But one day we will find that all these things have been done in ignorance. May the Lord be merciful to us. May He give us the light. May we be torn down and broken so that we will have the spiritual sight and will have a proper spiritual discrimination.
Lord, although man's word can disappear, may Your word be remembered. May the self be checked, and may we all receive a light like Paul's. May Your light kill us. May You answer us not according to our prayer, but according to Your riches and supply. In Your name we pray, amen.
