Date: February 25, 1941Place: Unrecorded
Brother Chang asked: First Timothy 6:13 speaks of Christ's testimony before Pilate. What does this refer to?
Brother Nee answered: Christ's testimony at His trial before Pilate was twofold in nature. First, it testified that He was the Son of God. Second, it testified that He was the Christ, the king of the Jews. The Jews condemned the Lord because He said that He was the Son of God. Pilate did not condemn the Lord. Although the Lord said that He was a king, Pilate considered His testimony to be the words of a madman, so he ignored it. The matter of being the Son of God is a religious matter, whereas the matter of being the king is a political matter. When others asked Him many questions, He did not answer them. But when the question involved the Son of God and the king, He immediately testified, "You have said rightly" (Matt. 26:64; 27:11). In the Gospel of John, the Lord also said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My attendants would be struggling so that I would not be delivered to the Jews" (18:36).
The Lord said that His kingdom was not of this world. If we misunderstand His word we will miss God's blessing. The word of can also be translated as "out of." To be not of this world means to be not out of this world. To be not of the world does not mean that we do not communicate with those in the world or that we shun and abstain from the things of the world. When the Lord said that He was not of this world, He meant that He did not come out of this world, and therefore, His attendants did not need to struggle for Him. If His kingdom was out of this world, His attendants would have needed to fight. Since His kingdom is out of God and from above, there was no need to fight and no need of any fleshly weapon.
Some of God's children are concerned only with the outward, physical world. They think that being not of this world is being careful with material things, that is, to turn away from and be less involved with worldly things. Christians reject outward, worldly sins and defilements, but disguised worldliness is often neglected by them. There are many terms which are taken from the Bible, but if you trace man's use of these terms, you will find that they are out of the world. Many so-called virtues, such as patience and humility, are out of the world when their source is traced. Why does a person allow others to mistreat him? It is because he will be despised if he does not restrain himself. Why does a person try to be nice? It is because he is afraid of being misunderstood. Such acts are of the world. Many so-called virtues are the result of worldly apprehensions.
If a man keeps asking what the Body is, what the natural life is, or what the church is, this only proves that he is still in darkness. He does not have light in his spirit, and he has not received revelation. Man likes to have absolute definitions and explanations for all kinds of truths. However, one who has touched spiritual reality in a genuine way does not need to ask all these questions, because he fully understands in his spirit. You do not have to ask who Watchman Nee is, and you do not have to spend time to study him. All you have to do is to come and ask me, and you will know. Once a person knows the church and the Body, there is no need for him to study definitions or ask so many questions.
The same is true with our testimony. If a man truly understands what our testimony is, he will not need a definition. It is difficult to give absolute definitions to spiritual things in any case. We can tell others about a doctrine that is related to our testimony, but the reality of the testimony can only come with the inward revelation of the Holy Spirit. The same is true with our preaching. Without the revelation of the Holy Spirit to convey spiritual things to us and without Him giving us the utterance, we will speak only doctrines and knowledge that contain no reality at all. A frequent temptation we face is using human words to explain divine truths and thinking that we can do this without the leading of the Spirit. But if this was indeed possible, why would there be the need for the Holy Spirit to come? A worker must yield to the Holy Spirit in his work, in his preaching, and in solving others' spiritual problems. He should allow the Spirit to have the absolute authority and the ground to work in others' spirit. It is useless to try to solve any problem through the mind or the intellect. We have to solve others' spiritual problems, but this must be done through the operation of the Spirit.
For a period of time I was quite unhappy with Miss Barber for taking a three-month summer vacation every year and spending two hours every afternoon on a walk. She asked me, "Do you think that I should take care of man's criticism, while ignoring God's will?" When I heard this, I worried about her, and thought that this was dangerous. I thought, "How can you say that everything you do is according to God's will?" But I also knew that she was a person who feared God. She wanted everything to be of God. She did not do anything carelessly, and she always carefully sought after God's will. Once she became clear concerning God's will, she would not care for any human feeling, concept, or criticism. Of course, a fleshly person has no place in this discussion. A fleshly person can say that he is afraid of no one, not even the church, the brothers and sisters, his parents, heaven, earth, or God. Such a one is actually living in complete darkness.
Once Miss Barber would not accept two hundred dollars from a professor (who appeared to be saved). She wrote a letter to him saying, "I cannot accept your money because you are associated with a university that does not resemble anything Christian." I thought that it was impolite for her to do this. But a man who fears God can be very tough and at the same time be very humble. What matters is whether or not he fears God and knows His will.
The Bible is the most peculiar book in the world because there are many things in it that can lead to misunderstandings. But God does not worry about this, and He does not put footnotes to any of the words. When Brother Austin-Sparks speaks, he may speak for an hour and a half. If he wanted to clarify and elaborate on the things that he spoke, he could go on for another hour and a half. But he does not do this. A renowned Chinese seminary professor once told me that a young seminary student was very spiritual. I asked what he meant. He said that during the first year of the young man's marriage, he did not say one word to his wife whenever he was home. I thought to myself: If I were Peter and I was charged to guard the gate of heaven (not that Peter is actually standing at the gate of heaven), I would stop this man from coming into the gate. I would ask him to go home and speak to his wife before I would admit him. This person was not spiritual at all. Being spiritual does not mean that we are no longer human; it means having the authority of the Spirit, giving place to the Spirit, and manifesting the Spirit through us.
Today men's concept of the world is too low. The testimony of Christ is that He is not of this world (John 18:36). This means that He has rejected everything that has its source in the world, no matter how spiritual it may look outwardly. Being not of the world does not mean that we do not touch the things of the world and that we shun the affairs of the world. It means that the source is not the world. It means shutting out all human effort, improvement, good works, virtues, and everything that is not of the Spirit.
