Date: April 30, 1948, Friday, 6:30 p.m.Place: Hardoon Road, Shanghai
Chi Yung-tung: What does the one talent in the Bible (Matt. 25:15) refer to?
Watchman Nee: The one talent refers to the gift that the believers receive through the Lord's redemption. Today the church fails because the one-talented ones have failed. If all the one-talented ones rise up, the church will be manifested, and others will see what the Body is. Every redeemed one has at least one talent; no one can have less than one talent.
Chu Cheng: Is the coordination of the Body something spontaneous, or is there some kind of arrangement?
Watchman Nee: Strictly speaking, our coordination before the Lord should be something spontaneous, but the problem today is that the young ones do not see the matter of coordination. This is why the brothers ahead of them should make some arrangements.
In the Epistles to Timothy, Paul did not leave one thing for Timothy to make his own decision about. He only required that Timothy and those with him be obedient. Today if we do not make any arrangements, many people will not coordinate together.
There are certain advantages to being coordinated. All of our judgments before the Lord are based on the light that we have received. The amount of light we see determines the amount of judgment we have. During the first few years of their Christian life, many people do not see much light. Their work and conduct surely cannot exceed the light they see. Hence, their work and conduct are limited by their judgments, and their judgments are limited by the light they have received. At Pentecost the church became a strong testimony in an instant. Hence, as far as the church is concerned, it has been strong since the first day. But as far as the individuals are concerned, their condition progresses as time goes on. If the young ones accept the judgments of the older ones, they will be able to do things beyond their capacity, and all the services before the Lord will be covered properly. In this way the church will gain a profit. If all the one-talented ones will submit to authority, they will not remain with one talent; rather, they will make a profit. We have to see that the riches in the church far exceed the riches of individual members.
Question: How should Jonathan in the Old Testament (Saul's son — 1 Sam. 14:1-46) have chosen his way?
Watchman Nee: In the Old Testament both Solomon and David represented the Lord. The two persons represented the one ministry in two separate ways. In the Old Testament there were many ministries. After Moses, the judges were raised up. After that, there was Solomon, the kings, and the prophets. After the Israelites were taken into captivity, the vessels for the recovery were raised up. The Old Testament is filled with different kinds of ministries. In every age there is the ministry of that age. These ministries of the ages are different from the local ministers. Luther was a minister of his age. Darby was also a minister of his age. In every age the Lord has special things that He wants to accomplish. He has His own recoveries and His own works to do. The particular recovery and work that He does in one age is the ministry of that age.
Jonathan stood between Saul and David. He was one man standing between two ministries. He should have followed the second ministry. However, because Jonathan's relationship with the first ministry was too deep, he could not disentangle himself. In order to catch up with the ministry of the age, there is the need for us to see the vision. Michal was married to David, yet she did not see anything. She only saw David's condition before God, and she could not tolerate it. As a result, she was left behind (2 Sam. 6:16, 20-23).
It is God's mercy that a person can see and come into contact with the ministry of that age. Yet it is altogether a different thing for a man to take up the courage to forsake the past ministry. It is a precious thing to see, and it is a blessed thing to come into contact with something. Yet whether or not one can set aside his past ministry is entirely up to God's mercy.
Witness Lee: What is the relationship between the knowledge of life and the service?
Watchman Nee: The word knowledge cannot adequately describe the way we are taking. Whether or not a man's ministry can be released depends not only on whether he knows life, but on whether his outward man is broken. The content of the ministry is fully a matter of the life within.
We have an outward man, and we have an inward man. Some people's outward man is broken, and their ministries are released. Many years ago I gave a message on the Lord's Day morning entitled "Deep Calls unto Deep.'' A man who is not broken outwardly can only have "shallow calls unto shallow.''
Every one of the brothers from Kiangsu is an eloquent speaker. Yet, when a person touches them, he feels that there is something wrong. These brothers are like drops of oil on the water. They are shallow, and they do not have any depth. If you ask them to speak, they can speak with their clever minds for two hours. But after their speech, you cannot touch their spirit at all.
What we need today is for the outward man to be broken. If the outward man is not broken, the inward man will not be released. Everything outward has to be broken. Only when that which is outward is broken can that which is inward 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. Only when the box is broken will the fragrance be released (John 12:3).
God deals with us daily through our environment. On the one hand, the Lord works in us. On the other hand, He makes arrangements in our environment. Strictly speaking, for a Christian there is no such thing as the environment; with him, there is only the discipline of the Holy Spirit. Every environment is a discipline of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of these disciplines is to break our outward man. Once a man's thoughts are broken, his inward man flows out. Once a man's emotions are broken, his inward man also flows out.
We should never think that as long as we say the right thing and the proper words, we will be all right. There is another question: Do the words we say come from our outward man or our inward man? We can only blame the co-workers for the condition of the brothers in Kiangsu. A person whose outward man has not been broken may use the same terms and speak the same thing; his words may even mean the same thing. Yet we cannot touch anything in the words he speaks. If we want to serve others, our outward man must be broken. Only when the outward man is broken can the inward man be released. Only when our inward man comes out can we touch others' inward man.
A clever man, who is capable of thinking and scheming, is not very useful in spiritual things. You may speak something with a smile, or you may speak the same thing with tears. The issue is not how you speak; the issue is how much of your inward man is released. Today the extent that a man is broken determines the amount of ministry he has. We all have to be dealt with by the Lord in these matters. We love to meet some whose outward man is broken. Once we see such people, we touch their inward man. The purpose for which we are disciplined and restricted is that our outward man may be broken. A man can be talking about sad things on the platform, yet not feel sad at all. He can be talking about happy things, yet not feel any joy. This kind of person can only perform; he cannot preach. Some people are so hard in their outward man that they have no response no matter what is said. They are like the men at the time of John the Baptist, who would not dance when others played the flute and would not mourn when others sang a dirge (Matt. 11:17).
The basis of a man's ministry is his knowledge before God. But whether or not the ministry can be released depends on whether the outward man is broken. When we began to learn to be a minister of the word, we learned to have the proper knowledge before God. However, the more we go on, the more we have to see that there can be no real ministry unless the outward man is broken. If the rubber tree is not cut, the sap will not flow out. It is impossible for a person who has no wound to have a ministry. There is no short cut. Even today some people still do not know what it means to utter something from their inward man.
Never forget that a man can only have a certain ministry if he is dealt with by the Lord. After a man has been dealt with, his spirit will be more pure. Whether or not a man's spirit can be released depends fully on whether he has been dealt with. At the same time whether or not a man's spirit is clean depends on whether he has been dealt with. Once the outward man is broken, the inward man can be released, and a person's word will be able to reach others' hearts. Many people think that as long as a person can help others become excited and bring in an exciting atmosphere, everything will be all right. But those who have never been cut open in their outward man will not be of much use. Christian service is based on brokenness. The degree of brokenness and the amount of wounding determine the amount that will be released.
How should a man speak in order that his spirit can be released? The only way for his spirit to be released is for his outward shell to be broken. Whether or not a man's outward shell is broken determines whether his inward spirit is released. If a man wants to have a spirit that can be used, his outward man must be smitten. At the time we are regenerated, the Lord comes into our spirit. At that time our spirit is like the Holy of Holies; it is full of light and life. However, whether or not the Lord can be released depends on whether our outward man is broken. If the outward man is broken, outward things will no longer be a hindrance to us. On the contrary, they will all become outlets for the spirit to be released. If our mind and emotion are broken, they will no longer become a hindrance to the flow of life. On the contrary, they will become the channels for the inward man to be released. After a man has been broken, his mind and emotion will become the gateway for his inward man to go out. Every city in the world has only four gates. Only the New Jerusalem has twelve gates (Rev. 21:12). Whether Christ can be released from us depends on whether or not we have been broken.
The nose is the most conspicuous part of the human body. If a man bumps into the wall, the first thing that hits it is his nose. For many people, when they express themselves, the strongest and most obvious things that come across to others are their cleverness or their thoughts. In order for a person to serve the Lord, the strongest part of his outward man must be broken. Only then will his inward man be released. We should not be Christians for so many years and yet still remain whole and unchanged.
You can say that you have not received great revelations before the Lord. But you cannot say that for all these years you have not received the discipline of the Holy Spirit. The goal of the discipline of the Holy Spirit is for you to be a broken man. One day, when you receive God's mercy, you will be able to say that at last you understand what it is to be a broken man. By that time, you will realize how easy it is for your spirit to be released. In order for the inward man to be released, there is the need for severe dealings from the Lord. Those who have never been dealt with cannot afford the Lord a way to go on.
Every spiritual thing is received by men who are balanced and who are just right in everything. We can neither be too much nor too little. Those who are over-zealous in their pursuit will not receive anything. Neither will those who are lazy receive anything. When we ask, we have to ask in a proper measure; we cannot ask for nothing, and we cannot ask for too much. Sometimes when we ask more, it will be too much, and when we ask less, it will be too little. We need God's mercy. Spiritual growth does not depend on a person's running. But then, those who do not run will not receive anything either. If God grants you mercy, you will run according to just the right measure. For this reason, everyone has to commit himself to the God of all mercies (Rom. 9:16). If we do this, we will become just right in everything.
Today we can only say that we are those who have experienced God's mercy. Spiritual growth is something that is totally beyond man's power to control. God has to put us in a place of total inability and total helplessness before He can have a way in us. If the Lord is merciful to us, we will get through. If the Lord is not merciful to us, we can do nothing. Many people receive frequent chastisements, yet their outward man is not broken at all. In order to become a minister, the only way is for us to look to God's mercy. No one can be in haste in this matter.
Yu Cheng-hwa: Can we say that the content of the ministry is our knowledge of life?
Watchman Nee: We know the Lord by learning the lessons through His dealings and smitings. When our outward man is broken, we will begin to know the Lord. A man knows the Lord through the process of being smitten. When we are smitten by the Lord day by day, our knowledge of the Lord will increase day by day, and we will see how His life replaces our life. This is not an increase in life, but an increase in knowledge. We have this life already. But through the Lord's dealings, we will gain a deeper knowledge of this life.
The life that all the believers receive is a rich life. Yet we do not realize how rich this life is. It is only when our outward shell is broken that we realize how rich the Lord's life is and how it can achieve things that we cannot achieve.
During the war in Europe, one man was hit by forty-seven bullets, yet he still lived. A man's body can take in as many as forty-seven bullets and yet still live. Some people are very healthy, and their bodies have never been cut once. These people have not yet found out the amount of abuse the body can endure. The riches of the Lord's life are beyond any of our imaginations. Hence, no one should feel sad about the trials that come upon him. Trials are there not only to test a man's faith; the purpose of these trials is for the Lord's life to be expressed. God measures to us all kinds of circumstances and environments in order that we would receive the benefit of knowing Him. Only those who have passed through the dealings will know God, and only those who know God will be able to serve Him.
Today our outward man has to be broken before the inward man can be built up. We have to consecrate ourselves in a desperate way to the Lord before He will bring us through. If we do not put ourselves in His hand in a desperate way, the Lord will do nothing. There was once a sister who had an argument with her family, and she threatened to kill herself. She told everyone that she was going to jump into the river. The family followed her to the edge of the water. But when they saw her carefully holding up her skirts, they realized that she was not going to kill herself. Today, unless we are reckless in giving up everything, we will not have a way to go on. If a man worries about this and that, if he always makes sure that he is not too much, and if he is always careful and afraid, he will not be able to go on. A man has to learn to pay the price in a desperate way. If we want to be a Christian, we have to be one in a desperate and thorough way. Today is the end time. We need desperate people. Otherwise, there will be no spiritual future for us. It is difficult for those who go halfway and then are reluctant and unwilling at heart to go on. Among us, we need to have some desperate ones to rise up. Only then will the Lord have a way.
