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Date:Friday morning, May 28, 1948Place:Customs Lane, Foochow
Before we come to the fourth result of the breaking of the outer man, we should first ask ourselves why the outer man has to be broken before the inner man can be released. We all know that there is a limit to man's physical strength. For example, a man may be able only to lift thirty pounds. Suppose he is walking down a road with thirty pounds of goods on his shoulder, and he sees a little beautiful table that weighs ten pounds. Do you think he can pick up the table and carry it home? Of course not, he is limited to thirty pounds. He cannot add another ten pounds. The only thing he can do is stare at the table and leave it where it is. The thirty pounds define his responsibility and measure; they are his necessary restraint. There is a limitation to his physical strength; he cannot add another ten pounds. In the same way, there is a limit to the capacity of our outer man, our thoughts, our intelligence, our opinion, and our sentiments. There is a limit to the capacity of our soul.
Many people realize that there is a limit to their physical strength, but they do not realize that there is a limit to the power of their outer man as well. For example, there is a limit to human affection. Even a man who is rich in emotion cannot exercise an unlimited amount of love. If he devotes all of his love to his family, he does not have much strength to love others. Even a heavyweight champion cannot do everything. A girl can love her friends at school, but the presence of this love may mean that she cannot spare any more of her love to her mother at home. There is a limit to love. A man cannot love everyone. In the same principle, there is a limit to our thoughts. Those who are too busy with their own thoughts do not have any available strength to give thought to their inner man when the spirit needs release. At such times, the thoughts actually become a hindrance to the release of the spirit. Some people are strong in their will. They are never short of suggestions, and they are more than willing to be a counselor to others. We may think that these ones are unlimited in their energy. However, many so-called strong ones find their will wavering when they are confronted by God to make a decision. They do not know how to make decisions with regard to things related to God. Their will power has been exhausted on other things, and their will wavers like a flag fluttering in the wind. Man's will is limited in its capacity.
We must see that the power of the outer man, that is, the power of the soul, like the power of the physical body, is limited in its capacity. This is the reason the outer man has to be broken. The soul has to be dealt with so that it does not act independently from the spirit. We must not allow the outer man to exhaust its energy, or the spirit cannot use it. Our mind, emotion, and will should be tempered so that they may be under the direction of our spirit.
The breaking of the outer man involves the dealing with the mind, emotion, and will of the outer man. Those who are influenced by their emotion and who are very emotional are limited in the amount of love they can give. When they love a person, they are attached to him like a bee to honey. When they hate a person, they treat him like an enemy. This emotional proclivity must be seriously dealt with and broken before God can use their outer man. If a man's emotion is dealt with and his love is "broken," God will use him to love all kinds of people. Being broken in one's emotion does not mean that a person has lost his ability to love. It means that he has lost his inclination and choice in the way he exercises his love. Now a person can love all men and all saints. The Lord has to remove our emotional proclivities from their very roots so that our emotion can become useful to God and no longer be focused on the self. If a man loves his wife and children with all his heart and mind, he is so busy with this love that he has no more strength to love others. He is not able to love the church or the brothers and sisters. The Lord must deal with his emotion by applying the Spirit's discipline through the environment or by rebuking him through the ministry of the word. In this way his outer man is broken and his inner man is free to love all men. Our inner man is not free because our outer man is too strong and busy. When the outer man is busy with its own affairs, the spirit cannot be released. The inner man wants to love, but the outer man may have used up all of its love.
Many people like to indulge themselves in their own whimsical thoughts. From morning until night they are lost in wild imaginations. Their mind is like a machine that is on all day long; it is always busy. They exhaust all of their mental energy on their thoughts. When the spirit calls for the mind to help, there is no strength left in the mind. The spirit wants to flow out, but the mind cannot provide a channel for its release. This means that the mind has formed a strong blockage. The sharper a man's mind is, the duller he can be to spiritual things. A smart person needs God's mercy to control his thoughts. When the spirit within has something to say, our mind should be able to convey this word to others. We must control our mind. If our mind spins around all day long, it will not be able to meet the spirit's demand. The brothers from northern Kiangsu are very smart; they are rich in thought and knowledge. However, they have not acquired much reality in spiritual things. Many people are needlessly grieving for the Spirit. However, the Bible only says that we should not grieve the Spirit. These ones do not have to think so much; they do not have to be anxious for so many things. When the spirit wants to be released, it needs the support of the mind. The inner man is expressed through the outer man. The busier a man's mind is, the less his spirit can be expressed. The mind of one who is broken in the outer man can respond to the words and directions of the spirit. If a man's mind is always occupied with his own things, his inner man will be bound. The inner man cannot survive alone or move independently.
Some people like to be others' counselors. They even like to be God's counselors. They like to make proposals, suggestions, and arrangements, and they like to give directions. If they use up their entire will on these things, they are powerless to serve God when their will is called upon by God to obey Him. A person with a pliable will before God is very decisive when it comes to making a stand for God. Throughout history we can see some of the most pliable persons making some of the toughest decisions. Those who have been touched by God in their will do not like to make their own proposals. The will does not become stronger through repeated use. If we wear it out, it will not serve us when we have to make necessary decisions before God. A strong-willed person often crumples to the floor as soon as he faces opposition. His will is strong in things related to the self, but he falls as soon as he faces some tests from God. Peter was a strong-willed person before he experienced the Lord's dealing. His toughness was undealt with; it was a toughness within himself. This toughness led to his denial of the Lord three times. It is difficult for the Lord to teach those whose natural will is strong. When Peter was threatened by death, he ran away. His toughness was raw. He needed the Lord to deal with him thoroughly and to break his natural toughness into pieces. This was the only way his will could be used by his spirit. Many martyrs were strong in their will because they were dealt with by the Lord. Their will was both pliable and strong.
What conditions do we find after the outer man is broken? First, a man who is broken is a right person; he becomes proper in the eyes of God. What then is a revival? A revival is the result of men being broken before God. When men are broken, they are revived. Where there is breaking, there is revival. A broken man can bring revival wherever he goes. This revival does not come through prayer. (I am not by any means despising revivals that come through prayer.) Some people think that prayer changes the mind of an unwilling and reluctant God and forces Him to bless us. However, God is the God of all blessings. Even though He is very eager to bless us, He often does not find the right persons to bless; He does not find the proper channel. This is the reason He wants us to pray. We do not pray to make God willing. Rather, we pray to make ourselves right. We do not struggle to make God willing. Rather, we give ourselves to His breaking so that we become right persons before God. Then God will have a way through us. If the outer man is not broken, the spirit will not be released with power.
God makes His advance through a broken man. As soon as a man is broken, the distance between his spirit and other men is shortened; he becomes approachable to others. His spirit is free to move anytime. He does not have to go around in circles trying to say what he wants to say. His outer shell is broken, and the separation between him and others is gone. Others can draw near to him easily, and he will know men easily. He becomes very approachable and very ready to render help to others.
A person can take control of his own spirit if his outer man is broken. He can use his spirit anytime. Even when power is released from his spirit, he will still be in control. We have to be willing to fall before God and to accept His breaking. Then we will be able to take control of our spirit, and we will bring blessing to every meeting. Whether or not a meeting will receive blessing depends on us; we can control the amount of blessing a meeting receives. Once we are dealt with by the Lord, we can control our spirit. When we push out our spirit, it will be released, and we will bring blessing to the meeting. Once we can exercise our inner man at will, our spirit will not be affected by our outer man. We will be able to control our spirit. We will become God's minister, and we will be free to dispense blessing to a meeting or withhold blessing from it. The power to control one's spirit rests with the minister.
The fourth benefit from the breaking of the outer man is that it becomes easy for others' spirit to come into us. In other words it becomes easy for one to receive help from others. The breaking of the outer man is very much related to the way we live. When the outer man is dealt with, we can respond to the slightest movement in others' spirit. It becomes easy for us to receive supply from others, and it becomes easy for others' spirit to get into us. Even the slightest move of the spirit of a very simple Christian will render supply to us. The spirit of others' will become a supply to us. If the Spirit of God is moving, yet we do not touch Him even though we are in the midst of this moving, it proves that we are living in the outer man. For example, we may walk into a denomination, and we may find many things which we can criticize. However, there should always be something of the Spirit from which we can receive supply. If we find it hard to receive help from anyone, it proves that our outer man is not broken. Our spirit cannot go out to others, and others' spirit cannot come into us. A person whose outer man is dealt with can receive help very easily from others. A sister once said that she does not take in others' words easily. A brother once said that he was never easily moved by anyone. Another brother said that he never shed any tears. We surely can say that these ones have a very hard outer man. They have to be put to death, and their hard shells have to be cracked. The shell of the grain in John 12 is very hard; it has to fall into the ground and be softened and cracked by moisture and pressure before the germ within will spring forth. When a man's outer shell is broken, he will find it easy to listen to others and to be touched by others. He will not only find it easy to release his spirit and touch others, but he will notice his own mistakes, repent, and confess his mistakes easily. He will be able to afford a free and generous course for others' spirits to come into him and his own spirit to flow out to others.
There was a brother who had a certain weakness all the time. It was a typical weakness found among brothers. The responsible brothers spoke to him more than once and reminded him of his weakness. However, it was a tough spot in him, and exhortation did not help him. What should we do with such a brother? We have to muster up enough indignation within before we can deal with him. Before we can deal with our brother's problem, the burden and pressure within us must build up, and the indignation must grow. When this burden finally reaches a certain critical point, we will pour out our indignation on the brother. Even though he may have built up a hard shell around himself, our word will break him like a hammer. It will not brush him superficially like a little broom. In this way he will get some help from our word.
When a person's outer man is broken, others' spirits find it easy to touch him. It is hard to give some people a word of advice. We can say all we want, but their nodding does not mean anything. A broken man, however, is ready to repent. It is easy for him to confess his wrong and to yield to others. If a man is not broken, even his outward meekness will not do him any good. Sooner or later he will be stirred up, and he will create greater havoc. Many people are hard, intransigent, and stubborn because they have never given up their self, their face, and their pride. They want to preserve their own pride and face. A broken man, however, is different. It is easy for him to give in and to confess his mistakes. It is hard to touch the hearts of some people. It seems that they have to be hit with a hammer before their hearts can be touched. It is hard to deal with such ones, and it is hard for them to receive help from others. It is hard to get through in those whose outer man is not broken. Those whose spirit is so unapproachable are always a problem to the other brothers and sisters.
I will use Brother Sun Feng-lu as an example. He was a magistrate, a job which requires the shrewdness of a politician. Before he was saved, his spirit was closed. Other people would never speak an honest word to him out of fear of being incriminated. Everyone acted diplomatically around him. After he believed in the Lord, the church would have suffered great confusion if he had continued in his politics and maneuvering. He would, of course, have been wrong, but we would have been wrong as well. In such a case, the church would no longer have been the church, but a worldly society. In the church we are all open to one another. We accept the breaking and do not want to save our face. This makes it easier for us to speak to one another, and it brings in more genuineness. Others are able to speak an honest word to us when we are wrong. By nature Brother Sun does not take others' words easily. But if his outer man and inner man are separated, many problems will go away. If we are afraid of offending this brother or that sister, we will not dare say anything, and the church will become a social organization, a community of politicians and diplomats. Our outer man must be broken. This is how we can speak the truth to one another and how we can mutually edify and perfect one another.
The breaking of our outer man is through the discipline of the Holy Spirit. God does not intend to just break our outer man, but to separate it from the inner man. On the one hand, God wants to break our outer man. On the other hand, the outer man must not become a hindrance to the inner man. This is the reason God has to divide our soul from our spirit. Concerning this, we have to read Hebrews 4:12-13. These two verses show us that the soul and the spirit can be divided. The inner man and the outer man can be divided from each other. This division is done by the word of God, and this division is like the separation of the joints from the marrow. God's word divides the soul from the spirit, and it is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It is living and operative, and it is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit. The innermost parts of man's body are the joints and marrow. The two-edged sword is so sharp that it is able even to divide these two things and to expose them to the eyes. The same can be said of the word with regard to its function in dividing the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The function of God's word is to divide the thoughts and intentions of the heart. This means that we are made as naked and bare before our own eyes as we are before God's eyes. There is no creature that is not manifest before Him. All things are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the One who created them. When God divides our soul from our spirit, we will see ourselves as God sees us.
God deals with us in two ways. On the one hand, the outer man has to be broken. This is done mainly through the discipline of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, the outer man, the soul, and the inner man, the spirit, must be separated from each other. This is mainly done through the light of revelation from God's word. We should study how this process is realized in our experience. The division of the soul from the spirit is not accomplished through one particular act of God. When God gives us light, we see what is of the spirit and what is of the soul. We have to realize that darkness is the reason for them being mixed up. Without darkness, there could not be a mixture. The spirit and soul are mixed up because of man's ignorance, blindness, and darkness. When we are in darkness, we do not know what the spirit is and what the soul is. We do not know what the outer man is and what the inner man is. When a man is in darkness, he feels that everything is good and fine. Many people think that they are Christians already, that they obey God, enjoy His blessings, receive answers to their prayers, and turn men to the Lord through their testimonies. As they consider themselves in this way, they may say that the heart is wicked, but they do not actually know how wicked the heart is. They may say that they are corrupted, but they do not know how corrupted they are. Even while they are saying these things, they are appreciating themselves. They think that they cannot be all that bad since they are a recipient of God's blessings. These ones are void of light within. They do not know what things are done by the spirit and what things are done by the soul. They do not realize that their soul is mixed up with their spirit.
In order for these ones to be delivered, they have to see God's word. One day — and we do not know when that day will be, but sooner or later — God's word will come, and it will come with light. When God's light comes with the word, it manifests the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Prior to this, a person may think that his inward motives, thoughts, and everything else are for the Lord and that he is a totally consecrated person. However, when he steps into God's light and he is enlightened, he will realize the wickedness that lies within him. He will realize how much his thoughts and motives are for himself, how much his work is according to the flesh and the soul, and how much he seeks for man's glory. His many thoughts and hopes are set on position, fame, and gain. When a man lives in darkness, he has many problems, and he does not know the thoughts and motives of his heart. When light comes, he will realize that nothing is as he thought. He will abhor the many base thoughts in his mind, and he will realize that he is a totally self-centered person. He will feel ashamed. This is not a miraculous act of God. God merely shines His light on him and shows him his true condition. Nevertheless, the light is so strong that his true condition will be fully exposed and unveiled. He will repent and groan, and he will fall down like a lame man helplessly before God. This repentance and remorse will result in the breaking of the outer man.
When God's word comes, His light also comes. It comes as a sword. The word does not ask anything about our work or occupation. When it comes, God exposes our intentions. His light exposes our thoughts and intentions. We will no longer be able to justify ourselves or go on in the same way. Under the light we will see that our virtues are sin, our zeal is carnality, and our service to God is nothing but the flesh. Formerly, we had one kind of evaluation. Now we have a different kind of evaluation. Through this fundamental and intense revelation of our soul, the spirit and the soul are divided and the thoughts and intentions of the heart are discerned. If our soul is not divided from our spirit, we cannot work by the spirit; we can only work by the soul. God wants us to know how strong our soul is and how weak our spirit is. Once we see this, we will identify many areas as being soulish; they belong to the outer man. Our inner man will be enlightened through this seeing. This revelation will separate the inner man from the outer man. Our soul will be paralyzed; it will deflate like a punctured tire. This is the separation of the soul from the spirit.
Verse 13 of Hebrews 4 is equally as important as verse 12. These two verses are linked together. What is the standard by which God enlightens us, exposes us, and discerns the thoughts and intentions of our heart? What kind of revelation can be considered true revelation? Verse 13 says that we are naked and laid bare before God. We are fully exposed before Him; there is nothing we can hide. Any kind of covering merely veils our eyes; it does not cover the Lord's eyes. If God is merciful to us, we will be exposed and laid bare. We will know ourselves as God knows us. This is God's way of salvation. God wants us to know ourselves as He knows us. His salvation is not to crucify us on the cross again. The Lord has accomplished everything on the cross already. He has crucified us on the cross already. What we need from God is light to see our true condition. This is revelation. The light of this revelation will kill our outer man. This is how the outer man is separated from the inner man.
I have been saying this for many years. Although we have failed, I will still repeat the same thing today. One day God will shine a great light on us, and we will see. Just a small glimpse will precipitate the division of our soul from our spirit. The work of dividing the soul from the spirit does not occur in the spirit, but in the soul. God first points out our soul to us, and then we find out how much spirit we have. Once everything is laid bare before God's eyes and we see it as God sees it, our soul will not be able to stand up again. It will lose its steam. This seeing will move the soul away from the spirit. When the spirit and the soul are divided from each other, we will have a way to go on. This is a very solemn thing. The division of the soul and spirit is not a debate involving the parts of man, but a matter of light. God's word is sharper than a sword; it is an exposing and stripping word. Once this word shines, our soul is divided from our spirit. The dividing of the spirit from the soul brings us the knowledge of what is included in the soul; it does not bring us the knowledge of what is included in the spirit. Light has to come before we realize what is of the soul and how much our righteousness, goodness, zeal, and consecration are of ourselves. We can know how to go on only to the extent that we have been enlightened. We have to fall flat on our face and acknowledge, "I need the cleansing of the Lord's blood even for my tears of repentance. May the Lord grant me more light."
We do not know how this light comes to us. It can come to us through our conversation with the brothers, through a frank word from the ministry of the word, through the many trials that arise in our circumstances, or through the burden of many things upon our shoulder. We do not know how light comes, but we know that it has to come. If it does not come, there is no way for the soul and the spirit to be divided. We have to deal with this matter in a fundamental way. Unless we deal with it, what is the use of more theology or knowledge? If God grants us mercy and shows us light, we will see our true condition. Once light comes, we will not have to try to humble ourselves, love the brothers, or act humble. Spontaneously we will be humble. Spontaneously we will love the brothers and become humble. This is where the crux of our problem lies. Once the outer man and the inner man are separated, many problems will be solved spontaneously.
There are several results from the division of the inner man from the outer man. First, we will enjoy spontaneous fellowship with God. This fellowship will not need to be deliberate. Second, we will spontaneously know other men. Third, our spirit will be released in the course of our work. The power of the Holy Spirit will also be released. When others touch us, they will touch the spirit. Fourth, we will receive supply from many directions. The whole church will become our supply. What a rich life we will experience if we open up our entire spirit to the Lord!
When the outer man is broken, we will see the Body of Christ and the riches of this Body. As our outer man is broken, both we and the church are enriched. Today the brothers and sisters are starving to death because only one pair of hands is able to feed them; they are able only to listen to one man's speaking. They cannot receive supply from many people. We are poor today because we are not able to receive many things from others' spirit. When our outer man is broken, we may not be able to render help to others immediately, but at least we will be revived and begin to find supply from others. How much supply can a broken man draw from others! The whole church will become his supply. If the outer man is not broken, he will still act like an infant, and he will only recognize his own nurse. If there is not a supply from many sources, we will end up in poverty. This poverty is indeed unnecessary. May the Lord have mercy on us and grant us light to divide our soul from our spirit so that our outer man will be broken.
Prayer: Lord, we consecrate ourselves to You once again. You are the faithful and trustworthy Lord. It is better and safer for us to fall into Your hand than to remain within ourselves. You can arrange everything for our good. We do not wish to be those who are waiting for the light, but those who are open to the light. We are not here to wait for things to happen to us. Rather, we accept Your hand and acknowledge Your grace. Divide our spirit from our soul and break our outer man today.
