A talk with co-workers (2)

  Date:February 5, 1950Place:Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong

One

  Doing things with all sincerity and honesty does not necessarily mean that this is obeying God's will, nor does this necessarily please the Lord. For example, a husband may want his wife to prepare a bowl of porridge for him. All he needs is a bowl of porridge, but his wife may prepare eggs with fried rice because she is worried that her husband does not have enough to eat. She has a good heart, but she is not acting according to her husband's will.

  The most sober thought that a Christian faces is that he can follow the Spirit, but he can also grieve the Spirit. If he is led by the Spirit, he will know God's will. The only reason that a Christian does not know God's will is that he is grieving the Spirit.

Two

  Selling one's all has to do with what we want to do; it has nothing to do with whether or not the Spirit is willing. In Acts 5 Peter told Ananias, "While it remained, was it not your own? And when it was sold, was it not under your authority?" (v. 4). This shows that selling one's all is entirely in one's own hand; it is not a demand of the church or of the Holy Spirit. Of course, the Holy Spirit moves in man, but the final decision is man's.

Three

  Different members of our body have different functions. Some act quickly; others act slowly. Some are manifest in their function; others are hidden in their function. Some members are outward; while others are inward. These different functions are adapted to different feelings and reactions. In order to touch God, to serve Him, and to understand His will, we have to exercise our hidden, spiritual organs.

  The purpose of handing ourselves over is to be dealt with in our very person; it is to make us sensitive in our spiritual feelings. The purpose of handing ourselves over is not to show others how absolute we are. The conscience is a spiritual organ; it is also the first function that manifests itself in our Christian service. Paul said that he served God in his spirit, that is, in a pure conscience (Rom. 1:9; 2 Tim. 1:3). The purpose of handing ourselves over is to have a pure conscience so that we can serve God in all sincerity.