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A soulish man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he is not able to know them because they are discerned spiritually. (1 Cor. 2:14)
Natural here is an important word in the Greek text, meaning “soulish”; therefore, the “natural man” really means the “soulish man.” The following verse in this passage of Scripture discloses another kind of man: “But the spiritual man discerns all things” (v. 15). The soulish man is seen in verse 14, and the spiritual man, in verse 15. These verses tell us very clearly that the soulish man cannot receive the spiritual things of God. Only the spiritual man can discern them.
Then said Jesus to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it. For what shall a man be profited if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul-life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul-life? (Matt. 16:24-26)
Three things are emphasized in verse 24: first, deny himself; next, take up his cross; and finally, follow Me. The Me is Christ in the Holy Spirit, who now indwells us. In verses 25 and 26 the Greek word for “soul-life” is the same one for “soul.” Hence, they may be rendered, “Whoever wants to save his soul shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul for My sake shall find it. For what shall a man be profited if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” We have to lose our soul. In other words, we must deny the self.
He said to them all, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake, this one shall save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9:23-25)
Here Luke adds a word that Matthew 16:24-26 does not give, the word daily — that is, one must “take up his cross daily.” These verses also say “forfeits himself” instead of “forfeits his soul-life.” This proves, therefore, that the soul, or soul-life, in Matthew is the same as the self in Luke.
Brothers, even if a man is overtaken in some offense, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of meekness. (Gal. 6:1)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (v. 18)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (Philem. 25)
In these verses it refers to the believers’ spirit; hence, this is the human spirit.
If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. (Rom. 8:10)
That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. (v. 4)
But I say, Walk by the Spirit and you shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these oppose each other that you would not do the things that you desire. (Gal. 5:16-17)
The King James Version capitalizes Spirit in these verses, but the reference is to the human spirit.
I wish to point out God’s economy and its mark again. We have seen clearly in the last few chapters that God’s economy is to dispense Himself into us. The way God dispenses Himself into us is by the Father being embodied in the Son and the Son being realized in the Spirit. In other words, the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Spirit. Not only is the person of the Son in the Holy Spirit but also the accomplished work of the Son. Therefore, the Holy Spirit includes God the Father, God the Son, the divine and human natures, the human life of Christ with the enduring power of earthly sufferings, the effectiveness of Christ’s death, the resurrection power, the ascension, and the enthronement. All these elements are combined together as an “all-inclusive dose” in the Holy Spirit. It is through this all-sufficient Holy Spirit that the fullness of the Triune God has been dispensed to us.
This all-inclusive Spirit is now in our human spirit. In the types of the tabernacle and the temple there are three parts: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. In this Old Testament figure the shekinah glory of God and the Ark are clearly shown to be in the Holy of Holies. Therefore, God’s presence and Christ are neither in the outer court nor in the Holy Place but in the Holy of Holies. The three parts of the temple correspond to the three parts of man — the body, the soul, and the spirit. The New Testament declares that we are the temple of God and that Christ is with our spirit. “The Lord be with your spirit” (2 Tim. 4:22). There are two verses proving that the Holy Spirit today is working with our spirit: “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:16); “he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17). The Lord Himself is the Spirit, each one of us has a spirit, and these two are mingled as one spirit. This proves that the Lord today dwells in our spirit. If we desire to enjoy Christ fully, we must know how to discern our spirit. For this very reason Hebrews 4:12 tells us that our spirit must be divided from our soul. Hebrews also tells us to enter the Holy of Holies, which is our human spirit. If Christ is to be enjoyed as our divine portion, we must know how to enter into this holiest place, our human spirit.
In the past centuries a number of books have been written about the book of Hebrews. We believe that the best was written by Andrew Murray, who entitled his book The Holiest of All. The title is correct, for Hebrews reveals how we may enter the Holiest of all, the human spirit, where Christ dwells. It is in the spirit that Christ is everything.
If we desire to partake of Christ, we need to locate Him. You may say that He is in heaven. Without a doubt, that is right, but if He is only in heaven, how could He be enjoyed here on earth? Praise the Lord, He is not only in heaven, but at the same time He is also within us. For example, the electricity in our home is the same electricity in the generator far away from our home. Romans 8:34 says that Christ is in heaven at the right hand of God, but the same chapter says that Christ is in us (v. 10). In just one chapter the same Christ in heaven is also in us. If He is only in heaven and not in us, how could we experience and enjoy Him? Praise the Lord, today Christ is not only in the heavens but also in our spirit!
Christ in our spirit is the mark of God’s economy. God’s economy is to dispense Himself into man as the all-inclusive Triune God, and the mark of His economy is the indwelling Christ within our spirit. Whenever we turn to our spirit, there we will meet Christ. For example, if electricity has been installed in my house and I wish to use it, what shall I do? The answer, of course, is simply to turn on the switch. Our switch is the human spirit. Many Christians can recite John 3:16, but they are ignorant of 2 Timothy 4:22, “the Lord be with your spirit,” which is just as important as John 3:16. God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son, and we have received Him (1:12). We have believed in Him and received Him, but where is He? Into what part of us has He come? For so many years we have had this treasure, but we were ignorant of the fact that He was within our spirit. But now, praise Him, we know. Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is within our spirit.
Although the Lord is in our spirit, our spirit is very much stuck to our soul. This is why the writer of Hebrews tells us that our spirit must be divided from our soul by the Word of God. Just as the marrow is encased within the bone and the bone must be broken before it can be seen, so our spirit, where Christ dwells, is so much sealed within the soul that our soul must be broken before it can be revealed. For this reason the Lord told us many times that we need to lose our soul and deny our self. In all four Gospels the Lord Jesus exhorted us to lose the soul, forfeit the soul, and deny the self. The soul must be denied because it has covered up the spirit. There is only one way to get to the marrow — by breaking and crushing the bones and the joints. The Lord is in our spirit, and His grace is in our spirit, but the way to Him is by crushing the soul day by day.
What is the soul? As we have already pointed out, the soul is simply the self. The self is the very center of the human being and is the human being, and it is the self which must be crossed out. We should not cross out others and put others on the cross, but we must put our own soul on the cross. If any man will follow Christ, he must deny his soulish life and take up his cross daily. Not just yesterday or just today, but day by day we have to apply the cross to the soul. With so many Christians there is nothing but their ego. From the first word to the last, it is always I...I...I. But the Christian life is “no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” How could it be “no longer I but Christ”? It is by having the “I” crucified. I have been put on the cross, and the cross is now on me. I have been crossed out, so there is no more I. Whenever I conversed as a young Christian, I was in the habit of using the word I. But, praise the Lord, in these days I dare not use the word I but always we. It is not only “I” but also many others — including Christ.
If any man would follow Christ, he has to do three things: deny the “I,” take up the cross daily, and follow Christ, who now is not only in heaven but in us. It is easy to follow Him when we first deny the self and apply the cross. To deny the soul means that we turn from ourselves to the spirit. Then in the spirit we will meet Christ. Why do the four Gospels tell us negatively to deny the soul, whereas later all the Epistles tell us positively to live and do things in the spirit? It is because today the Lord Jesus is in the spirit, and His grace is in the spirit. To follow Christ is a matter of dealing with the spirit, and this is the mark of God’s economy. We need to stress again this mark of God’s economy! We all must be clear that God’s eternal plan is to dispense Himself into our spirit. He has done this already, for He is now in our spirit to be our life and everything. All our needs are met in this wonderful Spirit who is in our spirit.
After we were saved, we were given too much religious teaching. We were taught many things: that God is the Creator, and we are the creatures; that we have to fear God, serve Him, and please Him; that we must try our best to do good; and that we have to do something to glorify His name. These were the kinds of teachings that we received. There is nothing wrong with these religious teachings; in a sense they are good. But they are not related to the mark of God’s economy.
Many of us have also received ethical teachings, such as, we have to be good, humble, patient, nice, and loving; we must not lose our temper, and we have to honor our parents; husbands must love their wives, and wives must submit to their husbands. These are the good, ethical teachings.
But, listen. This is what the Lord told us to do: Abide in Me and I in you. I am the vine; you are the branches. As the branches, you have to abide in Me. Forget about the religious and ethical teachings. Just remember one thing: you are a branch of Christ. Abide in Him, and let Him abide in you. But if we are going to abide in Christ, we must know where Christ is. If we are going to abide in a house, we must first know where the house is located. Can we abide in Christ by abiding in the mind or in the emotion? No, we can abide in Christ only by abiding in the spirit. The Lord Himself and His grace are in our spirit. Thus, in order to abide in Christ, we must discern our spirit. When we abide in Him in the spirit, He will have the opportunity to take possession of us. He will then have the ground to fill and occupy us. All His riches will be wrought out through our spirit, and we will bear fruit to glorify Him. This is not a religious or ethical teaching; this is life in Christ.
The purpose of this book is not to give teachings or cause us to be more religious and ethical. No! It is to help us realize God’s eternal purpose of dispensing Himself into us as our only portion, as our life and as our everything. Let us henceforth live by Him and enjoy Him as our all. Where is the key, that is, the mark? It is in our spirit. Such a wonderful, all-inclusive, unlimited God has limited Himself to dwell in our spirit. How small and how limited we are, yet God is within us, dwelling in our spirit. This is not a matter of teaching someone to be religious or ethical; it is the Triune God becoming everything to us in our spirit. Therefore, we must learn to discern our spirit, deny our soul all the time, and turn continually into our spirit. We must forget our surroundings and abide in Him and let Him abide in us. Then fruit will become the outworking of the inner life, which is Christ Himself in our spirit.
The religious way for us to be a Christian is to rise up early in the morning and pray, “Lord, I thank You for this new day. Help me today to do what is right and not to do anything wrong. Help me today to glorify Your name and do Your will. Lord, You know that my temper is not good. Help me not to lose my temper. Lord, how nice it is to be so patient and humble. O Lord, help me to be patient and humble.” Perhaps we did not pray exactly in this way, but in principle this is just the way that we have prayed. This is not a spiritual prayer but a religious, ethical prayer. You may ask me, “How, then, shall I pray in the morning?” I would suggest that you say, “Lord, I praise You. You are the wonderful One with the Father in the Spirit. How glorious it is that Your Spirit is in my spirit! Lord, I look to You, I behold You, and I worship You. I thank You and praise You. I fellowship with You.” Forget about being religious and doing good. For the whole day you will be in the heavenlies. There is no need for you to think, “Be careful, don’t rush, don’t lose your temper.” But just pray, “Lord, I do not know any temper, any humility, any patience, any this or that; I know only You, the glorious Christ, the all-inclusive Christ.” Fellowship with Him, praise Him, and sing Hallelujahs. Then you will see the victory. When you come to the church meeting in the evening, you will be in the heavenlies. It will be so easy for you to release your spirit and release the spirit of others. This is the mark of God’s economy.
Make it your responsibility not to miss the mark. Here is a map with clear instructions. There is no need for you to miss the way. Why stick to a “mule wagon” when today you have a “jet,” and not only a “jet” but a “rocket”? I wish to tell you where the “rocket” is — it is in your spirit. When you turn to the spirit, it is much more than being in a new Ford. It is like being in a jet. And sometimes, in the morning, it is just like a rocket. You feel as if you are in the third heaven, so transcendent. This is not a joke. A real Christian should have such wonderful experiences of Christ as these. When you cannot endure a difficult situation, and the suppression is beyond your strength, turn to your spirit and look unto Jesus. You will rise far above it, transcendent and victorious. Everything will be under your feet.
Many times I have been in trouble, not knowing what to do or what decision to make. The more I analyzed the situation, the more confused and complicated I became. Then I said, “Lord, let me forget all this. Let me come back to the spirit and look to You.” The enlightening when we do this is so glorious. The all-inclusive One is right here in our spirit. “Abide in Me and I in you” — this is the secret. When we discern the spirit, then we can abide in Him and find that He is the all-inclusive Triune God. He is the wonderful, all-inclusive, all-sufficient Spirit indwelling our spirit. Whenever we return to our spirit to contact Him, we are in the light, we are in the life, we are in the power, we are in the heavenlies, we are with the Triune God, and the Triune God is with us. How glorious! This is not just a teaching but a real testimony of what I enjoy and experience all the time. Learn to aim at the goal of God’s economy and never swerve away. Always keep to this mark to fellowship with Him, look to Him, and behold and reflect Him day by day by denying the soul and exercising the spirit.
