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When God created man in the beginning, He saw that man was good (Gen. 1:31). This means that in God’s eyes, the created human life is good. Before a person is saved, he has this created goodness, and all his senses derive from this goodness. However, this created goodness was corrupted and defiled because of man’s fall. Consequently, the most that this defiled and damaged goodness can provide is a consciousness of good in the conscience. However, a saved person, a normal Christian, in contrast to an unbeliever, has an additional sense — the divine sense of God’s life.
Man’s inner sense is used by God to limit, restrict, and restrain man. A person sins because he suppresses his inner sense (Rom. 1:21). When a person suppresses this inner sense, he is capable of committing many sins (vv. 28-31). It is not the policeman who restrains and limits us but rather our inner sense. The first thing that checks and limits our behavior is our inner sense.
Some may ask, “Who has a stronger inner sense, a good person or an evil person?” The better a person is, the stronger his inner sense will be, and the more evil a person is, the weaker his inner sense will be. This is because a person must constantly suppress his inner sense in order to do evil things; thus, his inner sense becomes weaker and weaker. We may also ask if this applies to believers and unbelievers. Christians have a stronger inner sense because the uncreated, divine life of God is in us. This life gives us a sense that is much stronger than the sense that is derived only from our created goodness, which is all that an unbeliever can sense.
Thus, it is easier for an unbeliever to commit sin than it is for a believer, because within a believer there is a strong sense to resist sin. This sense is the sense from God’s life. An unbeliever has a sense of conscience, which is the sense of our created goodness; in contrast, a believer not only has a sense of conscience but also a sense of God’s life, which causes him to have a stronger inner sense than an unbeliever. Therefore, an unbeliever merely needs to overcome this weaker inner sense of conscience in order to sin; in contrast, a Christian must exert considerable effort to resist and suppress the strong inner sense that comes from God.
God has put a sense within man to serve as a “brake.” When we are driving a car, we step on the brakes to prevent an accident. The most important part of a car is the brakes; they must be sturdy and effective. The brakes of a good car will bring a car to an immediate stop in an emergency. Even if a car is traveling at a high speed, as soon as a driver steps on the brakes, the car will quickly come to a halt. In order to prevent a car from getting into danger or deviating from the road, a car must have good brakes. Our inner sense is the “brake” of our whole being.
The created inner sense, the “brake,” within an unbeliever is weaker in comparison to the sense of God’s life. However, with the damage caused by Satan, the defilement of sin, and the corruption of the world, this “brake” has been greatly weakened and is even less effective. Hence, it is easier for an unbeliever to get into trouble, commit sin, and do evil. With only a little resistance, this inner sense can be annulled and overthrown. The inner sense of life within Christians, however, is strong, or we may say, our “brake” is powerful. Consequently, a great amount of effort is required to resist it. After an unbeliever commits a sin, the inner feeling of condemnation can be light; however, after a Christian commits a sin, the inner feeling of condemnation is strong. Hence, all God’s children should learn to take heed to the inner sense.
Man’s inner sense of life is indeed a great thing; the stronger the inner sense of life, the more operative it will be. If we do not know how to use the “brake,” that is, how to exercise and care for the inner sense of life, we will be like a driver who does not know how to use his brakes, which is extremely dangerous. The safety of a motorcycle or a car depends on whether a driver uses his brakes in an appropriate manner. If a person does not know how to use the brakes properly, it is certain that he will eventually have an accident. Similarly, if we do not take care of and follow the inner sense, it is possible for us to do all kinds of bad things. Therefore, we should never disregard the inner sense of life.
With regard to the fellowship of life, this fellowship is derived from life; it issues from the life of God. In other words, the source of this fellowship of life is the life of God. First John 1:2 says, “We...report to you the eternal life.” Generally, people use the term preaching, but the apostle John said that he was reporting life. He reported the eternal life to us. Instead of preaching, he reported life to us. When we receive the life he reported, we also receive the fellowship of this life into us. On one hand, this fellowship is with “us,” referring to the apostles, and on the other hand, it is with “the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (v. 3).
The life of God depends on the Holy Spirit, and it is through the Holy Spirit that this life enters and lives in us. Even though the fellowship of God’s life is derived from the life of God, it comes by means of the Holy Spirit. Hence, the Bible also calls this fellowship the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). This shows clearly that the Holy Spirit causes us to experience the life of God. On one hand, the life of God enters into us through the Holy Spirit; on the other hand, the Holy Spirit causes us to experience the life of God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit causes us to have fellowship in the life of God. All our fellowship of life is in the Holy Spirit and by the Holy Spirit.
Philippians 2:1 says, “If there be...any fellowship of the Spirit” (KJV). This means that the Spirit of God moves, requires, and urges us within, causing us to have the fellowship that comes from the life of God. Therefore, if we desire to have the fellowship of life, we must not only have the life of God but also live in the Spirit. The life of God is the source of the fellowship of life, and the Spirit is the means of the fellowship of life. Although the life of God gives us the fellowship of life, it is the Spirit who causes us to practically enjoy this fellowship of life. Only when we are living and walking in the Spirit by setting our mind on the Spirit can we enjoy the fellowship of the life of God in a practical way.
Now we need to consider the function of the fellowship of life and the function of the sense of life. How are these two functions related to each other? The sense of life is the proof of whether we are living in God. The fellowship of life is a supply; that is, it inwardly supplies us with all the riches of God’s life. The fellowship of life supplies us with all that God is, but we know whether we are in this fellowship by the sense of life. Whenever we sense death or feel weak, depressed, empty, dark, and in pain, we should realize that we have been cut off from the fellowship of the life of God. However, when we sense life, that is, when we feel strong, lively, bright, comfortable, and satisfied, we should realize that we are living in the fellowship of the life of God.
How can we practice this fellowship of life? Since life is in the Spirit, we need to know how to touch the Spirit in order to practice the fellowship of life. If we do not know how to touch the Spirit, we will not be able to touch the fellowship of life that is in the Spirit. Therefore, in order to practice the fellowship of life, we should practice to touch the Spirit in us. Nevertheless, in order to touch the Spirit in us, we must first touch the inner sense of life.
Twenty years ago we spoke much concerning the Spirit. Many brothers and sisters among us had experiences of the Holy Spirit at that time, but we were not clear about how to touch the Spirit continually. We spoke about following the Holy Spirit, yet we could not see Him or grasp Him like a material object. So we began to pay attention to learning how to follow the Spirit in a detailed way. After many years of seeking and studying, we eventually realized that the most important manifestation of the Spirit in us is the inner sense. Hence, to follow the Spirit is to follow the inner sense; to touch the Spirit is to touch the inner sense. If we do not know how to touch the inner sense, we will not be able to know the Spirit.
For example, a bottle of refined salt and a bottle of refined sugar look exactly the same, and the contents even feel the same. Unless we taste and sense them, we will not know which one is sweet and which one is salty. Because sugar and salt are physical things, we can see them. However, the taste of salt and the taste of sugar are invisible to us; we can only discern them by exercising our sense of taste. Thus, sense is a very important matter. Not only is our spiritual sense important, but even our physical sense is important. If our physical sense is annulled, we will be finished. This is not a matter of seeing but of sensing. If we put a glass of warm water next to a glass of cold water, how can we tell which one is warm and which one is cold? If we drink the water, immediately we will sense whether the water in the glass is warm or cold. The temperature of the water cannot be discerned by sight but by sensation.
A person’s growth in life depends on how he deals with the inner sense. If a person’s living is a mess, it shows that he is a person who disregards the inner sense. The stronger a person’s life is, the more normal his living will be, because he cares about the inner sense. Others may speak casually and frivolously, but he is dignified and steady; others may dress sloppily, but he is neat and clean. The stronger a person’s life is, the more he will live according to the inner sense, and the more normal his living will be. Similarly, with a spiritual person, the stronger the divine life is within him, the keener his sense of life will be and the more normal his spiritual living will be, because he lives absolutely according to that sense.
Man’s physical body, which can be seen and touched, is the means of his physical life. However, spiritual life does not have any means or forms; it depends entirely upon an inner spiritual sense. Thus, the fellowship of life requires us to touch the Spirit, but in order to touch the Spirit, we must touch the inner sense. The inner sense of being strong, satisfied, lively, fitting, at ease, and comfortable are positive feelings. These feelings indicate that we have touched the Spirit. There are feelings, however, that indicate that we have not touched the Spirit. When we sense death, that is, when we sense negative feelings in us, such as weakness, darkness, emptiness, depression, and pain, we should realize that we are not in the Spirit and not in the fellowship.
Fellowship is in life, and life is in the Spirit. For us to have the fellowship of life, we must touch the Spirit, and for us to touch the Spirit, we must touch the inner sense. Life is in the Spirit, and this Spirit is the Spirit of God, who is in our spirit. When we speak concerning touching the Spirit, the Spirit we are speaking of is the Spirit of God mingled with our spirit as one spirit. In other words, the Spirit of God is within our human spirit. The Spirit of God is mingled with our human spirit. In this mingled spirit there is the life of God, and with this life there is fellowship.
Today the Spirit of God is in our spirit. These two spirits are mingled together to be one spirit, and they are inseparable. As long as we touch this mingled spirit, we will be able to touch all spiritual feelings. Originally, the Spirit of God was outside us; He was untouchable and hard to locate. Now, however, the Spirit of God has entered into our spirit, and we can definitely say that the Spirit is in our spirit. We do not need to go up to heaven or down to Hades to look for Him; we simply need to turn to the deepest part of our being, our spirit, and we will be able to touch Him.
As we learn to touch the Spirit in fellowship, we must realize that the one thing that can distract our spirit, or we may say, that can distract us from touching the Spirit, is our soul. Our soul is a distraction, a powerful distraction, that hinders us from touching the Spirit. We all know that our soul consists of three parts — mind, emotion, and will. Whenever our mind moves, our soul moves; whenever our will moves, our soul also moves. The soul is a distraction to the spirit; hence, to touch the spirit, we must be delivered from the soul and reject the soul. Because our soul is composed of the mind, emotion, and will, to reject the soul is to reject the distractions from our mind, emotion, and will. If we do not learn how to reject the distractions that come from our mind, emotion, and will, we will not be able to touch the sense of the Spirit. This requires exercise.
For example, while we are praying on our knees in the morning, many thoughts often arise in our mind: one moment we may be thinking about America, and the next moment we are thinking about Africa. Our thoughts simply wander all over the place. Such thoughts are very distracting to our prayers, and we know that we need to reject them. However, there are other thoughts that are counterfeit thoughts. These thoughts are difficult to perceive and difficult to recognize as being in need of rejection — they are the thoughts and suggestions from Satan concerning how we should pray. For example, one moment he may remind us of the needs of the church in another locality, then he will remind us of the spreading of the work, and at still another moment he will remind us of certain saints who are ill, weak, or backslidden. Satan can give many seemingly good and spiritual thoughts while we are praying in order to make us think that these matters are very important. He does not distract us with thoughts of America and Africa; rather, he reminds us of the needs of the churches, the problems concerning our work, and the conditions of the saints, all of which are spiritual and reasonable matters. As a result, we pray according to these thoughts.
Once we pray according to these thoughts, we are no longer in the Spirit because these thoughts belong to the soul, which distract us from the Spirit and cause us to lose the fellowship. Whenever we get out of the Spirit, the fellowship will be cut off, because for us to touch the fellowship, we must touch the Spirit. Therefore, even when seemingly good suggestions and thoughts come up, we need to be careful about praying according to those thoughts because this can interrupt the fellowship between us and the Spirit, causing us to lose the fellowship. Some brothers and sisters may ask what to do when such thoughts arise. At these times we should learn to touch the sense of the Spirit in us, follow the Spirit, and pray according to the sense of the Spirit. We should not pray according to our thoughts; instead, we should pray according to the sense of the Spirit.
We should pray according to the sense of the Spirit rather than our thoughts, because the moment we pray according to our thoughts, we leave the fellowship. How do we know that we have left the fellowship? When we pray according to our thoughts, even if we are praying for good and godly things, we will feel weak, depressed, dark, empty, and in pain. When we pray for the church and the work according to our thoughts, we will feel empty and weak; the more we pray, the lower we will sink, and the darker and more uneasy we will feel. All the feelings of death that we have while watching a movie can be present even in our prayers. This shows that if our prayers do not originate from the Spirit and are not in the Spirit, they will cause us to depart from the fellowship and be cut off from the fellowship.
Since fellowship is so important, what is the function of fellowship? The function of fellowship is to supply us with God’s life. If we live in the fellowship, there will be a continual supply of God’s life within us. The more we pray, the more we will be strengthened. The more we pray, the more we will be satisfied. The more we pray, the more we will rejoice. The more we pray, the more we will be enlightened. And the more we pray, the more we will be refreshed and soothed. This proves that we are praying in fellowship because fellowship brings in the supply of life, and life brings a sense of strength, satisfaction, joy, enlightenment, freshness, and ease. When we have these feelings within, we are praying in the Spirit, and we are in the fellowship because we have touched the Spirit.
When we practice to have fellowship, we need to practice to touch the inner sense, because it is the most accurate manifestation of the Spirit in us. The Spirit is where our life is, and life is the source of fellowship. In other words, fellowship is of life, and life is in the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God is in our spirit. In order to practice fellowship, we need to learn to touch the sense in the Spirit because the manifestation of the Spirit is in the inner sense. We must also learn to reject the soul because of its distractions. Every part of the soul — the mind, emotion, and will — is a distraction to the Spirit. Therefore, as we learn to touch the Spirit, we must reject the soul.
I hope that we will begin to exercise ourselves to pray, not from our mind, emotion, or will but rather from the sense of the Spirit. This exercise is even more difficult than reading spiritual publications. We can understand spiritual publications after reading them several times, but this exercise requires us to turn to our spirit day by day and moment by moment.
