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Let us review what we received through regeneration.
First, we received the life of God through regeneration. This life includes God’s nature and resurrection power. Once we receive the life of God, we have the nature of God, which is related to God’s attributes, and the resurrection power of God, which is related to His actions. Therefore, those who have the life of God spontaneously can be what God is and do what God does. What God is and what He does come out of His life. Since this life is in us, it enables us to live out the image of God and to live out God.
Second, we received the law of life through regeneration. The law of life is the innate ability of life. Every kind of life has an innate ability, which is its natural capability. This innate ability or capability is manifested according to a natural law, the law of life. We need to remember these terms: innate ability, capability, and law. The innate ability of life, the natural capability of life, or we may say, the law of life, regulates us from within according to God.
Every living creature has a law within its life. The higher the life, the stronger are its law, its innate ability, and its natural capability. Because the life of God is the highest life, the innate ability and the natural law within God’s life are the strongest.
The way that a hen lives and lays eggs is not controlled by an outward law given by man but by the innate ability of its life, which is a natural law. The law of life within a hen enables it to live a hen’s life and lay eggs regularly. This is not only the case with animal life but also with plant life. For example, an apple tree will bear apples when it grows to a certain stage. This is not the result of outward regulations and demands but of an innate ability or capability of life, that is, its natural law.
Third, we received a new heart through regeneration. A new heart is related to both nature and innate ability. In regard to nature, our heart was hardened; it was as hard as stone. But now it has been softened, and it is as soft as flesh. Our heart has been changed from a heart of stone into a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36:26). Our heart was hardened in the past because of the fall; it was as hard as stone. It was stubborn toward God, rejected God, opposed God, and forsook God. Thus, it was a “heart of stone.” However, at the time of our regeneration, God caused our heart to repent of sin and become soft toward Him; hence, our “heart of stone” became a “heart of flesh.” Our old heart was as hard as stone, but the new heart that God has given us is a soft heart.
According to the innate ability of our new heart, our heart now inclines toward God, loves God, and desires God. All our inclinations, affections, delights, and desires toward things are functions of our heart. Before we were regenerated, our heart inclined toward sins, desired the world, and loved lustful things. However, when God regenerated us, He renewed our heart, causing it to incline toward God, delight in God, desire God, and love God.
Fourth, we received a new spirit through regeneration (v. 26). We need to pay attention to the nature and innate ability of our new spirit. The nature of our new spirit is living; our new spirit is our old, deadened spirit that has been renewed and enlivened. Man was damaged by the defilement of sin because of the fall. Thus, the human spirit lost its function toward God and became deadened. However, when God regenerated us, He put His life into our spirit and quickened our spirit, making our spirit alive. In this way our deadened spirit became a new and living spirit; this new, living spirit has been restored in its function and use toward God. The innate ability of our new spirit allows us to touch God, contact God, know God, and taste God.
We must be clear about the different functions of the heart and spirit. The heart enables us to adore God, love God, and desire God, but it does not enable us to contact God. Our heart has the desire but not the ability to contact God. The ability to contact God rests with our spirit; we can contact God and touch God only by the spirit. Concerning the things of God, our heart has a willingness, but only the spirit has the necessary ability. When our heart is willing and our spirit is exercised, we can contact God. On one hand, if we have an able spirit but an unwilling heart, we will not be able to contact God. On the other hand, if we have a willing heart but an unexercised spirit, we still will not be able to contact God. Therefore, we must clearly understand that the heart is related to willingness and the spirit to ability.
We often say that someone does not have a heart for God. By this, we mean that he is not willing to receive God and does not desire God. When a person has a heart for God, he is willing to receive God and desires God. This is the first step. The second step is to exercise the spirit. It is not enough for a person to have a heart and use only his heart; he must exercise his spirit as well. Many Christians have a heart for the Lord, but few exercise their spirit. It is precious when a brother or a sister has a heart for the Lord and loves the Lord, but it is even more precious when they exercise their spirit to contact the Lord. The heart needs to be moved, and the spirit needs to be exercised. The heart is related to emotion, and the spirit is related to ability. It is not enough simply to have a heart; we must also learn to exercise our spirit.
However, in order for a person to exercise his spirit, he must first have a willing heart. If he is unwilling to seek and love God, he will not be able to exercise his spirit. This is because our heart is the base, and our spirit acts according to the heart. We can exercise our spirit only when we love God and desire God with our heart. We emphasize learning to exercise our spirit because it is relatively simple to have a willing heart. As long as we do not allow anything other than Christ to occupy our heart, we can love God. However, we need to be trained in different aspects related to the spirit, because this involves matters that are not so simple. We need to be clear about the different functions of our heart and spirit.
God’s renewing of our heart is for our heart to be softened, and His renewing of our spirit is for our spirit to be enlivened. This is the reason He gives us a new spirit in addition to a new heart. If a person merely has a willing heart, he will still not be able to contact God. In order for him to contact God, he must exercise his spirit. We may desire God but still not contact God. We can contact God only when we exercise our spirit. This is the reason God gives us a new heart and a new spirit. My heart may be willing to pick up an object, but if my hands do not cooperate, I will not be able. This can be compared to having a desire but not the ability to achieve it. In order to contact God, we need our heart in addition to our spirit. Our heart is related to willingness, and our spirit is related to ability.
In addition to the life of God, the law of life, a new heart, and a new spirit, we also received the Spirit, Christ, and God Himself at the time of our regeneration. The Spirit, Christ, and God each have a particular work within us. According to the teaching of the Bible, there are seven main aspects of the Spirit’s work in us: He works as the indwelling Spirit, as the Comforter, as the Spirit of reality, as the Spirit of life, as the seal, as the pledge, and as the anointing. It is quite difficult to understand the seal and the pledge (Eph. 1:13-14). As the seal, the Holy Spirit seals us with God Himself. The Holy Spirit seals us with God Himself, not with other things. When we stamp something onto a piece of paper with a seal, the impression on the paper is exactly the same as the impression on the seal. When I stamp a seal with my name onto a blank piece of paper, the impression on the paper is exactly the same as my name on the seal.
When the Holy Spirit seals us, He stamps us with God as the seal. We were a blank piece of paper, but the Holy Spirit seals us with God Himself. The mark upon us is God Himself. This is the reason we have the image of God and can be like God. There is now a mark upon us because we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit with all that God is; this mark is God Himself as a seal upon us. As a result, we have the image of God and can be like God.
The pledge is a “pledge” given to us by God. When a person goes to a pawnshop for money, he leaves an article as a pledge, a security and guarantee, that the money will be paid back in a certain amount of time. If the money is not paid back, the article that has been left as a pledge will be kept. The Holy Spirit is a pledge, a security, given to us from God to guarantee that God Himself and all that He has will be our portion and inheritance for our enjoyment. With the Holy Spirit as the pledge, God will not withhold what He has intended for us. On one hand, the Holy Spirit within us is a seal, sealing God into us; on the other hand, the Holy Spirit is a pledge, guaranteeing that God will be our enjoyment and our portion.
Some people ask, “How does the work of the Spirit in us differ from the work of Christ in us and the work of God in us?” The Bible emphasizes the work of the Spirit in us as the anointing ointment (1 John 2:27), the work of Christ in us as our life, and the work of God in us for the accomplishment of His will. The Spirit’s anointing in us, as the anointing ointment, can be compared to the paint of a painter. A painter coats chairs and tables repeatedly with paint, and in the end, the chairs and tables have the gloss and color of the paint. They not only look like the paint, but they have the very element of the paint.
We were originally like pieces of unpainted wood; we did not have any of the element of God. However, by the Spirit as the anointing ointment in us, we have the work of anointing in us. This anointing anoints us with God Himself so that we are not only like God but become the likeness of God because we have the very element of God in us. Every time the Spirit operates in us and anoints us, the element of God increases in us.
The Spirit’s anointing in us is often understood by Christians as the Spirit’s moving. Actually, in the New Testament we cannot find the word moving in relation to the Spirit; however, the New Testament does speak of the anointing. The work of the Spirit within us is not merely to move us but to anoint us. What does moving mean? A person who does not do anything or is unwilling to do anything can be inspired to move or take some action. However, even though we may move him to take some action, he is still who he is, and we are still who we are; there is no relationship between him and us. The anointing, however, is not like this. When we anoint someone, it may be likened to applying paint on him, which eventually causes a certain element to be added into him. Moving is different from anointing. Nothing has been added to the one who has been “moved.” After anointing, however, a certain element has been added. The more anointing there is, the more the element is added.
The work of the Spirit is to anoint us. Every time He anoints us within, the element of God increases within us. But if the Spirit only “moves” us, we are merely taking an action; no element of God has been added to us. Being “moved” by the Spirit is a fallen concept in Christianity and, in particular, in Catholicism. This concept or thought is related to the fact that Christians do not know that God’s intention is to have a relationship with man by being added into man. Since God wants a relationship with us, it is not enough for the Spirit to merely move us to do certain things; rather, the Spirit anoints us with the element of God so that God and man can do things together.
Many Christians still have this fallen thought of Christianity and this poison of Catholicism. They do not have much spiritual growth because after they are “moved” by the Spirit, they remain who they are, and the Lord remains the Lord. No matter how many times they are “moved” by the Spirit and actually do certain things, day after day, year after year, they remain who they are, and the Lord remains the Lord. They are not transformed, and nothing of the element of God has been added into them. This is the so-called “moving” of the Holy Spirit.
When we are anointed, however, a certain element is added into us. Today the work of the Holy Spirit is to anoint us with God Himself. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit is typified by the holy anointing oil (Exo. 30:31). No one was allowed to make an imitation of the holy anointing oil because it was unique. God is unique; the anointing oil, which represents God Himself, was also unique. No one could make an imitation of the anointing oil; it had to be prepared absolutely according to the way shown by God. This means that man should not try to imitate the anointing oil because the anointing oil is God Himself. As far as the type is concerned, the anointing oil is God Himself. Therefore, we should not involve ourselves with the matter of being “moved” but rather with being anointed.
If we are “moved” by the Holy Spirit to go and preach the gospel, we may preach the gospel and do something, but has the element of God been added to us through our preaching of the gospel? This can be compared to the story in the Old Testament about Balaam’s donkey, which was moved by Jehovah to speak like a man (Num. 22:28, 30). Although the donkey spoke, it was still a donkey. However, the New Testament teaches us that the Holy Spirit anoints us with God (1 John 2:27). By this anointing, we may have a sense that God is leading and urging us to preach the gospel. When we respond to this sense, we are not merely accomplishing a work of preaching the gospel, but more importantly, God is being added into us, and we are gaining God Himself.
If one delivers a message merely because he has been “moved,” God will still be God after the message; nothing of God will have been added to him. However, if the Holy Spirit anoints him in his speaking, not only will those who hear gain something, but the speaker will gain something even more. When the Holy Spirit anoints him inwardly in his speaking, he receives the Spirit, and he receives more of the element of God. After speaking, God will be increased in him, and the more he speaks, the more the element of God will be added into him. There is a great difference between the anointing of the Spirit and the “moving” of the Spirit.
Now we come to the sense of life. Romans 8:6 says, “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” Whenever we feel weak, there is a sense of death within us. Whenever we are in pain, there is a sense of death within us. Whenever we feel dark, even more there is a sense of death within us. We need to be clear that these negative feelings — weakness, emptiness, depression, darkness, and pain — are all related to the sense of death; they are senses of the flesh. In contrast, positive feelings of being strong, satisfied, lively, bright, and restful are all related to the sense of life; they are senses of the spirit. Strength is in contrast to weakness, satisfaction to emptiness, liveliness to depression, brightness to darkness, and rest to pain. The sense of life involves peace, which is rest, and the sense of life includes rest, which is peace.
The function of the sense of life within us is to guide us and prove us. However, this guiding and proving by the sense of life is not for us to know right or wrong but rather to give us peace. Being right or wrong, which is according to the principle of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, is a fallen thought in Christianity. This thought must be overthrown. The sense of life within us is not related to right or wrong; rather, it guides and proves us according to peace.
The sense of life is not a matter of whether we are right or wrong in doing certain things. Instead, it is a matter of whether we are doing them according to the leading of the Holy Spirit in us or according to ourselves. When we do things according to our inner sense, do we touch God and life, or do we sense darkness and depression? Based on the sense of life, when we do certain things, we should sense that we are touching God more and more and that we have the presence of the Holy Spirit and the anointing. On the contrary, if we feel empty, dark, and depressed within, this indicates that we have lost God and the sense of life; this is to be in death and in the flesh.
Being right or wrong is altogether a fallen thought that belongs to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The sense of life is related to the tree of life, not to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, the sense of life is not related to a sense of good or evil or a sense of right or wrong. Rather, it causes us to sense whether we are touching God and whether we have the presence of the Holy Spirit, the anointing, and the peace of life. Visiting a saint should not be a matter of right or wrong, which is according to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and according to Mount Sinai; right and wrong are not related to Golgotha. Mount Sinai is a matter of right or wrong; Golgotha is a matter of no longer I, but Christ (Gal. 2:20).
Mount Sinai is a matter of what we should or should not do. What we should do is a matter of right, and what we should not do is a matter of wrong. This was the situation at Mount Sinai. Golgotha, however, is not a matter of right or wrong. Rather, Golgotha is a matter of our being terminated on the cross and of Christ living in us. It is “no longer I who live, but it is Christ”; we are terminated and finished, and now Christ lives in us. No matter what action we take, no matter what kind of living we have, and no matter what we do, the sense of life within us causes us to know whether we are touching God, and it proves to us whether we are living in or outside of God.
For instance, when a person is giving a message, the sense of life will give him a feeling and prove him within so that he will know while he is speaking whether he is in God or outside of God and whether he is touching God. From our point of view, giving a message is a good thing, and while it may seem right for someone to give a message, the giving of the message may not be according to the sense of life. The sense of life involves whether our speaking is in God or outside of God and whether we are touching God in our speaking. It also is a wonderful and godly matter for saints to pray in the meeting. This matter is absolutely unrelated to right or wrong because it is always good and right to pray. However, the inner sense of life still tests and proves whether our prayer is in spirit or outside the spirit and whether it touches God. If we pray outside of God and outside of the spirit, we are praying in death, and this prayer will be dry, depressed, weak, dark, and empty. If we pray in our spirit, however, our prayer will be a prayer in life, and we will feel lively, comfortable, strong, bright, satisfied, and at ease. Even those around us will sense strength, liveliness, satisfaction, brightness, and comfort when they hear our prayer. This will prove that our prayer is in the spirit and has touched the Spirit and that we are in God and have touched God.
We have said repeatedly that we need to drop the concept of right or wrong and good or bad. The only thought we should have is whether we are in God or outside of God, whether we have the presence of the Spirit, and whether we have touched the feeling of the Spirit. Our only concern should be whether we are in God or outside of God, whether we have touched the Spirit, and whether we do things out of life or out of death. We must be clear that good things as well as bad things are related to death; both right things and wrong things are related to death.
If every word that a saint prays is right, but his words are void of Spirit and life, his words will still make people feel empty and depressed. Thus, even right words can bring people into death. In contrast, some saints may not be able to clearly utter some words in their prayers. Even their prayers may not be proper grammatically, but every sentence causes others to touch Spirit and life. Even though their sentence structure and choice of words are incorrect, their prayers have the Spirit and cause others to touch the presence of God and to sense God’s feeling. This is a prayer of life, a prayer in the Spirit. We need to continue steadfastly in this kind of exercise.
Concerning the fellowship of life, please refer to chapter 6 of The Knowledge of Life.
First John 1:2-3 says, “We [the apostles]...report to you [the believers] the eternal life...that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” These verses show that the apostles reported the eternal life that we would have fellowship. The eternal life is the life of God, and the life of God entering into us enables us to have fellowship. Since this fellowship comes out of the life of God, it is the fellowship of life. Therefore, the fellowship of life comes from the life of God, its existence is due to the life of God, it is derived from the life of God, and it is brought to us by the life of God. As soon as we obtain the life of God within us, this life enables us to have the fellowship of life. The life of God, therefore, is the source of the fellowship of life.
Since the source of the fellowship of life is the life of God, it is called the fellowship of life. This fellowship comes from the unique life of God. At the beginning of 1 John 1, the apostle John says that he reported the life of God so that we would receive the fellowship of this life. Therefore, we must bear in mind that the source of the fellowship of life is the life of God, which is God Himself.
The life of God rests in the Holy Spirit of God, and the life of God enters into us and lives in us through the Holy Spirit. Even though the fellowship brought to us by the life of God is derived from the life of God, it comes to us by means of the Holy Spirit. The source of fellowship is the life of God, and the means of fellowship is the Spirit of God. Hence, the Bible speaks of the “fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14).
If the Holy Spirit can only “move” us, He does not have a relationship with us. However, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is a mingling; it mingles God with us and brings us into God through fellowship. While “moving” is objective, fellowship is subjective. The Greek word for fellowship has the meaning of “oneness.” This means that the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the fellowship of life, causes us to become one with God, to be mingled with God. God enters into us to be mingled with us so that He and we can become one. When God fellowships with us and we contact Him, He and we become one.
The life of God that enters into us is neither confined nor static; it is flowing. It can be likened to the circulation of blood in our body. While we may not be aware of it, the blood in our body is flowing unceasingly. Therefore, any one portion of the blood in our body is not the blood of simply that one part or the blood of the whole body; it is flowing blood. While I am standing here speaking, the blood in my body will circulate several times before I have finished a few sentences. This is circulation and flowing; this is the meaning of fellowship.
The life of God within us is like this. It has flowed out from God and into thousands of saints, including us. This flowing life is from God. It passes through God and passes through thousands of saints. Thus, it enables us to have fellowship with God and with thousands of saints. Outwardly speaking, a light bulb may seem independent, but inwardly, there is a flow. This flow allows every light bulb to be in communication with not only the power plant but also with all the other light bulbs. The continuous movement of the dials on the electric meter shows that electric current is flowing continuously. From the outside, every electric light bulb is independent of one another, but actually electricity is flowing continuously from within each bulb to the others. The electric current in each light bulb is a communication.
Apparently, Paul is Paul, Brother Nee is Brother Nee, I am myself, and you are yourself; however, as far as the inward life is concerned, we are all in one fellowship, one flow. The life within us is connected to God who is on the throne in heaven, to Paul, to Brother Nee, to myself, and to you. We are all connected to one another, just as electricity in a light bulb is connected to the electricity in another light bulb. This electricity, beyond being merely connected, flows from one bulb to another. This is the fellowship of life.
The function or use of the fellowship of life is to inwardly supply us with all that is in the life of God, with all that is in God. Since this life is the content of God, even God Himself, it supplies us with the content of God and even God Himself when it flows in us. All the fullness in God is supplied to us through the fellowship of life. The more we allow this flowing life to flow in us, the more we are inwardly supplied with the fullness of God. The supply of the fellowship of life is like the circulating blood that supplies the body and the flowing electricity that supplies the lights.
Physically, we can be supplied continuously within because of our blood supply. Through the circulation of blood all the nutrients that our body needs are supplied to us. In the same way, all the nutrients for our spiritual life are supplied by the fellowship of life because the fellowship of life supplies the content of God, even God Himself.
The fellowship of life and the sense of life are mutually related. As soon as the fellowship of life is interrupted, the sense of life causes us to feel a loss of the supply of life. Immediately, we feel weak, depressed, dark, empty, and in pain. When the fellowship of life is not interrupted, however, the sense of life causes us to feel the supply of life. We feel strong, lively, satisfied, bright, and comfortable. Therefore, whether we are living in the fellowship of life and have the supply of life depends entirely on the sense of life. The more we live in the fellowship of life, the keener is the sense of life and the more we will sense the supply of life.
