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Scripture Reading: Rom. 8:26-29
The only goal of the Holy Spirit’s work in us is to bring us into the experience of the death of the cross. The Holy Spirit desires to find a place and an opening for Christ in us; He is working Christ into us so that Christ can come out from within us. In order for Christ to come into us, we need to be broken and broadened, and in order for Christ to come out of us, our outer man needs to be torn down and many things in us need to be broken.
The result of the continual working of the Holy Spirit in us is to call us to receive the cross. The cross does the work of breaking and tearing down in us. God has put us on the cross in Christ so that our person, which troubles and limits God, can be dealt with through the cross.
After we have seen that the cross deals with our person, the Holy Spirit inwardly calls us to experience the cross day by day and moment by moment. In our daily living and in all things great and small, the Holy Spirit corrects and asks, “Are you living by yourself, or are you allowing Christ to live in you?” If we are willing to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit in everything, the Holy Spirit will ask, “Is your natural man the source of this matter, or is Christ the source of this matter? Is this being done by the natural man or by Christ?” These questions cause us to receive the breaking and tearing down work of the cross.
When the Spirit does a killing work in us, we are brought into the death of the cross. However, it is not easy for us to receive the cross. Although we have seen the light concerning the cross, and the Spirit is inwardly calling us to come to the cross, we do not submit to Him easily. We do not receive the cross in a simple, unconditional, and straightforward way; we are not simple people. It is very difficult to deal with man, and it is very difficult to deal with our “I.” We should not deny this before God. No matter how much light we receive, how much truth we hear, how often we read the Bible, how much we are touched by God, and how many lessons we learn, we still have places within us that we do not want to be broken by the cross. Hence, it is very difficult to deal with our person.
It was very easy for God to create the universe. He created everything out of nothing. However, it is very troublesome and difficult for God to deal with our person. In His creation of the universe, God spoke, and it was; He commanded, and it stood (Psa. 33:9). The universe was created in an instant. Nevertheless, when God deals with us, it may take Him twenty or thirty years, and He still may not complete His dealing with us. A carpenter who wants to modify a counter or a table will take only one or two days to finish the job, even if he spends much time and effort. But a few years or even a few decades can pass and God’s dealing with man can still be unfinished. Dealing with man is truly a great problem.
Some people are not willing to receive the breaking of the cross even after much discipline; they pass through many difficulties but still cannot submit. They go through years of dealing and discipline from God and suffer many things to the point that it seems as if they have no strength to stand. However, when people contact them, they have not changed at all; they are intact in spite of the fact that they are full of wounds and scars. They have suffered much, but they are very shallow in their experience with very little learning and breaking and little or no experience of the cross. During their times of suffering they encounter many hardships — their spouses pass away, their children become sick, their businesses fail, and their health deteriorates. Everything seems like a blow and affliction to them, but their person is not broken. We often think that those who pass through many afflictions and sufferings before the Lord have definitely learned some lessons, received some grace, and experienced the breaking of the cross. This is not necessarily true. Some can be full of wounds and scars yet remain intact and unbroken without learning any lessons. When we encounter such ones, it is a cause for worry, regret, and grief. It seems as if the more they are disciplined and afflicted, the more stubborn and hardened they become. Although they could be compared to a pile of cotton before their dealing, it is almost as if they have become a hard stone after their experiences of suffering. This is regrettable! Consequently, we must realize the difficulty of dealing with our person.
No one is easy to deal with; everyone is difficult. Sisters may feel that they are meeker than the brothers, but strictly speaking, the meeker one is, the harder it is to deal with her. Many people are stiff-necked and are subdued only with great difficulty. If we hit a piece of glass, it easily breaks; however, if we hit a piece of rubber, it will not break, no matter how hard we try. Brothers can be compared to glass, which breaks immediately, but sisters can be compared to rubber, which does not break no matter how hard it is hit. Since man is such a difficult case, God arranged for sufferings after man fell. For the male, He gave sufferings outside the body; for the female, He gave sufferings within the body. If we pay attention to grace, we will see that it is easier to deal with brothers and harder to deal with sisters. In the church life we do not need to be too concerned if we have to deal with brothers, but it takes much more effort to deal with sisters because they cannot be convinced with reasoning or common sense. If we cannot convince brothers with reasoning, we can convince them with common sense; however, when we deal with some sisters, we are utterly unable to convince them. They have their own reasonings and their own self. Sisters often think that their reasonings are right and that they even embody common sense itself; consequently, they feel that everyone should give in to them. It is very difficult to deal with sisters. Thus, under God’s arrangement, sufferings for sisters are often more difficult than those for brothers.
It is very hard to deal with man. We should not assume that because the Bible speaks of the shining and touching of the Holy Spirit and of the shining and calling of the cross that man will receive the cross and willingly accept the breaking of the cross. This is not the case. In fact, it is extremely rare to find such a person. Therefore, we need much grace, life, Spirit, truth, the word of the ministry, spiritual books, and the testimony of the church.
Furthermore, God also arranges the persons, things, and matters we encounter; He orders the environment and circumstances in our life so that He can break our person. He created the heavens and the earth, and He also prepared the air, water, and sunlight for our existence. He predestinated us before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4-5, 11), and He called us in time as His called ones (Gal. 1:15; 1 Cor. 1:1-2). After we are saved, God does a work of grace in us to cause us to love, desire, and pursue Him. Our neighbors may criticize us and think that we are superstitious. They may feel that our believing into Jesus is too much, but the more we love, pursue, and serve the Lord, the more joy we have within. All these things are the result of the Lord’s work of grace.
The Lord has predestined everything before the foundation of the world; He has ordered the family, spouse, and children we need for our transformation. He knows the kind of boss, co-workers, classmates, and neighbors that we need; therefore, He prepares and orders everything for us. We are God’s chosen and predestined people, and we are those who find grace in God. God is doing a work of grace in us, and He has prepared everything in our environment and our circumstances in life for us.
The Holy Spirit also works in us through the messages spoken by His servants, the testimony of the saints, and the leading and fellowship of the church so that we may be touched to love the Lord Jesus, desire to pursue Him, and allow Him to live out of us. We even desire and pray to the Lord that we would be willing to be broken, subdued, and filled with Christ in order to live out Christ. While our desire and prayer come from the work of the Holy Spirit and are out of the Lord’s grace, God knows that this alone is not sufficient to deal with our person. Consequently, He arranges everything in our environment, even the things that occurred before we were saved.
There was once a brother who suffered quite much from his parents before he was saved. He did not know the reason, but after he was saved, he realized that the suffering was prepared by the Lord to enable him to learn some spiritual lessons. After he was saved, he loved and pursued the Lord, and he prayed for a good wife. Because he had suffered much through his parents, he wanted a wife like Rebekah, who could comfort him (Gen. 24:67). The Lord accepted his prayers, and from that time forward, he began to consider whom to marry. Many older saints cared for him and introduced different sisters to him, but after he prayed and considered, he felt that these sisters were not the right one and did not fit his taste. In the end he met a sister with a peculiar disposition. As soon as they met each other, however, he felt she was very suitable. He eagerly hoped that she would be like Rebekah and comfort him; however, the dealing he received from this sister far surpassed the dealing he received from his parents. Nevertheless, he could not change his situation, because he could not divorce her and could not fight with her. Eventually, he realized that this arrangement was for him to learn more lessons.
We know of many similar examples. Many saints, after much consideration in choosing a spouse, eventually choose a “dear one” who deals with them. If we do not like an employee, we can fire him, and if a garment does not fit, we can tear it apart and use it as a rag; however, we cannot get rid of our spouse. Hence, we can only ask the Lord to make a way in us. Apart from being raptured or our spouse passing away, we have no options other than the way of the cross, the way of the discipline of the Holy Spirit. The discipline of the Holy Spirit is evident not only in small matters but also in the big matters of our life. God often gives us a “dear” wife or “dear” husband, and at times we do not know whether we should laugh or cry. In reality, all we can do is turn to the Lord and pray to Him, because many years may pass, and we will not be raptured, and our spouse will be healthy and strong. Eventually, both husband and wife will live together for many years. This is a great discipline.
A great British evangelist named John Wesley lived in an environment where there was the freedom to choose whom to marry, and he chose a “dear” wife. One day Wesley was preaching, and many people were touched by his message; however, his wife came and yelled to everyone, urging them not to listen to his nonsense. Wesley’s dear wife stayed the same and never changed; this was a great discipline to Wesley. Their married life was like a three-legged race involving much stumbling and even falling flat on their backs. These are clear indications of the discipline of the Holy Spirit.
There are great disciplinary arrangements in our human life that we cannot avoid or escape because we cannot be raptured nor die. These arrangements are severe. Before we were born, God chose and predestined us. He ordained everything for us. We make thousands of mistakes in our lives, and these mistakes are not our fault; everything has been set forth by God. In the matter of marriage, we may reject someone who lives near us, and we also may reject someone with whom we are familiar. If, in the end, we choose a peculiar person, we can only blame ourselves. Apparently, it is our fault, but if God had not allowed it, He would only have needed to move His little finger, and the marriage would not have been possible. Two people must pass through many steps in order to marry. Thus, even if we do not have good discernment and make a wrong judgment, we still need to admit that it must have been allowed by God, because so many things need to occur in order for a marriage to take place. Without God’s allowance, we could not have made a mistake even if we tried. I absolutely believe this.
Many times we purposefully want to do something that is wrong, but God does not allow it; thus, we cannot make a mistake no matter how hard we try. Sometimes, we are afraid of making mistakes, and we try to avoid and prevent mistakes, but after trying everything, we still make mistakes. Truly speaking, these matters are not in our hands; a man’s heart devises his way, but Jehovah directs his steps (Prov. 16:9). We may choose a different path, but God Himself directs our steps. Nothing happens to us without God’s permission, and nothing happens to us without being measured by God. Things do not happen to us randomly; everything that is measured to us by God is exactly right. God measures a certain person to be our spouse; this is arranged by God or, at the very least, permitted by God.
God’s arrangement, ordination, permission, and move in our environment are the discipline of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit rules over our environment, and He moves and arranges everything to break our person. Our spouse is God’s helper in breaking us. Sometimes our spouse’s cooperation with God is not sufficient, so He gives us children. If our spouse, as God’s chief helper, is not sufficient to deal with us, He adds more little helpers to deal with us. If these helpers are not sufficient, He can add three, four, or even five more helpers. Sometimes it is not enough to have sons, so God also gives us daughters.
Every brother and sister is created and redeemed by God, and we are all under God’s grace and care. We are all led, cultivated, and perfected by God. Since we admit that this is true, we should see that every important matter in our human life, such as our husband, wife, parents, or children, did not come to us by chance. Nothing comes to us without a purpose. Everything is arranged by God; some things were arranged by God before we were born, and some things come to us through our prayer. For example, because a sister may have only daughters, she prays for a son and receives a son. However, this son should actually be named Dealing because the more he grows up, the more he brings dealings to his mother. These things are all accomplished and arranged by God.
I hope all the brothers and sisters would have a deep impression that the tools God uses to grace us are the Bible, the Holy Spirit, the church, the saints, the light of the truth, and especially the environment. Strictly speaking, the environment and our circumstances are the discipline of the Holy Spirit. The discipline of the Holy Spirit is the greatest tool in God’s ordination. Many people treasure the Bible and pay much attention to the Holy Spirit, but they do not pay attention to the environment; they do not pay attention to the people, things, and matters they encounter. A Christian who is spiritual and lives before God needs to “read” three things every day. First, he needs to read the Bible. Second, he needs to read his inward sense. Third, he needs to read his environment and circumstances, which are the people, things, and matters around him. Many people read the Bible well, and they also can read the sense in their spirit, but they are unable to read the people, things, and matters they encounter. Have we ever considered why God gave us our spouse? Why did God give us a certain kind of child? Have we ever studied them and tried to understand them? Many brothers and sisters memorize the Bible and are also keenly aware of the sense in their spirit, yet regrettably they have never studied and do not understand the environment around them. They neglect and ignore their circumstances and environment, and they miss the benefit that can be gained from them. This is a big mistake. Our circumstances and environment are a great means arranged by God for dealing with our person and subduing us.
Romans 8 speaks specifically about the Holy Spirit; the first half of chapter 8 speaks of the Holy Spirit, and the second half speaks of the environment, circumstances, and sufferings, including God causing all things to work together for good (v. 28). For our spiritual understanding it is not enough only to know the Holy Spirit; we must also know the “all things” in our circumstances. The purpose of all things working together is to gain man’s cooperation to conform him to the image of God’s Son and to deal with man to the extent that he is exactly the same as God’s Son. For this reason the Holy Spirit raises up a yearning prayer in us, and He intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered, causing us to desire God’s grace within, to have Christ’s image, and to be filled with Christ’s life (v. 26). With this kind of desire and prayer of the Holy Spirit within us, these prayers and groanings pass through the Holy Spirit and reach God. When God hears such prayer, He prepares the environment around us to cause all things to work together to break and deal with us and, thereby, to transform us. When our desire to be filled with Christ and to bear the image of God’s Son is matched with the Holy Spirit’s intercession, God hears our prayer and raises up an environment to deal with us. This environment may be our spouse or children, but everything occurs in order to break and subdue us. This is a great discipline.
Even a person like Paul, who was greatly blessed and experienced grace in such a strong and deep way, spoke of a thorn that pierced and pricked him every day. When it reached a point where he could bear it no longer, he prayed that the Lord would remove the thorn. The Lord answered, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor. 12:9). The thorn in Paul enabled him to enjoy the grace of God and experience God’s power being perfected in weakness. Some wives may be thorns to their husbands, some husbands may be thorns to their wives, and some children may be thorns to their parents, but all these things are allowed by the Lord in order to deal with and break us. We may pray and hope that others will change, but the more we pray in this way, the clearer we are that nothing will change. Our thorn will continue to pierce us, trouble us, and bother us. This is the environment that God has created to cause us to know the Lord’s grace and to experience the Lord’s power.
In the eyes of unbelievers, a Christian’s circumstances often seem very strange, and they lack an understanding of what they mean. God, however, knows that He is the One who arranges everything. There is not one proper Christian who does not have some troubles and pressure in his life; there is not one proper Christian whose living is smooth and carefree. Every proper Christian has some difficulty or burden and is under some kind of oppression or affliction in all kinds of circumstances. This is the discipline of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the inward shining and calling of the Holy Spirit and of the outward pressure of the environment is simply to defeat our person. If we see this, we will bow and say, “O God, I worship You. What You arranged can never be wrong. This is what I need. Even if I make mistakes, You never make mistakes, and I still worship You.” At such a moment we will be blessed within, and the power of the Lord’s life will bear us, support us, and enable us to endure the things that we cannot endure in ourselves. At such moments we will have the Lord’s inward presence and joy.
If we learn these lessons well, our spouse will produce the effect of the cross in us, and our self, preference, opinion, inclination, thought, and all that we are will be put to death. God often breaks us through our spouses. If we submit ourselves to the Lord and receive this, we will meet the Lord within, and we will be blessed by having life as the power that carries us through and enables us to endure what we could not endure.
We need to see that real growth in life does not depend only on the outward shining of the Bible and our inward cooperation with the Holy Spirit; we also need our environment and circumstances, which are the discipline of the Holy Spirit. If we really live before the Lord, we will live in the Spirit and treasure the circumstances arranged by God. We will treasure the people, things, and matters around us. When truth is released, there will be a response in us, and through our prayer the Spirit will begin to work in us. At the same time, God’s hand will also arrange things in our outward environment to reinforce the light of His truth and the work of the Spirit. The purpose of this inward and outward work is to break, subdue, and deal with our person. If the Lord is merciful and gracious to us, these messages will help us see how the Lord’s life has become our life and how much His life wants to have the ground to live out of us.
God’s life, the revelation and light that we have seen, and the discipline of the Holy Spirit in our circumstances carry out the work of the cross in us. The cross brings in the life of Christ, and the death of the cross brings in resurrection. Those who have the expression of the death of the cross also have the expression of life. This is the way of life.
