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We will now see the eleventh main point concerning life, which is the inward knowledge, or the knowing of God by the inward law of life and the teaching of the anointing. The degree to which we know God from within determines how much we have of God and how much we experience Him as our life. Thus, the inward knowledge and the growth of life are fully related. If we want to know life so that life may grow, we must examine in detail the inward knowledge.
God delights in man knowing Him; therefore, He wants man to “pursue knowing” Him (3, Hosea 6:6). All that He does in the New Testament is in order that we may know Him (Heb. 8:10-11). When we are regenerated, His Spirit, containing His life, enters into us so that we may have the capability of knowing Him from within. This knowing of Him, on the one hand, gradually increases with our inward growth of life, and, on the other hand, it also causes the life within us to grow. Because God has given us His life, we can know Him. The more His life grows within us, the more we know Him. The more we know Him, the more we will experience Him as our life, enjoy Him, and allow Him to live out through us. Thus, we may say that all the growth of our spiritual life depends on our knowledge of God. Let us pray that God may give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may really know Him (Eph. 1:17) and be “growing by the full knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10).
Psalm 103:7 says, “He made His ways known to Moses; / His acts, to the children of Israel.” This tells us that the children of Israel knew God’s acts, but Moses knew His ways. Hebrews 8:10-11 says, “I will impart My laws into their mind...all will know Me from the little one to the great one among them.” By this verse we see that all who receive the inward law under the New Testament can know God Himself. These two passages in the Bible show that man’s knowledge of God is obtained in three steps: first, knowing the acts of God; second, knowing the ways of God; and third, knowing God Himself.
Man knows the acts of God by what He does and performs. For example, the children of Israel in Egypt saw the ten plagues that God sent to smite the Egyptians. By the Red Sea they saw that God divided the water so that they could pass through. In the wilderness they saw that God commanded the rock to flow out with water to satisfy their thirst. And daily God sent manna from heaven to feed them. When they witnessed such miracles of God, they knew the acts of God. Again, for example, when the multitudes saw the miracles the Lord Jesus performed, such as feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes, calming the storm and the sea, healing the diseased, casting out demons, and raising the dead, they knew His acts. Or, for example, when we are sick and are healed by God, when we meet danger and are preserved by God, when we have needs and are supplied by God, we are made to know the acts of God. When we know the acts of God, this is our first step in knowing God. Such knowledge is shallow and outward, for it is not until we see the acts of God that we know what God has done.
To know God’s ways refers to knowing the principles by which He does things. When Abraham pleaded for Sodom, he recognized that God is righteous and that He will never act contrary to His righteousness. Therefore, Abraham spoke to God according to the righteousness of God (Gen. 18:23-32). This means that he knew the ways by which God does things. When the children of Israel continued to murmur after Korah and his band rebelled and were consumed, Moses, having seen the appearing of the glory of Jehovah, said to Aaron, “Take the censer and put fire in it from the altar, and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the assembly, and make expiation for them. For wrath has gone forth from Jehovah; the plague has begun” (Num. 16:46). This shows that Moses knew the ways of God. He knew that when man acts in a certain way, God will react accordingly.
Samuel told Saul, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, / And to heed, than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22). And David said, “I will not offer to Jehovah my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (2 Sam. 24:24). This shows that they knew the ways of God.
When we release the word of the Lord, we deeply believe that it will not be void but will accomplish that which the Lord delights in (Isa. 55:10-11). Also, if we sow unto the Spirit, we know that we will of the Spirit reap eternal life (Gal. 6:8). This is also because we know the ways of God.
When we know the ways by which God does things, we have the second step of knowing God. Such knowledge is one step further than knowing the acts of God. Before the acts of God are carried out, we know what He will do and how He will do it. Such knowledge can increase our faith in prayer and can also enable us to negotiate with God. However, though such knowledge is good, it is still not sufficiently deep and inward.
To know God Himself is to know the nature of God. As soon as we are regenerated and receive the life of God, we have the nature of God. Through the life of God within us, we can touch the nature of God. When we touch the nature of God, we touch God Himself; in other words, we know God Himself. Such knowledge is different from the first two steps of knowing God’s acts and His ways from without. This is knowing God Himself from within.
For example, consider a brother who had an incurable sickness but who was actually healed by God. He exclaims happily, “Thank God, He really cared for me!” From this, he knew a little about the acts of God. Later, he was sick again. This time he knew it was because he had some fault and God was chastening and disciplining him. Thus, he dealt with his fault. When he had done this, he knew God would heal him (1 Cor. 11:30-32). The result was that God did actually heal him. But before he was healed, he already knew God would heal him. This was because he knew the ways of God. At this time, though his knowledge of God had improved — from knowing God’s acts to knowing His ways — yet still it was an objective knowledge of God from without, not a subjective knowledge of God from within. Later, this brother felt from within that he had certain things that were not in accord with the holy nature of God, so he dealt with them and eliminated them. Such feeling and such knowing did not come from anything outside of him but from the consciousness given to him by the inward life of God. Hence, this time he came to know God Himself from within; he had a subjective knowledge of God.
Consider another brother who in the beginning of a severe difficulty prayed to God, and God carried him through. He thus knew the acts of God. Later, when he again met a difficulty, he knew how he should act so that he could be carried through by God. This indicates that he knew the ways of God. Finally, when he again met a difficulty, he had strangely within him a sense. He sensed that God would definitely carry him through. This sense or knowing was not due to his seeing certain acts of God from without or from knowing the principles by which God does things. It was because he had touched God Himself from within; therefore, he had this sense or this knowing. Such knowledge of God can be said to be the highest, the deepest, and the most inward.
In Old Testament times God manifested only His acts and His ways to men. Therefore, at that time man could only obtain the first two steps of knowing God. Now that the New Testament time has come, though we still should know the acts and the ways of God, yet the most important and glorious thing is that God Himself in the Spirit dwells within us to become our life. This enables us to directly touch God Himself and to know Him from within. This third step of knowing God, the knowing of God Himself, is a special blessing to us who are saved under the new covenant.
Though our knowledge of God is in three steps, there are actually only two kinds of knowledge: the outward knowledge and the inward knowledge. To know the acts and the ways of God are both knowledge of an outward nature. Though these two steps of knowledge differ in degree of depth, yet they are both a knowledge of God derived from the acts and the ways of God outside of us. Therefore, they are objective and outward. Yet to know God Himself is knowledge of an inward kind. This kind of knowledge comes as we touch God Himself by His life within and thereby know Him in a subjective and inward way.
In the original text of the Bible there are two different words used to describe the inward and outward knowledge. Hebrews 8:11 speaks of our knowing the Lord. The word know is used twice in this verse, yet in the original text two different words were used with different meanings. The first know refers to our general, outward knowledge, for which we need the teaching of men. The second know refers to the knowledge of our inward sense, for which we do not need man’s teaching. This indicates that the outward and inward knowledge of God are indeed different.
For example, suppose we put some fine, white sugar side by side with some fine, white salt. In outward appearance both are white and fine, and it is difficult to distinguish between them. We may ask someone to tell us which is sugar and which is salt, but this knowledge comes from the teaching of others and is outward, objective, and general. It can also be mistaken. Yet if we simply taste them, we immediately can taste which is sweet and, therefore, is sugar and which is salty and, therefore, is salt. We do not need others to tell us. This knowing is derived from the sense within; so it is subjective and belongs to the inner sense.
Whenever we taste God from within, we have an enjoyment and taste that cannot be obtained by the knowledge of God according to His acts or ways from without. Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that Jehovah is good.” Thank God, He can be tasted! Hebrews 6:4-5 says, “Those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.” This shows that not only can God be tasted, but the things of God, the things of the Spirit, can also be tasted. This tasting causes us to know from within. Once we “taste” God and the things of God from within, we naturally have a certain, accurate knowledge that comes from the inner sense, and we do not need others to teach us. This is indeed a glorious blessing under the new covenant!
In the New Testament there are four places that speak very clearly of the inward knowledge. The first two are in Hebrews 8:11 and 1 John 2:27. Both of these say that we do not need others to teach us but that we can know God from within. However, they say it differently. Hebrews 8 says that the law of the life of God, which is the natural function of the life of God, can cause us to know God. And 1 John 2 says that the teaching of the anointing, which is the revealing and moving of the Holy Spirit, can cause us to know God. To know God by the law of life is to know Him by His life. To know God by the teaching of the anointing is to know Him by His Spirit.
The other two places that speak of the inward knowledge are John 17:3 and Ephesians 1:17. John 17:3 says that those who have the eternal life of God are those who know God. This means that God’s life within can cause us to know Him. Ephesians 1:17 says that God gives us the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know Him. The spirit mentioned here is our human spirit related to the Spirit of God. This means that our spirit with the Spirit of God can cause us to know God from within.
These four passages in the Bible show that our inward knowledge of God is by two means: one is by the law of life, which comes from the life of God; the other is by the teaching of the anointing, which comes from the Holy Spirit of God. Because we have these two means of knowing God within us, our knowledge of God can be in two phases. The law of life primarily causes us to know the nature of God, which is the characteristic of His life. Whenever His life works and functions in us to express this characteristic, it naturally manifests the nature of God to us and causes us to know it. The teaching of the anointing primarily makes us know God Himself. This is because the teaching of the anointing comes from the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the embodiment of God Himself. When the Holy Spirit anoints and works in us, He always anoints God Himself into us, thus causing us to know God Himself. The law of life and the teaching of the anointing cause us to know from within the nature of God and God Himself. This is what we call here the inward knowledge.
We can see a shadow of these two phases of the knowledge of the nature of God and God Himself in the Old Testament. God gave the law and the prophets in order that the children of Israel might know His nature and Himself through them. This knowledge was from without.
The characteristics of the Old Testament are the law and the prophets. The reason God gave the law and established the prophets was to cause His people to know Him. Thus, the law and the prophets are the two means by which God led the people of Israel to know Him. By these two means they could have the knowledge of God in two phases.
God gave the law in order to lead the Israelites to know His nature. The law comes from the nature of God, for it speaks of what God likes and dislikes. Everything the nature of God likes is what He wanted them to do. Everything that the nature of God detests is what He forbade them to do. For example, God is a jealous God; therefore, He forbade them to worship idols. God is loving; therefore, He forbade them to kill. God is holy; therefore, He wanted them to be holy. God is honest; therefore, He wanted them to be honest. The type of law that was given to them was according to the type of nature God has. Thus, the whole law showed the nature of God to them. Some items speak of the brightness of God, others of the holiness and goodness of God, and still others of the love of God. God used the demanding and forbidding of every item of the law to lead the people of Israel to know every aspect of His nature.
God also established prophets in order to lead the people of Israel to know Him; for the prophets of the Old Testament were established by God to represent Him, His person. The words they spoke were the revelation and guidance given by God according to His own will. For example, Moses was a prophet established by God (Deut. 18:15). The words he spoke to the children of Israel concerning the building of the tabernacle were the revelation of God to them concerning that matter. When he led them to walk in the wilderness, it was God who led them to walk in the wilderness. Thus, God used all kinds of revelation and guidance by the prophets to lead the children of Israel to know Him, His person.
Since the law is derived from the nature of God, its character is fixed and unchangeable. The law says that one should honor his parents, should not kill, should not commit adultery, and should not steal. These are all fixed, ironclad laws and cannot be changed. They are just as applicable to one person as to another, or to one living in Jerusalem as to one in Samaria. They are not altered due to the change of person, event, time, or place. If the children of Israel were willing to accept the standard of these laws, not only would they know the eternal and unchangeable nature of God, but the style, character, and taste of their living would also correspond to that nature.
On the other hand, since the prophets represented God Himself and spoke out the will of God for a particular time, their activity was flexible and could be changed. It was not limited and fixed. This is because God does all things according to His own will, and He Himself is flexible and cannot be limited. The prophets may at one time give people one kind of revelation and at another time give another kind of revelation. Here they may give people this kind of guidance, and there they may give them that kind of guidance. Thus, the standard of the law given to men was fixed and limited. But the revelation and guidance that the prophets gave to them was flexible and unlimited. If the Israelites were willing to follow the revelation and guidance of the prophets, they could know God in His very person by them, and they could know His will for that time. They could also make themselves correspond to God Himself and to His will, whether in action or in rest, in work or in battle.
Though the law and the prophets of the Old Testament could cause the children of Israel to know God, it was all outward knowledge, not inward. Therefore, in New Testament times God put His Spirit with His life in us, thus enabling us to have an inward knowledge of Him. The law of life, which comes from His life, takes the place of the law of the Old Testament and enables us to know His nature from within. The teaching of the anointing takes the place of the prophets of the Old Testament and enables us to know God Himself and His will from within.
The law of life is a natural characteristic and function of life, and this characteristic of life is the nature of life. Therefore, when the law of the life of God in us expresses its function and regulates us, it always reveals to us the nature of God. It therefore enables us to know the nature of God. Such knowing does not require the teaching of outward knowledge, neither does it need the outward regulations of the law of letters and ordinances but is by the natural consciousness given to us by the inward law of life. For example, if vinegar is put in the mouth of a baby, he will spit it out. But if sugar is put in his mouth, he will swallow it. The baby’s ability to distinguish between the sour and sweet is not based upon teaching but upon the natural function of life. Likewise, one who is just saved and has received the life of God does not like to commit sin. It is not because he is afraid of the punishment of sin, but because the holy nature of the life of God within him naturally gives him a loathsome, detestable, and unbearable consciousness toward sin. Such consciousness is deeper than the condemnation of the conscience. It is from such a consciousness of detesting sin that we come to know the holy nature of God.
Paul told the saints in Corinth that “we labor, working with our own hands. Reviled we bless; persecuted we endure; defamed we exhort” (1 Cor. 4:12-13). Paul could behave in this way not only because the life of God in him made him this way, but also because the nature of the life of God in him is this way. When he lived in the life of God in that manner, he then touched the nature of God; in other words, he came to know the nature of God.
The nature of the life of God, such as holiness, love, honesty, brightness, etc., is always unchangeable from eternity to eternity, regardless of difference in time or place. Therefore, the character of the law of His life is also fixed and unchangeable. Regardless of time or place, whenever the law of the life of God works, the nature of God, which it enables us to touch, is always permanent and unchangeable.
When the law of life is working in us, enabling us to know the nature of God, the result is that it makes the manner, character, and taste of our entire living correspond to the nature of God. It is not like the law of letters of the Old Testament, which is only an outward regulation, demanding that the outward life of man correspond with the nature of God. This is the law of life of the New Testament, which, by the working of this life within, mingles the nature of God into our nature. Thus, it causes our nature to contain the element of God’s nature and gradually become like God’s nature. Whatever the nature of God loves or detests, our nature will likewise love or detest. Now, whenever we do or even want to do the dark and unclean things of the past, the law of life within causes us to feel uncomfortable, unnatural, and without peace. Conversely, the more we do the things that are bright and holy and correspond to the nature of God, the more we feel life and peace from within. In this way our living is naturally changed to correspond with the nature of God from within.
In the Scriptures, only 1 John 2:27 speaks of the teaching of the anointing. We all know that anointing is a verbal noun, which refers to the activity of the ointment, the moving and the working of the ointment. According to the type in the Old Testament and the fulfillment in the New Testament, ointment or oil in the Scripture refers to the Holy Spirit (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18). Since ointment or oil refers to the Holy Spirit, the “anointing” must refer to the working of the Holy Spirit. The working of the Holy Spirit in us is like the anointing of the ointment; therefore, the Scripture calls this working of the Holy Spirit the “anointing.”
Since the anointing is the Holy Spirit’s working in us, it naturally causes us to have an inner sense so that we may know God and His will. When the anointing causes us to know God and the will of God in this way it is teaching us from within. Thus, the Scripture calls this teaching, the teaching of the anointing.
Since the anointing is the working of the Holy Spirit in us, it is also God Himself working in us, because the Holy Spirit is the embodiment of God within us. God is unlimited; therefore, the character of the teaching He gives us from working and anointing within us cannot be limited. Sometimes He gives us this kind of teaching; sometimes He gives us that kind of teaching. It is not like the law of His life, whose character is fixed and unchangeable. The law of His life is from the fixed nature of His life, and it causes us to touch the fixed nature of His life; therefore, the function of this law within us is fixed. But the working of His Holy Spirit is from His unlimited self, and it causes us to touch His unlimited self; therefore, the teaching that this working gives us from within is also unlimited. It can cause us to obtain His revelation and receive His guidance, thereby causing us to know His infinite self and His unlimited will.
Since the teaching of the anointing gives us revelation and guidance by God’s infinite self, it can therefore cause all our behavior, action, movement, and choice to be in accord with the will of God. This is not like the prophets of the Old Testament time who taught others from without and demanded that their action should correspond with the will of God. This is the Holy Spirit as the ointment in us, anointing into us the element of God Himself and enabling us from within to comprehend the will of God because of having touched God Himself. The result is that it causes not only our action but our whole being to be filled with the element of God and to be in accord with His will.
Thus, the law of life causes us to touch the nature of the life of God. It regulates from within us according to the nature of the life of God. But the anointing causes us to touch God, to touch His person, and anoints into us His very essence. Since we have the law of life and the anointing continuously working and teaching in us, we can know God in all things and need not that anyone teach us. Whenever we touch the question of the manner and taste of living, the law of life makes known to us the nature of God in these matters. And whenever we touch the question of action or choice, the teaching of the anointing causes us to understand how God Himself feels toward these matters.
For example, suppose we want to purchase some clothes. Whether we buy them or not is a question of being led by the Holy Spirit in action. Thus, the anointing will teach and lead us. When we get to the store, the style and color we select are matters related to the taste of the nature of God. The law of life will cause us to feel what style and color are in accordance with the nature of God. The guidance of whether we should go to the store and buy the clothes or not is not a fixed one. It is possible that this time we should go, and the next time we should not. Yet the taste of what style and color we should choose is never changed; each time we go, it is the same.
Consider, for example, a brother and sister who want to get married. Which day they should be married is a question of being led in action; it is not related to the nature of God. It is not that the first day or the fifteenth day would be in accordance with the nature of God, and all other days would not. Since this is a matter of guidance in action, it is determined by the anointing or the working of the Holy Spirit. Yet at the time of marriage, the style of clothes, the type of setting, how the meeting is arranged, and whether the character, the taste, and the style are in accordance with the church and becoming to the saints are all matters related to the nature of God. Therefore, they are not taught by the anointing but are regulated by the law of life.
Although the law of life and the teaching of the anointing have different functions and are not the same, yet they are very closely related. The mutual cause and effect of one on the other cannot be separated.
The law of life originates from the life of God, and the life of God rests upon and is contained in the Spirit of God. Therefore, this law is also called “the law of the Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2) and is also a law of the Holy Spirit. Though this law is derived from the life of God and rests with that life, yet it is executed by the Holy Spirit of God, and this working of the Holy Spirit is the anointing. Therefore, the function of this law is necessarily manifested with the anointing. Whenever the anointing stops, the function of this law necessarily disappears. This proves to us that the anointing and the function of the law of life are actually connected together and cannot be separated.
Furthermore, the teaching of the anointing is also related to our comprehension of the law of life. Since the law of life is the natural function of life, the working of this law within us belongs to the sense of life. By the law of this life, we can only have a sense in the deepest part of our being, a sense which makes us feel an urging or forbidding, a liking or a detesting. Yet we still cannot comprehend the meaning of that sense. To understand the meaning of that inner sense, we need the teaching of the anointing. It is only when the anointing teaches us that we can comprehend the meaning of the sense given to us by the law of life. For example, a child who tastes sugar and salt for the first time can by the natural capability of the life within him sense the difference in taste, yet he still does not know what these two things are. However, when his mother tells him that the sweet one is called sugar and the salty one is called salt, he not only senses that the taste of these two things differ, but he also knows what these two things are.
Likewise, when a person is saved, he has within him the life of God. Therefore, if he goes to the movies, drinks wine, or smokes, because all these things are not in harmony with the nature of the life of God in him, the nature of this life causes him to feel uneasy and to have no peace until he abandons these things. This is what the innate sense of the life of God makes known to him. Yet, though he feels uneasy in doing these things, still he does not understand why he feels uneasy. It is not until the anointing, through the teaching of the Scriptures, makes known to him that all these things are not in accord with the nature of the holy life of God in him that he knows the cause of this uneasiness. At this time not only does he have the consciousness that the innate sense of the life of God gives him, but he also has the teaching of the anointing, which causes him to understand. Thus, not only is the function of the law of life manifested by the anointing, but also the meaning of the sense of the law of life is revealed through the teaching of the anointing.
On the other hand, the working of the law of life is also related to our comprehension of the teaching of the anointing. From experience we know that understanding the teaching of the anointing rests with the growth of life. The extent of our growth of life determines how much we understand the teaching of the anointing. For example, if the child who tasted sugar and salt is too young, even if his mother tells him that the sweet thing is called sugar and the salty thing is called salt, he still cannot comprehend. It is necessary to wait until his life grows to a certain level; then he can comprehend. If we want to comprehend the teaching of the anointing, the same principle applies. The growth of life must be sufficient. If we want to comprehend more of the teaching of the anointing, our growth of life must increase more. And the increase of the growth of life is from the working of the law of life. The more the law of life works in us, the more our growth of life will increase, and the more we can comprehend the teaching of the anointing. Thus, the working of the law of life can increase our comprehension of the anointing.
Therefore, let us remember that the law of life and the anointing not only are related to one another but also influence one another. It is the relatedness and interaction of these two that make our inward knowledge of God grow more and more until we fully and richly know God.
We have already seen how the law of life and the teaching of the anointing differ, and how they are mutually and reciprocally related. Now we will see a simple and clear comparison of the knowledge of God given by these two, which will make us even more clear.
Because the law of life is the natural function of the life of God, the knowledge of God that it gives us is only of one kind; that is, it causes us to know the nature of the life of God.
However, since the teaching of the anointing is the working of the Spirit of God Himself, the knowledge of God that it gives us is at least of three kinds:
First, it causes us to know God Himself. This means that we touch God Himself and thereby experience and gain Him.
Second, it causes us to know the will of God. This means that we understand the leading that God gives us in our actions. This can be divided into usual leading and special leading. Usual leading is for our daily life. Special leading is for the plan of the Lord’s work. As we have said before, whether we should or should not buy certain clothing, what day we should have a wedding, etc., are all examples of usual leading in our daily life. On the other hand, when Brother Hudson Taylor felt that he should take the gospel of the Lord into the interior of China, this was special leading in the work of the Lord.
Third, it causes us to know truth. This means that we receive revelation concerning truth. This also is divided into the usual and the special. The usual is concerned with our human behavior: for instance, seeing that the believers should not be “dissimilarly yoked with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14), or that whatever we do, we should “do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). On the other hand, special revelation is concerned with the plan of God, such as seeing the mystery of God in Christ (Col. 2:2), and the function of the church in relation to Christ (Eph. 1:23).
After seeing these points, we realize that the inner knowledge afforded to us by the law of life and the teaching of the anointing is indeed rich. It includes almost all the working of God within us and thus enables us to have a full, rich, and thorough knowledge of God.
The inner sense given to us by the law of life and the teaching of the anointing enables us to know God. Yet, even though this inner sense may be absolutely real and true, it still needs to be proved by the teaching and the principles of the Scripture. If the consciousness we have within is not in accord with the teaching and principles of the Scripture, we should not accept it. In this way we can guard against being deceived or going to an extreme, and we can be accurate and stable.
Whether the inner consciousness is from the law of life in our spirit or from the Holy Spirit as the anointing, it should be in accordance with the truth of the Scripture. If the consciousness we feel within us is not in accordance with the truth of the Scripture, then it must not be from the law of life or the teaching of the anointing. Though the consciousness within may be living, yet the truth in the Scripture is accurate and secure. Though the truth of the Scripture alone is only accurate and secure without being living, yet the inner sense alone can sometimes be living but not accurate; or living, but not secure. It is like a train going forward: there should not be only the power inside but also the tracks outside. Of course, if there are only tracks outside and no power within, the train cannot move. But if there is only power inside and no tracks outside, though the train may move, it definitely will rush into calamity. Therefore, we not only need the living sense within but also the accurate truth without. The living consciousness within is from the law of life and the teaching of the anointing; the accurate truth without rests in the teaching of the written words of the Scripture and the light of its principles.
When the children of Israel walked in the wilderness, a pillar of cloud led them during the day, and a pillar of fire was their leading at night (Exo. 13:21). Likewise, when our spiritual condition is as the broad daylight, when we are inwardly as bright as noon and our inner sense is clear and accurate, with the leading of the Holy Spirit as typified by the pillar of cloud, then we can walk in the right path of God. But at times our spiritual condition is like the dimness of night; within we are as dark as midnight, and our inner sense is blurred and unclear. Then we need the Scripture, typified by the pillar of fire, to be the lamp to our feet and the light for our path to lead us to walk in the upright way of God.
Therefore, if we desire to walk in the safe way of life and truth, we should check and prove every consciousness, guidance, and revelation by the teaching and principles of real power and secure strength. Only this balance will enable us to go forward without being one-sided.
On the one hand, the Scripture says that, because we have the law of life and the teaching of the anointing within us, we can know God and have no need that anyone teach us, yet on the other hand, there are many places in the Scriptures that speak of the teaching of man. For instance, such passages as 1 Corinthians 4:17; 14:19; 1 Timothy 2:7; 3:2; 2 Timothy 2:2, 24, etc., say that the apostle Paul taught men and that he wanted others also to learn how to teach men. There are three main reasons for this.
First, although the inner sense given to us by the law of life and the teaching of the anointing is sufficient to make us know God, and thus, we have no need that anyone teach us, we often do not listen and do not heed such consciousness. We are weak, especially in hearing God’s words. Sometimes we do not hear, and sometimes we are not willing to hear. Those who are sick in their minds, those who are subjective, those who insist on their own opinions, and those who intentionally close themselves often cannot hear. And those who do not love the Lord, who will not pay the price, and who will not follow the Lord, are not willing to hear. Because they are not willing to hear, they naturally do not hear. Because they do not hear, they even more would not hear. Therefore, many times it is not that God does not speak, that His life does not regulate, or that His anointing does not teach, but that we do not hear. Job 33:14 says, “God speaks in one way, / Indeed in two ways, without any perceiving it.” We have conditions worse than this. Even when God speaks five, ten, or twenty times, we still would not listen. But, thank God, He is forgiving and long-suffering. If we do not listen to what He says within, He uses the teaching of men from without to repeat. He has already spoken within us, but because we do not hear, He teaches us from without through men in order to repeat what He has already said within.
Under the New Testament much teaching follows this principle of repeating. In the Epistles this saying, “Do you not know?” occurs frequently. This is to say that you have already heard and known, but you do not mind and hear; therefore, God uses men to teach you again. Thus, many times, whether God uses the words of the Scripture or His servant to teach us, He does not do it to replace His teaching within us but to repeat what He has already taught us within. Though the outward leading and the inward teaching are of mutual help to each other, yet the outward cannot take the place of the inward. It is only a repetition of the inward.
Thus, today when we help others in spiritual matters, we should not give them the Ten Commandments in order to teach them to act in this way or in that in an objective way. We can only explain what God has ordained in principle, thus bearing witness to the words that God speaks from within and repeating what God has already taught them from within. We should not objectively teach men in this way or in that way in detail. This is what the prophets of the Old Testament did. In the New Testament there are only the prophets for the church, explaining what God has ordained in principle. There is no prophet for individuals, deciding on matters in detail. The settlement of details is what God, by the law of life and the teaching of the anointing, makes known to every man from within. This is the principle of the New Testament. Thus, though we should be humble to receive teaching from others, yet it must be what the law of life within us has regulated or the anointing has already taught that governs us. Otherwise, it will not be in accord with the New Testament principle.
The second reason for the teaching of man in the New Testament is that, though the law of life and the anointing can cause us to know God, yet the consciousness and teaching they give to us are all in our spirit. If we do not receive adequate teaching from without, it is difficult for our mind to comprehend the consciousness and teaching given in our spirit by the law of life and the anointing. In order for our mind to comprehend the consciousness and teaching given to us by the law of life and the anointing from within, we need men to teach us the way of God from without. The more we receive such outward teaching, the more our mind comprehends the consciousness and teaching from the law of life and the anointing within. And the more we receive such outward teaching, the more it will help our spirit to grow, thereby giving the law of life and the anointing even more ground and opportunity to manifest their functions and give us a deeper sense and teaching. Therefore, though the law of life and the anointing do give us consciousness and teaching from within, we still need the teaching of men from without. However, this teaching from without cannot and should not take the place of the consciousness and teaching of the law of life and the anointing from within. It is only to help us comprehend this inner sense and teaching and to give opportunity to the law of life and the anointing to give us a deeper sense and teaching. The teaching of men from without always should have an Amen, or “echo,” from the consciousness and teaching from within, given by the law of life and the anointing. Then it is in accord with the principle of the New Testament. The teaching and guidance from within and without are not to substitute for each other, but to have a mutual response.
Third, although the law of life and the teaching of the anointing can cause us to know God in all things, yet concerning the truth of the deep things of God and the fundamental knowledge of the spiritual life, we often still need others who have the ministry of words in God’s revelation to teach us so that we may understand. We need the subjective knowledge that comes from the anointing and the law of life within, yet often without the objective teaching of others, we cannot obtain the subjective knowledge from within. Of course, under the New Testament the outward, objective teaching cannot take the place of the inward, subjective knowledge; but often the inward, subjective knowledge is attained because of the outward, objective teaching.
For the above three reasons God often raises up those who have spiritual knowledge and experience before God and arranges for them to teach and lead us. Let us hope that, on one hand, we may reverence what God teaches us from within through the law of life and the anointing, and that, on the other hand, we would not ignore the teaching God gives to us through men from without. We should not refuse the teaching of men from without simply because we have the law of life and the teaching of the anointing within. We do thank God for giving us the law of life and the teaching of the anointing, but we still should humble and empty ourselves to receive the teaching and guidance God gives to us through men. Let us remember that under the New Testament, God not only gives us the law of life and the anointing to teach us from within, but He also gives those who can teach and lead us from without.
Since the inward knowledge issues from the law of life and from the teaching of God’s Spirit as the anointing, and both are in our spirit, this knowledge from within will definitely be made known to us in our spirit. Except for the questions of right and wrong, which are determined by the conscience part of our spirit, this knowing in the spirit can be said to be the responsibility of the intuition part of our spirit. Therefore, if we want to understand the inward knowledge, we must know what the intuition of the spirit is.
Both the body and soul of man have senses. As the body has the sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, and the soul has the sense of happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy, etc., so the spirit of man has a sense of the conscience and a sense of the intuition. The sense of the conscience occurs due to questions of right and wrong; the sense of the intuition occurs directly without a cause. Scripture shows that the spirit can be “willing” (Matt. 26:41), it can “know” the reasoning of man’s heart (Mark 2:8), it can “groan deeply” (8:12), it can purpose (Acts 19:21), and it can be “provoked,” “fervent,” and “refreshed,” etc. (17:16; 18:25; 2 Cor. 7:13). All these are the senses of the intuition of the spirit. We may say that the intuition of the spirit has just as many senses as the soul.
Yet the intuition of the spirit differs from the sense of the soul. The main difference is that the sense of the soul springs from a cause, but the intuition of the spirit is without a cause. The cause of the sense of the soul is but from men, events, and outward things. Whether it be a man, an event, or a thing, it can cause us to have a soulish consciousness. If it is delightful, we are happy; if it is sorrowful, we feel sorry. Such senses of the soul, which are due to outward influences, are senses with a cause. Yet the intuition of the spirit is without a cause, which means that it is without a means but is directly present in the deep part of the spirit. Not only is it not influenced by men, events, or things from without; it is also not influenced by the sense of the soul. In fact, it often acts contrary to the sense of the soul.
For example, sometimes we want to do a certain thing. Our reasons are quite sufficient, our heart is also very happy, and we have willed to carry it out. Yet we do not know why we have in our spirit an unspeakable condition. We feel very heavy and depressed, as if the spirit is opposing what our mind thinks, our emotion likes, and our will has determined. Our spirit seems to be saying that we should not carry out what we have planned. Such a consciousness is the forbidding of the intuition of the spirit. Sometimes there is a certain matter that has no reason to support it; it is also contrary to our likes, and we are not willing to carry it out. Yet, although we know not why, we constantly feel in the spirit a kind of urging and moving, desiring us to carry it out. Once we do it, we feel comfortable within. Such consciousness is the urging of the intuition in the spirit.
Such forbidding or urging of the intuition in the spirit occurs without a cause. It is a deeper sense that occurs because of the working of the law of life and the anointing. Because of this, we can directly touch God, know God, and know His will. Such knowing in the intuition of the spirit is what the Scripture speaks of as “revelation.” Thus, revelation is nothing but the Holy Spirit in our spirit showing us the reality of a particular event so that we may comprehend it clearly. Such knowledge can be said to be the deepest knowledge of God within us. It is also the inward knowledge of which we are speaking.
Although the inward knowledge is in the intuition of our spirit, it still must be understood by the mind of our soul. This is because the organ of understanding and comprehension is the mind. Therefore, the inward knowledge needs not only to be known by the spirit but also to be comprehended by the mind. The knowing of the intuition in the spirit must have added to it the understanding of the mind in order to have comprehension. The understanding of the mind is a kind of interpretation by the mind of the intuition of the spirit. Whenever we have an intuitive consciousness in our spirit, our mind is needed to understand and interpret it. This means that we take the related men, events, or things and check them with this intuitive consciousness of the spirit. We check until the spirit “echoes.” We then know the intention of the Holy Spirit and can take action accordingly.
For example, when we come to the Lord, and feel a burden in the intuition deep within, we know that guidance from God has come to us. This is a knowing in the spirit. Yet we may not be clear whether this guidance from God is for us to preach the gospel or to visit a brother. If it is to visit a brother, which brother should we visit? All of this requires the mind to understand. We should, in our mind, place before God one by one all the things that we should do and check with the intuition within. If when we come to the matter of visiting the brothers there is a response within, then we understand that God wants us to visit some brothers. Then in this fellowship with God we further bring forward, one by one, many brothers who we should visit and check with the intuition of the spirit. When we check concerning the brother who is in need, there may be no response in the spirit. When we check concerning the brother who is sick, there may also be no response in the spirit. But when we consider another brother who has gotten into trouble, the intuition in the spirit responds, and it is as if the inside of our whole being says, Amen! If we are afraid that we may be wrong, we may take more of the brothers who need to be visited and check concerning them too. If the spirit does not respond to any of them, we understand that the person God wants us to visit is the brother who has gotten into trouble. This is using the mind to understand what is known in the spirit, or using the mind to interpret the consciousness in the spirit.
Another example is that in prayer you may have a burden, feeling that God wants you to say something to the brothers and sisters. This burden is the knowing in the intuition. Yet as to what God wants you to say, you are not clear. This requires that in your mind you take one message after another and check them with the burden in your spirit. When you check the matter of dealing with the flesh, the spirit responds. Then you understand that God wants you to speak on this subject. This understanding is the comprehension of the mind. Thus, the burden of the intuition in the spirit makes known to you that God wants you to do something, and the understanding of the mind in the soul enables you to comprehend what the thing is that God wants you to do.
Perhaps on the Lord’s Day, as usual, you want to offer some money. But your spirit has a burden, a feeling that God wants you to give a special offering. But how much God wants you to offer, for what matter, and for which person must be understood in the mind. In this way not only do you have in the intuition the burden of God, but you also understand in the mind the intention of God. This, then, is the inward knowledge.
Such a way of doing things may seem quite awkward. Yet, when a man is just beginning to learn to interpret the consciousness of the spirit with his mind, he should carry it out in this way. Later, when he has learned to be habitual in so doing and has become proficient, as soon as there is the consciousness or knowing in the spirit, the mind immediately can comprehend and understand.
Now that we have seen every aspect of the inward knowledge, we must see the way of practice or the way of obtaining the inward knowledge. To obtain the inward knowledge, we must exercise the spirit, renew the understanding, and deal with the heart.
Since the inward knowledge is in the intuition of our spirit, if we want to obtain such knowledge, we must often exercise and use our spirit so that it is lively and strong. It is only when the spirit is lively and strong that the intuition of the spirit is conscious and alert, thus enabling us to know God from within.
In order to exercise the spirit, we first must learn to turn to the spirit. If we constantly live in the outward man, we have no way to know God in the intuition of the spirit. We must learn to put aside the outward, busy doings and entanglements. We should refrain not only from being so busy outwardly but also from allowing our thinking to run wild. Instead, we should pay attention to the move in the spirit, the consciousness deep within. The child Samuel, ministering to the Lord, could hear His voice; Mary, quietly sitting at the Lord’s feet, could understand the Lord’s words. If we can thus turn to the spirit to be near to God, we can actually touch the consciousness of God in the spirit and thereby know God.
We also need to exercise and use the spirit in our daily living. Whether dealing with people, managing affairs, handling things, or in meetings serving the Lord and ministering the word of God; whether in conversing with others or even in doing business; in all matters we must deny the soul and let the spirit lead. We must not let our mind, emotion, or will lead, but in all things first try to touch the consciousness deep in the spirit. That is, we must first try to ask what the Lord who dwells in our spirit has to say. If we continue to exercise in this way, the consciousness in our spirit will definitely be alert, and it will then be an easy matter for the inward knowledge to increase and deepen.
In exercising the spirit, the best practice is prayer, for prayer requires exercising the spirit more than any other activity. We often love idle talking, but we will not pray or praise; therefore, our spirit is often shriveled up. If we could spend an hour or more in prayer daily, not in asking but in worshipping, fellowshipping and praising, before long our spirit would definitely grow and become strong. The psalmist says that he praised the Lord seven times a day (Psa. 119:164). If those who practice boxing practice one hour every day, after a certain period of time their fists will be very strong. Likewise, if we exercise our spirit every day to pray, our spirit will definitely become strong. When the spirit is strong, the intuition will surely be alert. We can then, with an alert intuition, obtain more knowledge of God.
We have already mentioned that the inward knowledge requires not only the knowing in the spirit but also the understanding of the mind. Therefore, if we want to obtain this inward knowledge, we need to exercise our spirit and to renew the understanding of our mind. The mind is the organ for understanding things; understanding is its main capability.
Romans 12:2 shows that only when the mind, which contains the understanding, is renewed and transformed can we “prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.” Colossians 1:9 also shows that in having spiritual understanding we can “be filled with the full knowledge of His will.” Therefore, renewing the understanding of the mind is a necessity in the matter of knowing God.
Before we were saved, our entire being, including our mind, was fallen. Every imagination of the thoughts of our heart was evil (Gen. 6:5), and our thinking and perception were also filled with the savor of the world. Since our mind was in such a state, our understanding became dimmed. Therefore, we were totally unable to comprehend spiritual things. Even less could we understand the will of God. When we were saved, we were renewed by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). This renewing work of the Holy Spirit begins first in our spirit and then expands to our soul to renew the understanding of our mind so that we may know the things of the spirit. The more the understanding of our mind is renewed by the Holy Spirit, the more we can comprehend spiritual things and understand the will of God.
Though this renewing of the understanding of the mind is done by the Holy Spirit, we must bear two responsibilities:
First, we must consecrate ourselves. In Romans 12, before the mind is renewed and transformed, we are asked to present our bodies a living sacrifice. This shows that the renewing of the understanding of the mind is based upon our consecration. If we are really willing to consecrate and give ourselves to God, then the Holy Spirit of God can expand His renewing work into our soul and thereby renew the understanding of our mind.
Second, we must accept the dealings of the cross to cast away the old living of the past. Ephesians 4:22-23 shows that only when we put away the old man of our former manner of life, can our mind, which contains our understanding, be renewed. Before we were saved, our old way of living had already darkened the understanding of our mind. After we were saved, by the death of the Lord on the cross, we put away the old living of the past. This allows the killing of the Lord’s cross to abolish, one by one, all the old ways of living. Only then can the understanding of our mind be renewed. Thus, we must accept the dealings of the cross for the understanding of our mind to be renewed. The degree to which we allow the cross to abolish our old living is the extent to which the understanding of our mind can be renewed.
Ephesians 4:23 says, “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” We know that the mind is the main part of the soul. Originally, it was not related to the spirit, but now the spirit has become the spirit of our mind; therefore, it is connected to the mind. This is because the spirit has expanded and reached the mind of our soul so that we may be renewed in this spirit, that is, that our mind may be renewed by being connected to the spirit. Hence, this renewal is expanded from the spirit to the mind.
The work of the Spirit within us is from center to circumference, which also means from the inner spirit to the outer soul. The Spirit first renews our spirit, which is the center of our being within. Then, if we consecrate ourselves to Him and accept the dealings of the cross, He will expand from our spirit to the soul, which is the outer circumference. This will renew every part of our soul. This means that when our soul submits to the ruling of the Spirit and becomes united to our spirit, it is renewed. Therefore, the understanding of the mind is also renewed.
After we receive the regeneration of the Holy Spirit in our spirit, if we consecrate ourselves to God and accept the dealings of the Holy Spirit through the cross to put away our old living, the Holy Spirit can then continuously do His expanding work within us, renewing the understanding of our mind in the soul. Only such a renewed understanding can match the intuition in the spirit. Whenever God makes something known to us in the intuition of our spirit, the understanding of the mind can immediately understand. When we have a strong and alert spirit plus a renewed and clear understanding, we can then have a full inward knowledge of the nature of God and of all His leading and revelation.
The heart is the aggregate of man; therefore, if the heart has problems, all the activities of the spirit and life within us will suffer hindrance and limitation. Even though our spirit is alert and our understanding is renewed, if there are problems with our heart, we still cannot obtain the inward knowledge of God. Therefore, we must also deal with our heart so that it may be soft and clean, loving God, wanting God, and obeying God.
In Matthew 11:25 the Lord said that God has hid the spiritual things from the wise and intelligent and has revealed them to infants. The “wise and intelligent” are those who are self-right in their heart, self-satisfied and stubborn; therefore, they cannot see the spiritual things of God. “Infants” are those who are humble and soft in their hearts; therefore, they can receive the revelation of God. Thus, our heart must be dealt with until it is humble and soft. It is only when it is rid of its self-satisfaction and stubbornness that we can receive the inward revelation and knowledge of God.
In Matthew 5:8 the Lord said that “the pure in heart...shall see God.” If our heart is not pure in that we have inclinations and desires other than God, there is within us a veil that hinders us from seeing God clearly. Yet whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away (2 Cor. 3:16). Thus, we must deal with our heart. Our heart must be pure and not “double-souled” (James 4:8); then we can receive light and revelation in the spirit, comprehend and understand in the mind, and thus know God.
In John 14:21 the Lord said that “he who loves Me...I...will manifest Myself to him.” Mary the Magdalene, on the morning of the Lord’s resurrection, because of her keen love for the Lord, sought for Him. She received the first manifestation of the Lord to His disciples after His resurrection and became the first one who knew the resurrected Christ (ch. 20). Brother Lawrence said that if one wants to know God, love is the only way. Our heart must love God and seek God; then we can have the manifestation of God and know Him.
In John 7:17 the Lord said, “If anyone resolves to do His will, he will know...” This reveals that our heart must want God and His will; then we can know God and know the will of God.
In Philippians 2:13 the apostle Paul says that it is God who operates in us both the willing and the working. If our heart does not submit or is not willing to submit to the operating of God within us, God cannot work in us; thus, we cannot receive the consciousness that His operating would give us in the knowledge of Himself. Hence, our heart must be dealt with until it not only can submit to God but is also willing to submit to God. Then we can receive the consciousness and knowledge that come through the operating of God within us.
Therefore, we must (1) exercise and use the spirit until it is strong and alert, (2) have our understanding renewed by the Spirit, and (3) deal with our heart until it is soft and pure, loving God, wanting God, and submissive to God; then we can have the inward knowledge of God.
Because God delights that man should know Him, He has given man many ways and means so that he may know Him. In Old Testament times He manifested His acts and declared His ways to men so that they might know Him. But the knowledge man had of Him by those acts and ways was only outward, objective, shallow, and incomplete. Therefore, at the time of the New Testament, though He still uses His acts and ways to make Himself known to us, the most important and glorious thing is that He Himself as the Spirit has entered into us to be our life. This enables us to have an inward, subjective, deep, and full knowledge of Him.
When God is in us as life, He causes us to have a law of divine life within, which regulates us from within continuously, causing us to know the nature of His life. The law of this life, because it is a law, is not a person; it is fixed and unchangeable. It regulates us within unchangeably according to the nature of the life of God. The result is that it causes the manner, nature, and taste of our living to be in accord with the nature of God.
The Spirit of God dwelling in us is as the ointment, anointing and teaching us to know Him. Since this ointment is God Himself, it is a person, and it is unlimited and flexible. This ointment in us continuously anoints into us the infinite God Himself. The result is that it causes our whole person, behavior, and conduct to be filled with the essence of God and agree with the will of God.
God, as the law of life and the anointing, begins first in our spirit and then expands to our soul so that our mind might comprehend and understand. Therefore, we need to exercise the spirit so that the intuition of the spirit might be alert. We also need to have our mind renewed so that the understanding of our mind can be clear. In addition, we need to deal with our heart so that it might be soft and pure, loving God, wanting God, and submissive to God. In this way, as soon as the law of life and the anointing move within us, the intuition in our spirit will immediately know, the understanding of our mind will also immediately comprehend, and we can have the inward knowledge of God at any time.
For such an inward knowledge, God has also given us the teaching and principles of the Bible from without to check and prove us so that we may not be mistaken or deceived. In addition, through His many servants from without, God teaches or repeats the consciousnesses we feel from within. He may teach our mind to comprehend the consciousness we have in the spirit, or He may make clear to us the deep things of God and the fundamental knowledge of the spiritual life.
Since from within and without we have so many ways and means to know God, we can “be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to walk worthily of the Lord to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and growing by the full knowledge of God” (Col. 1:9-10). When we know God in this way, we not only can fully know the will of God, but we can also grow and mature in the life of God. The more we increase in the knowledge of God, the more we will grow in the life of God until He completely occupies us. Then the essence of God will be fully wrought into us, thus fulfilling that glorious goal of God’s desire to be mingled with us as one.
