Search
Now we will see the twelfth main point concerning the knowledge of life, which is the growth of life. If we desire to have further knowledge of life, we must also know what the growth of life is. There are many brothers and sisters whose hearts’ love toward the Lord cannot be said to lack fervency, and the price they have paid also cannot be considered insufficient, yet because they do not know what the real growth of life is, they have many mistaken views and pursuits; thus, the real growth of life in them is quite limited. How unfortunate this is! Therefore, in order that we may have accurate knowledge and proper pursuit in the path of life, we will spend a little time to see what the growth of life is.
Before we see what the growth of life is, however, we will look at the negative side, what the growth of life is not. This will make us more deeply impressed and afford a more precise knowledge.
The improvement of behavior means the changing of a person’s behavior from bad to good, from evil to virtuous. This is what men ordinarily call “forsaking evil ways and returning to the right” or “departing from evil and following after virtue.” For example, a man formerly was very proud; now he is humble. He often used to hate others; now he loves others. He was habitually quick-tempered and easily angered; now his temperament has become slow, and he is no longer quick-tempered. All these can be considered the improvement of behavior. When a man’s behavior is thus improved, is this the growth of life? No!
Why do we say that the growth of life is not the improvement of behavior? It is because behavior and life are things that definitely belong to two different worlds.
Just as evil is other than life, so also is good other than life. Just as evil is not life, so also is good not life. Evil and good, though different in nature, are of the same world; both are other than life, and both are not life. Thus, in the Bible good and evil are not two trees but one tree; life is another tree, being something of another world, another kingdom (Gen. 2:9). We can say that good and evil on one hand and life on the other hand definitely belong to two different categories. Thus, a man, by his own determination and effort, can improve considerably in behavior and yet still be very immature and weak in the life of God. This is because his improvement is entirely apart from life; it is of his own work and not of life. Besides, what he has improved is not the result of his growth in life. Therefore, growth of life is not the improvement of behavior.
What is the expression of piety? The expression of piety differs from improvement of behavior. Improvement of behavior is toward men, which means a person’s behavior and character before men has been improved and becomes better than before. The expression of piety is toward God, which means a person’s attitude before God is full of reverence and fear, besides being devout and sincere. Yet whether it be the improvement of behavior or the expression of piety, both alike are not the growth of life. Some believers may be very reverential and devout before God; they dare not be disrespectful or loose in their behavior and action. We cannot say these expressions are not good, but neither are they the growth of life. This is because such believers only look upon God as One who is high above all, One who is worthy of reverence and fear; therefore, they have a heart of veneration and the expression of piety. Yet as to how God in Christ dwells in man as man’s life, and how by the working of the law of this life He is within man to be God to man, they may not have the slightest knowledge nor the slightest experience. Though they have the expression of piety, yet such expression is not due to the growth of the life of God within them; therefore, it is not an indication that they have the growth of life within them. Hence, growth of life is also not the expression of piety.
What is zealous serving? This means that formerly a believer was indifferent and cold toward the things of God; now he is enthusiastically pressing on in serving God. Or formerly, he seldom came to the meetings, and now he is present at every meeting. Formerly, he was not concerned about the church; now he participates in all kinds of services of the church. Though such zealous serving manifests a believer’s fervency toward the Lord and his diligence in serving the Lord, and though it is also often commended by men, yet such zeal may very possibly be mixed with much human excitement, busyness, and interest. It is also quite possible that such serving is according to the soulish power of man and depends on the strength of man; it is not from the leading of the Holy Spirit; even less does it depend on the life of Christ or help men to have a deeper union with God. Hence, such zealous serving does not come from life and is not of life; therefore, it is not the growth of life.
We see in the Bible that before the apostle Paul was saved, he served God with zeal (Acts 22:3). At that time, though within him he had not received the life of God, he could serve God outwardly by his own excitement and strength in a very zealous manner. This shows that zealously serving God may be wholly unrelated to life. It does not in any way indicate the condition of a person’s life. Therefore, growth of life is also not zealous serving.
Though the increase of a believer’s spiritual knowledge through hearing more messages, knowing more truths, understanding more of the Bible, and comprehending more spiritual terms, etc., is a kind of growth, yet it is not growth of life. The increase of such knowledge only causes his mind to become improved, more thoroughly versed, and have more ability to comprehend. It is not that the Holy Spirit has given greater revelation within him or that life has gained more ground within him so that he has growth in the real knowledge and experience of Christ as life. The increase of such knowledge alone simply causes men to be puffed up (1 Cor. 8:1). It is nothing before God (13:2) and has no value in life. Thus, growth of life is not the increase of knowledge.
Though it is quite precious for a believer to abound in spiritual gifts, such as the ability to minister, heal, speak in tongues, etc., yet this is also not the growth of life. It is the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit descending more upon a believer that causes him to have such gifts. It is not because the life of God has grown and matured within him that the gifts are manifested. It is possible, on the one hand, that a man who is used by the Holy Spirit may manifest more gifts; yet, on the other hand, he may not have allowed the Holy Spirit to have more of the life of God wrought into him. Thus, abounding in gifts does not necessarily mean growing in life.
The believers in Corinth were enriched in all utterance and all knowledge and did not lack in any gift (1 Cor. 1:5, 7), yet in life they were still very immature; indeed, they were fleshy and infants in Christ (3:1). This shows that growth of life is also not to be abounding in gifts.
It is possible that a believer may be more powerful than before in serving God; in preaching or in testifying, he is able to move men more than before; in administering the church or in managing the affairs, he has more wisdom than before. These are an increase in power, but they are still not growth in life. Such increase of power is but an outward power that the Holy Spirit has bestowed on him. It is not that the Holy Spirit has interwoven life within him, and thus, through his spirit manifested life power from within him; therefore, it is neither from life nor of life. Thus, the increase of such power is also not the growth of life.
Luke 9 says that in the beginning all the twelve disciples who followed the Lord received power and authority from the Lord so that they could subdue all kinds of demons and heal all kinds of diseases; yet at that time the condition of their spiritual life was very immature. This suffices to show that the increase of power is not the growth of life.
From these six negative points we see that it is not by being improved in our behavior, by having an expression of piety before God, by being zealous in serving God, by increasing our spiritual knowledge, by abounding in outward gifts, or by our power in work being augmented that we have the growth in life. None of these are the growth of life. It is a pity that almost all Christians today take these as standards for the growth of life. They determine whether or not there is growth of life in a Christian by looking at his behavior, piety, zeal, knowledge, gifts, and power. Such a way of evaluating things is not accurate. Copper is very much like gold, yet it is not gold. Likewise, though these six points somewhat resemble the growth of life, they are not the growth of life. Of course, real growth of life will manifest these six points to some extent; yet to measure the growth of life merely by these six points is not right.
Then what is the growth of life? This requires that we consider the matter again, this time from the positive side.
The increase of the element of God means that more of God Himself is blended into us, is gained by us, and has become our element. We have said that life is God Himself, and to experience life is to experience God; therefore, the growth of life is the increase of the element of God in us, until all that is of the Godhead is completely formed in us that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19).
While life is God Himself, God being our life is Christ; therefore, the Bible says that Christ is our life. We can say that when we are regenerated, it is Christ being born again within us to be our life. But when we first receive it, this life is still very young and immature, which means that the stature of Christ within us is very small. When we love Christ, seek Christ, and allow Christ to live in us more and thereby gain us, the stature of Christ gradually increases within us. This is the growth of life. Since this life is Christ who lives in us, the growth of this life is therefore the increase of the stature of Christ within us.
We have also mentioned that life is not only God, but it is Christ, and it is also the Holy Spirit. We may say that to experience life is to experience the Holy Spirit; therefore, to grow in life also means to allow the Holy Spirit to gain more ground within us. When we pursue more urgently the working of the Holy Spirit within us and give diligence in obeying the teaching of the Holy Spirit within us as the anointing, the Holy Spirit can then expand His ground extensively; thus, life within us will grow to a great extent. Therefore, the growth of life means also that the ground of the Holy Spirit has expanded within us.
The above three points reveal that if in a believer the element of God is increased, the stature of Christ is increased, and the ground of the Holy Spirit is expanded, his life then has grown. All these points speak from God’s side. Now we will speak from our side. First, the growth of life is the decrease of the human element. The decrease of the human element is the decrease of Adam, the old creation, in man, which also means the decrease of the savor of man and the increase of the savor of God. Some brothers are very enthusiastic, while some sisters are very gentle; in outward appearance they seem to have grown in life, yet they are full of human element, human savor; they cannot cause you to touch the element of God or sense the savor of God. Therefore, if we wish to see whether a brother or sister has grown in life, we cannot simply observe how they behave outwardly, how devout and zealous they are, or how much knowledge, gift, or power they have. Rather, we must discern whether there is the increase of the element of God within these things, or, on the other hand, still an abundance of human element. The decrease of the human element is the increase of the divine element. If a believer has really grown in life, his speech, actions, living, and working must all impart the sense that they are not according to himself but according to God; not of his own intelligence but by the grace of God; therefore, they do not carry the savor of man but more the savor of God, which also means that the human element has decreased, and the element of God has increased. Thus, the growth of life is not only the increase of the element of God but also the decrease of the element of man.
This point is rather important; yet it is rather difficult for the brothers and sisters to apprehend. Although for more than ten years we who serve the Lord in the ministry of the word have been speaking continually in this way, we are still not able to speak this point into the brothers and sisters. We have spoken at times until all nodded their heads in agreement; yet when it came to actual practice, the brothers and sisters still considered whether there was any improvement in behavior or zeal in serving, etc., as standards to determine whether there was the growth in life. Once in a certain place the responsible brothers of the church spoke to me with one voice, saying, “There is a sister here who speaks and walks firmly and lightly, and who is so quiet and gentle, truly spiritual, and full of life.” I then said to them, “If this is called being spiritual or having life, then the statue of Mary in the Catholic Church is even more spiritual and full of life, because it is more gentle and quiet than she.” Her quietness and gentleness were full of human savor and human element; they were entirely the product of human effort. When we want to determine a believer’s condition in life, we cannot go by what he manifests outwardly; we must sense the savor and the element in what he manifests. Is it the savor of God or the savor of man? Is it the element of God or the element of man? Many times our perception may not be accurate, but the smell is accurate. It is possible that a certain piece of clothing appears very clean to you, but if you take it and smell it, you will know that it is full of a filthy odor. Thus, if we want to evaluate the condition of life within a man, it should be like sampling tea — with just a little tasting, you can tell its flavor.
The breaking of a believer’s natural life is also a proof of his growth in life. The breaking of the natural life means that our own power, ability, view, and method are all so dealt with by the Holy Spirit and the cross that they are broken. For example, consider a brother who formerly in his behavior and action, in his working for the Lord, and in his administering of the church, depended on his own natural power, ability, view, and method. In all things he relied on his own power and ability; he used his own concept and method. Later, he was dealt with by the cross and disciplined by the Holy Spirit through the environment so that his natural life was somewhat broken. Now, when he comes to work and manage affairs, he does not trust in his own power, ability, view, and method. Such a man whose natural life has been broken learns no longer to rely on the power of his natural life or to live by his natural life, but he continually depends on the power of the life of God and lives by the life of God. In this way the life within him can grow. Thus, the growth of life is the breaking of the natural life.
When we speak of what deliverance from sin is, we should pay attention to the flesh being crucified; when we speak of what the growth of life is, we should pay attention to the soul being subdued. Positively speaking, the growth of life is the expanding of the ground of the Holy Spirit; negatively speaking, it means that every part of the soul is being subdued. Everyone who lives in the natural life lives by the soul. We all know that the soul has three parts — mind, emotion, and will. Therefore, to live by the soul is to live by the mind, by the emotion, or by the will. The part of a man’s soul that is particularly strong and outstanding is the very part by which that man lives; when he encounters things, he definitely uses that part to deal with them. Once Brother Nee said that it is similar to a man who carelessly walks into a wall; when he does so, his nose always hits first. Whatever part of the body stands out, that part will hit the wall first. The situation of our soul is like this. If a person’s mind is particularly strong, whenever he has an encounter, his mind will definitely come first. If his emotion is particularly thriving, whenever he has an encounter, his emotion will move first. If his will is particularly strong, whenever he has an encounter, it will certainly be his will that takes the lead.
When a man has received sufficient dealings of the cross, every part of his soul is subdued. His mind, emotion, and will are all broken and subdued; they do not stand out as before. Whenever he encounters something, he is afraid to use the mind, he is afraid to use the emotion, he is afraid to use the will. The mind does not come first; the spirit comes first. The emotion does not move first; the spirit moves first. The will does not take the lead; the spirit takes the lead. This means that we should not allow the soul to take the lead but let the spirit be in the position of the head; that is, we should not live by the soul but by the spirit. Such people then have the growth of life. Thus, to grow in life is to have every part of the soul subdued.
After seeing these twelve points concerning what the growth of life is, we know that the real growth of life, on our side, is a matter of decreasing, breaking, and subduing; on God’s side, it is a matter of increasing, growing, and expanding. All this, we may say, is the fundamental knowledge that we should have in the pursuit of life. It is also very much related to our spiritual experience, which we have considered in the book The Experience of Life. Therefore, we must thoroughly comprehend and accurately know all these points.
