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Now we will see the thirteenth main point concerning the knowledge of life: the outlet of life. If we want to know the way of life and pursue after the growth of life, we must be clear about the outlet of life, the way through which life comes out from within us.
Almost every main point in this chapter has already been mentioned in the previous chapters. Now we will again consider each point specifically.
God regenerates us through His Spirit, and, by this, His life is brought into our spirit; therefore, our spirit is the place where life is.
When the life of God, which is in the Spirit of God, enters into our spirit, these three are mingled as one and become what Romans 8:2 calls “the Spirit of life.” Hence, this three-in-one spirit of life within us is the place where life is.
In the chapter “The Law of Life,” we said that the heart is the entrance and exit of life as well as the switch of life; therefore, the heart is very closely related to the growing out of life.
Matthew 13 is the place in the Bible which says distinctly that the heart is related to the growing out of life. The Lord said there that life is the seed, and the heart is the ground; therefore, the heart is the place where life grows out from within us. Whether or not life can grow out from within us depends entirely on the condition of our heart. If the heart is proper and upright, life can grow out; but if the heart is improper and crooked, life cannot grow out. Thus, if we want life to grow out from within us, we must deal with our heart.
Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” This says that our heart needs to be pure. To deal with our heart is to deal with the purity of our heart, that is, to cause our heart to desire God, love God, and incline toward God in simplicity, having no other love or desire beside God. When our heart is dealt with and becomes pure, then it is proper and upright. In this way life can grow out.
Though the heart is the outlet of life, the place where life grows out, yet if life is to grow out from the heart, it must pass through the conscience, emotion, mind, and will — the four parts of the heart. Therefore, these four parts become the places through which life passes. Thus, we must see the relationship between each of these four parts and the growing out of life.
When life grows out from within us, it passes through our conscience. The conscience needs to be without offense. To deal with the conscience is to make the conscience without offense.
Before we were saved, while we were yet sinners, we often offended God and wronged men in our conduct and behavior; our heart was filthy and deceitful; therefore, the conscience, being darkened, was full of offenses and leakages and was extremely unclean. Hence, as soon as we are saved, we should deal with the conscience. When we were first saved, a major portion of the lessons we learned, such as making restitution for past debts, clearing our old living, etc., was to cause us, even from the outset of following the Lord, to deal adequately with the conscience so that it could be clean and without offense. Afterward, during our entire life of following the Lord, we might fail at times and become weak, thereby falling into sin and the flesh or becoming contaminated and occupied by the world, thus again causing our conscience to have both offenses and leakages; therefore, we need to deal continually with our conscience so that it may be kept constantly free of offense. First Timothy 1:19 says, “Holding...a good conscience, concerning which some, thrusting these away, have become shipwrecked regarding the faith.” This shows that dealing with the conscience is very much related to the growth of life. Whenever we thrust aside the conscience and neglect the conscience, life is immediately blocked and imprisoned. Therefore, if we desire to have growth in life, if we want the life within us to have an outlet and grow out from our heart, it is imperative that we deal with the conscience.
To deal with the conscience means to deal with all the offenses and the restless and uneasy feelings of the conscience. Before God, whether we become unrighteous because of sin, unholy because a part of the world has occupied our heart, or uneasy because of other inharmonious conditions, our conscience condemns us within, thus causing us to have feelings of offense and uneasiness before God. If we want to deal with the conscience, we must pay attention to such consciousnesses in the conscience. Therefore, to deal with the conscience is to deal with these consciousnesses in the conscience. When we have dealt thoroughly with them, our conscience can be exceedingly clean and secure, having neither offense nor accusation. In this way life can naturally grow out from within us.
In our actual experience, in order to deal with the conscience so that it is wholly clean, there is often a situation of overdoing the matter. This means that the conscience is being dealt with so that it becomes overly sensitive, almost to the extent of being weak. In this condition, one dares not move or act; with each move comes the feeling of offense, and with each act comes the sense of restlessness. This seems to be a case of going too far; yet it is necessary in the initial stage of learning to deal with the conscience.
The period in which I dealt with my conscience most severely was in 1935. At that time I appeared to be a mental case. For example, when I went to others’ homes, after entering the gate, if no one came to open the door, I dared not open it and enter in. Once I entered into the living room, if no one invited me to sit down, I dared not sit down; and if I did, within me I would feel that I was infringing on another’s sovereignty. If there were newspapers before me, if no one invited me to read them, I also dared not read them, and if I did, I would also feel within me that I was infringing on another’s sovereignty. At that time, when I wrote a letter, I had to write it three or four times. The first time I wrote, I felt some words in it were not accurate, so I tore it up and wrote again. After the second writing, I again felt some words were not fitting, so I tore it up and wrote the third time. I also dared not speak to others. If I spoke, I felt there were some mistakes: either what I said was not accurate, or I spoke too much; and if I did not deal with it, I could not be at ease.
Once in Shanghai I lived with another brother in a small room. When we washed our face, we had to bring water to our room and wash. That room was very narrow; even if we were very careful, we could not help splashing a few drops of water on the other person’s bed. At that time I often splashed water on that brother’s bed. Though after a little while the water dried, and strictly speaking, it could not be counted as a sin, yet my conscience simply was not at ease and had a feeling of offense. I could only confess to him and apologize, saying, “Brother, please forgive me, I just splashed quite a few drops of water on your bed.” When I confessed in this way, my conscience was again not at ease. It clearly was only three drops of water; how could I say “quite a few drops”? I could only confess again. In the afternoon I was a little careless: I stepped on his shoes underneath his bed, and again my conscience would not let me go. I had to confess again. Daily, from morning till night, I was dealing with this kind of sin. Eventually, that brother became very impatient, and I was also embarrassed to make further confessions; yet if I did not confess, it would not do. One day there was another offense; if I confessed to him, I feared he might lose patience; if I did not confess, I could not be at ease. At night, after the meal, he wanted to take a walk, and I offered to go out with him. I then found a chance to tell him, saying, “I was wrong again, please forgive me.” Then the brother said, “The worst person is one who does wrong but would not confess. The best person is one who does not do wrong and does not confess. One who is neither good nor bad is one who does wrong and also confesses.” After I heard that, I said in my heart: “Lord, have pity on me! I would not want to be the worst person, and I cannot be the best person; I can only be a person who is neither bad nor good.”
During that time I really dealt too much with my conscience. Yet now as I look back, that was still necessary. Indeed, one who wants to have real growth in life must pass through a period of dealing with the conscience in such a severe way. If the conscience is not dealt with adequately, life cannot grow properly.
When our conscience has passed through such severe and thorough dealings, its consciousness is more and more sensitive. It is like the glass of a window: when it is covered with dust and dirt, light cannot penetrate; but if we rub it a bit, it is a little clearer. The more we rub it, the clearer it becomes, and the more it allows the light to come through. Dealing with the conscience is like this. The more the conscience is dealt with, the clearer and brighter it becomes and the more sensitive its consciousness is.
The more sensitive the conscience is, the softer is the heart, because in every softened heart the conscience is most sensitive. If only there is a little consciousness, it can sense it immediately. We may say that a sensitive conscience definitely belongs to a softened heart. All whose heart is hardened have a numb conscience. The more numb a person’s conscience is, the more hardened his heart is. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit wants to soften our heart, He always moves our conscience first. When preaching the gospel, we always speak of sin; this is because our intention is to move man’s conscience so that man may feel he has many wrongs and offenses. When man’s conscience is moved, his heart is also softened; then he is willing to receive the Lord’s salvation.
Since a sensitive conscience that is without offense can soften the heart, it naturally can allow life to grow out from us. Thus, the conscience is the first place through which life passes when it grows out, or the first section of the outlet for the growing out of life.
When life grows out from within us, the second place through which it passes is the emotion of our heart. With the emotion of the heart, it is a question of love. To deal with the emotion is to cause our emotion to fervently love the Lord.
We know that whatever a man does, the most important question is whether he likes it or not. If he likes it, he is willing and happy to do it; if he does not like it, he is neither willing nor happy to do it. If we would allow the life of the Lord within us to grow out freely, it also requires that we be happy to cooperate with Him and willing to let Him work. Therefore, when God wants to work on us, He often moves our emotion first in order to make us willing to cooperate with Him. Many places in the Bible speak of loving the Lord. They are all mentioned with the intention of moving our emotion. For example, in John 21 the Lord said to Peter, “Do you love Me more than these?” This means that the Lord wanted to move the emotion of Peter; He desired that Peter would love Him so completely that His life could have a way out from him. Again, in Romans 12:1-2 the apostle Paul says, “I exhort you...through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice...that you may prove what the will of God is.” When he speaks here of the compassions of God, it is also to move our emotion, to make us love the Lord, want the Lord, seek after the Lord, and consecrate ourselves to the Lord; then we can understand the things of God. These examples show that if we want the life of the Lord to have an outlet from within us, besides a conscience without offense, we also need an emotion that fervently loves the Lord.
The emotion that really loves the Lord is intimately related to our heart and our conscience. First Timothy 1:5 says, “The end of the charge is love out of a pure heart and out of a good conscience...” This passage speaks of emotion, heart, and conscience together. Paul’s intention here was to tell Timothy that much of the talking of men does not count, but that love and love alone is the end of all. Yet where does this love come from? It comes out of a pure heart and a good conscience. Thus, it is necessary to have a pure heart and a good conscience before love can be produced. For this reason, when we help others, we must first help them to deal with their heart and their conscience. When the heart and the conscience are dealt with, the emotion can easily love the Lord and want the Lord. When there is love in the emotion, it affords an outlet to the life of God from our spirit. Thus, the emotion is the second place through which the growing out of life passes, or the second part of the outlet for the growing out of life.
The third part through which the growing out of life passes is our mind. The mind needs to be renewed. To deal with the mind means to have our mind renewed and delivered from all the old thoughts. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.” This indicates that only when we have a renewed and transformed mind can we understand the will of God and allow the life of the Lord to pass through and grow out naturally. Thus, the mind is also intimately related to the growing out of life.
All the renewing work in our entire person is done by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). Therefore, when speaking of the renewing of the mind, we still must begin with the work of the Holy Spirit. We know that the beginning of the work of the Holy Spirit within us is to regenerate us. After this, much of the continuing working of the Holy Spirit within us is to renew us. The Holy Spirit regenerating us causes us to receive the life of God and have the nature of God. The Holy Spirit renewing us causes us to know God and to understand the will of God and have the mind of God.
The parts within us that the Holy Spirit in His renewing work renews are the spirit and the mind. In the chapter entitled “The Inward Knowledge” we made it clear that if we want to know God, it is accomplished on our part by the spirit and by the mind. First, we obtain the knowing of the intuition in the spirit, and then we gain the comprehension in the mind; by this we understand the will of God and know God. Thus, the spirit and the mind can be said to be one set of organs for us to know God. To have the spirit alone is not sufficient; to have the mind alone is also not enough. We must have both the spirit and the mind. It is like a light bulb shining forth with electric light. The light bulb alone is not sufficient; the filament alone is also not enough. It requires both to work together. Since the Holy Spirit’s renewing is for the purpose of our knowing God, He must naturally renew the set of organs for knowing God, namely, our spirit and our mind.
Ephesians 4:22-23 says, “That you put off, as regards your former manner of life, the old man...and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” This passage, when speaking of the matter of renewing, combines the mind and spirit together and calls the spirit the spirit of the mind. Although in the understanding of God’s will, it is a matter of the mind, the mind itself cannot directly touch God and know God. In order to understand the will of God, we must first use the spirit to touch God and sense God; then we must use the mind to comprehend the meaning in the intuition of the spirit. Thus, in the matter of understanding the will of God, as far as the mind is concerned, it needs the cooperation of the spirit; as far as the spirit is concerned, it is joined to the mind and is of the mind. It is like the filament in the light bulb, which is connected to the light bulb and also belongs to the light bulb. Hence, in this passage the Bible calls our spirit the spirit of the mind. When the Holy Spirit renews the spirit of our mind, it means that He renews our spirit and our mind. The Holy Spirit renews our spirit because in the matter of knowing God the spirit is of the mind; therefore, the real renewing of the mind always begins with the renewing of the spirit. The Holy Spirit first renews our spirit, and then He renews our mind; thus, the spirit of our mind is renewed.
When the spirit of our mind is thus renewed by the Holy Spirit, our spirit becomes lively and keen. Every time the Holy Spirit works and anoints, this spirit can sense and know. In the meantime our mind is also clear and proficient; it can immediately interpret the meaning of the intuition in the spirit. In this way we can understand the will of God. Then whatever our mind thinks and considers is on the side of the spirit; it no longer yields to the flesh to be employed by the flesh. Our mind then will no longer be a mind set on the flesh, but a mind set on the spirit. Romans 8:6 calls such a mind the “mind set on the spirit.” Since such a mind is constantly set on the spirit and is mindful of the spirit, it allows the life of God to grow out continuously from our spirit.
In summary, concerning the renewing of the mind, there are these three points: First, Romans 12 says that the mind needs to be renewed and needs to put off all the old thoughts; second, Ephesians 4 says that the mind needs the spirit to cooperate with it, to be joined as one with it so that the spirit may become the spirit of the mind; third, Romans 8 says that the mind should stand on the side of the spirit, yield to the spirit, be of the spirit, be constantly set on the spirit, mind the spirit, and heed the move and consciousness of the spirit, thereby becoming a “mind set on the spirit.” When the mind is thus renewed, has the cooperation of spirit, and stands on the side of the spirit, it can allow life to pass through and grow out smoothly without hindrance. Thus, the mind is the third place through which the growing out of life passes, or the third part of the outlet for the growing out of life.
Fourth, the growing out of life passes through our will. We have seen that the heart needs to be pure, the conscience needs to be without offense, the emotion needs to be loving, and the mind needs to be renewed. Then, what does the will need? From the Bible we see that the will needs to be pliable. As far as the will is concerned, it is a matter of being pliable. To deal with the will is to make our will pliable.
The will is the organ of our proposals and decisions. Whether we want or not, decide or not, all are functions of the will. When we say “I want,” or “I decide,” it means that our will wants, our will decides. Thus, the will is the most essential part of our whole being; it determines our actions and our moves. We may say that it is the helm of our whole person. Just as a boat turns according to the helm, so a man moves forward or backward according to his will.
The will of a man is entirely independent, entirely free. It cannot be forced or compelled to do whatever it opposes or disapproves. Just as it acts in this way toward man, so also does it act this way toward God. Thus, whether the life of God can grow out from within us is very much related to whether our will is pliable and surrendered. If our will is hard, obstinate, rebellious, and in all things acting according to our own ideas, there is no way for the life of God to grow out. If our will is softened, pliable, and willing to act according to the working of life, the life of God can grow out. Hence, our will is the fourth place through which the growing out of life passes, or the fourth part of the outlet for the growing out of life.
We must note that whenever we mention the heart, we refer to these various parts, either to the conscience of the heart, the emotion of the heart, the mind of the heart, or the will of the heart. When we say that a person’s heart is not pure, we refer to the heart as a whole. When we say that this person’s heart is without offense, without condemnation, we refer to the conscience. When we say that a person’s heart loves the Lord, we refer to the emotion. When we say that a person’s heart does not understand, we refer to the mind. When we say that this person’s heart is hard and stubborn, we refer to the will. When we speak of dealing with our heart, we mean dealing with these five aspects of the heart.
If we can deal with our heart until it is pure, without offense, loving the Lord, clear and proficient, and pliable, then we have a heart that is useful to the life of God, and we can allow the life of God to have a clear outlet from within us.
Having seen where life is, the exit of life, and the passage of life, we know that if we want the life of God to have a way to grow out from us, we must deal with our spirit, heart, conscience, emotion, mind, and will until there are no problems in them. This is because the life of God takes our spirit as its abode, and it takes our heart, conscience, emotion, mind, and will as the outlet. If any one of these six organs has trouble, the life of God is blocked and cannot emerge. Therefore, if we desire to seek the growth in life, it really is not so simple. Not only should we touch the spirit and know the spirit; we also should deal with every part of the heart. If we fall short in any way, we will not succeed. For this reason the brothers and sisters today who have growth in life are exceedingly few, and their growth is very slow.
Sometimes you see a brother who you cannot say does not love the Lord; in fact, he is quite good in every way. But because his mind is peculiar, his whole spiritual future is paralyzed. Some sisters have dealt with their conscience, and there is no problem with their mind; yet because they fall short in their emotion, having other loves beside the Lord, they also do not have much spiritual growth. There are some brothers who have a stubborn will in all things. They insist on their already made-up mind; they are unwilling to be corrected, and they are unable to submit to the shining of light; therefore, life also cannot get out. Thus, to deal adequately with all these parts in our actual living is really not easy. If there is one brother or sister who has no problem at all in these matters, it is really a miracle. May God have mercy on us!
