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Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 1:8-9, 12; 3:17-18; 4:6-11; 5:9, 14-15; 6:4-10; 12:7-10; 13:3, 5
In this chapter we will fellowship concerning spiritual pursuit and life exercises. Although we have spoken much concerning this in the past, the saints still do not have a strong desire for the Lord. They have heard many messages, but they are still veiled, and there is still not much growth in life among us. Hence, we need further fellowship concerning the way of life. May the Lord have mercy on us and cause us to have a heart for Him so that we would be unveiled to receive light and to walk on this way.
Every form of life in the universe has its law, and God’s life is not an exception. God’s life will operate in us the same way that it operated in Paul two thousand years ago. In the Scripture Reading we listed many verses in which Paul speaks of himself. We hope to receive light from these verses and to see from his experience the basis for spiritual pursuit and life exercises. First, Paul’s experience shows that a person who pursues life must know that Christ is in him as life. In 2 Corinthians 4:6 and 7 Paul says, “The God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts...But we have this treasure in earthen vessels.” According to these verses, the God who shined in Paul’s heart became the treasure in him. This treasure is Christ, who became flesh and has entered into His believers as the life-giving Spirit. This is the first basic knowledge that we must have in the exercise of life. Unless we have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit to see that Christ has shined Himself into us to be our life and our treasure, we cannot pursue life.
In order to pursue life, we must first know that Christ is life in us (Col. 3:4). Paul’s word to the Corinthians confirms this: “Test yourselves whether you are in the faith; prove yourselves. Or do you not realize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are disapproved?” (2 Cor. 13:5). The first item in the exercise of spiritual life is to see that Christ is in us to be our life.
The truth and light in the Bible concerning being in Christ and concerning the cross are always high and profound, but what the Bible says concerning the experiences of being in Christ and of the cross is not so high or profound. In Ephesians Paul says that Christ is far above all, that He has been given to be Head over all things to the church, and that the church is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all (1:21-23). In Colossians he says that Christ is all things and that Christ is in all things (1:15-19). However, in 2 Corinthians the apostle Paul does not speak of his experience as being high or profound. Second Corinthians speaks of being in Christ and of the cross. In comparison to Ephesians and Colossians, however, 2 Corinthians appears to be rather simple and plain. In 2 Corinthians we do not see the Christ who is all in all filling us, nor do we see Christ being all things and being in all things. On the contrary, here Paul says that Christ is the treasure in earthen vessels so that the power of God can be manifested in the weak (4:7).
According to church history, there was a group of people who focused on experience. Their writings do not contain high revelations or profound light but seem simple and insignificant. We must not treasure only the messages on the all-inclusiveness of Christ or His all-inclusive death on the cross. The death of Christ is indeed all-inclusive, but it is of little value if we do not die. Christ is all-inclusive, but what does this mean if we do not experience His all-inclusiveness? Paul did not write only Ephesians and Colossians; he also wrote 2 Corinthians. In Ephesians he writes that Christ fills all things and that the church is His fullness (1:23). In Colossians Paul says that all things cohere in Christ and that He is in all things (1:15-19). In 2 Corinthians Paul says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (4:7). In this verse Paul applies Jesus Christ to himself. Paul was a vessel, but the treasure in him was universal. These verses show that when speaking of revelation and light, the Bible presents something high and profound, but what it says concerning experience is not so high or profound.
On the one hand, we need to see something high and profound, but on the other hand, we need experiences that are simple and small. Otherwise, our experiences can be false. If you leap and praise every day and proclaim, “Hallelujah! Christ is the One who fills all,” and “The death of the cross is all-inclusive,” I would question whether this is real. In Ephesians and Colossians Paul saw the Christ who is in the universe and in all things. This light is very high. However, in 2 Corinthians Paul experienced the Christ who is in an earthen vessel. He had small and simple experiences of Christ. His living in poverty was in Christ, his fasting was in Christ, his suffering of reproach was in Christ, his being praised was in Christ, and his being in want was in Christ; whether through evil report or through good report, he experienced Christ (6:4-10). This is Christ in our experience.
Some have asked me how God can care about so many trivial things: He cares about the shoes and clothes we wear, whether we watch movies, and how we socialize. The general concept about God is that He is too great to be involved in the trivial and petty matters of our living. We must be clear that the revelation of Christ is high and profound, but our experience is often simple and small. If we cannot experience Christ in small things, the light we have seen is questionable.
This is true not only of our experience of Christ but also of our enjoyment of the things in the universe. For example, the ocean is filled with water, but we would drown if all the water in the ocean were poured on us. We can receive water only one sip at a time.
In the late 1820s the Lord raised up the British Brethren and gave them substantial spiritual light. In the early twentieth century He raised up Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis. She knew the cross and knew the truth concerning the believers’ co-crucifixion with Christ. She was helped by the mystics, just as Brother Andrew Murray was also helped. Mrs. Penn-Lewis read almost all the writings of Madame Guyon. She even wrote a summary of one of Madame Guyon’s well-known books, Spiritual Torrents; this summary was published as Life out of Death. The writings of Mrs. Penn-Lewis are rather weighty, and those with spiritual experience acknowledge that Mrs. Penn-Lewis was spiritual. However, believers in the Brethren assembly oppose Mrs. Penn-Lewis. These believers have seen the light of the cross but neglect the experience of the cross. They do not understand that light is comparable to theory and that experience is comparable to practice. Hence, we must not focus merely on objective truth while neglecting subjective experience.
The mystics, however, were too much in experience. For example, Brother Lawrence knew more about God from seeing a leaf fall. In principle this is right, but focusing on experience can become a problem. Those who read the writings of only the mystics can become narrow. The Bible says that everyone who believes into the Lord will have eternal life (John 3:15; 6:40) and that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:13). However, the mystics say that a person must answer the Lord’s solemn call before he can be regenerated. Their so-called answering the Lord’s solemn call refers to overcoming. It is a mistake for them to regard regeneration as being related to the growth of spiritual life. As soon as a person calls on the Lord’s name, he receives the Lord’s life. This is regeneration. The mystics, however, say that regeneration is not complete until Christ lives and reigns in a person. This overemphasis of experience is in conflict with the light. This is one of the reasons that there have been disputes among believers in church history.
The Lord has shown us the light seen by the Brethren, and He has also shown us the experience of the mystics. The universe is filled with air, but we receive air one breath at a time. Similarly, the universe is filled with Christ, but in order to experience Him, we need to receive Him as our life in our being and in the small things of our living. I am concerned that many of the Lord’s seekers in the churches still focus either on light or on experience. If they would accept both light and experience, there will not be a problem. Light is profound and revelation is high, but we experience them in simple and small ways.
Based on the light that we have seen, we will consider our experience. Second Corinthians 4:7 says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels.” This means that the One who fills all things has come into our earthen vessel. Hence, we should not thank and praise the Lord by saying merely, “You are the universe. You are all things.” We should praise Him further by saying, “Lord, You are in me, an earthen vessel.” This is according to experience. In order to experience the divine life, we must first see that the Christ who fills all things is in us. For this reason Paul says, “Do you not realize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?” (13:5). Not only so, the treasure in us manifests the excellency of the power of God (4:7). We must know this if we want to pursue and experience life. The Gentiles do not know that there is a treasure in us, but we must know this.
Like Paul, those who know the treasure and pursue to live out the life of this treasure should be determined to gain the honor of being well pleasing to the Lord (5:9). They should also be constrained by the Lord’s love to no longer live to themselves but to the Lord who died for them and has been raised (vv. 14-15). This is to love the Lord and to consecrate ourselves to Him. We need to see the Lord’s love and consecrate ourselves. We can pray, “Lord, I am determined to stop living to myself but to live to You. You died for me, and You have been raised.” This is the second life exercise.
Third, we must see that the Holy Spirit lives in us and that we must use our spirit to fellowship with the Lord by beholding His beauty and by letting His image become our image through transformation. Second Corinthians 3:17-18 says, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” This is fellowship. After consecration, there should be fellowship. Hence, when we consecrate ourselves to the Lord, we must fellowship with Him so that He can live in us and live out of us. Fellowship causes us to grow in the spiritual life.
The fellowship in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 includes the teaching of the anointing in 1 John 2:27 and the operation of God in Philippians 2:13. We must put these three passages together. The Lord Spirit is in us; hence, we need to open to Him and fellowship with Him so that He can have the opportunity to anoint us and to operate within us. When we receive the teaching of the anointing and follow His operation in us, we will be transformed into the Lord’s image. This is to have Christ formed in us (Gal. 4:19) and to let Him grow in us (Col. 2:19). Hence, as those who love the Lord, we must consecrate ourselves to Him and fellowship with Him. Fellowship brings in the growth of life, which leads to our being transformed into the Lord’s image.
When we know that Christ dwells in us, we should consecrate ourselves to Him so that He can live in us and so that we will be well pleasing to Him. We also need to fellowship with Him so that He can operate in us. Then we will grow in life and be transformed into His image. In addition to these matters, which are within us, we need something from the environment, which is the discipline of the Holy Spirit. The anointing is one aspect of our spiritual life, and the discipline of the Holy Spirit is another aspect.
The discipline of the Holy Spirit does not refer to the Spirit’s ruling within us but to His disciplining us through the people, things, and matters that He arranges in our environment. Everything that we encounter in our environment has an element of the discipline of the Holy Spirit. There was a sister who was so particular about her clothes that she spent a long time getting dressed. One day while she was ironing a pretty dress, she had a sense to stop, but she ignored the sense and continued ironing. After ironing, she put the dress on and went out. As soon as she stepped out the door, a little dog jumped on her with its dirty paws, leaving a mark on her dress. This was the discipline of the Holy Spirit. While she was ironing, the Spirit operated within her, but she would not obey. Hence, there was a dog waiting for her at the door. This dog not only soiled her dress but also tore it. This sister was at a loss, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry. This was the discipline of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit often uses sickness, disobedient children, a complaining wife, a demanding husband, or even a cunning maid to discipline us. For example, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, a brother might realize that he should not serve the Lord in his own way, but he disobeys this sense. One day, however, the Holy Spirit might cause a maid to disobey him, and then he will realize that he also disobeys the Lord.
As one who served the Lord, Paul had many outward situations that caused him to mature in life. Paul was obedient to God; he did not need a “little dog” to deal with him. The dealing of the Holy Spirit with the sister mentioned above was negative, but the dealing of the Holy Spirit with Paul was positive. What befell Paul in Asia was beyond his power (2 Cor. 1:8). What he encountered in his environment was for him to experience the resurrection life within him. Hence, God did not deal with Paul merely for the sake of discipline; rather, God was providing an excellent opportunity for the divine life to mature in him. In order for wheat to ripen, it needs to be exposed to heat from the sun. Such exposure to heat is a dealing in the outward environment.
In 2 Corinthians 12:2-7 Paul says that he was caught away to the third heaven and also into Paradise where he heard unspeakable words, which are not allowed for a man to speak. Because of the transcendence of the revelations, he was given a thorn in the flesh so that he would not be exceedingly lifted up. We do not know what this thorn was, but some people say that it refers to the weakness of his eyes (cf. Gal. 4:15). Whatever the thorn was, it caused him to suffer. Paul, however, says that there were two benefits from the thorn. One benefit was that it subdued him so that he would not be proud but would experience the Lord’s sufficient grace, and the other was that it manifested his weaknesses so that he could experience the Lord’s power (2 Cor. 12:7-9). Although he beheld the Lord and fellowshipped with Him with an unveiled face, Paul needed this thorn in order to mature in life. The thorn was an outward environment.
Paul was both defamed and praised; he received both evil reports and good reports (6:8). This means that while some people spoke well of him, others spoke ill of him. The more useful a person is in the Lord, the more he will be criticized. Mrs. Penn-Lewis, whom we mentioned earlier, is an example. Some people slandered her by saying that she was a witch. Those who are used by the Lord will be praised, criticized, despised, highly regarded, and reviled. They will receive both evil reports and good reports.
Paul had times of poverty and times of abundance. Because he experienced poverty, hunger, and abundance, he was able to enrich many, and he possessed all things (vv. 4-5, 10). These were adjustments from his environment. The life within him coordinated with his environment.
We should not think that we have no need of outward environments in order for us to mature in life. Even Paul needed his environment for the divine life to mature. He testified that his conduct in the world was “not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God” (1:12). This means that it was not easy for Paul to deal with the environment he encountered. Many people may use skillful maneuvering or play tricks in order to cope with their environment. Paul, however, was not like that; he relied on the grace of God.
Furthermore, although Paul’s outer man was persecuted, cast down, and afflicted, he was not abandoned or destroyed (4:9). We should not think that a life of following the Lord is one of ease and comfort, nor should we think that as long as we love the Lord, we will always receive material blessings. Because we have God’s life, the world is an oven, a furnace, to burn us so that our vessels will be fit for His use. There is not one spiritual person whose biography portrays a life that was without any suffering from his environment. Such suffering is not only inevitable but also necessary. The world is a place of suffering. However, to the believers, suffering has a positive meaning. Some Gentiles might be spared from suffering, but for seekers of the Lord, suffering comes by the arrangement of the Holy Spirit for their discipline. For example, we might want to make much money, but the Holy Spirit prevents us from making money; we might want to be poor, but the Holy Spirit sends money our way. Do not think that being poor is a dealing but that being wealthy is not a dealing. Being wealthy can be a dealing.
Hence, on the one hand, our outward environment is in coordination with the divine life, but on the other hand, our outward environment is also a reflection of the divine life, showing the extent of our maturity. Having tears or complaints when we suffer is an indication that we are not yet mature. If we cannot tolerate being poor or being rich, we are not sufficiently mature. When we can bow our head and worship God in the face of suffering, poverty, or abundance, then we are maturing in life.
In order to pursue growth in life, we must know that Christ is our life, we must consecrate ourselves and love the Lord, we must fellowship with the Lord and be transformed into His image, and we must receive the discipline of the Holy Spirit in our environment. This is the way for the divine life to gradually reach maturity.
