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Scripture Reading: Luke 4:18; Heb. 1:9; 1 John 2:27
As we saw in the previous chapters, in order to be a proper, typical, normal Christian, walking in the spirit and following the Lord all the way, we must take care of the inner life. The way to do this is in three aspects: we must know the fellowship of life, the sense of life, and the law of life. I say again, these important matters concerning the Lord Himself, the indwelling Spirit, and the inner life have been very much neglected by today’s Christianity. There are not many messages in Christianity on the fellowship of life, the sense of life, and the law of life. These three items are all related to the inner life, and this inner life is nothing other than the Lord Himself.
God’s economy is to dispense Himself into us. This is why the one, unique God is in three persons. The Trinity is not a mere theology. The Trinity is for our experience of God’s economy, God’s dispensing. In God’s economy He dispenses Himself into us. What we mean by God’s economy is that God the Father works in the Son, and the Son comes into us as the Spirit. When we say that the Spirit dwells in us today, we mean that the three persons of the one Godhead work together within us as life. God mingles with us by being our life. He must be our inner life, and this inner life is nothing less than God Himself.
As we have seen, this life within us is in three main aspects. If we do not know the fellowship of life, the sense of life, and the law of life, the inner life is merely a term to us; we do not know how to deal with the inner life. One brother among us studied and worked in the United States. After he was saved, he sought the Lord very much. When he heard about the Lord’s move in Taiwan, he went there purposely to get the help. After he arrived there, however, he was very bothered. So many of the messages that he heard among us stressed the matter of life. He had never heard or spoken much concerning life. But after he stayed with us for a period of time, the Lord helped him to realize that our real need today is life.
In the beginning of the Scriptures there is the tree of life. Immediately after God created man, He put him in front of the tree of life (Gen. 2:7-9). At the end of the Scriptures there is the tree of life again (Rev. 22:2). The tree of life is the beginning, and it is also the end. God has only this one intention: to work Himself into us as life. Now in order to know this inner life, we must realize that life is God Himself in three persons, mainly in the fellowship of life, the sense of life, and the law of life.
God is life to us in our human spirit, and in our spirit there are three functions: the fellowship, the intuition, and the conscience. The fellowship of life corresponds to the fellowship in our spirit; the sense of life corresponds with the intuition of the spirit, because the intuition is the function that gives us a direct sense; and the law of life corresponds to the conscience. The law tells us what to do and what not to do, and the conscience checks us concerning what is right and what is wrong. To deal with these matters in detail will take years. In addition, we must also put them into practice in our daily life.
It is hard to find a message in today’s Christianity about the inner anointing. We do have this term, and we do realize that Christ’s name means the Anointed One, but the inner anointing has been almost entirely neglected. What is the inner anointing? Just as the inner life is God Himself within us as life, the inner anointing is God Himself moving, working, operating, and adding Himself within us. The anointing is an inclusive term, because it is God Himself. As we have pointed out, the Old Testament was called “the Law and the Prophets,” because at that time there were these two main ministries. The ministry of the prophets covered more than the ministry of the law, because the prophets’ ministry included the law. If a person went to a prophet, many times the prophet would tell him something according to the law and condemn or justify him according to the law. The law, however, did not include the prophets. The sphere of the law was narrow, but the sphere of the prophets was wide, including everything. In the same way, the sphere of God as the law of life is narrow, but the sphere of God Himself working, moving, and operating within us as the inner anointing is very broad, including everything. Because the anointing is so inclusive, we must use many words to describe it: operating, working, moving, acting, and energizing.
Why does the Holy Spirit in the New Testament refer to the operating of God within us as “the anointing”? Grammatically speaking, this word is a gerund, a verbal noun. It is not just anoint but anointing, denoting an action, as in moving, adding, and operating. The main element of the anointing is the oil. In type, when a person was to become a priest or king, he had to be anointed with the anointing oil. Not only persons used by God but the tabernacle itself and all the furniture and utensils in it, which were brought into the presence of God, had to be anointed. The operation to anoint persons and items was the anointing.
The ointment typifies the Holy Spirit of God. Luke 4:18a, as a quotation from Isaiah 61:1 says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me.” From this we can see that the ointment is the Spirit, with which God anointed Christ. In addition, Hebrews 1:9, quoting Psalm 45:7, says, “God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of exultant joy above Your partners.” This means that God gave the Spirit to the Son. On the day that Christ was anointed by God, the Spirit of God descended like a dove and came upon Him, not in part but as a whole (Matt. 3:16). You and I enjoy the Spirit in part, but Christ enjoyed the Holy Spirit in full, as a whole. By all these verses, we are clear that in typology the oil, or ointment, typifies the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the third person in the economy of the Godhead. Without the Spirit, God the Father and God the Son could not reach us, because the Spirit is the final person in the Godhead. We may illustrate this by the way I touch a brother not with my shoulder or hand directly but with my fingers. My fingers are a part of me, so for my fingers to touch the brother is for me to touch him. The Father is in the Son, the Son is the Spirit, and the Spirit comes to us. Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the very God who reaches us. For God the Father to reach us, He has to reach us in the Spirit, and for God the Son to reach us, He has to reach us as the Spirit. Without the Spirit, there is no direct relationship between us and the Father and the Son. It is in the Spirit, through the Spirit, with the Spirit, and by the Spirit that the Father in the Son reaches us. Therefore, the ointment is the very Triune God, and the anointing is this Triune God, who is life to us, moving, working, acting, operating, and energizing within us.
If I anoint a brother with ointment, the ointment becomes a part of him and is one with him. If the ointment is red, for example, the brother will be all red after I anoint him. If the ointment has a sweet smell, the brother will be the sweetest smelling person in the room. Within you and me there is an anointing work. This anointing is like painting. If I paint someone, he becomes a painted person, full of paint. His color will be the color of the paint, and his smell will be the smell of the paint. He becomes a painted man, a man mingled with the paint. Who is the “paint”? God Himself is the paint, and He is also the painter. His work is a work of painting. God paints us with Himself.
As we have said, the more I come to someone and do the work of painting him, the more paint he will have. He will be a painted person, a person mingled with paint. He and the paint become one. Originally, the paint was in a can, but now the paint is on him and mingled with him. Many of the furnishings in the tabernacle were overlaid with gold. That overlaying was a kind of anointing, with gold as the “paint.” God’s painting, however, is to paint us not outwardly but inwardly. God is the paint, and He is the painter. He paints us with Himself.
The basic principle of God’s economy and His work is to mingle Himself with us. On the one hand, He is life within us; on the other hand, He is the paint, the ointment within and without. When God paints us, anoints us, with Himself, whatever He is becomes our element, and His essence and substance become our essence and substance.
Christians today often speak of doing God’s will. Thirty-five years ago I also spoke in this way, but now I say that to speak of God’s will in this way is not accurate. We may illustrate God’s will in this way: If someone comes to me and asks me what my will is, I may reply, “Do you really mean business about doing my will? If so, here is my will,” and I will begin to paint him. My will is to make him a painted person. Similarly, a brother may ask me, “What color do you want me to have?” I will indicate what color I want by painting it on him. By my painting, he knows what color I want. In the same way, if we ask the Lord what His will is about getting married, He will paint us. By this painting we will know His will about marriage.
First John 2:27 says, “As for you, the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him.” What does it mean that the anointing teaches us? It means that the painting teaches us. We are such foolish people. We always think that God is in the heavens, far from us. We may foolishly pray, “Should I go to college in San Francisco or in Los Angeles? O Lord, tell me and prove it to me by the outward environment.” I prayed in this way when I was young. Whenever I prayed to seek the Lord’s will, I prostrated myself on the ground. I was so humble and said, “Lord, You are so high, and I am so low.” This is the natural way to pray without any revelation. Today when I seek the Lord’s will, there is no need to bow down, kneel, or prostrate myself. Whenever I say, “Lord, what must I do?” He paints me; that is, He anoints me with Himself.
A brother may ask, “Tell me whether or not I should get married. Tell me in plain English words.” This is foolish. Rather, the Lord will answer this prayer neither in English nor in Chinese but with “paint”; He will simply paint him. By this anointing he knows what the Lord wants him to do. The next day he may ask, “Should I eat Chinese food or American food?” or “Should I buy a suit and shoes?” Again the answer will come by painting. The Lord’s teaching and His speaking are the painting, the anointing. Read 1 John 2:27 again; it says that His anointing teaches us. After a month’s time the brother will be full of the anointing. He will be a “painted” person, full of “paint.” This is exactly the meaning of this portion of the Word. When we ask the Lord what to do, He simply says, “Let Me anoint you.” After this kind of painting, knowing what to do is secondary; the primary thing is that we have more paint.
Many times when I was young, I was bothered that we are not very obedient to the Lord. Many times we know the Lord’s will, but we are not willing to obey Him. Later though, I was happy. I said, “Lord, whether I obey or disobey, as long as You anoint me, I have the ointment.” If we ask about the Lord’s will concerning marriage, He will paint us. After this painting, whether or not we agree with Him, we have been painted. If we obey, we are painted, and if we do not obey, we are still painted. Our aim is to do something, but His aim is the painting. Our aim and intention are to know God’s will, but His intention is to anoint us with Himself. We may disobey His will, but as long as He anoints us, He is happy. God’s intention is not for us to obey His will and do something for Him. God’s intention is to anoint us with Himself.
I know many real stories along this line. A young man was saved and began to love the Lord. Then one day he wanted to go to the movies again. He prayed, “Lord, is it right for me to go to the movies?” We cannot find the word movie in the Bible. In a peculiar way, we may dream about whether or not to go to the movies, but God may never tell us His will concerning movies. Rather, since we seek the Lord’s will, He may say, “Do you wish to know My will about movies? All right, I will simply paint you. I will anoint you within.” This young man had a certain anointing within him, and this anointing, this moving within, gave him the understanding that it was not right to go to the movies. However, he eventually went. He disobeyed, so he became sorrowful, and he came and confessed. I told him, “Praise the Lord, brother, I am so happy that you disobeyed. That you disobeyed means that you knew God’s will. How did you know God’s will? Did you find movie in the Bible? Rather, you sensed it. As long as you sensed it, that is good. This means God anointed you. Regardless of whether you obeyed or disobeyed, the painting was accomplished.” What is the painting? It is the imparting, the applying, of God to us. Therefore, I told the young brother, “Brother, I am very happy. I believe that after this you will have more of God in you. Before yesterday you may have had only a little of the element of God within you, but this morning I realize that there is more of God’s element within you. I don’t care whether you obeyed or disobeyed. I just care whether or not God has been painted in you.” The brother asked, “Then what about the next time?” I said, “Brother, do not worry about next time; just go on.”
God’s intention is to paint us with Himself as the paint. It is rather hard for God to speak to us. Sometimes we say that God speaks to us. That is right, but we all know that this kind of speaking is not in clear words, neither in Chinese, nor English, nor in letters. In what way does God speak to us? It is by painting us with Himself—by moving, acting, working, and operating within us. In this sense, the Lord does not care whether or not we obey His word. As long as we come to Him and seek His will, He will paint us; that is good enough. He cares not for our marriage or schooling but for this painting. He wants to make us painted persons, full of paint. Whether or not we marry is not what matters. One day in the New Jerusalem the Lord will not see our wife or our B.A., M.A., or Ph.D.; He will see only His painting. He cares about this one thing, that is, that He paints us with Himself.
The anointing that abides in us teaches us concerning all things. God’s teaching, God’s revealing, is by His anointing, not by a clear word. This anointing is God Himself, and it is God’s work by Himself and with Himself. The result of the anointing is that God is mingled with us. The more God anoints us, the more His element is mingled with us. After a month of being anointed, the problem that troubles a brother is gone, and the anointing is mingled with him. He becomes a painted man. The paint is still the paint with its color and odor, but now the paint is in the form of a man. God’s glory, splendor, and His divine “color” and “odor” still remain divine, but now they are in a human form. If we study the books written by the apostle Paul, we can see that they are full of the divine color, odor, and splendor but in a human form, that is, in the Pauline form. It is the same with the writings of Peter. There is the same divine splendor, glory, essence, nature, color, and odor, but it is in a Petrine form.
By the mercy of the Lord, I want to impress you with this word: The anointing teaches you. The anointing is the teaching. If I can impress you with this, it will change your Christian life. God teaches not by a clear word, strictly speaking, but by anointing. If we say that God does teach by speaking, it must be that this speaking is actually the anointing. Today God’s teaching and speaking are the anointing. In your experience have you ever heard a clear word from the Lord in English letters, using the ABCs? I have been a Christian for more than forty years, but I never heard such a speaking. Some may say that they have heard this kind of word, but that is dangerous. To hear a clear word like one from someone outside of us is very dangerous, and to hear a clear voice inside of us may mean that we are mentally ill. I know at least four persons who told me that for a long time they heard a voice within speak certain clear words and names. I told them that this may mean they are mentally troubled. God does not speak to people in this way, especially today in the New Testament time.
In 1922 or 1923 a brother said that whenever he prayed in his room, there was a voice in the corner of the ceiling speaking to him. He was not the only one who heard this; a number of Christians went there and also heard it, including a medical doctor with whom I stayed for many years in Manila. One of these brothers came to Brother Watchman Nee with this account. Brother Nee told him that according to 1 John 4, we should not believe every spirit but should prove the spirits. Brother Nee instructed them to ask the spirit that was speaking whether or not he confessed that Jesus Christ is the very Son of God who came in incarnation. The next time the voice came, they asked the spirit if he confessed that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. The spirit replied by telling them to read 1 Corinthians 13 concerning love. The brothers were happy and referred this again to Brother Nee. However, he reminded them that the Lord said, “But let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no; for anything more than these is of the evil one” (Matt. 5:37). He told them to go back to ask the spirit definitely, not in a neutral way. The next time they asked the spirit, the spirit said that Jesus is accursed. That was the last time; from that time on, the spirit never came again. Just by this one event, many young ones learned the lesson and received the help. At that time there was the tendency to be influenced by the Pentecostal movement, but this event was the main reason why the young brothers from the very start were delivered from this influence. They became frightened, or at least careful, concerning these things, and they learned to prove the spirits.
The New Testament principle is that God’s speaking to us is not in clear words but by painting. The inner anointing is the teaching. Read 1 John 2:27 again and underline His anointing teaches you concerning all things. This verse is not the ministry of God’s word at the beginning of the New Testament. John’s ministry was the mending ministry, the recovering ministry. Something had gone too far, to an extreme, and it needed recovery. In the recovery, in the mending, the main item is the fellowship of life and the anointing of God within us. We all must learn the anointing, the spiritual, divine painting within us. God speaks, teaches, and reveals by painting.
In the Scriptures do we have the words Los Angeles, San Francisco, UCLA, USC, and MIT? These are not in the Scriptures. In this sense, the anointing teaches more than the Scriptures. If God spoke all these things in the way of clear letters, we would need a whole library to store our Bible. There would be thousands of volumes in the Scriptures. However, we have just what is in the Bible. That is good enough, because today God speaks by the anointing; He reveals by painting. If we ask concerning red or yellow, God will simply paint, and we may see that He actually likes green. We see this not in English letters or in Chinese characters but by the “color.” This is the way of God’s anointing.
Many Christians today neglect this matter, yet we do experience it day by day. I cannot tell you how many times I experience this daily. If you obey God’s painting twenty times out of one hundred, you may be the best Christian on the earth. I must be faithful to say that many times I have not obeyed this painting, but praise the Lord, regardless of whether I obey or disobey, I am painted. Day by day God paints me. Therefore, I am happy. As far as things are concerned, I have done things wrongly and committed many blunders, but as far as God is concerned, I am painted; I am full of paint. We all need to learn this.
First John 2:27 says, “As for you, the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him.” This verse does not say, “Even as it has taught you, you shall obey.” The purpose of the anointing is not that we obey but that we abide. One day the Lord spoke to me, “Child, I do not care whether you obey Me or disobey Me. I only care that after I anoint you, you will abide in Me.” If I put paint on a brother, whether he takes my word or disobeys me, he still abides in the paint. The young brother who went to the movies, to whom I referred earlier, later told me, “Brother Lee, I cannot tell you how much God has given Himself to me just by my one failure.” I said, “To you that was a failure, but to God it was not a failure. To God that was a success. God painted you, and from that time on, more or less, you abode in God.”
Read verse 27 again. To our opinion, since it speaks of teaching, it should also speak of obeying. It is so strange, however, that the word obey is not there. Obey comes from the natural man. We speak so much about obeying. We have a good hymn that says, “Trust and obey.” I liked that hymn, but not now. Verse 27 says, “Even as it has taught you, abide in Him.” The purpose of the anointing is not obeying but abiding. This is the main point, which we must stress.
Some may say that my teaching is dangerous, that I encourage people to be disobedient. I do not have the intention to encourage you in this way. If you can be disobedient, then be disobedient. To stand is easy, but to fall is hard. Try it. How many times have you fallen down? It is not easy to fall, but it is easy to stand. Let us learn to say this. Change your mind. Do not be deceived by the enemy, saying, “Oh, it is so easy for me to fall.” It is easy only for dead persons to fall; in fact, they are fallen already. But it is not easy for living ones to fall. As long as you are living, it is hard to fall.
For more than three years, I have never fallen, physically speaking. Rather, I always stand. If I were dead, however, there would be no need to fall; all day long I would already be fallen. Are you dead or living? Some may answer by saying, “I am not talking about being dead or living. I am talking about being disobedient or obedient.” We must realize what the difference between religion and life is. Disobedience and obedience are the teaching of religion. Here we are speaking about the matter of life, so I do not want to teach you to obey or disobey. Forget about that. Learn to realize that you are living because He is living. He is living in you, so you are living. Praise the Lord, He is always anointing. Therefore, if you can be disobedient, then do it. Try, and see if you can. This is outside of the realm of God’s teaching. God’s teaching is of life, but religion’s teaching is of disobedience or obedience.
More than thirty years ago I received the light to see something about the anointing, but at that time I did not see that the purpose, the result, of the anointing is not obeying but abiding. However, in 1953 in a training in Taiwan, I came to see that the anointing within us is for abiding. I had seen the first part of 1 John 2:27, but until that time I had not seen the last part. It says, “Even as it has taught you, abide in Him.” “Even as it has taught you, obey Him” is wrong; that is the religious thought. Learn to abide according to His anointing.
It is hard to understand this passage until we have the experience. Without the experience, we cannot know what is taught here. The New Testament principle is that God does not speak to us in plain words, in speech, but by anointing, by painting. Moreover, the purpose of this anointing is not for us to do things rightly or wrongly but for us to be painted by God, to be anointed by God so that we may abide in Him.
