In the Bible there are two ways of translating the word mind: in some places it is translated "mind," and in other places it is translated "understanding." But in Greek it is the word nous. This word nous is used twenty-four times in the New Testament. Their references will be listed below.* After this we will see how nous is related to the believers. The believers must have a renewed nous. Only then can they progress before God; only then can they progress in their spiritual walk.
Man is composed of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. The Bible shows us that man not only has a spirit, but a body also; he not only has a spirit and a body, but a soul as well. Why must man have a soul even though he has a spirit and a body? The soul lies between the spirit and the body and serves as a medium between the spirit and the body. The soul is the part which interposes. Everything that God wants to make known to us, He makes known through the intuition of the spirit. The spirit gives us God-consciousness; it enables us to have communication with God and sense God. The body is given to us by God to communicate with the world; through the body we can feel everything in the world. God has also given us a soul, which gives us self-consciousness and by which we can sense ourselves. Human beings are not like angels who have only a spirit without a body. Human beings have a spirit and a body. Our soul, the buffer zone, is between the spirit and the body. Everything of our spirit and body is expressed through our soul.
Incidentally, I want to mention what the heart of man is so that we may understand what the mind of man is. What we usually call the heart, according to the Bible, is the conscience in man's spirit plus the mind in his soul. This is the heart. The spirit is the organ for communicating with God, for being intimate with God, for understanding the will of God, and for knowing God. The heart is the administrator of the spirit; it expresses everything that is in the spirit. Everything the spirit has is expressed by our heart. The heart is composed of man's conscience plus his mind. The whole Bible speaks about the heart in this way. Therefore, the heart is the point of mutual interaction for the spirit and the soul, the contiguous place and the place of intersection. It is like the central exchange of the telephone company where all the lines intersect and all the calls pass through. Anything that wants to enter the spirit must pass through the heart before it can enter. Anything that is expressed from the spirit must also come out through the heart, because the heart is the place of mutual interaction, the point of contact, and the place of mutual reception. The spirit reaches the soul through the heart. The soul, including what it feels from the outside, reaches the heart, and from the heart passes through to the spirit. This is where our personality lies; it is our true self and the real "I." The heart is the connecting point of the spirit and the soul. Therefore, the heart is the "I." We have to read the Bible to find out what it says about the heart. After this we will see how the heart is related to us and how important a position it occupies. Let us read several verses in the Bible concerning the heart.
Psalm 4:4 says, "Consider in your heart upon your bed, and be silent." In other words, your heart is your self; therefore, you commune with it. It is like the Chinese saying: "The heart discusses with the mouth."
Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." "Keep thy heart" should be "guard your heart." The word "issue" should be translated "outlet." You should guard your heart because it is the outlet of life. All fruit that man bears outwardly originates from the heart. This is why I have said that the heart is the person himself.
Matthew 12:34-35 says, "Offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man, out of his good treasure, brings forth good things, and the evil man, out of his evil treasure, brings forth evil things." The Lord Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, because the heart is the man himself. Therefore, a good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things. Therefore, the sins and evil deeds that a sinner commits all come out of the heart. The heart is the mingling of the spirit and soul. Therefore, all evil things come out of the heart.
Matthew 15:18-19 says, "But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil reasonings, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnessings, blasphemies." What comes out of the heart is unclean because what is inside of man is unclean.
It is very interesting that, even though man is composed of three parts (spirit, soul, and body), when the Bible speaks of our regeneration, it does not say that God gave us a new soul, but it says that God gave us a new spirit and new heart. God gave us a new spirit, which enables us to communicate with Him and which causes our deadened spirit to recover its function. God also gave us a new heart, which enables us to have a new living on earth and new inclinations.
Although there is something in common between the spirit and the heart, the Bible maintains a boundary between the two so that there is no confusion. Ezekiel 36:26 says, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." God does not say, "I will give you a new spirit and a new soul." In God's view the organ of the soul does not need to be changed. The personality of man does not need to be changed either. However, the heart of man does need to be changed because out of the heart are the issues of life. This is why the heart should be fixed.
What happens to a believer's spirit and heart when he sins? Psalm 51:10 says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; / and renew a right spirit within me." This verse speaks of the heart and the spirit. The heart and the spirit are what God is concerned with. If the heart of a believer is defiled, he should ask God to create in him a clean heart and a right spirit. Therefore, our hearts must be clean and our spirits must be right.
The Bible places this emphasis on the heart in order to cause us to see the important position that the heart occupies in the Bible. The heart is very important because the heart is our real self. The condition of our heart is our real condition. The heart is the source of man's life. The heart includes the conscience in his spirit and the mind in his soul. We communicate with God through the spirit, but God sees our heart. In our living, the heart is the most important element. We say that we are saved, but exactly how are we saved? It is by believing in our heart. How do we serve God? We serve God from the heart. What kind of people does God bless? God blesses those who are upright in their heart. In the future, what part of man will God judge? God will judge the hidden things in man's heart. Therefore, in order to come before God, we must have a good heart. But in order to have a good heart, we must have a good mind. Therefore, today I want to talk especially about the nous.
How is the nous related to a Christian's living, work, service to God, walk, etc.? Those who believe in the Lord Jesus have a new spirit and a new heart. This is a fact and cannot be overthrown. No matter how weak or strong a believer is, he is born of God, and he has a new spirit and new heart. That is why he can love someone, serve God, and do everything from his heart. But even though the heart may be a new heart, the part in the heart which belongs to the nous is not renewed. According to human reasoning, one would think that since the heart has been made new, the conscience and the mind, which are included in the heart, must also have been renewed. This is not so. For instance, the part of the conscience in the heart was new when we were saved, but it is not necessarily always new afterwards, nor is it necessarily new every day. When a dress is bought, it is new, but it is not going to stay new forever. One must put in a certain amount of work for it to stay new. When you were saved, your mind was new. But it is not necessarily true that it will remain new after a while. This is an experience common to many believers. Let me tell you that once a man believes in the Lord and is saved, his conscience is new. The function of his conscience is recovered to its original state, so that he now hates sins and dislikes sinning. But can the conscience always remain so new? No, it cannot. If one sins, or if he tolerates sins over and over again and does not listen to his conscience, after repeated sins the conscience will no longer rebuke; it will lose its function. Just as the conscience can lose its feeling or be renewed, the same is true of the mind. Therefore, I want to speak concerning the matter of the nous because this has a crucial relationship to the believer's position and living.
What exactly is the nous as spoken of in the New Testament? We can see it from three aspects. Human beings have a brain. This speaks of the physiological aspect. We also have a nous, which speaks of the psychological aspect. Moreover, we have an intuition, which speaks of the spiritual aspect. Everything that is related to the physical aspect has to do with the brain. Everything that is related to the intellectual aspect has to do with the nous. However, I dare not say that the nous is the mind, even though a big portion of the mind is the nous. Our spirit receives its feeling from God through the intuition. At this time our soul, through the nous, translates the intuition so that we understand what is conveyed to us. Although we know the will of God through the intuition, this intuition is without reason and order. Therefore, we need the nous in order to express what the intuition knows.
Let me say this more accurately. Man has three faculties with which he gains knowledge: (1) with the body, it is the brain; (2) with the spirit, it is the intuition; (3) with the soul, it is the nous. However, the nous is also controlled by the intuition. We all know that when a brain is being surgically dissected, no more than some gray and white matter can be seen. This is the brain. How about the intuition? Sometimes we feel we have it; sometimes we feel we do not have it. It seems that sometimes something urges us and sometimes it stops us. This is the intuition within us. Our nous falls between our brain and our intuition. The nous expresses what the intuition wants to say and facilitates the brain in thinking and expressing. No matter how strong the intuition of a believer is and how good his brain is, if something is wrong with his nous, he will live without any principle from morning until night. Even in his preaching, he will not be able to express what is within him. From morning until night he will live foolishly. This condition is due to his nous not being renewed.
Now I want to talk about the nous of the sinners. Romans 1:28 says that they have a disapproved, or reprobate, nous. Ephesians 4:17 says that they have a vain nous. Colossians 2:18 says that they have a fleshly nous. Second Timothy 3:8 says that they have a corrupt nous. Titus 1:15 says that they have a defiled nous. This is the condition of the sinners' nous. Since you were saved, you have come away from that condition. Try to recall how you were toward God before you were saved. What is the condition of the sinner's nous before God? Suppose that there is a most foolish sinner, who is totally ignorant of everything. Once you start talking to him about God, he will have many arguments. He will argue that you are wrong on this or that point. He will stubbornly say that there is no God. This foolish one will, amazingly, have so many arguments about there being no God. This is because his heart is darkened. His nous is also darkened and dead. Furthermore, his spirit is altogether in darkness. He has no way to know God. He has no understanding regarding the truth of God. But he can still put forward many argumentative reasons because his nous is reprobate, corrupt, defiled, and vain. This is the condition of a very foolish person in the world. On the other hand, if you speak about God to some who are wise and philosophical, they may understand and know everything, but still not believe in God. They may also find many reasons to argue. Both the wise and the foolish ones will equally oppose God. Although these two kinds of people have differences in intelligence and are as far apart as the sky and the sea in many things, they are one in mind and purpose in the matter of not believing in God. There is no reason for this, other than the fact that their nous is darkened and their spirit is dead. Since their nous is darkened, they cannot see the light of God. Their thoughts are not on the right track and are wild. Therefore, concerning the unsaved, God says that the eyes of their heart have been blinded by the god of this age. Their heart is darkened, and the light of the gospel cannot shine on them. Although they know philosophy and many other things, they do not know anything about God. They may know some biblical teachings according to the letter, but they are not able to enter into the depth of the teaching clearly and thoroughly and are not able to understand or know God in a definite way.
What is it to be saved? It is to know God. "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Him whom You have sent, Jesus Christ" (John 17:3). Eternal life is the ability to know God. What is it to be saved? It is not the ability to speak of certain doctrines, but the ability to know God. If we invite the most educated person in the entire world to talk to a young believer, that is, to one who is just saved, the educated person may present hundreds of reasons to argue against the existence of God. The young believer cannot win the argument, but he can say, "I know I have eternal life. I know I am saved." This is the difference between the two. An unsaved person's nous is blocked and has no light. Once he is saved, his nous will have light and will be able to know God. When many people hear the gospel preached with power the first time, their eyes are opened; they realize that they are sinners and that Jesus Christ is their Savior. Although they still cannot fully understand with their reasoning, they have a certain knowledge and are able to say, "I know I have received a great light. I know that I am a sinner and that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know I am saved." This knowing is the work of the nous.
Whatever God wants to give us in the intuition is transmitted to the brain through the nous. Once God moves in the intuition of a spiritual person who lives before God, immediately there is a registration in his nous, and his brain immediately understands. After we are saved, we have the knowledge of God. These three parts — the intuition, the nous, and the brain — are connected and work simultaneously. We speak of them separately only for the sake of analysis.
When we were saved, our nous was enlightened. We think it is sufficient if we have a new heart, but the Bible speaks not only of this; it also says that our nous needs to be renewed. This is very clear in the English translation of the Bible. (In some places the English translation is much clearer than the Chinese translation; while in other places, the Chinese translation is much better than the English translation.) Our nous was new at the time we were saved. But is it renewed? The part that is toward God has been enlightened. But how about the other parts? I am afraid that after many are saved, their nous is not renewed; it remains just as it was before they were saved. I wish to speak very frankly: the thoughts of many believers today are still like those of a sinner. I often sense that the spirit and the heart of many believers are new but that their nous is not. Their nous is just the same as the nous of the sinners. If the nous of the believers has not been renewed, they should not expect to be useful in the hands of God. Therefore, our nous not only needs to be new; it should also be renewed. Our problem today is this: at the time we were saved, we had a great revelation. But since being saved, our nous has not been renewed. Being saved was the biggest revelation of our lives. But have we continued to receive any big revelations other than that one time? I am afraid that many do not have any other big revelations. Surely the revelation of salvation is the greatest revelation of a lifetime. It is a revelation that we will bring into eternity. But do we continuously receive new revelations? When we first believed in the Lord, why were we enlightened to confess our sins? Why were we not afraid of persecution? Why did we allow our parents and others in the world to oppose us, and why were we willing to forsake the world? It was the nous that enabled us to understand salvation, confess our sins, forsake the world, and allow our parents to persecute us. If this light of the nous shone daily in our life, we would not be in the same condition that we are today. We would truly have a living under the shining.
Once there was a girl who loved the world very much and would not forsake it for anything. One day she heard a man preaching in a church. The preaching was not particularly attractive, but the verse he read, "This is the victory which has overcome the world — our faith" (1 John 5:4), was attractive. This word captured the girl. She heard him repeat it seven or eight times: "This is the victory which has overcome the world — our faith." She had not known what the world was for her entire life. But that day she realized what the world was. On that day she put the world away. This realization is the knowledge of the nous. Many are not able to put everything away because their nous has not been enlightened to see through it all. Other matters such as listening to a message or working for the Lord are likewise unprofitable if the nous does not cooperate. Every time we listen to a message, we need the cooperation of our nous. Before we were saved, we would not believe, no matter how people tried to persuade us with various reasons. But one day we believed because our nous realized something, and that realization could not be overturned. "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Him whom You have sent, Jesus Christ" (John 17:3). What are the functions of the nous? The functions of the nous include the ability to think, judge, and observe.
What is the condition of an unrenewed nous? We will discuss the condition in three aspects: (1) toward man, (2) toward God, and (3) toward ourselves. Whether or not our nous has been renewed can be determined by these three aspects: toward man, God, and ourselves. It is determined by how we control our thoughts. (Please take note that nous is the transliteration of the original word. This word is very hard to explain. If translated "mind," it still cannot fully express the original meaning. The nous is composed of the power of apprehension and the thoughts. The original meaning of this word cannot be expressed if it is translated simply as "apprehension" or "thoughts." Therefore, I have no alternative but to use the word nous constantly.)
If a man's nous is not renewed, this nous will have some particular experiences in its dealing with men. If a man's nous is not renewed, naturally he will have some very inaccurate thoughts toward other men. One interesting thing is that he will never trust in anyone; he will always have doubts about others. Only criticisms come out of him; his thoughts are engaged in "splitting hairs" to find fault, and he always speaks poorly of others. We can find out how our nous is by asking ourselves what kind of thoughts we have toward others. The Bible says that the Lord Jesus never judged anyone according to what He saw and heard; He judged everything according to the sense in His spirit. However, we judge others only according to what we see and hear. It would be wonderful if we could, as Paul said, prove all things. The nous of a criticizing believer is wrong. There is a very precious verse in the Epistle to Philemon; Paul said that Philemon had faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ and toward all the saints. If a believer depreciates everyone else, something must be wrong with his nous. Therefore, every time we see others or listen to others speak, we should ask ourselves if we are depreciating them.
I know a brother who always undervalues the things others give to him. For example, if someone gives him something worth two dollars, he will say it is worth only thirty cents. If someone gives him a gift worth thirty dollars, he will say that the gift is worth only about ten dollars. He is not the only one like this; many believers have the same kind of mentality. What is the reason for this? It is because their nous is worldly and old. Worldly people always think that others are not good, that others are wrong, and that there are always hidden words behind the words of others, just as there are fillings within pie. This is not the way we should think. The reason we have these kinds of thoughts is that our nous is not renewed and also Satan is working behind us. An unrenewed nous is the base for Satan's working. Everything from Adam can become the base for Satan's working.
Our Christian lives are not necessarily the same toward God. In a believer whose nous has not been renewed we can see the following characteristics toward God: he cannot trust God, he cannot know God in the same way that he knows the Lord Jesus as his Savior, and he has many doubts. He doubts God's power, God's wisdom, and God's lovingkindness. These three points constitute his attitude toward God: he doubts God's power, thinking that He is not capable; he doubts God's wisdom, thinking that He is wrong; and he doubts God's lovingkindness, thinking that He is unwilling.
In addition, he cannot understand the Scriptures; he cannot understand God's teaching; his nous is not clear, and he cannot receive God's light in his nous. It is true that he did have an enlightening at his conversion. If his nous were open to God every day, it would not be as powerless or critical as it is today. If every one of us has an open nous, we will receive much enlightening. If we can only be a courier, simply passing on to others what we have received without receiving anything directly from God, our nous must be wrong. If we merely depend on others to pass things to us and then simply pass to others what little we have received, without receiving anything directly from God, we are not very useful. I am not saying that we do not need to receive help from others. Rather, I am saying that if we do not receive something directly from God, something is wrong with our nous. I myself like very much to receive help from others. As long as the one who speaks receives his words in his nous through God's enlightening, his message will surely enlighten the nous of others and help them. That is why I say every one of us needs to receive something from God in our nous.
A person with an unrenewed nous surely cannot know God's will. He may reason with logic, but he cannot know the will of God in his nous. He should know God's will in the same way that he knew that Christ is the Son of God and that he was saved at the time of his conversion. To know God's will should be a matter of inward knowledge. Concerning the knowledge of God's will, there are many times when we only know that a matter is God's will, but we have no reason that can explain it. This is like putting a newly saved country person with an unbelieving but knowledgeable person and asking them to debate. The latter may argue with the former for two or three hours, and the country person may not be able to retort with any reason, but he can say that he knows he is saved. It is the same way in regard to knowing the will of God.
Today many people do not know God's will. The reason they do not know it is that they do not have the organ to know God's will. Today is the Lord's Day; it can be considered the busiest day for the radio stations in the whole world. All the big denominations in the Western countries have radio programs to broadcast their messages. These radio waves bring the sound from very far away. Why can we not hear anything? The only reason is that we do not have a radio. In the same way, the will of God should be very obvious. But because there is not an organ to know God's will, we become ignorant of His will. It should be as easy for us to know God's will as it is for us to tell the wheat from the tares. Why do we not know God's will? It is because we do not have the receiving organ. It is because we do not have a renewed nous. At the time we were saved, our nous was new; we received the revelation of God. But not very long after that, it became no longer new.
How about our thoughts today? Our thoughts have become corrupt. After we are saved we think that Christians should have a good heart. We think that if we harbor hatred toward others in our heart, if we sin, if we commit fornication, we will offend God. Therefore we think that we should keep our motives from being improper. However, we forget that our thoughts should also be proper. Are our minds, our language, and our thoughts the same as they were before we were saved? For the time being, I will not touch on our motives and the purpose in our heart. I would just like to ask about the condition of our mind after we were saved. It is very amazing that before a man is saved, his mind is very unorganized, and even after he is saved, his mind remains the same. His language is the same as when he was first saved. His thoughts are the same as when he was first saved. If we cannot overcome our thoughts, we fail in everything.
In a letter to Miss Dora Yu, Miss Barber once wrote these few words: "If Satan can take hold of our thought life, he has taken hold of all our life." This is a fact. Do not think these few words were loosely spoken. She had over fifty years of very deep experience with God before she spoke these words. O brothers, do not think that as long as our motives are good, everything is all right. Even though the people we think about and the things we perceive may have changed, if our thoughts and perceptions toward others are the same as before we were saved, we will still make decisions the same way as before. If we cannot overcome our thoughts, we are in the hands of Satan, and we have no way to overcome the enemy.
A person with an unrenewed nous is absolutely unable to manage his own thoughts. The mental energy of many Christians is wasted. If our hands can only work for eight hours a day, and what we do during these eight hours is improper, it becomes a waste of energy and a hindrance to proper work. Likewise, we can only use our mind for so many hours a day. If we waste our thoughts on meaningless and improper things, we cannot think about something proper. A brother once asked me, "Why can I not concentrate? After I pray for five minutes, my mind starts wandering." I asked him, "Does your mind wander all day long or just at the time of your prayer?" I could answer for him that his thoughts were never concentrated during the day; they were always touring the world. His thoughts were entirely in disarray. If our mind is in disarray twelve hours a day, how can we concentrate while we pray? If we cannot concentrate all day, why is it strange that we cannot do the same when we read the Bible or when we pray? Therefore, if our nous is not renewed, we cannot manage our mind. Friends, I must emphasize again that if we cannot manage our own thoughts, we are not very useful in the hands of God.
It is said that if all the heat generated from the sun in one day was collected together and put into all the factories on the earth, it would be enough for all the factories to use for ten million years. But people cannot use solar energy because it cannot be collected in one place. If we use a magnifying glass to collect the light from the sun, the heat can burn a finger underneath the glass. It is very regrettable that many believers waste their thoughts in vanity. They think day and night without producing one good thing. They waste their entire day in their disorderly thoughts. It is no wonder that God cannot use them. They can only be proper believers when their nous is renewed.
The biggest fault of a believer is thinking about his past. Believers think that introspection is good. Actually, introspection cannot enable us to know ourselves. There is not one believer who acquires self-knowledge by looking into himself. The knowledge of one's self comes from God's light; only after he receives God's light will he know himself. (I have spoken in detail concerning the matter of self-knowledge. Please see "Self-knowledge and God's Light" in The Present Testimony.) Self-criticism, self-analyzing, or any thought concerning the self, whether good or bad, causes one's mind to become restless. We should not secretly compare ourselves to others, no matter who it is. Every time a believer looks at himself he will have no progress. Consider a person walking along the road: if he looks at himself, he will stop going forward. He cannot look at himself and walk forward at the same time. Therefore, whoever looks at himself is either going backward or standing still. The same is true in the spiritual realm. If you always consider yourself, eventually you will be very discouraged. If no one leads you on, you will put yourself in a dangerous position, and you may even think that you are not saved, that you have committed an unforgivable sin, or that God has forsaken you. All these are the results of your introspection. This is the condition of an unrenewed nous.
If our nous has not been renewed, we cannot minister to others what God has given us. Some believers are very capable in conversation. No matter how many matters are being discussed, they can relate them one by one in proper utterance. They truly have eloquence. But when you ask them to talk about spiritual things or about the truth, they cannot explain even one thing to others clearly. The reason is that their mind is not qualified to be used by God. Their mind is like a child's arm which cannot bear anything that weighs more than ten pounds. Their nous is too weak. Though they have many thoughts, they are all without order. They cannot understand what comes from God. They understand what they receive in their intuition, but they cannot compose what they understand into a proper teaching in order to share with others. This is because their nous has not been renewed. If God wants us to speak forth His Word, He will certainly give us the utterance. But even though this is necessary, if a person does not have a renewed nous, he cannot express what he has received within him. Suppose a believer has his nous enlightened but not completely renewed. As such, he cannot put together God's Word and minister it to others. We cannot regard such a one as our pattern, and we cannot presume that being enlightened once is enough. We should have a clearer understanding day after day and should be able to use words to express what we know inwardly, so that others may understand.
A believer needs to have a renewed nous to guide him through his days on earth. Otherwise, he will suffer loss and damage in his life. He will think wrongly of others. He will not be able to understand God's will. He will also think wrongly of himself. He will not be able to properly live his life. This is why everyone needs to seek after the renewing of the nous in a specific way. With the people in the world, there are only two categories: the saved and the perishing, the regenerated and the unregenerated, those in Christ and those in Adam. These differences are absolute; the two are completely dissimilar. In like manner, with the nous of the believers, there is also the renewed nous and the unrenewed nous. There is an absolute boundary between the two. If we are saved, our nous must also be renewed. Furthermore, the renewing of the nous should not occur just once, but daily. If we are like this, we will be very clear concerning God's will.
Once Mr. Moody was walking on the street. Suddenly, he went into the house of one of his neighbors and asked to be allowed to go upstairs to do something. The owner of the house agreed, and he went upstairs and prayed to God, "O God, Your hand should stop. It's too much; I cannot bear it." If you daily have a renewed nous, you will see that you cannot bear what God shows you of yourself through your nous. I say again, you should do this singleheartedly, just as you did when you were regenerated. If your regeneration has caused a change in your living, your nous should also be enlightened in a specific way and be renewed daily.
You should not think that your mind is too dull. Do not think that only those who are naturally intelligent will grow and quickly understand the truth of God. There is no such thing. If man's growth in the truth were governed by his natural intelligence, it would be entirely a matter of the flesh. Your personal growth has nothing to do with your intelligence. If your nous is renewed, you can understand God, and you can know everything of God. The person beside you may be the most intelligent and wise person, but he cannot understand; only you can understand. Therefore, you should specifically ask God to give you a renewed nous. Otherwise, you will have no way to go on. Once again I stress that you must go to God in a specific way to seek after this.
Before you believed in the Lord, you did not love men. After you believed in the Lord, you began to love men more. If there was no such change in you, I am afraid that you are still not saved. If you are saved, you will surely see a change of heart and an improvement in the matters of loving, forbearing, and serving. Before, you loved to be great, but now, you would rather suffer, be defrauded, and forbear. This is because you have a new heart. Others will also see your change and say that you were a certain way before, but that now you are changed. But my question is: has there been any improvement in your thoughts? Has there been any improvement in your mental power? Are your thoughts more orderly and concentrated? Or are they still the same as they were before you were saved? If this is so, your nous is still not renewed.
Regardless of whether a believer is wise or foolish, he should know that his mind as well as his heart should be proper. Furthermore, in his nous he should have the same improvement. God is without respect of persons. He destroys the wisdom of the wise and the understanding of the prudent. God puts the wise and the foolish all on the same level. The nous of the foolish needs to be renewed. The nous of the wise also needs to be renewed. As long as your nous is renewed, you can know God, understand His will, perceive, analyze, and synthesize what God has given you. This is what you did not know, understand, or see and what you could not verbalize or analyze before. Furthermore, you will be able to run the race before you.
Indeed, the difference between a renewed nous and an unrenewed nous is like the difference between a bright, clear window and a dark, dirty window. If a believer's nous has not been renewed, he cannot think or work like a person with a renewed nous. If his nous is renewed, his thinking ability will be at least several times (if not ten times) more than before. Furthermore, his mental power will be much improved. But if his thoughts are not renewed, his thinking will not be improved because his thoughts are dead. Just as there is a great difference between death and life, there is a great difference between a renewed nous and an unrenewed nous. Just as there is a difference between heaven and earth, there is a difference between a renewed nous and an unrenewed nous. If we earnestly and single-mindedly deal with our nous in the way that we dealt with our salvation in the past, our sky will always be clear.
God communicates with us through our spirit, not through our soul or our body. Therefore, we always need to keep an open and unveiled spirit in the presence of God so that we can have a living communication with Him. But today I want to draw attention to the relationship between the spirit and the nous. Whenever there is a closed nous, there is a closed spirit. If the nous is closed, God cannot give light to the spirit, because even if He gave light to the spirit, there would be no channel to express what the spirit had received. If the head of a Christian is sick, his spirit will also be sick. The illness of a Christian's body will not affect his spirit. Many Christians have been bedridden for years and still can serve God, obey God, and do the work of prayer. However, if the nous of a Christian is not proper, his spirit will also not be proper, for the problem in his head will directly affect his spirit.
There are two passages in the Bible which tell us that the believers' nous should be renewed. If one's nous is not renewed, it will be hard for him to go on. Let us look at the Scriptures.
Ephesians 4:17-24 says, "This therefore I say and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk in the vanity of their nous, being darkened in their dianoia [Greek for "understanding"], alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lasciviousness to work all uncleanness in greediness. But you did not so learn Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him as the reality is in Jesus, that you put off, as regards your former manner of life, the old man, which is being corrupted according to the lusts of the deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your nous and put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality."
In this passage of the Scripture, nous is mentioned twice. We have to pay attention to this nous.
Verse 18 says, "Being darkened in their understanding." Understanding according to the original text is dianoia. This word has the same root as nous in verse 17, but changes a little from the root to form dianoia. So the meaning from verse 17 to verse 18 is, "You should no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk in the vanity of their nous, being darkened in their dianoia." What is the difference between nous and dianoia? Nous is an organ; dianoia is a kind of function. This is like saying that the eye is an organ, while seeing is a function of the eye. Therefore, the eye is the object, while seeing is the function of the object. The nous is the organ, while the dianoia is the function. Nous is an organ, and verse 17 talks about the nature of this organ. Dianoia is a function, and verse 18 talks about the function of the organ.
Verse 18 says, "Alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardness of their heart." The "heart" in this verse is the true "I," that is, the self, one's own personality.
Verse 19 says, "Who, being past feeling." The meaning here in the original text is to have lost all feeling and to be numb. This term is used by medical doctors quite often. Every doctor knows that the wound of a patient hurts, but when the hurt goes beyond a certain stage, the person does not feel the pain anymore. Although the wound is still inflamed, the consciousness of pain is utterly lost. This verse means that there is no longer any feeling. It means that the heart is so hardened that it has lost its feeling.
In verse 22 we have, "That you put off, as regards your former manner of life, the old man." The meaning here is that since you have heard and have been taught in Him as the reality is in Jesus, that your old man has been put off, etc., you should do the things recorded in verses 25-32.
"The old man, which is being corrupted according to the lusts of the deceit" (v. 22). According to the original text the meaning here is, "The old man, which through the lusts of the deceit is heading towards corruption."
"And that you be renewed in the spirit of your nous [the Greek word for mind]" (v. 23). This is a continuation of a preceding verse concerning the reality in Jesus, that is, what the believers have received in Christ. We not only have put off the old man, but we should renew the spirit of our nous frequently. The meaning in the original text is to be continually renewed in the same way that the old man is continually being corrupted.
Verse 24 reads, "And put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality." "Put on the new man" in the original text can be rendered "having put on the new man." This corresponds to verse 22. Verse 24 also speaks of the facts which we have in the Lord. Verses 22 through 24 are all facts that we have in Christ. Based on these verses, verse 25 and the following verses command and tell us what we should do.
In this passage we see three particularly important things: (1) our spiritual life, (2) our heart, and (3) our nous. Verse 17 speaks of the nous; verse 18 speaks of dianoia, which is the function of the nous, something concerning the nous. Verse 18 says, "Alienated from the life of God." This means that the spirit is closed and can no longer communicate with God. Not only can Gentiles be like this, but Christians can also have a closed spirit. "The hardness of their heart" in verse 18 refers to the heart. "Being past feeling" in verse 19 refers to the numbness and the loss of feeling in man's heart. In short, this passage mentions the condition of three things: the nous, the spirit, and the heart.
Let us pay attention to verses 17 and 18 which say that the nous of the Gentiles is corrupted by vanity, and the heart is hardened and alienated from the life of God. A Gentile is so corrupted that he has lost all feeling. But where does this corruption really begin? If we know where it begins, we can deal with that part first. Does the nous of a man become corrupted first? Does his life or heart become corrupted first? If we know what becomes corrupted first, we can deal with it accordingly. If the disease starts from the heart, we should deal with the heart first; if it starts from the nous, we should deal with the nous first; if it starts from life, we should deal with life first. Verses 17 and 18 show us the order of corruption for these three. The apostle told us not to walk in the vanity of the nous. (The vanity of the nous is like what the Chinese call "the palace in the sky" and Westerners call "the castle in the air.") We should not walk like the Gentiles walk because the function and thoughts of their nous are darkened. The function of the nous is darkened because the Gentiles are alienated from the life of God, and they are alienated from the life of God because they are ignorant and hardened in their heart. Therefore, the trouble starts from the heart. Because the heart is hardened, a person is alienated from the life of God, and because he is alienated from the life of God, the dianoia is darkened. Brothers and sisters, the cause of all diseases lies in the heart. I have often told the co-workers that it is not the head of a person that is improper, but the heart that is improper. People always think that man's head is improper, but I say no, it is the heart that is improper.
Did not the last message say that man's head rather than his heart is improper? Yes, but that was another matter. This matter concerns morality. If a man wants to be proper in his conduct, his heart must first be proper. Do you know why a Gentile will not believe in the Lord Jesus and has many arguments? Is it because we do not have enough reasons to convince him to believe in God or Christ? No, we have the reasons. Psalm 14:1 says, "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." He will not believe because he has said in his heart that there is no God, not because he is incapable of believing. The Lord asked the Jews why they would not believe in Him and come to Him that they might have life. This is a problem of the heart, not a problem of the intellect. It is the heart that does not believe.
I can give some people who do not believe in God many reasons for the existence of God. They respond by saying that this sounds very reasonable. I can then tell them the reason that the Lord is the Savior. Again, they respond by saying that this sounds very reasonable. But this is not enough to make them believe. Man's head is not improper; his heart is improper. Paul said, "If you...believe in your heart...you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9). The Lord Jesus also said, "Whoever...does not doubt in his heart....believe that you have received them, and you will have them" (Mark 11:23-24). The head is not the problem; it is not the issue. The heart is all that is needed to believe. The heart is our true "I," our person. This is why the Bible speaks of "an evil heart of unbelief" (Heb. 3:12), instead of "an evil head of unbelief." The heart, not the head, has been corrupted. This is why men will not believe and be saved. The heart has become improper. As a result, the nous has also become improper.
Not only are the Gentiles like this; even Christians are like this. Many Christians do not know God's will; they are unwilling to obey God and do not understand the Bible at all. They are like this because their heart is sick. A bad nous is just the symptom; the cause of the bad nous is a bad heart. I am not saying that the nous is not sick; the main point I am emphasizing is that the heart is sick first. Therefore, the heart must first become right before the action of the nous can be corrected. It is useless to deal with the symptom; the only way to cure the trouble is to deal with the source.
Let us take baptism as an example. This truth is quite obviously and accurately revealed to us in the Bible. Many Christians disobey the teaching of the Bible, while creating many distinctions not because the head has trouble, but because the heart has trouble. Suppose a believer hears that baptism is according to the Bible and is something that God has clearly commanded. If he hears about baptism and looks in the Bible, he will find God's will and obey, saying, "God, this is from You; I am willing to obey." But if another believer, after hearing about baptism, refuses to obey and dismisses it as being meaningless, he will not understand even if he reads the Bible later. When he subsequently hears others speaking about this truth, he will be motivated like a lawyer in court. He will not care whether the other side is reasonable; he will only care for his own reason. The first motive of a lawyer is to defeat the other side in the debate. Therefore, when problems arise, the question is not the condition of the head, but whether or not the motive is proper.
The same is true in regards to listening to a message. When someone preaches something that is different from our belief and practice, we should ask God if his speaking is really improper. If his speaking is not improper, then are we improper somewhere? If we can learn humbly before God, our hearts will be proper. Consequently, even though our thoughts may be improper at times, our minds will not be improper all the time. However, if our motives are not proper and we only want to argue, we will always be able to find a couple of verses to oppose the truth taught by others. Many Christians study the Bible like a lawyer studying a law book; their purpose is only to defend their own case. Therefore, it is their motive that is corrupted first, not their mind. They first have a tendency to covet in their heart; then their mind and whole being are dragged into the peril of covetousness.
Among our brothers and sisters, is there anyone whose mind cannot understand the Bible? I would say the reason we do not understand the Bible is that our heart is improper. The Spirit will guide us into all truth. I often wonder why some people understand the Bible so poorly. The reason is that they are improper in the inclinations of their heart. Perhaps they are too subjective. As a result, their nous cannot receive the light of God's Word. The heart becomes corrupted, and the nous follows. If the heart is not calm and balanced, the mind will become corrupted. Someone said that Eve did not fall because she ate the forbidden fruit, but because her motive was not proper in the beginning. When she spoke with Satan, her heart was dissatisfied with God and already corrupted. Soon after, Genesis 6 says that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. The nous becomes corrupted after the heart has been corrupted.
One brother in the West said that before Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she had fallen already. When she added the words "neither shall ye touch it" in her conversation with Satan, her heart was not proper. By Genesis 6, God pronounced every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart to be only evil continually. First, the heart is improper; second, man is alienated from the life of God; and last, man's imagination and thoughts become totally evil. Any Christian who has a proper heart can read the Bible; he can receive God's light from the Bible, he can know God's will easily, and he can receive full grace from God.
If you want to know whether or not a person's heart is proper and his mind is right, you need only talk to him. Whoever can listen well has a good mind. Some Christians' minds are like a wheel; they rotate all day long and cannot listen to what others say to them. Just as the wheel splashes dirt as it rotates, these Christians only raise questions and do not take in the truth. These conditions indicate that a person's mind is improper. The mind is improper because the heart is improper. If a person likes to interrupt the conversation of others, it is also a sign of sickness in the heart. In listening to others, we can sometimes add a few remarks to indicate whether or not we agree, but constant interruption is a sign that there is sickness in the heart.
If the thoughts that go through your mind swirl around and around all day long, your nous must be sick. In this condition, a person cannot listen to others; he cannot even listen to God's speaking. The root of the sickness is in the heart. A self-righteous, self-confident heart, a heart that believes in its own cleverness, or some prejudice in the heart makes it impossible for one to listen to others. Not being able to listen to others is a sickness of the nous. But the root of this sickness is an improper heart. No matter what we hear, we have to transfer what we hear to our inner being before we can understand it. This work of transferring is somewhat like the work of language translation. For people who do not understand English, words must first be translated into Chinese before they can be understood. This work of "translation" within us goes on quickly. If a man cannot understand what others say, it means that his nous cannot translate. If a man misunderstands what others say, it means that the nous mistranslates. Once I was preaching in a certain place, and I told the people that man is saved not according to work, but according to what Christ has accomplished. There were two Taoists in the audience. After hearing my words, they told others, "He was only exhorting others to do good!" Many people are filled up inside; they cannot receive God's word. If we do not empty out what is inside of us, we will never be able to understand the Word of God. Our heart should be as meek as a child's, ready to be taught before God. We must tell Him, "God, I do not know if what this person says is good or bad, right or wrong. I pray that You grant me judgment, so that I will know what is right and what is wrong." By this, we will understand and see what God wants us to see. Many people think that the inability to understand the truth is due to the sickness of the mind. Actually, the basic cause is the sickness of the heart.
Some people think too much with their head; others are too empty in their head and do not think at all. Sometimes people are inwardly lazy; they do not want to think too much. Sometimes people feel dull in their head and cannot think properly. A Christian's mental condition mainly falls within these two categories: either it continues to think without stopping, or it is idle and not thinking at all. Some believers have a very bad memory and can only rely on their diary. I personally do not object to a diary. But if a believer only relies on his diary to remember things, his head must be sick. Mrs. Penn-Lewis said that believers should not be the slaves of their diaries. Of course, we all have times that we forget. Some things have not formed a deep impression in our mind and are forgotten. This is natural. But if the impression is deep enough, and we still cannot remember, something must be wrong. Being an amnesiac or forgetting things too easily is abnormal. If we cannot direct our thoughts, it is the symptom of a sick mind. The only time our limbs cannot be used is when they are paralyzed. In the same way, the only reason that the mind cannot be exercised is because it is sick. Once a man cannot think for himself and can only act according to the thoughts given by others, he becomes a mentally passive person. A mind which cannot think is sick, while a believer's mind which thinks constantly is also sick. Thinking constantly speaks of the mind's inability to stop, while failing to think speaks of the mind's inability to move. Both are wrong. Some people's minds are dull and seemingly bound; they cannot think at all. This condition is as sick as not being able to stop the thoughts.
I have mentioned only a few conditions of a sick nous. The root of all sickness can be traced to the position of the heart. The reason many people are depressed and dull in their mind is that they are lazy in their heart. This is like patients who have become so accustomed to sickness that they eventually like being sick. They would rather be sick than get up and work. Many times when the mind is too tired to think or work, it should take some rest. But if a person always dislikes working, his heart must be lazy. When a man's mind thinks too much or when it thinks nothing at all, it is a symptom that the nous is sick.
The apostle said in Ephesians 4:18 that because of the hardness of their hearts, the Gentiles were alienated from the life of God, and God's light could not shine into their nous. Because the light of God's life cannot shine into their nous, their nous is darkened, and the function of their nous is also darkened. The condition of their nous is due to the hardness of their heart. This is the condition of the Gentiles. Before God there is a danger of a believer being in the same condition as the Gentiles.
We want to know how we can have our nous renewed. We have the new life. We also have the new heart. Our nous has been renewed at least once and has been enlightened by God at least once. What we need to do now is to open our nous to God daily, so that we can receive everything from God, know God's will, understand God's desire, and understand the teaching of the Bible. This is our emphasis today. Brothers, do you want to understand God's will? Do you want to understand God's desire? Do you want to understand the teaching of the Bible? If you do, your nous must be renewed.
In the passage in Ephesians 4:17-24, the apostle says that since we have heard and been taught the reality in Jesus, we should manifest it in a practical way. His exhortation after verse 24 is based on his teaching given in verses 20 through 24. In other words, verses 20 through 24 are the facts which Christians possess in the Lord, and the following verses show the conduct that Christians ought to have based on that position. Today I am not going to talk about this whole passage. Rather, I will consider the renewing of the mind and its relationship with the old man and the new, based on our position in the Lord in this passage. As far as the fact is concerned, we have put off the old man in Christ. However, this does not mean that in experience we will not see the shadow of the old man. Positionally, our nous has been renewed. But this does not mean that we do not need to renew our mind frequently. Frequent renewing of the nous is essential.
Verses 22-23 say, "That you put off, as regards your former manner of life, the old man, which is being corrupted according to the lusts of the deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your nous." Notice the phrase "the spirit of your nous." There is a special relationship between the nous and the spirit. If we want the spirit of our nous to be renewed, we must put off the old man. If we do not put off the old man in our experience, we will not be able to experience the renewing of our mind.
Putting off the old man is a specific matter; it is like a gate which we go through, rather than a road which extends continuously. Believers must have a specific and definite dealing. A gate is different from a road. Passing a school entrance examination is a gate; studying after getting into the school is a road. If a believer wants to ask himself if he has a renewed nous, he only needs to ask if he has ever specifically put off the old man, the former manner of life, and put on the new man. Please notice another thing: the old man in Romans 6 is spoken of in a different way than it is spoken of here. Romans 6:6 speaks of the facts we have in the Lord; it speaks of our old man being crucified. This is why we only have to reckon and believe. Ephesians 4 does not speak of the fact of crucifixion, but the fact of putting off. The crucifixion is something that we need to believe in; it is a matter of faith. But "putting off" is something of the will. Putting off something is an act of the will. We not only must believe that our old man is crucified, but we must also exercise the power of our will to cast away our old man. If we only exercise faith, without exercising the will to remove the old man, it will not work. We need our will as much as we need our faith.
This passage shows us that if we want our understanding and mind to be renewed, we must specifically put off our old man. If we want to be renewed continuously, we must put off continuously. Just as we exercise our will to take off our clothes and cast them aside when we undress, we should exercise our will to specifically put off the old man and cast it aside. Everything that belongs to the old man, whether it is our speech, thoughts, or behavior, should be specifically cast aside; we should reject everything sinful, unclean, or of the self. At the same time, we must seek the Lord single-heartedly and trust in the Holy Spirit to renew our nous. This renewing work belongs to the Holy Spirit. If we remove the obstacles and trust in Him to do the renewing work, He will renew our nous gradually.
We should pay attention to one more matter: the trouble with man's nous originates in man's heart; therefore, if the nous is to be renewed, the prejudiced heart must also be corrected. Although this correcting does not mean a so-called cultivation of the heart, that idea is, nevertheless, included in this correcting. An improper motive will block the light of God. Something as tiny as a little leaf can block the sunlight. It only takes a very tiny sin to block God's light. Most people have sin in their hearts. Once the sin in the heart is dealt with, everything else will be taken care of properly. If a believer's heart is proper, he will be able to understand God's will. Every believer who does not understand God's will is in this condition because his heart was improper in the first place.
Whoever is willing to say to God, "God, if You teach me right now, I thank You; if You do not teach me right now, I will not insist," can be taught by God. When a person who has been taught by God listens to another's preaching, he will ask, "God, am I wrong or not? Is what he said right or wrong?" The way a believer listens to a message proves whether or not his heart is proper.
The most precious thing about a renewed nous is that it can open as well as close one's thoughts. A renewed nous, with respect to God, is able to know His will; with respect to the self, it is able to control one's own mind and clarify his thoughts; and with respect to others, it can discern, receive, and understand the words of others.
Verse 24 reads, "And put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality." This is our conduct on the positive side. If we want to renew our nous, or have our nous renewed frequently, we must put on the new man in our experience. This also is an act of the will. What does it mean to put on the new man? Our new man, which is according to God's image, was created in righteousness and holiness of the reality. In other words, the characteristics of the new man are righteousness and holiness of the reality. Righteousness is God's way; holiness is God's nature.
Concerning God, we can speak of three aspects: (1) glory, referring to God Himself; (2) holiness, referring to God's nature; and (3) righteousness, referring to the way God acts. We were created according to God's image, but this is limited to the aspects of God's righteousness and holiness; we cannot be like God in His glory, since glory has to do with His Godhead. We cannot be part of this. But we have God's righteousness and holiness. Therefore, if a believer wants to be like God, he should let God's nature deal with him in God's way. Today how many believers have deep feelings about sin? I am ashamed to say that my feeling about sin is not deep enough. Miss M. E. Barber deeply understood sin and God's holiness. Usually one only senses pride or jealousy but does not know what pride and jealousy are. But if you went to Miss Barber, you would have a feeling that you otherwise would not have had. She hated sin the most, and she dealt with sin the best. She dealt with herself very strictly. As a result, she was also extremely straightforward with others. The minute one came into her presence, he realized what pride and jealousy are. She truly knew God. This is why I say that many times we cannot learn truths from a man's preaching, but we can learn from the truth he practices.
If you yield to sin the first time, you will lose the feeling about sin the second and third time. If you call sin by the right name and acknowledge sin as sin the first time, if you have the right view and right attitude toward sin, and if you deal with sin the right way the first time, you will be able to deal with sin the next time. If you do not consider sin as sin the first time and deal with it, but rather consider losing your temper as a common thing for a Christian, you will commit the same sin the next time. Whoever does not know sin will not know holiness. What is holiness? Holiness is having the knowledge of sin. Adam and Eve were only ignorant and innocent before they sinned; they were not holy. Only those who know sin know the meaning of holiness.
What is unrighteousness? Whatever is improper is unrighteousness. Originally, I did not know what unrighteousness was. One time I saw a story in a magazine which said that there was a man who listened to someone preaching in a chapel. After he preached, the speaker walked down the aisle and sat next to the listener. While he was seating himself, he unintentionally stepped on and dirtied the raincoat of a lady sitting in front of him. He kicked the raincoat aside without removing the dirt and did not apologize to the owner of the raincoat. The listener criticized the preacher, saying it was unrighteous. What is unrighteousness? Unrighteousness is to be indebted to someone. Even if the man did not indemnify the lady, at least he should have removed the dirt for her; otherwise, before God there is an indebtedness forever.
Therefore, the nous is related to our living before God. Whenever we yield to sin, we become unrighteous. We are not able to fellowship with God, and our nous is darkened. Therefore, we should put off uncleanness, improper motives, and unrighteousness on the negative side and put on the new man on the positive side. Brothers, we must pass through this gate. The renewing of the nous is something very specific. Do not think that all that is needed is to grow gradually.
Several years ago I saw in a magazine something written by Mrs. Penn-Lewis which said, "If your spirit is obstructed, it is because your nous is obstructed." In other words, the spirit is closed because the nous is closed. I saw and appreciated these words, but my spiritual life at that time was very shallow, and I could not fully understand. Sometime later I realized how real these words were. If a person's nous is closed, his spirit must also be closed. Since the spirit expresses itself through the nous, the spirit will have no outlet if the nous is closed. Although an electric current has power, if the filament of the light bulb is broken, no light will shine. This does not mean that the electric company has run out of power; it only means that electricity cannot circulate through the bulb. In the same way, if our nous is closed, our spirit will have nowhere to express itself and have no power to express itself. I do not know what more I can say to lead you into this deep truth and help you have a renewed nous. If your nous is closed, your spiritual power will find no expression.
I am not saying that our mind can help God's work; what comes out of the mind is just the power of the soul. But if a believer's nous is not renewed, his spirit will have no outlet, and God will not be able to use him. Peter said, "These men are not drunk" (Acts 2:15). If they had been drunk, their mind would not have been clear. If their mind had not been clear, they would not have had an open spirit for God to use. As far as I know, those who are greatly used by God are very clear in their spirit, understanding, nous, thinking, and logic. The amount of knowledge they have is another matter altogether; not everyone who is used by God has great knowledge.
If our nous is renewed and our understanding is quick, we can understand God's will, God's desire, and the Bible.
Romans 12:1-2 says, "I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. And 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." The word mind in the original text is nous. Here the renewing of the nous is mentioned again. Paul exhorted others to present their bodies to God and serve God. The renewing of the nous is based on consecration.
Friends, are there things which drag you down, hold you back, and bind you tightly? If you can consecrate these things to Him and put them upon the altar, your renewed nous will receive double strength from God, and you will understand God's desire and will; you will be able to think and understand everything about God. At the same time, you can also dispense them to others. You should practice this matter in a definite way before God. The result is "that you may prove...." (The meaning of that is "so that" or "in order that.") The result is that your mind will understand God's will, and you will be able to see clearly and prove God's will, that which is well pleasing to Him.
Many people say lightly, "I will obey, no matter what." Actually, they are far from what they say. They do not know what they are talking about. When the Lord was going to die, Peter said, "Even if I must die with You, I will by no means deny You" (Matt. 26:35). Many people are like Peter. They do not know what God is asking of them. They simply have no idea what God requires of them. This is why they never make any progress. If you want to see how deep or how advanced a believer's spiritual life is, just find out what God is asking of him. A sinner who is newly saved gives up smoking and gambling, etc. These cannot be considered as signs of very much growth. All of us know that this is a basic step in the spiritual pathway of a saved person. Soon afterwards, he realizes that envy, pride, etc. are bad. This signals a further progress. Further on, God shows him that in his work he should drop his opinion. This is another, deeper step. In short, God's demand deepens and increases little by little. Some Christians know that they should not smoke or gamble. Other Christians know that they should not be proud or jealous. Yet they often do not know anything more. We must offer ourselves to God according to what we know. Only then will our nous be renewed. At the same time, our renewed nous will teach us how we should consecrate ourselves to God.
Originally, the nous of many people is like a kitchen window that is covered with grease. After the nous is renewed, it is like a clean glass window which allows sunlight to come through. A person with a renewed nous will become more and more clear and will understand God's demand more and more. His nous will become very sharp and quick, and he will become very clear concerning God's requirement. Many Christians do not understand God's will because they do not have the proper receiving organ. They can only infer, guess, and presume; they cannot understand God's will. But if the nous is renewed, this organ will enable a person to know God's will more and more clearly.
Romans 14:5 reads, "One judges one day above another; another judges every day alike. Let each be fully persuaded in his own mind." The "mind" in this verse is the nous. Paul says that one man esteems one day above another, and another thinks that all days are the same. By what should we judge what is right and what is wrong? It is judged by our own nous. We can judge clearly by our nous. If there is a question of God's will, it can be decided clearly by the nous.
Luke 24:45 reads, "Then He opened their mind to understand the Scriptures." The "mind" here is nous in the original text. The Lord Jesus opened their nous. Why did He do this? He did this in order that they would understand the Scriptures. Please remember that the Lord Jesus has to open our nous before we can understand the Scriptures. When the nous is opened, the result is the understanding of the Scriptures. Every time you read the Bible, you have to tell God, "I humble myself before You like a child. I do not know or understand the meaning of this passage of the Scriptures. Please grant me the light." God will grant you the understanding or the possession of His truth, though not necessarily at the moment you are reading. Sometimes your nous is opened, and you understand the truth while you are walking, working, going to bed, or getting up. Once God opens you, you will become more and more systematic. According to my own experience as well as that of others, God never gives an incomplete truth to man. At the beginning, when we read the Bible, we may only get pieces; but later on, we will understand the whole truth from God. For instance, I know a man in the Lord who was caught by the truth concerning authority for four or five months. God continually showed him everything in the Bible concerning the truth of authority. Nevertheless, he also received other things as well in his daily morning watch.
Once someone asked me, "Is it necessary for one to prepare before he preaches?" I said, "On one hand, there is no need to prepare. On the other hand, one has to prepare every day." We should receive from God daily. All the time, we should receive the truth God reveals to us in our nous. Following a long period or sometimes even a short period of time, we will know and understand the whole truth. A message does not come merely with two hours of preparation. This kind of preparation is useless. Many spiritual persons yearly receive from God clear, systematic, and great truths. God shows them truths in their nous and sustains them with these truths. At the same time, He enables them to bring these truths to others to help and sustain them with these truths.
Concerning the process of renewing, we need to do our job, and God will do His job. The renewing may be resolved all at once; it may also not be resolved all at once, but rather grow like an infant. The most important thing is that a renewed mind is under a person's own control; he can stop when he wants to stop, and he can think when he wants to think. One should be able to control himself in a spontaneous way. After the mind is renewed, one should not allow outside thoughts to control him. If he does, his mind will become sick. This does not mean that one should analyze his thoughts. If he analyzes, it will be a great suffering to his mind. This control should be exercised very spontaneously, as spontaneously as the opening and closing of the eyelids. There is no need to think or command; the eyelids open and close spontaneously. Concerning controlling our thoughts, in the beginning we may have to exert some effort. But after a while, we will no longer need to exert any more effort; the control will come spontaneously. We should control our thoughts. However, this should be done most spontaneously and naturally. There is no need to analyze or become introspective. If we do, we will suffer and come into danger. This is something to which we should pay attention.
