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Second Corinthians 3:16-17 says, “Whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Verse 16 says that the heart needs to turn to the Lord, and then verse 17 says that the Lord is the Spirit. This means that the heart needs to turn to the Spirit. Moreover, the phrase where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom means that the Spirit of the Lord Himself is freedom. Because the Spirit of the Lord is freedom, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Then verse 18 continues, “But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” An unveiled face is a face without any veils, and a veiled face is one that is covered by a veil. According to this verse, when the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Moreover, when the face is unveiled, it can behold the glory of the Lord. When we behold the glory of the Lord, we become like a reflecting mirror, and we are transformed into the image of the Lord from glory to glory. Our being transformed into the Lord’s image is from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit. The Lord is the Spirit, the glory is the Spirit, and the Spirit is the Lord. Hence, to be transformed into the Lord’s image “from glory” is the same as to be transformed into the Lord’s image from the Lord and also the same as to be transformed into the Lord’s image from the Spirit.
We all know that the purpose of God’s salvation is to work in us so that we may have His image (Rom. 8:29). How does this relate to being mature? To be mature is to have the Lord fully formed in us. It also means that we, those who have been saved, have been fully transformed into the Lord’s image. Originally, we were men who were merely natural—not having the life of the Lord, the nature of the Lord, or the image of the Lord within us. However, through the salvation of the Lord, the Lord has added Himself into us. Since the time of our regeneration and salvation, the Lord has been adding Himself into us, causing us to have His life and nature. In other words, from the time of our salvation, the Lord has been working in us so that we may have His image. When the Lord has fully worked His image into us and is fully expressed out from within us, then we will be mature in life.
What is the way to become mature? We all know that when we were regenerated, God put His Spirit and His life into our spirit. His purpose in doing this is to make us the same as He is, having His life and nature. When He makes us completely the same as He is, we are mature in life. How does the Lord do this? The first step that the Lord takes is to put His Spirit and His life into the deepest and most central part of our being—our spirit—at the time of our salvation. Thus, we have the Lord’s Spirit, the Lord’s life, and the Lord’s element in our spirit. This is the difference between a person who is saved and a person who is not saved. A person who is saved has God’s Spirit and God’s life in his spirit. The difference between a saved person and an unsaved person is not related to outward appearance but to whether they have an extra element in the depths of their being. This element is God, the Spirit of God, and the life of God.
For example, suppose that there is a person who has not been saved, yet who was born with a very good nature and is a very proper person. This person does not have God’s Spirit or God’s life within him; he is merely a good person. Suppose, however, that there is another person who was not born with a good nature, who has a bad temper, and who is not a nice person. Suppose also that this person repented and received the Lord Jesus as his Savior and that the Spirit of God and the life of God entered into him. If you look at the outward appearance of these two people, you might be amazed. Although one is good and the other is bad, the good one is not saved but the bad one is. The difference between the two of them is not outward but is something within. The one who is good yet is unsaved does not have the life of God or the Spirit of God, whereas the one who is outwardly bad yet is saved has God’s Spirit and God’s life within him.
Some may think that if a person who is outwardly bad gets saved by God’s Spirit and life, he should endeavor to have good behavior and conduct. However, this is merely self-cultivation, which is the work of a religious person. God does not save us in this way—He does not correct our shortcomings from the outside. God saves us by causing His Spirit and life to expand and spread out from our spirit, our inner being, so that we are completely changed. After a person who has a bad nature receives God’s Spirit and life, God desires that His Spirit and life would spread out from within this person until he is completely swallowed up and transformed. Man’s way is to outwardly improve and correct himself; God’s way is to swallow us up and transform us from within. What is the basic material that God uses for this transforming work? The basic materials that He uses are His Spirit and life.
Throughout the ages the aim of the teachings of the great theologians and philosophers has been to improve, reform, and beautify people outwardly. However, this is not the way of God’s salvation. The way of God’s salvation is to put His divine life into man’s spirit to regenerate man. Then God causes His divine life to spread out from man’s spirit to saturate and permeate him. We can liken this to putting yellow liquid into the center of a cotton ball. If we do this, then the yellow liquid will slowly flow and permeate out from the center. Eventually, it will saturate the whole cotton ball, causing the white cotton ball to become yellow. This yellow color does not come from outward painting but from inward saturation. This is the same way that a Christian becomes mature in life.
A saved person may have a fiery disposition and a bad temper, but on the day that he got saved, the Spirit of the Lord and the life of the Lord entered into his spirit. If from that day on he truly loves the Lord and is willing to give the Lord the opportunity to do the work of permeation in him, the Lord will permeate him to the extent that his temper will be changed. His naturally fiery temper will become gentle and will gain a little of God’s “color.” Then the Lord will continue to permeate him. As a result, although he was not a man with sympathy before, he will now have a heart to care about others and will have a little bit more of God’s color. These changes will not happen as a result of outward reform or from an outward painting of color on him. They will happen as a result of the expansion and permeation of God’s life within him. We can say that when this man first got saved, he was merely saved. His temper had not been changed and was still bad. After half a year, however, he changed quite a bit. This change is not simply a matter of a change in behavior; it also enables others to sense the presence of the Lord and to feel that there is the taste of the Lord in him.
Some people may be very meek, but there is no taste of the Lord within them. Yet with others, there is the taste of the Lord in their meekness. Why is this? It is because the meekness of some people does not come from inside; it is like something that has been painted on them outwardly or an outward decoration. The meekness of others, however, comes from the permeation of the Lord’s life within them. These ones not only have meekness, but they also have the Lord in their meekness. In fact, we can say that their meekness is just the Lord Himself.
For example, suppose there are two brothers. By nature the older one honors his parents, but by nature the younger is disobedient to his parents. One day the younger one gets saved, and the Spirit of the Lord and the life of the Lord enter into his spirit. At this time, outwardly, the younger one is not as good at honoring his parents as the older brother. However, although the older brother is good at honoring his parents, God’s Spirit and God’s life are not inside of him. Thus, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, the older brother honors his parents in his natural way. When the younger brother got saved in the summer, his outward behavior at that time was not as good as his older brother’s. However, at the end of the year, after six months, the younger brother also honors his parents. Yet how does he honor his parents? He honors his parents by the Lord’s Spirit and life that have permeated him. The Lord’s Spirit and life permeate his disobedient nature and begin to work on his disobedience. Eventually, his disobeying becomes honoring. Thus, by the end of the year both of them honor their parents.
At this time the older brother’s honoring is just his natural honoring, but the younger brother’s honoring is different. When others touch the younger brother’s honoring, they not only touch his honoring; they also touch the Lord. There is the taste of the Lord in his honoring. The difference between these two kinds of honoring is that the older brother’s honoring is of his natural man—it is human behavior—and the younger brother’s honoring comes from the inward permeation of the Lord—it is the Lord’s life living out from him. Both honor their parents, but their honoring has two different natures and tastes. One is merely behavior, but the other is life. One has the taste of man, whereas the other has the taste of the Lord. This kind of virtue, which comes as a result of being permeated with the Lord’s life and the Lord’s Spirit, is the expression of the maturity in life, which takes place step by step. This kind of growth and maturity in life is the result of the permeation of the Lord’s Spirit and the Lord’s life. This permeation begins from our innermost center, our spirit, and continues outwardly into our soul.
Our soul has three parts—our mind, emotion, and will. These three components represent our whole being. Looking from the outside, our whole person is comprised of the activities of these three parts—the mind, emotion, and will. Our thinking, consideration, and reasoning are functions of the mind. Our likes, dislikes, and feelings of joy, anger, sorrow, and delight are the functions of the emotion. To decide, determine, and choose are functions of the will. Our living cannot be separated from these three parts. When we were saved, the Lord’s life and the Lord’s Spirit entered into our spirit. However, our mind, emotion, and will still may not have the Spirit of the Lord. When we think, consider, and reason, the Lord may not be in our thoughts, considerations, and reasonings. Of course, when we pray, we are in spirit, we have fellowship with the Lord, we feel the presence of the Lord, and we can touch the Lord. But as soon as we finish our prayer, our mind begins to think about our business, our studies, or our children. The Spirit is not in our mind at all.
When we first get saved, the Spirit is not only not in our mind; the Spirit is also not in our emotion. For example, we may have morning watch in our room. During our morning watch we may touch the Lord’s presence in our spirit. This experience may be very sweet and joyful. However, when we come out from our room, we may find one of our family members doing something improper. As a result, our emotion is stirred up, and we lose our temper immediately. In the morning when we pray in our room, we touch the Lord and are in our spirit. However, right after we finish praying, our emotion is stirred up, and we become joyful or angry, sorrowful or delighted. From this we see that there is no Spirit in our emotion. The will is also the same. When we pray, we have enjoyment in our spirit. However, after we finish praying, our ideas and choices immediately come out, and no one can change them. This indicates that the Spirit is not in our will. Therefore, we see that as a result of our salvation, we have the Lord’s Spirit and the Lord’s life in our spirit, but we may not yet have the Spirit in our mind, emotion, and will. At the time of our salvation our whole outer being still has no Spirit. Thus, when people touch us, they may not sense that we are sinful or that we are doing something wrong, but they also may not sense that we have God or the taste of the Lord. Although we have been saved and have the Lord’s Spirit and the Lord’s life in our spirit, the Lord’s Spirit may not have permeated and expanded into our mind, emotion, and will.
If a Christian has the proper growth in life, when you touch his thoughts, you will sense the taste of the Lord in it; when you touch his likes or even his dislikes, you will sense the taste of the Lord; and if you watch the way he decides and chooses, you will also sense the taste of the Lord. Why is this? It is because he allows the Lord’s Spirit and the Lord’s life to permeate from his spirit into his mind, emotion, and will. That is, he allows the Lord’s life to spread and expand in him and also allows the Lord’s life in him to grow step by step and to mature little by little. In the same way, the more the fruit on a tree grows, the more it matures. One day the Lord’s Spirit and life will permeate our whole being completely, causing our whole being to be filled with the Lord and to have the taste of the Lord in full. When this happens, we will be mature believers. Not only will we be blameless in our daily walk, but when others touch us, they will be able to sense the taste of the Lord in our thoughts, preferences, and ideas. This will be the case because the Lord’s Spirit and life will have spread from our spirit to every part of our soul.
Here we would like to elaborate on a particular matter—our heart. The spirit of man is the deepest and most central part of his whole being. Man’s soul is his outer man. The soul includes the mind, emotion, and will. Man’s heart also includes many things. Man’s heart has thoughts, desires, and intentions (Heb. 4:12). Thus, our heart includes our mind, emotion, and will—the three parts of the soul. Thus, our mind, emotion, and will are all a matter of the heart.
Hebrews 10:22 also reveals that our conscience is in our heart. The heart includes the conscience, and the conscience is part of the spirit. The spirit also has three parts—intuition, fellowship, and conscience. In summary, the heart is the mind, emotion, and will plus the conscience. The conscience is in our spirit, our deepest part, and surrounding our conscience is our mind, emotion, and will. Thus, our heart has four parts— first, the conscience; second, the mind; third, the emotion; and fourth, the will. Among these four parts—conscience, mind, emotion, and will—one part is in the spirit and three parts are in the soul. Thus, the heart is connected to the spirit as well as to the soul. In other words, the heart is where our spirit and our soul converge. The heart is the converging place of our being. Therefore, the heart represents a person. When we believe that a person is bad, we often say that his heart is bad. In addition, when the heart is absent, the person is absent. Sometimes, a person is present, but his heart is absent. In such a case, the person might as well be absent, since only the heart can represent a person.
Those who study the Bible all agree that God’s Spirit and God’s life being in our spirit means that they are in the intuition and fellowship of our spirit, our most central part. But the spirit of man not only has the intuition and the fellowship; it also has the conscience. Hence, God’s Spirit and life, which are in our spirit, also touch our heart. When God’s Spirit and life spread from our spirit, they go through our heart. Therefore, our heart is the key, the gateway. Whether God’s Spirit and life within us can spread to our mind, emotion, and will depends upon whether our heart allows God to pass through it.
When a person is saved, God enters into him and becomes one with him. Before a person is saved, he lives in his mind, emotion, will, and conscience. This is where he is. Once he is saved, God enters into him. Which part of him is God in? God is in his spirit. Thus, there is something between God and man. This something is the heart. Thus, everything depends upon whether our heart is turned to the Lord or away from the Lord. When our heart is turned away from the Lord, then we are turned away from the Lord. When our heart is turned to the Lord, we are turned to the Lord. Second Corinthians 3:16 says, “Whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Why is it that whenever the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is removed? The reason is that man’s turned-away heart is the veil. If a person has his back toward us, he cannot see us. That is the veil. When the heart is turned to the Lord, man is face to face with the Lord, and naturally, the veil is taken away.
Even though many of us are saved and have the Lord in our spirit, our heart often separates us from the Lord. In a sense the Lord is on the inside, we are on the outside, and the heart is between us so that we and the Lord cannot be face to face. Thus, everything depends upon where our heart is facing. When our heart is toward the Lord, there are no problems. We and the Lord are face to face. But when our heart is turned away from the Lord, then we are turned away from the Lord, and spontaneously, there is no communication with the Lord. Therefore, the heart is an important gateway.
Second Corinthians 3:17 says, “The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Our heart needs to turn to the Lord, and the Lord is the Spirit. Thus, our heart must turn to the Spirit. The Spirit is within us today. We have to turn to the Lord, the Spirit, within us. This is wonderful. We have to learn to turn within to our spirit to fellowship with the Lord so that we can be mingled with the Spirit. We are always facing the outside and are turned away from the Lord. Thus, we have to learn to turn within where the Lord is. The Lord is the Spirit, so when we turn to the Lord, we are turning to the Spirit. In addition, the Spirit is within us. Thus, in order to turn to the Lord, we have to turn to our spirit within. When we turn back to our spirit within, we sense the presence of the Lord. However, whenever we turn to the outside, to the soul, there is no presence of the Lord.
The Lord is the Spirit within us, our person is on the outside, and our heart is in between the Lord and us. When the heart turns outward, it turns away from the Lord. This is the veil. When the heart turns inward, it turns to the Lord, and the veil is taken away. How do we know if we are turning to the Lord or turning away from the Lord? In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul says the Lord is the Spirit and that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Freedom is the big proof. Where the Lord is, there is freedom. When the Lord is in our mind, our mind is freed. When the Lord is in our emotion, our emotion is freed. And when the Lord is in our will, our will is freed.
Many people testify that after they are saved, as long as they do not sin, their life is quite peaceful. But after they hear about turning to the spirit within, their life is no longer as peaceful and as free. They cannot buy clothes, go to the movies, or go to dancing parties as they wish. Now there seems to be many limitations. In the past they could do whatever they wanted to do. As long as they did not sin, did not hurt anyone, and went to the meeting on the Lord’s Day, they seemed to have peace within. But now, there is no peace. When they turn to their deepest part, to the spirit, they cannot do this or do that.
Some young Christians complain, saying, “The elderly saints saw many movies and enjoyed life to the full when they were young, and now they speak to us about spirituality. However, we have not seen enough movies and have not enjoyed life enough. We do not want to lose our freedom so early. Can we not wait until we are fifty years old before we start to love the Lord?” We must realize that we can dance, but we will not have freedom in our mind. We can watch movies, but we will not have freedom in our emotion. We can choose to drink, but we will not have freedom in our will. Our entire being is completely restricted and bound and has no freedom. A person who loves the Lord and allows the Spirit to pass through him may not seem to have any freedom outwardly—he cannot go to the movie theater, attend parties, or dance. But within him there is freedom—his mind is freed, his emotion is freed, and his will is freed. Moreover, his conscience is also freed.
No Christian has freedom in his conscience when he is at a dancing party. No Christian has peace in his conscience when he is in a movie theater. His conscience accuses and condemns him because his heart is turned away from the Lord. However, whenever his heart turns to the Lord, the Lord as the Spirit enters into him, and when the Spirit enters, freedom also enters. The Spirit is freedom. When you dance, enjoy your natural life, or go shopping in shopping centers, do you have freedom in your spirit? Do you have freedom in your emotion? Do you have freedom in your will? Do you have freedom in your mind? You yourself know that this is a painful experience. An unbeliever can dance as much as he likes and still be happy. But if you have been saved, not only do you not have peace within when you are dancing, but you feel bad even after you go home. Your conscience condemns you, your emotion is not at peace, your will is not at ease, and your mind is bothered. This is a painful experience. This is the situation of a Christian who loves the world.
If a Christian loves the world, his heart cannot love the Lord. The heart comprises the conscience, mind, emotion, and will. A Christian who loves the world and does not love the Lord does not have peace in any of these parts. He has no freedom within. However, whenever his heart turns to the Lord and says to Him, “Lord, I love You. Even though movies are lovable, I love You. Even though dancing is lovable, I love You. Even though entertainment, friends, and fashion are all lovable, I love You and my heart turns to You.” Then the veil within him is removed, he touches the Spirit, and wherever the Lord is, there is freedom. His mind follows him to love the Lord, so his mind has freedom. His emotion follows him to love the Lord, so his emotion has freedom. His will follows him to love the Lord—his decisions are according to the Lord’s decisions, and his opinions are according to the Lord’s opinions—so his will also has freedom.
If this is not the case, his mind, emotion, and will are under bondage, and his conscience condemns him. But when his mind thinks about the Lord, his emotion loves the Lord, and his will chooses the Lord, his conscience will approve of him. The center of his whole being is at ease and free. At this time the freedom that he experiences is real freedom—an inward freedom, a freedom full of joy and peace. Then God’s glory and image will be lived out of this person.
