We should remember this while determining a person's condition: If you want to know the spiritual state of a person, you must ensure you are in tune with the spirit yourself, and then you can identify the person's most prominent feature. It will be so noticeable that he will be unable to conceal it. A proud individual will show their pride. Even a sad person's laughter is tinged with grief. Invariably, the nature of the individual will leave an indelible impact.
The Bible contains numerous references describing various forms of spirits. Some people have a quick spirit; others have a hardened spirit, and still, others have a sorrowful spirit. One may have a haughty spirit, another a depressed spirit, and so forth. Where do these many spiritual states arise from? For example, where does the hardness come from, in a hard spirit? Where does haughtiness come from, in a proud spirit? Surely, our human spirit is not tainted in its natural state. Its sole purpose is to exhibit God's Spirit.
So how is it that the spirit is described as hard, prideful, haughty, unforgiving, or jealous? The answer is that the outside and within man are not separated, and therefore the outward man's state becomes the inward man's. The spirit is harsh because it is clothed in the hardness of the external man, proud because it is dressed in the outward man's pride, or jealous because it is clothed in the outward man's jealousy.
God is the source of our spirit. Thus, it is initially pure before being contaminated by the impure state of the outward man. However, it becomes haughty or hard solely due to the unbrokenness of the exterior man. How the outward man's situation will taint the spirit, causing it to come forth with the spirit! To purify the spirit, one must deal with the outward man rather than the spirit. We must recognize that the problem is with the exterior man, not the spirit. We can tell when a man has not been broken by the kind of spirit that is coming forth. The type of spirit we touch reveals the particular situation of the outward man.
We know exactly what a man's need is after we have learned to touch his spirit. The way to know the man is to touch his spirit and sense what it is dressed in. Let us emphasize that this is the fundamental concept for knowing another man: sensing or touching his spirit. The character of the external man is revealed as the spirit pours forth, whether the latter has been shattered or not, because our spirit takes its colour from the outside man as it flows forth.
When you are strong in one area, it is like something sticks out in front of you. Merely reaching out touches it. You will know what it is if you feel it. You'll notice that this is his unbroken external guy. You will know a man's situation if you can sense his spirit in this way. You will be aware of what he reveals or attempts to conceal. So, once again, if you want to know man, you must know him through his spirit.
Author: Watchman Nee
Compiled and edited by: Peter O. Olutoyese
Comments
Post a Comment