Second Corinthians 4:16 says, “Though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” The outer man is the old being, the natural man, and includes any natural ability, strength, eloquence, and talent. The inner man is the spiritual being, the new creation. We must realize that nothing of our old, natural being should remain in the church life.
If we hear a message given by a brother whom we have not known for a long time, our ability to discern whether his speaking is natural or spiritual depends on our experience. If the cross has dealt with our own natural ability, we will be able to discern whether others’ functioning is natural or spiritual. However, if we realize that a brother is serving or speaking by his natural ability, we should not do anything. We are all still in the process of transformation. None of us can say that we are fully transformed; we are all still somewhat natural. We need to see that in the church life there is no place for anything natural, yet because we are in the process of being transformed, we are still unconsciously and unwillingly somewhat natural.
The churches in the Lord’s recovery, as parts of the living Body of Christ, will spontaneously reject anything that is natural. If a local church does not discern what is natural from what is spiritual, we should not be bothered, because such a church is simply immature. We must let children be children. If we give them time, they will grow. We do not need to instruct a childish church to reject a certain brother’s speaking because it is natural and to receive another’s speaking because it is spiritual. If we do this, we are probably acting naturally ourselves. It is better to give an immature church time to grow. By growth the church will come to discern what is spiritual and what is natural. Nothing natural can remain in the churches. Sooner or later, the natural things will be rejected or terminated. Regrettably, if a church is so immature that it cannot discern what is natural from what is spiritual, that church will suffer for a time. We cannot help this, but like healthy physical bodies, the churches will heal and grow.
We should not justify anything natural. We must condemn and reject anything natural in ourselves, but it is better not to condemn others’ naturalness. Others may be very natural, but it is not our job to condemn them. If we do, our condemning is natural. We must see that there is no place for the self, the soul-life, the old man, the practices of the body, or the old “I” in the church life. Similarly, there is no place in the church life for our natural man with any of its strength, ability, or talent. If we truly see the Lord’s recovery, we will realize that there is no place for whatever we are, have, or can do in our old being. The elders need to see this so that it will become a ruling, controlling, directing vision to them. In the church life our old being must be terminated. The church life is altogether of the new creation. If the elders see this vision and live this vision, the churches will be strong and vital.
We should be burdened to pray, “Lord, I need to see more of the vision of Your recovery in life and truth. I also need to know my old, natural being. My natural man with its strength, ability, and talent must be terminated. Lord, mingle Yourself with my new being that I may live together with You.” Such a vision will control and direct the church life, governing us in shepherding, fellowshipping, and contacting the saints. Then we will be a people under the vision of the Lord’s recovery.
In a conference of apostles and elders in Acts 15 there was “much discussion” (v. 7). To debate, dispute, or argue in the old man is easy. However, to discuss without the flesh and in the new creation is quite difficult. Sometimes we may not participate in discussions with other serving ones because we cannot do so without being in the flesh. However, if this is our case, we are not being spiritual by not discussing, for we are still in the old creation; we are only hiding it. If we truly know the flesh and cooperate with the indwelling Christ to crucify our flesh, we will be able to discuss not in a natural way but in the new creation. Remaining silent during a time of fellowship may be an indication of spirituality, but it is a weak indication. Remaining silent is better than fighting, but a stronger indication of spirituality is to discuss in the spirit, not in the flesh or in the old being. Similarly, if we have some natural ability, to not use it is relatively easy. However, to use our ability not in a natural way but in resurrection is not easy; it is a stronger indication of spirituality.
Some may wonder how to use their ability in resurrection. Our old man and our new man are difficult to separate. Our new man comes out of our old man. Resurrection is something living coming out of something dead. In a sense, there must first be something old that can die before resurrection can come. What this means experientially is that our new person still bears the appearance of our old person, but our new person is in resurrection. Regeneration and transformation do not change or remove our characteristics. If we are a slow person, regeneration and transformation will not make us quick. However, before regeneration our slowness or quickness is natural, and after regeneration and transformation our slowness or quickness is spiritual. The characteristics remain, but the nature changes.
There being no place in the church for our natural man does not mean that when a brother who has some ability to speak comes into the church life, he should no longer speak. In the church life we may use our abilities but in a spiritual way, not in a natural way. Similarly, the serving ones may have discussions but not in a natural way. There should be no insisting, stumbling, or offending. Simply to be honest and sincere is not adequate. We need a vision to see that in the church life, the natural man must be terminated. We should not do anything by our natural man or in a natural way. It will take time, but when we see this vision, the old, natural things will spontaneously be terminated. We should not pretend that we are not natural or fleshly but spiritual and in resurrection. Pretense is natural and fleshly. If we have truly seen the vision that in the church life the natural being must be terminated, we will lose any inclination for pretense. The vision kills our pretense.
When we see the vision that there is no place in the church life for our natural life, we will not seek our own interest. In other words, we will not be selfish. Selfishness is natural. If two brothers serving together make a mistake, they will be tested by how they confess. If they are natural, they will try to place more of the blame and guilt on one another. This is selfish. If we have seen that there is no place in the church life for our natural being, we will not try to place blame on others in such situations. We will not try to save our self, because our vision condemns the self. We are often subtly and perhaps unconsciously selfish, caring for our face, glory, interests, and profit. When we see that there is no place in the church life for the natural being, we will lose interest in selfish gain and honor. This becomes a great salvation.
A brother who has seen the vision of the Lord’s recovery may begin to argue in order to vindicate himself, but he will quickly lose his boldness and become silent because he has lost his interest in preserving the self. If a brother does not try to place blame on others, this may indicate that he has seen the vision. Without the vision, the more we argue, the more boldness we will have. We need to pray that we would see this vision of the church life. The church life in the Lord’s recovery is unique, absolutely different from any human society or religious organization; the church life is altogether a matter of Christ as life and the Bible as the truth and has no place for our natural man.
Question: What is the difference between the crucifying of the old man and asceticism?
Answer: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Catholicism teach asceticism, which is self-inflicted suffering, but in the Bible crucifixion implies not mainly suffering but killing, terminating. Life coming out of death is a basic principle in the universe. In other words, if there is no death, there can be no life. In our physical body cells are continually dying and being replaced with new cells. Metabolism is a process in which some substances are broken down, and others are built up. In other words, it is a killing and a generating. This is crucial for our health. Therefore, it is foolish and blind to hate the cross. What the Bible teaches is not asceticism but death and resurrection. It is wrong to seek suffering. If we are suffering in the church life, this means that we have not been terminated. A dead person does not suffer. If we feel that someone is a suffering to us, this indicates that our natural man is still living and needs to be terminated on the cross. The most restful person is one lying in a tomb. If we remain on the cross, we will not suffer. If we do not know the Spirit, we may try to crucify ourselves, which is asceticism. The death in Romans 6 can be realized and experienced only by the Spirit in Romans 8. The killing power of Christ’s death is in the Spirit.
Question: What is the relationship between the breaking of the outer man and the release of the spirit?
Answer: Brother Watchman Nee taught that the release of the spirit is an issue of the breaking of the outer man. A genuine breaking of the outer man will cause our spirit to be released. If we sit silently in the meetings, it may be because our outer man is still strong and whole. The breaking of the natural man is a lifelong matter. We may encourage the saints to pray and speak in the meetings, but we also have to help them to know how to experience the cross for the breaking of the outer man. Without the death of the cross, we cannot have resurrection. If we experience the cross, we will experience resurrection. The real breaking of the natural man will cause the spirit to be released. Whatever we are in the natural man must be crucified. If we genuinely experience this putting to death, the spirit will be released in resurrection.
Question: Will denying the self or losing our soul-life cause us to behave differently?
Answer: When people change their behavior, that is performance. We simply need to go to the cross. We cannot separate denying the self, taking up the cross, losing the soul-life, crucifying the flesh, putting to death the practices of the body, and realizing that the old man has been crucified and that the outer man is being consumed. These matters are closely related. The basic thing is that we must see that there is no place in the church life for the natural man, the self, the soul-life, the old “I,” the outer man, or the old man. We need such a vision. We do not need to perform, for the vision will terminate us and cause us to lose any taste or interest for the old, natural things. We may still have the same characteristics outwardly, but inwardly our vision will be terminating all the old natural things, and we will not be a cause of problems in the church life.