The same principle applies to the matter of gifts. Many Christians today think that since they have certain gifts, they are quite spiritual. In fact, however, this is not so. If we read 1 Corinthians, we can see the condition of the Corinthian believers. They exercised the gifts very much, but did they have the real growth of life? No, they were fleshly and childish (3:1-3). Just as the teachings should be the means to convey Christ to others, so also the gifts should be the means only to convey Christ. God’s intention today is not to give us many teachings and gifts but to minister and impart Christ into us.
I once met a person who was full of the knowledge of the Bible, but although he spoke concerning the Bible, he still had the habit of smoking. After speaking on the book of Matthew and the ten virgins for half an hour, he said, “Excuse me; I need to smoke a little. I know this is wrong, but I am weak.” Then he went into the book of Revelation and spoke of the ten horns, the seven heads, and the forty-two months. He had the strength to teach, but eventually he had to say, “Excuse me, I need to smoke a little more.” Though he was strong in Bible teaching, he was very weak in the spiritual life.
I also saw many people who spoke in tongues. After the demonstration of this gift, they were very careless in their daily living. Some were even more careless than unbelievers. It was easy for them to lose their temper at home. All these things simply prove one thing: that God’s intention is not to give us teachings and gifts but to give us Christ, the living One. God uses teachings, when ministered in a proper way, to convey Christ to us. Sometimes He uses certain gifts as the means to minister Christ to us and to stir up people to receive Christ. But we all must realize that God’s intention is that we know the living One, the Triune God, and experience Christ in the Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament a donkey once spoke in a human language (Num. 22:21-30). That was a genuine speaking in tongues. I doubt whether all the tongues are as genuine today. I read an article recently in which the writer reported that he had contacted more than one hundred persons who spoke in tongues. He said that every one without exception doubted whether the tongue he spoke was genuine. Yet the writer still encouraged people not to doubt but to continue their experience. After I read that, I said to myself, “At the time of Pentecost, did Peter doubt whether the tongue he spoke was genuine? Was there anyone at that time who had such doubts?” But today, why do so many people question whether or not their tongue is genuine? The simple answer is that many tongues today are not genuine.
Even if you are speaking a genuine tongue, I must tell you that tongue-speaking is not life. Even King Saul received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (1 Sam. 19:22-24), but we should not think that he experienced life. On the contrary, his experience simply exposed him. After he received the outpouring of the Spirit, he made himself naked. This illustrates that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is different from life. Life is not the outpouring of the Spirit; rather, life is only Christ Himself in the Spirit.
I am not trying to criticize, but my burden is very heavy. When I see the desperate situation of the Lord’s people, I do not know what to say or what to do. When Christians hear sound Bible teachings, they are very responsive. When they hear of spiritual gifts, many are stirred up. But when the inner life and the indwelling Christ are ministered, how great is their need for an inner revelation! The doctrines and the gifts are outward, but Christ is hidden within us. How the Lord’s people need to know Christ as the indwelling One, who is living and powerful—converting, regulating, strengthening, refreshing, and always transforming and saturating us!
We must also see that the building of the church is not a matter of position or responsibility but a matter of life in our inner being. It is not a matter of putting someone into a position, but a matter of the growth of the inner life unto maturity. Our inner being must be constituted with God through His inward working. The more we put people into a position, the more we will have nothing. But the more we help people to realize the growth in life, the more life will multiply. The growth of the inner life is the sure way of building up the church. Then through the matured life we will spontaneously be qualified to exercise responsibility.
Again we need to repeat: God’s intention is to impart Christ into us and make Christ everything within us. God uses teachings to help some people, and He uses the gifts to help others, but these are not the main thing. Inner revelation is needed to see the goal of the living Christ dwelling within us. If we see this goal, wherever we meet together, we will be the living house of the living God. The living God will dwell, live, and work in us, and we will bear the testimony of Jesus, who is the reality of the entire universe. Then we will be the genuine manifestation of the living God in the flesh. This is the way of God’s recovery today. Let us look to the Lord for the inner grace that we may have the reality of the church.