There is an absolute relatedness between the teaching of the anointing and the feeling of the conscience. We have said that the normal feeling of the conscience is derived from the Holy Spirit, who is in our spirit, and passes through our mind to enlighten us. This enlightenment is also a kind of anointing of the Holy Spirit as the ointment. Therefore, the feeling of the conscience and the teaching of the anointing are both derived from the feeling of the anointing. The anointing, after having passed through the intuition of the spirit and having been understood by the mind, becomes the teaching of the anointing. However, the anointing, having passed through the conscience and being understood by the mind, becomes the feeling of the conscience; this, then, is their relatedness.
There are, however, differences between the teaching of the anointing and the feeling of the conscience. First, the conscience is an organ to differentiate right from wrong. The feeling of the conscience which is derived from the anointing is also limited to right and wrong, good and evil. But the teaching of the anointing, which comes by way of the anointing and is sensed directly in our spirit, is related in scope to God Himself. It surpasses right and wrong and touches directly the will of God Himself. If we only care for the feeling of the conscience, we can only be a faultless Christian. We must go beyond this to live in the teaching of the anointing; then we can touch the mind of God and live in God.
Secondly, the main purpose of the teaching of the anointing is that we may touch God, possess God, and understand the mind of God. Its emphasis is upon positive guidance, which also indicates that which is forbidden. But the feeling of the conscience simply shows one’s offense. It emphasizes the negative condemnation and dealing. God always gives us firstly the teaching of the anointing, not the feeling of the conscience. If we obey the teaching of the anointing, we will thereby eliminate the necessity for the feeling of the conscience.
However, if at any time we should not obey the teaching of the anointing, we immediately become aware of the condemnation of the conscience, which makes us aware of our offenses. This may be likened to the executive and judicial departments of a nation. When the executive department operates smoothly, there is no need for the judicial department to take any action. However, whenever the executive organ loses its effectiveness or steps beyond its power, the judicial then exercises its power of impeachment. So also is the relationship between the teaching of the anointing and the feeling of the conscience. The teaching of the anointing is always a positive move, while the feeling of the conscience is always a negative impeachment. In other words, the Holy Spirit as ointment first anoints the intuition of our spirit in order to guide or prohibit us. If we do not obey, it proceeds to anoint our conscience in order to produce a feeling in the conscience. Therefore, if we want to maintain a normal spiritual condition, we should always live in the teaching of the anointing, without having to wait for the feeling of the conscience to correct and impeach us.
Home | First | Prev | Next