Under normal circumstances a Christian will pursue the growth of life after being saved. Many Christians, however, have mistaken views and pursuits because they do not know what the growth of life truly is, even though they have paid a high price and are not lacking in love for the Lord. As a result, they are limited in their growth of life and are unable to follow a straight path.
Before pursuing the growth of life, we must first understand what the growth of life is and what are some of our mistaken concepts. The growth of life is definitely not improvement in behavior, the expression of piety, zealousness in service, an increase of knowledge, an abounding in gifts, or an increase of power; none of these are sufficient to indicate growth in life.
Improvement in behavior is not the growth of life, because behavior and life belong to two different realms. Just as evil is outside the realm of life, good is also outside the realm of life. Evil and good, though different, come from the same realm, the same kingdom, because both belong to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Life is related to another realm, another kingdom, and it belongs to another tree—the tree of life. Therefore, good and evil are not in the same realm as life. A person by his own determination and effort can improve his behavior considerably and still be very immature in the life of God because improvement is entirely apart from life. Improvement involves work, not life. Therefore, the growth of life is not improvement in behavior.
The expression of piety does not indicate the growth of life. Many religious people, such as Buddhists and Muslims, have expressions of piety toward God that are even higher than that of Christians, yet they are completely ignorant of the life of God. Their expression of piety is man-made and not the result of the work of the Holy Spirit in them through the life of Christ. Hence, expressions of piety are not the growth of life.
Zeal in service is also not the growth of life. Although a believer’s zeal in service shows enthusiasm toward the Lord and diligence in serving the Lord, such zeal is often mixed with human excitement and interest, originating from the soul rather than from the union of life. Of course, there are people whose zeal is of life, but not everyone’s zeal comes from life. Many are zealously serving God, yet their life in God is very immature, and they easily stumble. Therefore, zeal in service is not necessarily the growth of life.
Although the increase of knowledge is a kind of growth, it may not be the growth of life. An increase of knowledge can result in the improvement and clarity of a person’s mind, but it can also cause him to be puffed up (1 Cor. 8:1) and be nothing before God (13:2). Only experiences of Christ can cause the life in a believer to gain more ground. Hence, the increase of knowledge is also not the growth of life.
Abounding in gifts is also not the growth of life. The believers in Corinth did not lack in any gift, being enriched in all utterance and all knowledge (1:5, 7). Nevertheless, Paul told them that they were infants in Christ and were fleshy (3:1). Even though a man can be enriched in gifts and knowledge, his life in the Lord may still be very young and immature, and he can still be an infant and fleshy. Thus, abounding in gifts and growing in life are completely different things. In today’s Christianity, however, many still value gifts and neglect the growth of life.
Gifts are not worthy to be praised because they are outward things. In the Old Testament, Balaam’s donkey could speak human words (Num. 22:28, 30); it was a gift. The donkey’s ability to speak like a man was a gift. In normal circumstances, the donkey could only make sounds, but because of a special need, it was able to speak as a man. This was a gift. Although the donkey could speak as a man, it was still a donkey; it remained the same. Gifts cannot change a person.
In 1 Corinthians the apostle Paul depreciated gifts very much. He said that the believers in Corinth did not lack in any gift and were enriched in all knowledge. The Corinthians were all Greeks, and they boasted of their intellect, knowledge, and wisdom. Even though the believers in Corinth were enriched in all knowledge and gifts, Paul said that they were still fleshy.
First Corinthians 12 through 14 deals with the matter of gifts, but chapter 13 speaks of love, which is a matter of life. We may say that the love in chapter 13 is the cross and Christ. Without the cross, love has no way to flow out. The love that is manifested through the dealing of the cross is the outflow of Christ, the living out of Christ. In other words, Christ is the embodiment of love, and love is the outflow of life, the living out of Christ.
Gifts meant nothing to Paul—only love counted. This love, through the breaking of the cross, allows Christ to live out from us. We should never treasure gifts in the church life. It is true that we treasure the usefulness of the saints before the Lord very much; furthermore, the saints must have certain gifts in order for them to be useful. However, we must bear in mind that gifts are merely for our outward cooperation. We still need the breaking of the cross in order to allow the Holy Spirit to constitute us with more of Christ. Usefulness truly depends upon the constitution of Christ’s life being matched with an outward gift. If we have only an outward gift but not Christ and His life within, our gift will not have much value.
In his first Epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul seems to depreciate gifts to the uttermost. In his second Epistle, he shows that genuine service is not a matter of gifts but of ministry. Ministry is not a matter of a donkey speaking as a man; rather, it is a matter of a person allowing the cross to break him continually and allowing the Holy Spirit to discipline him and destroy his outer man so that his inner man, that is, Christ, can be built up. This enables life to operate in him and to come out from within him so that others may receive the supply of life.
Gifts are depreciated in 1 Corinthians, and the ministry is shown in 2 Corinthians. This is the way of the Bible. May the Lord have mercy on us to show us that ministry surpasses gifts. Ministry is produced according to the growth of life; gifts are not the growth of life.