While life is God Himself, God being our life is Christ; therefore, the Bible says that Christ is our life. We can say that when we are regenerated, it is Christ being born again within us to be our life. But when we first receive it, this life is still very young and immature, which means that the stature of Christ within us is very small. When we love Christ, seek Christ, and allow Christ to live in us more and thereby gain us, the stature of Christ gradually increases within us. This is the growth of life. Since this life is Christ who lives in us, the growth of this life is therefore the increase of the stature of Christ within us.
We have also mentioned that life not only is God, but it is Christ, and it is also the Holy Spirit. We may say that to experience life is to experience the Holy Spirit; therefore, to grow in life also means to allow the Holy Spirit to gain more ground within us. When we pursue more urgently the working of the Holy Spirit within us and give diligence in obeying the teaching of the Holy Spirit within us as the anointing, the Holy Spirit can then expand His ground extensively; thus, life within us will grow to a great extent. Therefore, the growth of life means also that the ground of the Holy Spirit has expanded within us.
The above three points reveal that if in a believer the element of God is increased, the stature of Christ is increased, and the ground of the Holy Spirit is expanded, his life then has grown. All these points speak from God’s side. Now we shall speak from our side. Firstly, the growth of life is the decrease of the human element. The decrease of the human element is the decrease of Adam, the old creation, in man, which also means the decrease of the savor of man and the increase of the savor of God. Some brothers are very enthusiastic, while some sisters are very gentle; in outward appearance they seem to have grown in life, yet they are full of human element, human savor; they cannot cause you to touch the element of God or sense the savor of God. Therefore, if we wish to see whether a brother or sister has grown in life, we cannot simply observe how they behave outwardly, how devout and zealous they are, or how much knowledge, gift or power they have. Rather, we must discern whether there is the increase of the element of God within these things, or, on the other hand, still an abundance of human element. The decrease of the human element is the increase of the divine element. If a believer has really grown in life, his speech, actions, living or working must all impart the sense that they are not according to himself, but according to God; not of his own intelligence, but by the grace of God; therefore, they do not carry the savor of man, but more the savor of God, which also means that the human element has decreased and the element of God has increased. Thus, the growth of life is not only the increase of the element of God, but also the decrease of the element of man.
This point is rather important; yet it is rather difficult for brothers and sisters to apprehend. Though for more than ten years we who serve the Lord in the ministry of the word have been speaking continually in this way, we are still not able to speak this point into the brothers and sisters. We have spoken at times until all nodded their heads in agreement; yet when it came to actual practice the brothers and sisters still considered whether there was any improvement in behavior or zeal in serving, etc., as standards to determine whether there was growth in life. Once in a certain place the responsible brothers of the church spoke to me with one voice, saying, “There is a sister here who speaks and walks firmly and lightly, and who is so quiet and gentle, truly spiritual, and full of life.” I then said to them, “If this is called being spiritual or having life, then the statue of Mary in the Catholic Church is even more spiritual and full of life, because it is more gentle and quiet than she.” Her quietness and gentleness were full of human savor and human element; they were entirely the product of human effort. When we want to determine a believer’s condition in life, we cannot go by what he manifests outwardly; we must sense the savor and the element in what he manifests. Is it the savor of God or the savor of man? Is it the element of God or the element of man? Many times our perception may not be accurate, but the smell is accurate. It is possible that a certain piece of clothing appears very clean to you, but if you take it and smell it, you will know that it is full of a filthy odor. Thus, if we want to evaluate the condition of life within a man, it should be like sampling tea: just by a little tasting, you can tell its flavor.
The breaking of a believer’s natural life is also a proof of his growth in life. The breaking of the natural life means that our own power, ability, view, and method are all so dealt with by the Holy Spirit and the cross that they are broken. For example, consider a brother who formerly in his behavior and action, in his working for the Lord, and in his administering of the church, depended on his own natural power, ability, view, and method. In all things, he relied on his own power and ability; he used his own concept and method. Later, he was dealt with by the cross and disciplined by the Holy Spirit through environment so that his natural life was somewhat broken. Now, when he comes to work and manage affairs, he does not trust in his own power, ability, view, and method. Such a man whose natural life has been broken learns no longer to rely on the power of his natural life or to live by his natural life, but he continually depends on the power of the life of God and lives by the life of God. In this way the life within him can grow. Thus, the growth of life is the breaking of the natural life.
When we speak of what deliverance from sin is, we should pay attention to the flesh being crucified; when we speak of what the growth of life is, we should pay attention to the soul being subdued. Positively speaking, the growth of life is the expanding of the ground of the Holy Spirit; negatively speaking, it means that every part of the soul is being subdued. Every one who lives in the natural life lives by the soul. We all know that the soul has three parts: mind, emotion, and will. Therefore, to live by the soul is to live by the mind, by the emotion, or by the will. The part of a man’s soul which is particularly strong and outstanding is the very part by which that man lives; when he encounters things, he definitely uses that part to deal with them. Once Brother Nee said that it is similar to a man who carelessly walks into a wall; when he does so, his nose always hits first. Whatever part of the body stands out, that part will hit the wall first. The situation of our soul is like this. If a person’s mind is particularly strong, whenever he has an encounter, his mind will definitely come first. If his emotion is particularly thriving, whenever he has an encounter, his emotion will move first. If his will is particularly strong, whenever he has an encounter, it will certainly be his will that takes the lead.
When a man has received sufficient dealings of the cross, every part of his soul is subdued. His mind, emotion, and will are all broken and subdued; they do not stand out as before. Whenever he encounters something, he is afraid to use the mind, he is afraid to use the emotion, he is afraid to use the will. The mind does not come first; the spirit comes first. The emotion does not move first; the spirit moves first. The will does not take the lead; the spirit takes the lead. This means that we should not allow the soul to take the lead, but let the spirit be in the position of the head; that we should not live by the soul, but by the spirit. Such people then have growth in life. Thus, to grow in life is to have every part of the soul subdued.
After seeing these twelve points concerning what the growth of life is, we know that the real growth of life, on our side, is a matter of decreasing, breaking, and subduing; on God’s side, it is a matter of increasing, growing, and expanding. All this, we may say, is the fundamental knowledge we should have in the pursuit of life. It is also very much related to spiritual experience, which we have considered in another volume.* [The Experience of Life, published by the Living Stream Ministry.] Therefore, we must thoroughly comprehend and accurately know all these points.