In this message we will consider the matter of exercising to be one spirit with the Lord. This sentence, recorded in 1 Corinthians 6:17, is the most mysterious sentence in the Bible. We believers in the Lord can actually become one spirit with the Lord. This is the most central teaching in the Bible. It is true that there are many moral and ethical teachings in the Bible. I believe that if we were to take everything written by the Chinese philosophical, classical scholars concerning ethics and morality and put them together with all the teachings and writings of Confucius and Mencius, they still would not say as much as the Bible does, and their standard would be much lower than the Bible’s. For the human race, the Bible teaches the most about ethics and morality and has the highest standard. However, these teachings are not the center but the periphery of the Bible; they are the “branches” and not the “roots and trunk” of the Bible.
The center, the “roots and trunk,” of the Bible is that we saved ones have become one spirit with the Lord. This declares two facts. First, the Lord must be Spirit. If He were not Spirit, how could He become one spirit with us? Second, even though we are not spirit, we must have a spirit; otherwise, how could we become one spirit with Him? According to our inward reality, we certainly have a spirit. When God created us, He made a spirit for us. Zechariah 12:1 says, “Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.” Our spirit within us was created by God, and according to this verse, our human spirit is as important as the heavens and the earth. This verse mentions only three things: the heavens, the earth, and the spirit of man; it does not mention any other item. Thus, the heavens, the earth, and the spirit of man are of equal importance. Our human spirit is as important as the heavens and the earth; this is a tremendous matter. If you understand the Bible and you know the meaning of the existence of the universe, you will see that the heavens are for the earth, the earth is for man, man’s center is his spirit, and man’s spirit is for containing God. Man is a vessel for God to enter into and dwell in. This is the central matter in the Bible.
I believe that the ancient Chinese sages had true wisdom given to them by God. Some of their words have never been duplicated by philosophers from other places. For example, they said that man is the spirit of all creation. It is very meaningful that the ancient Chinese sages used the word spirit. Instead of saying that man is the head of all creation, they said that man is the spirit of all creation. Moreover, despite the fact that the Chinese classical scholars did not have the clear revelation of the Bible, they studied the inward human condition according to the science in their classics and discovered the fact, which was spoken by Wang Yang-ming, that within man there is an innate knowledge of good and an innate ability to do good. They also discovered that such an innate knowledge and ability is our conscience within us. In his book called The Great Learning, Confucius spoke of the way of great learning, which was very difficult for the classical scholars to explain: “The way of great learning is to develop the bright virtue.” In the term bright virtue, bright is an adjective and virtue is a noun. The meaning of bright virtue is a bright and shining moral virtue. The Chinese philosophers developed this point very much; the emphasis of their moral and ethical teachings was to brighten the bright virtue, which means to develop and increase the function of the conscience, that is, man’s innate knowledge of good and ability to do good.
We can see that whether people are civilized or barbarian, Chinese or from abroad, all have something within them. You may call it the conscience, the innate knowledge and ability, or the bright virtue, but within you there truly is such a thing. Many times there are lusts within you. For example, if you see that your classmate in school has a very good pen, you may think of a way to steal it. When you do this, you are outside of your spirit; you are in the improper functioning of your lusts, emotions, and mind. But on the other hand, while you are doing this, you sense an inner voice condemning you, even forbidding and criticizing you. Sometimes after you have stolen something, you feel uneasy using it. This feeling of uneasiness is not from any outward religious or ethical teaching. According to their studies of all the aspects of the conditions manifested in the human body and heart, Confucius and Mencius reached a conclusion that there was truly such a thing within man, and they called that thing the conscience. Later, Wang Yang-ming studied it further and called it the innate knowledge of good and the innate ability to do good. It is not only a knowledge but also an ability—a knowledge of good and an ability to do good. Knowing good and being able to do good are the functions of the conscience. If we add together the conscience, the knowledge of good, and the ability to do good, they equal the bright virtue.
You may not have stolen anything, but sometimes you argue with your mother. Daughters especially like to argue with their mothers. Your mother loves you, and you love her, but you still like to argue with her. Even before you finish arguing, while you are still quarreling, something inside tells you not to argue. Outwardly you are arguing, but inwardly you feel bad. There is a forbidding within which is the functioning of the conscience.
The Bible shows us that the conscience is the principal part of our spirit. When we preach the gospel, we mainly want to move people’s conscience. When the conscience is moved, the spirit is moved. A real repentance comes from the conscience being touched. When the conscience is touched, the spirit is moved, and when the spirit is moved, the person’s mind turns. In Greek the meaning of repent is a turning of the mind. A person’s mind turns because his spirit is touched. Therefore, when we preach the gospel, it is not enough to speak mere doctrines. To speak doctrines is to try to convince a person’s mind by reasoning. This does not work. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to touch and move people’s conscience. Whenever a person’s conscience is moved, his spirit is moved.
Once there was a preacher in China named John Sung. He went to America to study and received three Ph.D.s. When he preached the gospel, his messages were not up to the standard of the truth, but he had the power to touch people. When he spoke of salvation, he spoke not only with his mouth; he wore the traditional Chinese costume, and under his long gown he had bag after bag of props. Sometimes while he was speaking, he would pull out a small wine bottle and act out a person getting drunk and beating his wife. Later, he would take out some playing cards and act out a person gambling and shouting. Then he would take out an opium pipe and act out a person smoking opium. At the end of his preaching, he would reach into his pocket and pull out a small coffin. He said that the drunkard, the gambler, and the opium addict would all wind up in the coffin. When people listened to him speak, they did not have the slightest feeling that they were listening to a sermon, but their conscience could not help but be touched by him. When he finished speaking, great crowds of people would leave their seats, shedding tears as they walked to the front, weeping, praying, and repenting.
My elder sister once heard him preach the gospel in Honan Province. One time while John Sung was preaching, he pulled out a small pointer. As he was speaking, he pointed it at a woman and said, “You are someone’s concubine.” That woman was furious. She said to herself, “How could Christians be so unreasonable? They compelled me to come to their chapel to listen to the preaching and then revealed my status to the preacher.” She had this reaction because she really was a concubine. She hated the person who brought her there, and she also hated the preacher. However, when she returned home and thought things over, the Holy Spirit worked in her and said to her, “How can you hate them? Are you not a concubine? You see, you are a sinner. If you were a proper person, how could you be someone’s concubine?” This woman repented and went to listen to the preaching again on the following day. It was not the speaking of doctrines that convinced her reasoning and persuaded her to admit that she should not be a concubine. It was the power of the Holy Spirit touching her conscience. When her conscience was moved, her spirit was moved, and her mind was turned. This is repentance.