Some may ask, “Does not 1 Corinthians 2:13 teach us that spiritual things require no human wisdom?” What should we say? We have to realize that this verse refers to the breaking of the outward man. If our mind can be like a servant standing at the door of God’s light, waiting for its shining and looking for the interpretation of its meaning, it is the best servant of all. Without it, there is no ministry of the word. But if the mind is not employed in the interpretation of light and instead is being used to devise one’s own thoughts, it is the worst master of all. There is a big difference between the mind acting as a servant and the mind acting as a master. When the mind is the master, it tries to find God’s light by itself; it tries to figure out God’s will or understand God’s word. This is human wisdom. When man tries to come up with something by himself, he is exercising human wisdom, and this should be condemned and destroyed. Our mind should be a servant standing at the door, waiting and preparing itself for God’s use. We do not create light; God is the One who shines the light on us, while the mind only prepares itself to retain the light, to understand it, and to translate it. We can say that the mind is an important servant in the ministry of the word. There is a fundamental difference between the mind creating light and retaining light. All those who have learned their lesson before the Lord know when they listen to a message if a speaker’s mind is acting as his master or if it is translating the light it has received. When man’s mind intrudes into God’s affairs and tries to be the master, it becomes a frustration to God. This is why the outward man has to be broken. Once a man’s mind is broken, it is no longer confused or independent.
We should bear in mind that when the outward man is broken, the power of the mind is not damaged; rather, it is enhanced. The breaking of the mind refers to the breaking of the self-centered mind, the self-motivated and self-propelled mind. Once such a mind is broken, its usefulness is greatly increased. Suppose a man’s mind is always occupied with a certain matter. He thinks about it day and night to the point that he is obsessed with it. If a man’s mind is in such a state, is it reasonable to think that he will be able to read the Bible well? Surely not! We should realize that in God’s eyes our mind is already disoriented. Sometimes our mind can be obsessed with one matter all day long; it can be totally occupied with it. Or our mind may be occupied with thoughts about what we want; it can be totally centered upon ourselves. Then when God wants to use our mind, it has no more capacity for anything else. As a consequence, God cannot use our mind. Brothers, we have to realize the seriousness of this matter.
One basic qualification of the ministry of the word is an uncluttered mind, a mind that is reserved for God. This is a basic requirement for anyone to participate in the ministry of the word. When we say that the outward man needs to be broken, we do not mean that our mind should be so torn down that it can no longer function. Rather, we mean that it should no longer be full of thoughts for the self; it should not think in an undisciplined way. It should not be taken hostage by outward things. The wisdom of the wise has to be broken, and the cleverness of the clever has to be removed. Then our mind will become a useful organ; it will no longer be our life or our master. Some people simply love to think; they love to be clever. Their thoughts become their life, and they live by their thoughts. If you tell them not to exercise their mind, you are asking them to give up their life. Their minds are turning all day long. They are so active that we are not sure whether or not God’s Spirit can shine into their spirits at all. But even if He can, their minds cannot receive such light. We should know that in order for one to see anything, he must not be subjective. If he is subjective, he cannot see anything. If a person’s mind is his very life, it is impossible for him to see and understand God’s light. This is because he is too subjective. In order for the mind to become a useful organ, it must be dealt with by God. It must be totally smitten. This is the breaking of the outward man. If our mind remains the center of our being and our whole being is centered around ourselves, thinking about our own things, with everything revolving around ourselves, our minds are unavailable even if God’s light shines into our spirit. We do not know what God is saying, and we do not understand the meaning of God’s word. As a result, the ministry of the word stops in us; it terminates in us. If the word cannot get through our mind, there is no ministry of the word. The ministry of the word needs a channel, and that channel has to be through us. We are the channel through which God’s water flows. He uses living men to be His channel, and the water flows out in stages. Once there are obstacles along the way or a section of the channel is blocked, water cannot flow through. Many people are blocked from having a ministry of the word through a blockage in the mind; the mind is blocked, and the ministry of the word cannot flow out.
Brothers, do not think that squandering our mental energy is a small thing. Many people often waste their mental power on unrelated things. All day long they dwell on unimportant things. This waste of mental energy becomes a frustration to God’s way. This is not to say that the mind is useless. Revelation requires the cooperation of the human mind. Everything that God has given us is useful. The mind is created by God, and we should not think that it is useless. But a mind that is self-centered and self-propelling is useless. The mind should be God’s servant. If it remains a servant, it is useful. But if it tries to be the master, it becomes God’s enemy and an arch-opposer of God. This is why 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that every thought has to be taken captive unto the obedience of Christ. God does not want to annul our mind. He wants to take every thought captive unto the obedience of Christ. The issue is whether or not man’s mind is under control. If we are so assured of our own wisdom and mental ability, God has to break us. We have to be utterly and totally destroyed. But we should not misunderstand this breaking work; this work does not break down the organ itself or the function of the organ. The breaking merely breaks down the life, the center. God still uses the organ. The soul being one’s life and the soul being one’s organ are two entirely different things. God does not want our mind to be our life; He does not want it to control us. He wants our mind to be His servant. The soul that acts as one’s life has to be broken. But the soul that acts as the servant of the spirit is necessary.
Romans 8:2 says that God has freed us in Christ Jesus. How has God freed us? He has freed us by the law of the Spirit of life. How then can we have the law of the Spirit of life? We have to walk according to the Spirit. If we walk according to the Spirit, the law of the Spirit operates in us. If we do not walk according to the Spirit but according to the flesh, the law of sin and of death is manifested in us. Romans 8 tells us that those who walk according to the Spirit overcome the law of sin and of death. Who are the ones who walk according to the Spirit? They are the ones who set their mind on the spirit (v. 6). Those whose minds are set on the spirit walk according to the Spirit, and those who walk according to the Spirit have the law of the Spirit of life in them, and they overcome the law of sin and of death. What does it means to set the mind on the spirit? To set the mind on the spirit is to set the mind on the things of the Spirit. If a man spends all of his time thinking about wild and strange things, he is surely of the flesh. If his mind is set on bizarre things, he is surely of the flesh. But if a man is led by the Lord to the point that he can think about the Spirit, he becomes spiritual and understands the spiritual things. Some people’s minds are constantly occupied with human affairs; it is impossible for them to live by the law of the Spirit. Likewise, it is impossible to ask those whose minds are set constantly on fleshly things to live by the Spirit. We should always remember that our mind cannot be the center of our being. It should be the servant, and it should listen carefully to the voice of the Master. If we do not exercise care to listen to the Spirit, we will follow our own will, set our mind on many different things, and fall into the very things that our minds have been set on. If our outward man is broken, our self is no longer the center, and our mind is no longer the focus. We no longer act according to our mind but instead learn to listen to God’s voice. We wait on God like a servant. When His light flashes within us and our spirit perceives this light, our mind immediately knows its meaning.
Contrary to what some would like to think, a minister of the word cannot serve merely by memorizing a message. If this were the case, Christianity would be a religion based on the flesh; it would not be based on revelation in the spirit. Christianity is based not upon a religion of the flesh but upon a revelation in spirit. We know the things of God in our spirit, and we study, translate, and realize these things in our spirit through our mind. Therefore, we cannot allow our mind to wander. Once our mind wanders, we cannot retain the light. If our mind is not lofty enough, we cannot capture the light. Different levels of understanding result in different perceptions of light. Some may see the meaning of justification before the Lord; this is a common and elementary truth. They do see the matter of justification, but when they stand up to speak about justification, there is a great shortage in them. The basis of the ministry of the word is God’s light in man’s spirit. However, the interpretation of this light varies according to the condition of the minds of different people. The light that a lofty mind captures is very different from the light that a lowly mind touches. What a man touches is affected by what his mind can grasp. The richer his mind is, the more thorough his understanding of justification will be. When God’s word is released through him, his utterance is richer and higher. If a man’s thoughts are always low, he may see the matter of justification, but he understands it according to his low thoughts and speaks about it according to his low thoughts. God’s word is the same in both cases. But among those with low thoughts, His word is being discounted. There are human factors in the ministry, and the first human factor is the mind. If our mind is not under strict control and does not soar high, we will lose God’s word. One problem with the ministry of the word is that there is a danger of adding improper words to God’s word and mixing improper thoughts with God’s light. When this happens, the word is ineffective when it is released, and there is much loss.
Brothers, do we see this? Our responsibility is great. If our mind is dealt with, God’s word will be served properly by our thoughts, and the addition of our human element will be a glory to God’s word. We can see this in Paul, Peter, and John. Paul was a man with his own characteristics and personality. He had distinctive features. When God’s light fell upon him and the word was released through him, God as well as Paul himself could be found in the word. This is precious. God’s word can be perfected in man without hindrance. In fact, God’s word can be glorified. We also see this in Peter. When God’s word was released through him, the outflow of God’s word contained the flavor of the man Peter. God’s word was perfected through Peter. His word did not suffer loss. Today the ministers of God’s word must be the same as the first ministers of the word. God still needs ministers of the word. But there is a question of how much of God’s light is lost when it passes through our spirit and mind. How much of it is perfected? May the Lord have mercy upon us. If our mind has not been dealt with and is unable to read and interpret God’s light, the light is released in a weak way. The word is weak because our mind is weak; the ministry is weak because our mind is weak. We are the channels for God’s word. As channels, we control the word just as a water pipe controls the flow of water. A pipe can leak, or it can be contaminated. Similarly, we can convey God’s word to the brothers and sisters in a strong way, or we can convey it in a contaminated, weak way. Our responsibility is indeed great. Those who only pay attention to doctrines are on an altogether different track. Those who are on this track must be dealt with. If they are not dealt with, they will be useless.
We have emphasized the matter of the mark of the cross and the breaking of the outward man. Without breaking, there is no ministry. This is not something optional; it is fundamental. If we want to be ministers of God’s word, supplying others with Christ and God’s word, our outward man must be broken. This is the reason that we have to continually return to the matter of our very person. We cannot avoid this. If our person is useful, we will be useful. If our person is not useful, we will not be useful. The condition of our person is the crucial issue.