Just as man’s body has its senses, man’s spirit also has its senses. The sense of the human spirit is in the innermost part of man’s being. Matthew 26:41 says, “the spirit indeed is ready.” Mark 2:8 says, “perceiving in his spirit.” Mark 8:12 says He “sighed deeply in his spirit.” John 11:33 reads, “He groaned in His spirit.” In Acts 17:16 we read, “his spirit was provoked”; in Acts 18:25, “being fervent in spirit”; in Acts 19:21, “purposed in the spirit”; and in Acts 20:22, “bound in the spirit.” Then 1 Corinthians 16:18 says, “they refreshed my spirit,” and 2 Corinthians 7:13 says, “his spirit hath been refreshed.” These are all functions of the intuition of the spirit. (It would be right to say that the senses of the spirit are almost as many as those of the soul. For this reason we need to learn to discern what is of the spirit and what is of the soul. Not until we have gone through the deeper work of the cross and of the Holy Spirit can we know what is of the spirit and what is of the soul.)
We call the sense of the spirit “intuition” because it comes directly from the spirit. Normally, a person’s feeling is aroused by some external factors such as persons, things, or events. If it is something which should cause rejoicing, we rejoice; if it is something which should cause sorrow, we feel sorrowful. Such feelings have their causes; therefore, we do not call these intuition. The intuition we are speaking of is the sense which comes directly from inside man without any apparent cause. For instance, we may feel like doing something because there is a valid reason for it. We like to do it, and so we decide to do it. Yet, for some unknown reason there is an unexplainable feeling within us which seems to be very heavy and very depressed. It seems that something inside us is opposing what we are thinking in our mind, feeling in our emotion, or have decided in our will. Something inside, it seems, is telling us that we should not do it. This is the forbidding of the intuition.
Here is another illustration. Perhaps there is a sense to do something for which there is no reason at all. Besides having no reason, it is contrary to what we desire, and we are not willing to do it. Yet at the same time, for a reason unknown to us, there is a certain kind of urging, moving, and encouraging, wanting us to do it. If we go ahead and do it we will feel comfortable. This is the urging of the intuition.
The intuition is the place where the anointing teaches us. The Apostle John says, “The anointing which ye received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any one teach you; but as His anointing teacheth you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, ye abide in him” (1 John 2:27). This verse clearly shows how the anointing of the Holy Spirit teaches us. The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit, and the anointing is in the intuition of the spirit.
The Lord’s anointing teaches us all things. This means that the Holy Spirit teaches us in the intuition of the spirit, causing us to have some feeling in our spirit, just as when ointment is applied to man’s body, causing him to have some sensation. When our spirit has such a feeling, we know what the Holy Spirit says. We need to differentiate between knowing and understanding. We know in our spirit, but we understand with our mind. We know a certain thing through the intuition of the spirit; then the mind is enlightened to understand what the intuition knows. It is in the intuition of the spirit that we know the intention of the Holy Spirit, but it is in the mind of the soul that we understand the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The work of the anointing is independent and does not need any human help. Independently it expresses its own intention. It works by itself in the spirit, enabling man to know its intention in the intuition. The Bible calls such knowing in the intuition of the spirit revelation. Revelation means that the Holy Spirit shows the true picture of a thing in our spirit so that we clearly know. This kind of knowing is deeper than the understanding of the mind. The Lord’s anointing abides in us and teaches us concerning all things. For this reason we do not need the teaching of others at all. This anointing teaches us in all things through the function of the intuition.
The Holy Spirit expresses Himself through the intuition of the spirit. The intuition is an innate ability to know what the moving of the Holy Spirit means. For this reason, if we want to do God’s will, it is not necessary to ask others, nor is it necessary to ask ourselves. We need only to follow the guidance of the intuition. The Lord’s anointing teaches us in all things. There is not one instance or one thing concerning which it does not teach us. Therefore, our only responsibility is to receive the teaching of the anointing.
A brother once told the following story. There was a certain Christian, who before being saved, drank very much. This Christian also had a friend who drank in excess. Later both were saved. One day the younger one invited the older one to dinner. Wine was set upon the table. The older one said, “Since we are saved, perhaps we should not drink.” The younger one replied, “It doesn’t matter if we only take a little, for what we drink is Timothian wine. This is something permitted by the Scriptures.” Later they asked a minister of the Word this question, “After a man is saved, should he drink Timothian wine?” The minister replied that he had worked for over ten years and had never heard of anything called Timothian wine. After a few days they came to tell the minister that they were not drinking Timothian wine anymore. When asked by him whether they were taught by someone, they said, “No.” They were asked if they were taught by the Scriptures, to which the answer again was no. They said, “As a matter of fact, the Scriptures say that Timothy should use a little wine. But we do not drink because there is a forbidding within.” Brothers and sisters, this inner forbidding is the forbidding of the law of life. The law of life is living and powerful, and this law would not allow them to drink. Because the law of life can speak, can work, and can give us feeling, we should respect it.
A servant of God said that a brother came to see him one time, asking whether he should do a certain thing. The servant of God asked, “Do you know inside?” When asked this question he immediately answered, “I know.” A few days later he came asking about something else. Again he was asked, “Do you know inside?” To this he replied, “Oh, I know, I know.” The third time he came, and the third time he was asked the same question. He immediately said he knew. Although at that time the servant of God did not say so with his mouth, he said in his heart, “Why do you need to take the roundabout way? There is something inside of you which teaches you in all things, and is true and is no lie.” This something is the law of life. It will teach us what we should do and what we should not do.
The problem, therefore, lies in whether we are willing to follow this law within us. The question is whether or not our heart is fully turned toward God. If our heart is fully turned toward God, then we do not need others to teach us, for then there is in us something living and real which will teach us. Every child of God has this kind of experience. With some it may be more, with others less, but at least we all have some experience that there is this law of life within us. This law is definitely moving and speaking, and it does not need man’s teaching.
Let us give one more example. A certain Christian liked to show hospitality to believers and especially to ministers. If he came across one, he would invite him over for dinner or give him some gift. On one occasion he was listening to a minister preaching in a certain place. What this man was preaching was not in accordance with the Scripture, for he did not confess that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh. While this brother listened, on the one hand he felt uncomfortable, but on the other hand, according to his habit, he wanted to go shake hands with the minister and say a few words. When he was about to shake hands with him, he sensed something inside forbidding him. He hesitated for a minute. Finally he gave up and went home. This Christian did not realize that 2 John 7-10 says that some call themselves ministers of Christ and yet do not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This brother did not know that such a person should not be greeted nor received into one’s house, and yet the life inside of him spoke exactly this same thing. This means that while there is absolutely no need for others to teach us, still we can know. This is the characteristic of the new covenant.