Here, it would be well if we remember God's way of redemption. God's goal is to deliver us, through the new life which He gives to us at the time of our regeneration, from (1) sin, (2) natural things (our nature), and (3) supernatural things (the sinful aspects). All three steps of deliverance are indispensable. If a believer limits God's way of salvation and is satisfied only with victory over sin, he is short of God's will. The natural good nature must be overcome, and the supernatural enemy must also be overcome. It is good to overcome sin, but unless one overcomes the natural narrowness and the supernatural evil, he is not perfect. Such victory can only come from the cross. By God's grace I hope to pay more attention to these points, so that the readers will understand them.

Except the section in Volume Three which deals with the body, this book can be considered biblical psychology. All the things we cover are based on the Scripture and confirmed by our spiritual experience. The result of our study is that with every spiritual experience, such as regeneration, there are specific changes within our inner man. After we have studied this subject, we have found that the Bible divides a man into three parts: the spirit, the soul, and the body. Later on, we will consider the function of these three parts, in particular, the functions of the spirit and the soul. We will also see what each part includes and how they are different from one another.

A few special words are needed for Section One in Volume One. Knowledge of the distinction between the spirit and the soul and the different functions of the spirit and the soul is indispensable to spiritually-seeking believers. Only after one knows what the spirit is and what it is to be spiritual can he walk according to the spirit. Today this teaching is very much lacking in China, and that is why we cover the subject in detail in Section One. Those believers with a good amount of knowledge will not find it hard to understand. But those who are not familiar with this kind of distinction should just remember the conclusion for now, and should go on to read Section Two. The first section is not on the spiritual life but on the prerequisite knowledge for the spiritual life. One will understand more if he finishes the whole book first and then comes back to read that section.

There also needs to be a word of explanation concerning the translation of the Scripture in this book. I thank God that He has given us a very good translation, the Chinese Union Version. In many passages, it is even better than some of the English versions. However, in many places, due to Chinese grammar and usage, the translation is bound to vary from the original text. This is obviously a shortage when it comes to the study of the spiritual life. Whenever such places occur, I have to furnish my own translation. We are not concerned with the bluntness of the style; our aim is only to convey the spiritual meaning of the word.

The teaching of the difference between the soul and the spirit did not originate with me. Andrew Murray said that the one thing the church, as well as individuals, has to dread the most is the inordinate activity of the soulish will and mind. F.B. Meyer also said that unless one knows how to differentiate between the soul and the spirit, he cannot imagine what his spiritual life would have been. Others such as Otto Stockmayer, Jessie Penn-Lewis, Evan Roberts, and Madame Guyon have given similar testimonies. Because we have received the same commission as they, I have freely quoted their writings. Because there are so many places where I have referenced them, I have not made specific reference to the sources.