Not only was the Apostle Paul one who could say that he served God in his spirit, but he was also one who could be provoked in his human spirit when he saw the whole city of Athens full of idolatry (Acts 17:16). He was not provoked in his emotion, or in his zealous heart, but in his spirit. The pronoun “his” definitely indicates that it was Paul’s spirit that was provoked. It was not the Holy Spirit within Paul that was provoked by the idols, but it was Paul’s human spirit, regenerated and indwelt by God the Spirit. Such a human spirit was provoked at the sight of the idolatry in Athens.
We may not know how to be angry in the spirit, in the human spirit. There is a big difference between being angry in the emotion and being angry in the spirit. We know how to be angry in the emotion, but we may not know how to be angry in the spirit. Suppose a brother looks at me with a long face. This may offend me and cause me to be unhappy with him. My unhappiness is surely in my emotion. Then suppose he rebukes me a little bit. His rebuke may cause me to be angry with him. My anger is also in my emotion. Then suppose sometime later I see a weakness of this same brother exposed, and, in a sense, I am somewhat happy to see that brother’s failure because he is the one who rebuked me, offended me, and caused me to be angry with him. My pleasure in condemning the brother for his weakness is likewise in my emotion. All these feelings—my unhappiness, my anger, and my happiness—are in my emotion. On the other hand, suppose you cause me to be unhappy, and you even rebuke me. Yet, when I see you as a dear brother in a situation of failure, deep within my spirit I feel genuinely sorry for you. Such a feeling must be in my spirit. Although you have offended me, I am deeply pained when I see your weakness. There is a big difference between the feelings in the emotion and the feelings in the spirit.
Many times in the church life our feelings are those in the emotion, not those in the spirit. When something fits in with our likes or dislikes, we have a certain feeling in our emotion, and we just give up our spirit. Even when we come to the meeting, it may be as if we had left our spirit at home. Our presence is in the meeting, but all of our feeling is in the emotion, not in the spirit. We all need to learn to exercise our spirit to the extent that we even know how to be provoked in our spirit, to be angry in our spirit. We could never be offended if we learn how to remain in our spirit. We should have no anger except the anger that comes from the exercise of the spirit.
If you are a person who is always in your emotion, you will be offended by people from every direction. Sometimes I offend people by not speaking to them, and sometimes I offend people just by speaking to them. Eventually I do not know whether to speak or not to speak, because others are so easily offended. It is so easy to offend anyone who is in the emotion. If you are naturally so much in the emotion, you will be very easily offended. However, I would tell the brothers, and the sisters even more, that if you are in the spirit, no one could ever offend you. Even if someone rebukes you, instead of being offended, you will praise the Lord and receive it as something for your good, something measured to you by God on the throne.
In any kind of human society, and in the church as well, it is so easy to have gossip. As a word of gossip spreads more and more, it will always be changed a little bit. Either some part will be left out, or something will be added. This is always the case when a rumor is spread. For example, one person may tell another that a certain thing will probably happen soon. The second person may repeat the story but omit the word probably. The third person may repeat the same story as if it had already happened.
Gossip, rumors, and the twisting of words are all means of spreading death. Even among the brothers and sisters it is quite possible to have problems of this kind. As an example of the twisting of words spreading death, in some of the meetings I told people that to pray in the Lord’s name should be a reality, not a formality. Simply to add the words, “In the name of the Lord Jesus,” at the end of a prayer may be a formality. My words were twisted, and I was later accused in writing of saying that there is no need to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus. I never told people that there is no need to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, but I did tell them not to make this a formality. Actually, I myself many times do say in my prayer, “In the precious name of the Lord.” This is an example of the way rumors twist the words and spread death.
If we learn to be in our spirit, we will be on guard against the death-spreading rumors. From years of experience and from suffering I have learned one secret to avoid these situations. I do not like to pass on a word from one person to another. Rather, I have learned to advise the brothers and sisters to write down their messages and mail them to one another instead of depending on me to pass on a word. I do not consider myself trustworthy, for it is easy for me to forget, and, even if I remember, I may leave out some point, or I might even add something to their word. This would damage their message. If we never pass on words for others, we will be spared that kind of suffering in the church life.
If we are in the spirit, many things will be terminated. There could never be deadness or deadening in the church life through gossip. In the natural life we like to know things about others and their affairs. The result is gossip. If we are in the spirit, we will be so simple. We would not care to know things about others, and gossip would be terminated. We would prefer not to know anything about others unless it is necessary because the Lord has burdened us for them.