In Luke 9 James and John asked the Lord whether or not they should tell fire to come down from heaven and consume the village of the Samaritans who had rejected Him (v. 54). But the Lord rebuked James and John, saying, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of" (v. 55, see note—Recovery Version). This indicates that whenever we are about to do anything, we should ask ourselves, "What kind of spirit are we of?"
In October of 1933, I was led of the Lord to drop my job and serve Him full-time. I also was led of the Lord to go to Shanghai to meet with Brother Nee. On the way to Shanghai from Chefoo, I stayed briefly in a brother's home in north China. While I was there, we read a letter from Brother Nee to a certain person. In that letter Brother Nee said that a person should not only do the right thing, but also do the right thing in the right way and in the right spirit. The thing one does may be right, but the spirit by which he does the right thing may be wrong. He must do the right thing in the right way and in the right spirit. That word from Brother Nee has helped me very much throughout the past fifty-eight years. To do the right thing alone is inadequate. You must do the right thing in the right way and in the right spirit. If we do the right thing, but our spirit is wrong, our conduct will neither edify the saints nor build up the church. For our conduct to be constructive, edifying, and useful in building up the Body of Christ, we must be right in the thing that we do, right in our way, and right in our spirit. Often we may claim that what we are doing is right. This may be true, but our way, our attitude, or our spirit may offend people. At such a time we have to ask ourselves, "What kind of spirit are we of?"
A seeking saint should be poor in spirit and pure in heart (Matt. 5:3, 8; Isa. 66:2). A Christian should always be poor in spirit. To be poor in spirit means that you are humble, acknowledging that you have nothing, know nothing, can do nothing, and are nothing. Without Christ, without the life-giving Spirit, you are nothing. Being poor in spirit must also be matched with being pure in heart. To be poor in spirit is not only to be humble but also to be emptied in your spirit, in the depth of your being. To be pure in heart is a matter of motive; it is to be single in purpose, to have the single goal of accomplishing God's will for God's glory (1 Cor. 10:31).