In the early days of his Christian life, Watchman Nee learned how to bear the cross, to live a crucified life, and to live in the Lord's presence. The chapters in his book The Normal Christian Life were all lessons learned in those early years. Later, he learned the further spiritual lessons of the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the breaking of the outer man, and the release of the spirit. In fellowship with him after his many sufferings during the war, he stressed three main points: the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the breaking of the outer man, and the release of the spirit.
No doubt, during the long period of his suffering, he learned many lessons, but in his fellowship he indicated no other lessons. He not only talked about the breaking of the outer man and the release of the spirit, but these experiences were also his reality. In the late 1940s, when he resumed his ministry, what came out from him was an impression that this was a broken man, a man through whom the Spirit could be fully released.
He frequently shared that though the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit, if our outer man is not broken, our spirit could never be released. The Holy Spirit dwelling in our spirit is confined and imprisoned by the outer man. For this reason the outer man must be broken that the inner man (the human spirit with the Holy Spirit) might be released. The scriptural basis for this reality is 2 Corinthians 4:16, "Though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day."
Watchman Nee taught that when contacting others, preaching the gospel, ministering the Word, or testifying, we need the release of the spirit that the Spirit of life may come out of us to impart life to others. How much life can be imparted in testimonies and ministries depends on how much spirit can be released from within us. How much spirit can be released depends on how much the outer man has been broken. This is not simply a matter of tearing down some aspect of the natural being; this is a matter of breaking the outer man.
When contacting others, Watchman Nee did not exercise his natural insight to understand their situation. He always exercised his spirit to sense their real condition before the Lord. Whenever he was listening or speaking to others, his released spirit was foremost, not his broken outer man. The result was that what he spoke to others was not mere knowledge or instruction but life supply conveyed in his released spirit.
When he ministered the Word, what was crucial was the release of his spirit. What he cared for was not doctrine, but the release of his spirit.
To him the ministry of God's Word was a failure unless there was the release of the spirit. It was not difficult for Watchman Nee to release his spirit, for through years of suffering his outer man had been broken. However, it was difficult for those of us who were with him to release our spirit because our outer man still remained whole.
When he was with others or was ministering the Word, it was unnecessary for him to spend a long period of time to prepare his spirit to be released. In the opening word he could release his spirit with no time lapse. Since his outer man was broken, he could release his spirit anytime, unless he deliberately restricted it. It was not easy for others of us to release our spirit; but it was difficult for him to restrict his spirit because the shell of his outer man had been broken.
What we are speaking of here is not just a walk in the spirit that we may live a spiritual life; we are speaking of the release of the spirit that life may be released from within us to supply and nourish others. Watchman Nee's fellowship and ministry were rich in life. The secret was this: His outer man had been broken, and his spirit was easily released.
Watchman Nee strongly emphasized the breaking of the outer man for the release of the spirit. He shared that the breaking of the outer man cannot be accomplished in a short time. All the situations and environments in our whole life are arranged by God to accomplish this one thing. This is the ultimate consummation of the Holy Spirit's discipline.
In the days after he resumed his ministry, he repeatedly stressed the breaking of the outer man. In his fellowship with us concerning the Lord's work, he pointed out that among the co-workers, the limitation of usefulness and fruitfulness in every case was due to the lack of this one thing: the breaking of the outer man. Through many years of suffering, he fully experienced this breaking and set a good example in this matter. Insofar as my personal knowledge of him is concerned, this was the final lesson he learned from the Lord.