The Communion of the Holy Spirit (15 page)

In view of all that has been said, therefore, you and I must learn to know people’s various conditions and know their meanings. Just knowing that a person has a fever of 100 degrees is not sufficient. You should know its cause. You cannot simply say his fever is due to his physical weakness. You need, on the one side, to observe as does a physician, but on the other side, to have personal dealings before God. After three or five years of diligent observation and lesson- learning discipline, you may be able to diagnose correctly. You yourself must be a gentle and open person before God, acknowledging frequently your proneness to error and your undependableness. With such intensive learning on your own personal level, you can then more readily sense in your spirit the symptom and cause of your brother’s weakness and in addition show him the way of healing. In sum, then, in this matter of judging and discerning, the first step is to touch with the spirit; the second is to differentiate with the spirit; the third, to diagnose and find out the cause of sickness; and finally, to heal (for more on the healing step, see the next chapter).

In learning to recognize people’s problems and diagnose their situation, we must realize and continually affirm what is the fundamental basis to all our judging and discerning endeavors. Let us never forget that we do not desire to know and to discern for the sake of seeking or accumulating knowledge about others for ourselves. An abnormal Christian would like to know another’s business. But a normal Christian does not seek to know another’s condition just for the sake of knowing. Although we indeed must know the conditions of our brethren, it is not out of curiosity or for self-interest. In order to serve and help people, we are compelled to know them. Otherwise, we would rather not know their conditions if such were not necessary. We are busy enough with our own affairs; we have no time to be busybodies. One who desires to know the conditions of others and is continually inquisitive is seriously sick. In fact, he himself needs to be healed! The only reason for knowing is for service and help. I need to know the condition of the brother whom the Lord has placed in my care so that I may help him. Except the Holy Spirit arranges the contact, I have no pleasure in knowing his affairs.

To those who are God’s workers let me say again and again that I hope you will never have the lust of knowing others’ business. I do not want or expect any one to carelessly gather materials for gossip. Let none of us casually take up the burden of others. May we have no other intention than to
help
others with whatever knowledge we have gleaned about them.

The social intercourse among the children of God must be based on “love” and not “knowledge.” We must never fellowship with brothers and sisters according to knowledge, only according to love. For the basis of Christian fellowship is always to be the latter, never the former. In the world, social intercourse is carried on for the sake of finding bosom friends. But our fellowship is conducted on the basis of brotherly love: we love one another. It is difficult to be true Christians, however, if we base our fellowship on knowledge. If God has not maintained His fellowship with you on the basis of His knowledge of you, then by the same token He will not entrust the knowledge of your brothers and sisters to you if your fellowship with them is based on knowledge. For if it be on
that
basis, then the more you come to know them the less you will be able to be a Christian: for if it be according to your knowledge of the brethren, you will shake your head at everyone and declare all of them undone. You will shake your head at this brother and that sister till you become so disillusioned that you will hardly be able or even
willing
to fellowship with
any
Christian. In the end you will totally shake yourself out. Hence our fellowship with brothers and sisters can only be maintained on the ground of love.

As we have said, then, one’s knowledge of a brother is solely for the sake of helping and serving him. You come to know his condition as you work with him. You must never mix up the “knowledge” of the brother with “love” for the brother. God’s trusted servants are those who are able to separate “knowledge” and “love” in dealing with people. Those who are unable to separate these two are not fit to be God’s servants. May I warn you beforehand that you are responsible if you wrongly mix up these two. For example, in dealing with your son these two elements of love and knowledge are bound to be present: a father needs to know his son’s weaknesses, yet no true father fails to love his son once knowing of his son’s weaknesses. The interrelation between father and son is based on love. And love is blind, or should be in this situation. The father’s knowledge of his son does not affect his love for his son. And if this be true between father and son, then how can you love your brethren any less than you would in loving your son? What really is fellowshiping in the church on the basis of love? It is simply this, that as you fellowship with your brother, it is done as though you know nothing at all of his weakness or his fault: your fellowship with him is based not on knowledge but on love. And that must always be the basis of our fellowship together.

Judging according to knowledge will make of us politicians, which is not Christian. A person who reaches the age of around fifty is experienced and wise. He is one who will not be easily deceived or fooled in the latter part of his life. Now the world would call such a person a clever old man; for such cleverness is the way of the world. However, no Christian-though he knows so much and so well about others-may follow this clever worldly pathway. Today our knowledge of brothers and sisters may be meager, but after several years of dealing with brethren our knowledge of them will greatly increase. By that time, we will be able to know a person after only a few words of conversation. And the consequent danger is that it will become increasingly difficult for us to love that person. Let not such a thing happen in our midst. If we Christians treat brothers and sisters according to knowledge, it is true we may avoid many crosses and incur far less trouble than were we to follow the way of love; nevertheless, if we treat our brother according to knowledge, we too will become clever-and even tricky-old hands. That is not progression, it is regression.

We must ever keep ourselves in the love of God. Whatever knowledge the Lord gives us about brothers and sisters is for the sake of healing ministry. I do not need to remind you that once a
worldling
is betrayed, he finds it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to love anymore. He becomes fearful. This is not to be so, however, with a
Christian
; for among believers in Christ love must reign supreme, no matter what. Let us not become clever because we have the opportunity to know brothers and sisters so well. If our knowledge of them is only obtained for the purpose of protecting ourselves from being cheated by them, or less bothered by them, then our knowledge merely helps us to be a clever person who can thereby avoid unwanted problems.

Let us ask God to grant us greater love for the brethren. We should pray that our love for them may surpass our knowledge of them. May our love of the brethren transcend all. Let us also pray that our love for them will not be affected by any cleverness we might be tempted to indulge in so as to make life easier for ourselves. To know others is to facilitate our service to them, not to lessen our trouble. Let us ask God to so fill our hearts with love for others in the body of Christ that we seem to be totally ignorant of their weaknesses, faults and problems. If such an attitude be taken, then this is truly
other
worldly in character. Let us bear in mind that the more we know our brethren the narrower will be our way: we must never be afraid of being bothered or cheated or defrauded or even betrayed: instead, let our love overcome all. In the end, “brotherly love” is the only way.

After you have used the spirit to touch the conditions and problems of the brothers and sisters, you may begin to diagnose and show them the way to healing. This is easy to say, but in real situations it is rather hard to convince people. In order to help them towards deliverance, you yourself must have sufficient experience that can enable you to speak so clearly and thoroughly that it gives light to them to be delivered. The difficulties in helping people are: one, our insufficient experience; and two, our inadequate words. If our experience and words are ample enough, we shall be able to cause people to see light.

I recall many years ago when in Shanghai that I had no way to help a certain brother. This was due to my insufficient experience. His will was extremely strong and he was proud and quick-tempered. Some people are quick-tempered, but they are not proud. This brother was strong-willed
and
quick-tempered. So he was not easy to deal with. For a person whose will is strong, yet whose emotion is not easily stirred, his problem remains in himself. If a person like this loses his temper, a simple confession will usually come forth and the problem is resolved. But a strong-willed and quick-tempered person is also very subjective. When he is aroused, he maintains that his temper is justified. Therefore, he will not repent. Such a combination creates a major problem.

Some persons may have only one problem, others may have two or three problems, which can impinge on one another to aggravate their difficulties. In medicine, sometimes a combination of diseases makes a deteriorating physical condition difficult to cure, because each disease affects the other and heightens the overall sickness. Yet this is also true in human nature. You need to understand the interaction of different characteristics. A strong-willed, proud and quick-tempered individual needs very intensive handling.

Now after you have apprehended a brother’s condition, you have two alternative ways by which to help.

The first way to help is by admonition. You show the brother the way of deliverance. This one has never seen light, so he is ignorant of himself and no one has ever spoken frankly to him. As you talk with him, you will present before him what you have seen. You will tell him your own experience. You advise him to allow himself to be dealt with by God, to accept the discipline of the Holy Spirit. For his way is not straight: he lives by his mind and emotion, his spirit is weak, he has flaws before God, and he has refused the Spirit’s discipline on many occasions. If your light is sufficiently accurate, you can rescue him. But you yourself must not be confused. Light always brings in deliverance. Light also brings in release. You can invite him to come and have pointed out to him those things about which he has rejected the discipline of the Spirit. Your words of admonition need to be positive. They must not be casual, but be always exact. You prove your words by citing several instances wherein he has refused the discipline of the Holy Spirit. Few make errors by chance; instead, most commit temperamental errors. The slow are always slow, and the quick are always quick. Temperamental error is a human problem. So, you offer help to rectify his temperamental error, not his occasional fault.

Now in our giving help, it cannot be general but needs to be specific and with definite procedure.
Number one
, take down the facts. You should prepare a notebook to record the facts. For example, let us say that a brother speaks inaccurately or tells lies. The first time you heard him do so you wrote down what he said and where he said it. For if this is a flaw in character, he will again say inaccurate words or speak falsehoods. You record his inaccurate or lying words time and again, perhaps up to ten or twenty times. By this account you will know that this is his character flaw. And then, as opportunity presents itself, at the right time you will be able to show him how inaccurate or false have been his words.

Number two
, you yourself must be strengthened within. You need to be built up before God before you have the strength to help others. As the records in your notebook mount up, your inner strength needs to be increased. You must climb higher and higher, your strength becoming stronger and stronger till your inner fortitude is sufficient enough to deal with him and render help.

Number three
, wait for an appropriate time to talk with him. In the meantime, while waiting, your inner burden can keep increasing. You ask God to arrange an opportunity to speak with him. Then, as you talk with him, pay attention to the following points: (1) Say to him, “I wish to speak a few words with you. You need not even answer. Yet whether what I say to you is right or wrong, you need to go before God to consider what I have said.” Do not give ground to him to argue. (2) Say also to him, “All these words are spoken for your benefit. I have no interest in meddling in your business. I do not thoughtlessly interfere with another’s affairs. It is solely for the sake of helping you.” (3) You may also add, “I say these words without there being any personal motive involved.” Recall to him the mounting incidents of his lying or speaking inaccurately. And cause him to see that he is an inveterate liar. Say to him, “You need to repent before God, otherwise you have no way through.” During your conversation, you should not stop short of dealing strongly with his lying and/or inaccurate speech. Yet concerning any other faults, you need only to mention them. Serious sin must be vigorously denounced, whereas much lighter sin needs only a slight reprimand.

The people with problems whom we encounter may be generally divided into three groups. The
first
group is composed of people with little problems. All you need to do is to approach him personally and point out his small problem. You can deal with the situation alone. The
second
group consists of people with a major problem-a problem which has become deeply rooted in their life. You will need to use weighty words to bring such ones back. And if it subsequently becomes clear to you that you by yourself are inadequate, you should invite two or three brothers with experience to go with you and speak these weighty words in their presence. And finally, the
third
group is comprised of people whose problems are so deep that they cannot be easily changed. In that case, you need to bring with you two or three other brothers for talking with such a one. There has arisen such repulsion in you against this particular problem that you are well- nigh ready to reprove him with severity. You have the judgment within you, and you also have the word of reproof. In the presence of these other brothers you not only admonish him, you strictly reprove him. For as you speak to him you are representing God in reproving him. In reproving, you need to have the wrath of God in you. If he listens to you, he shall be delivered from his problem.