In order for us as Christians to be useful to the Lord for the building up of the church, the Body of Christ, we need to have a proper spirit. This means that our spirit needs to be right and proper; not only the things we do and the way we do things must be right but even our spirit with which we do things must be right.
If we do the right things in the right way but with the wrong spirit we rather tear down than build, rather offend others than build them up. Whenever we do something for the Lord, we need to check with Him,
Lord, am I doing the right thing according to You? Am I taking Your way in doing this? Lord, what about my spirit: is my spirit right and proper when I do this?
Also, we need to be poor in spirit and pure in heart (Matt. 5:3, 8). For us to be poor in spirit doesn’t mean we have a poor spirit – it means that we are humble, emptied, not being preoccupied, not having any other goal than God Himself.
Being poor in spirit goes with being pure in heart, so that the spirit would flow out in a pure way and others would receive life for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Having a Proper and Right Spirit
Even though Elijah may have been OK to call fire from heaven on the offering he made to God, and he was also right to curse the mocking bunch of youngsters and they were torn up by bears – in the Old Testament – John and James did not have a right spirit in Luke 9:54-56 when they asked the Lord to call fire on those who rejected Him. They had a wrong spirit.
It’s not about merely doing the right thing in the right way, but it is about doing the right thing in the right way and in the right spirit.
For the building up of the church we need to learn to do everything with a proper and right spirit, so that what comes out of us would build up the church and not offend others or put them off. We should ask ourselves time and time again, What kind of spirit are we of?
For us to have a right spirit we need to deal with our heart and motives so that they may be right and proper. After regeneration, everything we do is a means for us to release our spirit; if our heart is improper, if our motives are impure, and if our attitude is wrong, what comes out is an improper spirit, impure spirit, and wrong spirit.
In James and John’s case, the Lord told them clearly that He came to save and not destroy man. He doesn’t hate man, and He is not bothered by man’s momentary rejection. The Lord came to save, and His spirit is to save man.
For our conduct to be constructive and useful to the Lord in the building up of the church, we must be right in the thing we do, right in our way, and right in our spirit. Always check with the Lord,
Lord, what kind of spirit do I have as I am about to do this? Lord, deal with my heart and purify my motives and intentions.
Being Poor in Spirit and Pure in Heart
In Isaiah 66 we see that God made all things – the heavens, the earth, plants, animals, man, etc – and they are all common to Him. But He is looking for something uncommon, something precious – He is looking for someone who is poor and with a contrite spirit (Isa. 66:2).
A seeking believer should be poor in spirit and pure in heart (Matt. 5:3, 8). We need to continually empty ourselves, humble ourselves, acknowledging that we have nothing, we know nothing, we can do nothing, and we are nothing without the Lord. Without the life-giving Spirit in our spirit, without the Lord’s instant presence, we are nothing.
To be poor in spirit is to be emptied in the depth of our being, so that the Lord may fill us with Himself. To be pure in heart means to be single in purpose, having a single goal in accomplishing God’s will for His glory (1 Cor. 10:31).
We shouldn’t allow anything to preoccupy our spirit except the Lord Himself. We should not allow anything to distract our heart but rather purify our heart that we may see God.
It is OK to say to others, I Don’t Know! when they ask us things about the Bible and the Christian life. The truth is that we don’t know many things, and we need the Lord to enlighten us in so many matters!
Many times we are not clear concerning God’s will for us because we have some things that we determined to do, and we just “come to the Lord to check with Him whether to do it or not.” We may say that we are open, but we already have a predetermined idea and intention, and hiddenly we already have a decision and a preference. We are so confused because we are not pure in heart.
But when we truly open to the Lord and drop our opinions, preferences, ideas, goals, intentions, decisions, etc – and just come to Him, we will have a clear sky between us and Him, and we will see Him face to face.
We need to be like this, pure in heart seeking only God and poor in spirit to receive and contact only Him.
Lord Jesus, we open our heart to You. Purify our heart, Lord, and enlighten us to see what we need to deal with so that we may be proper and pure in heart. May we first check with You before doing anything. Lord, we want to have a right spirit in all we do in the church life. Unload us, Lord, and empty us from anything that preoccupies our spirit. May we be poor in spirit and pure in heart that we may see God and enjoy the kingdom of the heavens. Make us those who have a proper spirit for the building up of the Body.
References and Further Reading
- This sharing is inspired from brother James Lee’s speaking in this message and portions in, The Triune God to Be Life to the Tripartite Man (ch. 14), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, ITERO spring 2013 “The Experience, Growth, and Ministry of Life for the Body“, week 4 entitled, Growing in Life by Dealing with the Spirit.
- Further reading: Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 62, pp. 453-454.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Ever true and pure and single / To the Lord our heart must be, / Poor in spirit, ever seeking / God to contact constantly.
# Make us in spirit poor; / Lord, take whate’er we think we know. / We’ll open to life’s flow, / And thus take in the life that makes us grow— / Lord Jesus, grow in us.
# Bless’d are the pure in heart, / For they shall see our God; / The secret of the Lord is theirs, / Their heart is Christ’s abode.
