ADDING THE ELEMENT AND ESSENCE OF THE TRIUNE GOD INTO US
The anointing is the working of the Triune God. The more we have this anointing, the more we enjoy our portion of the Triune God. The more we have this anointing, the more the Triune God is applied to us, and the more the very essence of the Triune God becomes ours.
We have often illustrated the anointing with painting. The more we apply paint to a wall, the more the element of the paint is on it. In the same way, the more anointing we have, the more of God we have. While the anointing of the Holy Spirit is working within us all the time, the very essence and element of God is applied and added to us. In this way we have more of God. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is not merely to let us know what is God’s will and what is not. The main purpose of the anointing of the Holy Spirit is to apply the very element of God into us. The more constantly the Holy Spirit works within us as the anointing, the more the Spirit brings God’s essence into us. By the anointing of the Holy Spirit, more of the essence and element of God are added and increased within us all the time.
If we paint the same wall every day for a year, there will be much of the element of the paint on the wall. There will be a thick layer of paint. In the same way, the more anointing of the Holy Spirit that we have, the more God is applied and added to us, and more of the element and essence of God is within us. God is increased in us by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes we may meet a brother who apparently loves the Lord and seeks Him very much, yet we can sense very little of God within him. He is light and not weighty. Sometimes, however, we may meet a brother who apparently is not very active, yet we can sense something weighty of God within him. We sense that this person is full of God; the essence and the element of God are fully within him. This is simply because the anointing of the Holy Spirit has worked within him for many years. The more we have the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the more the element of God is increased within us, and we become spiritually weighty; we become weighty with God.
The primary purpose of the anointing of the Holy Spirit is to bring more of the essence and element of God into us, while the secondary purpose of the anointing is to let us know the will of God. Knowing the will of God by the anointing is like knowing the color of a wall by its paint. The more we paint a wall, the more clearly the color can be seen. We can see whether it is green, red, brown, or something else. It is by the painting that the color is made known. In the same way, it is by the anointing of the Holy Spirit within us that God’s will is revealed to us. If we have much of God within us, we automatically know what the Lord’s will is, what we must do or must not do. The “paint” is so thick that the “color” becomes very clear and prominent.
If we add only a little paint to a wall, we may still not know whether its color is red or brown. The color is not clear simply because there is not enough paint. The more we paint, the more the color becomes clear. That is, the more we have the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the more we have the essence and element of God, and the more we are clear what the Lord’s mind is. Why are we often not clear about the Lord’s mind and will? It is simply because we have too little anointing, too little “paint.” If we add more “paint,” the “color” will be clear. We will see what is red and what is brown.
SPEAKING ACCORDING TO THE SENSE OF THE ANOINTING
In order to experience the Lord, we need to go along with the inner anointing and care for it. The anointing always gives us a certain inner feeling, sense, consciousness, or registration. To go along with that sense is good enough; we do not need to analyze, think, and consider. We should not even study too much. Some believers are overloaded with study, like a person who has eaten too much food but digested little of it. We should not care for our mind, thoughts, opinions, ideas, concepts, or other matters. We need to forget about these and simply take care of the inner feeling, the inner sense, the inner consciousness, and the inner registration of the anointing.
I would challenge the brothers in this way: Can you give a message without thinking too much? Simply speak from the inner sense. Then when you speak to a certain extent and have no further inner sense, just say, “I do not have the inner sense, so I will stop.” This kind of speaking is wonderful. We must not speak from our memory, thoughts, or concepts. We simply must speak from our inner sense and inner consciousness.
Many times people ask me why I do not speak with printed materials in my hand. I tell them that if I speak in that way, I simply kill my speaking. However, it is not easy to speak only by the anointing. When we speak, we often take care of our thoughts, considerations, and other matters. This kills our speaking. If we exercise and practice to speak something in the spirit according to the inner registration of the anointing, then we will see the result. We must learn the lesson to go along with the inner feeling, registration, and sense that is from the inner anointing. If we do not have the sense from the inner anointing, we should just be quiet. We should not move, speak, or act any further.
(Basic Principles of the Experience of Life, Chapter 16, by Witness Lee)
