V. KNOWING THE TEACHING OF THE ANOINTING
A. The Anointing
[The teaching of the anointing comes from the anointing and is the natural result of our being anointed. When the anointing is moving within us, on the one hand, it anoints God into us, and on the other hand, it reveals God’s mind to us. Therefore, the teaching of the anointing has two aspects: first, through the anointing we gain more of God Himself, more of God’s components; second, through the teaching we know His mind and live in Him.
Of these two aspects, to have God Himself is primary, and to know God’s mind is secondary. Furthermore, to have God Himself always comes first, and then to know His mind. Each time we experience the anointing within us, we gain firstly more of God Himself, more of God’s components; this, then, produces a result—it causes us to know what God wants us to do. It is impossible to know His will without having Himself. Therefore, the teaching of the anointing is a subordinate function of the anointing.]
B. The Understanding of the Mind
[Although the teaching of the anointing comes from the anointing these two occupy different parts in our being. The anointing is in our spirit, whereas the teaching of the anointing is in our mind. Why is the anointing in our spirit? Because the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit; therefore, the anointing which emanates from the moving of the Holy Spirit is definitely in our spirit. When our spirit is motivated by the Holy Spirit, we become conscious of it. Such a consciousness is the feeling of the anointing. At this time, provided that our mind has been taught, we are able to interpret this feeling from our spirit. We can understand its meaning and thus obtain the teaching which emanates from the anointing. Therefore, the teaching of the anointing is in our mind and is entirely a matter of the comprehension of our mind. Therefore, if we desire to follow the teaching of the anointing, we should have not only a keen feeling in our spirit, but also an experienced and spiritual mind. Such a mind includes the renewing of the mind, the exercising of our comprehension in spiritual matters, and the collecting of spiritual knowledge. These require that we love the Lord more, seek spiritual experiences, live in fellowship, study the Bible, read spiritual books and listen to messages. Through these, our mind will receive spiritual unveiling and become enriched in knowledge; thus, it will be able to comprehend the meaning of the anointing in our spirit. Consequently, we will realize the teaching of the anointing.]
Without a thorough knowledge of the Word, you will be unable to understand much of what the anointing teaches. In the Lord’s recovery, every saint must be built up with the full knowledge of the Bible. Gradually your ability to understand and interpret spiritual things will develop. This will give the anointing the means to speak to you.
C. The Feeling of the Conscience
[We have said that the normal feeling of the conscience is derived from the Holy Spirit, who is in our spirit, and passes through our mind to enlighten us. This enlightenment is also a kind of anointing of the Holy Spirit as the ointment. Therefore, the feeling of the conscience and the teaching of the anointing are both derived from the feeling of the anointing. The anointing, after having passed through the intuition of the spirit and having been understood by the mind, becomes the teaching of the anointing. However, the anointing, having passed through the conscience and being understood by the mind, becomes the feeling of the conscience; this, then, is their relatedness.
There are, however, differences between the teaching of the anointing and the feeling of the conscience. First, the conscience is an organ to differentiate right from wrong. The feeling of the conscience which is derived from the anointing is also limited to right and wrong, good and evil. But the teaching of the anointing, which comes by way of the anointing and is sensed directly in our spirit, is related in scope to God Himself. It surpasses right and wrong and touches directly the will of God Himself. If we only care for the feeling of the conscience, we can only be a faultless Christian. We must go beyond this to live in the teaching of the anointing; then we can touch the mind of God and live in God.]
(Lesson Book, Level 4: Life—Knowing and Experiencing Life, Chapter 10, by Witness Lee)
