MINDING THE SPIRIT AND THE SPIRITUAL MIND
The more spiritual a believer is, the more he knows about the importance of walking according to the spirit and the danger of walking according to the flesh. But what does walking according to the spirit really mean? Romans 8 provides an answer; it is to simply mind the Spirit and have a spiritual mind. "For those who are according to the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but those who are according to the spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace" (vv. 5-6). To have the mind searching the things of the Spirit and the spirit governing the mind is the meaning of walking according to the spirit. A man who walks "according to the spirit" is just one who minds "the things of the Spirit" and whose mind is "set on the spirit." If we desire to walk according to the spirit, there is no other way except to mind and search the things of the Spirit through the mind that is under the spirit’s control. This means that our mind has to be renewed first to become a spiritual mind—a mind governed by the spirit. Through a renewed mind, one can pay attention to all the things of the Spirit—the activities of the Spirit. In this way, we can walk according to the spirit.
We also can see from these verses how the mind relates to the spirit. "For those who are according to the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but those who are according to the spirit, the things of the Spirit." The human mind can mind either the things of the flesh or the things of the Spirit. Our mind (soul) is standing between the spirit and the flesh (here we refer to it as the body). Whatever the mind is minding, that is what we will walk after. If the mind is minding the flesh, we will walk according to the flesh; if the mind is minding the Spirit, we will walk according to the spirit. Therefore, we do not need to ask if we are walking according to the spirit; we only need to ask if we are minding the Spirit, paying attention to the Spirit, and searching the activities of the Spirit. There is no such a thing as "minding" the things of the flesh, while "walking" according to the spirit. Whatever your mind is minding must be what you are walking after. This is unchangeable. In our daily life, what is our mind thinking about, paying attention to, and setting itself on? What are we paying attention and submitting to? Are we minding the spirit or the flesh? Minding the things of the Spirit will cause us to become spiritual men; minding the things of the flesh will cause us to become fleshly men. If our mind is not under the governing of the spirit, it is under the governing of the flesh. If it is not being governed by what is heavenly, it is being governed by what is earthly. If it is not being governed by what is from above, it is being governed by what is from below. The result of walking according to the spirit is to live in life and peace. If a believer is minding and walking according to the flesh, he will live in "death." Whatever he does or says will be of no spiritual value but will be altogether of death, because all that he has, in the eyes of God, comes from the flesh, which has no spiritual life. A believer may have life yet at the same time be living in "death."
Why is minding the things of the Spirit so important in a life of walking according to the spirit? It is important because this is the biggest prerequisite for us to receive the leading in the spirit. Many believers wish that God would make arrangements for them and lead them (through circumstances), but they do not mind their spirit or pay any attention to the activities of their spirit. Many times the indwelling Holy Spirit has already guided us in our spirit, but we are unable to be clear about His guidance because our mind is so dull and foolish. Many times the Holy Spirit has revealed something to our spirit, but the sensation of the spirit is neglected because our mind is not paying attention to the activities of the spirit, or perhaps it is minding thousands of other things. At other times our spirit is not wrong, but our mind is wrong, and we still are not able to walk according to the spirit. The notion that the spirit expresses through the intuition is fine, quiet, and tender. If we are not constantly minding the things of the spirit, how can we know the intention of the spirit and walk after it? Our mind should be as a watchman; it should always be minding, comprehending, and understanding the intention of the spirit so that our outer man may be fully submissive.
All the guidance of God comes by the revelation of His will through the tender feelings. He never uses overwhelming, drowning, or other feelings to overpower us or force us to submit to Him. He always gives us the opportunity to choose. All behavior of the believers that seems to be coerced is not from God. Only the evil spirits work in this manner. Therefore, we should not just look for the guidance of the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit will not work if we have not fulfilled the conditions for the Holy Spirit to work. Before the Holy Spirit will guide us, our spirit and mind must work actively together with the Holy Spirit. We should not struggle vainly to walk according to the spirit. As long as we apply our spirit to work together with the Holy Spirit and apply our mind to pay attention to all the activities within the spirit, we will be walking according to the spirit.
(Spiritual Man, The (3 volume set), Chapter 34, by Watchman Nee)
