VI. OBEDIENCE TO THE TEACHING OF THE ANOINTING
[Concerning the teaching of the anointing, the Holy Spirit attends to the anointing, and we take care of the obedience. If there is no obedience, it is difficult to have the experience of this lesson.]
A. Walking According to the Spirit
[If we desire to have the experience of walking according to the spirit, we need to know what is the teaching of the anointing and what is the feeling derived from the inward moving of the Holy Spirit. We need to know and live in the apprehension of this feeling. It is only in this feeling that we are able to walk according to the spirit. To follow the Lord means to follow the Spirit, which, specifically speaking, means to obey the teaching of the anointing. We are not following an objective, external Lord, but One who is subjective and lives in us. The shining of His face and the manifestation of Himself is the anointing; whereas the will He reveals in the light of His face is the teaching of the anointing. If we obey this teaching, we are obeying the Lord. If we follow this teaching, we are following the Lord.]
B. Living in Fellowship
[As life is in the Holy Spirit, so the fellowship of life is through the moving or anointing of the Holy Spirit. Each anointing of the ointment anoints the Lord into us and also anoints us into the Lord; thus, it creates a flow of life between the Lord and us. Therefore, when we experience the anointing, there also is the fellowship of life.
If our fellowship with the Lord is limited only to our time of private prayer or morning watch, it is still very shallow. We need to live in fellowship every moment and be in close contact with the Lord, even while we are the busiest; then our fellowship will be deep. In order to live in fellowship, we must live in the anointing and always sense the anointing. This living in the anointing is obeying the teaching of the anointing. If we obey the teaching of the anointing constantly, we can constantly experience the anointing and live in fellowship. Otherwise, we cannot experience the anointing and abide in fellowship.]
C. Living in the Presence of God
[According to the truth, God has ever been with us since the day we were saved. His presence has never departed from us, and we can never lose it. This presence is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit within us is God’s presence. Therefore, this presence is not a condition or a matter, but a Person. This Person is the Holy Spirit, whose being in us is the presence of God. From the day we are saved, this presence is never lost.
However, according to our experience, we are not always conscious of His presence. Sometimes, it seems that His presence has disappeared and we have lost the light of His face. It all depends upon the anointing. Without the anointing, the presence of God cannot be made real within us, and we cannot feel the light from His face. With the anointing, the reality of His presence and sense of the light from His face follow. Therefore, by the anointing we can experience the presence of God in a practical way.]
(Lesson Book, Level 4: Life—Knowing and Experiencing Life, Chapter 10, by Witness Lee)
