THE SPIRIT OF FAITH
In 2 Corinthians 4:13 Paul said, "And having the same spirit of faith according to that which is written, ‘I believed, therefore I spoke,’ we also believe, therefore we also speak." This verse says that we have the spirit of faith, so we speak. We speak, not according to our mind, not according to what we think, but according to what is written. We do not speak in the meetings, because we are so much in the mind. When we are in the mind, we have a mind of doubts, not a spirit of faith. Doubts are in our mind, but faith is in our spirit. If we turn from our mind to our spirit, we have faith. If we turn back to our mind, we have doubts.
When you are in the meeting, you may agree with everything that is said, but after you go back home, you may turn to your mind and begin to doubt what you heard. The book of Genesis tells us that Satan did his best to turn Eve from her spirit to her mind (3:1-5). When he succeeded in this, Eve had a question mark put in her concerning God. Faith is in the spirit. When you turn to the spirit, you believe.
This believing faith immediately becomes the speaking faith. When we believe, we will speak. To talk is one thing, but to speak is another thing. We come to the meeting to speak, not to talk. The Scripture says, "I believed, therefore I spoke." It should be the same with us.
Many of you do not open up your mouth in the meeting, because even after you come through the entrance into the meeting hall, you are still in your mind. When you look at yourself and at the other brothers and sisters, you have a lot of considerations. As the saints are functioning in the meeting, you may say to yourself things like this: "This one is too poor." "This one is too loud." "That is a word without experience." "That is shouting without reality." When you are thinking in this way, you are in your mind, so your mouth is shut up by your thinking. The more you think, the more you consider, the harder it is for you to open up your mouth. You do not speak, because you are so much in the mind. You need the spirit of faith. You need to turn yourself to the spirit.
Sometimes when you come into the meeting, you may have a sensation that the atmosphere is dull. Actually, this sensation of dullness is Satan himself. This is his subtlety to defeat you. When you have this sensation, you should immediately declare that Satan is a liar. Then you should open up your mouth to speak for the Lord. If you practice this, the meetings will be in the third heaven.
A brother may call a hymn, and for no reason you will think that you do not like that hymn. That is the subtlety of the enemy. You have to overcome this. You should say, "I believe. I turn to the spirit of faith." If you remain in the mind, Satan has many ways to catch you. If you turn to the spirit, you will not care about what hymn has been called. Nothing will bother you.
A number of the saints are fragile; they are easily subdued and broken. They will be depressed by just a little thing. We all must learn to turn ourselves to the spirit. When we turn to the spirit, we have the spirit of faith. Then we will speak. Sometimes when I come to the meeting to minister, frustrating things will come up one by one. Even when I come into the entrance of the meeting hall, something might happen. This is the work of Satan. I have learned the lesson not to care for all these disturbing things. I have the spirit of faith, and I must speak in the spirit of faith. I do not care for all the troubling, outward circumstances. But many of us fluctuate too much simply because we are not so stable in the spirit. We have to learn the lesson to stay in the spirit. Do not care for the mind. Stay in the spirit. Then you will have the faith and the speaking spirit.
(The Experience of Christ as Life for the Building Up of the Church, Chapter 13, by Witness Lee)
