Release of the Spirit - Ch. 1 "The Importance of Brokenness"

In chapter one Watchman Nee explains why brokenness in us is imperative for fruitfulness in God's kingdom. He begins by saying:

"Anyone who serves God will discover sooner or later that the great hindrance to his work is not others but himself. He will discover that his outward man (soul) and his inward man (spirit) are not in harmony, for both are tending toward opposite directions...due to the distractions of the outward man, (his) spirit does not seem to function properly...As we shall see, there is just one basic dealing which can enable man to be useful before God: brokenness."

Nee explains the makeup of the human person: first, the inward man (spirit) where we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit's life and power when we are in Christ. Outside of the inward man is the soul, the unique personality comprised of the person's thoughts, emotions, and will; and finally there is the outermost man which is our physical body. The soul and body are created to operate in submission to the spirit that is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

When Adam and Eve chose to operate from the tree of knowledge rather than the tree of life, the soul took over the dominant position, and they fell into slavery to subjectivity, viewing everything and everyone through the prism of their own soulish desires and opinions and emotions. They could no longer see through the eyes of God who knows and understands all in perfect love and knowledge. In their desire to fulfill their God-given mandate without having to depend and wait on Him, they became quick to rule and judge according to what their eyes could see and their ears could hear (unlike Jesus who judged only from what He saw and heard from the Father - Isaiah 11:3,4).

The soul (our natural personality and abilities, etc.) is the "container" or "vessel" of the life of Jesus. He is the Treasure hidden within us that others need to encounter. In order for them to encounter Him, the vessel has to be broken (II Cor. 4:7). Nee uses the story from Mark 14 of the woman who broke her jar of perfume in order to pour it over Jesus' head. The fragrance was trapped as long as the jar was intact; once broken, the fragrance spread around to all in the room. Jesus' life is the sweet-smelling fragrance within our spirit; in order for others to "smell Him" and therein be attracted to Him, the "earthen vessel" (our soul) must go through breaking experiences that weaken our dependence on our natural powers and giftings.

We cannot break ourselves (that is the exclusive work of the Spirit), but we can agree and cooperate with the breaking experiences that God allows in our lives, and we can even ask Him to do this ground-breaking work in our lives so that His fragrance is released in increasing measure through us. The more He has His way with and in us, the greater the flow and release of His life with less effort on our part. (We get "more bang for our buck"; there is a divine efficiency that operates in and through our lives.) We find that we are no longer stressed about how much we are accomplishing nor about visible evidence of fruit; we know that the results are completely up to His working as we simply live and abide in Him through daily obedience. We begin to understand that it is not my forceful will nor my strong emotions nor my sharp intellect that will produce life, but only the Life of Jesus coming through my personality! And we begin to see that ultimately all that comes my way comes through His loving heart and hands, and that it is for the purpose of fruitbearing (which brings Him great glory and us great joy).

I'll close this with a quote from this chapter: "The cross must break all that belongs to our outward man - our opinions, our ways, our cleverness, our self-love, our all...As soon as our outward man is broken, our spirit can easily come forth. Consider a brother as an example: all who know him acknowledge that he has a keen mind, a forceful will, and deep emotions. But instead of being impressed by these natural characteristics of his soul, they realize they have met his spirit. Whenever people are fellowshipping with him, they encounter a clean spirit..."

Just as resurrection life could come through Jesus only after His natural life went to death (John 12:24), so His indwelling indestructible life can only come through us to others as we experience the death that comes to us by many and sundry means in our lives. "There is no one more beautiful than one who is broken!"

Spirit of God, we pause to say yes to Your dealings in our lives; help us not to waste our sorrows and pains but to put them into Your hands for you to resurrect beauty from the ashes, knowing that that resurrected life will draw many to You through us. Thank You for Your faithful and loving and skillful work in our hearts and minds!