The Cross and the Deeper Work of the Holy Spirit — The Spiritual Man

The Cross and the Deeper Work of the Holy Spirit

Because the flesh is exceedingly deceitful, a believer cannot live a single moment without the Holy Spirit’s deeper work through the cross. When the believer sees the position of their flesh before God, both the cross and the deeper work of the Spirit become indispensable. By means of the cross, the believer is delivered from the sin of the flesh; and by means of the cross, the believer is also delivered from the righteousness of the flesh. When walking according to the Spirit, the believer will not follow the flesh into sin; and when walking according to the Spirit, the believer will not follow the flesh into doing righteousness either.

The cross, in fact, has already accomplished an absolute, perfect, and infinite victory—there is nothing deeper to be added. Yet, in the believer’s experience of this fact, there are progressively deeper steps. The Spirit will gradually instruct the believer more and more in the principles of the cross. If one is faithful and obedient, he will surely experience, little by little, more deeply, what the cross has already accomplished. This means that objectively, the cross is absolute and complete beyond addition; but subjectively, it is progressive and capable of being entered into at ever deeper levels.

The believer should now see more clearly their death with the Lord Jesus on the cross, for the Holy Spirit can only work by means of the cross. The Spirit has no other instrument apart from the cross. The believer ought to freshly apprehend the teaching of Galatians 5:24: not only have “the passions and desires of the flesh” been “crucified,” but the “flesh” itself (including all its righteousness and its ability to perform righteousness) has also been crucified. The cross is not only the place where passions and desires are crucified, but also the flesh from which those passions and desires proceed—no matter how highly esteemed it may be! When the believer sees this and is willing to reject everything that belongs to the flesh—whether good or evil—then he can walk according to the Spirit, please God, and attain a fully spiritual life. This willingness is essential. For although the cross has accomplished all in fact, how much a person actually experiences depends upon his knowledge, willingness, and faith.

If the believer does not reject all that is good in the flesh, he will find that although in many matters the flesh seems most capable and efficient, when God’s true call comes—to prepare him for suffering, to go toward Golgotha—he will be as weak as water and shrink back. No matter how good or strong the flesh may appear, it can never meet God’s requirements. Why did the disciples fail in Gethsemane? Because “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). From this weakness came greater failure afterward. The flesh’s abilities and works—though perhaps admirable—can only manifest themselves in things suited to its own taste; but when faced with God’s true demand, it inevitably shrinks back. Therefore, death is unavoidable; otherwise God’s will cannot be accomplished.

Our flesh consists of everything that arises from within us—our desires, our opinions, everything that seeks our advancement, recognition, and honor. Within this flesh there is both natural evil and natural good. John 1:13 speaks of the “will of the flesh.” The flesh can resolve, determine, and plan to do good and to obtain God’s approval; but all this proceeds from the flesh and must go to the cross.

Colossians 2:18 refers to the “mind of the flesh.” All the self-confidence of Christians really rests on trusting their own wisdom—knowing how to serve God, understanding the teachings of Scripture. 2 Corinthians 1:12 speaks of the “wisdom of the flesh.” To receive the truths of Scripture with one’s natural wisdom is more dangerous than anything else, for this is the most hidden and deceitful way in which believers attempt to perfect the Spirit’s work by the flesh. Even the most precious truth may remain only in memory, stored in the mind of the flesh! Yet it is the Spirit alone who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. Unless the Lord continually makes truth alive, it is useless to both self and others. Here we are not speaking of sin, but of that which inevitably arises from human life within the believer’s union with Christ. It is natural, but not spiritual. We must not only reject our righteousness but also the wisdom of our minds. This too must go to the cross.

Colossians 2:23 speaks of a “worship of the flesh.” This refers to our own ideas concerning spiritual things. All the methods we use to stir up, pursue, or obtain a feeling of worship are but the worship of the flesh. It refuses to submit to the teaching of Scripture or to the guidance of the Spirit. Even in Christian service, in biblical knowledge, in the saving of souls, there is the possibility of “walking according to the flesh.”

The Bible most frequently speaks of the “life” of the flesh. Unless this life passes through the work of the cross, it will live in the believer just as it lives in the sinner, except that in the believer it meets opposition from the spiritual life. This fleshly life can become the believer’s energy; one may draw power from it to live in the world. It can aid in serving God, meditating on truth, or resolving to dedicate oneself to work. It can serve as the motive for many good works. In fact, it can lead a believer to take it as life, while at the same time aiming to obey the words of God’s will.

We must recognize clearly that within human life there are two different principles of living. Many believers live a mixed life, sometimes submitting to one, sometimes to the other. Sometimes wholly relying on spiritual power, sometimes mixed with self-confidence. There is no stability. “Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to ordinary human standards, ready to say ‘Yes, Yes’ and ‘No, No’ at the same time?” (2 Corinthians 1:17). The very nature of the flesh is changeableness—yes and no. But God’s will is “never—at no moment—to walk according to the flesh, but only according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). We must accept God’s will.

“You were also circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ” (Colossians 2:11). We ought to be willing for the power of the cross to act like the knife of circumcision, cutting off all that belongs to the flesh completely. Such a cutting must be deep, must be distinct, so that nothing of the flesh may remain hidden or left behind. The cross and the curse are inseparable (Galatians 3:13). To deliver our flesh to the cross is to deliver it to the curse, acknowledging that nothing good dwells in it, and that its only outcome is to bear God’s curse. Without such a heart, it is doubtful that we will experience the circumcision of the flesh. Fleshly affections, desires, thoughts, knowledge, will, worship, and works—all must go to the cross.

To be crucified with the Lord means to accept the curse He bore. Christ’s crucifixion was not a matter of earthly glory (Hebrews 12:2). His hanging on a tree meant He was under a curse (Deuteronomy 21:23). Thus, the crucifixion of the flesh with Christ means sharing in His curse. We must not only accept the merit of the cross, but also fellowship with it. Believers should confess that their flesh has no qualification other than to die under a curse. Only when one views the flesh as God views it can there be experimental fellowship with the cross. Before the Holy Spirit fully reigns in the believer, the flesh must be utterly handed over to the cross. We pray that God would grant us to know the true nature of the flesh and the necessity of its crucifixion.

Brothers, we are far too proud! We are far too unwilling to accept the Lord’s cross! We refuse to acknowledge that we are helpless, useless, corrupt, and defiled—that apart from death there is nothing in us that should remain. Brothers, what we lack today is not a better life, but a better death. We need to die—to die well, to die thoroughly. Life, power, holiness, righteousness—we have spoken of these too much. Let us now turn our attention to death! Let the Holy Spirit drive the cross of Christ deeply into our flesh, making the cross a living reality in our lives! If we die rightly, we will live rightly. If we are united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. Let us cry to the Lord to open our eyes to see how crucial death is. Should He not do this? Are you prepared to let Him? Are you willing for His hand to touch your weakness? Are you willing to be openly exposed, crucified outside the gate before all? Will you allow the Spirit of the cross to work within you? Oh, may we gain much of the Lord’s death! May we die thoroughly!

We must clearly understand: the death of the cross is to be continuous. We cannot enter the stage of resurrection and then abandon the stage of death. The extent of resurrection life we experience depends upon the extent of death we experience. A present danger among those who seek the heavenly life is that they forget the necessity of the death of the flesh, abandon the position of death, and attempt to advance further. The result: either they belittle the works of the flesh, or they mistake what belongs to the flesh as something spiritual—spiritualizing the flesh! But death is the foundation of all things. Progress may be built upon it, but the foundation cannot be destroyed. Without maintaining the death of the flesh, resurrection and ascension life is false. We must never imagine we have become so spiritual, so advanced, that the flesh can no longer deceive us. The enemy seeks to draw us away from the realm of the cross, to make us appear outwardly spiritual but inwardly fleshly. Many of the “I thank the Lord that now we are such-and-such, not such-and-such” are but echoes of the Pharisee’s prayer in Luke 18:11–12—thinking we have escaped the flesh, yet deceived by it. We must continually abide in the Lord’s death.

Our security is in the Spirit. The safe path is to be wholly teachable, deeply fearful of yielding even slightly to the flesh, gladly subject to Christ, and trusting the Spirit to govern our lives with the power of Christ’s death, so that His life is expressed in us. As the flesh once filled us, so must the Spirit now fill us. Let the Spirit rule, utterly overthrowing the power of the flesh, so that He Himself may become our new life, manifesting Christ as our life. Then we can truly say: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20). Yet even this life rests upon the fact that “I have been crucified with Christ”!

If we live with such faith and such a heart of obedience, we can expect the Holy Spirit to perform His most holy and wondrous work within us. “If we live by the Spirit”—this is the faith we ought to have, believing the Spirit dwells within us. “Let us also be guided by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25)—this is the obedience we ought to render. We should simply, restfully believe that the Lord has given us His Spirit to indwell us. Believe His gift; believe the Spirit is within. Regard this as the secret of Christ’s life in us: the Holy Spirit dwells in the innermost part of our spirit. Meditate on this, believe this, remember this, until in God’s presence the glory and reality of this truth produces holy awe and wonder: The Spirit dwells in us! Now we must submit to His leading. His leading is not in the mind and thoughts, but in life and will. We must yield to God, allowing the Spirit to govern all our actions. He will manifest the Lord Jesus in our lives. This is His work.