390 The Spiritual Man
foolish prophets who follow their own spirit” (Ezek. 13.3). How
extremely important for a Christian to control his spirit by exercising
his will so that his spirit may not go to extremes but be kept in that
state of cooperation with God. Mans spirit can go wild; hence “a
haughty spirit” is remarked upon in Proverbs (16.18). The spirit of
man can take action independent of God’s Spirit if a believer does
not exercise mastery over it and make it subject to Him. We
accordingly must be watchful lest our spirit veer out of God’s orbit,
lose its quiet communion with God, and be disabled from laboring
with Him.
Occasionally the irresponsibility of the spirit is due to its hardness.
God requires a soft and tender spirit to express His mind. Should it
grow harsh and unyielding, the operations of His Spirit will be
hindered. Only a yielding spirit can fulfill the thought of the divine
Spirit: “and every one whom his spirit made willing... “ (Ex. 35.21
ASV). A Christian ought to be able to yield to Him on the shortest
notice. His spirit should be most sensitive so that it can detect the
still small voice of God and respond right away. If it is hardened the
child of God not only is powerless to follow His will but is also unfit
to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in his spirit. Hence it is necessary
to keep one’s spirit in a tender and pliable state so as to enable that
one always to follow the delicate throbbing therein. This is what the
Apostle meant when he wrote: “do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thess.
5.19). A Christian should heed every word, movement, and sense in
his inner man carefully. By so doing, his spiritual consciousness will
be sharpened and God will be able to make His will known to him.
If a person wishes to walk by his spirit he should recognize when
it is irresponsible and unable to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and
also determine why. He needs to guard his spirit carefully so as to
insure it against all disturbances both from the enemy and from his
self life and to assure it a peaceful communion with God.