560 The Spiritual Man
men, whereas occupying ourselves with the affairs of the flesh will
turn us into fleshly people. If our mind is not governed by the spirit,
it must be governed by the flesh; if not guided by heaven, it must be
guided by earth; if not regulated from above, it must be regulated
from beneath. Following the spirit produces life and peace, while
following the flesh results in death. From God’s point of view,
nothing arising from the flesh contains any spiritual value. A believer
is capable of living in “death” though he still possesses life.
Why is minding the realities of the spirit so important to a life
which walks after the spirit? Because that is the most conspicuous
condition for securing guidance in the spirit. How many of God’s
children wait for Him to arrange their circumstances while
concomitantly overlooking the need to heed the spirit; that is, they
pay no heed to the prompting of their inner depths. Often God Who
indwells us already has led us within our spirit, yet because of the
dullness of our mental faculty we just do not appreciate it. He has
truly given revelation to our intuition, but our intellect is dwelling on
a thousand and one matters other than on the movement in the spirit.
We are neglecting our spiritual sense. Sometimes our spirit is normal
but our mind errs, so we are incapacitated from following the spirit.
Whatever is expressed by its intuition is delicate, quiet and gentle;
unless we habitually mind its realities, how can we ever know the
thought of the spirit and accordingly walk? Our mind ought to be
alert like a watchman, always on the lookout for the movement in the
inner man so that our outer man may be yielded wholly.
All the leadings of God are transmitted via small delicate
sensations in the spirit. God never employs anything like a
compulsory, overwhelming feeling to try to force man into
obedience. He invariably affords us an opportunity to make our
choice. Anything which is forced upon us comes not from God but is
a work of the evil spirits. Until we fulfill the essentials for the
working of the Holy Spirit, He will not work. Hence it necessitates
more than merely waiting for His guidance. Our spirit and mind must