'A Lowly Spirit
“It is better to be
of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud”
(Prov.16.19)
“He who is lowly in
spirit will obtain honor” (Prov. 29.23).
“And also with him
who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble”
(Is. 57.15).
Lowliness is not a
looking down on one’s self; rather is it a not looking at one’s self at all.
As soon as a
believer’s spirit becomes haughty he is liable to fall. Humility is not only
Godward but is manward as well. A lowly spirit is demonstrated when one
associates with the poor. It is this spirit alone which does not despise any
who are created by God. God’s presence and glory is manifested in the life of
the spiritually humble. A lowly person is a teachable person, easily entreated
and open to explanation. Many of our spirits are too arrogant: they can teach
others but can never themselves be taught. Many possess a stubborn spirit: they
stick to their opinions even if they realize they are wrong. Many are too hard
in spirit to listen to an explanation for a misunderstanding. Only the humble
have the capacity to bear and forbear. God needs a lowly man to express His
virtue. How can a proud man hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and then
cooperate with God? No trace of pride should be found in our spirit:
tenderness, delicacy, flexibility—these shall be the norm. A tiny bit of
harshness in the inner man may hinder fellowship with the Lord, for this
certainly is most unlike Him. To walk with the Lord the spirit must be lowly,
forever waiting on Him and offering no resistance to Him.
Poor In Spirit
“Blessed are the
poor in spirit” (Matt. 5.3).
The poor in spirit
views himself as possessing nothing.
A believer’s peril lies in his having too many
things in his spirit.
Only the poor in
spirit can be humble. How often the experience, growth and progress of a
Christian become such precious matters to him that he loses his lowliness. The
most treacherous of all dangers for a saint is to meditate on what he
appropriates and to pay attention to what he has experienced. Sometimes he
engages in this unconsciously. What, then, is the meaning of being poor? Poor
bespeaks having nothing. If one endlessly reflects upon the deep experience
which he has passed through, it soon shall be debased to a commodity of his
spirit and hence become a snare. An emptied spirit enables a person to lose
himself in God whereas a wealthy spirit renders him self-centered.
Full salvation
delivers a believer out of himself and into God.
Should a Christian
retain something for himself his spirit immediately shall turn inward, unable
to break out and be merged in God. '
The Spiritual Man -
by Watchman Nee
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