THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Epistle of Paul to Romans
Message Four—Living in the Mingled Spirit
Scripture Reading: Rom. 1:9; 7:6; 8:4-6, 14, 16; 12:4-5; 16:16b
I. The book of Romans reveals the eight stages of the Christian life:
A. We were born sinful and under the righteous judgment of God—1:18—3:20.
B. We have been justified through the redemption of Christ and regenerated by the Spirit—3:24; cf. 5:16.
C. We realize that we were born in Adam and thus inherited sin and death— vv. 12-21.
D. We have been baptized into Christ and are now in Christ—6:3.
E. In Romans 7 we see a person striving and struggling in himself to do good, to keep the law of God, and to please God—vv. 18-19, 21-22.
F. In Romans 8:1-17 we see one who walks according to the Spirit in the regenerated human spirit.
G. The Lord arranges all things to work together for our conformation—vv. 28-30.
H. According to the picture in Romans 12, the believers are living in the Body of Christ and are practicing the Body life.
II. In Romans we can see that God became man so that, in God’s complete salvation, sinners may be redeemed, regenerated, sanctified, renewed, transformed, conformed, and glorified to become the sons of God, who are the same as God in life and nature, to be the members of the organic Body of Christ—8:3; 1:3-4; 3:24; 5:10; 8:14, 29-30; 12:4-5.
III. The will of God is to obtain a Body for Christ to be His fullness, His expression—Rev. 4:11; Eph. 1:5, 9, 22-23; 5:17:
A. According to Romans 12, the will of God is for us mutually to be members one of another, coordinating to be the Body of Christ and living the Body life—vv. 2, 4-5.
B. We coordinate and serve together in the Body of Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ in order to accomplish God’s New Testament economy—vv. 6-11; Eph. 4:16; 1:10; 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:4.
IV. The focal point of the book of Romans is the Body of Christ—12:4-5:
A. The Body is the channel on earth through which Christ continues His ministry from the heavens—Eph. 1:22-23.
B. If we neglect the Body of Christ, we do not have the focus of the Christian life, and we do not have the proper goal, aim, and direction in our Christian life.
C. Consecration is for the Body of Christ; the purpose of consecration is for us to realize the Body of Christ and to live the Body life—Rom. 12:1-2.
V. The mingled spirit is the unique organ for God to bring forth and build up the Body of Christ—1:9; 7:6; 8:4, 14, 16; 12:4-5, 11:
A. We must serve God in the regenerated spirit by the life-giving Spirit, not in the soul by the power and ability of the soul—1:9.
B. In order to reign in life for the Body life, we must be in the mingled spirit— 5:17, 21.
C. The mingled spirit is a source of newness in our service to God—7:6.
D. The secret of God’s organic salvation is the Spirit with our spirit—5:10; 8:16.
E. The Body of Christ is an organism composed of a group of people who live, walk, and have their being according to the mingled spirit—vv. 4-6.
F. The mingled spirit is the spirit of sonship; if we are led by the Spirit in our spirit, we are sons of God in reality—vv. 14-15.
G. We need to pray in the mingled spirit—vv. 26-27.
H. In the mingled spirit we live a life of the highest virtues for the Body of Christ— 12:9-21.
I. In the mingled spirit we live to the Lord and not to ourselves—14:7-9.
J. In the mingled spirit we live the kingdom life with righteousness, peace, and joy—v. 17.
K. When we live in the mingled spirit, we can be of the same mind, and with one accord and one mouth we can glorify God—15:5-6.
VI. Because Romans 12 is concerned with the function of the Body of Christ, it speaks of the Body from the angle of the organic union—vv. 4-5:
A. As we remain in the organic union, abiding in Christ as branches in the vine, we are actually living in the Body of Christ—John 15:1, 4-5.
B. The living of the Body life in the organic union with Christ involves our entire tripartite being—Rom. 12:1-2:
1. We need to present our body a living sacrifice to God—v. 1.
2. We have to be renewed in the mind for the transformation of our soul—vv. 2-3.
3. We need to be burning in spirit with God as the fire—v. 11; Heb. 12:29.
Ministry Excerpts:
THE CRUCIAL WORD BEING THE SMALL PREPOSITION “IN”
In this message we will cover just two verses in Romans 8, verses 8 and 9. In the reading of these two verses, we need to pay special attention to the little preposition “in.” In the New Testament and especially in Paul’s writings, prepositions mean a lot. In fact, in the Greek language, the prepositions are crucial words. The meaning of certain phrases or clauses or sentences depends upon the prepositions used in them. For example, as we have pointed out in the Life-study of 1 Corinthians, Paul was very careful in his choice of prepositions. In verse 2 of chapter one Paul wrote “to the church of God which is in Corinth…with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place….” Here Paul used the preposition “with” rather than the conjunction “and.” If the conjunction “and” had been used, it would indicate that these phrases were equal. But because the preposition “with” was used, it indicates something subordinate. This means something different. This illustrates the importance of the prepositions.
In Romans 8:8-9, the crucial words are not big words. The crucial word is the small preposition “in.” It is used four times in these two verses. “And those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.”
THE PREPOSITION “OF” INDICATING THE SOURCE AND THE POSITION
Why in verse 8 and at the beginning of verse 9 did Paul use the preposition “in”? In these two verses, the preposition “of” indicates the source and the position. When you say that you were born of the Spirit, it means that the Spirit is the very source of your regeneration. Likewise, when you say that you were born of the flesh, it means that the flesh was the source of your natural birth.
THE PREPOSITION “IN” INDICATING THE PRESENT
CONDITION AND EXPERIENCE
The preposition “in,” however, indicates something different; it indicates the present condition. According to the source of the new birth, you are of the Spirit. But according to today’s spiritual condition, you are in the Spirit. “In” indicates the condition of your present living. If, in your spiritual condition, you are still only of the Spirit and not in the Spirit, this indicates a shortage.
Because these two verses emphasize the preposition “in” and not the preposition “of,” it indicates they are not talking about the position or the source; they are talking about the condition, the experience. “Those who are in the flesh” does not refer to source or position but to condition and experience. You may be a person of the Spirit, yet you are in the flesh. You were born of the Spirit, and the Spirit is your source and position, yet your condition is not in the Spirit. Your condition is that you are in the flesh. So according to your condition and present day experience you are not in the Spirit. You were born of the Spirit, and according to your position, you are still of the Spirit. You are a person of the Spirit. You are a person in the position and of the source of the Spirit. But you don’t live in the Spirit, and you don’t walk in the Spirit. So you are not in the Spirit. For example, you may be of America and yet live in another country. A person may be of the Spirit and yet live in the flesh, but a person who is merely born of the flesh could never live in the Spirit.
Verse 8 says that those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Does this refer to believers or unbelievers? Although it may include both believers or unbelievers, I believe that Paul was referring to the believers. You have to realize that Romans 8 is not speaking about the initial salvation. This has already been covered in the previous chapters. In chapters one and two, none were saved. In chapters three and four some were saved and justified. This means that by the time Paul reached chapter eight he was not dealing with unbelievers, but with believers. Check with your own experience. During the course of a day sometimes you are in the spirit, and sometimes you are in the flesh. When you come to the meetings, there is a good possibility that you are in the spirit. When you are at home, though, sometimes you may not be in the spirit; you may be in the flesh. So on the one hand, we really are of the Spirit, but on the other hand, sometimes we are not that much in the spirit. These three prepositions—in, with, and of—mainly touch the matter from our side. Now let us consider the matter from the side of the Spirit.
FROM THE SIDE OF THE SPIRIT, IN GREEK,
THE ROOT OF THE WORD DWELL MEANS A HOUSE
In verse 9 Paul says that the Spirit of God dwells in you. He does not say that the Spirit of God is of you, or for you, or with you, or even merely in you. He says that the Spirit of God dwells in you. In Greek, the root of the word dwell means a house. So actually it could be translated that the Spirit of God houses in you. It is not the word that is used for abiding or remaining. It is the word that is used for housing. The Spirit of God dwells in you. No husband can dwell in his wife. The most he can do is dwell with her. Sometimes he may dwell with her, and yet not do anything for her. So perhaps it is better to say that he dwells for her. For you and me the best condition is to be “in.” This means to be in the Spirit. And for the Spirit, the best condition is to dwell in. Concerning us, Paul used a form of the verb “to be,” but concerning the Spirit he used a strong and proper verb, “dwell.”
Furthermore, in the last part of verse 9, Paul picks up another predicate, the verb “has.” “But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.” So, in these two verses Paul uses two kinds of prepositions and three kinds of verbs. We have already mentioned the significance of the prepositions “of” and “in.” What is the significance of the use of the different kinds of verbs? If I ask whether or not you have the Spirit of Christ you would answer that you do. But if I ask whether you are in the Spirit of Christ you would answer sometimes. The preposition “in” indicates a situation like the California weather. It has a lot of fluctuation. But the phrase “dwells in” is like Mount Rainier, standing there with no change. The Spirit dwells in you. This never changes. When you are of Him, He dwells in you. When you are in Him, He dwells in you. There is no change. Whether it is raining or not, Mount Rainier still stands. Whether the sky is clear, or cloudy, or stormy, Mount Rainier stands solid. But the California weather changes quite often. In verse 9 the verb “has” indicates stability. For example, the fact that you have a wife is settled forever. But whether she is with you in the meeting tonight or not is another matter. If you are going to know the indwelling Spirit you must see these three prepositions—in, with, and of—and these three predicates—are, dwells, and has. Some of these indicate an unchangeable standing. Others indicate fluctuations. To say that we have the Spirit is altogether unchangeable, with no fluctuation. And to say that the Spirit dwells in us even the more indicates no change and no fluctuation. But even these two terms which indicate no change and no fluctuation have a slightly different meaning. To have something means to possess it, while to dwell means to occupy.
OUR EXPERIENCE
Thus far we have been speaking according to the words, according to grammar, according to position, to possession, to occupation, and to condition. Now we need to consider the matter of experience. According to the facts, we, the believers in Christ, all have the Spirit. Also this Spirit dwells in all of us. We have Him, and He dwells in us. These are the unchangeable facts. There is no fluctuation with these facts. We cannot lose Him, and He would never leave us. We have Him forever, and He dwells in us forever. With these two points, there is no problem. But whether or not we are in Him is a matter of condition. How then can you care for the condition? This is a crucial point. If you say that you want to be in, right away you are out. But if you dare to say that you are in, right away you are in. You have to believe that you are in. Let me tell you why: you have Him, and He dwells in you. These are facts. In a sense you don’t need to turn to the spirit. You are in already. Don’t turn; just remain there. You are in. It is the same with the matter of abiding in Christ. If you see that you are in Christ, you don’t need to abide. If you still need to abide, it means you are still outside of Christ. If you have seen that you are in Christ, you are in already. You don’t need to abide. You just need to remain there. Right now He is dwelling in you, and right now you still possess Him.
STAYING IN THE SPIRIT
You don’t need to say turn to the Spirit. You just need to stay in the Spirit. In the past we have had a slogan “Turn to the Spirit.” We should drop this and instead we should say, “Stay in your spirit.” Stay means that you are already there in the Spirit. You don’t need such a long prayer to cause you to stay in your spirit. Even a short prayer will cause you to stay in your spirit. When you start to lose your temper just an “O Lord” will keep you in your spirit. Although I am so busy all the day long, I “O Lord” a lot to remain in the Spirit. When you say, “O Lord” you stay in the Spirit. Our experience tells us that we do have the Spirit and the Spirit does dwell in us. This is not a kind of superstition; this is a divine spiritual fact. We may use the example of breathing. We know there is air because we can breathe it in. And we know that we have a breathing organ because we can breathe in the air. Today the Lord is the Spirit, the pneuma, the air. And we can breathe the Spirit. I like A. B. Simpson’s hymn where he speaks of breathing, breathing, breathing. The point is this, dear saints: the Spirit really dwells in us, regardless of whether your weather is cold or hot or stormy or calm. None of these things bothers Him. Whether you are at home or you are in the wrong place, He still dwells in you. This is the fact. You do have Him. You possess Him, and He occupies you. We only possess Him, but He not only possesses but also occupies us. This means that He is here all the time. So in a sense we don’t need to turn to Him. We just need to stay in Him.
THE MINGLED SPIRIT
Now we are clear that we have to stay in this Spirit. But what kind of Spirit is the Spirit? Is this the Holy Spirit? Or is this our human spirit? During the past twenty years, I have spoken a lot of messages on the mingled spirit. Some, who are short of knowledge, have condemned our teaching concerning the mingled spirit.
One verse which refers to the mingled spirit is 2 Corinthians 4:13: “And having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, therefore I spoke; we also believe, therefore also we speak.” In translating this verse, many versions of the Bible use a small letter s for the spirit, indicating our spirit. One version, however, uses a capital letter S, indicating the Spirit. This is the Wuest translation. Furthermore M. R. Vincent, in his Word Studies in the New Testament, says concerning this verse: “Spirit of faith: not distinctly the Holy Spirit, nor, on the other hand, a human faculty of disposition, but blending both.” We all know that blending is a synonym for mingling. So when we speak of staying in the spirit, we mean in the blended spirit, in the mingled spirit. Hallelujah! We have a spirit, and our spirit has been regenerated, and the Spirit of God dwells in our spirit and mingles Himself with our spirit making the two one spirit. This is the spirit in which we have to remain. How can we remain in such a spirit? All the time we have to, “O Lord! O Lord!” The best way to keep you in your spirit and to save you from losing your temper is to “O Lord.” (Perfecting Training, msg. 40)