THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The Mingling of Divinity with Humanity
Message Four—The Divine Spirit Mingled with Our Human Spirit Being
the Key to the Entire Christian Life
Scripture Reading: Rom. 5:10, 17; 6:4; 7:6; 8:2, 4, 16
I. The divine Spirit of life dwelling in our human spirit, with these two mingled together as one spirit, is the secret of God’s organic salvation and the key to the entire Christian life for the reality of the Body of Christ in the church life to consummate the New Jerusalem—Rom. 8:2, 4, 16; 1 Cor. 6:17:
A. The divine Spirit of life is the Spirit of God processed and consummated to be the life-giving, compounded, and indwelling Spirit, who indwells the believers as the reality of the pneumatic, pneumatized Christ, as the consummation of the processed and consummated Triune God, and as the reality of the divine resurrection; it is through such a Spirit of life that the eternal, only wise God, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden through the ages, dispenses Himself in His processed and consummated Trinity into the believers to be their dynamic salvation as their life and everything—Rom. 16:25.
B. The human spirit of the believers is the believers’ spirit regenerated and indwelt by the divine Spirit of life and mingled with the divine Spirit of life as one spirit; it is through such a human spirit that the people chosen by God participate in the dynamic salvation of God as their living in this age and their destiny in eternity—1 Cor. 6:17.
C. We all have to know these two spirits in the divine enlightenment that we may enter, by the Spirit of life in our regenerated spirit which is mingled with the Spirit of life, into the intrinsic essence of the dynamic salvation of God in Christ, which is the Triune God processed and consummated to be our eternal inheritance for our enjoyment—Eph. 1:18.
II. We are being saved in life by Christ as the life-giving Spirit—Rom. 5:10:
A. Having been reconciled to God, we are being saved in Christ’s life, we reign as kings in this life, we walk in newness of life, and we serve in newness of spirit—v. 17; 6:4; 7:6.
B. The Spirit of life is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Christ is Christ Himself, Christ is in us, Christ Himself is life, and our spirit is life—8:9-11; John 14:6; Col. 3:4.
C. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery bringing you into fear again, but you have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father!”—vv. 14-15.
D. Romans 8:23 says that we have received “the firstfruits of the Spirit,” the foretaste of our full enjoyment of God; verse 26 says that the Spirit helps us by interceding; and verse 29 reveals that the Spirit conforms us to the image of the Son of God—Rom. 8:23, 26, 29.
E. All the above items are included in the one phrase saved in His life; to be saved in His life is to be saved in Christ Himself as the life-giving Spirit—5:10; 1 Cor. 15:45b.
III. Romans reveals that the Spirit of life is doing a fourfold work within us—8:2; 5:10; 6:19, 22; 8:30:
A. The Spirit of life is the liberating Spirit—8:2, 4:
1. When we walk in the Spirit of life, we are freed from the law of sin and of death—Rom. 8:2.
2. It is not knowledge that liberates us but the Spirit of life Himself; therefore, we need to pray ourselves into the liberating Spirit to live, move, and have our being in this Spirit, who is mingled with our spirit—v. 4.
B. The Spirit of life is the delivering Spirit—5:10:
1. Because we are bound, we need liberation, but because we are fallen, we need deliverance.
2. If we are in the Spirit of life, we will have a deep conviction that we need deliverance from our attitude, motives, thinking, loving, hating, decisions, temper, disposition, and many other items—5:10.
C. The Spirit of life is the sanctifying Spirit—6:19, 22:
1. To be sanctified is to be saturated through transformation with all that God is—6:19, 22; 12:2.
2. Sanctification equals transformation in Romans 12:2, which says, “Be transformed by the renewing of the mind.”
D. The Spirit of life is the glorifying Spirit—8:30:
1. Eventually, the Spirit of life will glorify us for the full corporate expression of the Triune God in our entire tripartite being—8:30.
2. He is leading many sons into glory by His divine sanctification to make us His glorious church—Heb. 2:10-12; Eph. 5:26-27.
IV. The key point of the entire Christian life is that Christ as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit lives in our spirit, and as the Spirit He mingles Himself with our spirit to make these two spirits one—1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17:
A. In our mingled spirit there is no problem, so there is no need of solutions; whatever we need is in our spirit—Phil. 1:19; 4:23.
B. We need to forget about our weaknesses, our shortcomings, our failures, and everything of the self and set our mind on the spirit, that is, remain in the spirit by always paying attention to our spirit, using our spirit, and caring for our spirit—Rom. 8:6.
C. We need to be burning in spirit by praying in order to spend more and more time in the presence of the Lord; when we are genuinely burning in spirit, we are beside ourselves and are fools because of Christ—Matt. 6:6; 2 Cor. 5:13; 1 Cor. 4:10.
D. When we are burning and joyful in spirit, we enjoy God, reign as kings in life, walk in newness of life, and serve in newness of spirit—Rom. 5:10-11, 17; 6:4; 7:6.
E. When we turn to our spirit, remain in our spirit, and walk and live according to our spirit, we are the real sons of God and the living members of Christ, who are organically related to one another and built up together as a living Body to express Christ as a reality in the church life to consummate the New Jerusalem—8:4; Eph. 5:30; Rev. 21:2.
Ministry Excerpts:
THE SPIRIT OF LIFE
Before we deal with Romans 8 itself, we need to consider a glorious and marvelous term found in 8:2—“the Spirit of life.” This term is used only once in the entire Bible. In the book of Romans the term “the Spirit of life” is not revealed until 8:2. However, before chapter eight we do have several references to the divine, eternal, uncreated life. The first occurrence of this word life in the book of Romans is in 1:17 which says that the just shall have life and live by faith. The word life in this verse denotes the divine life. The second occurrence of this word in Romans is in 2:7, where we are told that “those who by endurance in good work seek for glory and honor and incorruptibility, life eternal.” If we continually seek God, He will give us life eternal. Romans 5:10 says that we shall be saved in His life, and 5:17 tells us that, after receiving the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness, we shall reign in life. Romans 5:18 mentions justification of life, and 5:21 says that grace might reign unto eternal life. In 6:4 we are told to walk in newness of life. Romans 6:22-23 says that eternal life is the end of sanctification and that the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thus, in the first six chapters of Romans there are many references to the divine life. Life is the goal of God’s salvation. God has redeemed us, justified us, and reconciled us that we might share this life. Once we receive it, we should be saved in life, reign in life, walk in newness of life, and be sanctified in life.
The way to have life is the Spirit. The way to be saved in His life is the Spirit. The way to reign in life is the Spirit. The way to walk in newness of life is the Spirit. The way to be sanctified in life is the Spirit. The Spirit is the way. Life belongs to the Spirit, and the Spirit is of life. These two are actually one. We can never separate life from the Spirit, nor the Spirit from life. The Lord Jesus Himself said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). In this word the Lord Jesus connects the Spirit and life. If we have the Spirit, we have life; if we do not have the Spirit, we do not have life. If we walk in the Spirit, we walk in life, but if we do not walk in the Spirit, we do not walk in the newness of life. Thus, the way to experience the divine, eternal, uncreated life is the Spirit. By this we may see the relationship between Romans 8 and the previous chapters. The seven foregoing chapters lead us to life and consummate in life. Now in 8:2 we are at the point of life. We must give special attention to the word life in Romans 8.
THE FOURFOLD LIFE
The word life is used four times in chapter eight. Romans 8:2 mentions the law of the Spirit of life. Romans 8:6 says that the mind set on the spirit is life. In Romans 8:9, 10 we are told that if Christ is in us our spirit is life because of righteousness. Romans 8:11 says the indwelling Spirit will give life to our mortal bodies. The first time life is mentioned in this chapter it is connected to the Holy Spirit, the second time it is related to our mind, the third time it is associated with our spirit, and the fourth time it is a matter of our body. Romans 8 unveils a fourfold life. Firstly, life is the Spirit. Then the Spirit comes into our spirit to make our spirit life. Then the Spirit spreads from our spirit into our mind to make our mind life. The Spirit even imparts this life into our mortal bodies to make the body of sin a body of life. We have a fourfold life. The focus of it all is the Holy Spirit indwelling our spirit. This life will spread from our spirit into our mind and throughout our whole soul, even reaching all the members of our body. Eventually, our whole being will be filled with life and we will be a man of life. Have you ever seen this? We may call this the fourfold life. The Spirit is life, our spirit is life, our mind is life, and even our body is of life. Thus, the connection between Romans 8 and all the foregoing chapters is life plus the Spirit.
GOD IN OUR SPIRIT
As I have pointed out on other occasions, God is revealed progressively in the book of Romans. In Romans 1 He is God in creation, in Romans 3 God in redemption, in Romans 4 God in justification, in Romans 5 God in reconciliation, and in Romans 6 He is God in identification. We can see the process or the progress of God from creation to redemption, from redemption to justification, from justification to reconciliation, and from reconciliation to identification. God has advanced from creation to identification. In His creation God was outside of His creatures; in identification He has made us one with Himself by putting us into Himself. As many of us as have been baptized have been baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). God has put us into Christ, thoroughly identifying us with Himself.
In Romans 8 God becomes the God in our spirit. He is not only the God in identification, but the God in our spirit. He has not only made us one with Him, but He has also made Himself one with us. Now our God is in our spirit. What kind of God is He? He is the processed God in our spirit. The God in creation has passed through redemption, justification, reconciliation, identification, and He is now in our spirit. The God in our spirit is not merely God; He has been processed into the Spirit of life, for the Spirit of life is the processed God. According to our experience, nothing is more pleasant than this. We may feast upon such a God.
THE ENJOYMENT OF CHRIST AS THE LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT
To come to a dining table to enjoy God as food is not my concept. In the gospels the Lord Jesus said that the gospel was a feast. The Lord Jesus said that all things are ready and that we should come to the feast (Luke 14:16-17). He told us to come and dine. We even find this thought in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). When the son returned home, the father put the best robe on him, a robe signifying Christ as our righteousness for our justification. When the son returned, he was like a poor beggar standing before a rich father. There seemed to be no correspondence between them: the father was rich and the son was poor. Thus the father told the servants to take the best robe and to put it on the son. After this robe had been put on him, the son was justified before the father and corresponded to him. Now the son is like the father, justified and approved. Christ as righteousness covers the returned son. Although this satisfied the father the son might have said, “Father, I do not care as much about the robe as I care about my empty stomach. Father, I am hungry. You are satisfied, but I am not.” This was why the father told the servants to prepare the fatted calf, process it, and put it on the table. The father said, “Let us all eat and be merry.” Who is that fatted calf? The calf is Christ who was processed on the cross over nineteen hundred years ago. After He was processed on the cross, He became the life-giving Spirit in resurrection (1 Cor. 15:45).
Where is Christ today? Where did He go after He was processed after His death and resurrection? Undoubtedly, He went into the heavens. However, if He were only in the heavens, it would be impossible for people to eat Him. The heavens are too far away. But Christ is not only in the heavens (8:34), but also in us (8:9), even in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). The dining table is our spirit. After being processed Christ became the life-giving Spirit. The processed Christ is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). He has come into our spirit as life and as the life supply for our enjoyment.
This is not my concept. Although Christ is life, it is difficult for Christ to give you life. Who gives life? It is the Spirit that gives life (John 6:63; 2 Cor. 3:6). Christ is life, but it is the Spirit who gives us Christ as life. Without the Spirit Christ may be life, but Christ as life cannot be given to us. By being the Spirit Christ is imparted into us as life. Today, after being processed, the very Christ is the life-giving Spirit. Now in our spirit we may enjoy this wonderful Spirit. Never forget that Christ is the very God, Jehovah the Savior, God with us. Christ is God. This Christ, after being processed, is now the life-giving Spirit. We have to enjoy Him in His fullness as such a Spirit. Our regenerated spirit is the dining table, and the processed Christ is our food. He is not food in a physical form, but in the form of the Spirit. Our food is the Spirit. What a rich Spirit this is! Divinity, humanity, love, light, life, power, righteousness, holiness, grace—everything we need is in the Spirit. Romans 8 certainly is this dining table. (Life-Study of Romans, msg. 14)
THE APOSTLE BRINGING US INTO
THE BLENDING LIFE OF THE ENTIRE BODY OF CHRIST
BY RECOMMENDATIONS AND GREETINGS
We must follow in the footsteps of the apostle. He brought us into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ by recommendations and greetings that the God of peace may crush Satan under our feet and that we may enjoy the rich grace of Christ (vv. 1-16, 21-24, 20). In Romans 16 the apostle Paul greeted the saints, one by one, mentioning at least twenty-seven names, including Phoebe, a deaconess of the church in Cenchrea, and Prisca and Aquila. Moreover, he greeted the saints generally. This shows us that he had a considerable amount of knowledge, understanding, and care with regard to every one of them. Such recommendations and greetings show both the mutual concern among the saints and the mutual fellowship among the churches. It is by the churches’ fellowship in the Body that the God of peace will crush Satan under our feet and we will be able to enjoy the rich grace of Christ. This grace is the manifestation of the Triune God in His embodiment in three aspects—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
CARRYING OUT THE MYSTERY KEPT IN SILENCE IN THE TIMES
OF THE AGES CONCERNING GOD’S COMPLETE SALVATION
IN THE FULFILLMENT OF GOD’S ETERNAL ECONOMY
Through the fellowship in the Body, the crushing of Satan, and the enjoyment of grace, we can carry out the mystery kept in silence in the times of the ages concerning the complete salvation of God in the fulfillment of the eternal economy of God for the Gentiles to have the obedience of faith unto glory to the only wise God through Jesus Christ (vv. 25-27).
We must have the reality of the fellowship and blending of the Body of Christ. Otherwise, regardless of how much we pursue and how simple and humble we are, sooner or later there will be problems, even divisions, among us. Hence, we must be governed by the vision of the Body and follow in the footsteps of the apostle by bringing all the saints in all the churches into the blending life of the entire Body of Christ. This is to reign in life, and by such reigning we give glory to God. This glory is the New Jerusalem, the universal incorporation of the union and mingling of divinity with humanity, in which God will be completely glorified and His economy will be fully accomplished.
In its conclusion Romans, which gives a general discussion of the Christian life, gives glory to the wise God. This unveils that all the matters discussed in this book are planned, managed, and accomplished by God’s wisdom in order that He, the immeasurably rich Triune God, may be glorified, that is, that His incomparable glory may be completely and fully expressed through us who have been perfected eternally by Him and who have become His Body and have been joined to Him as one. The focus of God’s wisdom is the working of His Divine Trinity into the three parts—spirit, soul, and body—of our redeemed being that in His redemption, sanctification, and transformation we may have a full union in the divine life with Him that His desire for the mingling of divinity and humanity, the joining of humanity to divinity, may be fulfilled in eternity. This truly is worthy of our appreciation and worship! This is worthy of our unceasing singing and praise for eternity! We should have this as the center and purpose of both our Christian life and our church life. May all of us who have been chosen and perfected by Him experience His organic salvation in full and reign in His life to be His consummate expression in eternity. (The Experience of God’s Organic Salvation Equaling Reigning in Christ’s Life, msg. 6)