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Scripture Reading: John 3:6; 4:24; 6:63; Rom. 8:16 1 Cor 6:17; 2 Cor. 3:17-18; 1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12
In the previous chapter we saw the picture that God has presented to us throughout the Scriptures. After creating the heavens and the earth, God made a man from the dust of the earth — a man of clay (Gen. 2:7). God’s intention in making this man of clay was to transform him into something very precious, as implied by the figures of gold, bdellium (pearls), and precious stones (2 Cor. 3:17-18; Gen. 2:11-12). According to the picture in the Scriptures, God is seeking for a group of the men of clay to be transformed into His image, that is, transformed into something precious to Him, and to be built together as a living organism to be the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 3:9, 12; 1 Pet. 2:5; Eph. 4:16).
Now we must go on to see how this man of clay can be transformed, figuratively speaking, into gold, pearls, and precious stones. Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” Those who know something about chemistry are familiar with how transformation takes place. For instance, let us say we have a cup containing chemical matter. If we want to cause this chemical matter to be transformed into something else, we must add something to it. Only when some other matter is put into the cup does the original chemical matter begin to be transformed. As men of clay, we all bear the name Adam. Since we are all Adam — men of clay — we, like the chemical matter in the example above, need to be transformed.
We who have been saved by the Lord cannot deny that we have already been transformed to at least some degree. This means that our name is no longer Adam but Christ. Perhaps you may hesitate to say this. Let us therefore turn to another illustration — a cup of tea. Although we call tea simply “tea,” what we call tea is actually tea put into, mingled, and blended with water. In the same way that we do not hesitate to say that this is tea, we who have Christ in us and Christ mingled with us should not hesitate to say that we are Christ (cf. Phil. 1:21; 1 Cor. 12:12). Perhaps the reason you still hesitate to call yourself Christ is that, since you have only recently believed, there is not much Christ in you. According to the tea example, whether it is strong or weak, it is still called tea. Even though it is tea-water, we still call it tea. We are men made of clay. Yet the moment we believed in the Lord Jesus and accepted Him as our Savior, the Lord Jesus came into us as the Spirit. Now Christ is in us (Col. 1:27; Gal. 2:20), and we are Christ. Therefore, to a certain extent, we men of clay are now pieces of transformed stone. While formerly we had been only men of clay, Christ has been put into us and become mingled and blended with us. Just as tea is no longer just water but tea-water, since we have received Christ into us, we are no longer just men — we are Christ-men.
Since Christ has been added into us, a spiritual reaction has taken place within us in the same way that a chemical reaction takes place. Something divine, heavenly, and spiritual was added into us. By being mingled and blended with Christ in regeneration, we were transformed from men of clay into men of gold, pearl, and precious stones. This is a wonderful, divine, and glorious fact.
At the time of our salvation, Christ was added into us. But we must go on to see to which part of us He was added. As human beings, we have three parts: a spirit, a soul, and a body (1 Thes. 5:23). Our body is our physical organ and is the most outward part of our being. Our soul is more inward and is composed of the mind, emotion, and will (cf. Psa. 139:14; Prov. 2:10; Job 7:15; 1 Sam. 18:1 S. S. 1:7). Our mind is for thinking, our emotion is for feeling, and our will is for choosing and deciding. Our innermost part is the spirit.
Hebrews 4:12 says, “The word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” According to this verse, the soul and the spirit are two separate parts of our being, since they can be divided. An illustration may help us know how we can actually discern the difference between the spirit and the soul. Once, a brother I knew lost his son. The day that his son died was exceedingly sad for him. Because I wanted to do something to comfort and help him, I went to his home. When I arrived, even before I had said anything, the brother said to me, “Brother Lee, praise the Lord! On the one hand, I am deeply sorrowful. On the other hand, in my inmost part, I am so happy.” This brother was sad in his soul. At the same time, he was happy in the spirit. Because he had such a close, intimate relationship with his son, his emotions, a part of his soul, were very much involved with him. Thus, when his son died, he became very sad in his emotions. Yet this brother also had another part, the deepest part of his being, his spirit. In that part he was happy. Miss M. E. Barber once wrote a hymn in which she expresses a similar thought: “Let the spirit praise Thee, / Though the heart be riv’n” (Hymns, #377). The heart is composed of all the parts of the soul (mind, emotion, and will) plus the conscience (Matt. 9:4; Heb. 4:12; Acts 11:23; John 16:22; Heb. 10:22; 1 John 3:20). Because the spirit and the soul are distinct, although our soul may be in one condition, our spirit can be in a very different condition. This shows us how the spirit is distinct from the soul.
With the three parts of our being — body, soul, and spirit — we contact three worlds. With our body we contact the physical world. With our soul we contact the psychological world, in which we appreciate such things as music and art and feel emotions such as sorrow or happiness. With our spirit we contact the spiritual world, where God, who is Spirit, is (John 4:24). If we want to contact the physical world, we must use our body. If we want to contact the psychological world, we must use our soul. If we want to contact God as the Spirit, we must use our spirit. Here we see a principle: In order to contact something in any of these three worlds, we must use the corresponding part, or organ, of our being. Only the corresponding organ is the correct organ for touching those things. If we close our eyes and attempt to appreciate colors with our ears, the colors seem to disappear. Although the colors still exist, we cannot substantiate them, because we are not using the right organ. Similarly, we cannot substantiate music if we do not use our ears. Also, our nose functions to smell things. Yet when we have a cold, our nose’s function is hindered, and we cannot smell, even though odors are still present. Thus, in order to substantiate any particular substance, we must exercise the proper organ.
There is a God, and this God is Spirit, but because human beings in general do not know how to exercise their spirit, they ask, “Who is God?” and “Where is God?” These questions are as foolish as those of a man who, having closed his eyes, questions the existence of color. Regardless of how strongly the man believes and feels that there is no color, color continues to exist. God is here, but we cannot use our eyes to see Him, our ears to hear Him, or our nose to smell Him, because they are the wrong organs. The only organ by which we can substantiate God is our spirit. John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.” Since God is Spirit, if we want to worship Him, we must do so with our spirit.
One day when one of my daughters was very young, I gave her something sweet to drink. In an attempt to drink it, however, some of it got in her nose. Consequently, instead of enjoying the drink, she suffered. The reason that she suffered was not because of the drink itself; it was because she used the wrong organ in her attempt to drink it. In the same way, we cannot sense God directly with our soul, specifically our mentality. Despite this fact, many people use only their soul when considering God. Some who study science say that they cannot find or contact God. Eventually, they may say that there is no God at all. Because they use the wrong organ — their soul — they cannot find God, for God is not in the psychological realm and therefore cannot be found there. If these same scientists were to use their spirit to contact God, who is Spirit, they would sense Him. In order to sense the presence of God, we must use the right organ; we must use our spirit.
Having a clearer understanding of the three parts of man, we can now consider into which of these three parts the Lord Jesus has come. When the Lord Jesus entered into us at the time of our regeneration, He came into our spirit. The Scriptures are very clear on this point. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” Having been joined to the Lord, He and we are one spirit. This shows us that when the Lord came into us, He came into our spirit. Also, Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.” In this verse we see that the two spirits — the divine Spirit and the human spirit — work together and that the Spirit of God works in our spirit. As these two spirits work together, they are mingled together as one spirit. They are mingled to the point that it is difficult to discern which spirit is which. These two verses show us that the divine Spirit has come into our human spirit, and these two spirits have been mingled together to become one spirit.
Now that Christ is in our spirit, we must consider what is taking place in our soul, that is, in our mind, emotion, and will. This is a matter of critical importance. Once Christ our Savior came into our spirit, our spirit was transformed. Nevertheless, it is quite possible that our mind, emotion, and will have not been transformed. Christ is in our spirit, but He may not be in our soul. We all need to be transformed in our soul (2 Cor. 3:18 Rom 12:2).
Sometimes we may enjoy praying to the Lord and exercising our spirit. Then after praying, we feel that we can love all the saints. But before long it becomes clear that we are not actually able to love all the saints. Such an experience may be confusing to us. After all, when we were praying, did we not sense Christ and experience Him? When we prayed, we exercised our spirit to contact Him as the Spirit, and this resulted in our touching our spirit and experiencing, enjoying, and sensing Him. Nevertheless, even after we pray, it is still possible for us to use our natural man — our natural thought, natural emotion, and natural will — to make decisions without Christ. This is possible because although we have Christ indwelling our spirit, we do not have Christ in the organ of our soul, and the functions of our soul have not yet been transformed. This kind of experience is very typical in the Christian life.
For the sake of illustration, let us suppose that I am a single brother who lives with another young brother. It is a fact that in my innermost being I love this brother and that the more I pray and contact Christ in my spirit, the more I love him. Nevertheless, I have peculiar thoughts, and the brother with whom I live has peculiar habits. My peculiar thoughts are incompatible with his peculiar habits. As a result of our conflicting peculiarities, I may become disgusted with this brother. Not only so, his peculiarities may cause me to become angry. Even though I genuinely love this brother and wish that there would be no difficulties between us, it is difficult for me to bear him, and I feel that I cannot go on living with him. My struggle is an indication that although I have been regenerated in my spirit, I am not yet transformed in my mind, emotion, and will. Although I have Christ in my spirit, I do not have Him in my soul. In my spirit I am completely transformed into the image and likeness of Christ, but in my mind, emotion, and will I am still like the people in the world. Figuratively speaking, although in my spirit I am gold, in my mind, emotion, and will I am full of dust and clay.
Were it not for the Lord’s giving us such tests, we may think that our condition is proper and may not realize that we remain untransformed. For instance, perhaps I love the brother with whom I live, and we get along very well together. Even if I feel that I love that brother so much and that there are no problems between us, I still have the old man, the natural man, the man of clay. It is only when tests come that we realize the true nature of our “clay” condition. When the Lord sends peculiar brothers to us, it is as if He is causing water to be poured on a lump of clay. In the same way that the lump of clay cannot bear the water and becomes mud, we cannot tolerate certain ones. When we are tested, we realize that we are still the old man and have the old mind, old emotion, and old will.
We are natural men, men of clay, until, by the grace of God, the Christ who is in our spirit increases and expands within our being to spread outward from our spirit and saturate our soul with all of its parts. After Christ spreads within us and saturates the parts of our soul, we will love the brothers without effort. At that point, it simply will not matter how peculiar a brother is. We will even tell the Lord, “Lord, I praise You. This dear brother is very precious to me.” We must be full of faith in this matter.
When I was young, soon after I was called by the Lord, I went to Shanghai and stayed there with some young brothers. What I experienced there was very similar to what I have described above. Before I went to Shanghai, I had prayed, “Lord, I am aware that when I arrive in Shanghai, several other brothers will stay with me. Lord, help me love them. Regardless of who they are or how they behave, enable me to love them.” After I arrived, I asked the Lord every morning to help me love the brothers. Before long, it seemed that all the brothers who were staying with me were peculiar. There was nowhere that I could go to escape them. After one incident in which I became upset at a brother, I went to my lodging, knelt on the floor, and prayed, “Lord, forgive me. I really cannot love these brothers.” I was an example of a man who was regenerated in his spirit but not transformed in his soul. Even though my spirit loved the brothers, my soul remained old and natural.
When we contact other Christians, we may have the feeling that they are all peculiar. Generally, we feel that while everyone else is peculiar, we ourselves are quite normal. Based upon this, we may feel that we cannot love them. Their odd habits or character flaws often give rise to our becoming disgusted with them. Eventually, we may dislike and even despise them. If this problem is left unchecked, it may even cause us to become very unhappy in the church life.
After about two and a half years of being in Shanghai, the Lord increased and spread within me. When I had another opportunity to stay with some brothers and a situation arose that would have previously caused me to become angry, I was not moved. I was able to love them not only in my spirit but even in my mind, emotion, and will. I genuinely loved them. One week after I had been dealt with, the brother whose peculiarity had been so bothersome to me was delivered from his peculiarity as well.
Even though we have the image of God, in our natural state we have nothing precious within us; we are only men of clay. God’s intention is to transform us men of clay into His image in a full way so that we would be as precious as gold, pearls, and precious stones. The way that this happens is very simple. First, the Lord Jesus comes into our spirit to be the inward element, thereby transforming our spirit. From that time onward, as long as we cooperate with Him, He will increase within us and spread from our spirit into our soul. On the day He returns, even our physical body, the very outer part of our being, will be saturated with His element (Phil. 3:21). At that time our very body will be saturated with the Spirit. When He returns, He will be glorified in us, we will be manifested with Him in glory, and we will be like Him (Col. 3:4; 2 Thes. 1:10; 1 John 3:2). This is the intention that God has planned to fulfill with us.
