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We have seen that for the divine dispensing the Spirit works in the believers by enlightening them, sanctifying them, regenerating them, giving them life, saving them by renewing them, freeing them by His law of life from the law of sin and death, and giving life even to their mortal bodies. In this message we shall cover more aspects of the Spirit’s work in the believers.
Romans 8:11 says that the Spirit gives life to our mortal bodies. As the Spirit dispenses the divine element into our mortal bodies, He puts to death the practices of the body. Romans 8:13 says, “If you live according to flesh, you are about to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live.” The Holy Spirit is working in us to put to death the practices of the body so that we may live. But if we live according to flesh, we are about to die. Of course, this kind of dying is spiritual, not physical. If we live according to flesh, we are about to die in our spirit. However, if by the Spirit we put to death the practices of the body — that is, mortify or crucify them — we shall live in spirit.
Paul’s word in Romans 8:13 corresponds to verse 6, which says that the mind set on the flesh is death and the mind set on the spirit is life. To live according to flesh primarily means to set our mind on the flesh. In order to put to death the practices of the body by the Spirit, we need to set our mind on the spirit and walk according to spirit. When we have our mind set on our spirit, we cooperate with the Spirit’s work to put to death all the practices of the body; thus, we experience the death of Christ. The genuine experience of the co-crucifixion with Christ is in our putting to death by the Spirit the practices of the body. This does not happen once for all; rather, it is a constant, daily exercise. Every practice of the body must be put to death by our setting our mind on the spirit.
If we walk according to spirit and set our mind on the spirit, spontaneously we shall by the Spirit put to death the practices of the body. Then we shall be absolutely under the divine dispensing, and we shall participate in this rich dispensing and enjoy it. Furthermore, if we put to death the practices of the body by the Spirit, we shall automatically be in the Body of Christ in a practical way. If we do not by the Spirit put to death the practices of the body, our body cannot be presented to the Lord for the Body life (Rom. 12:1). In order to have our body presented to God for the Body of Christ, we need to put to death by the Spirit the practices of the body.
The Spirit also works in the believers to supply them with His bountiful supply. In Philippians 1:19 Paul says, “I know that for me this shall turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Here in speaking of the bountiful supply of the Spirit, Paul uses a particular Greek word, choragus. The words “bountiful supply” are not simply a translation of this Greek word but an interpretation of it. Literally, this word refers to the supplying of all the needs of the chorus in ancient times by the leader or director of the chorus, who was called the choragus. Hence, this Greek word implies a bountiful supply. The choragus supplied all the needs of everyone in the chorus, the needs for food, clothing, lodging, and musical instruments. The supply of the choragus truly was bountiful, even all-inclusive. Once a person had joined the chorus, there was no need for him to be concerned about the necessities of life; the choragus would supply whatever he needed. In using the expression “the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,” Paul likens the supply of the Spirit to that of the choragus. Therefore, to have a proper understanding of 1:19, we need the word “bountiful” with the word “supply.” This bountiful supply of the all-inclusive Spirit is for us to live Christ and magnify Him. The supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ is bountiful and all-inclusive. What we have today is not a partial supply but a bountiful, all-inclusive supply.
If the Triune God is to be our experience and enjoyment, He must be the Spirit with the bountiful supply. The Spirit in Philippians 1:19 is actually the Triune God who has passed through a divine process to become available to us as our bountiful supply. Now simply by calling “O Lord Jesus” we can experience the Spirit supplying us. When we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we drink of the Spirit and receive His bountiful supply. Because the Spirit with His supply is subjective to us, He is with us wherever we may be. Simply by calling on the name of Jesus we receive the Spirit, enjoy the Spirit, and experience the Spirit. By calling on the Lord’s name or by praying over even a few words in the Bible, we enjoy the Spirit with His bountiful supply.
Although the Spirit is working to supply us with His bountiful supply, we need to cooperate with Him. Just as we need to breathe in the air supplied to us by God, we need to receive and enjoy the supply of the Spirit, by praying, calling on the Lord, and spending time daily in the Word. Everything we need is in the Spirit with His bountiful supply. Now we should cooperate with the Spirit. This is the reason Paul goes on in Philippians 2:12 and 13 to speak of our obedience to the inward operation of the Triune God. The Spirit’s working requires our cooperation, our obedience.
It is significant that in Philippians 1:19 Paul speaks first of the saints’ petition, then of the bountiful supply of the Spirit. The reason Paul speaks this way is to indicate that the bountiful supply of the compound Spirit is upon the Body of Christ. Paul realized that he was simply a member of this Body. As a member, he needed the supply of the Body. If the Body would be exercised to supply him, the bountiful supply of the Spirit would come to him through the Body.
According to the type in Exodus 30, the compound ointment was used to anoint the tabernacle, God’s dwelling place, as well as all furnishings and utensils used in the service of the tabernacle. Furthermore, the priests were anointed with this compound ointment. This signifies that the supply of the compound Spirit is for the Body of Christ, the church, God’s house, and also for God’s service. If we are not in the Body or if we do not care for God’s service, it will be very difficult for us to partake of the supply of the Spirit. To enjoy the Spirit we need to be part of the tabernacle and of the priesthood, part of God’s dwelling and of His service. Then spontaneously we shall be anointed with the compound Spirit and enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
The Spirit also works in the believers by leading them to live a life as sons of God. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). We know that we are sons of God because we are led by the Spirit. This leading is not accidental nor occasional. Rather, the leading of the Spirit should be habitual, constant. Continuously in our daily living we should be led by the Spirit. If we are continually led by the Spirit, then we are living as sons of God in a practical way.
As sons of God, we have the Spirit’s leading. We have something that functions within us spontaneously and automatically to give us the Lord’s leading. However, we need to cooperate by paying attention to this leading and by honoring it. Sometimes we say that we do not know the Spirit’s leading, when deep within we know it quite well. We may not know it in the mind, but we know it in our spirit. Within our spirit we have the leading of the Spirit. Having the leading of the Spirit, we should honor it and obey it.
We may have a mistaken, natural concept regarding the leading of the Spirit. The leading of the Spirit does not derive from nor depend on outward things. On the contrary, the Spirit’s leading is an issue of the inner life; it comes from the sense of life, from the consciousness of the divine life within us. Hence, the leading of the Spirit is a matter of life, a matter of the sense and consciousness of life. The mind set on the spirit is life (Rom. 8:6). We know this life not by outward things but by the inward sense and consciousness of life. There is an inner sense that comes from setting the mind on the spirit. If our mind is set on the spirit, we are immediately strengthened and satisfied inwardly. We are also watered and refreshed. By this sense and consciousness we know the life within us, and by this sense of life we can know that we are under the leading of the Spirit. Therefore, the leading of the Spirit does not depend on outward things; it depends absolutely on the sense of life within our spirit. The divine life leads us constantly, not by signs or indicators but by giving us an inner sense or consciousness. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. If we are led by outward things, this does not prove that we are sons of God. However, if we are led by the inner sense of the divine life, this indicates that we are sons of God. Because we have the life of God, we have the leading that issues from this life, the leading which indicates that we are sons of God.
The leading of the Spirit which Paul speaks of in Romans 8:14 comes as we walk according to the spirit (v. 4) and set our mind on the spirit. If we walk according to the spirit and set our mind on the spirit, we shall have the leading of the Spirit. We shall have the sense that we are walking, behaving, and living according to the spirit. We should not violate this inner sense or disobey it, for it is truly the leading of the Spirit. When we have this sense within, it indicates that we are being led by the Spirit. Hence, to set our mind on the spirit is to be placed under the leading of the Spirit. The inner life gives us a sense, even in small matters, of whether or not we are under the Spirit’s leading. The leading of the Spirit, therefore, is not derived from the outward environment but from the inner sense and consciousness of the divine life in our spirit. This leading proves that we are sons of God.
The leading of the Spirit by the inner sense of the divine life does not happen as an accident. Like breathing, it is a continual matter in our daily life. Normal breathing is continuous. Because the leading of the Spirit is a matter of life, it should continue normally in every aspect of our daily walk.
The Spirit works in us to lead us to live a life as sons of God. If we do not live and walk according to the leading of the Spirit, we may be the children of God concerning which the Spirit witnesses with our spirit (Rom. 8:16), but we do not have the mark that designates us as the sons of God. We may be God’s children, but we do not have the growth that comes by living and walking according to the leading of the Spirit in life. The leading of the Spirit marks us out as being sons of God in the growth of life.
There is an important difference between the children of God in Romans 8:16 and the sons of God in verse 14. The children of God are in the initial stage of the divine life, the stage that mainly concerns birth, whereas the sons of God are in a more advanced stage, the stage that concerns growth in life. In order to be children of God we need the witnessing of the Spirit with our spirit. But in order to be sons of God we need the leading of the Spirit by the sense of the divine life. As long as we have the witness of the Spirit with our spirit, we have the assurance that we are children of God. However, in order to have the proof, the mark, that we are sons of God we need to have the leading of the Spirit and to live and walk according to the inner sense of the divine life. All real Christians are children of God, having the witness of the Spirit with their spirit, but not all have the mark that they are sons of God growing in the divine life and living and walking according to the leading of the Spirit. Therefore, we all need to go on in the growth in life from the initial stage of being children of God to the more advanced stage, showing that we are sons of God by bearing the distinct mark of the leading of the Spirit in life.
Through the various aspects of the Spirit’s work which we have covered thus far, the believers are washed, sanctified, and justified. First Corinthians 6:11 says, “These things were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” This washing, sanctifying, and justifying are inward and in life. Inwardly the Spirit works to wash, sanctify, and justify the believers in life. First, we are washed from sinful things; second, we are sanctified, separated, unto God; and third, we are justified, accepted, by God.
In 1 Corinthians 6:11 the washing, sanctifying, and justifying are not by the blood in an objective way, as in 1 John 1:7 Hebrews 10:29; and Romans 3:24-25. Here we have the subjective washing, sanctifying, and justifying in the name of the Lord Jesus and in the Spirit. All these aspects of God’s salvation are accomplished in us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, in the person of the Lord, in organic union with the Lord through faith, and in the Spirit of God, that is, in the power and realization of the Holy Spirit. The name of the Lord Jesus is the person, and the person is the Spirit. We cannot separate the name of the Lord from the Spirit, for the Spirit is His person. According to chapters fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen of the Gospel of John, the name cannot be separated from the Spirit. The reason for this is that the name is the person, and the person is the Spirit. When we call, “O Lord Jesus,” the Lord comes. But when He comes to us, He is the Spirit. Paul experienced this. He knew that when he called on the Lord’s name, the Lord came to him as the Spirit. In the name and in the Spirit he experienced the subjective washing, sanctifying, and justifying. This also is our experience. When we call on the name of the Lord, the person comes, and this person is the Spirit. If we continue to call on the name of the Lord, enjoying His name and His Spirit, we shall be continually washed, sanctified, and justified by the Spirit.
The work of the Spirit in washing, sanctifying, and justifying us is actually the dispensing of the Spirit into us. The Spirit dispenses His element into us, and this dispensing of the Spirit is the washing, sanctifying, and justifying work of the Spirit. Therefore, this work of the Spirit is simply to dispense His element and essence into our being in a very subjective way.
The Spirit works in the believers to sanctify them, to separate them entirely for God’s eternal purpose. Romans 15:16 speaks of the Gentile believers being “sanctified in the Holy Spirit.” This is not objective, positional sanctification; it is subjective, dispositional sanctification. God has given His Holy Spirit to us to sanctify us, to separate us unto God for His purpose. Thus, the Holy Spirit is moving, working, and acting within us constantly to sanctify us.
Second Thessalonians 2:13 says, “God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit.” God has chosen us unto salvation in sanctification, and this sanctification is of the Spirit. God’s salvation is in sanctification. This means that God’s salvation involves a continuing process through which we are being made holy. As this process is taking place, we enjoy God’s saving power.
For us to be in sanctification means that we are in the process of being made holy. Day by day we are being sanctified. The One who sanctifies us is the Spirit. This is the reason the Bible speaks of the sanctification of the Spirit. All day long the Spirit is sanctifying us, applying to us what the Father has planned and what the Son has accomplished. We have such a practical, living, and subjective Sanctifier.
As far as sanctification is concerned 2 Thessalonians 2:13 is all-inclusive. Paul says here that God’s salvation is in the sanctification of the Spirit. This means that the part played in salvation by the Father and the Son are in the sanctification of the Spirit. Therefore, without the sanctification of the Spirit, there would be no way to apply what the Father and the Son have done for us. What the Father and the Son have done for us is applied to us by the Spirit. Paul refers to this application as sanctification of the Spirit. The salvation of the Triune God, therefore, is carried out in the sanctification of the Spirit.
Sanctification separates us unto God by putting a mark on us. This mark is actually the Triune God Himself. Whenever we are sanctified, we are marked with the Triune God. As a result, others can see the Triune God in us. Furthermore, this mark is increasing and becoming more intensified. Year after year, this mark is being wrought into us. This is the work of the Spirit in sanctification. By the sanctifying work of the Spirit we are being saved. Furthermore, in this way we live a holy life for the church life.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:13 and 14 we see that salvation in sanctification of the Spirit is unto the obtaining of the glory of Christ to express God. Sanctification of the Spirit is the divine transformation. By this we are thoroughly saved from all old and negative things and made a new creation to obtain the Lord’s glory.
First Peter 1:2 speaks of “the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” Sanctification of the Spirit here is not the sanctification which is after justification through the redemption of Christ, as revealed in Romans 6:19, 22; 15:16. Here sanctification of the Spirit is before the obedience of faith in Christ’s redemption, that is, before justification through Christ’s redemption (1 Cor. 6:11), indicating that the believers’ obedience unto faith in Christ results from the Spirit’s sanctifying work.
Concerning the sanctification of the Spirit, there are two aspects. The first aspect of this sanctification precedes justification and carries out God’s choice, His selection, and brings the chosen ones to the obedience and sprinkling of the blood for their justification. Thus, this aspect of the Spirit’s initial sanctification is before justification through the redemption of Christ. Then, following justification, the Spirit continues to work to sanctify us dispositionally. The sequence is this: God’s selection, the Spirit’s sanctification, justification, and then subjective sanctification. Before we can have subjective sanctification of the Spirit, we must have the first aspect of the Spirit’s sanctification, the sanctifying work that takes place before God’s justification.
In eternity past God, according to His foreknowledge, chose us. He selected us and made a decision to gain us. Then in time the Spirit came to us to sanctify us, to set us apart from the world, so that we would obey Christ’s redemption. The Spirit came to separate us for the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Christ. When we obey, the blood sprinkles us. It is the sanctifying Spirit who separates us from the world unto the obedience of Christ’s blood. First we repent and believe, and then we obey what Christ has done on the cross. Following this, we receive the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. This is the sanctifying work of the Spirit following God’s selection to carry out God’s choice and to bring us to Christ’s redemption.
The sanctifying work of the Spirit began before God’s justification and continues afterward. Before justification, we were separated unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Christ. After justification we are sanctified continually, subjectively, dispositionally. In 1 Peter 1:2 we have the first, initial aspect; in Romans 6:19 and 22, the second, continual aspect; and in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the all-inclusive sanctification of the Spirit. The goal of this sanctification is to carry out God’s full salvation.
The New Testament indicates that the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit began even before our repentance. Actually, without the Spirit’s work in sanctification, no sinners would repent. This is portrayed by the three parables in Luke 15. In the second parable the woman, signifying the Holy Spirit, enlightens the house to seek the lost coin. In the third parable the prodigal son eventually comes to himself, that is, wakes up, and decides to return to his father. The waking up of the prodigal son in the third parable is the result of the searching of the woman in the second parable. This indicates that apart from the Spirit’s searching and enlightening us, we would never wake up and repent. This is the reason that in 1 Peter 1:2 the sanctification of the Spirit comes before the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. Without the searching of the Spirit in His sanctifying work, we could not repent and return to God. Therefore, even before we believed and repented, the Spirit did His sanctifying work to separate us to God and to bring us to repentance.
We were chosen by God the Father in eternity past. This was done according to the Father’s foreknowledge, and it is carried out in time in the initial sanctification of the Spirit. All believers were chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, and unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. The divine foreknowledge was exercised, and the sanctification of the Spirit followed unto the obedience of faith in Christ. Our believing in Christ, therefore, results from the Spirit’s sanctifying work. We were sanctified, separated, by the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. This means that the result of the Spirit’s sanctification is our participating in the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Sanctification brought us to the sprinkling of the blood shed by the Savior on the cross and separated us unto this divine provision. Now we are redeemed ones. We were chosen by God the Father, sanctified by the Spirit, and sprinkled by the blood of Jesus Christ.
The sanctifying work of the Spirit is also a matter of the divine dispensing. When we heard the gospel, the Spirit began to sanctify us by dispensing the Triune God into our being. Through this dispensing we repented and believed in the Lord Jesus. From that time onward, the Spirit has been separating us and saturating us by dispensing the Triune God into us.
As the Spirit sanctifies us, He imparts God’s life into us. When we were saved and regenerated, we received God’s life. However, this does not mean that we received God’s life in a total sense. Although we have received God’s life, we still need more impartation of God’s life into us each day. This is a gradual process that goes on during our entire life. No matter how experienced we may be in the spiritual life, this process of life imparting must still go on within us. As the Spirit carries out His sanctifying work, He imparts more of God’s life into us. This imparting of life always accompanies the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Without His work of sanctification, He could not impart God’s life into us. Life imparting is always included within the Spirit’s sanctifying work. The extent to which the impartation of life will proceed depends on the degree He is able to sanctify us. The impartation of life is always the issue of sanctification. Thus, life imparting and sanctifying work together. As the Spirit sanctifies us, He gives us life.
