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I. Of the Spirit of life, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (the pneumatic Christ), and the Spirit of resurrection indwelling our spirit — Rom. 8:2, 9-11:
А. To free us from the law of sin and of death, releasing us from the lusts of the flesh by the law of life — v. 2; 7:17-25.
B. To give life to our mortal bodies and to put to death the practices of the body — 8:11b, 13b.
II. With our spirit, the regenerated spirit of the believers in Christ indwelt by the Spirit — vv. 16a, 11b:
А. To witness that we are children of God, even heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, possessing the spirit of sonship to cry, “Abba, Father” — vv. 16-17a, 15.
B. To pray with groanings by the interceding Spirit — v. 26.
III. Forming a mingled spirit — vv. 4-5:
А. He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit — 1 Cor. 6:17.
B. By the mutual abiding of the Spirit with our spirit — Rom. 8:11b; 1 John 3:24.
The one spiritual, practical, and experiential union is of the Spirit of life, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (the pneumatic Christ), and the Spirit of resurrection indwelling our spirit (Rom. 8:2, 9-11), with our spirit, the regenerated spirit of the believers. The Spirit and life are mentioned in Romans 8:2, but only in connection with the working of the law of the Spirit of life. Life is the content and issue of the Spirit, and the Spirit is the ultimate and consummate manifestation of the Triune God after His being processed through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection and becoming the indwelling life-giving Spirit, who is life to all the believers in Christ. The law that has freed us from the law of sin, which is of Satan, who dwells in the members of our fallen body (7:23, 17), is of this Spirit of life. It is this law, not God or the Spirit, that works in us to deliver us from the working of the law of sin in our flesh and to enable us to know God and gain God and thereby live Him out. This law of the Spirit of life is the spontaneous power of the Spirit of life. Such a spontaneous law works automatically under the condition that fulfills its requirements (see footnote 2 on 8:4, Recovery Version). Both Satan and God, after entering into our being and dwelling in us, work within us not by outward, objective activities but by inward, subjective laws. The working of the law of the Spirit of life is the working of the processed Triune God in our spirit; this is also the working of the Triune God in us in His life.
The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are not two Spirits but one. Paul uses these titles interchangeably, indicating that the indwelling Spirit of life in 8:2 is the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit of the entire Triune God. God, the Spirit, and Christ — the three of the Godhead — are all mentioned in verse 9. However, there are not three in us; there is only one, the triune Spirit of the Triune God (John 4:24; 2 Cor. 3:17; Rom. 8:11). The Spirit of God implies that this Spirit is of the One who was from eternity past, who created the universe and is the origin of all things. The Spirit of Christ implies that this Spirit is the embodiment and reality of Christ, the incarnated One. This is the Spirit of Christ in resurrection, that is, Christ Himself dwelling in our spirit (v. 10) to impart Himself, the embodiment of the processed Triune God, into us as resurrection life and power to deal with the death that is in our nature (v. 2). Thus, we may live today in Christ’s resurrection, in Christ Himself, by living in the mingled spirit.
We must put to death the practices of the body, but we must do it by the Spirit (v. 13). On the one hand, we must take the initiative to put to death the practices of the body; the Spirit does not do it for us. On the other hand, we should not attempt to deal with our body by relying on our own effort without the power of the Holy Spirit. Inwardly, we must allow Him to make His home in us so that He may give life to our mortal body (v. 11). Outwardly, we must put to death the practices of our body so that we may live. When we take the initiative to put to death the practices of our body, the Spirit comes in to apply the effectiveness of Christ’s death to those practices, thus killing them.
God’s organic salvation is carried out by the two divine transfers, out of Adam into Christ and out of the flesh into the Spirit, in one spiritual union. This is for us to reign in life with grace over all things unto eternal life. All the things mentioned in Romans 5 through 16 are under the reigning in life, and the totality, the aggregate, of the eternal life is the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is the divine and human constitution, which is just Christ as the Son of Man. Since the Son has been incorporated with us, we and the Son become the incorporation, the uplifted standing stairway, the ladder that joins earth to heaven and brings heaven to earth.
The one spiritual, practical, and experiential union is of the Spirit with our spirit, the regenerated spirit of the believers in Christ indwelt by the Spirit (vv. 16a, 11b). The two spirits are united together to be in one union. It is not only that the Spirit witnesses and our spirit witnesses also. Rather, it is that the Spirit witnesses with our spirit. This indicates that our spirit must take the initiative to witness first; then the Spirit will witness with our spirit. This reveals that the Spirit of God today, the all-inclusive Spirit of the Triune God, dwells in our regenerated human spirit and works in our spirit. These two spirits are one; they live together, work together, and exist together as one mingled spirit.
The Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God and heirs of God. This means that we will inherit God. We are joint heirs with Christ and possess the spirit of sonship to cry, “Abba, Father” (vv. 16-17a, 15). Abba is an Aramaic word that means “father,” and Father is the translation of the Greek word Pater. Such a term was used first by the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane while He was praying to the Father (Mark 14:36). The combining of the Aramaic title with the Greek title expresses a stronger affection in crying to the Father. Such an affectionate cry implies an intimate relationship in life between a genuine son and a begetting father. After being regenerated, we are no longer merely God’s creatures; we are His children. Because we have now been born of God and are related to Him in life, it is very normal and sweet for us to call Him Father. When we cry, “Abba, Father,” there is the witnessing of the Spirit. Such a witnessing testifies to us and assures us that we are the children of God, who possess His life; it also limits us and restricts us to a living and walk that are according to this life, in keeping with our being children of God. The Spirit witnesses to our most basic and elementary relationship with God, namely, that we are His children. Therefore, this witnessing of the Spirit begins from the time of our spiritual birth, our regeneration.
The Spirit of life and our regenerated spirit become one in one spiritual union. We then pray with groanings by the interceding Spirit (Rom. 8:26). We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit is with us in like manner and helps us in our weakness. The weakness here is our ignorance of how we should pray. We do not know the kind of prayer God desires, and we are not clear how to pray, according to the burden we feel, for our being conformed to the image of God’s Son; hence, we groan (v. 23). In our groaning, the Spirit groans also, interceding for us. His interceding is mainly that we may experience the transformation in life for growth into the maturity of sonship so that we may be fully conformed to the image of God’s Son (v. 29).
God’s complete salvation is in one spiritual, practical, and experiential union of the Spirit of life with our spirit, forming a mingled spirit. The practical union is by the two divine transfers in one spiritual union for us to reign in life by enjoying the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness. This union is of the Spirit of life, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (the pneumatic Christ), and the Spirit of resurrection indwelling our spirit. The one spiritual union is with our spirit, the regenerated spirit of the believers in Christ indwelt by the Spirit, forming a mingled spirit. The two spirits are not only united to be a union; they are also mingled to be a mingled spirit.
The Spirit of life is the Spirit of Christ, and Christ corresponds with the law of God. This Spirit within us spontaneously fulfills all the righteous requirements of the law through us when we walk according to Him. The requirements that we must fulfill in order that the law of the Spirit of life (which has already been installed in us) may work are: (1) to walk according to the spirit (v. 4); (2) to mind the things of the Spirit — to set the mind on the spirit (vv. 5-6); (3) to put to death by the Spirit the practices of the body (v. 13); (4) to be led by the Spirit as sons of God (v. 14); (5) to cry to the Father in the spirit of sonship (v. 15); (6) to witness that we are the children of God (v. 16); and (7) to groan for the full sonship, the redemption of our body (v. 23).
It is difficult to discern the word spirit used in Romans 8, in Galatians 5, and in other places in the New Testament, unless it is clearly designated to denote God’s Holy Spirit or our regenerated human spirit, as in Romans 8:9 and 16. According to the usage in the New Testament, the word spirit as used in Romans 8:4 denotes our regenerated human spirit indwelt by and mingled with the Spirit, who is the consummation of the Triune God (v. 9). This corresponds with 1 Corinthians 6:17: “He who is joined to the Lord [who is the Spirit — 2 Cor. 3:17; 1 Cor. 15:45] is one spirit” — one mingled spirit.
Being joined to the Lord refers to the believers’ organic union with the Lord through believing into Him (John 3:15-16). This union is illustrated by that of the branches with the vine (15:4-5). It is a matter not only of life but in life (the divine life). Such a union with the resurrected Lord can only be in our spirit. One spirit in 1 Corinthians 6:17 indicates the mingling of the Lord as the Spirit with our spirit. Our spirit has been regenerated by the Spirit of God (John 3:6), who is now in us (1 Cor. 6:19) and is one with our spirit (Rom. 8:16). This is the realization of the Lord, who became the life-giving Spirit through resurrection (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17) and who is now with our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). This mingled spirit is often referred to in Paul’s Epistles, as in Romans 8:4-6.
It is by the all-inclusive, compound, life-giving Spirit (see footnote 4 on Phil. 1:19, Recovery Version) that we are born of God, we receive the divine life as the divine seed in us, we have the fellowship of the divine life, we are anointed with the Triune God, and we abide in the Lord. This wonderful Spirit is given to us as the promised blessing of the New Testament (Gal. 3:14); He is given without measure by the Christ who is above all, who inherits all, and who is to be increased universally (John 3:30-35). This Spirit and the eternal life (v. 15) are the basic elements by which we live the life that abides in the Lord continuously. Hence, it is by this Spirit, who witnesses assuringly with our spirit, that we are the children of God (Rom. 8:16) and that we know that the Lord of all abides in us (1 John 4:13). It is through this Spirit that we are joined to the Lord as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), and it is by this Spirit that we enjoy the riches of the Triune God (2 Cor. 13:14).
