Search
Date: February 8, 1972
Scripture Reading: John 4:24; Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17; Prov. 20:27; Ezek. 36:26-27; John 3:6; Rom. 8:16; 2 Tim. 4:22; 1 Cor. 6:17
In speaking of man, the Bible particularly emphasizes the spirit of man (Zech. 12:1). In this chapter we will focus on the Spirit of God and the spirit of man. The Bible speaks of the spirit of man as well as the Spirit of God. In Ezekiel 36:26 God said, “I will also give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you,” and in verse 27 He said, “I will put My Spirit within you.” These verses speak of both a new spirit and the Spirit of God. On the one hand, God has given us a new spirit; on the other hand, God has put His Spirit within us.
Please note the sequence of these verses. They do not speak of God first putting His Spirit in us and then giving us a new spirit. This would invert the actual sequence, which begins with a new spirit, referring to our spirit that is a vessel to contain God. In order for something to be received, there must be a prepared, receiving vessel. Hence, verse 26 speaks of a new spirit, which is a prepared vessel to contain God, and then verse 27 speaks of God putting His Spirit into this vessel. Our spirit is a vessel to contain God’s Spirit, just as a thermos bottle is a vessel to contain hot water. A thermos bottle must first be prepared so that hot water can be poured into it. These verses show that there are two aspects to spiritual experience — our spirit and God’s Spirit. Our spirit is a vessel, and God’s Spirit is the content. Our spirit is the container for God’s Spirit.
John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” In this verse Spirit refers to God’s Spirit, and spirit refers to our spirit. The divine Spirit begets the human spirit, and the human spirit is born of the divine Spirit. The Spirit begets our spirit. This shows another side to the relationship between God’s Spirit and our spirit. When speaking of our spirit containing God’s Spirit, Ezekiel 36 first mentions our spirit and then God’s Spirit, but when speaking of God’s Spirit begetting our spirit, John 3 first mentions God’s Spirit and then our spirit. Ezekiel 36 speaks of our spirit being prepared to contain the Spirit, whereas John 3 speaks of the Spirit begetting, or enlivening, our prepared spirit.
Furthermore, John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.” Here again the divine Spirit and the human spirit are mentioned. On the one hand, God is Spirit; on the other hand, those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness. This involves two spirits. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.” The witnessing of the divine Spirit is in our human spirit. This witnessing involves two spirits, not just the witnessing of the Spirit or the witnessing of our spirit. Rather, we know that we are children of God because the Spirit witnesses with our spirit. In the Bible there are four places that speak of both the human spirit and the divine Spirit in the same context: Ezekiel 36:26-27 speaks of our human spirit containing the divine Spirit; John 3:6 speaks of the divine Spirit begetting our human spirit; 4:24 speaks of worshipping God who is Spirit in our human spirit; and Romans 8:16 speaks of the divine Spirit witnessing with our human spirit. These verses all refer to the two spirits.
Christianity is full of traditional concepts that are altogether religious and natural. Although it is not our intention to focus on the shortcomings of Christianity, I have received a burden from the Lord to speak concerning the revelation of the Spirit and our human spirit. We should never follow traditional concepts or religious thoughts. When the Lord said, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6), He was speaking to an old Pharisee named Nicodemus, who came to the Lord at night. He did not come during the day to be with the Lord, like the twelve apostles. In fact, there were no old men among the twelve apostles. Neither was Nicodemus mentioned as being among the one hundred and twenty who were praying in the upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:13-15). What is an old man? An old man is a person who is full of preconceptions. A person who is only twenty years old can be an “old young man” if he is full of preconceptions. In contrast, a person who is seventy years old can be a “young old man” if he has no preconceptions. Whether we are old or young does not depend on our age but on the number of concepts and prejudices that we hold on to. The more prejudices and concepts that we have, the older we are; the fewer prejudices and concepts that we have, the younger we are.
Nicodemus was old because he came to the Lord full of religious concepts and traditional thoughts. As soon as he saw the Lord, he said, “Rabbi” (John 3:2). No one told him that the Lord Jesus was a rabbi; this came from his traditional concepts and from the poison of his religious thoughts. John the Baptist did not say, “Behold, the Rabbi,” when he saw the Lord coming to him; he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God” (1:29). Furthermore, when John baptized the Lord, he beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven upon the Lord (v. 32). The testimony of John the Baptist was a testimony related to the Lord as the Lamb of God upon whom God’s Spirit descended.
If Nicodemus had not had any preconceptions about the Lord, he would have come to the Lord and addressed Him as the Lamb of God. It would have been wonderful if he had spoken in this way, but instead, he addressed the Lord as Rabbi. Once he said, “Rabbi,” he exposed that he was fully under the influence of traditional concepts. If he had not had any traditional concepts, he would have heard the testimony of John the Baptist, and he would have spoken of the Lord as the Lamb of God with the Spirit of God.
Nicodemus’s concept that the Lord Jesus came from God to be a great teacher is still present in Christianity. According to this traditional concept, our greatest need is for teaching. Christianity specializes in seminaries in order to cultivate teachers. When Nicodemus, as an old religious man, addressed the Lord Jesus as Rabbi, the Lord did not argue with him. Instead, He answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you...that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (3:5-6). The Lord cares about the Spirit begetting spirit. This is not a matter for a rabbi or a teacher; neither is it related to teachings or doctrines.
It is not easy to know the spirit because the spirit is mysterious and abstract. The Chinese word for prudent contains the character for spirit. A person who is filled in spirit is prudent. If a person has no spirit, his words and actions will be awkward and clumsy. But if he is filled in spirit with the Spirit, he will be very prudent and keen.
Since the spirit is mysterious, many Christians do not see the matter of the spirit when they read the Bible. Although they repeatedly read the Bible, they find only doctrines, teachings, regulations, and creeds. It is easy to touch the trunk, branches, and fruit of an apple tree, but it is not easy to touch the life within the tree. The Bible is like a great apple tree — it is easy to touch its trunk, branches, and fruit, which are all outward, but it is not easy to touch the life within it. However, it is this life that is most precious. Similarly, we can touch the cover of a microphone, but it is not easy to touch the electricity that flows through the microphone. Even with a nice cover, a microphone is useless without electricity. The function of a microphone depends upon its ability to receive electricity. The Bible is like an apple tree with a trunk, branches, and fruit, yet the core of the Bible is a matter of the spirit. The Bible is a book on the spirit. Hence, we should not be like Nicodemus and follow his example in order to learn doctrines, considering the Lord Jesus merely to be a rabbi, a teacher. First Corinthians 15:45 says, “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” Today the Lord Jesus is a life-giving Spirit.
Even though some parents are not Christians, they tell their children that it is better to have some form of religion than to have none. Furthermore, they often recommend Christianity, based on their perception of its superior doctrines. They may even say, “Although Confucius said, ‘What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others,’ Jesus said, ‘All that you wish men would do to you, so also you do to them’” (Matt. 7:12). Thus, they realize that Jesus’ teaching is superior, because Confucius spoke of not doing negative things toward others, while the Lord spoke of doing positive things toward others. If our parents said this to us, how should we respond? We could nod in agreement and say, “Yes, even though Confucius taught concerning negative things, the Lord’s teaching in regard to positive things was extraordinary.” Or we could say, “The Lord Jesus not only gave me superior teaching, but He also is the life-giving Spirit. The Lord Jesus is in me as the living Spirit, not as a doctrine or teaching.” Then we could say, “If a motor has only an instruction manual but no electricity, it has only outward teachings, but once electricity is transmitted into it, it will run. Likewise, without the Spirit of the Lord entering into me, no teaching has any impact. The Lord Jesus has entered into me, and He is living and powerful.”
We need to let our parents know that we have received not Christianity but the living Christ, who is the life-giving Spirit. The Lord Jesus is Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17); He is the Spirit in order to be our Savior. We love the Lord because He is the life-giving Spirit living in us, not because He is the founder of a religion. We even love our parents because Jesus is living in us and daily operating in us, not because we have received the teachings of Jesus. For example, when we are even slightly unhappy with our parents, the Lord Jesus bothers us inwardly.
There is a difference between religion and the Spirit. Our Savior is not a religion, nor is our salvation merely a matter of teaching. Our Savior is the life-giving Spirit. He is more than a rabbi with outward teachings; He is in us as our life. Nicodemus was concerned with religious teachings, but the Lord Jesus was focused on the Spirit when He said, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).
John 3 presents a man who is a teacher of others, and chapter 4 speaks of a disreputable Samaritan woman. Nevertheless, this woman also liked to talk about religion. When the Lord Jesus spoke of living water, she asked the Lord for this living water. However, the Lord responded by asking about her husband, saying, “Go, call your husband and come here” (v. 16). The Lord asked about her husband because the disreputable aspect of her life was related to her many husbands. She responded with a “truthful” lie to the Lord. She answered and said, “I do not have a husband” (v. 17). Although we can lie to others, we can never lie to the Lord Jesus. All our lies will be exposed by the Lord. When the Lord Jesus heard this, He said, “You have well said, I do not have a husband, for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly” (vv. 17-18). As soon as the Lord spoke truthfully about her condition, she changed the subject from her husband to religion and worship, saying, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, yet you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men must worship” (vv. 19-20).
At first, the Samaritan woman spoke about whether or not worship was possible on a mountain and then whether worship needed to be in Jerusalem. She did not want to talk about her husband but about the matter of worship, and according to religious thought, worship is a matter of location and forms. In response, the Lord Jesus told her that worship is not a matter of location or forms, because “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness” (v. 24). When the Lord spoke of God being Spirit, He was referring to the substance of God being Spirit, and since God is Spirit, we must worship in spirit.
Nicodemus discussed matters of doctrine with the Lord, and the Samaritan woman discussed matters of religion. Although people like to talk about doctrines and religion, the Lord always answers with the divine Spirit and our human spirit, that is, the Spirit of God and the spirit of man. If we want to know God, who is Spirit, we must exercise our spirit. We have a spirit, and when our spirit is regenerated by God’s Spirit, we can exercise our spirit to worship God. This is not a matter of doctrine or teaching but a matter of the Spirit and our spirit. God is Spirit, and we have a spirit. Our spirit needs to be regenerated by God’s Spirit, and God needs our spirit to worship Him. When the Spirit begets our spirit, our spirit can worship God, who is Spirit.
No matter what we are doing today, we must be clear that everything will pass away. The only thing that will last forever is the Spirit and our spirit. Only the Spirit and our spirit matter, not religion, teachings, or doctrines.
Many people think that the Gospel of Matthew is quite long and full of doctrines, such as the Lord’s words in chapters 5, 6, and 7, which are known in Christianity as the Sermon on the Mount. However, in 28:19, after the Lord Jesus had spoken concerning so many “doctrines” and prophecies, He said to the disciples, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” All the nations refers to the people in every country of the world. For example, Japanese, Filipinos, Chinese, and Indonesians are included in “all the nations.” The Lord, however, did not charge the disciples to go and preach doctrines to the nations but rather to “disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We need to baptize the Japanese into Christ, the Filipinos into Christ, the Chinese into Christ, and the Indonesians into Christ, that is, into the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — the Triune God.
The Chinese Union Version translates this verse as, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Based on this understanding, Christianity carries out an outward work of baptism. For example, if four people believe in the Lord, a pastor will say, “Dear church members, praise God for giving us four new members today. We hereby baptize them so that they may join the church. We baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Praise God, they were formerly Gentiles, but now they are church members.” Actually, in verse 19, the word in should be translated “into.” Baptism does not merely involve the repetition of the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; rather, baptism involves putting a believer into the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
There is a story of a Catholic priest who was doing a missionary work in a South American country. One day he preached the gospel to a young native, who then believed. The priest baptized the young native by sprinkling him with water. After baptizing him, the priest changed the young native’s name to James. James then nodded and said, “Formerly I was So-and-so, but now I am James.” Catholicism has a custom that forbids the eating of meat on Friday, but it allows for the eating of fish. One Friday James went hunting in the mountains. When he could not find fish, he shot a deer and brought it back to be cooked and eaten. While he was eating, the priest passed by his window, smelled the aroma, and went in to rebuke him, saying, “Do you not know that today is Friday? You cannot eat meat. You should eat fish.” James said, “Yes, I know, but I could find only this deer. Just as you changed my name after sprinkling water on me, I sprinkled some water on this deer and named it fish. This is no longer a deer but a fish. I am eating fish.”
This story shows that in much of Christianity baptism involves merely an outward act. However, this is not the Lord’s view. He charged us to baptize people into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, that is, to baptize people into the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is unrelated to asking people to join a “church.” When we preach the gospel and baptize people, I hope we understand that we are not just baptizing them with water but baptizing them into the Triune God. As the Triune God, the Father is the source and the Son is the expression, and when He enters into man, He is realized as the Spirit. When we baptize people, we are not baptizing them into water only but into the Triune God Himself, into the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Hence, baptism is not a practice that makes people members of a “church.” Rather, it is to put people into the Triune God. Today the Triune God is the Spirit; the Father is the source, the Son is the expression, and the Spirit is the realization. He enters into us, and we enter into Him.
Christians today generally lack knowledge and experience of the Spirit. In an incorrect way other Christians pursue so-called spiritual gifts and speaking in tongues. I am not opposed to speaking in tongues, neither am I disregarding the speaking in tongues that is genuine, but I have seen much so-called speaking in tongues that is just “di di da da,” involving only the speaking of nonsensical sounds. I know what I am speaking about because over thirty years ago in Beijing, I led people to speak in this way. In contrast, on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit who entered into men was full of power, and three thousand were saved. However, we cannot see this kind of result in the Pentecostal movement in Taiwan today. We can see the manifestation of power even less. In recent years the so-called Pentecostal movement on the island of Taiwan was led by a sister. She said that speaking in tongues did not need to be related to a language but merely to sounds from the tongue. Toward the end of her life, she contracted tongue cancer and could not utter any sound. Those around her prophesied that she would be healed and that there would be an unprecedented revival in Taiwan and around the world in 1965 and 1966. But to this day, Taiwan has not witnessed this “unprecedented revival,” and the sister was not healed. Even after she passed away, her followers prophesied that she would be resurrected, but in the end nothing happened after she was buried. We should be cautious about pursuing spiritual gifts and tongues.
The Lord created the heavens and the earth. After His work of creation, He became incarnated in the flesh in order to enter into His creature and be united with man. Moreover, in the flesh He accomplished redemption on the cross and then was resurrected from the dead to become the life-giving Spirit. Today creation, incarnation, and redemption have all been accomplished. He is the life-giving Spirit, and when we call upon Him, He enters into us as the Spirit. The Bible says, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13). Salvation is more than having our sins forgiven and not going to hell; salvation is the Lord as the life-giving Spirit entering into us to be joined with us as one. The Lord’s Word says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17). We should all say, “Hallelujah, we are one spirit with the Lord!” If someone asks us whether we have received the Holy Spirit, we should say, “I have not only received the Holy Spirit; I am one spirit with the Lord.” This is the meaning of salvation.
May the Lord have mercy on His church and His children to show us that we are one spirit with the Lord. We and the Lord, the Lord and we, have been joined as one spirit. This is too glorious. The Lord is the life-giving Spirit, and He is with our spirit every day. In our spirit, He, as the Spirit, witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God. We are in the Spirit, and the Spirit is in us. Our spirit and the Lord’s Spirit, the Lord’s Spirit and our spirit, have been joined as one. Everything depends on the Spirit and our spirit, not on religion, teachings, or gifts, such as tongues.
