Search
Scripture Reading: Gen. 1:26; Zech. 12:1; Job 32:8; Prov. 20:27; John 4:24; 1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12; John 3:6; 2 Tim. 4:22
Everything in heaven and on earth is mysterious. The human body is a mystery, and everything related to man’s inner being is even more of a mystery. However, the most mysterious thing about man is the human spirit.
Some people speak of man’s personality as being the deepest part of his being, but according to the Bible, the deepest part of man is the human spirit (Zech. 12:1; Job 32:8). Among all the creatures created by God, only man has a spirit. No other living creature has a spirit. Man is different from other creatures because he has a spirit.
The Bible says that God created man with a human spirit. God’s creation of man was different from His creation of animals and plants because God made man in His own image. God’s image is a mystery. He is invisible to man. Nevertheless, Genesis 1 says that God made man in His own image (vv. 26-27). Subsequent books of the Bible reveal that God’s image is not a matter of a visible or tangible form but a matter of what He is, His nature.
We can enumerate many items of what God is, such as love, light, holiness, and righteousness. European and American laws are based mainly on the Ten Commandments that God gave in Exodus 20. The Ten Commandments reveal that God is love, light, holiness, and righteousness. The laws that a person makes are an expression of his person. The Ten Commandments were enacted by God, so they show that God is love, light, holiness, and righteousness. This is God’s image. God’s image is what He is. God created man according to what He is. God is love, light, holiness, and righteousness, so He created man with these virtues. To God these virtues are His reality, His attributes, whereas to us they are His image.
A glove is made according to the shape of a hand so that the glove can contain the hand. A glove has the form and image of a hand, but it is not the reality of the hand. For example, kindness and truthfulness are human virtues, but these virtues are limited in man because they are merely the image of God in man, not the reality of God. God’s intention is to enter into man to be the reality of these virtues. Followers of Confucius talk about developing and magnifying the bright virtue, but the Bible says that God is the Creator, the source, of every virtue and that He is the reality of every virtue. Hence, man must receive God as his content, reality, and life so that God can express His attributes in and through man’s virtues. Our human virtues can be compared to a glove; God’s attributes can be compared to a hand. Our human virtues should contain and express God’s attributes.
In every stage of human life, people testify that they feel empty and vain; they have a sense of emptiness. No matter how much they attain or what they accomplish, they still feel empty and vain and desire to be filled. They are like an empty glove that is not serving its purpose, because it does not contain a hand.
A few cases can prove that man has a spirit. For example, the body lusts after many things, and a person’s lustful inclinations result in numerous falls. When a person acts according to his lustful inclinations, his will disapproves and tries to restrict him. Chinese metaphysicists call this “the battle between reason and lust.” Paul expounds on this in Romans 7, and his exposition is much clearer than the teachings of these metaphysicists. Paul says that he willed to do good, but when he tried to do good, he realized that there was a law of sin in his members (v. 23). The will to do good is what the Chinese metaphysicists refer to as “reason.” Their use of the word reason refers to the natural law in us that wills to do good. God created man with a natural law related to the will to do good. From the time a person is born, he has a desire to do good. This is an inward law. The lust within man, however, wars with this law. Those with a strong will might overcome their lusts for a time, but those with a weak will quickly fail. When man fails, something deep within him, which the Bible calls the human spirit, often condemns and convicts him.
When the ancient Chinese referred to the human spirit as the bright virtue and as the innate knowledge of good and the innate ability to do good, they were referring to the conscience. Man may follow his lusts, and his will may be weak and fail, but something in his deepest part will condemn and convict him. Even a man who follows his evil lusts has something deep within him that can never be conquered. Man’s deepest part is the spirit (1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12).
The human spirit is related to the expression of God’s image. John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit.” When God created man, He formed a spirit within man (Zech. 12:1). All God’s attributes are in a believer’s regenerated human spirit because God is the content of his regenerated human spirit. The more a person follows his lusts, the more vulgar he becomes; he may even become like an animal. Conversely, the more a person follows his conscience, the nobler he becomes. A person who follows his conscience, his knowledge of good, belongs to the highest class of humanity. This proves that there is a spirit within man. In addition to emotions, lusts, and a will, there is also a spirit within man.
Furthermore, man has material and psychological needs. A person who has food and clothing in abundance may still sense a need for psychological comfort and satisfaction. If a person’s psychological needs are met, he may discover yet another need, another sense of dissatisfaction, in his deepest part. This need goes beyond the material and the psychological, and it cannot be satisfied by food, clothing, psychological comfort, or entertainment. This need comes from man’s deepest part, the spirit. Nothing but God can satisfy this part. Food, such as beef, chicken, and bread, cannot quench a man’s thirst; only water can quench his thirst. When a person drinks water, he is refreshed inwardly, and his thirst is quenched. The need in man’s deepest part cannot be met by material things, nor can it be satisfied by psychological comfort or entertainment. Only God can meet this need. I believe that every human being has a sense of his need for God in his deepest part. For over six thousand years of human history men all over the world have worshipped God, but no dog or monkey has ever built a temple for worship. Human history shows that regardless of race, age, or social status, man wants to worship God.
In 1953 I was in the Philippines, and I read an article in the newspaper about a leader in the Soviet Union, Beria, who failed in a power struggle and was sentenced to death. Before his execution he was asked what he wanted. Surprisingly, Beria asked for a Bible and picked it up to pray. Before his execution this top leader, who had killed countless people in an atheistic country, knew that he needed God. There is a Chinese saying, “A dying man’s words are good words”; this refers to the conscience at work. Within man there is a need, but he does not sense this need when he is busy. However, when man is successful, receives recognition, or is about to die, this need surfaces, and man realizes his need.
In order to contact something, we must use the right organ. It is ridiculous to try to see with our eyes closed. It is also ridiculous to cover our ears in an attempt to hear. If we do not see something or hear something, it is because we are not using the correct organ, not because there is nothing to see or to hear. For example, if our sense of smell is not keen, we will not be able to tell whether the air is fresh or foul. This is not because there is no smell in the air but because we have lost our ability to smell. Thus, there may be a foul substance in the air, but we will not be able to detect it.
Many people say that there is no God, because they do not use the right organ, not because there is no God. God is Spirit; hence, man must worship God in spirit (John 4:24). If we do not use our spirit, God will not be real to us. It is not that God is not real — God exists — but that we are unable to sense Him if we do not use our spirit. As long as we use our spirit, we will sense God’s presence. The gospel speaks of God being Spirit and of man having a spirit, in the hope that man will repent. To repent is to no longer live in the flesh, to no longer care only for physical needs, and to no longer live merely according to reason. To repent is to turn to our deepest part, our human spirit, that is, to take care of our spirit. This is the repentance that we need and that we should preach.
When a person turns to his spirit, he understands the purpose of human life and realizes that human efforts are of little value. If we are not in our spirit, we do not know the purpose and meaning of human life, nor do we know the need of our human life. We know the meaning of human life when we exercise our spirit. If we want to know good and evil and right and wrong, we must not remain in reason; rather, we must exercise our spirit.
Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, / Searching all the innermost parts of the inner being.” This means that the spirit of man was created by God to be a lamp that can search man’s inner being. God’s lamp is within man, and it can search man daily. The operation of the conscience is like the shining of a lamp. When this lamp shines, we see our faults and know that we are wrong toward our parents, spouse, neighbors, relatives, and children. Such a discovery is the issue of the shining of the conscience in our human spirit, because the spirit of man is a lamp. The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, and this lamp searches the innermost parts of man’s inner being.
This proves that there is a God in the universe and that God is Spirit. The spirit within man is the organ to contact God and to search man on God’s behalf. This is a clear teaching in the Bible that everyone can know and experience.
God is Spirit, and He made a human spirit in us so that He could enter into our spirit. Our spirit is His vessel, and He is our content. His entering into us can be compared to pouring water into a cup. Without water a cup is empty; with water a cup is full. God wants to enter into us to be our content. When we are filled with God in our spirit, we will be satisfied. This is the reason that new believers are zealous for the Lord, love Him, and are willing to forfeit their earthly treasures.
Those who believe in Jesus have received something. We have not merely believed in a religion, nor have we merely accepted some doctrines. We have received the true and living Spirit. The Spirit has entered into us with unspeakable blessings. When we suffer, He is our comfort. When we are lonely, He is with us. When we are weak, He is our strength. He does not merely resolve our outward problems; He is our inner joy. Those who have God are at peace, are joyful, and are satisfied, no matter what their outward circumstances are. We do not believe in a religion; we believe in the living Jesus.
The Bible is very clear: if we are willing to repent and believe in the true God, Jesus Christ, He, as the true and living Spirit, will enter into our spirit, and our spirit will be born anew (John 3:3, 6-7). We were born of our parents to be human beings, but since we have repented and believed in Jesus, He is in our spirit. When Jesus came into us, we received another life. This is regeneration. We have been born again in our spirit; our spirit is filled with God.
When the Chinese sages spoke of developing the bright virtue, they were referring to developing merely the conscience. But we who have believed in Jesus have received God, who is the source and reality of every virtue. He has enlivened our spirit, enlightened our inner being, and filled us.
This is the significance of our salvation. Salvation is the living Spirit entering into our human spirit. Second Timothy 4:22 says, “The Lord be with your spirit.” The Lord God is Jesus, who is now the life-giving Spirit. He wants to be joined with our human spirit. He enters into those who believe in Him. His presence gives a bountiful and all-inclusive supply. If we need love, His presence is our love. If we need obedience and faithfulness, His presence is our obedience and faithfulness. If we need comfort, His presence is our comfort. Whatever we need, He is, because He is the source and reality of every virtue. When we have Him, we have the reality of human life, we know the meaning of human life, and we know our destiny in the future. This is not superstition, nor is it a matter of psychology.
This is the reality of the gospel of Christ: God created man as a vessel with a spirit to contain Him. When we received Him, He entered into us to regenerate us, and we experienced a fundamental and intrinsic change in our life and living. This is the experience of regeneration and salvation. The Lord Jesus is now in us as our life and our reality.
It is our hope that more people would humbly repent, believe in, and receive the Lord Jesus so that they may be blessed together with us. If everyone would receive the Lord Jesus, individuals and families would be blessed, and societies and nations would also be blessed. God Himself is the blessing. He is almighty and able to hear our prayers, but He is also the Lord of life in order to enter into us as the Spirit to be the reality of our life in our spirit. May the Lord bless us.
