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I. The progressive revelation of the divine Spirit
А. The Spirit of God
B. The Spirit of Jehovah
C. The Holy Spirit
D. The Spirit being "not yet"
E. The Spirit of Jesus
F. The Spirit of Christ
G. The Spirit of Jesus Christ
II. The Spirit — the all-inclusive, processed Triune God
III. Saved by the bountiful supply of the Spirit
We have seen that because God is Spirit, He can reach man and enter into him. For God to get into man, however, was not a simple matter. The Triune God went through a great process in order to dispense Himself into us. We can see this from the revelation of the Bible concerning the divine Spirit.
[The revelation in the Bible concerning God, Christ, and the Spirit is progressive. This revelation begins in Genesis 1 and develops progressively until it reaches its consummation in the book of Revelation.]
[The first mention of the Spirit in the Scriptures is found in Genesis 1:2, where we are told that the Spirit of God was brooding over the waters (Heb.). In relation to God's creation, the Spirit is specifically called the Spirit of God.]
[God's relationship with man, of course, is more intimate than His relationship with creation.] [After creating man, God remained intimately involved with him. In His relationship with man God's title is Jehovah. This is why in the Old Testament the Spirit of God is usually called the Spirit of Jehovah. The Spirit of Jehovah came upon certain people. This indicates that the Spirit of Jehovah has to do with God's reaching of man (Judg. 3:10; Ezek. 11:5). The main titles used for the Spirit of God in the Old Testament are the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jehovah.]
The first divine title given to the Spirit in the New Testament is the "Holy Spirit." [At the incarnation the Spirit of God was called the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35). Andrew Murray in his masterpiece, The Spirit of Christ, points out that the divine title, the Holy Spirit, is not used in the Old Testament. In Psalm 51:11 and in Isaiah 63:10-11 the "Holy Spirit" should be translated "the Spirit of holiness." It was when the time came to prepare the way for Christ's coming and to prepare a human body for Him to initiate the New Testament dispensation, that the term "Holy Spirit" came into use (Luke 1:15, 35).]
[Luke 1:35 gives us the first mention of the Holy Spirit. He is introduced at the time when the Lord Jesus was conceived by a human mother. This is because something common is to be made holy. In this same verse the One to be born is called "that holy thing." The Holy Spirit came into a human being to conceive something holy. When the Holy Spirit came into us common human beings, we too could be made holy.]
Now we come to a very puzzling but crucial point in the gradual revelation of the Spirit. [In John 7:37-38 the Lord Jesus cried, "If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scriptures said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water." Then in verse 39 John explains that the Lord spoke this "concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified." John does not say the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jehovah, or the Holy Spirit, but "the Spirit." He further says that when Jesus was crying out to the people, "the Spirit was not yet." The King James Version says, "the Spirit was not yet given," but the word "given" is inserted; it is not in the Greek text. The Spirit of God was in Genesis 1, and the Spirit of Jehovah came upon the prophets in the Old Testament. Why, then, in John 7 was the Spirit "not yet"?]
[In chapter seven of John, the Lord Jesus was still in the flesh; He was not yet in glory, that is, not yet in resurrection. Because He was not yet resurrected, the Spirit was not yet. Of course, the Spirit of God existed from the very beginning (Gen. 1:1-2), but the Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7), the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9), and the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19), was "not yet" until the Lord was glorified in resurrection. After His resurrection, the Spirit of God became the Spirit of the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Jesus Christ. This involves the matter of process.
In Genesis 1:2 we have the Spirit of God. The only element in the Spirit of God is the divine essence. But after the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the Spirit became the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. When the Spirit of God was just the Spirit of God, the only element in the Spirit was the divine essence. But when the Spirit of God became the Spirit of Jesus, the essence of humanity was added.]
[According to Acts 16:6, Paul and his co-workers were "forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the Word in Asia." But verse 7 says that the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go into Bithynia. In these two verses first we have the Holy Spirit, then the Spirit of Jesus. If we study the context of verse 7, we shall see that Paul was suffering. For this reason, the Spirit of Jesus was with him. The Spirit of Jesus has the elements of humanity, human living, and crucifixion. Because Paul in Acts 16 was experiencing human suffering and was experiencing the death of Christ, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit at that juncture were the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of the incarnated One who lived on earth as a man and died on the cross.]
[Romans 8:9 says, "But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him." Verses 9, 10, and 11 of Romans 8 are concerned with the resurrection of Christ. The Spirit of Christ in verse 9 has the element of resurrection. This Spirit is the Spirit of God mentioned in the same verse and also the Spirit of life mentioned in verse 2.
In the Spirit we have Christ's incarnation, humanity, human living, death, and resurrection. This is revealed by the different titles of the Spirit. If the Spirit did not contain the elements of incarnation, human living, and crucifixion, why would He be called the Spirit of Jesus? Likewise, if the Spirit did not contain the element of resurrection, why would He be called the Spirit of Christ? Furthermore, if the Spirit did not contain the divine life, why would He be called the Spirit of life? The titles of the Spirit denote certain facts. Therefore, based on the titles of the Spirit used in the New Testament, we can say that in the Spirit of Jesus we have incarnation, humanity, human living, suffering, and crucifixion, and in the Spirit of Christ we have resurrection, the power of resurrection, and the divine life.]
[In Philippians 1:19 Paul speaks of the Spirit of Jesus Christ: "For I know that for me this shall turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." When Paul wrote this word, he was in prison. But even though he was a prisoner, he could rejoice because he had the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He enjoyed the Spirit of Jesus, the suffering One, and the Spirit of Christ, the resurrected One. This Spirit supplied and supported Paul in his suffering and enabled him to rejoice. Therefore, Paul could say in Philippians 1:20 and 21, "According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death; for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."]
When all the aspects and elements of the Spirit are put together we have a totality, a final product known in the New Testament as "the Spirit" (Rom. 8:16, 23, 26, 27; Gal. 3:14; 5:16-18, 22, 25; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rev. 2:7; 14:13; 22:17). This wonderful Spirit eventually becomes so simple in title! He is simple in title but full of divine elements for our enjoyment. This Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jehovah, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He is now the all-inclusive, compound, life-giving, indwelling Spirit who is the processed Triune God.
[We have seen that at the time of John 7:39, the Spirit was "not yet." That was before the Lord Jesus was crucified and glorified in resurrection. But now we who believe in Christ may fulfill our destiny of enjoying the Spirit, and this Spirit will become rivers of living water flowing out of our innermost being. According to John 7:38 and 39, the Spirit, the all-inclusive Spirit, will become rivers of living water flowing out of us. This means that in our experience the one Spirit becomes many rivers of living water. This is the enjoyment of the Spirit.]
[In Philippians 1 Paul was saved from a particular situation through the bountiful supply of the Spirit. In chapter two he goes on to point out how the believers may experience a constant salvation in the ordinary things of daily life. For example, 2:14 says, "Do all things without murmurings and reasonings." Murmurings and reasonings are things we experience daily. We may not experience hate or anger every day, but we certainly reason and murmur every day.]
You may often be unhappy with your situation at home or at school. You feel you are too restricted or overworked; you need more freedom or a change of pace. This kind of thinking, however, does not change things or make you happier. What you really need is the bountiful supply of the all-inclusive Spirit! Paul was in prison expecting to die, yet he was rejoicing (Phil. 4:4). He said, "I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be content" (Phil. 4:11). The next time that you feel your situation is a "prison," you need to declare, "Praise the Lord! Thank You for my wonderful situation! Dear Lord, You are all that I need!" This is not a theory; it is practical and experiential. This will save you from so many negative things and will surely cause you to express Christ to those around you.
The revelation in the Bible concerning the Spirit is progressive. In the Old Testament, the Spirit is merely the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jehovah. It is not until the time of the Lord's incarnation in the New Testament that the title "Holy Spirit" is used. The "Spirit of God" existed from the very beginning, but "the Spirit" was "not yet" until the Lord passed through the process of incarnation, human living, death and resurrection. The Spirit today is the all-inclusive Spirit containing all the divine elements for our enjoyment!
