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Scripture Reading: Zech. 12:1b; Prov. 20:27; John 3:6; 2 Tim. 4:22a; 1 Cor. 6:17; Gal. 5:25; Rom. 8:4, 6; Rev. 1:10a
The Bible reveals that the relationship God desires to have with man is that He and man become one. It is not simply that the two are united together. Rather, it is a oneness in which He becomes us and we become Him. He is our life, and we are His living.
This relationship is an organic one. If I make a table and glue or screw the legs to the top, the relationship between the legs and the top is not organic; there is no living connection. Nor are false teeth organically part of us, even though they may look just like our natural teeth; the false teeth are lifeless.
Grafting illustrates the organic relationship between God and man. God is not only the Creator to be worshipped or the Savior to be believed in and followed. He comes into us to be our life. Even many preachers do not have a clear understanding of this organic union. They do not realize that “he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17). God and man are not pasted together like two pieces of paper; nor are they welded together like two pieces of metal. Because God and man are both spirit, when the two spirits touch, they join and grow together.
When a branch from one tree is grafted to another, the life from the second tree flows into the branch, and the two become one, sharing the same life. Similarly, with a skin graft, a piece of skin from one part of the body is affixed to another part. This joining produces an organic activity that results in the two growing together and becoming one. If two similar living things have a wound cut in them, when they are brought together at the site of the wounds, there is a flow of life between them, and they can become organically one. This wonderful life process illustrates the relationship between God and us.
Have you been grafted into God? I know that you worship Him as the only true God. I know that you have believed in the Lord Jesus as your Savior. But my question is, have you been grafted into Him? Your being joined to Him is not like holding hands. You would never grow together with Him by holding His hand. Nor is your relationship to Him like that of two sticks tied together. Grafting requires the life-juice from the cut tree to flow into the cut branch; or, in the case of a skin graft, the cells from both parts begin to “fellowship” together and then grow together.
This word grow, which describes an organic process, is used in the New Testament in reference to our relationship with the Lord (see Rom. 6:5; 1 Pet. 2:2). When God is added to us, He grows with us, like living tissue that is added to the body. He is not like false teeth set next to our regular teeth. God is Spirit (John 4:24). He created a spirit in man (Zech. 12:1). It is most precious that we have a spirit, because this is the means by which we are joined to God. The two spirits can become one and grow together.
We are like a small transistor radio. Within, there is a receiver. Without this receiver, the radio would be useless. The receiver must function properly, and it must be tuned in to the right station. Then it can transmit the radio waves to us as music. Some young people walk along the street with their radio next to their ear, listening to music that may be coming from far away. Are they only imagining that they hear music? Can real music really be coming out of the air? They are hearing real music because their receiver is tuned in to the radio waves in the air.
Our receiver is our spirit. If it is functioning properly and is tuned in to the right station, we can receive the heavenly waves. Without a spirit we are as useless as a radio without a receiver.
In God’s eyes, the spirit is as great as the heavens and the earth. They are ranked together in Zechariah 12:1, where the Lord is described as the One who “stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.” Man is the highest of all the created beings. Because of his spirit, he is as important as the heavens and as the earth.
Do you think the heavens are more important than your spirit? Many religions stress the heavens as man’s ultimate destination. God, however, is not all that satisfied with the heavens. In Isaiah 66 He describes the heavens as His throne and the earth as His footstool. Then He goes on to ask, “Where is the place of My rest? / For all these things My hand has made, / And so all these things have come into being, declares Jehovah. / But to this kind of man will I look, to him who is poor / And of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word” (vv. 1-2). God’s resting place is not in heaven but in the spirit of one who is poor and of a contrite spirit. You may want to go to heaven, but God wants to enter into your spirit. The most heaven can be is God’s throne. It cannot be His resting place.
The heavens exist for the earth. Without the rain, sunshine, and air of heaven the things on earth could not survive. As we know from space exploration, there is no air on the moon. It is a lifeless, desolate place, where not even germs can exist. The earth, in contrast, is full of life because of the supply from the heavens. The meat we eat is available because the heavens sustain the life of the cattle, sheep, and chickens. The vegetables and grains that supply us with nourishment also owe their existence to the water, sunlight, and air from heaven.
Heaven sustains the earth that it may, in turn, sustain man. Plants, animals, water, air, and sunshine are all for the purpose of providing for man’s need.
What makes man so important that he is the focal point of the creation of the heavens and the earth? It is that man has a spirit created by God so that God could become one with him. God has no interest in becoming one with cows. The angels are not for this either. Only man has a vessel within that can receive and contain God.
If you think about this in a scientific, scholarly way, you will tell me it is superstitious to talk of a God who cannot be seen or touched. Where is He, you will want to know. Let me say, the question is not whether God exists; it is whether the receiver in you is functioning. You cannot know God if your receiver is out of order, any more than you can hear the music that is in the air if your radio receiver is not working. The more you use your mind to analyze God, the farther away He seems to be. Turn away from your mind, and take care of your conscience, which is part of your spirit. If you give heed to your conscience, you will repent and confess your sins. This is the way to adjust your receiver and let in the heavenly music. Your spirit will touch God, and He will come in.
Formerly, our spirit was without life. When God comes in, our spirit becomes alive and has another life added to it. This life is God Himself. He as the Spirit mingles with our spirit, and the two spirits become one.
God is revealed in the Bible in a progressive way. The different names for Him are gradually introduced, each indicating something further about Him. In Genesis 1:1 He is called God, and we are told that He created the heavens and the earth. In Genesis 2 the title Jehovah is added, and we are told that “Jehovah God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (v. 7).
When we come to the New Testament, we have Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:1). Do not think that God, Jehovah, and Jesus Christ refer to three different Gods. These are all names for the one God. The word Jesus simply means “Jehovah is salvation.” Jesus Christ is not distinct from the Jehovah of the Old Testament. Throughout the Gospels He is usually called Jesus. In Acts the Spirit descended (2:1-4). This term, the Spirit, is used over and over again in the Epistles (e.g., Rom. 8:5; Gal. 3:2-3; Eph. 4:3; 1 Tim. 4:1; 1 John 3:24). Then in Revelation there are the seven Spirits (4:5; 5:6), and finally, in the last chapter, the Spirit and the bride (22:17).
Be assured that all these terms refer to the one God. Do you believe in this one God, as revealed throughout the Bible? If your God is only God and Jehovah, you are in the same position as the Jews. Most Christians claim to believe in all sixty-six books of the Bible, but as far as their practical living goes, their experience does not reach to Romans 8. Concerning the Spirit, they have not much understanding or experience.
The Lord Jesus today is more than the Savior, the One who shed His blood to cleanse us from our sins. After His resurrection, as the last Adam He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). The last Adam is simply the incarnated Jesus Christ, who was crucified for us, was buried, and then in resurrection became a life-giving Spirit. Second Corinthians 3:17 states, “The Lord is the Spirit.” That Lord here is referring to Christ, not God, is clear from the context. Verse 14 says that the veil is done away with in Christ. Verse 16 continues that when the heart “turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Obviously, Christ and Lord are interchangeable here. A few verses farther on, in 4:5, there is another confirmation: “We do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord.”
To say that Christ is the Spirit offends some Christians; it seems to them we are mixing up two of the persons of the Trinity. We have no obligation to support the traditional explanation of the Trinity. Our interest and our concern are with what the Bible reveals. Martin Luther in his day defied the traditions of Catholicism when he saw the light regarding justification by faith. Now that truth has been recovered. The Catholic Church, however, still rejects it. When we were in Switzerland last year, we saw a carving of a woman, representing the Roman Catholic Church, who was kicking away two men, Luther and Calvin.
Christianity today has a traditional theology that conflicts with the light in the Word. We have no choice as to which we will accept. The Bible clearly tells us that God took the step of becoming flesh (John 1:1, 14). He was called Jesus. He shed His blood on the cross to redeem us. When He arose from the dead, He took the second step and became the life-giving Spirit. He became flesh to accomplish redemption for us. He became the Spirit to impart life into us. Second Timothy 4:22 says, “The Lord be with your spirit.” He can be with our spirit because He also is Spirit.
The general view is that the Lord Jesus has ascended into heaven and is now sitting on the throne. He has sent the Holy Spirit down to us to represent Him. Such an explanation is based upon one aspect of the divine revelation but disregards all the verses that clearly say that Christ is in us (e.g., Gal. 2:20; Col. 1:27; 2 Cor. 13:5). To say that it is the Holy Spirit representing Christ in us is a complicated explanation to support this shortsighted belief, which leans heavily on the side of God being three and is weak on the side of God being one.
Christ and the Spirit are like electricity. The source of the electricity is the power plant where it is produced. This electricity is the very electricity that comes into the meeting hall, transmitted as the electric current. The electric power we use in the meeting hall is not a representative of the electricity in the power plant. The Lord Jesus is the Spirit; He is both in the heavens and in us. This is the simple, clear teaching of the Scripture; we do not distort it to fit traditional beliefs.
At the beginning of the Bible God is revealed as the Creator and later as Jehovah. Then He became our Redeemer by passing through incarnation, death, and resurrection. Now He is the life-giving Spirit, with all the experiences through which He passed incorporated into Him. This all-inclusive Spirit, the processed Triune God, is now in our spirit. The two spirits are mingled as one.
Man’s spirit is the lamp of Jehovah, searching all the innermost parts of the inner being (Prov. 20:27). The Spirit of God is also God’s lamp (Rev. 4:5); in fact, there is a sevenfold intensity to His shining. This is the meaning of the seven lamps of fire...which are the seven Spirits of God. Man’s spirit and God’s Spirit are both lamps, together enlightening the inward parts.
There are some people who live according to the flesh. Their only concern is the pleasure of the moment. They may drink, dance, or take drugs with no consideration except their own gratification. Such people are generally held in low esteem.
Others live according to their soul. They are elated when things go well for them but depressed when their circumstances are not favorable. Sometimes they are pleasant toward their associates, but other times they are critical or even hateful. They may be in a genial mood, or they may be in a fit of rage. These people are not well thought of by others either.
There are others who also live according to their soul but are highly regarded by those who know them. Rather than being changeable like the weather, they act rationally and think ahead as to what course of action they will take. Their behavior is controlled by their thoughts.
These three kinds of people include almost everyone. There are very few who live according to the spirit. You were in one of these three categories until one day when you heard the gospel. The Spirit of God touched your conscience, which is part of the spirit. Your spirit was activated, leading you to repent and confess your sins. Your spirit is now a lamp indwelt by the Spirit of God, who is also a lamp. The spirit wants to enlighten every part of your soul. By responding to the spirit’s shining, you will be walking “according to the spirit” (Rom. 8:4).
Sometimes when God wants to shine in us, we will not open to Him. This is why, after we have been praying for a while, we sometimes have nothing more to say. When we use our spirit to pray, it functions as a shining lamp, searching all the parts of our soul. It may shine on our thoughts, but we refuse to have the Lord probe there. We may not say, “No, Lord! Don’t touch there!” but that is what we mean. The spirit may shine on our emotions, especially the sisters’, but we close up, sometimes even weeping, begging the Lord not to touch that area. The same thing may happen with our will, especially the brothers’; if we close our will, the spirit cannot fulfill its function of shining. When we close the doors to the Lord’s shining, we no longer have any words to pray.
When we pray properly, using our spirit, there is a lamp shining. If we sense it shining on our thoughts, we can say, “Lord, I open my mind to You. Shine in me. Expose my thoughts.” In His light we confess our sins. When He shines on our emotions, we can open and confess what He reveals to be wrong. Then He will shine on our will, and we can open this room also to Him. As we open all these chambers one by one, the spirit will shine, and we will confess our sins. We can keep praying for a long time. The more we pray, the more we are enlightened. Our inward parts will all be thoroughly searched by the Lord. After such a time of prayer, we will feel bright and transparent, filled with God. This is one aspect of the lamp — our spirit shining within.
The other aspect is that of the seven Spirits. The Spirit of God today is the seven lamps shining on us in an intensified way. Many of us have experienced this intensified shining, far stronger than a simple prick of the conscience, condemning a wrong thought or wrong motive. What did not bother us in the past we can no longer do. If we open our mouth to tell a joke, the seven Spirits shine, and our sentence is cut off in midair. If we begin to make some critical comments about a certain sister, the seven Spirits shine, and our words fail. Even when we are off just a little, the Spirit is there as the light shining.
These seven Spirits are also the seven eyes (Rev. 5:6), watching and transfusing us with God. When we look at others, we infuse what is in us into them. As the seven Spirits shine, the seven eyes transmit God into us. It is by this means that the element of God in us is increased.
We are men of clay, but day by day the gold in us increases. This gold is living and flowing, as we can see from Zechariah 4:12, where we are told that the two golden spouts empty the gold from themselves. The gold is not a solid mass but in a liquid state so that it can flow out. God is this gold that is flowing out of us. Formerly, what flowed out of us was the bitter water of gossip, criticism, and foolish talking. Now out of us flows gold. The clay is decreasing as we are more and more transformed.
For the gold in you to increase, you must learn to walk according to the spirit (cf. Gal. 5:25). Again and again during the day you must turn to the spirit. “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace” (Rom. 8:6). If a problem arises with your spouse, or if a brother complains that your work is not satisfactory, do not reply in haste. A quick answer will open the door to Satan. Instead of replying, pray. Set your mind on the spirit. Call on the Lord. Then the words that come forth from your mouth will come from the spirit rather than from Satan. The Lord will be your wisdom, and gold will flow out instead of bitter water. You will sense from the Spirit of the Lord what you should say; in your speaking, He will be speaking.
Our greatest problem, as those whose spirits have been enlivened, is that we do not live according to the spirit. We live according to our mind or our knowledge or what the Bible teaches. To live according to the spirit, we must pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17). All day long we must maintain a spirit of prayer. In every situation that arises, we should pause before answering or reacting. If we take a moment to renew our touch with the Lord, then we have the opportunity to respond to the situation in spirit instead of in our natural way.
Ephesians 6:18 reminds us of the importance of prayer. “By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.” We need to have “all prayer...praying at every time in spirit...watching...in all perseverance.” This is the way to preserve ourselves in the spirit.
As we thus become one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17), He will become our living. We will become men of gold, and the whole church will be a golden lampstand, expressing the Triune God. We will live and walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:25) and have our mind set on the spirit. By the mingling of these two spirits, we can be watchful to keep ourselves in the spirit of prayer. Then what we live out will be “no longer I...but...Christ” (2:20). To us, to live will be Christ (Phil. 1:21). This is the normal way for us to live. It is by this means that the church will become a golden lampstand.
