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In the progressing stage of God’s full salvation, the stage of transformation, the believers experience and enjoy the processed Triune God in the dispensing of the Divine Trinity. We have seen the believers’ experience and enjoyment of God as the Father in the love of the Triune God and their experience and enjoyment of Christ as the Son in the grace of the Triune God. Beginning with this lesson we will go on to see the believers’ experience and enjoyment of the Spirit as the consummation of the Divine Trinity in the fellowship of the Triune God.
After passing through the processes of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, the Triune God has become the all-inclusive, life-giving, and consummated Spirit to transmit all the riches of the Triune God into us for our experience and enjoyment. Second Corinthians 13:14 speaks of “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” The love of God is the source, since God is the origin; the grace of the Lord is the course of the love of God, since the Lord is the expression of God; and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the impartation of the grace of the Lord with the love of God, since the Spirit is the transmission of the Lord with God, for our experience and enjoyment of the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, with Their divine virtues. Hence, when we have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, we can experience and enjoy the processed Triune God in the dispensing of the Divine Trinity.
The Spirit as the consummation of the Divine Trinity is the reality of Christ for our enjoyment. John 14:17-20 shows us that the Spirit, the Comforter who is coming, is the embodiment of the Lord Jesus. Verse 17 says, “The Spirit of reality…abides with you.” Verse 18 says, “I [Christ] am coming to you.” Verse 17 says, “He [the Comforter]…shall be in you.” Verse 20 says, “I [Christ] in you.” This clearly shows us that when the Holy Spirit comes, Christ comes; that when the Holy Spirit is in us, Christ is in us; and that the Spirit who indwells us is the Christ who died and was resurrected and who comes to abide in us.
John 16:12-15 also indicates that the Spirit dwells in us to glorify Christ by revealing Christ to us that Christ may become the reality in us. Verse 13 says, “When He, the Spirit of reality, comes, He will guide you into all the reality.” The Spirit of reality does not guide us into the doctrines concerning Christ. Rather, He guides us into all the reality of Christ that all that Christ is and has may become real to us. All that God is and has is embodied in Christ (Col. 2:9; John 16:15), and all that Christ is and has is received by the Spirit and declared as reality to us through the Spirit (John 16:14-15). Hence, when the Spirit is in us, it is Christ who is in us. The Spirit is in us not as the representative of Christ but as the reality of Christ.
The Spirit as the reality of Christ includes everything of the Spirit in His person. Concerning His person, the Spirit is the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:15b, 35; Matt. 1:18, 20; John 20:22; Rom. 15:16), who is related to the incarnation of Christ. Incarnation is a matter of bringing God’s holy nature into His creatures, His chosen people, to make them holy in the divine nature so that they may be holy even as He is holy. The Spirit is also the Spirit of God (Matt. 3:16; Rom. 8:9), who is God reaching us and being applied to us for our experience and enjoyment. The Spirit is also the Spirit of the Father (Matt. 10:20), the flow of the Father that flows with the Father into us, His children, for our intimate enjoyment of Him. The Spirit is also the Spirit of the Lord (Luke 4:18; 2 Cor. 3:17), the Spirit of Jehovah in the Old Testament. Jehovah in the Old Testament is Jesus in the New Testament; hence, the Spirit of the Lord in the New Testament sense is the Spirit of Jesus, the Lord Jesus Himself. The Spirit is also the Spirit of the Son of God (Gal. 4:6) as the reality of the divine sonship to make the divine sonship real in our life, nature, and living. Furthermore, the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9; 1 Pet. 1:11), the Spirit whom Christ became in His resurrection; this Spirit is Christ Himself dwelling in our spirit to dispense Himself into us as the resurrection life and power to deal with the death that is in our nature. The Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7) as the reality of Jesus for Jesus to be near to His believers. The Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19) as the reality of the incarnated One, the One who lived a human life in humanity, who was crucified and resurrected, who is now both in the heavens and dwelling in the believers, and who will be the center of God’s economy for eternity. The Spirit is the Lord Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18); this strongly proves and confirms that the Spirit is the Lord Christ and the Lord Christ is the Spirit. The Spirit is the Spirit of the living God (2 Cor. 3:3) and the living God Himself. The Spirit is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b); in resurrection Christ became such a Spirit with a spiritual body, ready to be received by His believers. Not only so, the Spirit is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), who is Christ Himself as life imparted into us, the tripartite men; the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29), the Triune God in the Son becoming the Spirit for our enjoyment; the Spirit of reality (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 4:6) as the reality of God, the Father, the Son, the Lord, sonship, life, grace, and every divine thing; the Comforter (John 14:16), the Spirit of reality, as our Advocate taking care of our case; and the Spirit of power (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8) poured upon us for our ministry and move that we may carry out the Lord’s commission. Moreover, the Spirit is the Spirit of glory and of God (1 Pet. 4:14). The Spirit of glory is the One through whom Christ was glorified in His resurrection (Rom. 1:4). This very Spirit of glory, being the Spirit of God Himself, rests upon the suffering believers in their persecution for the glorification of the resurrected and exalted Christ, who is now in glory. The Spirit is the eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14), who, not being limited by time or space, makes the redemption accomplished by Christ through His death eternally efficacious. The Spirit is also the seven Spirits (Rev. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6), the sevenfold intensified Spirit, to strengthen the church in the time of degradation. Ultimately, the Spirit of God is the Spirit (Mark 1:10; Matt. 4:1; 12:31; John 3:5, 34; 7:39; Acts 6:3; 8:18; Gal. 3:2; Rev. 2:7; 14:13; 22:17), the processed, compounded, all-inclusive, life-giving, indwelling, sevenfold intensified, consummated Spirit, the consummation of the processed Triune God, as the eternal portion of the chosen, redeemed, regenerated, sanctified, transformed, and glorified tripartite men to be their life, life supply, and everything.
In the initial stage of God’s full salvation, the stage of regeneration, we experienced the sanctification of the Spirit and thus repented unto God. Furthermore, we experienced the dispositional sanctification of the Spirit and were justified. Moreover, when we repented and believed in the Lord, the Spirit brought God’s life into us, causing us to be regenerated and enabling us to experience the Spirit’s renewing work in us. In the progressing stage, as we further experience and enjoy the Spirit as the reality of Christ, the Spirit works in us, on us, and for us in many ways.
First, we want to see the Spirit’s freeing us by His law of life from the law of sin and of death. In Romans 8:2 Paul said, “The law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.” In this verse law does not denote a commandment but a principle that operates automatically and spontaneously, a natural regulation, a constant and unchanging rule. Every kind of life has its innate law. Therefore, as long as a particular life exists and is free, it can naturally develop its characteristics and manifest its abilities. Such natural characteristics and innate capabilities in a life constitute the law of that life.
The life of God is the highest life. Thus, the characteristics and capabilities of the divine life are the highest and most surpassing. Because these highest and surpassing characteristics and capabilities constitute the law of the life of God, this law naturally is the highest and most surpassing. Since by regeneration we have received the life of God, we have naturally received from the life of God the highest and most surpassing law of this life.
In Romans 8:2 Paul spoke not merely of the law of life but of the law of the Spirit of life. Both the Spirit and life are related to the working of this law. Life is the contents and issue of the Spirit, and the Spirit is the ultimate and consummate manifestation of the Triune God. This Triune God, after going through different processes to become the indwelling, life-giving Spirit, dwells in us as the law of the Spirit of life. This law works in us to deliver us from the working of the law of sin in our flesh and enables 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. As far as we, the believers in Christ, are concerned, this law has been installed in us. The book of Romans shows us that the requirements we must fulfill in order that the law of the Spirit of life may work are: (1) to walk according to the spirit (8:4); (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 of God 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).
The major function of the processed Triune God in indwelling our spirit as the law of the Spirit of life is to free us completely from Satan, who dwells in our fallen nature as the law of sin and of death (Rom. 7:23-25). The law of sin, the power to commit sin that arises spontaneously in man, causes man to become a slave of sin (John 8:34). Thus, man is helpless, is controlled and manipulated by sin, and does many things against his own will. The law of death, the natural power that causes man to become weak, to wither up, and to age and die, dwells in man and causes every part of man to enter into decay and death. When we fulfill the aforementioned requirements by walking according to the spirit and setting our mind on the spirit, the law of the Spirit of life sets us free continuously from the law of sin and of death.
As the law of the Spirit of life works in this way, the Spirit dispenses the Triune God with all His divine riches into our entire tripartite being. Eventually, this dispensing will become our spiritual constitution. We will be constituted of the divine elements through the dispensing work of the Spirit.
By His working in us, the Spirit continuously dispenses life to our mortal bodies. Romans 8:11 says, “The Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you…will also give life to your mortal bodies.” This verse reveals that as the life-giving Spirit dwells in us, that is, makes His home in us, He dispenses life not only into our spirits but even into our mortal bodies. Through this dispensing of life, our bodies are enlivened by the divine life.
Before we believed in the Lord, our spirit within was dead and our body without was alive. Now that we have Christ in us, though our body without is dead because of sin, our spirit within is life because of righteousness (v. 10). Christ’s coming into us as life exposes the dead situation of our body. In our spirit is Christ the Spirit as righteousness, resulting in life; but in our flesh is Satan as sin, resulting in death. Although God condemned sin in the flesh (v. 3), sin is not eradicated from man’s fallen body. Hence, our body is still dead.
The Bible reveals that, as human beings, we have three parts—the spirit, the soul, and the body. Romans 8 shows us that, first, through regeneration the Spirit enters into our spirit and causes our spirit to become life. Then, from our spirit the Spirit spreads to our mind and causes our mind to become life. Lastly, the Spirit dispenses life even to our mortal body and causes the body of sin to become the body of life. Thus, our entire being is filled with life, and we become people of life.
The accomplishment of this matter hinges on our mind (v. 6). When our mind is set on the regenerated spirit, which is mingled with the Spirit of God, our outward actions are in agreement with our inner man, and there is no discrepancy between us and God. He and we are at peace, not at enmity (v. 7). Thus, we feel peaceful within and the Spirit of the Triune God can make His home in us and have adequate room to settle down in us. Then in our experience we are in the spirit and are no longer in the flesh. Thus, the Triune God as the Spirit is able to spread from our spirit into our soul, represented by our mind (v. 6), and eventually He gives life even to our mortal body.
The Spirit works in us also to put to death the practices of our body that we may live. Romans 8:13 says, “For if you live according to the flesh, you must die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live.” This shows us that we must put to death the practices of our body, but we must do it by the Spirit. On 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. The putting to death here is actually our coordinating with the Spirit who indwells us. Inwardly, we must allow Him to make His home in us that He may give life to our mortal body (v. 11). Outwardly, we must put to death the practices of our body that we may live. When we take the initiative to put to death the practices of our body, the Spirit comes in to apply to those practices the effectiveness of Christ’s death, thus killing them. It is not the body itself but its practices that we must put to death. Our body needs to be redeemed (v. 23), but its practices need to be put to death. These practices include not only sinful things but also all things practiced by our body apart from the Spirit.
The word given in Romans 8:13 corresponds with verse 6, which says, “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” In order to put to death by the Spirit the practices of the body, we need to set our mind on the spirit and walk according to the spirit. When we have our mind set on our spirit, we cooperate with the Spirit’s work to put to death all the practices of the body; thus, we have the genuine experience of the death of Christ. This does not happen once for all; rather, it is a constant, daily exercise. Furthermore, if we put to death by the Spirit the practices of the body, we will be able to present our bodies to God for the Body life (12:1) and thereby live in the Body of Christ in a practical way.
In the fellowship of the Triune God we experience and enjoy the Spirit as the consummation of the Divine Trinity. First, the Spirit is the reality of Christ for our enjoyment. All that God is and has is embodied in Christ, and all that Christ is and has is received by the Spirit and declared as reality to us through the Spirit. Hence, when the Spirit is in us, it is Christ who is in us. The Spirit is in us not as the representative of Christ but as the reality of Christ. Next, the Spirit works in us, on us, and for us in many ways. He frees us by His law of life from the law of sin and of death, the power to commit sin that arises spontaneously in man and the natural power that causes man to become weak, to wither up, and to age and die. If we walk according to the spirit and set our mind on the spirit, the law of the Spirit of life will set us free continuously. The Spirit in us also continuously dispenses life into our mortal bodies. First, at the time of our regeneration, He enters into our spirit and causes our spirit to become life; then, from our spirit He spreads to our mind and causes our mind to become life; and, lastly, He dispenses life even into our mortal body and causes the body of sin to become the body of life. Thus, our entire being is filled with life and we become people of life. The Spirit in us also puts to death the practices of our body. This requires us to take the initiative to cooperate with the Spirit who indwells us. When we take the initiative to put to death the practices of our body, the Spirit comes in to apply to those practices the effectiveness of Christ’s death, thus killing them. In this way, we have the genuine experience of the death of Christ. This does not happen once for all; rather, it is a constant, daily exercise.
