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In this lesson we will continue to see the Spirit’s work in us, on us, and for us.
Hebrews 6:4 indicates that we are partakers of the Holy Spirit. Since we have received the Holy Spirit through faith (Gal. 3:14), we are partakers of Him. The Holy Spirit is what God in His gospel promised to give us (Gal. 3:14). God called us from the heavens to the heavenly things that we might become partakers of His Holy Spirit and share in His Holy Spirit. It is by His Holy Spirit that we can live a heavenly life on earth and partake of the divine holiness. As partakers of the Holy Spirit, we partake of God as our enjoyment.
The Spirit, who is the consummation of the Triune God, is also the reaching to us of the Triune God. Unless it is through the Spirit, the Father and the Son could not reach us. Now the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—has reached us through the Spirit, and in the fellowship of the Spirit we partake of Him, so we enjoy the processed Triune God with all His riches.
Second Corinthians 13:14 says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” The apostle’s blessing here is composed of attributes of the Triune God. The love of God is the source, the grace of the Lord is the flow, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the dispensing of the grace of the Lord with the love of God to transmit the Lord with God into our being for our full enjoyment of the Triune God.
The grace of Christ is the rich element of Christ, the love of God is the rich element of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the aggregate of the rich elements of Christ and of God transmitted into our being for our enjoyment. Through the Holy Spirit love, grace, and fellowship are transmitted into us for our enjoyment. Therefore, the Spirit as the consummation of the Triune God is the fellowship of the Triune God to us that we may enjoy the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit simultaneously, which is to enjoy the Triune God in three aspects—love, grace, and fellowship.
In Ephesians 4, concerning the living and responsibility needed for the church life, Paul said, “Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace” (v. 3). This shows us that to have the proper Body life, we first need to care for the oneness. This is crucial and vital to the Body of Christ. Strictly speaking, oneness differs from unity. Unity is the state in which many people are united together, whereas oneness is the one entity of the Spirit within the believers, which makes them all one. This oneness is a person, the Spirit Himself, who dwells within us. It is similar to the electricity flowing within many lamps, making them all one in the shining. In themselves, the lamps are separate, but in the electricity they are one. To keep the oneness of the Spirit is to keep the life-giving Spirit. If we act apart from the Spirit, we are divisive and lose the oneness. If we stay in the life-giving Spirit, we keep the oneness of the Spirit, and we also keep the oneness of the Body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:4 goes on to say, “One Body and one Spirit.” The Spirit is the essence of the one Body, and He is also the life of the Body. Apart from the Spirit, the Body could not exist as a living organism. Without the Spirit, the Body would be empty and have no life. Furthermore, the Spirit is for the Body and in the Body. Therefore, the Body and the Spirit are not two separate entities; they are one. As we remain in the divine fellowship through the Spirit, we are kept by the Spirit in the unique oneness of the Body, a oneness that is the indwelling Spirit Himself.
Second Corinthians 3:17 says, “The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” This verse shows us that after finishing all the processes, the Lord became a life-giving Spirit in resurrection. The Spirit not only gives us the divine life but also frees us from the bondage of the law.
At Paul’s time the Old Testament law was a great bondage to the Jews. They were under the bondage of circumcision, the bondage of dietary regulations, and the bondage of the Sabbath. Today, however, since Christ has come, it is no longer the Old Testament age of the law in letters, but the New Testament age of the pneumatic Christ. Moses, with the letter of the law, put the people under bondage, but the Spirit frees us from religious regulations, rituals, and traditional doctrines. We must turn our heart to the Lord, who is the Spirit, and set our mind on the mingled spirit; then the Spirit will free us that we may enjoy the full freedom in grace.
Hebrews 9:8 says, “The Holy Spirit thus making this clear, that the way of the Holy of Holies has not yet been manifested while the first tabernacle still has its standing.” By the Holy Spirit’s making clear, we know that the way of the Holy of Holies had not yet been manifested in the Old Testament. When Christ was crucified, the way to the Holy of Holies was freshly cut for us. Here, the first tabernacle, the Holy Place, signifies the old covenant, and the second tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, signifies the new covenant. The veil that closed off the Holy of Holies was split in two (Matt. 27:51) by the death of Christ, which crucified the flesh (Heb. 10:20; Gal. 5:24), and now the way of Holy of Holies has been manifested. Hence, we do not need to remain in the Holy Place, that is, the old covenant, the soul; we must enter into the Holy of Holies, that is, the new covenant, the spirit. Now that the Spirit within us is making clear to us the way to enter the inner chamber of God’s dwelling place, we should not remain either in the outer court or in the Holy Place. We should enter into the Holy of Holies, that is, our spirit, to draw near to God and enjoy Him as love, light, and every divine thing.
Hebrews 10:15-17 says, “The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after having said, ‘This is the covenant which I will covenant with them after those days, says the Lord: I will impart My laws upon their hearts, and upon their mind I will inscribe them,’ He then says, ‘And their sins and their lawlessnesses I shall by no means remember anymore.’” In this chapter the writer of Hebrews was seeking to prove to the believers that there was no longer any need to offer the sacrifice for sin, because Christ has accomplished the putting away of sins. The problem of sin has been solved. Now in these verses the writer emphasizes this fact by further pointing out the inward law of life, that the Holy Spirit also testifies to this effect. The Holy Spirit quotes the word in Jeremiah 31:33-34, saying that God would put His laws upon the hearts of His people and that He would not remember their sins anymore. This proves that the Holy Spirit testifies that our sins have been taken away.
According to Hebrews 8, the new covenant which God made with us includes four things: the law of life which is imparted into us, God being our God and we being His people, the inner ability of knowing God, and God’s forgiveness of our sins. These four things are focused on the law of life. When we are in the Holy of Holies, that is, when we are in our spirit, the Spirit testifies to us that God has imparted His divine life with its law into our spirit. This law will spread into our inward parts, such as our mind, emotion, and will, and will become several laws. This law of life differs from the law of letters. It does not regulate us from without by and according to dead letters; rather, it regulates us from within by and according to its life element. Since we all, great or small, have the law of life, we should not walk according to the knowledge of the law of letters but according to the inward consciousness of the law of life.
Philippians 3:3 says, “We are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.” Here we see that the Spirit is the means for us to serve, to worship, God. The Greek word rendered serve here means to serve as a priest. All New Testament believers are priests to God (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6). Hence, our ministry to the Lord, in whatever aspect, is a priestly service. Furthermore, those who are the circumcision here are the New Testament believers, the ones genuinely circumcised by Christ’s crucifixion. They are absolutely different from the Judaizers. They serve as priests by the Spirit of God, not by the ordinances of law; they boast in Christ, not in the law; and they do not have confidence in the flesh but in the Spirit.
In Philippians 3:2-3 there is a threefold contrast: believers who serve by the Spirit of God, in contrast to the dogs; believers who boast in Christ Jesus, in contrast to evil workers; and believers who have no confidence in the flesh, in contrast to the concision. The Judaizers lived by their fallen nature, whereas the believers in Christ serve by the Spirit of God. The fact that the Judaizers had confidence in their circumcision was a sign that their confidence was in their flesh, that is, what they were and had in their natural being and their natural qualities and qualifications. But we who believe in Christ serve by the Spirit, boast in Christ, and do not have confidence in the flesh.
First Peter 4:14 says, “If you are reproached in the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” To be in the name of Christ is actually to be in the person of Christ, in Christ Himself. The believers, having believed into Christ (John 3:15) and having been baptized into His name (Acts 19:5), that is, into Himself (Gal. 3:27), are in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30) and are one with Him (6:17). When they are reproached in His name, they are reproached with Him, sharing in His sufferings, in the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10).
When we are reproached and suffer persecution in the name of Christ, the Spirit of glory rests upon us and remains with us. 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 glorifying of the resurrected and exalted Christ, who is now in glory. The more we suffer and are persecuted, the more the glory of God rests upon us. This is truly a blessing. Therefore, we should rejoice when we are reproached in the name of Christ, because we are participating in the sufferings of Christ, and the Spirit of glory is resting upon us.
First Timothy 3:16 says, “Confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness:/He who was manifested in the flesh,/Justified in the Spirit.” In this verse He refers to Christ, who was God manifested in the flesh. The transition from the mystery of godliness to He implies that Christ as the manifestation of God in the flesh is the mystery of godliness (Col. 1:27; Gal. 2:20). This mystery of godliness is the living of a proper church, and such a living also is the manifestation of God in the flesh.
When Christ was on earth, He was God manifested in the flesh. The incarnated Christ in His human living was not only vindicated as the Son of God by the Spirit (Matt. 3:16-17; Rom. 1:3-4) but also justified, proved, and approved as right and righteous by the Spirit (Matt. 3:15-16; 4:1). He was manifested in the flesh but was vindicated and justified in the Spirit. He appeared in the flesh, but He lived in the Spirit (Luke 4:1, 14; Matt. 12:28) and offered Himself to God through the Spirit (Heb. 9:14). His transfiguration (Matt. 17:2) and His resurrection are both justifications in the Spirit. Furthermore, in resurrection He even became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17) to dwell and live in us (Rom. 8:9-10) for the manifestation of God in the flesh as the mystery of godliness. Hence, now we know Him and His members no longer according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (2 Cor. 5:16). Since the manifestation of God in the flesh is justified in the Spirit, and the Spirit is one with our spirit (Rom. 8:16), we must live and behave in our spirit that this justification may be accomplished. In this way, the Spirit will also justify the church as the manifestation of God in the flesh.
Matthew 28:19 says, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” After Christ completed His ministry on earth, went through the process of death and resurrection, and became the life-giving Spirit, He charged the disciples to baptize those who were to become His disciples into the name of the Triune God.
The name is the sum total of the Divine Being, equivalent to His person. To baptize someone into the name of the Triune God is to immerse him into all that the Triune God is, and this is also to immerse him into the all-inclusive Spirit, who is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God. When we believe into the Lord Jesus, we are baptized into the Triune God in the Spirit. Now, as baptized ones, we are in an organic union with the Triune God. Therefore, whatever the Father is, whatever the Son has, and whatever the Spirit receives become our portion for our experience and enjoyment.
When the Spirit works in us, we become partakers of Him that through Him we can live a heavenly life on earth, share in God’s holiness, and enjoy the processed Triune God with all His riches. The Spirit is also the fellowship of the Triune God to us, transmitting the Lord with God into us for our full enjoyment of the Triune God. The Spirit is also the oneness of the Body of Christ. If we act apart from the Spirit, we lose the oneness; if we remain in the life-giving Spirit, we keep the oneness of the Spirit and we also keep the oneness of the Body of Christ. The Spirit frees us from the letters of the law that we may not be under the bondage of religious regulations, rituals, and traditional doctrines but enjoy full freedom in grace. He also shows us that the veil that closed off the Holy of Holies was split in two by the death of Christ and that the way of the Holy of Holies has been manifested. Hence, we must enter into the Holy of Holies, that is, we must enter into our spirit, to draw near to God and enjoy Him as love, light, and every divine thing. He also testifies to us that the law of life of the new covenant has been imparted into our spirit, so that we should not walk according to the knowledge of the law of letters but according to the inward consciousness of the law of life. He is also the means for us to serve God, that we should not boast in the law but boast in Christ, and not have confidence in the flesh but have confidence only in the Spirit. He rests upon us as the glory when we are reproached, for the glorifying of the resurrected and exalted Christ, who is now in glory. He justifies the church as the manifestation of God in the flesh. This is the issue of Christ’s having become the Spirit to dwell and live in us that God may be manifested in the flesh in the proper church life. He is also the consummation of the Triune God that we may be baptized into the Divine Trinity, that is, into all that the Triune God is, into the all-inclusive Spirit, that we may have an organic union with the Triune God to enjoy whatever the Father is, whatever the Son has, and whatever the Spirit receives.
