Message 161
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 30:23-30; Gen. 1:2; Judg. 3:10; Luke 1:35; John 7:39; Rom. 8:2, 9; Acts 5:9; 16:6-7; John 14:17; Phil. 1:19; 1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:18; Heb. 10:29; Rev. 1:4; Rom. 8:16; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rev. 2:7; 22:17
In this message we shall consider the elements of the compound Spirit.
In God’s creation the Spirit of God was active: “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2b). Anything substantial must have an element, and the Spirit of God is surely something substantial. What element is in the Spirit of God? The element of the Spirit of God is God, divinity.
As we have pointed out in a foregoing message, the spirit of a certain substance is the extract of that substance. For example, the spirit of a grape is not merely the grape itself; it is the extract of the grape. In the same principle, we may say that the Spirit of God is the extract of God. This Spirit has divinity, that is, the element of what God is. Because creation came into being by the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God has the element of divinity, then, according to Romans 1:20, creation manifests God’s eternal power and divinity.
After God created man, He came to contact him. Jehovah is the name of God in relation to man. In Genesis 1 we have only the title God, but in Genesis 2 we also have another title, Jehovah, because in this chapter God begins to have contact with the man created by Him. Therefore, Jehovah is a title used for God’s contact with man. It denotes God’s relationship with man.
The name Jehovah is derived from, or is a form of, the verb to be. Exodus 3:14 says, “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” Jehovah is the One who was, the One who is, and the One who is to be. “Was,” “is,” and “will be” — all these are forms of the verb to be. Actually, the verb to be can be applied only to God. He alone is, was, and will be. He alone is the eternal, self-existing One. Our life is short. If we do not have God, we shall not continue to be and even we are not actually existing now, for the verb to be cannot be applied to us as it is uniquely applied to God. The verb to be is the basic verb. Everything else depends on this. For example, eating depends on being, on existence. If I did not exist, how could I eat? All other verbs, perhaps numbering in the thousands, depend on this unique verb, the verb to be. Only God is the One who is; He alone is the I Am, the ever-existing and self-existing One.
In order for God to be related to man, He must be triune — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. According to Exodus 3, Jehovah refers to the Triune God. This is indicated in 3:6, where God says, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” After God said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM” and told him to tell the children of Israel, “I AM hath sent me unto you,” He went on to say to him, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations” (v. 15). In 3:14 God says, “I AM hath sent me unto you,” but in the next verse He says, “Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you.” This indicates that Jehovah is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. This title of God — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — implies the Three of the Godhead, the Trinity. In our Life-study of Genesis we pointed out that much of the book of Genesis is related to God as the God of three persons: Abraham, the father; Isaac, the son; and Jacob, the supplanter, the subtle one who was eventually transformed. The God of Abraham signifies the Father; the God of Isaac, the Son; and the God of Jacob, the Spirit. Jehovah, God in His relationship with man, is the Triune God. Therefore, the Spirit of Jehovah is the Spirit with the element of the divine Trinity.
Many verses in the Old Testament speak of the Spirit of Jehovah: Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Samuel 10:6; 16:13, 14; 2 Samuel 23:2; 1 Kings 18:12; 22:24; 2, 2 Kings 2:16 Chronicles 18:23; 20:14; Isaiah 11:2; 63:14; Ezekiel 11:5; 37:1; Micah 3:8 Zechariah 7:12. Whenever God came to contact people in the Old Testament, He was the Spirit of Jehovah with the element of the Trinity. Actually, the Spirit of Jehovah is the extract of the element of the Triune God.
Before the incarnation, the title the Holy Spirit was not used. However, the King James Version does not make this fact clear in its translation of Psalm 51:11 and Isaiah 63:10-11. “Thy Holy Spirit” in Psalm 51:11 should be “the Spirit of Thy holiness,” and “his Holy Spirit” in Isaiah 63:10 and 11 should be “the Spirit of His holiness.” The title “the Holy Spirit” was first used with respect to Christ’s incarnation, to the time when the Spirit came to Mary to conceive the Lord Jesus.
According to Luke 1:35, the angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; wherefore also the holy thing which is born will be called, Son of God.” The Greek words rendered “holy thing” may also be rendered “holy one.” Both are correct. Before the incarnation of Christ, no one had been holy in nature. Rather, everyone from the time of Adam onward was common, ordinary. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit did not make anyone holy with the holy nature of God. Of course, certain persons and things were holy in the sense that they were separated unto God. For example, Aaron was separated unto the Lord to serve as high priest, but he did not become holy with the holy nature of God. Not until the Lord Jesus was born was there One who was holy in nature. This was possible because He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit has the element of the divine nature, which is holy. Therefore, Matthew 1:18 says that Mary “was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.” Also, the angel of the Lord said to Joseph, “Fear not to take Mary your wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit” (v. 20).
In the New Testament sometimes the Greek says “the Spirit, the holy.” This expression indicates that the Spirit is the holy. This reveals that the Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of Jehovah, is now something further — the Holy Spirit with God’s holy nature, to bring forth someone who is holy in nature just as God Himself is holy. God is holy in His nature, not just in position. Because the Lord Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit, He also is holy in nature.
The Holy Spirit is of such a nature as to make us, the believers, holy with God’s nature. If we understand this, we shall know the meaning of sanctification in the New Testament. New Testament sanctification is to make us holy not merely in position but also in nature. It is to make us holy in nature, even as God is holy. Therefore, we say that the Holy Spirit has the element of the holy divine nature.
John 7:39 says, “But this He said 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.” This verse indicates that before Christ’s resurrection, the Spirit — the Spirit compounded with other elements — was “not yet.” The Spirit of God was there from the very beginning, but the Spirit as the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19) was “not yet” when the Lord spoke this word, because He was not yet glorified. Jesus was glorified when He was resurrected (Luke 24:26). After His resurrection, the Spirit of God became the Spirit of the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Jesus Christ, who was breathed into the disciples by Christ in the evening of the day He was resurrected (John 20:22). The Spirit is now “another Comforter,” who is the Spirit of reality promised by Christ before His death (John 14:16-17). When the Spirit was the Spirit of God, He had only the divine element. When He became the Spirit of Jesus Christ through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, He had both the divine and human element, with all the essence and reality of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. Hence, He is now the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus Christ.
From the time of Genesis 1 until the time of John 20:22, the Spirit was not yet. The term “the Spirit” is all-inclusive, for it includes all the elements of all the other titles of the Spirit. As we shall see, the Spirit includes the Spirit of reality, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of life, the life-giving Spirit, the Lord Spirit, the Spirit of grace, and the seven Spirits. How marvelous!
Concerning the Spirit, I urge you not to follow the traditional teachings. Those teachings have drugged many believers. I myself was drugged for a number of years, and it took a long time for the Lord to de-drug me. I am concerned that some of us, especially the older ones, are still under the drugging influence of the traditional teachings. This influence may cause you to be in a stupor whenever you read the Bible. This is the reason you do not receive light when you study the Word. You may still be too much under the influence of tradition and of your own natural understanding.
Whenever we come to the Bible, we must come with a sober mind, with a mind that has been unloaded and de-drugged. Furthermore, we need to be poor in spirit and pure in heart. The Lord Jesus said that those who are poor in spirit and pure in heart are blessed (Matt. 5:3, 8). We need to have a spirit that is not filled, occupied, with anything, and we need to have a heart that is pure, seeking only the Lord. If we have such a mind, spirit, and heart when we read about the Spirit in the Word, we shall see the significance of all the titles of the Spirit of God.
Not one title of the Spirit is without meaning. For instance, Hebrews 10:29 speaks of insulting the Spirit of grace. It is significant that this verse does not speak of insulting the Spirit of God. The Spirit of grace enables us to taste the Triune God as our enjoyment. This is the taste of grace. It is a very serious matter to insult the Spirit of grace. According to the book of Hebrews, we need to care for the sanctifying blood of Jesus and also for the Spirit of grace, the Spirit for our enjoyment. Hebrews 10:29 illustrates the fact that every title of the Spirit is significant, for each title points to a particular element of the Spirit.
After the Lord’s resurrection, His word concerning the Spirit as another Comforter, as the Spirit of reality, was fulfilled. He had said that He would pray that the Father would give us another Comforter, and that this One would be the Spirit of reality who would be in us. Then the Lord went on to say that in that day we would know that He is in the Father, that we are in Him, and that He is in us. He told the disciples definitely that He would not leave them orphans, but that He would be coming to them. The coming of the Spirit of reality was actually Christ’s coming, for Christ is this Spirit. On the day of His resurrection, the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples, breathed upon them, and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). This was the Spirit of reality, the Spirit containing all the further elements of the Spirit.
We should not think that since the resurrection of Christ the Spirit is no longer the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord or of Jehovah, or the Holy Spirit. No, the Spirit still is the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:9, 14; 1 Cor. 2:14), still the Spirit of Jehovah, the Spirit of the Lord (Acts 5:9; 8:39; 2 Cor. 3:17), and still the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6; Rom. 15:13, 16). But in addition this Spirit is the Spirit of reality (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13).
According to Acts 16:6, Paul and his co-workers were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak 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.”
Romans 8:2 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and of death.” Actually, it goes without saying that the Spirit of life contains the element of the divine life. With the Spirit of life we have the riches of the divine life.
First Corinthians 15:45 says that Christ, the last Adam, became a life-giving Spirit. Then 2 Corinthians 3:6 says that although the letter kills, the Spirit gives life. According to these verses, the Spirit is also the life-giving Spirit. This is the Spirit with the impartation of the divine life.
The life-giving Spirit has the ability to give us life. Now we have life within us. However, we do not have the ability to impart this life to others. But the Spirit of life is also the life-giving Spirit. This title indicates that He has the ability to impart life. Therefore, in this title of the Spirit the element of the impartation of life is implied.
Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” In this verse Paul does not speak of the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of life. Rather, he refers to the Lord Spirit. In this aspect of the Spirit the element of lordship is included. The Lord Jesus became the Lord after His ascension to the heavens. This means that a man from Nazareth named Jesus has been made the Lord of all. This lordship is now in the Spirit. In the Lord Spirit we have the elements of ascension and lordship.
The compound Spirit is also the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29). The Spirit of grace has the element of the enjoyment of the Triune God. This element is grace.
Revelation 1:4 says, “John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.” The Spirit has not only the element of life-impartation, but also that of intensification. The seven Spirits in the book of Revelation imply the Spirit with the element of sevenfold intensification.
When all the aspects and elements of the Spirit are put together, we have a totality, an aggregate, 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). As the Bible is the book, so the Spirit of God today is the Spirit. The Spirit is the all-inclusive, processed, compound Spirit. This Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jehovah, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of reality, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of life, the life-giving Spirit, the Lord Spirit, the Spirit of grace, and the seven Spirits.
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 their writings John, Paul, and Peter all speak of the Spirit. Paul uses the term the Spirit more than any other title of the Spirit. In 1 Peter 1:2 Peter speaks not of the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, but of the sanctification of the Spirit. The reason is that the Holy Spirit is not as rich as the all-inclusive Spirit is. In the book of Revelation John does not use the titles the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Holy Spirit. In Revelation only two titles of the Spirit are used: the seven Spirits and the Spirit. In 1:4; 4:5; and 5:6 we have the seven Spirits. In chapters two and three the title the Spirit is used again and again. It is also found in Revelation 14:13, and for the last time, in Revelation 22:17. Revelation 22:17 says, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come.” This reveals that the Spirit as the totality of the Triune God has become one with the church, who is now fully matured to be the bride. Hence, the Spirit and the bride are one and speak as one. How wonderful!
With regard to the preaching of the gospel beforehand to Abraham, Galatians 3:14 says, “In order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the nations in Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” God in preaching the gospel to Abraham promised him the Spirit. Once again, in Galatians 3:14 we do not have Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Holy Spirit. In this verse we have the Spirit because the Spirit was the unique blessing of the New Testament economy promised by God to Abraham. This means that to Abraham God preached the gospel of the Spirit.
We have pointed out that in the Bible the Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God after the process of becoming the all-inclusive, compound, life-giving Spirit. Hence, the Spirit is nothing less than the Triune God Himself. However, this is not the Triune God apart from the process through which He has passed. The Spirit is the Triune God after He has passed through the process of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Having passed through this process, the Triune God is now this consummate Spirit as the blessing of the New Testament. The Spirit is the blessing of God’s economy. First the gospel concerning this blessing was preached to our father Abraham. Now, as children of Abraham, we should follow his steps to enjoy the Spirit as the unique blessing of God’s New Testament economy.
Having seen the elements of the compound Spirit, we may now say a word regarding the function of this Spirit. The function of the compound Spirit is to anoint the dwelling place of God with its furniture and utensils (Exo. 30:26-29) and to anoint the priesthood of God (30:30). This indicates that the compound Spirit is for God’s building and for His priesthood. If we are not for God’s building and priesthood, we cannot have any share in the compound Spirit, although we may have some enjoyment of and participation in the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit. Only those who are for the building of God and the priesthood of God can have the enjoyment of the compound, all-inclusive, processed Spirit. All the ingredients, all the rich elements, of the compound Spirit are for God’s house and God’s priesthood.
