Scripture Reading: Phil. 1:19-21
In 1:19-21 there are three crucial expressions: “the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (v. 19), “Christ shall be magnified in my body” (v. 20), and “to me to live is Christ” (v. 21). In this message we shall consider the first of these expressions, “the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”
In 1:19 Paul says, “I know that for me this shall turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” The words bountiful supply are not simply a translation of the Greek, but an interpretation of the Greek term used. Literally, the Greek word refers to the supplying of all the needs of the chorus by someone known as the choragus, the leader or director of the chorus. The Greek word Paul uses thus implies a bountiful supply. The choragus supplied all the needs of everyone in the chorus, the needs for food, clothing, lodging, and musical instruments. The supply of the choragus truly was bountiful, even all-inclusive. Once a person had joined the chorus, there was no need for him to be concerned about the necessities of life; the choragus would supply whatever he needed. In using the expression “the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,” Paul likens the supply of the Spirit to that of the choragus. Therefore, to have a proper understanding of 1:19, we need the word bountiful with the word supply. This bountiful supply of the all-inclusive Spirit was for Paul to live Christ and magnify Christ in his sufferings for Him. The supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ is bountiful and all-inclusive. What we have today is not a partial supply, but a bountiful, all-inclusive supply.
The Spirit of Jesus Christ is “the Spirit” as mentioned in John 7:39. This is not merely the Spirit of God before the Lord’s incarnation, but the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit with divinity, after the Lord’s resurrection, compounded with the Lord’s incarnation (humanity), human living under the cross, crucifixion, and resurrection. The holy anointing ointment in Exodus 30:23-25, a compound of olive oil with four kinds of spices, was a full type of this compound Spirit of God, who is now the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Here it is not the Spirit of Jesus as in Acts 16:7 (Gk.), nor the Spirit of Christ as in Romans 8:9, but the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Jesus is mainly for the Lord’s humanity and human living; the Spirit of Christ is mainly for the Lord’s resurrection. To experience the Lord’s humanity, as illustrated in Philippians 2:5-8, we need the Spirit of Jesus. To experience the power of the Lord’s resurrection, as mentioned in 3:10, we need the Spirit of Christ. In his suffering, Paul experienced both the Lord’s suffering in His humanity and the Lord’s resurrection. Hence, the Spirit to him was the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the compound, all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit of the Triune God. Such a Spirit has, and even is, the bountiful supply for a person like Paul, who was experiencing and enjoying Christ in His human living and resurrection. Eventually, this compound Spirit of Jesus Christ becomes the seven Spirits of God, who are the seven lamps of fire before His throne to carry out His administration on earth for the accomplishment of His economy with the church, and who are the seven eyes of the Lamb for the transfusing of all that He is into the church (Rev. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6).
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. Hence, in speaking of God’s relationship with man, the title of the Spirit is the Spirit of Jehovah (Judg. 3:10; 1 Sam. 10:6).
At the time of the conception and birth of Christ, the term “Holy Spirit” was used (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:20). This title of the Spirit is related to holiness, sanctification, and separation unto God. Through the Holy Spirit something in man is sanctified, made holy.
In Greek, Acts 16:7 speaks of the Spirit of Jesus. The Lord’s life on earth was a life of suffering. Thus, the title “the Spirit of Jesus” refers in particular to the Spirit in relation to the Lord’s suffering.
In Romans 8:9-11 Paul speaks of the Spirit of Christ. According to the context of these verses, the Spirit of Christ is related mainly to Christ’s resurrection.
We have seen that in 1:19 Paul speaks of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Since the Spirit of Jesus has particular reference to the Lord’s suffering, and the Spirit of Christ, to His resurrection, the Spirit of Jesus Christ is related both to suffering and resurrection. In his imprisonment Paul was enjoying the Spirit both as the Spirit of Jesus in suffering and as the Spirit of Christ in resurrection. As he was suffering, Paul was enjoying Christ’s resurrection. Since he was experiencing both suffering and resurrection, to him the Spirit was the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
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 speaks of “the Spirit,” telling us that before the Lord Jesus was crucified and resurrected, “the Spirit” was not yet. The Spirit of God was there from the beginning (Gen. 1:1-2), but “the Spirit” as the Spirit of Jesus Christ was “not yet” at the time of John 7:39, because the Lord had not yet been glorified. After His resurrection, the Spirit of God became the Spirit of the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Jesus Christ. Even though, before the Lord’s death and resurrection, the Spirit of God was the Spirit of Jehovah and the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit” was not yet. This term — “the Spirit” — is used often by Paul in his Epistles and by John in the book of Revelation. Instead of saying the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit, Paul often said “the Spirit” — the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit of the Triune God.
The term “compound Spirit” cannot be found in the Bible. However, the reality of this aspect of the Spirit is found in the Scriptures. The same is true of the Trinity. Although this term cannot be found in the Bible, it cannot be reasonably denied that the Bible reveals that God is triune. Matthew 28:19 speaks of baptizing people into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, a clear indication that God is triune. Another indication is 2 Corinthians 13:14, which speaks of the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (Gk.). Based upon the fact that, according to the Bible, God is triune, the term Trinity is used. In the same principle, based upon the facts in Scripture, we may properly speak of the Spirit as the compound Spirit. According to Exodus 30:23-24, a hin of olive oil was compounded with four spices to produce the holy anointing oil, the holy ointment. In typology, oil signifies the Spirit of God, and the compound ointment, the oil blended with four spices, signifies the Holy Spirit. Through a compounding process, the oil became an ointment and was used to anoint the tabernacle and everything related to it. Even the priests were anointed with this holy ointment. Before Exodus 30, this compound ointment was “not yet,” but after Exodus 30, such an ointment was definitely in existence. In like manner, before Christ was crucified, resurrected, and glorified, the Spirit as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit was “not yet.” But through the process of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, the Spirit of God, typified by the oil, became the compound Spirit, typified by the ointment.
The four spices used to make the ointment in Exodus 30 typify the effectiveness of Christ’s death, the sweetness of His death, the power of His resurrection, and the fragrance of His resurrection. Before Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, the Spirit of God did not have these four elements. But after Christ’s resurrection, these elements were compounded into the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God became “the Spirit,” the compound Spirit.
The book of Revelation refers to the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6). These seven Spirits are the seven lamps of fire burning before God’s throne and also the seven eyes of the Lamb. Since Revelation mentions the seven Spirits, we must ask whether God the Spirit is one or seven. According to the mathematics in our mentality, one is one and seven is seven. But according to the mathematics of the Bible, there is a sense in which seven is one and one is seven. The one Spirit is called the seven Spirits.
According to the traditional understanding of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are regarded as three distinct Persons. Some even go so far as to insist that they are distinct and separate Persons. According to the Bible, however, the Three cannot be separated. I wonder what those who advocate the traditional understanding of the Trinity do with Revelation 5:6. This verse tells us that the seven Spirits, the third Person, are the seven eyes of the Lamb, the second Person. If the Son and the Spirit were two separate Persons, how could the seven Spirits be the eyes of the Lamb? In other words, how can one Person of the Trinity, the Spirit, be the eyes of another Person, the Son? There is no room in the traditional understanding of the Trinity, especially as it follows the formulation of the Nicene Creed, for “the Spirit,” the compound Spirit, or the seven Spirits, Actually, those who hold to the tradition are very narrow and restricted in their understanding, but those who hold to the pure Word in its entirety are very broad and inclusive.
We may use the word persons to speak of the Three of the Triune God. However, we must be careful not to press this word too far. W. H. Griffith Thomas recognized the danger of this. In The Principles of Theology he said this concerning the Trinity: “The term Person is also sometimes objected to. Like all human language, it is liable to be accused of inadequacy and even positive error. It certainly must not be pressed too far or it will lead to Tritheism....” Those who press the term persons too far will end up not merely with the three Persons of the Godhead, but with three Gods. Eventually, what they have is tritheism instead of the Trinity. Without realizing it, many Christian teachers have done this very thing. We need to recognize that we are simply not able to define the Trinity adequately. We do not even have a thorough understanding of man. How could we expect, then, to understand adequately the mystery of the Triune God? We need to turn from the inadequacies of the Nicene Creed and of the traditional understanding of the Trinity and come back to the pure Word of God. In the light of God’s Word, we see that the Spirit we are enjoying today is not only the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jehovah, and the Holy Spirit; this Spirit is not even limited to the Spirit of Jesus or the Spirit of Christ. The Spirit we are enjoying is the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This Spirit is “the Spirit,” the all-inclusive, compound, life-giving Spirit of the Triune God. Because this Spirit is so rich, bountiful, and all-inclusive, He has the supply to meet our every need. For this reason, when Paul was suffering for the sake of the gospel, he enjoyed the bountiful supply of the all-inclusive Spirit.
Christians today may talk about the Spirit and even write books about the Spirit, but they say nothing concerning the compound Spirit or the seven Spirits. Instead, they hold on to the limited, traditional understanding of the Spirit of God expressed in the Nicene Creed. Those in the charismatic movement or in Pentecostalism claim to experience the Spirit. However, they also seem to neglect the life-giving Spirit, the compound Spirit, and the seven Spirits. If we would have a proper understanding of the Holy Spirit, we need to realize that the Spirit today is nothing less than the Triune God processed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. Some object to the word processed. They argue that it is not possible for God to be processed. But did God not pass through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection? If this is not a process, then what word should we use to describe it? As we use the word Trinity to convey the revelation of the Triune God in the Bible, we use the word process to convey the steps the Triune God has taken from Christ’s incarnation through His resurrection.
We are not satisfied simply to have a doctrinal understanding of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. We must go on to experience the Spirit, the compound Spirit, and the seven Spirits of God. We need more and more experience of the compound, all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit who is the processed Triune God as everything to us. By such a Spirit Paul suffered for God’s economy and simultaneously enjoyed a bountiful supply to strengthen him in resurrection. Paul was an overcomer not because he had a strong will. He could be an overcomer because he experienced and enjoyed the all-inclusive Spirit with His bountiful supply dwelling in him to be everything to him. Paul realized in his experience that the Triune God was working Himself into his being. May we also experience and enjoy the Triune God supplying us and working Himself into us as the compound, all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit.
