Scripture Reading: 2, Rom. 1:9; 8:4-5, 8:14-16, 21, 23, 26-28; 6:4; 7:6
We have seen that the gospel of God is the gospel of sonship. This means that God’s intention is to produce many sons through the gospel. For the producing of these many sons, the economy of the three Persons of the Godhead is involved. The Father as the source is in the Son, who is the course, and the Son as the embodiment of the Father is now in the flow of the Spirit. The Spirit is thus the current of the Triune God. Just as electrical current is electricity in motion, so the Spirit of the Triune God is God in motion. Hence, the Spirit of God is for the application of God to us.
Apart from the Spirit as the current, the flow, there is no way for God to be applied to us. God is rich and all His riches are for us; but there is the need of the Spirit as the current for the application of the riches of God to our experience. This flow of the Spirit is the anointing, the moving, of the ointment within us. All that God is in Christ and all that God has accomplished, obtained, and attained in Christ are in this current, this flow, this anointing. Now in our spirit we have the flowing of the divine current, the moving of the ointment. Within us there is something that is constantly in motion. This moving element includes divinity, humanity, Christ’s human living, the effectiveness of His death, the power of His resurrection, the fragrance of His resurrection, His ascension, enthronement, headship, lordship, authority, and kingdom. Thus, the anointing within us is an all-inclusive ointment. Praise the Lord that this current is flowing within us!
We also have seen the importance of our spirit in applying the current of the Triune God. Our spirit is like a switch. By exercising our spirit, we switch on the heavenly electricity which has been installed into us. If we did not have a switch or did not know where the switch was, we would have no way of applying electricity. In the same principle, apart from the switch of our spirit, we have no way to apply the heavenly electricity. Praise the Lord that we have a switch and that we know where it is! The switch is in the inner chamber of our being, that is, in our spirit. The simplest way to switch on the current is to call on the name of the Lord Jesus.
In 1:9 Paul said, “For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son.” The place to serve God is not the mind; it is our spirit. People rarely say “my spirit.” They speak of their heart, their soul, their mind, their emotion, and their will, but not of their spirit. However, Paul was a person who served God in his spirit. We need to develop the habit of saying “my spirit” or “our spirit.” As 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God.” We need to speak more about our spirit, turn to our spirit, and use our spirit in all things.
The reason certain ones do not pray or function in the meetings is that they do not exercise their spirit. Many seem to leave their spirit at home when they come to the meetings. How different they are from Paul, who could attend a church meeting in his spirit even when he was not physically present (1 Cor. 5:3). We do not function in the meetings because we do not exercise our spirit. Likewise, we have many failures in our daily living because we fail to use our spirit. For example, we lose our temper or become depressed because we do not exercise our spirit. In the same principle, we may be unable to know the will of God or to obtain life from the Word because our spirit is dull from lack of exercise. All our problems are solved and all our needs are met through the exercise of our spirit. All that God is and all that He has accomplished are in the all-inclusive Spirit who has been installed in our spirit. Therefore, by turning to our spirit and by exercising our spirit, we may obtain the full supply to meet our need.
Through many years of experience and suffering, I have learned that what we need today is not the knowledge of doctrine, but the exercise of our spirit so that we may experience the application of the Triune God in the flow of the Holy Spirit. After I was saved, I joined a group of Christians who emphasized the objective study of the Bible. I remained under their influence as a willing learner for more than seven years. But one day as I was walking on the street, the Spirit within said to me, “You know so many teachings, but look how dead and unfruitful you are. In the past several years you have brought almost no one to the Lord.” My heart was smitten, and I cried to the Lord for His mercy. I admitted that I was wrong. Early the next day, I climbed a mountain near my home, and there I cried out to the Lord to have mercy on me because of my deadness. The Lord was merciful, and from that time He caused me to seek Him in a consistent way. After that, brother Watchman Nee visited my home town and stayed with me for a while. His visit was a turning point in my life. My eyes were opened to see that the Christian life is not a matter of knowledge, but absolutely a matter of life and the Spirit. However, it took me a long time to become entirely free from the influence of dead knowledge. Once this kind of knowledge gets into us, it is hard to get it out. Therefore, when I say that what we need today is not mere knowledge but the contact with the living Spirit, I know what I am talking about.
All that Christ is, all that He has accomplished, and all that He has obtained and attained are in the all-inclusive Spirit. This Spirit contains everything we need: resurrection, power, life, guidance, light, love, humility. Furthermore, this wonderful all-inclusive Spirit has been installed in our spirit. Hallelujah, the living Christ who is the all-inclusive Spirit is in our spirit! We can apply this wonderfully rich One simply by using our spirit.
In the last message we considered ten matters related to the Spirit: holiness, life, law, peace, joy, love, hope, power, service, and preaching. Now we shall consider another ten items to impress us with the richness of the indwelling Spirit.
In the Spirit we have freedom. Romans 8:2 says that the law of the Spirit of life has freed us from the law of sin and of death. Verse 21 of the same chapter speaks of the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Today we are in the process of becoming free. The entire universe with everything in it is in a state of slavery. In Romans 8 this slavery, this bondage, is called the slavery of corruption. Things die because they are held by this slavery of corruption. But the Spirit is setting us free from this slavery. One day we shall be fully out of the slavery of corruption and fully into the freedom of glory.
Today we also enjoy the Spirit as a foretaste (8:23). We need to learn to have a greater appreciation for the Spirit as a foretaste. How sweet, tender, and enjoyable this foretaste is to us!
The sonship we have in the Spirit (8:15) includes a number of items: the life of the son, the sphere of the son, the position of the son, the living of the son, the enjoyment of the son, the birthright of the son, the inheritance of the son, and the manifestation of the son. We have such an all-inclusive sonship in our spirit. If we stay away from the spirit, we are kept from the enjoyment of the sonship. However, as we are waiting for the full sonship, we should daily enjoy the sonship by exercising our spirit.
Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Here we have the leading of the Spirit. As sons of God, we have the Spirits leading. We have something that functions within us spontaneously and automatically to give us the Lord’s leading. However, we need to cooperate by paying attention to this leading and by honoring it. Sometimes we say that we do not know the Spirit’s leading, when deep within we know it quite well. We may not know it in the mind, but we know it in our spirit. Perhaps you are wondering whether or not you have the Lord’s leading to participate in a certain activity. Do not come to me and ask me what you should do, for I shall tell you that within your spirit you have the leading of the Holy Spirit. Since you already have the Spirit’s leading, you should simply honor it and obey it.
Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God.” This verse indicates that we have the witnessing of the Spirit. The Spirit witnesses that we are God’s children.
Furthermore, the Spirit bears witness that, as the children of God, we should not wear certain kinds of clothing or go to certain worldly places. Many times this witness bothers us. On the one hand, it assures us that we are children of God. But on the other hand, it convicts us when we do things that are not in keeping with being a child of God. This indicates that to be a child of God is to be limited and restricted. However, this limitation and restriction are not a suffering, but a protection. Thank the Lord that we are preserved and protected by the inner witnessing of the Spirit.
In 8:26 and 27 we have the interceding of the Spirit. Often the Spirit intercedes with sighs or groanings, especially when we are about to do something displeasing to the Lord. The purpose of the Spirit’s intercession is that we would be conformed to the image of Christ. For this reason, verse 27 says that the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to God. When we do something that does not help to conform us to the image of Christ, the Spirit groans within us. Because of the Spirit’s groaning, the Christian life is not always a life of joy, for we are inwardly troubled when we do certain things. The people in the world may participate in a particular form of worldly entertainment and be happy about it. But if we share in that form of entertainment, we shall feel deeply troubled within. The Spirit groans concerning anything we do that does not correspond to the divine essence, that is, to holiness, or that does not help to conform us to the image of Christ.
Verse 28 says that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to the purpose. The “all things” in this verse are related to the interceding of the Spirit in verses 26 and 27. Because the Spirit intercedes, so many things work together for good on our behalf. For example, suppose you spend your money in a loose way and do not use it properly for the Lord’s interest. This will cause the Spirit to intercede with groanings. Eventually, the Father will answer the Spirit’s intercession by causing you to have a shortage of money. This financial difficulty will help to conform you to the image of the Son of God. The time to declare that all things work together for good is not when we are enjoying material benefits, but when our situation is difficult. God did not regenerate us so that we might enjoy the world. He regenerated us so that we might become His sons. In order for us to reach the full sonship, we need the Spirit’s interceding.
Next we have the renewing of the Spirit. It is by this renewing of the Spirit that we have the newness of life in 6:4. We all should walk in this newness.
In 7:6 Paul said that “we should serve as slaves in newness of spirit and not in oldness of letter.” Today we serve God in the newness of spirit.
Furthermore, the genuine resurrection power is in the Spirit. When we are in spirit, we are in resurrection.
Finally, sanctification takes place in the spirit.
It does not matter very much whether we understand all these items or not. As long as we are in the Spirit, we have the reality of them all. For example, you may not know what ingredients are in the food you eat, but by eating you take in all the ingredients. What is important is not that we know the recipe, but that we eat the food. Again I say, our need today is not for more teachings; it is for the application and enjoyment of the all-inclusive Spirit. Teachings cannot make us spiritual or humble. We become spiritual and truly humble only by contacting the Spirit through the exercise of our spirit.
Translators have a difficult time deciding whether or not to use a capital letter for the word for Spirit in chapter eight. The reason is that the Spirit in this chapter is the mingled spirit, the Holy Spirit mingled with our human spirit. Therefore, to walk according to the spirit in chapter eight is to walk according to the mingled spirit. Day by day we should cleave to the mingled spirit and do everything according to this spirit. Whenever we walk according to the flesh we are sinners, no matter whether we regard ourselves as good or bad. But we need not walk according to the flesh, for we have the option of walking according to the spirit. When we do this, we enjoy all the riches of Christ.
We daily need to practice having our being according to the spirit. We need to apply this in our talking, in our thinking, and in everything we do. For example, suppose a young one is wondering whether he can participate in a certain kind of athletic activity. My advice to him would be that if he can participate in that athletic activity according to the spirit, then he should go ahead and do so. As Christians, we should not decide matters according to right or wrong; rather, we should decide them according to the spirit.
The Spirit who is mingled with our spirit and according to whom we may have our very being is the wonderful Spirit of the Triune God. Such a Spirit, the realization and application of the Triune God, is now mingled with our spirit. In Romans 8 it is no longer a matter of simply the divine Spirit nor of just the human spirit, but it is a matter of the divine Spirit mingled with the human spirit. Hallelujah for this marvelous mingling!
But although we have such a wonderful mingled spirit within us, we may not care for this spirit very much. But I believe that in the Lord’s recovery the Lord will recover the matter of walking according to the mingled spirit. Without this, it is impossible to have the proper church life. If we do not live and walk according to the spirit, we cannot be a help to the church life. If we do not know how to help others have their being according to the spirit, the church will not be built up, no matter how much we may preach, teach, or minister. What counts is not teaching, but our living according to the mingled spirit and our helping others to do the same thing. Here in the mingled spirit we enjoy the riches of Christ, and here we have the church as the genuine expression of the Body of Christ. The more we walk according to the spirit, the more the church will be built up in a practical way.
Romans 8:4 and 5 give us the key to the experience of Christ and the church life: walking according to the mingled spirit. All that Christ is and all that He has done is in this mingled spirit. Our spirit has been regenerated, and now it is indwelt by the wonderful life-giving Spirit. Furthermore, it is mingled with this all-inclusive Spirit. Do not be occupied with your weaknesses or infirmities, but pay attention to the marvelous heritage you have — the all-inclusive Spirit indwelling your regenerated spirit. Today we are living in the dispensation of the all-inclusive Spirit. The ointment has been compounded by the divine perfumer, and we now have the anointing of the ointment within us, in our spirit. Every regenerated person has had his spirit indwelt by and mingled with the all-inclusive Spirit. All we need today is to exercise our spirit to switch on the heavenly electricity. It is by switching on, not by teachings, that we touch the Lord as the life-giving Spirit and enjoy Him. It is by using the switch that we walk according to the mingled spirit.
We have pointed out that even the Lord Jesus according to the flesh had to be designated the Son of God. Before His designation, according to the flesh He was just the seed of David; in that part of His being He was not yet the Son of God. But by resurrection He was designated the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness. In the same principle, according to the flesh we are sinners. But now that we have been regenerated, we can have our being according to the spirit. The more we walk according to the mingled spirit, the more we undergo the process of designation. Day by day, we are resurrected, sanctified, transformed, and glorified. The way to be designated sons of God is not to acquire more teachings. It is to have our being according to the mingled spirit.
