In the previous chapter we saw the picture that God has presented to us throughout the Scriptures. After creating the heavens and the earth, God made a man from the dust of the earth—a man of clay (Gen. 2:7). God’s intention in making this man of clay was to transform him into something very precious, as implied by the figures of gold, bdellium (pearls), and precious stones (2 Cor. 3:17-18; Gen. 2:11-12). According to the picture in the Scriptures, God is seeking for a group of men of clay to be transformed into His image, that is, transformed into something precious to Him, and to be built together as a living organism to be the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 3:9, 12; 1 Pet. 2:5; Eph. 4:16).
Now we must go on to see how this man of clay can be transformed, figuratively speaking, into gold, pearls, and precious stones. Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” Those who know something about chemistry are familiar with how transformation takes place. For instance, let us say we have a cup containing chemical matter. If we want to cause this chemical matter to be transformed into something else, we must add something to it. Only when some other matter is put into the cup does the original chemical matter begin to be transformed. As men of clay, we all bear the name Adam. Since we are all Adam—men of clay—we need to be transformed by having another element—Christ—added into our being.
We who have been saved by the Lord cannot deny that we have already been transformed to at least some degree. This means that our name is no longer Adam but Christ. Perhaps you may hesitate to say this. Let us therefore turn to another illustration—a cup of tea. Although we call tea simply “tea,” what we call tea is actually tea put into, mingled, and blended with water. In the same way that we do not hesitate to say that this is tea, we who have Christ in us and Christ mingled with us should not hesitate to say that we are Christ (cf. Phil. 1:21; 1 Cor. 12:12). Perhaps the reason you still hesitate to call yourself Christ is that, since you have only recently believed, there is not much Christ in you. According to the tea example, whether it is strong or weak, it is still called tea. Even though it is tea-water, we still call it tea. We are men made of clay. Yet the moment we believed in the Lord Jesus and accepted Him as our Savior, the Lord Jesus came into us as the Spirit. Now Christ is in us (Col. 1:27; Gal. 2:20), and we are Christ. Therefore, to a certain extent, we men of clay are now pieces of transformed stone. Although formerly we were only men of clay, Christ has been put into us and become mingled and blended with us. Just as tea is no longer just water but tea-water, since we have received Christ into us, we are no longer just men—we are Christ-men.
Since Christ has been added into us, a spiritual reaction has taken place within us in the same way that a chemical reaction takes place. Something divine, heavenly, and spiritual was added into us. By being mingled and blended with Christ in regeneration, we were transformed from men of clay into men of gold, pearl, and precious stones. This is a wonderful, divine, and glorious fact.
At the time of our salvation, Christ was added into us. But we must go on to see to which part of us He was added. As human beings, we have three parts: a spirit, a soul, and a body (1 Thes. 5:23). Our body is our physical organ and is the most outward part of our being. Our soul is more inward and is composed of the mind, emotion, and will (cf. Psa. 139:14; Prov. 2:10; Job 7:15; 1 Sam. 18:1; S. S. 1:7). Our mind is for thinking, our emotion is for feeling, and our will is for choosing and deciding. Our innermost part is the spirit.
Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” According to this verse, the soul and the spirit are two separate parts of our being, since they can be divided. An illustration may help us know how we can actually discern the difference between the spirit and the soul. Once, a brother I knew lost his son. The day that his son died was exceedingly sad for him. Because I wanted to do something to comfort and help him, I went to his home. When I arrived, even before I said anything, the brother said to me, “Brother Lee, praise the Lord! On the one hand, I am deeply sorrowful. On the other hand, in my inmost part, I am so happy.” This brother was sad in his soul. At the same time, he was happy in the spirit. Because he had such a close, intimate relationship with his son, his emotions, a part of his soul, were very much involved with him. Thus, when his son died, he became very sad in his emotions. Yet this brother also had another part, the deepest part of his being, his spirit. In that part he was happy. Miss M. E. Barber once wrote a hymn in which she expresses a similar thought: “Let the spirit praise Thee, / Though the heart be riv’n” (Hymns, #377). The heart is composed of all the parts of the soul (mind, emotion, and will) plus the conscience (Matt. 9:4; Heb. 4:12; Acts 11:23; John 16:22; Heb. 10:22; 1 John 3:20). Because the spirit and the soul are distinct, although our soul may be in one condition, our spirit can be in a very different condition. This shows us how the spirit is distinct from the soul.
With the three parts of our being—body, soul, and spirit—we contact three worlds. With our body we contact the physical world. With our soul we contact the psychological world, in which we appreciate such things as music and art and feel emotions such as sorrow or happiness. With our spirit we contact the spiritual world, where God, who is Spirit, is (John 4:24). If we want to contact the physical world, we must use our body. If we want to contact the psychological world, we must use our soul. If we want to contact God as the Spirit, we must use our spirit. Here we see a principle: In order to contact something in any of these three worlds, we must use the corresponding part, or organ, of our being. Only the corresponding organ is the correct organ for touching those things. If we close our eyes and attempt to appreciate colors with our ears, the colors seem to disappear. Although the colors still exist, we cannot substantiate them because we are not using the right organ. Similarly, we cannot substantiate music if we do not use our ears. Also, our nose functions to smell things. Yet when we have a cold, our nose’s function is hindered, and we cannot smell, even though odors are still present. Thus, in order to substantiate any particular substance, we must exercise the proper organ.
There is a God, and this God is Spirit, but because human beings in general do not know how to exercise their spirit, they ask, “Who is God?” and “Where is God?” These questions are as foolish as those of a man who, having closed his eyes, questions the existence of color. Regardless of how strongly the man believes and feels that there is no color, color continues to exist. God is here, but we cannot use our eyes to see Him, our ears to hear Him, or our nose to smell Him, because they are the wrong organs. The only organ by which we can substantiate God is our spirit. John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.” Since God is Spirit, if we want to worship Him, we must do so with our spirit.
One day when one of my daughters was very young, I gave her something sweet to drink. When she attempted to drink it, however, some of it got in her nose. Consequently, instead of enjoying the drink, she suffered. Her suffering was not caused by the drink itself; she suffered because the wrong organ was used in her attempt to drink it. Similarly, our soul, specifically our mentality, is the wrong organ to use if we wish to sense God directly. Despite this fact, many people use only their soul when considering God. Some who study science say that they cannot find or contact God. Eventually, they may say that there is no God at all. Because they use the wrong organ—their soul—they cannot find God, for God is not in the psychological realm and therefore cannot be found there. If these same scientists were to use their spirit to contact God, who is Spirit, they would sense Him. In order to sense the presence of God, we must use the right organ; we must use our spirit.