The divine revelation concerning the divine economy and the divine dispensing is the central line among the many lines in the Bible. The terms divine economy and divine dispensing are new to most Christians because few know the teaching of God's economy in the New Testament. The word economy, the anglicized form of the Greek word oikonomia, was stressed very much by the apostle Paul in his Epistles (Eph. 1:10; 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:4). The Greek word oikonomia refers to a household administration. Hence, God's economy refers to God's household administration. In this administration there is a marvelous arrangement for God to dispense Himself into His chosen, created, and redeemed people. God's divine economy, His household administration, is carried out by His divine dispensing.
The central thought of God's redemption and salvation is to work Himself into His people. God redeemed us and saved us so that He can work Himself into our being. He also created us with a body, a soul, and a spirit for this purpose (1 Thes. 5:23). Outwardly, we have a body, and inwardly we have a spirit deep within us. Between our spirit and our body is our soul. Many Christians do not know that man has a human spirit. They consider the spirit, the soul, the mind, and the heart as one thing. However, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 definitely mentions the human spirit as one of the three parts of our being, and Hebrews 4:12 even says that man's soul and spirit can be divided.
When I began to minister in the United States thirty years ago, I stressed the matter of the human spirit very much. Wherever I went I spoke on this matter. Many told me that they had never known that they had a human spirit. They had heard only about the Holy Spirit, not the human spirit. Today the life of many Christians is poor because they have missed the organ for the Christian life—the human spirit. In 1 Corinthians 6:17 Paul said, "He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit." This indicates that the Spirit of God can indwell the spirit of man to such an extent that the two spirits become one spirit.
The dispensing of God is very much related to the two spirits. First of all, God Himself is Spirit. In John 4:24 the Lord Jesus said, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness." In this verse there is no article between the words is and Spirit. This indicates that the phrase "God is Spirit" refers to the essence of God. The essence of a gold ring is gold, and the essence of a steel table is steel. In the same way, the essence of God is Spirit. Thus, if we would worship such a God who is Spirit, we must worship Him in our spirit.
Not only so, the Second of the Divine Trinity, after becoming flesh and dying on the cross and entering into resurrection, became a life-giving Spirit (John 1:1, 14; 1 Cor. 15:45b). Thus, the Son also is Spirit. Moreover, the Third of the Divine Trinity, the Holy Spirit, also is Spirit. Hence, the three of the Divine Trinity are Spirit. The essence of the entire God, the complete Triune God, is Spirit. The Father is the source, the Son is the course, and the Holy Spirit is the flowing, the reaching, of the Triune God to us. The three of the Divine Trinity are Spirit for the purpose of dispensing the Triune God into our being.
In the evening on the day of His resurrection, the Lord Jesus came to His disciples, breathed upon them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). This indicates very clearly that God's intention in His redemption and salvation is to make Himself one with His redeemed people by the divine dispensing. God is Spirit, and we have a spirit; therefore, God can make Himself one with us. Only Spirit can touch spirit. Eventually, God as the Spirit touches our spirit. God has regenerated us in our spirit (John 3:6), and He is now dwelling in our spirit to make our spirit one with His Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17)—a mingled spirit. This is the central line of the divine revelation, and this is the divine dispensing of the Divine Being into our being.