“Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But 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” (2 Cor. 3:17-18, lit.). These verses are puzzling in their reference to the Spirit. First we are told that the Lord is the Spirit. This means that the Lord and the Spirit are one. Then in the same verse we have the Spirit of the Lord. This term sounds as if the Spirit is related to the Lord, but that the Spirit is one Person and the Lord another. Then in verse 18 we have the term Lord Spirit. This is a compound title like Father God. When we say Father God, we do not mean that Father is one and God another. The same is true with “Lord Spirit”; Lord and Spirit are one.
Electricity illustrates this thought. When electricity moves, it is called electric current. The current, however, is not one thing and electricity another. The current is simply electricity in motion. Similarly, the Lord is the Lord; when He moves, He is the Spirit, or the Spirit of the Lord. While the Lord is in the heavens, He is the Lord. When He comes to us, He is the Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord is the Lord moving in us. We can say this from experience, not merely as a doctrine. Many men of God throughout the centuries have spoken this way also. When God or Christ comes to us, it is as the Spirit that He comes.
Who is it that lives in us? It is the Spirit. Who is the Spirit? He is the Lord. He is also the Father. According to the New Testament, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all in us. Do we have three Persons within? We cannot answer too hastily. Ephesians 4:6 says that the Father is in us. Colossians 1:27 says that Christ is in us. Romans 8:9 tells us that the Spirit of God dwells in us. How many are in us? This is a mystery. When we have the Spirit, we have the Son. When we have the Son, we have the Father. With the Spirit we have both the Father and the Son. When we have one, we have all three! They cannot be separated. The Spirit of the Lord is a wonderful Spirit!
The Spirit of life is mentioned in Romans 8:2. This term is not easy to define. Life itself cannot easily be defined in words, but it is easily identified. When you look at someone, you can tell immediately that he is alive. If you go to a mortuary, it is plain to see that a dead person has no life. You do not need to declare that you are living or try to persuade others that you have life. They can tell even without a glance that you are alive. By the same token, it is immediately apparent when someone is dead: the life has gone.
When you have the Spirit of life, you are living. You show signs of life! This indicates that you have God and Christ, who are life. The Spirit is the Spirit of life.
“The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45b). This Spirit is not only the Spirit of life; He is also the One who imparts life. He is life-giving!
This is a short term, but it is the greatest one! “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” (John 7:39).
How strange to say “the Spirit was not yet”! The Spirit of God had already been mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments many times. What is meant by the Spirit? Because Jesus had yet to pass through death and resurrection and be glorified, the Spirit of Jesus Christ—the all-inclusive, compound, life-giving Spirit—was not yet. Today we have this Spirit! We have received the promise of the Spirit through faith (Gal. 3:14).
Physically we were born of our parents, but, when we were regenerated, we were “born of the Spirit” (John 3:6). By believing in the Lord Jesus, our spirit was born of the Spirit. The all-inclusive Spirit came into our spirit to regenerate it with the divine life.
“The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16). Now that the Spirit is within our spirit through regeneration, He witnesses with our spirit, testifying that we are the children of God. These two spirits within us correspond to each other, together confirming that we are God’s children.
The Spirit today is the Triune God with human nature, human living, Christ’s all-inclusive death, and also His resurrection. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” Our spirit is mingled as one with this Spirit.
Your aspiration may be to walk in the presence of God. You may have read Brother Lawrence’s booklet, “The Practice of the Presence of God.” Do you realize that to be in God’s presence is an Old Testament concept? Abraham walked in God’s presence. However close to God you walk, however much you fear Him and seek to please Him, you and He are still separate from each other. The New Testament does not exhort us to practice God’s presence. It says, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit!” We are one spirit with the Lord. Abraham did not experience this. God was not in Abraham, nor was Abraham in God. At best, Abraham could walk in His presence.
We are one spirit with God! What a tremendous difference from merely being in His presence! Not only are we one with God; we are also one spirit with Him. The day I saw this I was thrilled beyond words. From that time on, I began to practice being one spirit with Him. I failed again and again. I behaved well. I did not lose my temper. My conduct was above reproach. Nonetheless, the good things I did were apart from God. Being close to Him or walking in His presence is not the same as being one spirit with Him. I loved the Bible. I loved the church. I was humble in my manner and kind in my relationships with others. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, I would find myself confessing my failure. “Lord, forgive me. This whole day has been a failure. I loved the saints, but I did so apart from You. I did many kind deeds, but I did them apart from You. I did not live one spirit with You. I was practicing Christian ethics. I did not practice being one spirit with You. Forgive me, Lord. Wash me.”
How well I know now that it is not easy to practice being one spirit with the Lord! For over fifty years I have been practicing good behavior, spiritual ethics. It is easy to control my temper. It is easy to be humble. It is easy to treat people pleasantly. For all these years I have been building up these habits. Why do I need the Lord? He can stay away, while I live my highly moral life from morning till evening. It is spontaneous and natural for me to live in such a virtuous way.
When it comes to practicing one spirit with the Lord, however, the only time I succeed is when I am in prayer. When the prayer is over, I slip away. Since I saw that we are one spirit with the Lord, I have been exercising to stay with Him. I dare not leave Him. I must remain in Him, constantly praying. He says, “Abide in Me and I in you....I am the vine, you are the branches” (John 15:4-5). This mutual abiding is not the practice of His presence. It is rather the practice of being one spirit with Him.
“The mind set on the spirit is life and peace” (Rom. 8:6). All day long we must set our mind on this mingled spirit.
To walk according to spirit (Rom. 8:4) is to practice being one spirit with Him. We must set our mind on and walk according to this one spirit, our spirit mingled with His. “Lord,” we can tell Him, “I don’t care whether I love others or hate them. It doesn’t matter whether I am proud or humble. These things no longer concern me. All I want to do is to set my mind on the spirit and walk according to the spirit. I want to practice this spiritual fact: that I am one spirit with You.”
To practice being one spirit with the Lord is the consummate point of Paul’s completing ministry. Do not try to overcome sin or the world. Do not try to be spiritual. Simply set your mind on the spirit, and walk according to this one spirit.