By regeneration we have also received the Spirit into us. Ezekiel 36:25 through 27 is a passage dealing with regeneration. Verse 25 speaks of cleansing on the negative side, and verse 26 tells us that our old heart and deadened spirit have been renewed. After this, verse 27a says, “And I will put My Spirit within you.” After cleansing us and renewing us, God put His own Spirit into us. This is the best verse to show that in regeneration we received the Spirit into us.
First Corinthians 2:12 also tells us that we have received the Spirit which is of God. Romans 8:9 says, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.” We should know all these different terms. The Spirit of God today is the Spirit of Christ, and this Spirit of Christ today is the Spirit of life within us (v. 2). The main purpose of the Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of Christ, is to be life to us. The phrase Spirit of power cannot be found in the New Testament (the spirit of power in 2 Timothy 1:7 is the regenerated human spirit, not the Holy Spirit). However, in Romans 8:2 there is clearly the term Spirit of life. This is because the main purpose of the Spirit who dwells in us is not power but life. If the Spirit within us is for some kind of power, He is for resurrection power, which is the power of life. The Spirit of God in us today is the Spirit of Christ for the purpose of life.
This Spirit of life dwells in us as the Spirit of truth, that is, the Spirit of reality (John 14:17).
The Spirit of reality, as the reality of Christ, is the Comforter (vv. 16, 26; 15:26). There is no adequate equivalent in English for the Greek word for Comforter, so we have borrowed the Greek word as Paraclete. This word has two meanings, a legal one and a civil one. In legal terms, a paraclete is an attorney who takes care of your whole case in the law court. In civil terms, a paraclete is a patron who serves you and takes care of you. If you need food, he gives you food. If you need water, he gives you water, and if you need medicine, he gives you medicine, somewhat like a nurse does. Today the Spirit of life is in us as the Paraclete. Therefore, with this Paraclete there is the bountiful supply. Philippians 1:19 says, “For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Again, here we do not have an adequate translation. The word supply indicates a bountiful, all-sufficient, all-inclusive supply. This is the supply of the Paraclete, the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of life, who is the Spirit of the reality of Christ, and He is within us as the Paraclete to take care of us in every way. If we need to learn teachings from the Bible, it is this kind of teaching that we need to learn. Do not pay too much attention to the teachings of dispensations, sovereign grace, and sovereign will. Rather, learn to know the practical things of life. In Christianity today too many people pay attention to learning all kinds of doctrines but not the teachings concerning life. Anything related to life is generally neglected.
The Holy Spirit within us is the seal (Eph. 1:13). A seal is a stamp of ownership. When the Chinese buy a book, for example, they put their seal on it. When I buy a Bible, I always put my seal on it; then everyone knows this Bible belongs to me. The Holy Spirit dwells in us as a seal, testifying that we belong to God. The Holy Spirit as the seal declares that we are the inheritance, the property, of God.
Verse 14 and 2 Corinthians 1:22 tell us that the sealing Spirit is also the pledge. The pledge is the earnest, the down payment, or guarantee of the full payment of God Himself. As the seal the Spirit marks us as God’s inheritance, God’s property, and as the pledge He is the guarantee that God is our inheritance.
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