John revealed to us in his Gospel that the God whom we worship, serve, believe in, and live by is the Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Paul also revealed to us in his epistles that we who are created by God are tripartite men, composed of spirit, soul, and body. The Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-is mysterious and is not simple at all. The three parts of our being-the spirit, the soul, and the body-also are mysterious and are not simple. When we go to school to receive an education, we are satisfying the need of the soul, so that we can have a strong soul. In school we also do physical exercises. This is to meet the need of the body, so that we can have a strong body. But though we study and engage in physical activities, we often feel empty. This is because our spirit is not satisfied. Our spirit needs to be filled by God. We need God. Only God can “light up” our spirit. If we are right in all three parts of our being, we will be persons who are healthy in our body, strong in our soul, and bright in our spirit.
In Romans 8:9-10 Paul said, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him. And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness.” Here we can see that the Spirit of God is just the Spirit of Christ. The two are one Spirit, and Christ is these two Spirits. Hence, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and Christ Himself-the three-are one. After this, Paul said, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from among the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you” (Rom. 8:11). This means that if we allow the Spirit of the Triune God to dwell in us, in our experience we will not be in the flesh but in the spirit. If that is the case, He as the Spirit will spread from our spirit to our soul, represented by the mind, and will finally give life even to our mortal body.
How does the Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-work Himself into the tripartite man of spirit, soul, and body? First, Christ enters into our spirit and makes our spirit alive. At this time our soul is still dead because of sin. Next, if we set our mind on the spirit continually, the Spirit will enter into our mind, so that our mind will be filled with the Spirit and will become the divine life. In this way, not only our spirit will have life; our mind also will have life. Finally, He who raised Christ from among the dead will give life to our mortal body through the Spirit of resurrection, who dwells in us, so that we will have life also in our body. First, there is life in the spirit. Then there is life in our soul. Finally, there is life for our body. This is how the Triune God dispenses Himself into the tripartite man. This is also the greatest and the most profound mystery in the universe.
We are all tripartite persons with a spirit, a soul, and a body. We not only need to be strong in our soul and body; we need to be bright in our spirit as well. Only in this way can we be directed and led by the Spirit of God, and only then will we be a proper person who is useful to our family, relatives, friends, society, and country. Such a person has gained God and is gained by God. Before we believed in the Lord, our body might not have been very proper. Our soul was not good, and our spirit was darkened and dead. However, thank the Lord, we have believed in Jesus, and the mysterious Triune God has entered into us. Once He comes in, the Spirit comes, and the Father and the Son also come. How rich it is now that the Father is in us, the Son is in us, and the Spirit also is in us! Our whole being is now fully taken over by the Triune God. The Triune God has begotten us with Himself and has reconstituted us with His own divine elements. Now we are persons with God, those who have the dispensing of God and are saturated and constituted with God. Hence, we are God-men.
This work of putting the Triune God Himself into us is dispensing. This dispensing is not at all rough; rather, it is very refined and tender. As long as you confess that you are a sinner and believe in the Lord Jesus, this Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-will enter into you to be your life and everything. If you are a husband, He will become the love with which you love your wife. If you are a wife, He will become the submission with which you submit to your husband. You can love your wife because of Jesus, and you can submit to your husband because of Jesus. Your humility, gentleness, and patience are all Jesus. Jesus has become your all.
Moreover, through His dispensing within you, you will gradually realize that He is your Head. Before Him you are just like a wife. You will understand that He is your Lord, that only He has the real sovereignty over you. This Triune God who is within you is your life and everything. He is also your Head, your Husband, and your Lord. Moreover, He is your law, the law of the Spirit of life. This law is a tremendous thing. When you see an electric fan turning, you know that there is a law of electricity operating within the electric fan. Electricity is transmitted from the power plant to the house and is then connected to the electric fan. There is also a switch. When you want the fan to turn, you do not need to turn it with a bamboo pole. You only need to turn on the switch; the fan will immediately turn and the cool wind will come.
As a Christian today, do you live the Christian life by “turning the fan with a bamboo pole,” or are you “turning on the switch” to allow the fan to turn by itself? Some have prayed much for the Lord to help them and to strengthen them so that they can honor their parents and control their temper. Actually, this kind of prayer is like turning the fan with a bamboo pole. Have you seen that you no longer need to turn the fan with the pole? You need to see that one fact has been accomplished-that the electricity from the power plant has been installed into this house. The electric fan is here. The switch is installed. There is no need for you to do anything else. You only need to turn on the switch, and the fan will turn.
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