In 1 Corinthians 6:17 Paul says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” In this verse the word “joined” refers to the believers’ organic union with the Lord through believing into Him (John 3:15-16). This union is a matter not only of the divine life but in the divine life. The organic union with the resurrected Lord can only be in our spirit.
The words “one spirit” indicate the mingling of the Lord as the Spirit with our spirit. Our spirit has been regenerated by the Spirit of God (John 3:6), who is now in us (1 Cor. 6:19) and who is one with our spirit. Through resurrection the Lord became the life-giving Spirit, and as such a Spirit He is now with our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). Hence, the one spirit in 1 Corinthians 6:17 is the mingled spirit, our regenerated human spirit mingled with the divine Spirit.
Every regenerated person has two spirits within him. First, a regenerated person has a regenerated human spirit. Second, dwelling within the regenerated human spirit there is the Spirit of God.
Throughout the years we have placed strong emphasis on the importance of the human spirit. We have pointed out again and again that man has a spirit within him created by God. Concerning the human spirit, Zechariah 12:1 says, “The Lord...stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.” This verse indicates the importance of the human spirit, for here the spirit of man is ranked with the heavens and the earth. In the sight of God three aspects of His first creation are especially important: the heavens, the earth, and the human spirit. As we have said a number of times, the heavens are for the earth, the earth is for man, and man with his spirit is for God. It is by the spirit that man is able to contact God, receive God, and contain God.
As those who believe in Christ, not only do we have the human spirit created by God, but our human spirit has been regenerated, born of the divine Spirit. In John 3:6 the Lord Jesus speaks clearly concerning this fact: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” In this verse the Spirit is the divine Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God. What is born of the Spirit is the human spirit, the regenerated spirit of man. Regeneration takes place in the human spirit by the Holy Spirit of God with God’s life, the uncreated eternal life.
Every regenerated person has the divine Spirit within him. In the New Testament this Spirit has different titles: the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:9), the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35), the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7, lit.), the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9), and the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19). These titles of the Spirit are used interchangeably. Elsewhere in the New Testament the divine Spirit is called the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), and even the seven Spirits (Rev. 1:4). In order to describe this Spirit, especially as the Spirit is typified by the compound ointment in Exodus 30, we have coined the expression “the compound Spirit.”
The New Testament reveals that in Jesus Christ God was incarnated. The incarnation brought God into man. Through incarnation God actually became a man, and then lived on earth as a man for thirty-three and a half years. At the end of this period of time, the Lord Jesus, the God-man, was crucified. Through His death on the cross He terminated all negative things. God needed Christ to terminate all negative things through His crucifixion. After dying on the cross, the Lord rested for three days, and then He was resurrected from among the dead. In and through His resurrection, He became the life-giving Spirit. This Spirit includes the elements of divinity, humanity, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. For this reason, we may speak of this Spirit as the compound Spirit.