Verse 3 of chapter 3 says, “We are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.” As we have seen, we need to experience Christ in four aspects. As to our circumstances, we magnify Christ in any situation. In whatever happens to us, we must remember that within us there is the all-inclusive Spirit supplying us all the time. It is by Him that we are able to magnify Christ. Second, as to the unbelievers, we preach the gospel by presenting Christ to them. Third, concerning the believers, we have fellowship of spirit. Now as to God, we serve by the Spirit. This is the way to experience Christ.
In verse 3 Paul gives us a contrast between serving God by the Spirit and by the flesh. According to chapter 3, Paul had many virtues to boast of according to the flesh (vv. 4-6). However, he learned the lesson not to serve God by the virtues of the flesh. He gave up all these things and left no ground for them in his service to God. Instead, he learned to serve God by the Spirit. According to the context of this chapter, to serve God by the Spirit is a matter of the resurrection life (v. 10). The Spirit is the reality of the power of resurrection. As we have seen, the Spirit today is no longer only the Spirit of God; He is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, which includes both human suffering and resurrection. Resurrection power is nothing less than the Spirit Himself. To worship and serve God by the Spirit is to worship and serve in the resurrection power, not in anything natural, in the flesh, or by our self. Paul had virtues in the flesh of which he could boast, but he had seen the vision and learned the secret to give up the good flesh and worship God simply and absolutely in the power of Christ’s resurrection. This is the meaning of serving God by the Spirit.
The last verse of Philippians says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (4:23). The grace of the LordJesus Christ is God in Christ as our supply and enjoyment, conveyed to us and realized through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This grace which is the supply of the Spirit is the riches of Christ. The all-inclusive Spirit constantly supplies us with the riches of Christ as grace for our enjoyment. It is by this grace, this supply, that we magnify Christ in every kind of circumstance, present Christ to the unbelievers, fellowship with the believers, and worship God. We must do everything in this grace, which is the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Moreover, this grace is with our spirit. In order to enjoy and participate in this grace by magnifying Christ, preaching the gospel, fellowshipping with the believers, and serving God by the Spirit, we need to turn to our spirit and exercise our spirit. Then grace will flow in our spirit as living water. This is to come forward to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help (Heb. 4:16).
When we remain in the soul, we are not able to fellowship with the believers, nor can we preach the gospel in a prevailing way. We need to preach the gospel in the spirit. We should not give people merely good doctrinal teaching. We need to give them the living Spirit. When we get into the spirit, people will be saved. To serve God is in the same principle. When we remain in the soul, it is difficult to serve God properly. We need to reject our natural self and soul and turn to the spirit. Right away in the spirit there will be a tendency to serve God. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is the flow, the all-inclusive supply, of the Spirit, and this grace, flow, and supply is with our spirit. Therefore, we must turn to our spirit all the time.
In the book of Philippians, the Spirit is the Spirit of the bountiful supply. He is the supplying Spirit who renders and affords us the all-inclusive supply that suffices for us to magnify Christ under any kind of circumstance, present Christ tothe unbelievers, fellowship with the saints, and serve God. The Spirit of the bountiful supply constantly supplies us with whatever we need.
Because the book of Colossians emphasizes the Christ who is all and in all, there is little mention of the Spirit in this book. Verses 8 and 9 of chapter 1 say, “Who also has made known to us your love in the Spirit. Therefore we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease praying and asking on your behalf that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” Verse 8 speaks of love in the Spirit, verse 9 speaks of spiritual wisdom, and 3:16 mentions spiritual songs. Christ is all and in all to us, but we need spiritual wisdom, the wisdom of the Spirit in our spirit, in order to know all the things of Christ. Moreover, we need love in the Spirit to live out what we know. Therefore, in order to know Christ we need to be in the spirit, and in order to live out Christ, we need the love of the Spirit. It is in the spirit that we have the wisdom to know Christ, and it is by the Spirit that we have the love to live out Christ. Then 2:5 says, “Even though I am absent in the flesh, yet in the spirit Iam with you, rejoicing and seeing your order and the solid basis of your faith in Christ.” This refers to the human spirit indwelt by the Holy Spirit. May we all be brought into a full realization of the Spirit of Jesus Christ with the bountiful, all-inclusive supply to meet all our needs, and may we experience the Spirit to know Christ and live out Christ.