In more than twenty translations of the New Testament there is a difference in the way the word spirit is treated. In some translations the word is capitalized in certain instances, and in the same instances in other translations it is not. What is the reason for such conflicting translations? In many passages it is difficult for any translator to decide whether spirit refers to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit. Since our spirit has been mingled together with the Holy Spirit, the two spirits are mingled as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). Therefore, one may assert that this mingled spirit is the human spirit, but another may say that this Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Of course, the context of some passages makes it clear that the reference is to the Holy Spirit, but in other passages the reference is to the human spirit.
Romans 8:10 says, “But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.” The context of this verse clearly indicates that the spirit here is not the Holy Spirit, because it is compared with the body. The Holy Spirit should not be compared with our body. It is our human spirit that the apostle was comparing with our body. What is the meaning of this verse? Originally our body was dead because of sin. Now Christ is in us, and though our sinful body is still dead because of sin, our spirit is alive and full of life because of righteousness. Therefore, the spirit mentioned in this verse is not the Holy Spirit but the human spirit, which is compared with the human body.
In another verse, Romans 8:11, it is obvious that reference is made to the Spirit of God. What follows the phrase the Spirit of the One defines whose Spirit it is: “If the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.” Verse 10 tells us that though Christ is in us, our body is still dead because of sin. However, verse 11 declares that because of the Spirit’s indwelling, our weak, mortal body will also be enlivened, revived, and strengthened. Because Christ as the Spirit is living in us, even our mortal bodies, which are dead because of sin, can be enlivened and revived by the divine Spirit, who is dwelling within our spirit. The indwelling Spirit makes us alive not only in our spirit but eventually also in our body.
Why are we emphasizing the difference between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit? It is because our greatest problem is that we do not know the indwelling Spirit or realize that the human spirit is the very dwelling place of the Holy Spirit; neither do we know that these two spirits have been mingled together as one spirit. What a pity this is! These two things are the mark of God’s economy, and many Christians are missing this mark. A house is inaccessible when the key is missing. Only the key will open the house to us that we may enjoy everything in it. For centuries the enemy has covered the key to God’s economy. This key is the fact that our human spirit is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and our human spirit is one with the wonderful Holy Spirit.
The Word of God is living and sharp, even sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing of soul and spirit. For more than thirty years I tried to understand why this word was written and why it was written in Hebrews chapter 4. The Lord has revealed the reason. The book of Hebrews encourages us to press on from the wilderness into the good land, from the stage of wandering to the stage of resting in the all-inclusive Christ. At that time the Hebrew Christians were in danger of drifting away from Christ into Judaism, which is like the children of Israel returning to the land of Egypt (Num. 14:3-4). The Hebrew believers had been delivered out of Judaism and intended to enter into the good land of rest, but they were wandering midway between Judaism and Christ. The Epistle to the Hebrews was written to encourage them to press beyond the wandering stage by taking Christ as their all-inclusive life and rest.
Hebrews also refers to the Holy of Holies. Again, for many years I could not understand what the Holy of Holies is. Eventually, I was helped by the Lord to realize that the Holy of Holies is, in a sense, our spirit. Today our human spirit is the Holy of Holies. The three parts of the temple correspond to the three parts of man—body, soul, and spirit. The innermost part of the temple, the Holy of Holies, indicates the innermost part of our being, the human spirit. Just as the Ark, a type of Christ, was in the Holy of Holies, so Christ is in our spirit today. Our human spirit, therefore, is the Holy of Holies, the place where we can contact God. If we cannot discern our spirit, we cannot locate the Holy of Holies.
Furthermore, we must be very clear that today the Triune God has completed everything. He has accomplished creation, incarnation, and Christ’s human living with its sufferings on earth. He has entered into death and passed through death, and He has resurrected, ascended into heaven, and been enthroned. Everything has been attained by the wonderful Triune God, and all these realities are in the Holy Spirit, who has come into us. The point is that this Holy Spirit has been dispensed into our human spirit, which is now the residence of God. Our spirit is the organ to receive God and to contain Him. In order to contact this wonderful Spirit, we must know our spirit. If you intend to contact me, you must know where I live. Hebrews 4:12 was written to encourage us to press on into the Holy of Holies, which is our spirit. If we do not know how to discern our spirit, we will not be able to locate the Holy of Holies, the place where the Lord dwells today. God’s economy is to dispense Himself into us, and the very place where He dispenses Himself is our spirit. When we are able to discern our spirit and to exercise our spirit to contact the Lord, we can then be permeated and saturated with the Lord and be transformed into His image.