Now that we have seen the function of the heart, we need to consider the function of the spirit. First of all, the Bible tells us that we were originally dead, but when we received the Lord Jesus, we were quickened and made alive (Eph. 2:1-5; Col. 2:13). What does it mean that we were dead? When I was young, I could not understand this. I said to myself, “How can the Bible say that I am dead when I am still alive?” Later on, of course, I learned that I was dead in my spirit. It was my spirit that was dead and out of function. The function of the spirit is to contact God, fellowship with God, and receive and worship God. But because of the fall, man’s spirit became dormant and could not function.
When we received the Lord Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit—and we must remind ourselves that when the title Holy Spirit is used, it means the all-inclusive Spirit—came into our spirit and touched our spirit. By such a touch, our spirit was made alive.
This can be illustrated by electricity. When we touch electricity, something of electricity is transmitted into us. By a simple touch electricity is transmitted. Similarly, the Holy Spirit came into our spirit to touch our spirit, and by that touch the very life that is the Lord Himself was imparted into us. Our dead, dormant spirit immediately became alive. This is more than a miracle. Many times we have thought that it would be wonderful and miraculous if a dead person were resurrected. But we must realize that the Holy Spirit’s enlivening of our dead spirit is even more miraculous. History records that thousands and even millions of people have been rapidly changed because their dead spirit was enlivened. In just one second a person who is dead in his spirit can be made alive. The Holy Spirit is much more powerful than electricity and much faster than the transmission of electricity.
Colossians 2:13 and Ephesians 2:1 and 5 say that our spirit was dead and then made alive. We were dead in sins and then made alive with Christ. These two passages prove that we were originally dead in our spirit, but when we received the Lord Jesus as our Savior, our dead spirit was quickened and made alive. When our spirit was made alive, it was also regenerated. The prefix re- in regeneration means “again.” This means not only that our spirit was made alive, but also that another life was added into our spirit. This other life is the divine and uncreated life of God. It is Christ Himself (John 11:25; 14:6). When the Holy Spirit, based upon the redeeming work of Christ, came into us, He not only enlivened our dead spirit but also brought Christ into our spirit. This new life added into our spirit is more than what God gave us at creation.
Therefore, not only has our dead spirit been recovered and made alive, but a new substance has been added into our spirit. This additional new substance, or essence, is Christ Himself. This is the new birth, regeneration. John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” By the new birth, by regeneration, something other than what we originally had was added to us. We must say this again and again: something has been added. Not only has the old and the dead been renewed and made alive, but Christ Himself has been added into us as the very essence of the divine life. This is regeneration and the new life. By all this we now have a new spirit (Ezek. 36:26).
May I ask, “Have you received Christ Himself as your new life?” If you answer yes, I will ask, “Then why are you still so poor?” Christians need to know Christ as a living reality. Atomic power is not merely something outward but something inward. Even within a mere piece of paper there is atomic power. But when you received Christ, something more powerful than atomic power was added into your spirit. If you believe this, you need to jump up and say Hallelujah! You need to thank and praise the Lord that such a wonderful, all-inclusive, exhaustless, immeasurable Christ has actually been added into you. We simply do not have adequate words to describe the Christ who has come into us. Only eternity can tell the story.
But, praise Him, this is not all. Our spirit is also indwelt by the all-inclusive Holy Spirit. When we were saved, God not only renewed our heart and our spirit, but He also put His own Spirit into us (Ezek. 36:26-27; John 14:17). This wonderful Spirit dwells in our human spirit (Rom. 8:11, 16). Our spirit is the very residence of the Holy Spirit. Consider how wonderful this Spirit is. From the time of our salvation, our dead spirit has become a spirit that is enlivened, regenerated with Christ as the divine life, and indwelt by the all-inclusive Holy Spirit. We now have such a spirit.
But even this is not all. Our spirit is now joined to the Lord as one spirit. Our spirit and the Lord Himself as the Spirit are joined together as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). No human words can exhaust this mystery.
What is the purpose and function of the spirit? It is to contact the Lord, to receive Him, to worship God (John 4:24), and to fellowship with the divine persons of the Triune God. The heart is the loving organ, whereas the spirit is the contacting and receiving organ. We cannot love with our spirit. We must love with our heart. But the One whom our heart loves must be contacted and received by our spirit.
I will never forget a sister who was bothered by this kind of message. She thought that if our heart loved the Lord, it was good enough, and there was no need to talk about the spirit. She thought that the spirit and the heart were the same. Probably after hearing this kind of message, this sister did not sleep well that night, for the next morning while at breakfast she asked, “Isn’t it enough that our heart loves the Lord? Why is there a need for us to talk about the spirit?” I replied, “Sister, here I have a nice Bible. Do you love it?” She answered, “Of course, I love it.” Then I said, “Take it.” When she stretched out her hand, I said, “Don’t exercise your hand. It is your heart that loves the Bible. As long as your heart loves the Bible, that is all right. There is no need to exercise your hand to take it.” The point is clear. We cannot say that as long as our heart loves the Lord, it is good enough. Our spirit is necessary in order for us to take Christ.
Suppose I love my breakfast. As long as my heart loves bacon, toast, milk, juice, etc., is that enough? Absolutely not! If this were enough, I am afraid that after some days I would be buried. To love is a matter of the heart; but in order to receive something, another organ must be exercised. The organ we need to exercise depends on what we intend to receive. In order to receive food, of course, we need to exercise our mouth. In order to receive sound, we need to exercise our ears. In order to receive colorful scenery, we must exercise our eyes. Now that we love the Lord, what organ should we exercise in order to receive Him? Should we use our eyes? The more we look for the Lord, the more He will disappear. God purposely created only one organ for us to receive and contact Him. That organ is our spirit. The spirit within us has the same function spiritually as the stomach has physically. It was specifically created for the purpose of receiving God into us.
But before we can receive something, we must love it. No one receives anything if he does not love it first. If we do not love our breakfast, it will be rather difficult for us to receive it. This is why we must first have an appetite. When we love the Lord, we will take Him, contact Him, commune with Him, and fellowship with Him. Our heart is for us to love the Lord, but our spirit is for us to receive Him. By the renewing of our heart we have a new interest and a new desire to love the Lord. By the renewing of our spirit we have a new ability and a new capacity to receive the Lord. Therefore, after our spirit has been enlivened and Christ as life has been added to it, after it has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit and joined to the Lord as one spirit, it then becomes a very keen organ to receive and contact the Lord.
Next, we must deal with the soul. The first thing we must learn in dealing with the soul is to deny it. Two passages, Matthew 16:24-26 and Luke 9:23-25, tell us clearly that we need to deny our soul, which is our self. In the previous chapter we saw that the soul, our very self, is composed of three parts: the mind, the will, and the emotion. Therefore, we must learn to deny our natural mind, our natural will, and our natural emotion.
Second, the soul must be purified (1 Pet. 1:22), which is accomplished mainly by our receiving the word. The word of God can purify the soul from all the fleshly, worldly, and natural things. Our soul is our self, our very being, which has been extensively damaged and occupied by fleshly, worldly, and natural things. Therefore, we must first deny our soul; then, the more we deny our soul, the more it will be purified by the word of God.
Third, our soul must be transformed (2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:2). Second Corinthians 3:18 says that we must be transformed, but it does not indicate in what part we are to be transformed. However, Romans 12:2 shows that we are transformed by the renewing of the mind. Transformation, therefore, is to be accomplished in our soul, because the mind is the leading part of the soul. After our spirit has been regenerated, our soul needs to be transformed.
The soul must be denied, then purified, then transformed into the image of Christ, but for what purpose? We have pointed out that the purpose of the heart is to love the Lord, and the purpose of the spirit is to receive and contact the Lord. But what is the purpose of the soul? It is to reflect the Lord. In most versions the word reflecting is not translated in 2 Corinthians 3:18, but the meaning is in the original language. To reflect is the function of a mirror, which with “unveiled face” beholds and reflects. By being purified and transformed, the soul becomes the very organ, like a mirror, to reflect and express Christ. Thus, we love the Lord with our heart, we receive and contact Him with our spirit, and we reflect and express Him with our transformed soul. We must put all these things into practice in our daily life. Then our lives will verify that what has been explained here is entirely practical and really works.