In the previous chapters we have seen that the Christian life is a mingling of two persons living together as one. We have also seen who we are. We are flesh, and our spirit was deadened and our soul contaminated. As such we have no confidence in our self. In this chapter, we will see who Christ is. If we are seeking after the growth in the divine life and seeking to live the Christian life, we should always remember who our Savior is. We have not exhausted the knowledge of Christ. The knowledge of Christ that many Christians have is too limited, shallow, traditional, and even superstitious. Many hold an inadequate concept of Christ in the divine Trinity and do not realize how Christ’s person is related to God’s economy.
Christ our Savior is God (Rom. 9:5; Heb. 1:8), the Son (Matt. 16:16), and the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). In total, He is the processed and dispensing Triune God who is consummated as the Spirit. The Spirit of God is the consummated Spirit, the consummation of the processed Triune God. The writings of John reveal much concerning the divine Spirit and our human spirit. John 3:2-13 is a portion of the Word on regeneration. In this chapter the term Holy Spirit is not used. Verses 5, 6, and 8 simply refer to “the Spirit.” John 7:39 also speaks of the Spirit, saying, “But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” Finally, Revelation 22:17 says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.”
John 3:6 and 4:24 speak of the two spirits, the divine Spirit and the human spirit. John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and reality.” The divine Spirit begets our human spirit, and our human spirit worships the divine Spirit. As a result, our human spirit is filled with the divine Spirit.
Paul also speaks much concerning the divine Spirit and our human spirit in the Epistles. Many times Paul’s references to the Spirit are difficult to translate because Paul often used the word spirit to denote the mingled spirit. Many references to the spirit in the Epistles actually denote the divine Spirit mingled with the human spirit. The mingled spirit is indicated several times in Galatians 5. Verses 16 and 17 say, “But I say, walk by the Spirit and you shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.” Verse 25 says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” The Spirit in these verses, according to the context of the chapter, is the Holy Spirit, who dwells in and mingles with our regenerated spirit. To walk by the Spirit is to have our walk regulated by the Holy Spirit from within our spirit. In verse 17 it is the mingled spirit, the divine Spirit with our human spirit, that is contrary to the flesh.
In Romans 8:16 Paul says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God.” In this verse the two spirits are no longer separate. The divine Spirit is with our human spirit, and the two spirits have become the mingled spirit.
Our Savior is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Son is the embodiment of the Father, and the Spirit is the realization of the Son. After the Triune God passed through all His processes, the Spirit became the consummated Spirit, the consummation of the Triune God. In eternity past God was perfect. He was the divine Person, almighty, unlimited, and eternal. However, in eternity past He did not possess the human nature since He had not yet been born of a human virgin. He had not passed through human life for thirty-three and a half years. He also had not yet entered into death and walked through it, and He did not yet have the experience of resurrection. He was in the heavens, but He had not yet descended from the heavens to the earth, descended further to Hades, risen up from the realm of death and darkness, and entered into resurrection. He had not ascended to the heavens, not only in His divinity, but also in His incarnation, His human living, all-inclusive death, and all-empowering resurrection. Today, however, after passing through all these processes, He is the consummated Triune God. He is not only perfect but also completed.
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