The Spirit we have today is the consummated Spirit, not the “raw” Spirit. The divine Spirit has been consummated with humanity, with the sweetness and effectiveness of Christ’s death, and with the power of Christ’s resurrection. This consummated Spirit has become the very dose God has prescribed for us. We just have to take this dose by continually calling on the Lord’s name-“O Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus.” Certain medicines are prescribed for high blood pressure. Within a short period of time after they are taken, a person’s blood pressure will come down. We need to take such an effective dose for our Christian life and church life. This dose is the compound Spirit.
We can take this dose by calling, “O Lord Jesus.” It is not necessary for us to shout. If we call on the Lord repeatedly, our temper will be gone. This is why we are told to pray unceasingly (1 Thes. 5:17). To pray we have to say, “O Lord Jesus.” To call on the Lord’s name is to breathe in the Spirit. M. E. Barber wrote a hymn which says, “Just to breathe the Name of Jesus, / Is to drink of Life indeed” (Hymns, #73-verse 2). When we breathe the name of Jesus by calling on His name, we drink of the Spirit of life. To call on the Lord is to breathe in the Spirit (Lam. 3:55-56).
The Spirit today is the consummation of the Triune God. He is the consummated Spirit of God compounded with divinity, with humanity, with Jesus’ death, and with Christ’s resurrection. In Philippians 1:19 Paul speaks of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Jesus Christ is bountiful. He is bountifully rich, and He has a bountiful supply. How can we touch Him and gain Him? We must call on the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the name, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ is the person. If we call a person’s name, he may respond, “Yes, I am here.” If we call, “O Lord Jesus,” the Spirit says, “Yes, I am here.” This is because the Spirit is the person.
We need to call on the name of the Lord in every place (1 Cor. 1:2). Some brothers and sisters may not want to call on the Lord before others in the meetings because they feel that they are too dignified. If a brother is a professor, he may feel that if he calls on the Lord, he will lose his dignity. It is easier for the young people to call on the Lord. The older saints may call on the Lord privately and secretly, but they may not call on the Lord publicly in the meetings. If we do not call on the Lord, however, we are refusing to take the Spirit as our medicine, as our dose. It is not a shame to take the best medicine. We have to call on the name of the Lord to receive the Spirit.
The Spirit is the aggregate of the Triune God, the consummation of the Triune God. The Triune God is embodied in Christ, and Christ is realized as the Spirit. The Spirit today is the living Jesus and the reality of the Triune God. The way to enjoy Him and be filled with Him is to pray. Then we will be filled with Him inwardly as the essential Spirit for our life and living and filled with Him outwardly as the economical Spirit for power in our ministry and work (Acts 13:52; 2:4a; 4:31b).
Before I speak to the saints in the ministry, I have to pray. Without praying, I cannot speak. Before coming to speak, I frequently pray, “Lord, fill me within as the essence, as life, and fill me without as the power for the impact.” The Lord hears this prayer. When I speak, I have the Spirit as the essence within. I am not empty, but filled up with the Spirit. I also have the experience of the Spirit upon me as my authority for the impact. We all need to be filled inwardly with the essential Spirit for life and for the reality of our being and filled outwardly with the Spirit of power for God’s economy to carry out God’s work.
The believers should live, act, and do everything by, in, and according to the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25; Rom. 8:4). This is the Christian life and also the corporate life of the church.
The church as the bride of Christ should be one with the Spirit (Rev. 22:17). Eventually, the whole church is one with the Spirit. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” The entire church should be one spirit with the Lord. If all of us live, act, and do things with, in, by, and through the Spirit, the church will be absolutely one with the Spirit. This is the church, the Body of Christ, which the Lord desires.
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