When the Spirit of resurrection enters into man, He convicts man concerning sin, concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment (16:8). Concerning sin is related to Adam, concerning righteousness is related to Christ, and concerning judgment is related to Satan. The Holy Spirit shows man his sinful condition in Adam, and then He shows man that he can be justified in Christ. Man can be justified in Christ because Christ died and resurrected. Without being justified in Christ by being transferred into Him, a sinful man in Adam will certainly follow Satan and come under the judgment of God. This is because the ruler of this world, Satan, has been judged (v. 11).
The ruler of this world has been judged, and all those who follow him will be judged. If men are willing to be Satan’s people and follow him, they will be judged with him. Matthew 25:41 says that the eternal fire is prepared for Satan and his angels, not for men. We were sinners in Adam, but we can be transferred into Christ and be justified rather than following Satan and coming under God’s judgment. The Holy Spirit convicts us inwardly concerning these three points so that we may repent and confess our sins for our regeneration. When we are regenerated, we are saved and made alive from within, and there are these six issues of life.
The Gospel of John shows that Christ in the flesh passed through death and resurrection, and in resurrection He became the Spirit to enter into us to be our life. In the beginning, the Spirit shows our condition in Adam, and then He shows the result we have in Christ and the end of those who follow Satan, thereby convicting us concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment so that we may repent and confess our sins. In this way, the Spirit enters into us and grants these six issues. These six issues are the story of life in us. First, the Spirit in us is our life; second, Christ lives in us; third, the Spirit in us explains and speaks Christ to us; fourth, the Spirit in us testifies concerning Christ; fifth, the Spirit guides us into all the reality of God that is in Christ; and sixth, the Spirit glorifies Christ in us so that Christ may have the preeminence in us and possess all that is ours. This is the story of life in us after our regeneration.
We frequently speak of life, but what exactly is life? When someone walks slowly and is polite and gentle, do we say that this is life? When someone looks stern and angry, do we say that this is not life? No, we cannot say this; rather, we must consider these six issues. Life is Christ living in us, and the Spirit is explaining and speaking Christ in us, testifying to us concerning Christ, guiding us into the reality of God in Christ so that He may have the ground and everything in us, and enthroning Christ in us so that He may be glorified. This is stated repeatedly in John 14 through 17. This is life.
From John 1 through 17 we see two great turns of the Lord. One is that He became flesh to come into the midst of men; the other is that He became the Spirit through death and resurrection to enter into men, thereby producing these six issues in us. The purpose of the Lord’s prayer in John 17 is to ask God to fulfill the story of life spoken of in the previous chapters. In chapter 18 the Lord was betrayed and judged, in chapter 19 He died and was buried, and in chapter 20 He was resurrected. In resurrection He came into the midst of the disciples, breathed into them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (v. 22). The disciples were surprised that the Lord could enter into the room when all the doors were shut. In that small room there was the story of life. Because the Lord was resurrected and He became the Spirit, the disciples could receive Him as easily as breathing. The story of the entire Gospel of John is hidden in the Holy Spirit whom the Lord breathed into the disciples. If we would simply inhale Him as in breathing, He would immediately come into us to be our life; in resurrection, He becomes so available.
In chapter 20 the Lord’s breathing into the disciples seems to be a small matter; actually, it is a great matter. This breath is the holy breath, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is too great a thing. The story of life and all spiritual reality are in the Spirit, and the Spirit, like air, is always available to us. Once we breathe in the Holy Spirit, we have all the stories of life, such as the Lord’s incarnation and His death and resurrection. Incarnation brought God into man, and death and resurrection brought man into God. All the content of life, the aspects of life, and the spiritual stories in John 1 through 20 are included in the Holy Spirit in chapter 20.
The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of resurrection, is the issue of the two great steps taken by the Lord: His incarnation and His death and resurrection. The Spirit of resurrection contains all of His stories of life. All we have to do is breathe Him in, pray to Him, change our concept, repent, confess our sins, and worship Him, and we will instantly obtain Him. We simply need to have a small amount of spiritual breathing, and the Holy Spirit will come into us immediately. All the content of the story of life is in the Holy Spirit and also in our spirit. Through the Spirit’s begetting our spirit, the Spirit with all His riches and the fullness of life can easily enter into our spirit and dwell in us as our supply and reality.