In Romans 8:9 we see the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. Then in verse 10 we see Christ. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and Christ are not three separate entities. These three are one. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ is Christ. These are different titles denoting one Person. You may call this Person Christ; you may call Him the Spirit of Christ; and you may call Him the Spirit of God. This one divine Person, who is all-inclusive, has three titles here: the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and Christ. These three titles are interchangeably used to bear a particular significance.
Thus far, we have seen the Spirit of life, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and now we come to the Spirit of Him (Rom. 8:11). In Greek this actually means “the Spirit of the One.” After Paul referred to the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of God, he referred to the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from among the dead. This One who raised up Jesus is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the Triune God. This Triune God is the resurrecting One. When the Sadducees asked the Lord concerning resurrection in Matthew 22 the Lord referred them to Exodus 3:6 and 16 where God unveils Himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—the Triune God. This divine title indicates resurrection because God could never be the God of the dead ones. He is the God of the living ones (Matt. 22:32). The Triune God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, is the resurrecting God. In Romans 8:11 we see the resurrecting God, the Triune God. It is wonderful and marvelous that in Romans 8:11 we can see the Spirit of the resurrecting Triune God.
It is easy to realize that the Spirit of God refers to God the Creator and that the Spirit of Christ refers to the Spirit of the Savior, but it is not easy for us to gain a deeper understanding of these terms. Thus, to apprehend the title “the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from among the dead” requires much understanding. We must realize who dwells in us. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, Christ Himself, and the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from among the dead dwell in us. These are not four, but one. The one who is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and Christ Himself is the One that raised Jesus from among the dead. This kind of speaking indicates that this One is all-inclusive.
This One is now in us to dwell in us to do a wonderful work. The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from among the dead dwells in us to make our spirit life (8:10b), to make our mind life (8:6b), and to give life to our mortal body (8:11b). The first thing He does is to make our spirit life. When Christ is in us, our spirit is life. Before Christ came into us, our spirit was dead. Now that Christ is in us, however, our spirit is not only living but life. This wonderful One who is so all-inclusive as the Spirit of life, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, Christ Himself, and the Spirit of the resurrecting One, who is the Triune God, dwells in us firstly to make our dead spirit life. This is regeneration.
Following this, this indwelling Spirit makes our mind life. The mind set on the spirit is life. This is the renewing of our mind, which is transformation. To make our spirit life is to regenerate us. To make our mind life is to renew our mind and to transform us.
In addition, such a wonderful One dwells in us to give life to our mortal body. This is not the outward healing but the inward life impartation. Day after day the divine life is spreading into our body until that day when our body will be redeemed (8:23) and transfigured (Phil. 3:21).
This is the Triune God dispensing Himself into the tripartite man. Man is of three parts—the human spirit, the human soul, and the human body. As believers our spirit has been regenerated, and our soul with its leading part, the mind, is now under renewing which is our transformation. The day will come when our body will be transfigured, conformed to the body of His glory. This will be the redemption of our body. Our regeneration has already been accomplished, our transformation is an ongoing process, and our transfiguration, the redemption of our body, will be accomplished at Christ’s coming back. This all-inclusive One as the consummation of the Triune God is working the Triune God into our three parts—into our spirit, into our soul, and into our body. This is the Triune God working Himself into the tripartite man by His divine dispensing.