Third, the way of transformation is to be transformed by the Spirit of the Lord into the same image as the Lord (v. 18c). Today the Spirit of the Lord is no longer only the Spirit of God as in Genesis 1:2. At that time the Spirit of God was purely the Spirit of God. At that time He had only one element in Him, the divine element, the element of God. There was no other element besides the divine element. However, since that time the Spirit of God has passed through various processes with the Lord Jesus and has been consummated. In John 7:37-39 the Lord Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet.” The Spirit of God was there, but the processed and consummated Spirit was not yet. It was not until the Lord Jesus was resurrected and glorified that He became a life-giving Spirit. At that time the Spirit of God also became the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This Spirit of Jesus Christ has the divine element, the human element, the elements of Christ’s death and its efficacy, and the elements of Christ’s resurrection and its power. Today these elements are in the processed, all-inclusive, and consummated Spirit of Jesus Christ.
The holy anointing ointment in Exodus 30 is a type of this all-inclusive compound Spirit. Ointment is different from oil. Oil is purely oil, and it has no other ingredient in it. But when oil is compounded with other ingredients, it becomes an ointment. The holy ointment in Exodus 30 was firstly olive oil. Second, it contained four ingredients: myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. These four kinds of ingredients were ground into powder and mingled with the oil to become an ointment. This was the holy anointing ointment. With this holy anointing ointment Moses anointed the tabernacle, the altar, all the furniture and utensils in the tabernacle, and the serving ones. All learned Bible readers admit that this holy anointing ointment typifies the Holy Spirit. Olive oil signifies the Holy Spirit, myrrh signifies the death of Christ, cinnamon signifies the effectiveness of Christ’s death, calamus signifies Christ’s resurrection, and cassia signifies the power of Christ’s resurrection. These are all compounded in the processed and consummated Spirit. Therefore, the Spirit of God became the compound Spirit with these elements.
Today this Spirit is not merely the Spirit of God but also the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, and, even more, the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Philippians chapter one speaks of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Since the Spirit of Jesus Christ is the compounded, all-inclusive Spirit, His supply is bountiful. Do you need divinity? He has it. Do you need humanity? He has it. Do you need the Lord’s death? He has it. Do you need the effectiveness of the Lord’s death? He has it. Do you need the Lord’s resurrection? He has it. Do you need the power of resurrection? He has it also. When you have this Spirit, you have everything. Therefore, our being transformed into the same image as the Lord, which is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 3:18, is from this Spirit, the Lord Spirit.
The fourth way of transformation is by remaining in our spirit and exercising our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22; Phil. 4:23; Gal. 6:18). Today this processed, all-inclusive, and compound Spirit is in our spirit, and He is working in our spirit. Hence, 1 John 2:27 says, “The anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things.” This anointing is the moving of the all-inclusive, compound Spirit in us. We must mingle ourselves with this Spirit daily, morning and evening, even moment by moment. It is best to remain in our spirit indwelt by this Spirit. When we remain in our spirit, the compound Spirit, who is the Spirit of Jesus Christ today and who is the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit, will work within us. His working supplies us, and from this supply we receive new elements. This is metabolism. Listening to messages and understanding the meaning of transformation will not cause us to be transformed. This series of four messages has only explanations and instructions; we still have to practice according to what is said in them.
Daily we must practice to remain in our spirit and be joined as one with the Lord as the compound Spirit, the all-inclusive Spirit, the life-giving Spirit, and the dispensing Spirit. He supplies us within continually, dispensing the riches of Christ and the fullness of God into our whole being. This becomes the supply to our whole being, and within us we then have new elements to replace the old elements. This is the work of spiritual metabolism. Thus, we will be healthy spiritually, and we will be transformed. This is not to improve ourselves. Rather, it is the all-inclusive, compound Spirit transforming us with the elements of God.
In summary, we should not depart from the Spirit who is in our spirit. When we remain in the Spirit, gradually we will be transformed. The Spirit does not simply improve us; instead, He transforms us, who are not God, into God-men and unites us with God as one. Strictly speaking, this God is Jesus Christ today. This is to live Christ and to live out Christ. This is to express Christ and to manifest Christ. To sum it up this is a corporate expression, which is the Body of Christ as His fullness and His expression.
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