God intends to work Himself into us to be both our life and our nature. He wants us to live Him out. In order to accomplish this intention, God created a spirit within man. Then He Himself became flesh and went through death and resurrection, at which point He became the life-giving Spirit. Before the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, this life-giving Spirit, who is known in the New Testament as the Spirit, “was not yet” (John 7:39).
When we repent and believe in the Lord, our conscience, which is within our spirit, has effectively functioned. We confess our sins and are cleansed by the Lord’s precious blood. Our spirit is regenerated, and the Spirit comes to dwell in our spirit, so that the two become one. “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17). How glorious it is that we sinners, after being cleansed by the precious blood, can be one spirit with God!
Now He wants us to live in this spirit. The Scripture tells us that there are “those who are according to flesh” and “those who are according to spirit” (Rom. 8:5). To walk according to flesh means to carry out whatever the flesh desires. A fleshly person eats whatever he wants and drinks whatever appeals to him. Even if what he does is illegal or harmful or sinful, he is not concerned. He shamelessly indulges his flesh and answers to no one.
Besides this kind of person who walks in the lusts of the flesh, there is the natural man, who lives according to the soul (1 Cor. 2:14). A sister, for example, may live by her emotions. When she expresses her opinion, it is not well reasoned; it is simply how she feels. Sometimes she will be excited and happy; other times she is depressed and tearful. To live by the emotions is not evil like living according to the flesh. But even though she may not be engaging in sinful things, there will be times when she loses her temper. Then she is close to being in the lust of the flesh. Her face turns livid, her self-control vanishes, and the angry words spill out unchecked. Afterwards, she will feel ashamed and remorseful.
A brother, on the other hand, usually lives by his mind. He is less inclined to be bad-tempered. When he participates in a conversation, his words are carefully chosen. His position on different matters is well thought out, so that he gives the impression of being intelligent, reasonable, and even wise.
This type of person we all naturally admire. He is living by the mind, but he impresses us more than the one who lives by her emotions. Both, however, are living according to the soul, and in our thinking we rank them higher than those who live according to the flesh, indulging themselves without restraint.
What God wants, of course, is that man live according to the spirit. Those who do are the highest class of humanity.
Because the Lord today is the Spirit living in our spirit, for us to live according to spirit is to live according to Him. When we live by the spirit, the Lord is living out from us, because we are one with Him in spirit. When we live according to the flesh, we cannot touch Him. When we live by the soul, the Lord cannot live out from us; we are simply living by ourselves. Whenever we live by the spirit, however, we experience Him.
If you ask me where the Lord is, I shall tell you that He is within your spirit. Do not think of Him as being far away in heaven. Do not look around for Him. He is within you! The Lord Jesus is with your spirit. How precious and glorious this is!
Home | First | Prev | Next