In Romans 1:4 Paul refers to the Spirit of holiness: “And was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead.” The Spirit of holiness here is in contrast to the flesh in Romans 1:3. As the flesh in verse 3 refers to the human essence of Christ, so the Spirit in this verse does not refer to the person of the Holy Spirit of God, but to the divine essence of Christ, which is “the fullness of the Godhead” (Col. 2:9). This divine essence of Christ, being God the Spirit Himself (John 4:24), is of holiness, full of the nature and quality of being holy.
Those who persecuted Christ and opposed Him regarded Him as nothing more than a common man. Through the Spirit of holiness He was designated, marked out, in resurrection as the Son of God. Yes, He is a man, but He has the nature of the Son of God.
The term “the Spirit of holiness” is actually very difficult to understand or interpret. Translators have found it hard to decide whether or not to spell the word “Spirit” in this verse with a capital letter. Does the Spirit here refer to the Holy Spirit, or does it refer to the human spirit of the Lord Jesus? When the Lord died, He committed His spirit to God (Luke 23:46). However, although this matter of the Spirit of holiness cannot be clearly defined, we do know that it was by the Spirit of holiness that Christ in resurrection was designated the Son of God.
If we try to systematize the divine revelation in the Bible, we shall get into trouble. It is difficult to analyze our human life, much less the nature of the Triune God and the Spirit. As human beings, we have life. We have a bios life and also a psuche life. When we die, what kind of life is it that dies? Is it the bios life or the psuche life? Atheists claim that when a person dies, his life is extinguished. They say that nothing remains after death. They regard human beings the same as animals. The late Premier of China, Chou En-Lai, instructed that his body be cremated and that his ashes be scattered from an airplane. He was an atheist who believed that nothing remains after death. But we believe in the living God and in the Scriptures.
Also, in a living way, we believe in trichotomy: we believe that man is of three parts—spirit, soul, and body. After a person is regenerated, he has three lives: a bios life, a psuche life, and a regenerated spirit with the divine life. Because of this, it is extremely difficult for us to define life. When you speak of life, what do you mean? According to the Lord’s word in Luke 16, both the rich man and Lazarus died. Although they died in their bios, they were still alive in their soul, in their psuche.
I say this in order to point out that we do not agree with the systematizing of the theologians. It simply is not possible to systematize the mysterious things of life. As we consider the Spirit and in particular the Spirit of holiness in Romans 1:4, we should not become involved in the attempt to systematize the revelation in the Word of God. We should also be cautious when considering the Trinity. Instead of trying to systematize the revelation concerning the Triune God, we should simply believe whatever the Bible says concerning the Trinity.