In order to understand more adequately the two kinds of walk by the Spirit, we need to see that the book of Galatians is a book that is very much concerned with the Spirit. The simple expression “the Spirit” is profound. This term is found in John 7:39: “But this He said concerning the Spirit, Whom those who believed in Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” This verse says that before Jesus was glorified, “the Spirit was not yet.” For years I had difficulty understanding this. I wondered how it could be possible for the Spirit to be “not yet.” According to Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God was in existence, brooding over the water. Furthermore, in the Old Testament we are told many times that the Spirit of the Lord, or of Jehovah, came upon certain people. Moreover, when the Lord Jesus was about to be conceived in the womb of Mary, we are told that the Holy Spirit would come upon her (Luke 1:35). All these clearly indicate that the Spirit of God was in existence before John 7:39. In order to solve the problem raised by this verse, the translators of the King James Version added the word “given” in italics after the words “not yet.” To their understanding, the writer of this verse was saying that the Spirit was not yet given. Nevertheless, the fact remains that, according to the way the Bible was actually written, not according to the way it is altered in translation, John 7:39 says that the Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified.
In his Epistles Paul uses the expression “the Spirit” a number of times, especially in the book of Galatians. In fact, in Galatians Paul does not even once speak of the Holy Spirit, although he frequently refers to “the Spirit.” There is a great difference between the use of the term “the Holy Spirit” and the term “the Spirit.” In Genesis 1:2 the Spirit of God is mentioned in relation to creation. Later the Spirit of the Lord, or of Jehovah, is used concerning the fellowship between God and His people. The term Holy Spirit is not used until the New Testament. (In the places where this expression is used in the Old Testament in the King James Version, the Hebrew should be rendered “Spirit of His holiness.”) The Holy Spirit is spoken of with respect to the conception of the Lord Jesus in the womb of Mary, because God’s intention was to bring forth One who is holy. Thus, the Holy Spirit was about to produce something holy out of humanity. The expression “the Spirit” is used for the Spirit of God only after the resurrection of Christ.
In the Old Testament the holy anointing oil is a type of the Spirit. This ointment was a compound formed by blending olive oil with four spices (Exo. 30:22-33). These spices signify aspects of Christ’s death and resurrection. The fact that four spices were compounded with the olive oil indicates that Christ’s humanity, death, and resurrection have been compounded into the Spirit of God to make the compound Spirit. This compound Spirit is the Spirit in the New Testament. Before the Lord Jesus was glorified, such a compound Spirit was “not yet.” But after His resurrection, His death and resurrection were blended with the Spirit of God to form the Spirit, the compound Spirit including not only divinity, but also humanity, the effectiveness of Christ’s death, and the power of His resurrection. Therefore, after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jehovah, the Holy Spirit, is now the Spirit, the all-inclusive Spirit.
At the time of Genesis 1, the Spirit of God did not include humanity, but only divinity. The Spirit of God did not become the compound Spirit until the resurrection of Christ from among the dead. Now the Spirit includes divinity, humanity, the effectiveness of Christ’s death, and the power of His resurrection. How rich and all-inclusive the Spirit is today!
The Spirit as the compound, all-inclusive Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the Triune God. Our God is Triune: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Every proper student of the Scriptures would agree that the three Persons of the Trinity may be regarded as distinct; however, we cannot say that They are separate. Such a claim would be heretical. When the Son came to earth, He did not leave the Father in the heavens. On the contrary, when the Son came, the Father came with Him. In the Gospel of John the Lord Jesus says that the Son came from with the Father (John 6:46, Gk.). When He came from the Father, He came with the Father. For this reason, the Lord Jesus said that He was never alone, for the Father was always with Him (John 8:29). Furthermore, in the Gospel of John we are also told that the Son would send the Spirit from with the Father (John 15:26, Gk.). We cannot separate the Son from the Father, nor the Spirit from the Father and the Son.
The Lord’s response to Philip’s request about showing them the Father illustrates this. Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father and it suffices us” (John 14:8). The Lord Jesus replied, “Am I so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. How is it that you say, Show us the Father?” (v. 9). In verses 16 and 17 the Lord Jesus went on to say, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever; even the Spirit of reality, Whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you.” Notice that in the next verse the Lord changes the pronoun: “I will not leave you orphans; I am coming to you.” This indicates that when the Comforter, the Spirit of reality, comes, the Lord Jesus comes also. Furthermore, in verse 23 the Lord Jesus said that He and the Father would come to make an abode with the one who loves the Lord and keeps His word. From verses such as these we see that the Three of the Godhead, although distinct, are always together. They cannot be separated.
According to the Bible, the Father is embodied in the Son, and the Son is realized as the Spirit. Ultimately, the Three of the Godhead are expressed as the Spirit. This is the reason that, in our experience, when we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we receive the Spirit. When we repented, believed in the Lord, and prayed to Him, we did not ask the Holy Spirit to come into us. Instead, we prayed for the Lord Jesus to come into us. However, although we asked the Lord to come in, the One who actually came in was the Spirit. This is true not only at the time we were saved, but also in our daily experience with the Lord. When we pray to the Father or call on the name of the Lord Jesus, telling Him that we love Him, eventually the One whom we experience with us and in us is the Spirit. From our experience we know that this Spirit, the compound, all-inclusive Spirit, is the ultimate consummation of the Triune God.