In the foregoing message we pointed out that in the book of Acts we have both the essential Spirit and the economical Spirit. In chapter eight of Acts we have both the Spirit and the Spirit of the Lord. Acts 8:29 says, “And the Spirit said to Philip, Approach and join this chariot.” Here the Spirit for our spiritual existence and the Spirit for God’s economy is simply called the Spirit.
Acts 8:39 goes on to say, “And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip.” The expression “the Spirit of the Lord” indicates that the Spirit is the Lord. Just as the expression “the love of God” means that love is God, and “the life of God” that life is God, so here “the Spirit of the Lord” means that the Spirit is the Lord. Therefore, in Acts we see that the Spirit in two aspects, the essential aspect and the economical aspect, is actually the Lord Himself.
Acts 16:6 and 7 say, “And they passed through the country of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come down to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.” The interchangeable use of the Spirit of Jesus with the Holy Spirit in the preceding verse reveals that the Spirit of Jesus is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a general title of the Spirit of God in the New Testament. The Spirit of Jesus is a particular expression concerning the Spirit of God. This expression refers to the Spirit of the incarnated Savior who, as Jesus in His humanity, passed through human living and death on the cross. This indicates that in the Spirit of Jesus there is not only the divine element of God, but also the human element of Jesus, and the element of His human living and His suffering of death as well.
In the book of Acts we see that after His resurrection and ascension Christ became the Spirit, the life-giving Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 15:45 Paul says, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” Adam became a living soul through creation with a soulish body. Christ became a life-giving Spirit through resurrection with a spiritual body. Adam as a living soul is natural; Christ as a life-giving Spirit is resurrected. First, in incarnation, Christ became flesh for redemption (John 1:14, 29). Then in resurrection He became a life-giving Spirit for imparting life (John 10:10). As the life-giving Spirit in resurrection, He is ready to be received by those who believe in Him. When we believe in Him, He enters our spirit, and we are joined to Him as the life-giving Spirit. Hence, we become one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17).
Although 1 Corinthians 15:45 says that Christ, the last Adam, in resurrection became a life-giving Spirit, some regard this as heresy. If you were to tell them that Christ is the Spirit today, they would say, “This teaching is against the doctrine of the Trinity and is heretical. To say that Christ is the Spirit is to confuse the three Persons of the Trinity.” We, however, do not follow the traditional doctrine of the Trinity. Instead, we follow the Word of God. God’s Word says clearly that the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.