Because of the defense and confirmation of the gospel, Paul was persecuted, arrested, and imprisoned. The responsibility given to him to defend and confirm the gospel required a divine supply. It could not be carried out by ordinary means. Paul needed the divine strengthening and energizing. This divine strength and energy is the Triune God Himself. As Paul was defending the gospel and confirming it, God was with him to supply him. Furthermore, Paul was suffering persecution, mockery, and ridicule. No ordinary human being can bear such treatment without a special divine supply. But in the midst of imprisonment, Paul could enjoy God and experience Him. Eventually, this processed Triune God experienced by Paul became his grace. The Philippian believers were very blessed to partake of Paul’s grace. This means that they partook of Paul’s God, the very God he experienced.
Now we understand the meaning of the expression “my grace.” This denotes the very God experienced, enjoyed, and partaken of by Paul. It is not objective grace; it is subjective, experiential grace. Such grace is very different from something defined simply as unmerited favor. As we have pointed out again and again, it is actually a living, divine Person, the Triune God, processed to become grace to us.
The grace experienced by Paul became his salvation. Whatever Paul enjoyed of the Triune God became his salvation. Paul must certainly have been a patriotic Jew, one who loved his nation and intensely disliked Roman imperialism. Because of his preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, he became a prisoner under the control of the Roman imperialists. Actually, it was Paul’s countrymen who had handed him over to the Romans. No doubt, as Paul was suffering persecution in prison, he was thinking about his work. Prior to his imprisonment, his work had been marvelous and powerful. It was spreading even in Europe. But now his work had ceased. Certain ones among his contemporaries, out of rivalry with him, were glad that Paul was in prison and restricted from carrying out his work. If in the midst of such circumstances Paul wept, he would have been defeated and put to shame. However, we know from the book of Philippians that, instead of weeping, Paul rejoiced in the Lord. In this short book Paul speaks again and again of rejoicing. This indicates that when he was there in prison, he was rejoicing in the Lord. The guards did not hear him weeping; they could hear him rejoicing. In this, Paul experienced and enjoyed the Triune God as grace, and this grace became his salvation. Whatever happened to him turned out for his salvation.
When Paul was used of the Lord to bring those in Philippi to Christ, he was no doubt full of rejoicing. However, if Paul could rejoice only in that kind of environment but not in prison, he would not have been a true overcomer. Paul rejoiced not only when the work in Philippi was flourishing, but he also rejoiced in prison when his work for the Lord was restricted. In this we see real victory. This victory is the salvation which was Paul’s salvation. Furthermore, as we have indicated, Paul’s salvation was his grace, God Himself as his enjoyment. Therefore, Paul’s grace was his salvation, and his salvation was the Triune God sustaining him in a most difficult environment. Such a salvation is not objective; it is very subjective and experiential. This is the reason that in the book of Philippians Paul does not speak of God in a theological way, nor in an objective doctrinal way, but in a direct, subjective, personal, experiential way. Paul could say, “My grace is nothing less than my God. God is my grace, and the Lord is my subjective, experiential salvation.”
The Triune God could become Paul’s experiential salvation because God today is the Spirit. For this reason, in the context of speaking of salvation, Paul also mentions the Spirit.
If the Triune God is to be our experience and enjoyment, He must be the Spirit. The Spirit in 1:19 is actually the very Triune God. John 7:39 says, “The Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” In verse 37 the Lord Jesus had stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink.” He also said that those who believed in Him would have rivers of living water flowing out of their innermost being (v. 38). According to verse 39, “This He said concerning the Spirit.” The reason the Spirit was not yet was that Jesus was not yet glorified; that is, He had not yet been fully processed. But since the Lord Jesus has now been glorified, fully processed, the Spirit is here for us to enjoy. This Spirit is the very Triune God who has passed through a divine process to become available to us as our bountiful supply.
We can experience the Spirit simply by calling “O Lord Jesus.” We testify from our experience that when we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we drink of the Spirit. As we sense freshness within when we breathe deeply in the open air in the morning, we also have an inner sense of freshness when we receive the Spirit by calling on the Lord Jesus.
Receiving the Spirit by calling on the Lord is not the practice of mysticism. No, it is a marvelous spiritual reality, so sweet, refreshing, and enjoyable. We would not have this experience by calling on the name of such persons as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Plato, or Confucius. But what a difference we sense when we say, “Lord Jesus, I love You!” This is not superstition or a mere psychological phenomenon; it is the exercise of our regenerated spirit to enjoy the Lord.
Praise the Lord that He is now in our spirit! Because our God is so subjective to us, He is with us wherever we may be. Simply by calling on Him we receive Him, enjoy Him, and experience Him. By calling on the Lord’s name or by praying over even a few words in the Bible, we enjoy the Spirit with His bountiful supply. The Spirit is the One who actually becomes our salvation. We have pointed out that our salvation is our grace and that our grace is our enjoyment of God.
When we enjoy the Spirit and partake of Him, Christ comes forth and is magnified. On the one hand, we enjoy the Spirit; on the other hand, Christ is the One who is magnified. This is true both according to the Bible and according to our experience. When we call “Lord Jesus,” we inwardly enjoy the Spirit. But as a result of the enjoyment of the Spirit, Christ is magnified. He becomes our expression.
In our experience, grace, salvation, the Spirit, and Christ actually are one. Our grace is our salvation; our salvation is the Spirit; and the Spirit is the magnified Christ. We may also say that the magnified Christ is the indwelling Spirit, that the indwelling Spirit is our salvation, and that our salvation is our grace, the Triune God whom we enjoy and experience.