The bountiful supply of the Spirit also includes the divine attributes and the human virtues. God is love and light, and He is holy and righteous. These are some of His attributes. Furthermore, as a man Christ has all the human virtues. Both the divine attributes and the human virtues are in the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus Christ.
The submission and love we need day by day are also found in the bountiful supply of the Spirit. Although the Bible commands a wife to submit to her husband and a husband to love his wife, actually in ourselves we do not have either genuine submission or love. Instead of submission, we have rebellion. Instead of a proper love, we have an unbalanced, twisted love. True submission and love are in the bountiful supply of the Spirit.
As we enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit, we partake of the ingredients of this supply without being aware of it. For example, we may love others without being conscious of the fact that we are loving. In like manner, we may be submissive without realizing that we are submissive. However, if we deliberately try to love or submit, our love or submission will not be genuine. True love and true submission are always spontaneous and not something of which we are conscious. A sister who is genuinely submissive to her husband has no consciousness of being submissive, for her submission comes out of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes sisters submit purposely and intentionally. A sister may think that she must submit to her husband in order to be spiritual. This kind of submission is political. Other sisters may submit for the purpose of setting a good example for their daughters to follow. This submission is also political and even hypocritical. It is a performance rather than something spontaneous. I repeat, real submission is spontaneous; it is the issue of enjoying the bountiful supply of the Spirit.
Whenever we try to behave ourselves apart from enjoying the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, we are political and hypocritical. Actually, every kind of religion teaches people to act in a political way. Under this influence, we may think that for the sake of our husband or wife, for the sake of our children or relatives, and even for the sake of the church, we should behave in a particular way. Such behavior is political, hypocritical.
The source of true virtue is the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. When Paul was rejoicing there in prison in Rome, he was not deliberately trying to act joyful. His rejoicing was not the result of his own effort, and it certainly was not a performance. Because Paul loved the Triune God, opened himself to the Triune God, and communicated with the Triune God, the Triune God had a free course to infuse all He is into Paul. As a result, Paul could realize that with this Triune God there is the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Because he experienced this supply, he could rejoice in the Lord even while a prisoner in chains.
The Spirit today is not merely the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jehovah, or the Holy Spirit. Having passed through the process of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, the Spirit is now the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Within Him there is a living supply which includes all kinds of divine, spiritual, heavenly ingredients. Through this bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, Paul’s circumstances turned out to his salvation. He was saved constantly and instantly through this bountiful supply. Thus, the source of his daily salvation was the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
In Philippians 1 Paul was saved from a particular situation through the bountiful supply of the Spirit. In chapter two he goes on to point out how the believers may experience a constant salvation in the ordinary things of daily life. For example, 2:14 says, “Do all things without murmurings and reasonings.” Murmurings and reasonings are things we experience daily. We may not experience hate or anger every day, but we certainly reason and murmur every day. In married life, the wives are especially given to murmuring, and the husbands, to reasoning. In a sense, the natural married life is a life of murmurings and reasonings. If a brother lived alone, without a wife as his companion, he might have little occasion for murmuring and reasoning. Married life, however, affords him ample opportunity for both. Likewise, before a sister is married, she may not murmur over minor frustrations. Now after she is married, she may murmur over the slightest frustration. Her husband may react to her murmuring by reasoning with her, vindicating himself and accusing her. There may be murmurings and reasonings over such things as a bed that is not made, a brush that is out of place, a burned-out light bulb, or a room that is not clean. Should a husband come home from work and find the house not in proper order, he may find it difficult to be silent. Even if he manages to be quiet, he may not be silent joyfully. Our murmurings and reasonings over matters such as these reveal our need for constant salvation. Oh, how we need to be saved daily from murmurings and reasonings!