In this message we come to the crucial point of how we can have this kind of salvation. Notice what Paul says in verse 19: “For I know that for me this shall turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Do not take this verse for granted. Rather, consider what is the significance of the expression your petition. Many readers may think that this refers only to the prayers of the saints who had a loving concern for Paul. It is correct to say that here Paul is referring to the prayers of the saints on his behalf. Paul’s word, however, implies much more than this. To understand the full significance of this phrase, we need to consider it in the light of verse 7, where Paul tells the saints that in the defense and confirmation of the gospel they are partakers of his grace. If we join verses 7 and 19 we shall see that the phrase your petition indicates the supply of the Body. Apparently Paul was in prison; actually he was in the Body. Imprisonment did not isolate him from the Body or cut him off from the supply of the Body. Paul had the clear sense within that he was in the Body and that the members of the Body were supplying him, supporting him, and standing with him.
It is worthy of note that in 1:19 Paul speaks first of the saints’ petition, then of the bountiful supply of the Spirit. Why does he not mention the bountiful supply of the Spirit first? The reason Paul speaks of the supply of the Body before the bountiful supply of the Spirit is that the Spirit is upon the Body. Psalm 133 illustrates this: the ointment poured upon Aaron’s head flowed down to the body. This portrays the fact that the ointment, the bountiful supply of the compound Spirit, is upon the Body. Paul realized that he was not the whole Body, but just a member of the Body. As a member, he needed the Body’s supply. If the Body would be exercised to supply him, the bountiful supply of the Spirit would come to him through the Body.
We may often ask a brother to pray for us. But even if he prays for us and we pray for him, this prayer may have little effect. The reason for this lack of effectiveness is that in praying we may stand apart from the Body. Whenever we stand apart from the Body as we pray, even our prayer will be dry, and our intercession will be ineffective. The anointing is not upon us individually; it is upon the Body.
Paul and the believers in Philippi were in the Body. Because the Body is universal, they were all in one Body even though Paul was far away from Philippi. Through the petition of the members of the Body, the ointment which is upon the Body flowed to Paul, a particular member of the Body, and supplied him. Therefore, Paul could say that his circumstances would turn out to him for salvation through the prayer of the Body and through the bountiful supply of the Spirit.
In speaking of the bountiful supply of the Spirit, Paul uses a particular Greek word, choragus. Literally this Greek word refers to the supplying of all the needs of a chorus in ancient times by the leader of the chorus, who was called the choragus. In 1:19 Paul uses this word to describe the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
We see a wonderful picture of this supply of the Spirit in Exodus 30:23-30, a portion of the Word which speaks of the compound ointment. Because spiritual things are abstract and mysterious, we need something more than words to understand them. For this reason, in the Bible the Lord uses pictures as well as direct statements. In the Old Testament we have many types, figures, and shadows of spiritual things. The ointment in Exodus 30 is a type portraying the Spirit.
In Genesis 1:2 we read of the Spirit of God; in Philippians 1:19, of the Spirit of Jesus Christ; and in Revelation 22:17, simply of the Spirit. The Spirit of God was active in creation. But with respect to the incarnation, the Spirit of God is called the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20). The Holy Spirit made the element of humanity holy unto God. This was the reason the term Holy Spirit is used concerning the incarnation. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, this Spirit is called the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of the One who had become a man, who had died on the cross, and who is now in resurrection. The Spirit of Jesus Christ is not for creation or incarnation, but for our experience of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. According to 1:19, the Spirit of Jesus Christ is the bountiful Spirit.
Thank the Lord for the type of the holy ointment described in Exodus 30:23-30. This ointment is composed not only of oil, but with oil blended with four other ingredients. Olive oil signifies the Spirit of God. The holy ointment was a compound of olive oil with four spices: myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. After these spices were compounded with the olive oil, the oil became an ointment.
Each of the four spices has a spiritual significance. Myrrh signifies the sweetness of the death of Christ, and cinnamon, the effectiveness of Christ’s death. Calamus, a reed that grows in a muddy environment, signifies Christ’s resurrection. Cassia was a spice used as a repellent; it is a symbol of the power of Christ’s resurrection. Therefore, in these four spices we see the sweetness and the effectiveness of the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and the power of Christ’s resurrection. The fact that these four spices were compounded with the olive oil signifies that after the resurrection of Christ, the Spirit of God became the compound Spirit. In this Spirit we have the sweetness of Christ’s death, the effectiveness of His death, and Christ’s resurrection with its power.
The numbers used in the account of the holy anointing oil are also significant. In the ointment the number five is implied—the oil plus four spices. One is the number of God, and four is the number of man as a creature. The number five signifies responsibility: the number one (God) added to the number four (man as God’s creation). The number three is implied by the fact the four spices are in three units of five hundred shekels each: five hundred shekels of myrrh; five hundred shekels made up of two hundred fifty each of cinnamon and calamus; and five hundred shekels of cassia. The second and third spices, cinnamon and calamus, form one unit, whereas the first and fourth spices, myrrh and cassia, are each a complete unit. These three units point to the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The fact that the second unit was divided into two measures of two hundred fifty shekels each indicates that the second of the Trinity, the Son, was cut on the cross. Therefore, in the measurements of the spices and in the numbers pertaining to the ointment we have man and the Triune God. We even have the cutting of the second of the Trinity. We have divinity, humanity, crucifixion, the sweetness of Christ’s death, the effectiveness of His death, Christ’s resurrection, and the power of His resurrection. This is the compound Spirit.