In this chapter we will consider the matter of being in the spirit. In order to see this matter, first we need to realize that the Bible reveals that there are two spirits: the divine Spirit, that is, God Himself, and the human spirit, that is, our spirit. John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.” We must realize that the God whom we serve, the God in whom we believe and whom we worship, is a Spirit. Whenever we intend to contact something, we must know its nature in order to know the right way to contact it. We may worship and serve God, but many of us simply do not realize that the God whom we worship and serve is a Spirit. We must realize that the nature, substance, and character of God is Spirit. If we realize that God is Spirit, we will know the right way to contact and worship God. John 4:24 also speaks of the human spirit. A spirit can be contacted only by a spirit. Since God is Spirit, if we desire to contact God, the divine Spirit, we must contact Him in and with our spirit. It is certainly not possible to contact God by means of our mind or our body. God is Spirit, and therefore we need to worship God by means of our spirit.
The matter of worship includes all the kinds of contact we can have with God. To worship God does not mean simply to bow down to Him. Rather, it means to contact God in different ways, including to pray to God, to praise God, to trust in God, to have fellowship with God, and to speak for God. Worship is an all-inclusive matter that covers every phase of our contact with God.
Whatever we do to contact God must be in our spirit and with our spirit, because God is Spirit. We cannot contact God by any other means. This is a fixed principle, something spoken by the Lord. The Lord clearly tells us in John 4:24 that God is Spirit and that to worship God, to contact God, we must be in spirit. This principle can never be broken; there are no exceptions. In the matter of worshipping God there are two spirits: the divine Spirit and the human spirit.
Another verse that refers to the two spirits is John 3:6, which says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” There is a comparison here between the flesh and the spirit. Flesh is born of the flesh, and spirit is born of the Spirit. In this verse the first spirit mentioned is the Spirit of God, and the second spirit is our spirit, which is born of the Spirit. This second spirit is not simply our original spirit created by God; rather, it is our original spirit that has been regenerated, that is, reborn, born again, of the Spirit of God. Rebirth, regeneration, takes place when our human spirit is born of and by the Holy Spirit. Through such a rebirth the Lord Jesus as life is imparted into us. The Holy Spirit of God enters into our spirit to enliven our dead spirit and also to bring the Lord Jesus as life into our spirit. Hence, our spirit is not only enlivened but also born with Christ as life by the Holy Spirit.
Soon after I was saved, I endeavored to find a book that would give me a proper definition of regeneration. I also asked certain pastors and Bible teachers to define this matter for me, but their answers failed to satisfy me. One day, however, the Lord revealed to me what rebirth, or regeneration, is. Regeneration involves the Spirit of God coming into our dead spirit to enliven it. However, the word enliven does not adequately express the meaning of regeneration. Regeneration means that the Holy Spirit comes into us to impart life to us, to give us life, and to make us alive. He does this by bringing Christ as life into us and imparting Christ into us. As a result, our dead spirit is not only made alive; it is also born.
There is a difference between being made alive and being born. For example, the Lord’s raising up Lazarus was merely an enlivening, not a birth. But when the Holy Spirit comes into us and enlivens our spirit, He makes our spirit alive and also imparts the Lord Jesus as life into us. This is not merely an enlivening but a birth as well, an enlivening with a birth. To be enlivened means to be made alive; this does not necessarily involve the adding of another element. In contrast, regeneration involves the adding into us of something that we did not have originally. When the Holy Spirit comes into us to enliven our spirit, He adds Christ Himself into our spirit. Now in our regenerated spirit there is the divine life, which is Christ Himself (John 11:25; 14:6; Rom. 8:10). This makes our spirit not merely an enlivened spirit but a regenerated spirit.
Today many Christians realize only that their dead spirit has been made alive by the Holy Spirit. They have no idea that in their spirit something has been added, which is Christ Himself as life. Now our spirit is not only an enlivened spirit but also a spirit that is regenerated with Christ as life. We have such a reborn spirit, a regenerated spirit. This is the significance of our rebirth.
We have pointed out that regeneration is the enlivening of our spirit by the Holy Spirit with the imparting of Christ as life into us. Through regeneration we receive a second life, a life in addition to our original human life. Originally we had only the human life from our parents, but now we have the divine life from God. This second life is God Himself in Christ, and this life is in our regenerated spirit. Therefore, God is Spirit, and we have a spirit that has been regenerated with Christ as life by the Holy Spirit.