Contacting sinners and bringing them to the Lord is not a matter apart from man; however, neither is it a matter in man’s body nor a matter in man’s soul. Preaching the gospel and bringing people to the Lord is a matter in the spirit. In Romans 1:9 Paul said, “God...whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son.” The spirit here does not refer to God’s Spirit, but to Paul’s regenerated spirit. Christ and the Spirit are present with the believers in their regenerated human spirit. Paul served God in his regenerated spirit by the indwelling Christ who is the life-giving Spirit. This was his first key point in preaching the gospel. Paul’s word “in my spirit” is altogether a Greek expression. A Chinese person might say “with my spirit.” However, to say “with my spirit” would annul the original meaning and the connoted significance. The words “in my spirit” indicate that what is involved is not only an instrument, but also a sphere and an element. “God...whom I serve in my spirit” means the God whom I serve in this sphere and in this element. Thus, its connotation is richer than that of “with my spirit.” Many verses in the book of Ephesians speak of being “in Christ” and “in Him.” These are also Greek expressions. In Chinese one can say “by relying on Jesus,” “by virtue of Jesus,” or “by means of Jesus.” To say “saved by relying on Jesus,” “saved by virtue of Jesus,” or “saved by means of Jesus” is not wrong, yet the significance and implication are not rich enough. To say that one is “in Christ” means that Christ is not only a sphere and a person, but also an element. We are saved in His sphere, person, and element. This is by far richer in implication than to say that we are saved by relying on, by virtue of, or by means of Jesus. By saying “in Christ,” the connoted significance is not lost. Paul said he served God in the sphere of the spirit and with the element of the spirit. Hence, the sphere and the element become a means. We may apply this sphere and element to serve God in our spirit.
Our service to God and our work for the Lord-in particular, our preaching of the gospel-must be a move in our spirit. This is like the full-time exercise and preparation that Olympic athletes do for the sake of their body. They study how they should eat, drink, and breathe; they study all of this to develop their physical functions. Today, when we serve God, work for Him, and preach the gospel, not only does our body have to move, but our soul has to match this move by thinking with the mind, choosing with the will, and loving with the emotion. These are the different parts of our soul. In short, to serve God, to work for Him, and to preach the gospel are all matters in the spirit. We must learn to use our spirit and to apply our spirit. When we talk with others, we need to speak from our spirit; when we sing hymns, we need to sing from our spirit; when we read the Bible, we need to read from our spirit; when we wish to convey something to others, we also need to convey it from our spirit.
Before a man is saved, he uses either his body or his soul. All secular education, whether it is education in the home or in the school, whether it is kindergarten or the university, is training in what the Chinese call the four disciplines, that is, moral, mental, physical, and social skills. These all aim to prompt, cultivate, and nurture the faculties of man’s body and soul. The ordinary person speaks with his body and his soul; he rarely uses his spirit. But the New Testament tells us that our relationship with God is altogether in the spirit. John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and reality.” This spirit refers to our human spirit. The Lord taught the Samaritan woman that she needed to use her spirit to contact God who is the Spirit. God is the living water. When man comes to drink Him, contact Him, and enjoy Him, he is worshipping Him! Our worship of God must be in our spirit. An unsaved person does not know his spirit; but we the saved ones must conscientiously learn to know our spirit. The human spirit of the unsaved is dead; it has lost its function. Peter said they are as animals without reason (2 Pet. 2:12); they live by their natural abilities. It is God’s mercy that the conscience of some is still functioning so that they can listen to the gospel and repent to receive the Lord Jesus.
However, we the saved ones not only have a spirit, but we have a spirit which is regenerated and has been made alive. Ephesians 2 says that we were dead in offenses and sins (v. 1), but God, being rich in mercy, even while we were dead because of offenses, raised us up together with Christ (vv. 5-6). When God raised the crucified Jesus from the dead, He also raised us up together with Him. It was by the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2) that God raised us up, thereby dispensing His eternal life, which is Christ Himself, into our deadened spirit to enliven us. When God made us alive, it was the embodiment of Himself becoming the life-giving Spirit who enlivened our deadened spirit. His Spirit came in contact with our deadened spirit like electricity passing through our body. Now this “electric current” abides in us continuously. In this way, He dwells in our enlivened spirit. Man’s spirit is his highest part. Today within our highest part lives the One who enlivened us, who even became one spirit with our spirit.
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