Throughout the past centuries, the light concerning the mingled spirit has not been as clear as it is today. The early church had the teaching concerning the mingling of God with man. Eventually, however, some taught heresy by saying that the mingling of the human nature and the divine nature would produce a third nature. This heretical teaching was strongly condemned, but because of this, the truth concerning the mingling of divinity with humanity was avoided.
In dealing with the truth of the mingling of divinity with humanity, we must consider the mingling of the divine Spirit with our human spirit. Certain authors in the past have written concerning the two spirits, saying that it is often difficult to tell whether the word "spirit" in some verses in the New Testament refers to the divine Spirit or the human spirit. Concerning the "spirit of faith" in 2 Corinthians 4:13, Dean Alford said, "Not distinctly the Holy Spirit,—but still not merely a human disposition: the indwelling Holy Spirit penetrates and characterizes the whole renewed man." Vincent followed Alford on this point and said, "Not distinctly the Holy Spirit, nor, on the other hand, a human faculty or disposition, but blending both." There is such a fact that the divine Spirit, who is God Himself, is mingled with our human spirit, and there is a clear record of this mingling in the New Testament.
Romans 1:9 says, "For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit." The possessive pronoun "my" denotes that the spirit here is not God's Spirit but the human spirit. Second Timothy 4:22 says, "The Lord be with your spirit," using the possessive pronoun "your." These two verses say "my spirit" and "your spirit," denoting undeniably that we, the God-created human beings, do have a spirit. Even the Old Testament speaks of the human spirit. Zechariah 12:1 says, "The Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him." Zechariah did not mention the human spirit in a meaningless way. To God, in His divine, eternal economy, the heavens, the earth, and the human spirit are equally important. The heavens, the earth, and the human spirit are the three marvelous, excellent, and crucial elements of the universe. Therefore, we must know our spirit.
Proverbs 20:27 says, "The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, searching all his innermost parts" (ASV). Proverbs was written after the fall of man. Even after the fall, man still has a part within him which is God's lamp. Within man there is a small part which God reserves for Himself. An embassy in a foreign country is considered as part of the territory of the country which establishes it. In the same way, our spirit is God's "territory," God's "embassy," within us.
Even after the fall, the human spirit is the lamp of Jehovah. This is very crucial. The Chinese philosophical scholars realized that within man there is something which is enlightening and shining, which they called the "bright virtue," and Confucius taught that to develop the "bright virtue" is the highest learning. All men have a conscience, a part of their spirit, telling them what is right and wrong. God created this faculty within them. However, man fell because he neglected his spirit and went along with his soul or his body, his flesh. A person who lives by his body, that is, his flesh, is considered as a low person, but a person who lives by his logical soul is not considered to be wrong. Not many people care for their human spirit.