Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk by the Spirit and you shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh.” The cross has to deal with our flesh, with our mentality, with our thinking, and with our likes and dislikes, that we may be fully walking by the Spirit who dwells in and mingles with our regenerated spirit. The more we walk by the Spirit the more we are spiritual. To be spiritual simply means to be in spirit.
Romans 8:10 says that “the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness.” If you are faithful to the Lord, you will realize that, on the one hand, your spirit within is so alive, full of life, but, on the other hand, your body is dead because it is fallen and disabled. Some physically weak brothers and sisters love the Lord so much and are so faithful to the Lord. They discovered that their spirit within is so alive, full of life, yet their body without is disabled, weakened, and dead because of the sin we inherited from Adam. So we need to have our body redeemed, which is the full redemption (Rom. 8:23; Phil. 3:21). Our spirit has been regenerated, but our body has not been redeemed yet. We have a hope that someday we will enjoy the full sonship, the redemption of our body.
Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God.” This verse clearly tells us that there is the Spirit of God and there is our spirit, and these two spirits are one. The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit. The two spirits work together as one. First, this verse tells us that there are two spirits-the Spirit of God and our spirit. Second, this verse tells us that these two spirits work together, and third, it tells us that these two spirits work together for the sonship.
Romans 12:11 says we need to be “burning in spirit.” We need to be on fire. This means that first you are burned and then you burn others. We need to be on fire in our spirit. We are burned with the burning Spirit (Rev. 4:5) and then we burn others. Oh, to be fervent! To be burning! To be on fire! Then you serve the Lord.
Apollos in Acts 18:24 is an example of this. He was “fervent in the spirit” (18:25). He knew the Bible, yet still he was not so clear about God’s New Testament economy, about God’s way. However, he was burning in the spirit.
In Acts 17:16 Paul was provoked in his spirit by the idols in Athens. Then in Acts 19:21 he purposed in the spirit; he didn’t make up his mind or make a decision in his will, but he purposed in his spirit. Then in Acts 20:22 he was “bound in the spirit.” He anticipated that he would be bound, captured and put into prison (20:23). Before his body was bound, his spirit was bound. By these verses we can realize that Paul was a person living, walking, working, acting, and moving in his spirit.
First Corinthians 2:4 says that when Paul came to Corinth the first time his speech and preaching were “not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit.” The apostle’s speech and preaching were not from his mind with words of speculation, but from his spirit with the release and exhibition of the Spirit, hence of power. Whatever we do, we have to demonstrate the Spirit, not our wisdom, eloquence, learning, or attainment. We should demonstrate the Spirit through our spirit in a simple way.
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