Why in Romans 8, while Paul is talking about the Spirit, does he suddenly say the Spirit of Christ? This means he indicates strongly that the very Spirit he is talking about is Christ. It is nothing less than Christ. And Christ is not so simple as what is in your understanding. This Christ is God incarnated to be a man. He brought God into man. This was incarnation. Then in such a kind of life, God mingled with man. In such a life He lived on this earth and went through the human living. Then in such a life He was crucified on the cross, and He was buried. Then He went through the grave, through Hades, through death. He came out of that and was resurrected. He was not only resurrected with His divine nature, but also with His human nature. His entire being—the divine part and the human part—was resurrected and entered into glory. He was crowned, glorified, even enthroned. This is Christ. The Spirit of Christ is such a Spirit, and the Spirit of Christ is simply the real Person of Christ. This Person, this Spirit of Christ has first regenerated you, putting His life and His nature and His element into your spirit, making your spirit one with Him. Individually speaking you have Christians, and corporately speaking you have a Body Christ. The Body Christ is comprised of the Head and the Body with so many members. This is Christ! Who can deny that this is Christ? What is Christ? The mingled spirit.
Now you can see that we have a lot of problems in Romans 8 which have not been solved. How then could we expect to be in the Body life? We have not gone through Romans 8. How could we be in Romans 12? It is impossible! It doesn’t mean that because you are humble, meek, patient, nice, loving, or forbearing that you are in the Body. It means that when you are behaving, acting, moving, and living according to the Spirit, to the mingled spirit, to the indwelling of the Spirit then you are actually moving, living, behaving in the Body of Christ. What, actually speaking, is the Body of Christ? What is the Body of Christ practically speaking? It is the mingled spirit. Oh, may the Lord open our eyes! May He show us such a fact! Such a practicality! If we would see this we would say, “Lord, have mercy upon me. I am too far off. I have never entered into such a stage of the mingled spirit. I have never entered into a stage of the Body life. I still pray for this and for that, and I still wait for this and for that. I have never realized that the reality of the Body is right within me. The regenerated spirit and the indwelling Spirit are now one, mingled together right in me. I don’t need to pray, I don’t need to wait, I don’t need to expect anything. Everything is within me. I just walk according to this mingled spirit. I just set my mind upon the spirit. Life is here, and peace is here.”
We have something within us—our spirit—mingled with God’s Spirit. And we can also say that is God’s Spirit mingled with our spirit. But today God’s Spirit is no longer merely the Spirit of God, but the Spirit of Christ. If He is merely the Spirit of God, this Spirit doesn’t comprise that much. But today He is the Spirit of Christ, so He comprises divinity, humanity, human life, crucifixion, the wonderful death of Christ, resurrection, glorification, and enthronement. Such a Spirit who is all-inclusive, comprising all these things, is mingling Himself with my spirit making me and Him one, and making Him and me one. I just need to behave and act and live according to this mingled spirit. If I do, I am living in the Body. I simply need to set my mind upon the spirit. Then I have life and peace. Then I am under the leading of the Spirit. Step by step I am being led by the Spirit.
This is the picture in Romans 8. I hope we all could see something here. It doesn’t mean that I am simply cooperative and not individualistic, that I’m not a hard person, so I am in the Body. It doesn’t mean that I am flexible, so I am in the Body. You are so flexible, but you are in the body of flexibility, not in the Body of Christ. You have to be so Christ, not so flexible. Where is Christ? And what is Christ? And who is Christ? He is the Spirit mingled with our spirit. It is here that you live Christ, and it is here that you live the Body of Christ. When we have entered into this stage, we are right away in chapter twelve. We are in the Body. This is altogether not a superficial teaching. Superficiality can never make it. We must see. We have two spirits, and we have three facts. We have been regenerated, and the Spirit is indwelling our spirit. And these two are now just one. These three facts have been fully accomplished. Now we just need to act and walk according to this mingled spirit. In other words we need to set our mind upon this mingled spirit. Don’t care for circumstances or situations. Only care for the inner mingled spirit.