Let us come back to the first question: Why is the Spirit not mentioned, but Christ is mentioned? In this verse Paul is emphasizing that today Christ is the Spirit, and the Spirit of Christ in you is exactly the same as Christ in you. In resurrection Christ is the Spirit. In the past we have given a number of messages saying that these three titles—the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and Christ—are used interchangeably. Paul’s writing in verses 9 and 10 is to show us that these are not three, but one. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ is just Christ Himself. We are not the only ones who have seen the light concerning this matter. In Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament, he strongly stresses in his notes on 2 Corinthians 3:17 that Christ is the Spirit. Other writers, such as Dean Alford and Williston Walker, have pointed out, that in our Christian experience, Christ is just identical to the Spirit.
Let me add another word according to our experience. In verse 9 it refers to our experience, and in verse 10 it refers to the fact. The Spirit of God dwells in us. This is altogether a matter of experience. Then the Spirit of Christ is also a matter of experience. We do experience that the Spirit of God who is the Spirit of Christ dwells in us. But verse 10 does not refer to experience that much; it refers to the fact. However, you have to realize that the experience and the fact are actually the same thing in two aspects. In verse 9 there is the aspect of experience, and in verse 10 there is the aspect of fact. On the one hand, for the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ to dwell in us is an experience, but on the other hand, it is a fact. Verse 9 talks about the experience, and verse 10 talks about the fact. According to experience it is the Spirit who dwells in you, but according to fact, Christ dwells in you. How can you know this? You can only know this kind of thing by experience. Although it is the Spirit who dwells in you, when you come to worship or to pray you would rarely say, “O Spirit.” Spontaneously, you would say, “O Lord! O Lord!” When you pray, you pray based upon the experience, but you refer to the fact. You have to be careful to follow my word. To be based upon experience is one thing, but to refer to the fact is another thing. In experience He is the Spirit, but as a fact for us to refer to He is Christ. Although it is not wrong to pray, “O Spirit, how I thank You,” it is not fitting with the fact. So you pray, “O Lord. Thank You, Lord Jesus.” This kind of praying does not refer to what you experience, but to the fact that today the One who dwells in you is Christ as the Spirit.
It is altogether foolish to oppose the teaching that Christ is the Spirit. It indicates a lack of knowledge and a lack of experience. If we do have adequate experience, we would fully realize that in our experience He is the Spirit, but when we refer to this as a fact, He is our Lord; He is Christ. And these are just one. The Lord Jesus today is both the Spirit and Christ. For us to experience Him, He is the Spirit; for us to worship Him, to call on Him, to mention Him, His title is Christ. Don’t consider that this is a thorough answer to the first question. Later on we have to see something further of the difference between these two titles: the Spirit of Christ and Christ.
You have to realize that you are not a simple person. On the one hand, you are dead. At the same time, on the other hand, you are life. You have a body, and you have a spirit. And you yourself are a soul. The soul is understood here and implied in the plural pronouns. In the clause, “if Christ is in you,” you implies the soul. You are a soul; outside you have a body; inside you have a spirit. Your body is dead, and your spirit is life. An unbeliever’s situation is just the opposite: his spirit is dead, and his body is really alive. But for a bonafide, typical, genuine believer in Christ, part of our being—our outward part—is dead. The other part—the inward part—is life. For an unbeliever, the inward part is dead, and the outward part is living. How can you know that as a believer your body is dead? By Christ being in you. Without Christ in you, you could not realize that your body is dead. Christ in you exposes the dead situation of your body. Dead really means disabled. Our body is not only disabled but even altogether stinking. The more I have Christ within me, the more I realize that my body is altogether disabled and stinking. The unbelievers don’t realize that their body is disabled. Rather, they realize and experience that their body is able. It is able in doing many things—stealing, lying, killing. But with us believers, our experience is that our body is dead. Many times I pray that the Lord would strengthen all the dear saints into the inner man. Although your body is dead, your spirit is not only living; it is life.
The problem is this: to what part should we listen? Should we listen to the outward part which is dead or to the inward part which is life? When, according to our dead body, we would sometimes forget about the meeting, something rises up within us to go to the meeting. That is our spirit which is life.