We have pointed out that the very God whom we serve today is not only God Himself but also a man, the God-man. We have also seen that His Spirit is not only the Spirit of the divine life but also the Spirit of the human nature interwoven with the divine nature. Today in the Holy Spirit of the wonderful God-man there is not only divinity but also humanity. In other words, in the Holy Spirit there are the divine nature and the human nature as well.
John 7:38-39 says, “He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” When the Lord spoke the word concerning the rivers of living water, He was not yet glorified. The glorification of Jesus was His resurrection (Luke 24:26, 46). After He died, He was resurrected from the dead, and this was His glorification. After His glorification the Holy Spirit came down on the day of Pentecost not merely as the Spirit of God but also as the Spirit of God mingled with man. In the Old Testament time the Spirit of God came down upon man only as God in His divinity. At a certain time God in Christ was incarnated to be a man and was mingled with man. This God-man died and resurrected and came down as the Holy Spirit. Now the Holy Spirit is a Spirit who includes not only God but also man. According to John 7:39, before Jesus was glorified, such a Holy Spirit who has both the divine nature and the human nature was not yet. Only after Jesus was glorified through His resurrection could this Holy Spirit of God, with both the divine nature and the human nature, come down to us. In the New Testament time the Holy Spirit who works upon us and dwells within us is a Spirit who has both the divine nature and the human nature.
First Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” This verse indicates that even today Christ Jesus, the one Mediator of God and men, is still a man. It is significant that, on the one hand, the enemy Satan would not allow people to believe that Christ is God. Many modernists believe that Christ is only a man and is not God. On the other hand, after we Christians believe that Christ is God, we may consider Him to be no longer a man. Many Christians truly do not realize that today our Savior, the Lord Jesus, is both God and man.
Philippians 1:19 says, “For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” The word this refers to Paul’s suffering in prison. In this verse Paul does not speak of “the Spirit of the almighty God” but of “the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ is a man, and although the Spirit of Jesus Christ is the Spirit of God, Paul’s emphasis is that this Spirit is the Spirit of a man, One who has suffered and been persecuted by people. It seems that Paul was saying, “Today the Spirit of a suffering, persecuted One is within me. This Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, supplies me and supports me.”
Finally, Acts 16:6-7 says, “And they passed through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, yet the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.” Verse 6 speaks of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, and in verse 7 the same Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of Jesus. On the one hand, this Spirit is the Spirit of God, and on the other hand, He is the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of a man.
We have seen clearly that after the Lord’s resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit is in us as a Spirit who possesses both the divine life and nature and the human life and nature. Before He came into us, He was God mingled with man already. Do not think that He begins to be mingled with man only when He comes into us. When He comes into us as the eternal life with the divine nature, the human nature is included. When Christ comes into us as life, He is the eternal life with both the divine life and nature and the human life and nature. We may wonder why the eternal life that we have received is a life of the divine nature and the human nature as well. It is so that this life can work in us not only in a quiet, normal way but also in a human way. The wonderful Savior works, moves, lives, and acts as life within us in a quiet, normal, ordinary way and also in a very human way. This matter is something that most believers have neglected.
Many times I had a little feeling deep within me to visit a certain brother and to speak with him concerning a certain matter. At the same time there was always some doubt as to whether this feeling was something of the Lord, because it was quiet, normal, and ordinary and also very human. I thought it might be only my desire and not something of the Lord. Yet while I was doubting, the little feeling within, though not very strong, was constant, steady, and lasting. Eventually, I had no choice but to go. After I went, the feeling was confirmed to be of God.
Although this was a leading from the Lord, there was nothing extraordinary about it; instead, it was very ordinary, normal, and human. The way Christ works in us as life is very ordinary, for He as the indwelling Spirit has not only the divine nature but also the human nature. Many times before ministering to the Lord’s children, I have no special sense concerning what I should speak, but only a little feeling or registration. Though I always doubt this, wondering if it is just something of myself, after I minister, I realize it is genuinely something of the Lord. The Holy Spirit who dwells within us is a Spirit not only of the life and nature of God but also of the life and nature of a proper man. In Him there is not only the full element of divinity but also the element of humanity. Therefore, He works within us not in a miraculous way but in a very normal and human way. This can be fully confirmed by our experience.
The primary reason that the Lord needed to become a man and mingle Himself with man before coming into us is that we may live by Him not in an extraordinary way but in a very ordinary and human way. The four Gospels are a record of a man who took God as His life. In that record we see that the life of this man on earth was absolutely human. It is true that sometimes He performed miracles to prove that He was the almighty God, yet His living as a man, with God as His life, was always very human and ordinary and not at all special. Once He was thirsty and asked a certain woman for water to drink (John 4:7). Another time He wept with tears (11:35). He was very human in a most ordinary way. In contrast, many Christians consider that if we take Christ as life and live by Him, we need to be like angels, not like human beings. However, the more we take Christ as our life, the more we will be properly human in a very ordinary way.
There was once a servant of the Lord who was invited to minister in a certain city where the people considered him to be very spiritual. At the time he was due to arrive, many went to meet him. Interestingly, before he reached the town, he turned aside into a children’s garden. Those who were waiting for his arrival began to discuss where he might be. Eventually, they found him in the garden playing with the children. Many of his admirers were disappointed because they thought that a spiritual person should be like an angel. However, a spiritual person is not a special person but an ordinary person, one who is very human and normal. The more spiritual we are, the more normal and human we will be.
We need to be impressed that the Savior we have received into us as our life has both the divine nature and the human nature; He is not only divine but also human. Today He works within us not in a miraculous way but in a very human way. Many times it is difficult for us to believe that it is His working. One morning when you rise up, read the Scriptures, and pray, you may have just a little feeling or sense within to give up certain things. You may doubt whether this is something of the Lord. Do not doubt but believe, for this is the way the Lord works within us today, not in a miraculous way but in a very human way.
In China there was a young girl with a strong will and a peculiar character. She was from a rich family and wanted a share in the family’s inheritance, but in China the inheritance passes only to sons, not to daughters. Therefore, she purposely went to school to study law in order to file a lawsuit against her brothers over the inheritance. During one winter vacation her mother, who was a genuine believer and had been recently revived by the Lord, brought her to a church meeting. Although there were several hundred people there, I noticed her immediately because of her peculiar hairstyle. Two or three weeks later she came to the meeting, and I noticed something had changed. Her hairstyle had changed somewhat. After two or three more days she came again, and something more had changed. From then on, each time she came to the meeting, something had changed. Eventually, after several more weeks she came dressed in a very simple way. Many things related to her appearance had changed. When we asked her mother about this, she told us that she had not dared to touch this matter with her daughter. Later, we discovered that the daughter had believed in the Lord, and subsequently nearly every day there had been a sense within her to give up certain things. Many times she had thought that this might be herself and not the Lord, but the more she doubted, the more constant the sense was. It was present with her not in a peculiar or miraculous way but in a very ordinary and normal way.
As a newborn Christian, this sister grew rapidly. In time she testified that the secret of experiencing Christ as life and of taking Him as our life is to take care of the little inner feeling and sense. That feeling, though it may be small, comes from the wonderful One. He is all-inclusive and unlimited, yet He works in a way that is small, quiet, normal, ordinary, and human. If we go along with Him, He will be real, rich, and available to us. We will enjoy many items of what He is and will gradually grow. Day by day, little by little, we will be saturated and permeated by Him. Although our spiritual progress may seem very slow, it will be very steady. This is the way to experience Christ.
We should not expect the Lord to give us marvelous, miraculous, supernatural, or extraordinary experiences. Even though some may occasionally have such experiences, the ordinary way to experience Christ is in a normal, quiet, and human way. By being honest and faithful to this wonderful One who lives and works within us in such a small but normal and human way, we will be saturated and permeated with Him, transformed from glory unto glory, and become a living witness to Him in this age.