Acts 16:7 says, “When they had come down to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.” The Spirit of Jesus is a particular expression concerning the Spirit of God and refers to the Spirit of the incarnated Savior who, as Jesus in His humanity, passed through human living and death on the cross. This indicates that in the Spirit of Jesus there is not only the divine element of God but also the human element and the elements of His human living and His suffering of death. Such an all-inclusive Spirit was needed by Paul in his preaching ministry, a ministry of suffering among human beings and for human beings in the human life. The Spirit of Jesus is the reality of Jesus in His suffering humanity. If we do not have this Spirit of Jesus, Jesus will not be real to us. But today Jesus is real to us because we have the Spirit of Jesus as the reality, the realization, of Jesus.
In Romans 8:9 Paul speaks of the Spirit of Christ. The emphasis of the Spirit of Jesus is upon humanity and the capacity for suffering. But the emphasis of the Spirit of Christ is upon the resurrection and the imparting of life. The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of the resurrected and life-giving Christ. By the Spirit of Christ we can partake of the power of His resurrection, identified with Him in the transcendency of His ascension and in the authority of His enthronement. By the Spirit of Christ we partake of His resurrection life, His resurrection power, His transcendency, and His reigning authority.
Philippians 1:19 speaks of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Because the Spirit of Jesus has particular reference to the Lord’s suffering, and the Spirit of Christ to His resurrection, the Spirit of Jesus Christ is related to both suffering and resurrection. The Spirit of Jesus Christ is the Spirit of the Jesus who lived a life of suffering on earth and of the Christ who is now in resurrection. In his suffering Paul experienced both the Lord’s suffering in His humanity and the Lord’s resurrection. Hence, to Paul the Spirit was the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the compound, all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit of the Triune God. Such a Spirit has and even is the bountiful supply for a person like Paul who was experiencing and enjoying Christ in His human living and resurrection.
The Lord Spirit is the Lord who is the Spirit and the Spirit who is the Lord (2 Cor. 3:17-18). Second Corinthians 3:18 speaks of the Lord Spirit. According to the context of 2 Corinthians 3, the Lord is Jehovah God. According to the New Testament, Jehovah God is altogether embodied in Jesus Christ. In Matthew 1 the Lord Jesus was given two names. Jesus was His God-given name, and Emmanuel was the name called by man. Jesus means Jehovah the Savior. Emmanuel means God with us. “Je” in the name Jesus is the short form of Jehovah. “El” in the name Emmanuel means God in Hebrew. Therefore, in the two names given to the Lord, there are Jehovah and God. In Jesus is Jehovah, and in Emmanuel is God. Thus, Jesus is Jehovah God. This Jehovah God is the Lord both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
Second Corinthians 3 unveils how this Lord, who is the embodiment of Jehovah God, is now the Spirit. Therefore, He has a compound title—“the Lord Spirit.” The Lord Spirit may be considered a compound title like the Father God and the Lord Christ. This title signifies that Jehovah God, who is the Lord, is now the Spirit. We are being transformed into Christ’s image from glory to glory as from the Lord Spirit.
The Lord Spirit is for our transformation. Whenever we call, “O Lord,” we get the Spirit. We can be transformed by calling “O Lord” again and again throughout the day. When we call “O Lord,” the Spirit comes. In the whole universe, there is only one Lord. Among all the founders of great religions, not one is called the Lord. The only one who is called the Lord is Jesus. When we call “O Lord,” we get the Spirit, the Lord Spirit. This Spirit is the transforming Spirit. The way to deal with our temper is to call, “O Lord Spirit.” If we are quick persons, how can we have a change? We need to call, “O Lord Spirit.” If a quick person called, “O Lord Spirit” again and again for two weeks, he would be slowed down. The Lord Spirit changes us, transforms us. He transforms us into the image of the resurrected and glorified Christ from glory to glory.