In message eight we saw the functions of the Spirit in Romans and 1 Corinthians. In this message we want to see the functions of the Spirit in 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians.
The Spirit has the function of anointing, sealing, and pledging (2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30). We are being anointed with the Spirit as the compound ointment. Exodus 30 gives us a clear picture of the all-inclusive Spirit as the compound ointment. The very ointment with which God anoints us is the processed and consummated Triune God. Before being processed and consummated, God had only divinity. He did not have humanity, nor had He passed through the processes of His human living, His all-inclusive death, His resurrection, or His ascension. But today God has been processed and consummated to be the all-inclusive, compound Spirit typified by the compound ointment.
As we have seen in message two, the ingredients of this compound ointment typify all the elements of Christ’s person and work, which are included in the compound Spirit. The oil of the ointment signifies the Spirit of God with divinity. The very Spirit with whom we have been and are being anointed has been compounded with God’s divinity and Christ’s humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension. The Spirit as the oil, after being compounded, has become an ointment. This divine ointment, the Spirit, is the processed and consummated Triune God.
We may not have much apprehension or realization of this Spirit in our experience. But gradually, we will enter into this apprehension and realization. We will sense that the real humanity is in this compound Spirit. The more we experience the compound Spirit, the more human we will be. The humanity of Jesus is an element of the compound Spirit. Some may want to be like angels, but it is much higher to be a man for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. The angels are merely our servants (Heb. 1:14). The Man Jesus with His humanity is included in the compound Spirit with which we are being anointed.
God is anointing us with Himself as the compound ointment, the divine “paint.” We need to receive coat after coat of this divine paint. This painting is the anointing. We are being painted with the all-inclusive, compound Spirit as the processed and consummated Triune God. How many “coats” of the divine paint have we received? We can realize that the Apostle Paul was anointed with many coats of the divine paint, the compound Spirit. He was being anointed by the Spirit continually. We need to take him as our pattern by enjoying this anointing, this painting, day by day.
All that God is, all that God has, all that God has accomplished, and all that God has done, is doing, and will do are compounded in this anointing ointment. Day after day this compounded Spirit is anointing us with Himself as the ointment. The longer we remain in the Lord’s recovery, the more of God we will gain. We gain God by being anointed inwardly with Him. He anoints Himself, paints Himself, into our being. In this way we are mingled together with Him. Second Corinthians 1:21 and 22 say that God has anointed us, sealed us, and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts. The anointing is God applying Himself to us. God is painting us with Himself. I have been under this painting, this anointing, for about sixty-five years.
This anointing then becomes the sealing. To be sealed with the Spirit is to have the very processed, consummated Triune God as a mark upon us. The mark is God Himself as the compounded, sealing Spirit. The seal of the Spirit indicates that we belong to God, that we are God’s property, God’s inheritance, God’s asset. On the one hand, we have been sealed with the Spirit. On the other hand, this sealing of God with Himself as the compounded Spirit has not ceased. It is still going on. According to Ephesians 4:30, this sealing will last until the redemption, the transfiguration, of our body. The transfiguration of our body is the issue of the sealing of the Spirit. This sealing is going on and on within us.
This sealing is another aspect of the anointing, the painting. God’s painting us with Himself puts a mark upon us, and that mark, that seal, is God Himself. Day by day, our God is still sealing us with Himself. This sealing is a kind of saturating. When a seal with ink is applied to paper, the paper is saturated with the sealing ink. Likewise, when the Spirit as the living seal is applied to us, we are also saturated with Him as the divine ink. According to Ephesians 1:13-14 and 4:30, this sealing goes on until the redemption of our body. The seal of the Holy Spirit is living and works within us to permeate and transform us with God’s divine element until we are matured in God’s life and eventually fully redeemed in our body.
The Greek preposition for “unto” in Ephesians 4:30 may also be translated as “for.” The sealing of the Spirit is going on within us for the redemption of our body. This means that the redemption of our body is the issue of the sealing of the Spirit. The sealing of the Spirit continually increases within us until our entire being is sealed, issuing in the redemption of our body. When the sealing of the Spirit reaches our body, our body will be redeemed and we will be raptured. Our rapture is the consummate step of God’s salvation in the divine life. The sealing of the Spirit and the redeeming are one. Whatever God seals, He redeems. As the sealing of the Spirit is going on within us, God’s subjective redemption of our being is also going on.
With the sealing of the Spirit is the pledging of the Spirit. On the one hand, we are God’s inheritance, God’s possession. Therefore, God put Himself upon us as a seal. On the other hand, God is our inheritance, our possession, our property, our real estate. We know that God is our possession because we have Him as our pledge, our guarantee. The pledge is the consummated, compounded Spirit given to us as the firstfruit. Romans 8:23 mentions “the firstfruit of the Spirit.” Today the pledge of the Spirit is the firstfruit, the foretaste, of the Spirit, and the full taste is coming. The full taste is guaranteed by the foretaste.