In previous messages we have seen the functions of the Spirit in the New Testament. In this message we want to see what the Spirit is to God and to Christ. If we are going to experience God and Christ, we must know what the Spirit is to God and what the Spirit is to Christ.
The Spirit is the essence of God’s being. John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit.” In the Greek text there is no article before the word Spirit. This is like saying that a table is wood. This indicates not only that the table is made of wood but also that the very essence of the table is wood. When we say that a ring on a person’s hand is gold, we are referring to its essence. The essence is the intrinsic content of the substance. The Spirit is God’s very essence. The essence of God’s being, of what God is, is Spirit.
The word for Spirit in Hebrew is ruach, and in Greek it is pneuma. These words can be translated as spirit, breath, or wind. In Ezekiel 37 ruach is translated as Spirit, breath, and wind (vv. 5, 9, 14). In John 3pneuma is translated as Spirit (v. 6) and as wind (v. 8). How these words are translated depends upon the context. According to the context of John 3:6, pneuma here surely refers to the Spirit—“that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” In verse 8, pneuma must be translated as wind because it blows and the sound of it can be heard. The very essence of the God whom we worship is pneuma, Spirit.
The Spirit is God’s reaching man. When God reaches us, He is the Spirit. The strongest proof of this is in Luke 1:35. The angel told Mary that the Holy Spirit would come upon her. The Holy Spirit was God’s coming upon Mary. This was for the incarnation of God. The incarnation of God is just God’s coming to man, God’s reaching man. Every morning we need to enjoy God’s reaching, God’s coming to us.
The Spirit is also God’s abiding among man (Hag. 2:5). This was mostly in the Old Testament. To abide is to remain. In the New Testament, God’s remaining is not merely among us but mainly in us. Therefore, the New Testament uses the word in instead of the word among. In 1 John 3:24 and 4:13, we are told that God’s abiding in us is by the Spirit. We know that God abides in us because the Spirit is within us. The very God abiding in us is the Spirit. The Spirit is also God’s indwelling man. This is shown in Romans 8:11, which says that the Spirit of the resurrecting God indwells us.
The Spirit is the means of God for Him to dispense His attributes to man (Rom. 5:5; 8:11; 14:17; 15:13, 30; Acts 9:31). God has many attributes such as His mercy, His grace, His love, His life, His light, His righteousness, His holiness, and His patience. The means for these attributes of God to be ours is the Spirit. Through the Spirit, we can possess and enjoy them. The many attributes of God come to us through the channel of the Spirit.
The Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God (Matt. 28:19). Eventually, God is called the Spirit, and the transformed tripartite man is the bride (Rev. 22:17a). The Spirit is the Bridegroom, and the bride is the transformed man. The Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God. Consummation means completion. Our God has been completed because He has been processed and compounded. We are the members of Christ, who is the embodiment of such a processed God. We possess God’s life and God’s nature. This makes us children of God, sons of God, and even heirs of God. We are members of the family of God, our Father. This is because we are indwelt by the Spirit, who is the consummation of the Triune God.