Although we have seen many things concerning the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, I have the burden in this message to help you realize that this Spirit has been wrought into us and that we have also been put into this Spirit. First, I need to say a further word regarding God's economy.
God's economy, or dispensation, is absolutely not a religion. Christianity has been utilized by the subtle one to the extent that it has become a religion. According to the human concept, religion is a good thing. Religion teaches people to worship God, to behave in a way that is pleasing to God, to do things for God, and to glorify God so that they may have a good future, and it encourages them to do all these things. Apparently, this is very good; actually, it is against God's economy in a subtle way. This kind of religion has been a thick veil covering God's chosen people. Today's Christianity is a heavy veil covering many Christians. After reading the past seven messages on the life-giving Spirit, you can see the difference between the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit and religion. What a difference there is! The Spirit is genuine; religion is a counterfeit. The Spirit is the reality; religion is vanity.
In His economy God has processed Himself in order that He may become the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit. The word "processed" sounds strange to religious ears. Nevertheless, in His economy God has processed Himself. One day the very God became incarnated. Although He was God, He came into man and became a man, He lived a human life on earth for thirty-three and a half years, and He passed through much suffering. Eventually, He was arrested, judged, and put to death by being crucified on the cross. He was buried and remained in the grave for three days. Then He came out of the grave in His resurrection. Are not all these events part of a process? Yes, they are. The word process is not used in the Bible, but all these events are certainly part of a process. Our God has passed through a long, meaningful, and profitable process, beginning with the incarnation, continuing through human living and crucifixion, and concluding with resurrection and ascension. Today He is the One who has ascended to the heavens, having passed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. Now, having passed through such a process, what He is, is different from what He was before the incarnation. Before the incarnation, He was merely God. But after having passed through this long process, He is not only God, but God with man. In fact, He is a God-man. With this God-man there is incarnation, human living, the all-inclusive crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension.