Now we come to 2 Corinthians 3. This chapter first shows that this Spirit who is in us as the anointing, the sealing, and the pledging is also the inscribing Spirit. We are like a piece of paper, and the Spirit of life is like ink, with which Christ is inscribed into us. This thought is deep and meaningful.
Many different expressions are used in the Epistles to describe the indwelling Spirit. Some of the titles are found in Romans, while other expressions are found in 1 Corinthians. Now in 2 Corinthians there are still more utterances. In Romans and 1 Corinthians there are no words referring to the anointing, the sealing, the pledging, or the inscribing. Then 2 Corinthians 3 shows that the Spirit is the inscribing Spirit (v. 3) and the Spirit who gives life (v. 6). Moreover, verse 8 of the same chapter mentions “the ministry of the Spirit.” Therefore, the Spirit is also the ministering Spirit. This ministering Spirit is the Spirit of life, the writing or inscribing Spirit. By this you can see that just chapter three of 2 Corinthians alone has added a number of different expressions.
We have said before that the first thing in the degradation of the church on earth is that the replacements of Christ were brought in, and the next thing is that man’s will, organization, and methods have replaced the Holy Spirit. You see here, however, that the Holy Spirit is the inscribing Spirit. What does He inscribe? The Spirit inscribes Christ. Paul said, “You are being manifested that you are a letter of Christ” (v. 3a). This letter speaks about Christ. Whatever is written in this letter is Christ. This tells us that today when we help others, whether it is to preach the word, to give a message, to preach the gospel, or to visit and fellowship with others, what we are doing is to write Christ into others through the Spirit. This is to work Christ into others, to minister Christ into others. You do not merely preach to people a message about Christ; rather, you work Christ into them.
This requires you to exercise your spirit. You cannot minister Christ merely by doctrines or theories. You must be in spirit in order to touch the spirit in man’s deepest part. It is neither a matter of how many messages you preach concerning Christ nor a matter of how many things you speak about Christ. Rather, it is a matter of the exercise of the spirit, the release of the spirit, and the going forth of the spirit. It is better that we give fewer messages. Our spirit must be strong, rich, living, and full of supply. When our spirit goes forth, it touches others’ spirit. What this spirit does in others is to write Christ into them.
The conclusion of 2 Corinthians 3 tells us that the Spirit is the Lord Himself. Moreover, it says that where the Spirit is, there is release, there is freedom. Therefore, the Spirit is also the freeing Spirit, the Spirit who sets us free. Then it goes on to say that this Spirit is also the transforming Spirit. The latter part of verse 18 says, “Being transformed...even as from the Lord Spirit.” The same word for transformed is also used in Romans 12:2, which says, “Be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” Therefore, in 2 Corinthians the Spirit is the anointing, the sealing, and the pledging, and He is also the inscribing Spirit, the ministering Spirit, the Spirit who gives life, the freeing Spirit, and the transforming Spirit. The utterance here is truly rich. I have a strong feeling that today we do not have adequate knowledge of the Spirit. I hope that in these days the Lord will cause us to see that the most important thing in following the Lord is to know the Spirit. We ourselves must have the experience, and then we have to preach and teach about this Spirit, showing others how this Spirit inwardly anoints us, rubbing God’s elements into us. We should describe to them how this Spirit seals us, not once for all but continuously, so that the more He seals us, the more we become like God, the more we have God’s image. We should also illustrate to them how the Spirit is in us as the foretaste, sample, and earnest, guaranteeing that everything of God is for our enjoyment. We should also explain to them that the Spirit is inscribing Christ in us daily. Hence, today when we help others, whether in ministering the word, in preaching the gospel, in fellowshipping, or in visiting, we should exercise our spirit to let the Spirit inscribe, add, work, and minister more of Christ into them. Furthermore, we should explain to them how the Spirit enlivens us from within and gives us life. We should show them that our service, our ministering, and our ministry should issue out of the Spirit. We should also show them how the Spirit releases us, because where the Spirit is, there is freedom; He has loosed all confinements, bondage, and restraints so that we are liberated, transcended, uplifted, and ascended. We should also illustrate to others how the Spirit is doing a transforming work in us daily and how we need to open our mind, our heart, our spirit, and even our entire being to afford Him the opportunity to flow in us and carry out His transforming work. The more He transforms us, the more we bear His image.
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