First Peter has more references to the indwelling Spirit.
Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. (1 Pet. 1:2)
We have a story inside us which is the story of sanctification. This story of sanctification is the work of the Holy One, the Spirit, in our spirit to separate us, to make us holy. Thus, the sanctification of the Spirit is the work of the Spirit of God, the Holy One, in our spirit to continually separate us from all things that are opposed to God and to continually work the element of God into us, enabling us to become holy. In the sanctification of the Spirit we are able to obey the Lord.
Concerning this salvation the prophets, who prophesied concerning the grace that was to come unto you, sought and searched diligently, searching into what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them was making clear. (vv. 10-11)
Prophets here refers to the Old Testament prophets. You might ask, how could the Spirit of Christ be in the Old Testament? We need to add a word of explanation here. According to what we have said in the past, first there was the Spirit of God, then the Spirit of Jesus, and finally the Spirit of Christ; this is with regard to His process. But in another aspect, this Spirit is also timeless, just as the cross is. The crucifixion was accomplished two thousand years ago, but its efficacy is eternal, not being subject to time. In the same way, according to the process of completion, this Spirit was originally the Spirit of God; at the time of the incarnation He was the Holy Spirit, that is, “the Spirit the Holy”; and after passing through death and resurrection, He is the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ. According to His efficacy, however, He is the eternal Spirit. Therefore, even in the Old Testament, the Spirit of Christ was in the prophets to enable them to understand the prophecies concerning Christ. The Spirit of Christ testified beforehand to the prophets, making clear to them the time and the manner of time concerning the sufferings and glories of Christ.
You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (2:5)
This building is spiritual, and the sacrifices offered are also spiritual. This tells us two things. First, our being built up together is a matter in spirit. When you are in spirit, I am in spirit, and everyone is in spirit, then there is the possibility of our being built up together. The last verse in Ephesians 2 says, “In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” The church’s being built up into a house is a matter in the spirit. As living stones, we are built up together in spirit, so we become a spiritual house. Second, this building is a priesthood. In this priesthood we are able to have the proper service and offer up spiritual sacrifices. Thus, the building up is in spirit, and the service is also in spirit. The building up and the service should both be in spirit. Furthermore, these two matters are actually two sides of one thing.
But the hidden man of the heart in the incorruptible adornment of a meek and quiet spirit. (3:4)
This is a very particular passage in the entire New Testament. No other passage contains such words. In the phrase the hidden man of the heart, the word heart is a weighty, not empty, term. The three parts of the soul-mind, emotion, and will-plus the conscience, which is a part of the spirit, make up the heart. Here the hidden man of the heart is the regenerated spirit. The inner man is hidden in the heart, and the heart surrounds the spirit. This man should have an adornment, which is a meek and quiet spirit.
This shows us two things. First, our spirit is a hidden man in our heart. Second, our spirit is surrounded by our heart, so our spirit becomes the source in the depths of our heart. The deep source of the mind, emotion, and will is the spirit. Therefore, if you want your mind, emotion, and will to be proper, you must deal with them from the source, from your spirit in your deepest part. This is why your spirit must be meek and quiet. When your spirit is meek and quiet, it is easy for your mind, emotion, and will to be meek and quiet. Many times when you cannot quiet down, it is not a matter involving your mind, emotion, or will; rather, it is because your spirit is in turmoil. When the center is in turmoil, it affects also the surrounding parts. When the source is in turmoil, it affects also the mind, the emotion, and the will. We all know that when our spirit is agitated, our mind, emotion, and will are easily excited and are difficult to calm down. Therefore, I repeat, we need to pray in spirit that our spirit may be quieted, and in this way our mind, emotion, and will also become restful and quieted.
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