Romans 8:15 contains a mystery. This verse says, “You have not received a spirit of slavery bringing you into fear again, but you have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father!” The mystery here is whether the spirit of sonship that we have received is the divine Spirit or the human sprit. This has been a great problem to Bible teachers and translators throughout church history because the original Greek text does not have upper and lower case and because the context here is ambiguous. The answer to this mystery is that the spirit of sonship is not merely the human spirit nor merely the divine Spirit but the regenerated human spirit indwelt by and mingled as one with the divine Spirit.
Some today oppose our use of the word mingling, a word that has long been a point of contention in theology. In the early centuries certain church fathers taught mingling in a proper way, according to the Bible. However, by the fifth century some teachers had gone too far by saying that the mingling of the divine and human natures in Christ produced a third nature, which was neither divine nor human. Because this teaching is heretical, it was condemned, but the proper teaching of mingling was also condemned. As a result, for at least thirteen centuries Christian teachers would not touch the matter of mingling for fear of being condemned as heretical.
The proper definition of mingling is that the divine nature is made one with the human nature without producing a third nature. Mingling may also be properly used to describe how the divine Spirit is made one with the human spirit of the believers. This use of the word mingling is correct, for it is entirely according to the Bible (Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17; 2 Cor. 3:17; 2 Tim. 4:22). Although the words trinity and triune are not found in the Bible, the fact that God is triune is based on the revelation in the Word. Triune is a compound word meaning “three-one.” God is triune because He is one God, yet He is of three hypostases—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14). Therefore, teachers of the Bible invented the words triune and trinity to describe God’s attribute of being three-one. In the same principle, although the word mingle is not used in the New Testament, the fact and the thought are there.
In the New Testament we have the plain teachings, and in the Old Testament we have the types as figures. Children learning to read may not know what is meant when they see the letters of the word dog, but if they see a picture of a dog next to the word, they will understand what the word means. In the same principle, the pictures in the Old Testament correspond to the teachings in New Testament. The word mingle is not used in the New Testament, but it is used in the typology in the Old Testament. Of the five offerings mentioned in Leviticus 1 through 6, the second is a meal offering. Leviticus 2:5 says that the meal offering is made of “fine flour mingled with oil.” Thus, the meal offering cake is composed of two substances mingled together into one entity. Oil typifies the Spirit, and fine flour typifies Christ’s humanity. Hence, the meal offering cake shows divinity mingled with humanity. We can see from this picture that mingling implies more than adding or joining together. However, the mingling of the oil with the fine flour does not produce a third nature. The nature of the oil and the nature of the fine flour are preserved, but the two substances are mingled to compose one entity.
Part of the Old Testament priest’s garment was the ephod. Two substances—gold thread and fine twined linen—were woven together to make the material for the ephod (Exo. 28:6). In typology, gold refers to God’s divine nature, and fine linen refers to Christ’s human nature. The ephod is a type of Christ expressed in His two natures—His divinity and His humanity. The weaving of the gold thread with the linen thread signifies mingling. After such a mingling, no third substance or nature is produced. Hence, the truth of mingling is scriptural, and to say that the Holy Spirit is mingled with the human spirit is altogether scriptural.
The matter of mingling is fundamental and basic. It is not merely a theological doctrine but is altogether related to our spiritual experience. We must have a basic knowledge of this matter before we can comprehend the proper and genuine experience of Christ. The spirit of sonship in Romans 8:15 is the mingled spirit—the divine Spirit dwelling in and mingled with our human spirit. The spirit of sonship is neither merely our human spirit nor merely the divine Spirit but the two spirits mingled together as one spirit. We have such a mingled spirit.