Through regeneration our deadened spirit was enlivened and resurrected. Now the all-inclusive Spirit dwells in our spirit and has mingled Himself with our spirit, making us one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). Although human words cannot adequately define this mingling, it is nevertheless a fact that the processed Triune God as the Spirit has mingled Himself with our spirit to produce one mingled spirit.
The mingled spirit is a mystery. Paul purposely composed Romans 8 in a simple way so that we could understand his utterance, yet the reality that he describes is mysterious and abstract to the uttermost. Even our physical body and the life within it are mysterious. Our psychological being, including our heart, mind, emotion, and will, is even more mysterious. We cannot physically locate these parts, yet we know that they are within us. We also have a human spirit, which is abstract and mysterious. Now that we are saved, we have something more mysterious within us—the Triune God as the Spirit mingling Himself with our spirit to be one mingled spirit.
Romans 8:4 says, “That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.” Bible translators have had difficulty discerning whether the spirit mentioned in this verse is the divine Spirit or the human spirit. We need to see that in Romans 8, the Spirit is no longer merely the Spirit of God, as He was in creation (Gen. 1:2), but also the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of the resurrecting One. Furthermore, this all-inclusive Spirit is mingled with our spirit. Romans 8:16, which says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit,” mentions the two spirits together. Thus, the spirit in verse 4 refers not merely to the divine Spirit or the human spirit but to these two spirits mingled together as one spirit. Every believer has such a mingled spirit.
According to Romans 8:4, we should walk not according to scriptural doctrines or regulations but according to the mingled spirit that is within us and is even a part of our being. The Greek word for walk in verse 4 refers to the general walk in our daily living, including our eating, dressing, marriage life, family life, school life, job life, and church life. We must have our being according to the mingled spirit.
We do not need to try to fully understand what or where the mingled spirit is. We cannot fully understand our psychological heart, yet we know that we have such a heart because of the feelings it gives us. In the same principle, we know that we have a mingled spirit within because we sense its function. Perhaps when we are speaking with our spouse, something within us does not agree with us. When we are considering whether to buy a certain item, something within us may say, “Do not buy it. Do not consider it any further.” Before we were saved, we did not have this kind of experience. Whenever we wanted to do something, such as go shopping, we would simply do it and would not be bothered. However, since being saved, we often sense a speaking within. This is the mingled spirit. Instead of trying to fully understand the mingled spirit, we simply need to believe that we have a mingled spirit and walk according to the mingled spirit in every area of our life. We need to have every corner and avenue of our being according to this spirit.
The mingled spirit is very close to the anointing. Romans is part of Paul’s completing ministry. After the time of Paul, when different teachings had damaged the church, John brought in the mending ministry. In his mending ministry John speaks of the anointing (1 John 2:20, 27). When electricity moves, it becomes a current. Just as the current of electricity is electricity in motion, the anointing is the mingled spirit functioning. When the mingled spirit functions in us, it becomes the anointing. Therefore, to obey the anointing is to walk according to the spirit.
We may exercise our spirit in the meetings, but most of us forget about our spirit when we go home. Thus, we live two different lives. In our home, marriage, school, and job we live according to our nature, culture, ethics, religion, and habit. To live according to our nature is to do things quickly if we are a quick person or slowly if we are a slow person. We should not take the excuse of our nature, saying, “I was born this way. How could you expect me to do things differently?” Neither should we take the excuse of our culture, claiming that because we come from a certain place, we must behave a certain way. If we take this excuse, it means that we move, walk, live, and have our being according to culture. In the church meetings we are all one in spirit, but after the meetings we may make excuses based on our nature or culture. We also should not live, walk, and have our being according to our ethical concepts. Perhaps we have stopped stealing or lying since becoming a believer, but we may do this according to ethics. We also have all been influenced by religion. We may think that it is good to be godly, pious, and religious. Finally, we are also very habitual. No matter if we are old or young, we have all built up habits, and much of the time we live according to habit.
Though we love the Lord, are in the church, and want to have a good testimony, we unconsciously and spontaneously live, walk, and have our being according to our nature, culture, ethics, religion, and habit. This is altogether wrong. We may understand the teachings of living Christ and practicing to be one spirit with the Lord, but these teachings must become our daily walk, living, and being. Our walk should be to daily live Christ, and we should have our being by practicing to be one spirit with the Lord.
We need to constantly live according to the spirit. Whatever we say or do must be according to the spirit. Before we say something to our spouse, we should consider whether it is according to the spirit. We are too loose in our home life. We are careful in the meetings, but we become loose as soon as we go home. We may want to relax and feel free at home, but we must not forget to walk according to the spirit. We should live a life that is according to the spirit at every time and in every place. This means that we even dress and groom ourselves according to the spirit.
If we walk according to the spirit, Christ will come forth. A daily walk according to the spirit will issue in the Body of Christ, the fullness of God, the new man, and the house of God. Walking according to the spirit will cause the bride to be prepared and will eventually usher us into eternity by bringing the Lord back. Hence, Romans 8 is practical, crucial, and central.
The meetings should be an exhibition of our daily life. If we do not walk and have our being according to the spirit in our daily life, our exercise of the spirit in the meetings will be a performance. We should come together to meet in the same way that we live and walk. Our calling on the name of the Lord when we meet should be a result of our calling during the day. Our praying when we come together should be a result of our praying unceasingly throughout the day. The meetings are not a performance but a normal, ordinary continuation and exhibition of our daily life.
We need to practice to live and have our being every moment according to the mingled spirit. It is not adequate even to live according to the Bible. The spirit’s requirement is higher than the letter of the Bible. We must reject our nature, culture, ethics, religion, and habit and take the mingled spirit as the standard of our living.