In 1 Corinthians 4:21 Paul says, “What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?” By reading this verse we realize that Paul was a person who truly walked in the spirit.
According to 1 Corinthians 5:3-5, Paul could even attend a church meeting in his spirit when he was not physically present. In 1 Corinthians 5:4 he said, “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit.” Paul seemed to be saying, “You are gathering at Corinth and I am here in Ephesus. But when you gather together, my spirit meets with you.” How much Paul lived in his spirit! In his spirit he could exercise authority in the name of the Lord Jesus to execute the Lord’s judgment upon a sinful brother. By this we see how strong in the spirit he was.
In 1 Corinthians 16:18 Paul says, “For they have refreshed my spirit and yours.” Paul’s spirit was refreshed by the saints in the church. This reveals that Paul continually lived, walked, and worked in his spirit for the church life.
Second Corinthians 2:13 says, “I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother.” Paul also mentions the human spirit in 2 Corinthians 7:13, where he says, “Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all.” Paul told the Corinthians that they did a good thing in refreshing the spirit of Paul’s co-worker Titus.
Second Corinthians 12:18 says, “I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?” Paul and his co-workers were in the same spirit. This verse does not say that they were one in the Holy Spirit, but in the human spirit. The apostles constantly lived, walked, moved, worked, and spoke in and from their spirit. Therefore, they experienced Christ and had the proper church life.
Only by living and walking in our spirit can we experience Christ for the genuine church life. This is not a matter of studying the Bible or of reading books. Sometimes books will function as eye openers and render us some help by opening our mind. But our final decision must be made in our spirit. When I first came into the church life, I spent several weeks wondering and watching. I was constantly thinking and considering in my mind. Eventually, after a long period of time, I became finalized in my spirit. I said, “This is all. Now I forget my consideration and my thinking and make my final decision in my spirit.” I can assure you that there is only one way to experience Christ for the church life—it is to be in your spirit. Wherever you are—at home, at school, or on your job— you need to be in the spirit. If we would pray, we must be in the spirit. If we would function, we must be in the spirit. If we would have fellowship with the saints, we must be in the spirit. If we would preach the gospel to sinners, we must do so in our spirit. The key is to be in spirit.
The Christian life, the church life, the Lord’s work, the proper ministry—all must be in the spirit. Talk to the brothers in your spirit. Try to lose your temper in your spirit. Whenever we turn to our spirit, our temper vaporizes. When we turn to our spirit, there is no hatred, only love. When we turn to our spirit, it is no longer the self, but Christ. In our spirit there is another world, another sphere, another realm, another kingdom. When we are in spirit everything is different. Although we are small, we can be in one of two kingdoms: the kingdom in our mind or the kingdom in our spirit. Whenever we are in our mind, we are in one kingdom, but whenever we turn to our spirit, we are in another kingdom. Strictly speaking, we need very little knowledge. We just need to realize that we must live, walk, move, and work in our spirit. We must be burning, zealous, boiling, and aggressive, not in our emotions or in our natural being, but in our spirit. Only this aggressiveness is effectual.