LESSON FOUR – THE MINGLED SPIRIT

2 Tim. 4:22 — The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

1 Cor. 6:17 — He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.

First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” Because Christ today is the life-giving Spirit, and we have an inner part, the human spirit, these two spirits come together and mingle and become one spirit. He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. Now we have a mingled spirit. It is rather hard to say whether this is the Holy Spirit or the human spirit because the two spirits are mingled as one. Romans 8:4 tells us to walk according to the spirit. What spirit is this? We should walk not only according to the Holy Spirit and not only according to the human spirit, but according to the mingled spirit. Now the Holy Spirit and the human spirit are mingled as one. Here on this earth, in this universe, there is a spot where Christ as the life-giving Spirit is one with us. Now we just walk according to this wonderful, mingled spirit. Christ is the life-giving Spirit within our spirit. (CWWL, 1965, vol. 3, “Our Human Spirit,” pp. 225-226)

THE SPIRIT WITNESSING WITH OUR SPIRIT

Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.” This verse clearly tells us that there is the Spirit of God and there is our spirit, and these two spirits are one. The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit. The two spirits work together as one. (CWWL, 1965, vol. 3, “Our Human Spirit,” p. 247)

ONE SPIRIT WITH THE LORD

One of the greatest verses in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 6:17, says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” The implications of this verse are marvelous and far-reaching. We, the believers, are one spirit with the Lord. How tremendous! This implies that we are in Him and that He is in us. It also implies that we and He have been mingled, blended organically, to become one in life. To be one spirit with the Lord implies that we and He are a living entity.…To say that we are one spirit with the Lord definitely does not mean that we have any part in the Godhead. However, it certainly does imply the mingling of divinity with humanity. In the words of #501 in Hymns, “God mingled with humanity lives in me my all to be.” To be one spirit with the Lord means that we are blended with Him organically and mingled with Him in life. We urgently need more experience of this. We need to remain rooted in Christ and absorb all that He is into us. Then we and He, He and we, will be blended together in life organically to be one spirit. How profound! How wonderful! (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 457-458)

EXPERIENCING THE MINGLED SPIRIT BY FAITH

The most crucial part of our being is our spirit. Many times our fellowship and contact with the saints help us to realize that we are still in our flesh and our soul—our mind, emotion, and will. We have to learn to always live not in our flesh or in our soul but in our spirit. When we are angry with someone, we are often in our flesh. Then when we realize that we should be nice to them, we act like gentlemen and talk very thoughtfully with much logic. This is to talk, live, and behave ourselves in the soul. Neither living in the flesh nor living in the soul count before God. The book of 1 Corinthians reveals three kinds of persons: the fleshly man, the soulish man, and the spiritual man. In 1 Corinthians 1—3 Paul condemns division because division is in the flesh (1:10-11; 3:3). Paul further tells us that we should not walk in the soul (2:14). We should be neither fleshly men nor soulish men. Rather, we should be spiritual, walking in our spirit (vv. 11-13, 15). To be proper Christians, we must know that the Lord Jesus today as the embodiment of the Triune God is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17) indwelling our spirit and mingled with our spirit as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17).

We must simply believe that God created us with a human spirit. Moreover, God is Spirit, and He became incarnated, putting on flesh and blood. Then He died, was buried, and in His resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit. When we believed in Him, He entered into our spirit as the life-giving Spirit. Now the Spirit works together with our spirit, and the two spirits have become one to such an extent that it is difficult to discern which is which. If we do not know our spirit, we cannot live a proper Christian life. The Christian life is altogether a life in our mingled spirit.

THE NEED TO EXERCISE OUR FAITH BASED UPON WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE HOLY BIBLE

We must not analyze, convince ourselves, or try to convince others that we have these two spirits. We must exercise our faith based upon what is written in the Holy Bible. In expressing his opinion concerning marriage, Paul says, “I think that I also have the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 7:40). He may not have felt the Spirit, and he had no way to prove that he had the Spirit, but he thought that he had the Spirit of God. We must not be influenced by the teaching that we must pray and do many things before we can receive the Spirit. We should simply take the Word and exercise our spirit to believe what the Word says. We must forget about whether or not we have a certain feeling that we have the Spirit.

IT BEING EASIER TO KNOW WHEN WE ARE NOT IN THE SPIRIT

We must have the assurance that we are acting, are behaving, and even have our being in our spirit, but it is hard to tell if we are in the spirit. It is easier to know when we are not in the spirit. If we lose our temper, we know that is in the flesh. If we are so logical and philosophical, we know that is in the soul. When we are not in the spirit, we know it, but when we are in the spirit, we do not know it. This may be illustrated by the organs of our body. When there is no problem with our stomach, we are not aware of it, but when our stomach has a problem, we are aware of it. Not to know is a great blessing. If we are certain that we know something in our spirit, this may indicate that we are not in the spirit. To say of a certainty that we are in the spirit is not a good sign.

WE CANNOT ANALYZE THIS; WE CAN ONLY BELIEVE IT

We must learn not to trust in our feelings. Rather, it is better to believe more. Paul says, “That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3:17). We know that Christ is making His home in our hearts not by feeling but through faith. It is altogether a matter of faith. As believers in Christ, we must believe that we have a human spirit and that it has been regenerated. We also have the Lord Jesus as the life-giving Spirit in our spirit, and the two spirits are one.…We cannot analyze this; we can only believe it. We simply must do our duty to live, act, move, do things, and have our being in our spirit. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “Messages to Trainees in Fall 1990,” pp. 497-499)

References: CWWL, 1965, vol. 3, “Our Human Spirit,” chs. 1, 5; Life-study  of Colossians, msg. 52; CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “Messages to Trainees in Fall 1990,” msg. 9

GOD’S WHOLE RELATIONSHIP WITH MANKIND

Experience of God— In the Spirit – 8450

• O Lord, Thou art the Spirit now
  That gives us life and quickens us,
  With all Thy riches strengthening,
  O how divine and glorious!

• O Lord, Thou art the Spirit now
  That with Thy power liberates;
  And by Thy liberation true
  The law of life now regulates.

• O Lord, Thou art the Spirit now
  That transforms us and saturates,
  And to Thine image true conforms
  And with Thy light illuminates.

• O Lord, Thou art the Spirit now
  Who in my spirit makes His home;
  He mingles with my spirit too,
  And both one spirit thus become.

• Lord, teach me how to exercise
  My spirit now to contact Thee,
  That in Thy Spirit I may walk
  And live by Thy reality.