LESSON NINE – BEING ONE SPIRIT WITH THE LORD

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

We can experience Christ and take Christ as everything because we have become one spirit with Him. This is a deep mystery, yet it is a sure fact that each of us who has believed into Christ and is joined to Him  in His divine life must believe, confess, and practice. (Life Lessons, vol. 3, p. 43)

IT BEING IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT WE HAVE A HUMAN SPIRIT REGENERATED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

When I began the ministry in this country many years ago, I emphasized the fact that we who believe in Christ have a regenerated human spirit, a human spirit indwelt by the divine Spirit, and that we are one spirit with the Lord. Many were surprised to learn that they have a spirit. Of course, they knew that they had a soul and a heart, but they did not know the human spirit. All Christians know of the Holy Spirit, but not all realize that they have a human spirit. It is important that all those who have recently come into the church life realize that they have a human spirit regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, in our daily living we must exercise the spirit. (Life- study of 1 Corinthians, p. 109)

GOD BEING SPIRIT, AND CHRIST BECOMING THE LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT

John 4:24 says that God is Spirit. This speaks of the nature of God. As far as the divine essence is concerned, God, the complete Triune God, is Spirit. The Triune God is three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Father is the source, the Son is the expression of the Father, and the Spirit is the realization of the Son (Matt. 28:19). The last Adam is the incarnated Christ, who through death and resurrection was transfigured to become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b), the Spirit of life  (2  Cor. 3:6, 17) as God’s ultimate expression.

OUR CENTER ALSO BEING THE SPIRIT

First Thessalonians 5:23 clearly and definitely reveals to us that our complete person is of three parts—spirit, soul, and body. The body is our outermost part, by which we act and walk, and by which we contact the material things. The soul is the part between our body and our spirit as our personality and self, by which we contact the psychological things. The spirit is our innermost part by which we know and worship God, and by which we contact the spiritual things. Thus, the spirit is the center of our being and is crucial to God, more crucial than even the heavens and the earth (Zech. 12:1).

JOINED TO THE LORD AS ONE SPIRIT

Since we are joined to the Lord, we are one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17). This means that the spirit, which is the mingling of our spirit and the Lord’s Spirit, is both the Spirit of the Lord and our spirit; it is the Lord’s Spirit mingled with our spirit and our spirit mingled with the Lord’s Spirit.… All our spiritual experiences after we are saved, such as our fellowship with the Lord, our prayer to Him, our living with Him, and our obedience to Him, are in this spirit, the Lord’s Spirit and our spirit mingled into one (Life Lessons, vol. 3, pp. 43-45).

NEEDING TO EXERCISE OUR SPIRIT IN OUR DAILY LIVING

When we face problems in our daily living, we may react with our soul, our body, or our spirit. Suppose a brother comes home from work exhausted by the day’s labor. He finds his wife full of complaints and unhappy with him. The brother can respond in one of three ways. The first way, universally common, is for him to react in the soul, especially from the mind or the emotion. A second possibility is for him to react in a physical way out of anger. The third alternative is for this brother to respond by exercising his regenerated spirit. It is vital for all believers to realize that our spirit has been regenerated and is indwelt by the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit. The brother facing difficulty with his wife should exercise his spirit and allow the life-giving Spirit to guide him. Then he will know what to say to his wife and how to behave. Anyone observing a brother living in such a way will realize that he is different from ordinary husbands. Instead of exercising his body to react physically or exercising his soul, he exercises his spirit. We all need to exercise our spirit in our daily living, especially in our married life and family life.

NEEDING TO EXPERIENCE HIM AS THE ALL-INCLUSIVE ONE BY BEING ONE SPIRIT WITH THE LORD

Because we have a regenerated spirit, we can experience Christ as our portion and also experience the fellowship of this Christ. If our spirit were not regenerated by the Spirit and indwelt by the Spirit, Christ could not be our portion, and we could not be in the fellowship of Christ. Just as electrical appliances must have the f low of electricity if they are to function, so we must be in the spirit if we are to experience Christ as our portion and enjoy His fellowship. Only when the electrical current f lows into the appliances can we actually have light, heat, or cool air. Likewise, only by being one spirit with the Lord can we experience Him as the all-inclusive One.

First Corinthians 1:2 and 9 say that Christ is both theirs and ours, and we have been called into the fellowship of this Christ. This fellowship takes place only in the spirit. Praise the Lord that he who is joined to Him is one spirit! Therefore, we have a source, a fountain, and an inexhaustible reservoir. This source is Christ, the processed Triune God, the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 109-110, 112)

References: Life Lessons, vol. 3, lsn. 30; Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 12

O LORD, THOU ART THE SPIRIT NOW (MINGLING)

Various Aspects of the Inner Life— The Two Spirits as One – 745

• O Lord, Thou art the Spirit now
  Who in our spirit lives;
  One spirit have the two become,
  Which oneness to us gives.

• Thy Spirit with our spirit, Lord,
  The witness ever bears
  That we the Father’s children are
  And of God’s glory heirs.

• ‘Tis in our spirit Thee we touch
  Thy riches to enjoy,
  And as the Spirit Thou dost give
  Thyself without alloy.

• ‘Tis in our spirit we may walk
  And follow Thee alway,
  While, as the Spirit, Thou dost lead
  And light impart each day.

• In spirit, by Thy Spirit, Lord,
  We live and worship Thee;
  Thou, in our spirit, thru Thine own
  Strengtheneth constantly.

• In spirit, with Thy Spirit, Lord,
  We offer prayer to Thee,
  While, as the Spirit, Thou in us
  Groanest unutterably.

• We to our spirit would return
  And there would contact Thine;
  ‘Tis in the spirit we may share
  Our heritage divine.

• What oneness, O my Lord, is this-
  Two spirits intertwine!
  Thy Spirit in our spirit lives,
  And ours abides in Thine!