PROPAGATING THE RESURRECTED, ASCENDED, AND ALL-INCLUSIVE CHRIST AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Message Seven
The Spirit of Jesus
Scripture Reading: Acts 16:6-7; Luke 1:35; Phil. 1:5, 27; 2:1-9
I. We may experience and enjoy the resurrected and ascended Christ as the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit—Acts 16:6-7.
II. We need to pay careful attention to two divine titles in Acts 16:6 and 7—the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus:
A. The interchangeable use of these two titles reveals that the Spirit of Jesus is the Holy Spirit.
B. The Holy Spirit is a general title of the Spirit of God in the New Testament:
1. The title the Holy Spirit is used for the first time at the conception of the Lord Jesus—Luke 1:15, 35:
a. It was when the time came to prepare the way for Christ's coming and to prepare a human body for Him to initiate the New Testament dispensation that the title the Holy Spirit came into use—v. 35; Matt. 1:18, 20.
b. In order to understand the first usage of the title the Holy Spirit, we need to see that this title is involved with the Lord's incarnation.
c. According to the principle of first mention, the Holy Spirit is related to Christ's incarnation and birth.
2. In the New Testament the title the Holy Spirit indicates that God is now mingling Himself with man—Luke 1:35.
C. The Spirit of Jesus is a particular expression concerning the Spirit of God and refers to the Spirit of the incarnated Savior who, as Jesus in His humanity, passed through human living and death on the cross—vv. 31, 35; Matt. 1:21; Acts 16:7:
1. In the Spirit of Jesus there is not only the divine element of God but also the human element of Jesus and the elements of His human living and His suffering of death as well.
2. The Spirit of Jesus is not only the Spirit of God with divinity in Him so that we may live the divine life but also the Spirit of the man Jesus with humanity in Him so that we may live a proper human life and endure its sufferings:
a. In his suffering Paul needed the Spirit of Jesus because in the Spirit of Jesus is the suffering element and the suffering strength to withstand persecution—Col. 1:24; Acts 9:15-16; 16:7.
b. In our preaching of the gospel today, we also need the Spirit of Jesus to face the opposition and persecution.
D. In Acts 16:7 Luke turns from the Holy Spirit to the Spirit of Jesus:
1. As a man, Jesus first lived a human life and then was crucified and resurrected—2:23-24, 32-33.
2. He ascended to the heavens and was made Lord and Christ—v. 36.
3. The Spirit of Jesus therefore implies the Lord's humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension—16:7.
4. The Spirit of Jesus involves more than the Holy Spirit does—vv. 6-7:
a. The Holy Spirit involves only the incarnation and birth of the Lord Jesus—Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18, 20.
b. The Spirit of Jesus involves His humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension—Acts 1:1-3, 8; 2:23, 32, 36.
5. The Spirit of Jesus is the totality and the full realization of the all-inclusive Jesus—16:7.
E. Just as the Spirit of Christ is the reality of Christ, so the Spirit of Jesus is the reality of Jesus—Rom. 8:9; Acts 16:7:
1. If we do not have the Spirit of Jesus, Jesus will not be real to us.
2. Jesus is real to us because we have the Spirit of Jesus as the reality, the realization, of Jesus—v. 7.
III. The Spirit, who was not yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified in resurrection, is the Spirit with the humanity of Jesus; the Spirit today has been constituted with the glorified humanity of Jesus—Luke 24:26; John 7:37-39; Acts 16:7:
A. This Spirit, who is the living water that we drink and who is flowing out from within us, is constituted with the humanity of Jesus; without the humanity of Jesus, there could never be such a Spirit.
B. Without the human essence the Spirit of God could not be the flowing water of life; if God would be a flowing river of life, He must be constituted with the human nature of Jesus.
C. "There is now the Spirit of the glorified Jesus:…we have received Him to stream into us, to stream through us, and to stream forth from us in rivers of blessing" (Andrew Murray).
D. We need to experience and enjoy the Spirit of the humanity of Jesus for gospel preaching, for the church service, for our daily walk, and for the Lord's recovery—Gal. 5:22-23; Phil. 2:15; 4:8.
IV. The move of the apostle Paul and his co-workers for the spread of the gospel was not according to their decision and preference or according to any schedule made by a human council but by the Spirit of Jesus—Acts 16:6-7:
A. Their work was by the Holy Spirit (v. 6), who was involved with the Lord's incarnation and birth, and by the Spirit of Jesus (v. 7), who was involved with the Lord's humanity, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension; the apostles were moving under the direction and guidance of such an all-inclusive Spirit.
B. The kind of work we do for the Lord depends on the kind of Spirit by whom we are guided, directed, instructed, and constituted:
1. As a vessel containing the Triune God, Paul was fully constituted with the Holy Spirit, who was involved with the Lord's incarnation and birth, and with the Spirit of Jesus, who was involved with the Lord's humanity, human living, all-inclusive death, life-imparting resurrection, and ascension—vv. 6-7.
2. Paul was a person constituted with this all-inclusive Spirit; thus, he could truly preach Jesus Christ—13:26-39; 17:18; 28:31.
3. If the Spirit becomes our constitution, then our work will be the expression of this Spirit, and we will do a work for Jesus as the incarnated One with humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension.
4. If we are constituted with the Spirit of Jesus, we will do the work of ministering Jesus as the all-inclusive One and convey Him as such a One to others—9:20, 22; 17:18; 28:23, 31.
V. The Spirit of Jesus is clearly portrayed in the first two chapters of Philippians:
A. In Philippians 1 we have the preaching of the gospel (vv. 12-18); in order to preach the gospel, we need the Spirit of Jesus:
1. This chapter is concerned with the fellowship unto the gospel without envy or strife—vv. 5, 15, 17.
2. The life of Jesus as presented in the Gospels was a life without envy, strife, or rivalry; thus, the Spirit of Jesus does not have envy, strife, or rivalry.
3. We should preach the gospel in the Spirit of Jesus, without envy, strife, or rivalry.
B. Fellowship unto the gospel requires that we be in one spirit with one soul (v. 27):
1. If we are not in the Spirit of Jesus, we are not in the fellowship unto the gospel.
2. Only in the Spirit of Jesus is it possible for us to be in one spirit and with one soul.
3. To experience Christ we need to be in the fellowship unto the gospel by the Spirit of Jesus without envy, strife, or rivalry.
C. By the Spirit of Jesus we can take Christ as our pattern—2:1-9:
1. By the Spirit of Jesus we can be as humble as Jesus was—vv. 5-7.
2. By the Spirit of Jesus we can fulfill the request of the apostle Paul and care for other saints—v. 3.
3. By the Spirit of Jesus we can think the one thing and have the same love—vv. 1-2.