One of the most neglected yet crucial matters in the Christian life is the Spirit. If we read the Bible we see that there are many titles for the Spirit of God, starting from the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jehovah in Genesis to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of life, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of grace, the Spirit of reality, the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit of glory, the seven Spirits, and the Spirit (in Revelation).
Why are there so many titles of the Spirit? Aren’t they all referring to one Spirit, or is God having more than one Spirit? Furthermore, why do we need to know the proper significance of these titles of the Spirit, and how do these apply to our Christian life?
We need to realize that today we live in the age of the Spirit: it is not the “age of the Father” or the “age of the Son” but the age in which God the Father is in God the Son working as God the Spirit in and among man. Since the Lord’s resurrection, another age has started until now, which is the age of the Spirit, in which God’s unique way of working our something according to His heart’s desire for His purpose is as the Spirit. God has no other way except the Spirit.
We as believers are baptized in one Spirit into one Body; we have received the Spirit the day we believed into the Lord, and we have the Spirit living in our spirit today. The Spirit is both within us (in our spirit) and upon us (He was poured upon us). The Spirit of life is within us as our life inwardly, and the Spirit of power is upon us outwardly to clothe us for God’s work.
What the New Testament reveals concerning the Christian life is that we need to be filled in Spirit. Our Christian life depends on the Spirit; we should not grieve the Spirit, not quench the Spirit, but walk according to the spirit, live by the Spirit, and be filled with the Spirit in our spirit.
This should be our Christian life today. This is the way to be an overcomer. This is the way for us to become the New Jerusalem, build up God’s dwelling place, and serve Him as the holy priesthood – the Spirit! We need to have the proper spiritual knowledge of the Spirit in the Bible, and we need to go on and experience the Spirit with our spirit, the all-inclusive compound life-giving Spirit that is right now with our spirit!
The Spirit of Glory Rests upon the Suffering Believers for Christ’s Glorification
In 1 Pet. 4:13-14 we see a unique name of the Spirit: if we are reproached in the name of Christ, we are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon us. The Spirit of glory, being the Spirit of God Himself, rests upon the believers who are suffering in their persecution for the glorification of the resurrected and ascended Christ, who is now in glory.
When Stephen was being stoned to death, his face was shining, and he saw the Lord Jesus standing at God’s right hand; the Spirit of glory rested upon Stephen, and he died glorifying God. When the saints are suffering, when they are under persecution, the Spirit of glory is available to them.
Today we may not be persecuted, but when the others persecute us and cause us to suffer, the Spirit of glory rests upon us. This is something quite special. When we suffer reproach on behalf of Christ, when we suffer shame because of His name, when we are persecuted for the testimony of Christ, the Spirit of glory will descend upon us and rest upon us.
With every martyr who was martyred for Jesus, the Spirit of glory was upon him. It is not a small thing to be covered and clothed with the glory of God, which is the element of this Spirit! Outwardly the martyr may be put to death, but the Spirit of glory rests upon him and he glorifies the resurrected and exalted Christ, who is now in glory!
The Seven Spirits bring the Degraded Church Back to the Enjoyment of Christ
In the book of Revelation we see “the seven Spirits of God”, the seven Spirits which are before the throne of God, and the seven Spirits sent throughout the earth (see Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6; 2:7, 17, 3:20). Does this mean that now God has not one Spirit but seven? No, there is only one Spirit, but just as the lampstand is one in its existence but has seven lamps in its function, so the Spirit is one but for the sake of the accomplishment of God’s economy He has been intensified sevenfold.
The seven Spirits are the sevenfold intensified Spirit to bring the degraded church back to the enjoyment of God as the tree of life, the hidden manna, and the rich feast for the finalization of God’s eternal economy. Today in the age of the degradation of the church the Spirit has been intensified sevenfold to bring the degraded church back to the enjoyment of Christ and to produce the overcomers.
On the one hand, the seven Spirits are the seven lamps of burning fire (Rev. 4:5) for enlightening and burning, and on the other hand, the seven Spirits are the seven eyes of the Lamb (Rev. 5:6) for observing, searching, and transfusing. As we are under the Lord’s enlightening and judging, He looks at us, and through the seven Spirits as His eyes, we are being infused with the Lord for our transformation for God’s building.
As we spend time with the Lord in His word, Christ looks at us with His seven eyes, and these eyes, which are the seven Spirits, transfuse Christ’s element into us. On the one hand, He enlightens us and burns away any element that is not of Him, and on the other hand He observes us, He searches us, and He transfuses Himself into us to make us His overcomers. Christ’s ministry in the stage of intensification is to intensify His organic salvation, to produce the overcomers, and to consummate the New Jerusalem.
The seven Spirits – the sevenfold intensified Spirit – is for God’s building; the seven Spirits are for our transformation into precious stones to be fitted into God’s building. Without the Spirit, there’s no way for us to overcome, to be built up, or to consummate the New Jerusalem. Hallelujah, Christ as the Spirit has today been intensified sevenfold to counteract the degradation of the church and to search us, judge any old element in us, and transfuse Himself into us for God’s building!
Thank You Lord for being the sevenfold intensified Spirit today to bring the degraded church back to the enjoyment of Christ as the tree of life, the hidden manna, and the rich feast for the finalization of God’s eternal economy! Thank You for being the seven Spirits of God as the seven lamps of fire to burn and enlighten, and for being the seven eyes of the Lamb for observing, searching, and transfusing! Lord, intensify Your organic salvation in us, produce us as Your overcomers, and consummate the New Jerusalem!
Ultimately, the Spirit of God is “the Spirit”, the Compound Spirit!
The final title of the Spirit of God in the Bible is “the Spirit” which speaks in oneness with “the Bride”; here we see the consummated Spirit being fully one with the consummated corporate man who has become the bride. Ultimately, the Spirit of God is “the Spirit”, the compound Spirit; the Spirit is the totality, the aggregate, of all the elements of the titles of the Spirit of God!
The Spirit mentioned in Rev. 22:17 is the all-inclusive, processed, compound Spirit (see Rom. 8:16, 23, 26-27; Gal. 3:14; 5:16-18, 22, 25; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rev. 2:7; 14:13; 22:17a); this Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jehovah, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of reality, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of life, the life-giving Spirit, the Lord Spirit, the Spirit of grace, the seven Spirits, and the Spirit of glory.
Such a Spirit was not yet before the Lord’s resurrection, but today all those who believe in Christ may receive, enjoy, and partake of the compound, life-giving, all-inclusive Spirit, and they can drink such a Spirit and flow out such a Spirit as rivers of living water (John 7:38-39). The Spirit is the unique blessing of the gospel God preached to Abraham, and the Spirit is the unique blessing of the gospel we believe in today (Gal. 3:14). When we believe the gospel, God gives us one thing: the Spirit!
God preached the gospel to Abraham, promising him a seed and the land; the reality of the seed is Christ, and the reality of the good land is Christ; this Christ today is realized as the Spirit, and the Spirit is the reality of the seed of Abraham, and the Spirit is the reality of the good land. “The Spirit” – the compound Spirit – is the unique and greatest blessing of God’s New Testament economy! God promises us nothing else but Himself as the Spirit, and He gives us nothing else as Himself as the Spirit!
This Spirit is not a simple Spirit but the compound Spirit: the Spirit of God as the base was compounded in an artful and skillful way by God Himself, the heavenly compounder, with the wonderful elements of Christ’s incarnation, His humanity, His divinity, His human living, His all-inclusive death on the cross, His resurrection, and His ascension, and today He is the Spirit, the compound Spirit, as the unique blessing of the gospel. Hallelujah, we can enjoy such a Spirit and live in the spirit to partake of all that the Spirit is to us today!
Lord, thank You for being processed and consummated to become the all-inclusive, life-giving, compound Spirit who today is with our spirit. Lord, we want to experience You and enjoy You as the compound Spirit. We want to not grieve the Spirit but be inwardly filled with the Spirit and outwardly clothed with the Spirit for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Lord, we don’t want to quench the Spirit but walk according to the Spirit, live by the Spirit, and be filled with the Spirit in our spirit! Hallelujah, our Christian life is a life of being filled with the Spirit!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, brother Minoru Chen’s sharing in the message for this week, and Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1730-1731 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Exodus (3), week 10 (week 34), The Compound Spirit.
- All Bible verses are taken from, Holy Bible Recovery Version.
- Hymns on this topic to strengthen this burden:
# Now the seven Spirits are / Seven lamps of burning fire, / Not to teach us, but to burn, / Satisfying God’s desire. / See the seven Spirits now— / Seven piercing, searching eyes. / In the church exposing us, / All the church He purifies. (Hymns #1122)
# Overcome, overcome; / Lord, I pray to overcome, / By the Spirit sevenfold intensified; / Lord, I pray to overcome…Transform me; transform me; / For the Body transform me; / I behold Your glory with an unveiled face; / For the Body transform me. (Song on the Sevenfold Intensified Spirit)
# The Spirit of the Triune God / Is God’s economy; / The consummated Holy One / Flows on and on eternally. / Though God in nature cannot change, / He passed through womb and cross; / The Lamb of God has been prepared, / Yet, nothing has been lost. / The Spirit is the compound God; / The One that was “not yet“; / The seven Spirits, seven eyes, / Today are “The Spirit“. (Song on the Compound Spirit)
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