What Kind of Spirit are we Guided by? The Spirit of Jesus is the Reality of Jesus!

The Spirit of Jesus is the reality of Jesus, and this Spirit should become our constitution so that our work would be the expression of this Spirit; the Spirit of Jesus needs to be real to us by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus! Amen!

Praise the Lord! If we look at the book of Acts we see many things there, including the many gospel trips that Paul took to bring the gospel to many places around the world, especially among the Gentiles.

There are many outward things that happened, there were many miracles that took place, and many amazing events were recorded.

However, one of the main nuggets or crystals in the book of Acts is the Divine Trinity being seen everywhere, and the second one is found in Acts 16:7, the Spirit of Jesus.

This phrase, the Spirit of Jesus, is very particular, and it is found only here.

The Bible does not use terms interchangeably or randomly; the Spirit of Jesus was used in a specific way in this case in order to show a particular aspect of the Spirit that operated in the disciples.

The apostle Paul and his co-workers went out for the gospel, but they were not led by the need in the outward environment or by their natural preference.

They did not have a schedule to reach this amount of cities and go to those particular countries, as planned beforehand.

Rather, they were on God’s schedule, following God’s leading, and doing God’s will in His time.

Even more specifically, they were mingled with the Spirit, and the Spirit led them to where they should go, where they should not go, and which direction they should take.

This is very different from what we see what is happening in Christianity and in Christian work today.

There may be boards, missions, and plans, and there is the raising of funds, advertisement, and all kinds of such things, but where is the leading of the Spirit?

Where is the Holy Spirit coming in to set aside certain ones for the work, and then the church sending these ones out for the work to which the Spirit chose them?

Who today is limited and interdicted by the Spirit of Jesus, even being forbidden by the Spirit, to go somewhere and do a work for God?

We need to come back to the divine revelation in God’s word, the pure revelation in the New Testament, in order to be one with the Lord in what we are doing for Him and be in the fellowship of the Body, having the Holy Spirit sending us and the Spirit of Jesus operating in us for our ministry for the Lord.

What Kind of Spirit are we Guided by? The Spirit of Jesus is the Reality of Jesus!

The kind of work that we do for the Lord today depends not mainly on our ability to do something or on our zeal; it depends on the kind of Spirit by whom we are guided.

What kind of Spirit are we guided by today? What kind of Spirit directs us, instructs us, and constitutes us?

The apostle Paul was not guided merely by the Spirit of Jehovah or the Spirit of God but by the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:6-7).

This means that Paul was not just motivated and led by the Spirit of God outwardly but even more, he was inwardly filled with the Spirit of Jesus.

Paul was fully constituted of the Holy Spirit and of the Spirit of Jesus.

He was filled 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.

Such an all-inclusive Spirit constituted Paul, and when he went to preach, he could truly preach only Jesus Christ.

What about us, what is our constitution? What kind of Spirit leads us, guides us, and constitutes us?

If we are constituted by the Spirit of Jesus, our work will be the expression of this Spirit.

We are not like Elijah in the Old Testament, who was led by the powerful Spirit of God and did great works for God, but who was not constituted with the Spirit of Jesus.

He could never do the work of ministering Jesus as the all-inclusive One nor could he convey Christ to others; at most, he could do a great outward work for God.

We need to realize that the Spirit of Jesus is the reality of Jesus, just as the Spirit of Christ is the reality of Christ (Rom. 8:9).

If we have the Spirit of Christ, we have Christ, for the Spirit of Christ is the reality of Christ.

Similarly, we need to know the Spirit of Jesus and have the Spirit of Jesus so that we may have the reality of Jesus.

Who was Jesus? He was a man who continually suffered on the earth; He was persecuted, mistreated, judged, and spoken evil by many, and yet He depended on the Father in all things and sought the glory of the Father.

The Lord Jesus lived a life of suffering from manger to the cross.

The Spirit of Jesus is the reality of Jesus, making Jesus real to us.

The Spirit of Christ is the reality of Christ, making real to us what the all-inclusive Christ is, especially in His resurrection and ascension, being the One anointed by God to carry out His work.

The Spirit of Jesus is the reality of Jesus, and to see who Jesus is, we need to read the Gospels.

In the Gospels we see that He was compassionate toward those around them, and He was willing to detour just to reach out to a sinful Samaritan.

When He saw a funeral procession of the only son of a widow, He was moved with compassion and raised that young man. He was both God and man, and He expressed God in His humanity.

When we read the Gospels we are touched by the kind of person the Lord Jesus was, for even though He was suffering so much, He still lived a life to express God in His humanity.

This Jesus who suffered and was persecuted is now made real to us by the Spirit of Jesus who dwells in us.

When we go through things and others around us need our attention, compassion, care, and love, the Spirit of Jesus in us can make us the same as Jesus to be full of kindness, compassion, care, and love.

If we do not know the Spirit of Jesus, Jesus will not be real to us.

But if we have the Spirit of Jesus, if we enjoy Jesus in His word and contact Him in our spirit, He can live in us, He can withstand persecution in us, and He can bear suffering in us.

Even more, He can be kind, compassionate, caring, and loving toward others, being willing to spend and be utterly spent on them (2 Cor. 12:15).

On the one hand, the Spirit of Jesus supplies us to face the opposition and persecution we face in the gospel preaching work; on the other hand, the Spirit of Jesus supplies us to express Jesus in His humanity with His human virtues.

The Spirit of Jesus is not only the Spirit of God with divinity in Him so that we may live the divine life; He is also the Spirit of the man Jesus with humanity in Him so that we may live the proper human life and endure its sufferings.

This Spirit now is with our spirit, and we need to be constituted with this Spirit and know Him so that we may know Jesus in a subjective way.

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming into us as the Spirit of Jesus to be the reality of Jesus. Hallelujah, the Spirit of Jesus is with our spirit, and we can know Jesus in a subjective way today in our daily living! Oh Lord, we want to be led, directed, guided, and instructed by the Spirit of Jesus in our ministry for the Lord and work for Him. May the Spirit of Jesus constitute us and fill us. We come to You in Your word, Lord, and we want to know You as You lived the God-man life. We open to You as we read the Gospels; infuse us with Your humanity and fill us with all that You are. Amen, Lord, be so real to us in our daily living. May we be constituted with the Spirit of Jesus so that we may live out His humanity and have a proper human life, being fully able to endure its sufferings. Oh Lord Jesus, only You can live the human life and only You in us can express God and do a work for God! We want to know You, be filled with You, and be directed by You as the Spirit of Jesus!

Call on the Name of Jesus to Enjoy the Spirit of Jesus as the Reality of Jesus

How can we know Jesus and have the reality of Jesus in our daily living? How can Jesus be real to us?

The reality of Jesus is in the Spirit of Jesus; how can we obtain, enjoy, and be constituted with the Spirit of Jesus?

One of the most simple ways is to call on the name of the Lord Jesus.

When we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we get the person of that name. The Lord is rich to all who call upon Him (Rom. 10:12).

The way to enjoy the Spirit of Jesus as the reality of Jesus is to call on the name of the Lord Jesus.

When we call on the name of a real person, a person who is living, that person can answer us and speak to us, and we will have their presence with us simply by calling on His name.

Similarly, the way to know Jesus and have Jesus is to call on the name of the Lord Jesus.

The Lord is rich to all who call on His name. He is real to us whenever we call on Him.

He is now the Spirit, and as the Spirit, He is living, real, and rich to all who call on the name of the Lord.

Christ is the life-giving Spirit, giving life to all who call on the name of the Lord (v. 8).

As the Spirit, Christ is omnipresent; He is everywhere all the time.

In the name of Jesus we have everything we need.

We can call on the name of the Lord Jesus in any place and at any time.

If we call on the name of any other person in human history, no matter how great that person was, we will not get anything, for no one can give life to us except Jesus Christ.

Only Jesus Christ can give us life, for He gives Himself to us when we call on His name.

In the book of 1 Corinthians, we see that the only way we should take in the church life, especially as we see so many problems taking place, is to enjoy the Lord.

In 1 Cor. 12:3 and 13 we are told that the best way to enjoy the Lord is to call on His name.

When we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we drink Him, the life-giving Spirit.

We were baptized into Christ and we were given to drink Him as the Spirit.

Now we can simply call on the name of the Lord Jesus and He becomes real to us.

When we read the Bible, especially when we read the Gospels, we need to call on the name of the Lord. As we call on the Lord’s name and read His word, we get the Person of that name.

Then, throughout the day, we can keep calling on the name of the Lord as we do all the things related to the human life and the church life.

In all things, at all times, we can call on the name of the Lord, and we can pursue Him together with those who call on His name out of a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22).

When we call on the name of Jesus, Jesus becomes real to us.

We need to ask the Lord to make Himself real to us. We need to ask Him to make all that He is and has done real to us in the Spirit of Jesus.

The Spirit of Jesus is the reality of Jesus, and when we call on the wonderful, glorious, life-giving name of Jesus, we receive His life, we are constituted with Him, and the Spirit of Jesus makes Jesus real to us in all things.

May we be those who call on Him at all time, whether bliss or blight! May we call on the name of the wonderful Jesus Christ who is both God and man!

Lord Jesus, we want to call on Your name to enjoy You and for You to be real to us in the Spirit of Jesus! Oh Lord Jesus, keep us calling on Your name! We want to drink You as the Spirit of Jesus with the humanity of Jesus and the capacity to endure suffering. Oh, we just want to drink You by calling on Your name! Amen, Lord, You are a real and living person. We call on Your name and we receive You into us! Keep us calling on Your name today, no matter what happens. Keep us enjoying You as the life-giving Spirit in our spirit and with our spirit. Lord, make the Spirit of Jesus so real to us so that we may live in the reality of Jesus. May Jesus be real to us and in us so that we may live even as He lived, a life for the glory of God the Father. Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to know You personally and intimately in our daily living by calling on Your name at all time! Oh, Lord Jesus!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas in the message for this week, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2999, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2024 July Semiannual Training), week 12, The Divine Trinity, the Spirit of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – The Spirit of Jesus and the Spirit of Christ, a portion from, Conclusion of the New Testament, The (Msgs. 079-098), Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – Jesus Sympathizes with Us in All Things, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – Christ as the reality, a portion from, Christ as the Content of the Church and the Church as the Expression of Christ, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee.
  – Exercising Our Spirit to Contact the Reality of the Bible and to Know Christ Practically, via, Living to Him.
  – Message 4: “The Spirit Himself with Our Spirit” (1), message via, LSM Youtube.
  – The Spirit of Jesus, a portion from, Christ as the Reality, Chapter 10, by Witness Lee.
  – Discovering the Indwelling Christ as the Spirit by Calling on Him, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – The Law of the Spirit of Life, and audio book via, LSM Youtube.
  – Live with the Spirit as the Reality of Christ, via, New Jerusalem blog.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Jesus is the living Spirit, / Our reality; / We enjoy Him just by calling / In simplicity. / Jesus is the living Spirit, / We must now proclaim; / He is rich unto all men / That call upon His name. (Hymns #1142 stanza 1 and chorus)
  – The Spirit of Jesus has / All elements human, divine, / The living of man in Him / And glory of God combine. / The suff’ring of human life, / Effectiveness of His death, / His rising and reigning too / Are all in the Spirit’s breath. / With all these components true / His Spirit in us doth move, / And by His anointing full / The riches of Christ we prove. (Hymns #242 stanzas 3-5)
  – In the God of our salvation we may take delight, / Calling on His name at all times, though in bliss or blight. / I will call upon His name as long as I shall live, / Because He has inclined His ear, and grace so full does give. / We will call upon the Lord, who’s worthy of our praise; / Thus our grateful hearts in worship we to Him may raise. / We are those who call upon His name in every place / With all the saints who from a pure heart call and taste His grace. (Hymns #1083 stanzas 4-5)