The Spirit of reality is the reality of the Triune God, making God real to us in our experience, and He is also the essence and reality of the Body of Christ; the Spirit of reality transmits the reality of the Triune God to us in the Body of Christ.
God’s intention has to do with man, to have a corporate man built up for His expression and representation on earth. But because man fell, God Himself became a man to make a way for man to be filled and constituted with God, so that man would cooperate with Him for the fulfillment of His purpose.
In John 7:37-39 the Lord Jesus promised to all those who come to him and drink that their thirst will be satisfied and our of their innermost being will flow rivers of living water – this He spoke concerning the Spirit who was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
The Lord prophesied concerning the Spirit whom he will become after going through death and resurrection to be glorified. When anyone drinks Christ as the Spirit out of his innermost being shall flow rivers, many rivers, of living water, which are the many attributes and virtues of Christ such as love, patience, kindness, holiness, righteousness, etc.
Then, in John 14 the Lord Jesus promised that He will not leave His disciples orphans but will return to them in another form, the Spirit of reality, who will be not only with the believers but on the believers.
In John 20:22, after going through death and entering into resurrection, Christ came to His disciples and applied what He prophesied and promised by breathing into them the Holy Spirit.
Christ today is the Spirit of reality, and as such a One He is the reality of the Triune God, applying the Triune God with all that He is, has, and has accomplished to our being in spirit.
Whatever the Father is and has is embodied in the Son, and whatever the Son is and has, has been received by the Spirit. Now the Spirit is the Spirit of reality, and He transmits to us, the believers in Christ, all that the Father and the Son are and have. Hallelujah!
Only God Himself is reality, and He is embodied in Christ, who fully expressed Him and represented Him individually while on earth.
Now we as the many believers in Christ are the continuation of Christ, and the Spirit of reality is with us and in us, guiding us into all the reality of what the Triune God is and has.
Hallelujah for the wonderful Spirit in us, the Spirit of reality, who is the reality of the Triune God and also the reality of the Body of Christ!
The Spirit of Reality Transmits and Applies the Reality of the Triune God to us in Spirit
Through the Spirit of reality, the reality of the Triune God is transmitted into us, for the Spirit of reality is the reality of the Triune God. The reality into which the spirit of reality guides us is the reality of the Triune God (see 1 John 4:13-14; 5:6).
All the riches of what the Father has and is, and what the Son is, has, and has accomplished, are being transmitted into our being by the Spirit of reality who is with our spirit.
Whenever we contact the Lord and remain in the mingled spirit, touching Him as the Spirit of reality and allowing Him to guide us into all the reality, we have the very essence of the Triune God infused into us to become the very essence and constituent of our being.
The Spirit as the consummation of the Triune God is our portion for our experience and enjoyment, and this spirit is transmitting all that God the Father and God the Son is, has, and has accomplished.
First, the Spirit seeks us out, brings us back to God, and sanctifies us unto God; then, after our salvation, the Spirit becomes in us the very reality of Christ, making all that Christ is, has, and has done real to us in our experience, so that Christ may be wrought into us.
The Spirit is the reality of the Father and the Son – the Spirit of reality is the reality of the Triune God, and even more, the Spirit is the application and transmission of all that the Triune God is and has!
When we were regenerated the spirit was installed in our being similar to how electricity was installed in a building; whenever we turn on the switch by turning to our spirit, the Spirit of reality makes all that God and Christ is real to us.
As the Spirit of reality guides us into the divine reality by transmitting this reality into us, the divine reality — the processed and consummated Triune God — becomes the constituent of our being (Eph. 3:14-17a).
The Father strengthens us with power through His Spirit into the inner man so that Christ may make His home in our heart through faith.
The Spirit is the Spirit of reality, and the Father strengthens us through the Spirit of reality who dwells within us into our inner man so that Christ with all His riches may be wrought into our being and become the very constituent of our being.
The more we are strengthened by the Father through the Spirit into the inner man, the more Christ and God and all the divine things are made real to us, and the reality of the Triune God becomes the constituent of our inner being.
This is really a wonderful intimate, personal, and sweet inner guiding by the Spirit of reality into all the reality of the Triune God for us to enjoy God, have God wrought into our being, and be constituted with God for the fulfillment of His purpose.
And if we don’t understand this fully, if these statements and the verses in John 14:15, 15:16, and 16:13-14 don’t really make sense to us, we can just tell the Lord,
Lord Jesus, we may not understand all that You are doing in us but we believe that You are the Spirit of reality guiding us into all the reality of what the Triune God is and has. Amen, Lord, guide us into all the divine realities of the Father and the Son with all They are, have, and have accomplished. We open to Your inner transmitting and applying of the riches of the Triune God to our being. Father, strengthen us with power through the Spirit of reality into our inner man so that Christ may impart all His riches into every part of our inner being through faith!
The Spirit of Reality is the Reality of the Body of Christ, Transmitting God into us
The Spirit of reality guides us into the reality of the Body of Christ, for the Spirit of reality is the reality of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:4; John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6; 1 Cor. 12:12-13).
In these portions in John 14-16 we see not only the Lord’s promise that He will return to be in the believers as the Spirit of reality, but also the issue of such an experience, which is the Body of Christ as the organism of the Triune God.
In 1 Cor. 12:12-13 we see that the Body of Christ is the result of being baptised in one Spirit, being immersed in the one Spirit; this is the Spirit of reality.
The Body of Christ is an entity born of the Spirit, and without the Spirit there’s no Body of Christ (One Body – One Spirit, Eph. 4:4). The Spirit is the essence and reality of the Body of Christ, just as our human spirit is the essence and reality of our entire human being.
The Body of Christ is the church, and all its reality is the Spirit of reality of the processed and consummated Triune God; if there were no Spirit of reality, there would be no Body of Christ, no church (John 16:13).
The Spirit of reality is the consummation of the processed Triune God – God went through the process of incarnation, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension, to become the Spirit of reality, who is the essence and reality of the Body of Christ.
The Spirit of reality is the essence of the Body of Christ; in Him the divine life is contained, and He has the capacity to supply the divine life in a bountiful way (Phil. 1:19).
In the Spirit of reality as the essence of the Body of Christ there is the excelling humanity of Jesus, and whenever we turn to the spirit, we enjoy this excelling humanity being supplied to us (Acts 16:7).
In the Spirit of reality as the essence of the Body of Christ there’s the all-inclusive death of Christ, and whenever we touch the Spirit, the negative things in our being are put to death (Rom. 8:13).
In the Spirit of reality as the essence of the Body of Christ there’s the surpassing resurrection of Christ, and we can experience this in spirit (Phil. 3:10).
The Spirit of reality makes everything of the processed Triune God a reality in the Body of Christ – all the riches of God, the processes He went through, His attainments, His accomplishments, His virtues, His attributes, everything is made real by the Spirit of reality in the Body of Christ.
Without the Spirit, there’s no Body of Christ, no church, but when we have the Spirit of reality, all that God and Christ are is made real to us in spirit. The Spirit of reality is guiding us into all the reality of the Body of Christ.
Lord, show us what it means that the Spirit of reality is the reality of the Body of Christ. Cause us to enter into the reality of the Body of Christ by exercising our spirit to enjoy the Spirit of reality. Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to enjoy the rich supply of Your divine life, Your excelling humanity, Your all-inclusive death, and Your surpassing resurrection. Amen, Lord, we open to You as the Spirit of reality to be guided into all the reality of the Body of Christ!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by James Lee for this week, and portions from, Life-study of John, pp. 443-447 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Reality of the Body of Christ (2018 Thanksgiving Conference), week 1, The Spirit of Reality Being the Reality of the Body of Christ.
- Hymns on this topic:
# By knowing Thee as Spirit, Lord, / We realize Thy life’s outflow, / Thy glory and Thy character, / And all Thy being’s wonders know. (Hymns #490)
# Thy Holy Spirit deep within / Supplies Thyself as righteousness, / As holiness, redemption full, / As wisdom and as fruitfulness. / Thy Spirit in my spirit now / Supplies Thyself, unites with me, / Thus I am all the time myself / And constantly am also Thee. (Hymns #491)
# Jesus is the living Spirit, / He is our rich feast; / As the Body now enjoys Him, / Praises are released. (Hymns #1142)
