The matter of the Spirit of God in the Bible and in our experience has been greatly misunderstood and misapplied, leading to many superficial, superstitious, and even paranormal things that Christians would believe or think concerning the Spirit. We need to take a look at what the Bible says concerning the Spirit of God, and we need to come back to the divine revelation in the Holy Word of God related to the Spirit.
In Genesis we see that the Spirit of God was brooding over the waters in the darkness, and then life sprung out, creation came into being, and all kinds of plants, animals, fish, and birds were created, ending with the creation of man – all for God’s purpose.
The Spirit of God in Genesis 1 is the Spirit of life coming to brood over the death waters to generate life, especially man, for God’s purpose. In our Christian experience, the first thing that happened to us is the Spirit’s coming through the word of God, then the divine life was imparted into our being.
This is our initial and basic experience of the Spirit, which in Genesis is called the Spirit of God. Throughout the Bible there are many other titles or aspects of the Spirit such as the Spirit of holiness, the Spirit of Jehovah, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of grace, the Spirit of reality, the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit of life, the seven Spirits, and the Spirit.
Of course, there is only ONE Spirit, which in Genesis is the Spirit of God and in Revelation is the Spirit, and throughout the Bible we see the process that this Spirit went through to be “compounded” or processed and consummated until He becomes the Spirit.
May the Lord save us from a superficial or superstitious knowledge or experience of the Spirit, and may we come back to the word of God to see, enjoy, and experience the Spirit – who today is with our spirit! Amen!
Today we want to see another title of the Spirit in the Old Testament, the Spirit of Jehovah, and what it means, how it applies to our experience, and how we can enjoy Him as such a One.
“Jehovah” denotes God’s Relationship with Man: Jehovah is “I AM who I AM”
The second title ascribed to the Spirit of God in the Old Testament is “the Spirit of Jehovah”. In Genesis 2 we have God as “Elohim” (referring to the Triune God, see Gen. 1:26, lit. translation), and in God’s first dealing with man – from speaking to him, placing him in front of the tree of life, and building a woman out of his rib and bringing her to man, His name is Jehovah.
Jehovah is the name of God in His relationship with man; when God came to man and was related to man in the Old Testament, His name was Jehovah.
Actually, the name Jehovah is derived from or a form of the verb “to be”. In Exo. 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.”
Jehovah is the One who was, the One who is, and the One who is to be. “Was,” “is,” and “will be”—all these are forms of the verb to be. Actually, the verb to be can be applied only to God. He alone is, was, and will be. He alone is the eternal, self-existing One. Our life is short. If we do not have God, we shall not continue to be and even we are not actually existing now, for the verb to be cannot be applied to us as it is uniquely applied to God. The verb to be is the basic verb. Everything else depends on this. For example, eating depends on being, on existence. If I did not exist, how could I eat? All other verbs, perhaps numbering in the thousands, depend on this unique verb, the verb to be. Only God is the One who is; He alone is the I Am, the ever-existing and self-existing One. (Witness Lee, Life-Study of Exodus)
Wow! I cannot say that “I AM” – I may be here today, but I may not be here tomorrow – only God is, was, and will be. And if we don’t have God in us as our life, we are NOT, that is, we may be here today, but we will not be here tomorrow.
What gives meaning, existence, and sense to our human life and living on earth is God Himself as the I AM, the Jehovah God who comes to us as the Spirit of Jehovah. Jehovah is the self-existing and ever-existing One – He is the One who was in the past, the One who is in the present, and the One who will be in the future forever (Rev. 1:4). He gives life to all, and because of Him we are, we live, and we move.
We need to remember that God is – He is the I AM, and because He is, everything else exists and depends on Him. And this One is Triune: He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the Triune God. Right after God introduced Himself to Moses as the I AM, He told him to tell His people that, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you (Gen. 3:15).
Why is God Triune? Mainly for the purpose of dispensing Himself into man and mingling Himself with man. Our God is Jehovah – He comes to relate to man, be with man, and do many things in and with man, and He is Triune – He dispenses Himself into us to be our life and our everything. Hallelujah for our God, whose name is Jehovah and who is Triune!
Lord, You are and we are not! You are the I AM, the self-existing and ever-existing God who was in the past, is in the present, and will be in the future forever. We praise You, Jehovah God! Thank You for coming to us as the Spirit of Jehovah to have a relationship with us, lead us, be with us, and do a work with us. Thank You for being the Triune God to dispense Yourself into us as our life, life-supply, and everything. Hallelujah, we now are and we will live forever because we have the I AM in us as the Spirit!
The Spirit of Jehovah with the Element of the Triune God in God’s Relation with Man
There are many verses in the Old Testament which speak of the Spirit of Jehovah such as Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Samuel 10:6; 16:13, 14; 2 Samuel 23:2; 1 Kings 18:12; 22:24; 2 Kings 2:16; 2 Chronicles 18:23; 20:14; Isaiah 11:2; 63:14; Ezekiel 11:5; 37:1; Micah 3:8; Zechariah 7:12.
Whenever God came to contact people in the Old Testament, He was the Spirit of Jehovah with the element of the Divine Trinity. Again and again we see the Spirit of Jehovah operating and working in man and with man, from the judges to the kings and to the prophets, rushing to man, being with man, and working with and through man.
Whenever God had to do something with man or through man in the Old Testament, He came as the Spirit of Jehovah. For example, the Spirit of Jehovah rushed to David and was with him, and the Spirit of Jehovah left Saul the king, who was rebellious against God (1 Sam. 10:6; 16:13-14; 2 Sam. 23:2).
The Spirit of Jehovah carried Elisha and protected him from the king (1 Kings 18:12), rushed upon the prophets (2 Chron. 18:23), fell upon Ezekiel (Ezek. 11:5), strengthened Micah with power (Micah 3:8), and gave instructions and words through the prophets to the people (Zech. 7:12). The Spirit of Jehovah with the element of the Divine Trinity did many things in the Old Testament.
However, we in the New Testament have the Spirit not only upon us, falling on us, or rushing to us – today we have the Spirit in us, the Spirit with our spirit, and we are joined to the Lord as one spirit – we are one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17). Hallelujah!
Today we can experience the Triune God dispensing Himself in Christ and through the Spirit into our spirit to fill our whole inner being with our mind, emotion, will, and heart, so that we may be organically one with the Lord, we may be reconstituted with God, we may live God to express Him, and we may build up the church as the dwelling place of God. Hallelujah!
You could say that the Spirit today is “more advanced” or “fully consummated” with all the functions and features added to Him; the compound Spirit we enjoy and receive today includes the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jehovah, and many other elements such as Christ’s humanity, divinity, human living, death, resurrection, ascension, and authority.
Hallelujah for this wonderful Spirit in us! In this Spirit we have the I AM, and whenever we exercise our spirit we receive the dispensing of the Triune God through the Spirit!
Our life has meaning, purpose, and sense because we enjoy the One who IS, and we can do this and that simply because HE IS everything to us, and we take Him as our life, our life supply, our daily portion, our source, and our everything! Hallelujah for the wonderful compound Spirit with our spirit!
Thank You Lord for being the Spirit of Jehovah coming to be with man, work with man, and be related to man in the Old Testament. How we appreciate You as the One who comes as the Spirit of Jehovah with the element of the Triune God to relate to man and even dispense Yourself into man. Lord, we love You even more today as the Spirit, the compound Spirit with our spirit! Hallelujah, we can now enjoy the I AM as the Spirit with our spirit! Lord, amen, You are everything to us! You are the One who constantly dispenses all that God is into our being to make us the Body of Christ to express God corporately!
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, msg. 161-162 (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:
# Though we have often slighted Thee, / Thy Spirit often grieved, / Yet Thou dost still as Spirit come / As life to be received. / Thou as the Spirit in the Son / Hast mingled heretofore; / Thou wilt thru fellowship anoint / And increase more and more. (Hymns #12)
# By resurrection Thou didst change / Thy form and as the Spirit come; / Thou wouldst that I be filled with Thee / That all Thy riches mine become. (Hymns #233)
# Of the Spirit, born of Spirit— / This the source of Jesus is; / Filled with Spirit, all of Spirit— / This the essence truly His. / In the Spirit, with the Spirit, / As the Spirit Jesus came; / Now the Lord is just that Spirit / And in spirit we’re the same. (Hymns #1123)
About aGodMan
In order for God to be related to man, He must be triune—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. According to Exodus 3, Jehovah refers to the Triune God. This is indicated in 3:6, where God says, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” After God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” and told him to tell the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you,” He went on to say to him, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial from generation to generation” (v. 15). In 3:14 God says, “I AM has sent me to you,” but in the next verse He says, “Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This indicates that Jehovah is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. This title of God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—implies the three of the Godhead, the Trinity. In our Life-study of Genesis we pointed out that much of the book of Genesis is related to God as the God of three persons: Abraham, the father; Isaac, the son; and Jacob, the supplanter, the subtle one who was eventually transformed. The God of Abraham signifies the Father; the God of Isaac, the Son; and the God of Jacob, the Spirit. Jehovah, God in His relationship with man, is the Triune God. Therefore, the Spirit of Jehovah is the Spirit with the element of the Divine Trinity. (Witness Lee, Life-Study of Exodus)
Amen! This is the high peak truth that God became man so that man may become God in life, in nature and in expression but not in the Godhead… Hallelujah!
Amen aleluya por esta mezcla maravillosa,Dios mesclado con el hombre,en Espíritu a nuestro espúritu.
Oh que mezcla,tan real y verdadera. Aleluya amen.