Today’s Christians have a traditional way of saying that "Christ is in the Holy Spirit." But the Scriptures do not have such a form of expression. There is not one verse in the Scriptures which says that Christ is in the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures say that the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son (John 14:10-11, 20), but the Bible never says that the Son is in the Spirit. This is because the Father is manifested in the Son, and the Son who comes into us is the Spirit. It is not that the Son who is in the Spirit comes into us, but it is that the Son who comes into us is the Spirit. Therefore, "Christ is in the Holy Spirit" is a traditional saying, while "Christ is the Spirit" is the scriptural expression. The Bible says, "The Lord is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:17). Unfortunately, there are people today who insist on the traditional saying and condemn the scriptural saying as not in accordance with the truth and therefore wrong. May the Lord grant us the spirit of wisdom and revelation that we may discern what is of man’s tradition and what is from divine revelation.
The Triune God is wholly a matter of the Spirit. First, in essence, He is Spirit. John 4:24 says, "God is Spirit." (In Greek there is no article before the word "Spirit.") This refers to the essence of God. For example, the essence of a wooden table is wood; thus we can say that the table is wood. God is Spirit; God’s essence is Spirit. Second, in His economy, God is the Father, Son, and Spirit (Matt. 28:19). God has His economy, and in His economy the Father is the One who plans, the Son is the One who accomplishes, and the Spirit is the One who applies it all. The economy of God eventually is in the Spirit. Third, in His redemption, the last Adam became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). The Lord came to be the last Adam, accomplished redemption, and was resurrected to be the life-giving Spirit. Today the Lord whom we enjoy is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), and the Spirit is the very Triune God. His essence is Spirit, His economy eventually is in the Spirit, and His redemption also leads to the Spirit. Consequently, the Lord whom we have, enjoy, and experience today is the Spirit. The God who planned in eternity, who in time came to create, who became a man, died on the cross, accomplished redemption, resurrected and ascended, and descended to visit us—this God is the Spirit. There is too much to say about this Spirit. This Spirit is too rich! In this Spirit there is God, and in this Spirit there is also man. In this Spirit there is the effective killing power of the cross, and in this Spirit there is also the resurrection, the life of resurrection, and the power of resurrection. In this Spirit there is ascension and transcendency, and in this Spirit there is also glory and enthronement, kingship and kingdom. Hallelujah, this Spirit is all-inclusive!
This Spirit is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), just as the breath breathed into us (John 20:22), to be our life. This Spirit is also the Spirit of power (Acts 1:8), just as the wind blown upon us (Acts 2:2, 4), to be our power. This Spirit is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:6), the Spirit of bountiful supply (Phil. 1:19, Gk.), the Spirit that sets man free (2 Cor. 3:17), the sanctifying Spirit (1 Pet. 1:2), the transforming Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18), the leading and interceding Spirit (Rom. 8:14, 26), and the Spirit of many other functions. This Spirit regenerates us (John 3:5-6), anoints us, seals us (2 Cor. 1:21-22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30), and now is in us to be the earnest of God as our eternal portion (Eph. 1:14; 2 Cor. 5:5). This Spirit is also the firstfruit, that is, the foretaste of the liberty of glory into which God is going to bring us (Rom. 8:23). We have all been baptized into this Spirit, and now we are made to drink of this Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13).
This all-inclusive and almighty Spirit has come into our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22) and joined with our spirit as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). Therefore, we must turn to our spirit. Today if we would experience the Lord and enjoy Him as everything to us, we must turn to our spirit.
However, it is not sufficient just to learn to turn to our spirit. In our daily living we must walk according to the spirit. It is rather difficult to say whether this spirit is the Holy Spirit or our spirit, for it is the mingled spirit of these two spirits. We must not walk according to our emotions, nor according to our mind, nor according to our will, but just according to this spirit. All our speech, conduct, daily living, activity, and work must be done according to this spirit (Rom. 8:4-6; Gal. 5:16, 25). If we mind the spirit and walk according to the spirit in such a way, we will be those who live in the spirit, those who constantly have the Lord Spirit’s indwelling, and those who walk with the Lord Spirit. The Lord Spirit will become our living and our all, and we will enjoy all the riches of the Triune God—the Father, Son, and Spirit. We will live in the Body which has been baptized in and filled with the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:4), that is, the church, to become the dwelling place of God in spirit (Eph. 2:22, Gk.), filled unto all the fullness of God that God may be glorified therein (Eph. 3:19, 21).
(Concerning the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee)