II. DISPENSED INTO OUR SPIRIT
Such a divine life is first dispensed into our spirit. Romans 8:10 says that since Christ is in us, our spirit is life. This is because Christ Himself is this life, and this life is in our spirit. Therefore, our spirit is life. This is a very strong point. Verse 10 does not say that since Christ is in us, the life is in us. Instead, it says that our spirit is life. Today our regenerated spirit is life.
The contrast presented in verse 10 is very interesting. It says if Christ is in you, your body is dead. It does not say your body is death. The opposite of being dead is being living. Based upon this, it would seem that verse 10 should say our body is dead and our spirit is living. But here Paul made the contrast different. He said our body is dead and our spirit is life. Since Christ is in our spirit, our spirit is not only living but also life.
We may read Romans 8:10, which says that our spirit is life, but we understand that either life is in our spirit or that our spirit is living. We read this verse in one way but we realize it subconsciously in another way, in a natural way. We do not realize that our fallen spirit, after being regenerated with Christ, becomes life. It is not only living and does not only have life; it is life itself.
Paul did not use all these words and phrases in a light way. He wrote Romans just as an attorney would write a legal document. In Romans 8 every word, every phrase, every clause, and every sentence should have been thoroughly considered by Paul. Paul was very careful about the experience of life and about the truth. All the things in Romans 8 are greatly involved with life and truth. Paul said that since Christ is in us, our spirit is life. Now that we have been saved, we have a part of our being that is life itself.
A. Christ in You
We have to stress strongly that Christ is in us. Life is not good behavior. Life is Christ. Any kind of virtue is not life, regardless of how high or how excellent that virtue is. Life is a person. Life is Christ Himself, and Christ is in us. We have to stress this strongly. We can never overly stress this one thing—"Christ in you." We are short of utterance to stress this one thing. In the whole universe nothing is greater than Christ being in us. Christ being in us is the greatest wonder, the wonder of wonders, in the whole universe. We need to impress the saints with who Christ is. He is both God and man, having both divinity and humanity. We have to stress again and again all the wonderful riches of Christ. Such a One is now in us.
We should not take Romans 8 for granted. It is not a small thing that Romans 8 was written and that this chapter is in the Bible. Without Romans 8, what would we do as Christians? We must stress the wonder of Christ being in us to impress ourselves and impress the saints.
(Basic Lessons on Life, Chapter 13, by Witness Lee)
