Lesson Book, Level 3: Two Spirits—Two Spirits - the Divine Spirit and the Human Spirit, by Witness Lee

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VI. THE HUMAN SPIRIT

A. For Contacting God

[Man can be likened to a radio. The Spirit of God is like the heavenly radio waves. The spirit in man is like the radio receiver. Many radios do not function because their owners do not use their spirit! People are unable to contact God because the receiver within them is out of order.] If man did not have a spirit, he would be unable to contact God.

B. Being the Key to the Christian Life

[It is in our spirit that we were born again (John 3:6); it is in our spirit that we were made alive (Eph. 2:5; Rom. 8:10); it is in our spirit that God dwells (Eph. 2:22; 2 Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:16); it is in our spirit that we are joined to the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17); and it is in our spirit that we contact and worship God (John 4:24). Now we must walk and have our whole being according to our spirit—serving in our spirit (Rom. 1:9), praying in spirit (Eph. 6:18), being filled in spirit (Eph. 5:18), seeing God’s revelation in spirit (Eph. 1:17; 3:5; Rev. 1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10), having fellowship with the brothers and sisters in spirit (Phil. 2:1); and being built together with others into a dwelling place of God in spirit (Eph. 2:22).]

C. The Greatness of Man’s Spirit

[Zechariah 12:1 tells us that there are three crucial things in God’s creation: the heavens, the earth, and the spirit of man. It says that Jehovah is the One who "stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him." How great is our spirit! The heavens are for the earth. Without the heavens, the earth could not have anything organic. The earth is for man, and man is for God. For man to be for God, he needs a receiver. This receiver is our human spirit. Praise the Lord that we are here under God’s plan and in His plan; that we have been made by Him in His image and after His likeness; that we have a spirit to receive Him; and that He, as the divine Spirit, has entered into our human spirit, making us His sons for His expression! This is His plan.]

SUMMARY

God’s eternal purpose is to have a people that would express Him. The way He fulfills this purpose is called His economy. In His economy, God as the Spirit dispenses Himself into man. God is able to dispense Himself into man because He is the Spirit and man has a spirit. The Spirit transmits the entire Triune God, and the human spirit receives this transmission. Our spirit is the means for us to contact the Triune God; therefore the human spirit is a great thing in the universe. By the divine Spirit entering the human spirit, God will accomplish His desire.

QUESTIONS

  1. Name the three New Testament verses that speak of both the divine Spirit and the human spirit. What do they say?
  2. What is God’s eternal purpose?
  3. How will God fulfill His purpose?
  4. What does the Greek word "oikonomia" mean?
  5. How can the great God get Himself into man?
  6. Is the Spirit merely a third of the Godhead?
  7. Why is the Spirit called "the Spirit of reality" in John’s writings?
  8. What is the significance of the human spirit?

Quoted Portions from (Lee/LSM) Publications

  1. The Economy of God, p. 26.
  2. The Completing Ministry of Paul, p. 9.
  3. The Vision of the Lord’s Recovery, Elders’ Training, Book 2, pp. 17-18.
  4. The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity, p. 26.
  5. Life-study of Romans, pp. 578-579.
  6. Life-study of Philippians, pp. 335-337.
  7. The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John, p. 413.
  8. Life-study of John, pp. 445-446.
  9. Life Messages, p. 613.
  10. Our Human Spirit, p. 5.
  11. The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, p. 18.

(Lesson Book, Level 3: Two Spirits—Two Spirits - the Divine Spirit and the Human Spirit, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee)

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