Basic Word The Divine Life Dispensed Into The 3 Parts of Man

                     THE DIVINE LIFE DISPENSED INTO THE THREE PARTS OF MAN

Scripture Reading: Rom. 8:2a, 6, 9-11

Romans 8 reveals the divine life dispensed into the three parts of man. Verse 2a speaks of the law of the Spirit of life. Verse 6b says that the mind set on the spirit is life. Verse 10 says that if Christ is in us, the body is dead, but the spirit is life. Then verse 11 says that the Spirit of the One who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal body through His Spirit who indwells us. Thus, verse 2 speaks of the divine life, verse 10 says that our spirit is life, verse 6 says that our mind can be life, and verse 11 says that even our body may be given life. Verse 8 speaks of God, verse 9 of the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, and verse 10 of Christ. We need to read these verses to show that the Triune God is dispensed into the three parts of man. While we are reading, it is always profitable to point out the crucial points in every verse.

                                                                I. THE DIVINE LIFE

                                                                 A. The Spirit of Life

Romans 8:2 speaks of the Spirit of life. The Spirit of life is a phrase of apposition and actually means that the Spirit is life. In the Bible there are a number of phrases like this. The Spirit of God means that the Spirit is God; the life of God means that the life is God; the Spirit of Christ means that the Spirit is Christ; and the love of God means that love is God.

Of course, we know that if there is no Spirit of God, surely there is no life. Life is the Spirit. In Revelation 22:1 there is a picture of the river of water of life, and that river is the Spirit. This river flows out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. This shows how God in Christ as the Spirit flows Himself into His redeemed people to be their life and life supply. The river is the flow of life; it is life in motion.

This is like the current of electricity. Actually, the current itself is electricity. It is not something separate from electricity; it is electricity itself in motion. When electricity flows and is in motion, that is the current of electricity. The current of electricity can be compared to the Spirit of life. The Spirit of life means that the Spirit is life. The Spirit is life in motion, the Triune God in motion.

                                                                B. In Christ Jesus

This life is of the Spirit and is also in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:2 speaks of the Spirit of life freeing us in Christ Jesus. The phrase in Christ Jesus is profound. I believe that this phrase will need eternity for us to understand adequately. Today we understand a little. But when we enter into eternity, we will be freed from so many limitations, and then we will realize what it means to be in Christ Jesus.

In giving such a message, you have to define who Christ is and who Jesus is. The constituents of these two titles are profound. We have a life that is in Christ Jesus. The life is in such a One who is not only God and the Spirit but who is also Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus, this wonderful person, is constituted with many excellent elements. He is the One who has divinity and humanity, who has passed through so many processes, and who has accomplished so much. The life we are enjoying today is a life in such a realm and sphere. This realm and this sphere are an unlimited person, Christ Jesus.

In Romans 8:2 the Spirit of life frees us in Christ Jesus, not in Jesus Christ. The life is in Christ, and it traces back from Christ to Jesus. We need to let the saints know that in Christ Jesus is not an empty term. If it were an empty term, Paul would not use it. Surely this means a lot. We must tell the saints that the very divine life today is not only of the Spirit but is also in such a marvelous, unlimited person as its realm, its sphere.

                                                       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 that if Christ is in you, your body is dead. It does not say that your body is death. The opposite of being dead is being living. Based upon this, it would seem that verse10 should say that our body is dead and our spirit is living. But here Paul makes the contrast different. He says that 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, yet 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 says 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.

                                                                 B. The Spirit Being Life

Because Christ is in us, our spirit is life. Regeneration is a mingling work to mingle Christ with our spirit. Today Christ is life, and our spirit is also life. This is because our spirit has been made one with Christ, who is life. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” Surely this one spirit comprises both Christ and our spirit, so both Christ and our spirit today are life. This is why we need to exercise our spirit. If we exercise our spirit, life will be infused into people because our spirit is life. If we exercise our spirit to minister to others, then our spirit will reach others as life.