Scripture Reading: Acts 16:6-7; Luke 1:35; Phil. 1:5, 27; 2:1-9

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 7　DAY 1　»

　　Acts 16:6 And they passed through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

　　Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the holy thing which is born will be called the Son of God.

　　Christ as the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit with many wonderful elements added to Him. This is the Spirit in the book of Acts who was spreading to produce the Body of Christ....In the Acts the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, has become the Spirit of Jesus, who is Christ Himself. It is through the spreading of this wonderful all-inclusive Spirit that the church, the Body of Christ, came into existence.

　　We need a new understanding, comprehension, and view of all the matters in the book of Acts. What is taking place in this book is the spreading of Jesus as the wonderful Spirit to produce the Body of Christ, which is the church....This wonderful Christ mingled Himself with many human beings, including Peter, John, James, Paul, Timothy, and thousands of believers in the early days. All the believers in the Acts were joined to Christ and made one with Christ as the Spirit. (CWWL, 1966, vol. 2, "The Divine Spirit with the Human Spirit in the Epistles," pp. 256-257)

　　First Corinthians 15:45 tells us that the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit, and 2 Corinthians 3:17 says that the Lord is the Spirit. In addition, 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, "He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit." I hope that you will keep all three of these verses in mind. Here we have Christ as the Spirit in our human spirit, and these two spirits are mingled as one. Christ today is not only the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God but also the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit who gives life with many wonderful elements added to Him, including incarnation for redemption, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and even His enthronement, headship, and lordship. This Spirit comes into our spirit, and these two spirits become one. This oneness is the reality of the church, the church life, and the building up of the Body of Christ. In the early days Peter, Paul, and all of the apostles lived and worked in this oneness. In other words, they lived and worked in this Spirit, that is, in the mingled spirit—Christ as the life-giving Spirit mingled with our human spirit to be one spirit. (CWWL, 1966, vol. 2, "The Divine Spirit with the Human Spirit in the Epistles," p. 257)

　　Acts 16:6-7 indicates that we may experience and enjoy Christ as the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, who guided the apostles in their ministry. Speaking of Paul and his co-workers, these verses say, "They passed through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, yet the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them." The move of the apostle Paul and his co-workers for the spread of the gospel was not according to their decision and preference or according to any schedule made by human council but by the Spirit of Jesus.

　　Just as the Spirit of Christ is the reality of Christ, so the Spirit of Jesus is the reality of Jesus. If we do not have the Spirit of Jesus, Jesus will not be real to us. But today Jesus is real to us because we have the Spirit of Jesus as the reality, the realization, of Jesus. Jesus was a man who continually suffered intense persecution while He was on earth. Therefore, the Spirit of Jesus is the Spirit of a man with abundant strength for suffering. He is the Spirit of a man as well as the Spirit of suffering strength.

　　As an evangelist, Paul went out to preach, and he also suffered. In that suffering he needed the Spirit of Jesus because in the Spirit of Jesus there is the suffering element and the suffering strength to withstand persecution. In our preaching today we also need the Spirit of Jesus to face the opposition and persecution. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2999)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 293; CWWL, 1965, vol. 3, "The Spirit in the Epistles," ch. 8

«　WEEK 7　DAY 2　»

　　Acts 16:7 And when they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, yet the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

　　Col. 1:24 I now rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His Body, which is the church.

　　The Spirit of Jesus is not only the Spirit of God with divinity in Him that we may live the divine life but also the Spirit of the man Jesus with humanity in Him that we may live the proper human life and endure its sufferings.

　　We need to pay careful attention to two divine titles in Acts 16:6 and 7—the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus. The interchangeable use of these two titles reveals that the Spirit of Jesus is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a general title of the Spirit of God in the New Testament. The Spirit of Jesus is a particular expression concerning the Spirit of God and refers to the Spirit of the incarnated Savior who, as Jesus in His humanity, passed through human living and death on the cross. This indicates that in the Spirit of Jesus there is not only the divine element of God but also the human element of Jesus and the elements of His human living and His suffering of death as well. Such an all-inclusive Spirit was needed for the apostle's preaching ministry, a ministry of suffering carried out among human beings and for human beings in the human life. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2999-3000)

　　In Acts 16 Luke first speaks of the Holy Spirit and then of the Spirit of Jesus—two titles for the Spirit of God not found in the Old Testament. The title the Holy Spirit was used for the first time at the conception of the Lord Jesus. It was when the time came to prepare the way for Christ's coming and to prepare a human body for Him to initiate the New Testament dispensation that the term the Holy Spirit came into use (Luke 1:15, 35; Matt. 1:18, 20). In order to understand the first usage of the title the Holy Spirit, we need to see that this title is involved with the Lord's incarnation. Hence, according to the principle of first mention, the Holy Spirit is related to Christ's incarnation and birth. This title indicates God's coming into man to be one with man in incarnation. In the New Testament, the title the Holy Spirit indicates that God is now mingling Himself with man.

　　In Acts 16:7 Luke turns from the Holy Spirit to the Spirit of Jesus. As a man, Jesus first lived a human life and then was crucified and resurrected, and He ascended to the heavens and was made Lord and Christ. Thus, the Spirit of Jesus implies the Lord's humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3000)

　　The Spirit of Jesus involves more than the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit involves only the incarnation and birth of the Lord Jesus, but the Spirit of Jesus involves His humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension.

　　In Acts 16 we see that the move of the apostles in their evangelistic work was strictly speaking not by the Spirit of God. Rather, it was by the Holy Spirit, who was involved with the Lord's incarnation and birth, and by the Spirit of Jesus, who was involved with the Lord's humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension. These two divine titles indicate strongly that Paul's move in his evangelical work was not something in the way of the old dispensation. If it had been a move in the old dispensational way, then the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Jehovah should have been mentioned. But in Acts 16 there is no mention of the Spirit of God nor of the Spirit of Jehovah. Instead, we are told that Paul and his co-workers were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia and were not allowed by the Spirit of Jesus to go into Bithynia. The fact that Luke speaks of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus indicates that the evangelical work of the apostles was a new move in God's New Testament economy. (Life-study of Acts, pp. 379-380)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1965, vol. 1, "The All-inclusive Spirit of Christ," pp. 560-563

«　WEEK 7　DAY 3　»

　　Luke 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus.

　　Matt. 1:21 And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.

　　God's New Testament economy is carried out through the Lord's incarnation, humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension. The Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus include these matters. This means that the Spirit who is now called the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus is the totality and ultimate consummation of Christ's incarnation, humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension. When we have this Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus, we have Christ in His incarnation, in His humanity and human living, and in His death, resurrection, and ascension. (Life-study of Acts, p. 380)

　　After His resurrection and in His resurrection Christ has become the pneumatic Christ. The pneumatic Christ is identical to the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17). The Holy Spirit, who is also the Spirit of Jesus, is the totality of this pneumatic Christ. The pneumatic Christ is constituted of certain elements: incarnation, humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension. In the entire universe He is the only one who possesses these six qualifications. Only He is qualified with incarnation, humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension. Hence, the Spirit of Jesus is the realization of this qualified Jesus. The Spirit of Jesus is the totality of such an all-inclusive One. In Acts 16 Paul and his co-workers were moving under the direction of such a Spirit, the Spirit who is the totality of the all-inclusive Christ.

　　What I have been ministering...regarding the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus...is the result of more than a half century of studying the holy Word and the writings of others, plus observing the experience of the saints and my own experience. My fellowship concerning these two titles of the divine Spirit, therefore, is based upon years of study, observation, and experience.

　　If we see the significance of the titles the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus, we shall mourn and lament over the pitiful situation among Christians today with respect to understanding these matters. Who knows that the Spirit of Jesus is the totality and realization of Christ as the unique qualified One, the One qualified through incarnation, humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension? We certainly are not proud of what the Lord, in His mercy, has shown us. But we are burdened to tell the truth to God's seeking people. The depths of the truth regarding the Spirit is not found in traditional theology; on the contrary, it is in the depths of the Word. If we would know these depths, we should not be content to "skate on the ice" of the surface of the Word. We in the Lord's recovery should no longer stay on the surface in such a way.

　　We surely need to consider the two divine titles in Acts 16:6 and 7. Paul and Silas were forbidden to speak the word in Asia not by the Spirit of God nor by the Spirit of Jehovah, but by the Holy Spirit, who carried out the conception of the Savior. When they tried to go into Bithynia, it was not the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Jehovah who did not allow them—it was the Spirit of Jesus who did not allow them to go there. The Spirit of Jesus is the Spirit of the One with humanity, who lived a human life on earth for thirty-three and a half years, who died an all-inclusive death, who resurrected from among the dead to propagate the divine life by imparting it into all His believers, and who ascended to the heavens to be made Lord and Christ. The Spirit who did not allow the apostles to go into Bithynia was the Spirit of this Jesus. This Spirit is the totality and the full realization of the all-inclusive Jesus. These verses prove that the apostles were moving under the direction and guidance of such an all-inclusive Spirit. May we all see the revelation here and not be satisfied with a superficial understanding of the Word of God. (Life-study of Acts, pp. 380-382)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1966, vol. 2, "The Divine Spirit with the Human Spirit in the Epistles," ch. 8

«　WEEK 7　DAY 4　»

　　Luke 24:26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into His glory?

　　John 7:39 But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

　　John 7:37-39 is very much related to the humanity of Jesus. We all know these verses well; I believe that many of us can recite them. We pay our attention in these verses mostly to the matter of the living water. And it is clear that the living water is just the Spirit. But we have probably never seen that the Spirit in this passage is much related to the humanity of Jesus. This Spirit, who is the living water flowing from within us, is constituted of the humanity of Jesus. Without the humanity of Jesus, there could never be such a Spirit. This is made clear by verse 39, which says that the Spirit was not yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified. This proves that the Spirit was constituted with the glorified humanity of Jesus. We must realize that at this point the Scripture is speaking of a resurrected humanity. (CWWL, 1971, vol. 2, "Christ as the Reality," p. 101)

　　The Spirit mentioned here is different from the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God already existed. We could never say that the Spirit of God was not yet. But the very Spirit mentioned here by the Lord Jesus was not yet. Hence, this Spirit must be something new and different from the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God was constituted only with the divine essence of God. But after the resurrection of Christ, the Spirit was constituted with something more. He not only had the divine essence but the human essence as well. Formerly, the Spirit of God was constituted with God's essence only, but now the Spirit of Jesus is constituted not only with the essence of God but also with the essence of a man. Previously, the Spirit had only one element—the divine; now the Spirit of Jesus includes two elements—the divine and the human. Thus, before Jesus was glorified, which means before He was resurrected, the Spirit of Jesus was not yet. The Spirit with the divine essence was there, but the Spirit with both the divine and human essence was not yet.

　　Without the human essence the Spirit of God could not be the flowing water of life. If God would be a flowing river of life, He must be constituted with the human nature of Jesus. For example, you cannot serve tea without water. In order to serve tea, you must add tea into the water. Before Jesus was resurrected, the Spirit of God was mighty, but He could not be the flowing life in man. If He would flow in man, He required the human nature of Jesus to be added into Him. If the Spirit of God were to be the flowing life in angels, He probably would not need the humanity of Jesus. But if He is to be the flowing life to man, He requires the human element. He needs the human nature of Jesus.

　　One day I was reading again chapter 5 of The Spirit of Christ by Andrew Murray. There I received the strongest confirmation....Listen to what Andrew Murray says:..."There is now the Spirit of the glorified Jesus: He hath poured Him forth; we have received Him to stream into us, to stream through us, and to stream forth from us in rivers of blessing."

　　It is in the humanity of Jesus that we have the life, the growth of life, and the flowing of life. It is this kind of flowing life that satisfies others. If we are drinking daily of the Spirit of Jesus, whatever we are will be a flow of life that will satisfy not only ourselves but also others. Such a flow of life is not a matter of speaking in tongues or the manifestation of gifts; nor is it a matter of power, knowledge, or teaching; rather, it is a life that is always drinking of Jesus. This life is manifested not in a miraculous, divine, and heavenly way, but in a very human way. (CWWL, 1971, vol. 2, "Christ as the Reality," pp. 101-104, 107)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1971, vol. 2, "Christ as the Reality," ch. 12; CWWL, 1990, vol. 1, "The Spirit," ch. 12

«　WEEK 7　DAY 5　»

　　Acts 28:23 ...Many came to him at his lodging, to whom he expounded these matters, solemnly testifying of the kingdom of God and persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning until evening.

　　31 Proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered.

　　We all must be one with Jesus in whatever we do by taking Him as our humanity. If we cannot take His humanity in any course of action, we had better not do it. I do not mean that we should not be a human being....We need the humanity of Jesus, and this humanity is in the Spirit of Jesus.

　　We must be proper human beings, not by our humanity but by the Lord's humanity. As a wife, we must be a wife by His humanity; as a husband, we must be a husband by His humanity; as a student, we must be a student by the humanity of Jesus....If we are this kind of person, we will have the flow of life that will satisfy others. I believe that if all the brothers and sisters who are teachers would be this kind of person, there would be a real flow of life in the schools. The other teachers and students would realize that there is something satisfying, living, and flowing within you. They might not be able to explain it, but they would sense it. (CWWL, 1971, vol. 2, "Christ as the Reality," pp. 107-108)

　　If you are a brother who is drinking of Jesus by enjoying His humanity, it may seem that you do not have power, yet the flow of life within you will satisfy, convince, attract, and eventually convert others. This is the spreading of the gospel in the church life. This kind of gospel preaching does not depend so much on the power but on the life that enjoys Christ's humanity.

　　The humanity of Jesus not only has much to do with the producing of gifted persons, but it also produces the flowing of the inner life to satisfy others. There is no other way to have such a flow of life but by enjoying the humanity of Jesus by drinking of the Spirit of Jesus all the time. We must have a real change in our concept. Whenever we pray, we must pray with this concept. Whenever we are drinking of the Spirit, we must drink of Him with this concept. We are not drinking of the Spirit for power, might, or miracles, but we are drinking of the Spirit of Jesus for the humanity of Jesus. (CWWL, 1971, vol. 2, "Christ as the Reality," p. 108)

　　The move of the apostle Paul and his co-workers for the spread of the gospel was not according to their decision and preference, nor according to any schedule made by human council, but by the Holy Spirit according to God's counsel, as in the mission of Philip (Acts 8:29, 39). (Life-study of Acts, p. 377)

　　The kind of work we do for the Lord depends on the kind of Spirit by whom we are guided, directed, instructed, and constituted. Paul was not constituted of the Spirit of God or of the Spirit of Jehovah but of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus. As a vessel containing the Triune God, Paul was fully constituted of the Holy Spirit, who was involved with the Lord's incarnation and birth, and of the Spirit of Jesus, who was involved with the Lord's humanity, human living, all-inclusive death, life-imparting resurrection, and ascension. Paul was a person constituted of this all-inclusive Spirit. Thus, when he came out to preach, he could truly preach Jesus Christ.

　　We need to be impressed with the fact that the kind of work we do for the Lord depends on the Spirit by whom we are guided and of whom we are constituted. Actually, this Spirit should become our constitution. Then our work will be the expression of this Spirit, and we will do a work for Jesus as the incarnated One with humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension. If we are constituted of the Spirit of Jesus, we will do the work of ministering Jesus as the all-inclusive One and convey Him as such a One to others. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3002)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Acts, msg. 44; CWWL, 1965, vol. 3, "The Spirit in the Epistles," ch. 7

«　WEEK 7　DAY 6　»

　　Phil. 1:5 For your fellowship unto the furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now.

　　27 Only, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, that whether coming and seeing you or being absent, I may hear of the things concerning you, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving together along with the faith of the gospel.

　　The first two chapters of Philippians are related to the Spirit of Jesus, and the last two are related to the Spirit of Christ. Chapters 1 and 2 are related not to resurrection but to Jesus. Chapters 3 and 4 are related to resurrection....In the first chapter of Philippians we have the preaching of the gospel. To preach the gospel we need the Spirit of Jesus. The Spirit of Jesus is clearly portrayed in the first two chapters. The Spirit of Jesus does not strive, and it has no rivalry or enmity. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 1, "The Experience of Christ," pp. 332-333)

　　When Jesus the Nazarene was on earth, He did not have any envy, strife, or rivalry. These three negative things are mentioned in Philippians 1. In this chapter there are also some positive things, such as the fellowship and the matter of being in one spirit and one soul. How can we have one spirit and one soul? This is not possible by our spirit, for our spirit is a spirit of envy. When we see others taking the lead, we are envious. Then we begin to strive in the spirit of rivalry. Although our spirit is like this, the Spirit of Jesus is not. Consider the life of Jesus as presented in the Gospels. His life was a life without envy, strife, or rivalry. To be one in spirit and in soul is possible only in the Spirit of Jesus.

　　To be one soul mainly means to be one mind. The reason Christians cannot be one soul is that each desires to be first and that no one is willing to be last. But it is possible for us to be one soul by the Spirit of Jesus. If we say, "I want to be in the Spirit of Jesus," we will immediately have the experience of Christ and be one spirit and one soul with others. Then we will strive together for the gospel. The word together in Philippians 1:27 means that we are coordinated and that we are not individualistic but corporate. When we are all in the Spirit of Jesus and are in one soul, we will strive together.

　　Although the first chapter of Philippians is rather long, it may be outlined quite simply. This chapter is concerned with the fellowship unto the gospel by the Spirit of Jesus without envy, strife, or rivalry. It is in this way that we experience Christ. It is not simply a matter of clearing the past, consecrating ourselves, or caring for the inner anointing. That is not the way from the Body to the Head. In order to reach the Head, we need the fellowship unto the gospel by the Spirit of Jesus without envy, strife, or rivalry. In our gospel-preaching life there should be no envy, strife, or rivalry, not even with the opposers. Instead, we should simply preach the gospel by the Spirit of Jesus. But as long as there is the slightest bit of rivalry, we cannot be in the Spirit of Jesus. Moreover, if we are not in the Spirit of Jesus, we are not in the fellowship unto the gospel, and we are through with the experience of Christ. To experience Christ we need the fellowship unto the gospel by the Spirit of Jesus without envy, strife, or rivalry.

　　Many Christian teachers have encouraged others to imitate the pattern revealed in Philippians 2, but it is impossible for us to imitate Christ. For example, we can never be like a lamb. In order to be like a lamb, we need to have the life of a lamb. Likewise, it is impossible for us to imitate the Lord Jesus. The standard of His humility is too high for us. Hallelujah, the Spirit of Jesus is in us! By the Spirit of Jesus we can be just as humble as He was. By the Spirit of Jesus we can fulfill the request of the apostle Paul and care for all the other saints. By the Spirit of Jesus we can drop all our opinions and be one in spirit and in soul. By the Spirit of Jesus we all can think the one thing and have the same love. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 1, "The Experience of Christ," pp. 333, 351)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1978, vol. 1, "The Experience of Christ," chs. 2, 4