«　WEEK 5　DAY 3　»

　　Phil. 1:19 For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

　　Acts 16:6-7 And 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.

　　God’s operating in us is with the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19)…. In Philippians 2:12 Paul charges us to work out our own salvation. On the one hand, the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ will turn out to be our salvation, and on the other hand, we have to work out our salvation. Philippians 1 and 2 refer to the same salvation. This salvation is the working out, the issue, of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and this salvation is something that we work out in our living. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Living in and with the Divine Trinity,” p. 373)

　　The interchangeable use of the Spirit of Jesus [in Acts 16:7] with the Holy Spirit in verse 6 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 and the elements of His human living and His suffering of death as well. Such an all-inclusive Spirit was needed by Paul in his preaching ministry, a ministry of suffering among human beings and for human beings in the human life.

　　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. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 857)

　　[In] Acts 16:7… the Spirit of Jesus is a special term. Its meaning differs from that of the Spirit of God. Since Jesus was a man and is still a man, “the Spirit of Jesus” is the Spirit of the man Jesus.

　　Why was it that when the apostle Paul would go to a certain place to preach the gospel, “the Spirit of Jesus” did not allow him? Why does the Scripture not say “the Spirit of God” instead of “the Spirit of Jesus”? There must be some reason. When we look into Acts 16 and see the environment of that chapter, we realize the need of the Spirit of Jesus. In this chapter there is much suffering and persecution. Paul was even put into prison! In such a situation “the Spirit of Jesus” was really required. 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. In persecution while preaching the gospel, we do need such a Spirit—”the Spirit of Jesus”!

　　If we read the context of verses 6 and 7, we see that “the Holy Spirit” who was leading the apostle Paul in his preaching of the gospel was “the Spirit of Jesus.” It was “the Holy Spirit” who was leading the apostle; but “the Holy Spirit” at that time and in that incident was acting as “the Spirit of Jesus.”

　　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. (CWWL, 1965, vol. 1, “The All-inclusive Spirit of Christ,” p. 563)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 79; CWWL, 1965, vol. 1, “The All-inclusive Spirit of Christ,” pp. 551-570