LESSON FOUR

THE HUMAN SPIRIT

Zech. 12:1b Thus declares Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.

RANKED WITH THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

Zechariah 12:1 says that the Lord stretched forth the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him. No one can deny that these three items—the heavens, the earth, and the spirit of man—are crucial in God’s creation to fulfill His purpose. The heavens were created for the earth, the earth was created for man, and man was created for God.

Zechariah does not refer to “man,” but to “the spirit of man.” This is because the spirit of man is the very organ that can take in God to enjoy God’s life and God’s Spirit and be one with God’s Spirit. This is why man’s spirit has become so crucial and important, even to the extent that it is ranked with the heavens and the earth.

THE BREATH OF LIFE BECOMING MAN’S SPIRIT

Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah” (ASV). Generally speaking, the word in Hebrew for spirit is ruach, but the Hebrew word for spirit here is neshamah. Neshamah is the same word used in Genesis 2:7 for breath. In Proverbs 20:27 it is translated spirit. By this we can see that the breath of life breathed into man by God at man’s creation was the spirit of man. The spirit of man is something within us that is very close to God’s life and God’s Spirit. This indicates that the spirit of man was created for the purpose of receiving and containing the life of God and the Spirit of God. Eventually, 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” Our spirit can become one spirit with the Lord because it was created with the breath of life, which is very close to God’s life and God’s Spirit.

ITS THREE PARTS

The Conscience

It is not easy to pick up a verse or verses which directly show that the conscience is a part of the spirit. We have to compare Romans 9:1 with 8:16. Romans 9:1 says that our conscience bears witness with us in the Holy Spirit, whereas 8:16 says that the Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit. These two verses strongly prove that our conscience is a part of our spirit. In 1 Corinthians 5:3 Paul judged a sinful one in his spirit. To judge is to condemn sin, and that is mostly the function of the conscience. Psalm 51:10 speaks of “a right spirit within me” (KJV). This is a spirit which is right. Knowing right from wrong is related to the conscience, so this verse shows that the conscience is in the spirit. Other verses we can use to show the function of the conscience as a part of the spirit are Psalm 34:18 and Deuteronomy 2:30. (cf. The Economy of God, pp. 56-59)

Fellowship

Another part or function of our human spirit is the fellowship. John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit….” This worship is a kind of fellowship, a kind of contact. In Romans 1:9 Paul said that he served God in his spirit and in 7:6 that he served God in newness of spirit. Ephesians 6:18 says to pray at every time in spirit. To pray also is to fellowship with God. In Luke 1:47 Mary said that her spirit exulted, rejoiced, in God. That surely is a kind of fellowship. Romans 8:16 and 1 Corinthians 6:17 show that our spirit is one spirit with the Lord. That oneness is also a kind of fellowship. All of the above verses can be used to prove that in our spirit there is something called fellowship.

Intuition

The intuition is also a part of man’s spirit. First Corinthians 2:11 says that the spirit of man knows the things of man. It can know what the soul cannot know. Verses 14 and 15 say that a soulish man cannot receive the things of God but that the spiritual man can. The direct sense in our spirit regardless of reason or circumstances is the intuition. The intuition is a direct sense of God and a direct knowledge from God. Mark 2:8, Mark 8:12, and John 11:33 are other verses which show that the intuition is a part of the human spirit. These verses show that in the human spirit, there is a direct sense of discernment to know God and the spiritual things. This direct sense is the intuition.

Thus, we can see that the conscience functions to discern right from wrong, the fellowship functions to contact God, and the intuition functions to know God and to know God’s will, God’s intention.

ITS FUNCTION

To Contact God

John 4:24 shows that the function of the human spirit is to contact God.

To Receive God

Ezekiel 36:26 says that God gives us a new heart and a new spirit. The new heart is for loving God and seeking after God, whereas the new spirit is for receiving God.

To Contain God

Second Timothy 4:22 says, “The Lord be with your spirit.” Our spirit is the place where God stays within us, so our spirit is a container of God.

To Be One Spirit with the Lord

The human spirit was created for a purpose. God created this organ of man so that man could be one spirit with the Lord. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” This may be the most important verse in the whole Bible. Romans 8:16 says that the divine Spirit witnesses with our human spirit. Now these two spirits are one.

WALKING BY THE SPIRIT AND ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT

Galatians 5:16 and 25b charge us to walk by the Spirit, and Romans 8:4 says that we need to walk according to the spirit. In Revelation 1:10 the apostle John said that he was in spirit on the Lord’s Day. This shows that we need to have a life in the spirit. John was a man in the spirit. This means we need to live in the spirit.

We need to have a strong understanding of the human spirit. The truth concerning the human spirit is the basic element for many teachings in the Lord’s recovery. If the saints have not been brought into an adequate knowledge of the human spirit, they will be somewhat weak in the understanding of all the spiritual things. (Basic Lessons on Life, pp. 127-131)

References: Basic Lessons on Life, lsn. 16; The Economy of God, ch. 6; Our Human Spirit, chs. 1-2.