GOSPEL TRACTS

Do You Know You Have a Spirit?

“The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, searching all the innermost parts of the inner being” (Prov. 20:27).

Zechariah 12:1 says: “Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.” For God, the creation of the heavens, earth, and man’s spirit are equally important in His divine, eternal economy. The heavens, earth, and man’s spirit are three marvelous, outstanding, and crucial elements in the universe. Therefore, we must know our spirit.

Proverbs 20:27 says: “The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, searching all the innermost parts of the inner being.” Proverbs was written after man’s fall. Even after man’s fall, within man there is still a part that is the lamp of God. Within man there is a small part that God preserved for Himself. This is extremely important. Chinese philosophers recognized that within man there is something bright and shining, which they called “bright virtue.” Confucius taught that “the way of great learning is to develop the bright virtue.” Everyone has a conscience, which is a part of their spirit and which tells them what is right and what is wrong.

We all must know that the most important part of our entire being is our spirit. Many times our fellowship and contact with people helps us to see that we are still in our flesh and soul—our mind, emotion, and will. We must continually learn to live not in our flesh or our soul but in our spirit. When we lose our temper, we are usually in our flesh. Later we realize that we should treat people well, so we become polite and speak very thoughtfully and logically. This is to speak, live, and conduct ourselves in the soul. First Corinthians reveals three kinds of persons: fleshly persons, soulish persons, and spiritual persons. In chapters 1 through 3 of 1 Corinthians, Paul condemns division, because division is of the flesh. Paul further told us that we should not live and act in the soul. We should not be fleshy persons, neither should we be soulish persons. We should be spiritual, that is, living and acting in our spirit. To be a normal Christian, we must realize that Jesus, who is the embodiment of the Triune God, is the Spirit who dwells in our spirit and who has been mingled with our spirit as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17).

You can pray in this way: “Lord Jesus, thank You for creating a spirit for me. My spirit is the part within me that is bright and shining. It is God’s territory, and it is also the organ for me to draw near to and contact God. O Lord Jesus, cause me to not only know that I have a spirit, but also learn to live and act in my spirit, because in Your eyes only a living in the spirit counts. O Lord Jesus, cause me to treasure my spirit and care for my spirit in my daily living, because You dwell in my spirit!”