The Spirit and the Body, by Witness Lee

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THE PROCESSED SPIRIT

Whenever I speak about the compound Spirit, I sense that I am short of utterance. I simply do not have the language adequate to express fully what I have seen regarding this matter. The Spirit is no longer merely the Spirit of God. Today the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. In this all-inclusive Spirit we enjoy God, the uplifted humanity of Jesus, the sweetness of the death of Christ, the effectiveness of the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and the power of the resurrection of Christ. All these elements are included in this one compound ointment. Remember that the Spirit of Christ is no longer simply the olive oil; it is the compound ointment. This is the processed Spirit. Certainly compounding is a process. Whenever something is compounded, it passes through a process. Hallelujah, today we do not have a Spirit simply composed of divinity alone, but the all-inclusive Spirit compounded with divinity, the humanity of Jesus, the death of Christ, and His resurrection. By our experience we can testify that God, the humanity of Jesus, the effective death of Christ, and the powerful resurrection of Christ are all in the all-inclusive Spirit. This is the Spirit of God compounded with Christ’s humanity, death, and resurrection.

THE NUMBER OF RESPONSIBILITY

The ointment is composed of five basic elements: olive oil, myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. The quantity of the spices compounded with the olive oil is one hundred times five. In the Bible the number five, composed of four plus one, is the number of responsibility. Both the ten commandments and the ten virgins are divided into two groups of five (Exo. 34:28-29; Matt. 25:1-2). Look at your hand: You have four fingers and one thumb for the bearing of responsibility. If you had four fingers but no thumb, it would be very difficult to pick up things. Are you the number four or the number five? If God has been added to you, you are number five. I know that I am number five, because God has been added to me. The significance of the number five is that the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit is for the bearing of responsibility. The more you enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit of Christ, the more ability you will have to bear responsibility.

ANOINTED BY THE COMPOUND SPIRIT

The main point we must see in this message is that the very Spirit of God is no longer just the Spirit of God, but the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He is no longer just the olive oil, but the compound ointment of five elements. Four spices have been compounded into the olive oil to produce the ointment. According to Exodus 30, the tabernacle and all its utensils were anointed with this ointment. Even the priests were anointed with it. This indicates that the entire church and all the serving ones in the church must be anointed by the compound Spirit.

(The Spirit and the Body, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee)