The title “the Spirit of God” is quite common. It is used in Genesis 1:2, which says that the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. In nature God is Spirit (John 4:24), and in the Triune Godhead the last is the Spirit (Matt. 28:19). The Spirit of God is God Himself for our experience and enjoyment. God the Father is the source, God the Son is the course, the expression, and God the Spirit is the reaching and the application (2 Cor. 13:14). Therefore, the Spirit of God is God reaching us and applied to us as our portion. Regarding the Spirit of God there are two crucial points: first, that the Spirit of God is actually God Himself; second, that the Spirit of God is God reaching us and being applied to us.
Matthew 3:16 and 12:28 mention the Spirit of God. After the Lord Jesus was baptized, the Spirit of God descended as a dove upon Him. Although He already had the Spirit of God within Him, He still needed to have the Spirit of God upon Him for His ministry. In Matthew 12:28 the Lord says, “If I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then the kingdom of God is come upon you.” The Spirit of God is the power of the kingdom of God. Where the Spirit of God is in power, there the kingdom of God is, and there the demons have no ground. Wherever the Spirit of God exercises His authority over the opposing situation, that is the kingdom of God.
In Romans 8:9 Paul speaks of the Spirit of God dwelling in us, and in verse 14, of the sons of God being led by the Spirit of God. We should not understand the title the Spirit of God to mean that the Spirit is something from God. In the New Testament phrases such as the love of God and the life of God mean that love and life are God Himself. In the same principle, the term the Spirit of God means that the Spirit is God. Hence, for us to be indwelt and led by the Spirit of God means that we are indwelt and led by God Himself.
The Spirit of the Father (Matt. 10:20) is the flow of the Father that flows with the Father as the source into the Father’s children for their intimate enjoyment of Him. Hence, the Spirit of the Father is the fellowship between the Father and His children.
Referring to times of persecution, the Lord Jesus says in Matthew 10:20, “You are not the ones speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is the One speaking in you.” Here we see that the Father’s Spirit deals with the opposers’ persecution. Therefore, we should learn to face persecution not in ourselves but to turn to our spirit, believing that the Father’s Spirit is with us and that He will deal with the opposers and the persecutors. We should trust in Him, let Him lead us and allow Him to do the speaking.
The Spirit of the Lord (Luke 4:18; Acts 5:9; 8:39; 2 Cor. 3:17) refers to the Spirit of Jehovah (Judg. 14:6). The name Jesus in the New Testament is equal to Jehovah in the Old Testament. Hence, the Spirit of Jehovah is the Spirit of the Lord in the New Testament sense. For this reason, 2 Corinthians 3:17 speaks of the Spirit of the Lord. Actually, the Spirit of the Lord is the Lord Himself.
As revealed in the New Testament, the Spirit is the reality of God the Father and the Lord. This means that without the Spirit God is not real to us. Likewise, without the Spirit of the Father we do not have the reality of the Father, and without the Spirit of the Lord we do not have the reality of the Lord. Only when we have the Spirit do we have the reality of God the Father and the Lord.
(Conclusion of the New Testament, The (Msgs. 079-098), Chapter 1, by Witness Lee)