Day: February 21, 2021

The Compound Spirit

When I was young, I was taught that in Exodus 30:22-30 the anointing ointment is a type of the Holy Spirit. But after I received enlightenment through Andrew Murray’s book, I went back to study Exodus 30. This ointment was composed of olive oil compounded with four spices: myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. The olive oil is a type of the Holy Spirit, but what are the four spices? It is well known that myrrh refers to Christ’s death. Cinnamon should indicate the sweet effectiveness of that death. Calamus is a reed that grows in muddy ground and shoots high into the air. This indicates resurrection. Cassia was used in ancient times as a repellent for insects and especially for snakes. This should indicate the power of Christ’s resurrection that prevails against Satan.

These four spices were of three units. There were five hundred shekels of myrrh, two hundred fifty shekels each of cinnamon and calamus, and five hundred shekels of cassia. If the lamb is a type of Christ and if the olive oil is a type of the Holy Spirit, surely these four spices are also types concerning Christ. The three units of five hundred shekels each should refer to the Trinity. The total quantity of the cinnamon and calamus, being split into two half units of two hundred fifty each, typifies the second of the Trinity “split” on the cross, just as the veil was split in two from top to bottom.

The number one of the one hin of olive oil signifies the unique God. The number four of the four spices signifies the creature. In Ezekiel and in Revelation there are the four living creatures, referring to God’s creation (Ezek. 1:10; Rev. 4:6-9).

By all these we can realize that this compound ointment should be an all-inclusive type of the compound Spirit referred to in John 7:39. This means that the Spirit of God, as the basic element, has been compounded with Christ’s deity, humanity, death, and resurrection as the spices. In this compound Spirit are the unique God, the Trinity, man, the creature, Christ’s death, the sweetness and effectiveness of His death, Christ’s resurrection, and the power of His resurrection.

The Spirit was first the Spirit of God, possessing only the divine essence. But after God in the Son became a man and died on the cross, passing through death and resurrection and entering into ascension, the Spirit became the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19), compounded with God’s essence and Jesus’ humanity and His death and resurrection. The Spirit no longer has just the divine essence, but now has, in addition, Jesus’ humanity with the death of Christ, the effectiveness of His death, the resurrection, and the power of His resurrection.

From the inner-life writings I received help to know that I was crucified before I was born (Gal. 2:20). In God’s view we were crucified before we were born. As God’s chosen ones, we were born crucified. Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis said that every Christian must die to live (John 12:24; 1 Cor. 15:31; 2 Cor. 4:11). But my experience was that the more I tried to die, the more alive I was. A hymn written by A. B. Simpson says that there is a little word that the Lord has given—reckon. According to Romans 6:11, we must reckon ourselves dead. I practiced reckoning, but it did not work. The more I reckoned myself dead, the more alive I seemed. In Watchman Nee’s book The Normal Christian Life there is a chapter that stresses reckoning. That book was a compilation of messages that Brother Nee gave before 1939. After 1939 he began to tell people that we cannot experience Christ’s death revealed in Romans 6 until we have the experience of the Spirit of Christ in Romans 8. Christ’s death in Romans 6 can be experienced only by His Spirit in Romans 8. In other words, if we are not in the Spirit, reckoning that we are dead does not work.

Christ is Christ, and you are you; and His death is not yours unless you are joined to Him organically by the Spirit. In the compound Spirit there are the elements of Christ’s death and its effectiveness, typified by myrrh and cinnamon. When we are in the Spirit, the compound Spirit, we do not need to reckon ourselves dead, because in the Spirit there is the element of Christ’s death.

Some drugs have elements that kill germs. If you try to kill germs by yourself, you will fail. But if you take a prescribed drug, an element in that drug will kill the germs for you. The compound Spirit today is an all-inclusive dose. A medical doctor will tell you that the best dose is the one that kills the germs and nourishes the patient. This may be used as an illustration of the compound Spirit. In the compound Spirit there are the death of Christ, which is the killing power, and the resurrection of Christ, which is the nourishing source of the divine life. These killing, nourishing elements are compounded together in this one Spirit.

Corporate Reading of “The Basic Revelation In the Holy Scriptures” Chapter 3  – Sections: The Compound Spirit

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