When one reads things like this, two things press for expression, first the exclamation "Oh why don't you name it aright and call it 'the spirit'?" The other, "what a tragedy that such men should have gone to pagan philosophers such as Plato, who never heard the men of the Bible or read them, for the basis of their system, instead of going to the Bible itself." What a peril it is for "Christian" men to preach the results of human research and learning and bring the Bible to it instead of bringing it to the Bible!

For us here the Bible name and nature of this third reality is held to. It may be thought to be immaterial what it is called if the result is the same, but we hold that it is vital to recognise that we are dealing with two things absolutely distinct and separate and not with two sides of one thing. This will be seen as we go on.

   There is a peril in speaking of "Divine union in the upper reaches of the soul," for there is no such thing. Divine union is with spirit, "He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit," and however highly developed the soul life is, there is no "Divine union" until the spirit has been brought back to life.

This then opens a further question: "What is it that is 'born again'" when that essential and indispensible experience takes place? (John 3:3,5, etc).

   Nicodemus stumbles on the physical question, but is soon told that "that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is SPIRIT."

It is not the body then, neither is it the soul. "The sinful body of the old man was destroyed" Romans 6:6 and "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections thereof." The passages on this are too many to quote, but look up "Flesh," "Old man," "Natural man," etc.

The answer to the question is emphatically that new birth is the importation of Divine life to the spirit of man. That spirit, because of atonement made for the sin of the soul, and the carrying away of the dominant flesh principle by Christ into His death, is begotten again of God in the resurrection of Christ from the dead to share His resurrection - deathless - life. Only on the ground of Christ's resurrection and our incorporation into it as the superlative act of Almighty power is there union with God, and this act initially takes place in our spirit. From that time it is "in the newness of the spirit," "walking in the spirit," in fact, as the Word makes clear, everything is to be in the spirit for those that are now "spiritual."

TA Sparks said:

We regret that space does not allow of our completing the subject in this issue

I would greatly encourage anyone interested to order a copy of Watchman Nee's book "The Spiritual Man" which is a comprehensive treatment of this topic.

https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Man-Watchman-Nee-dp-093500839X/dp/093500839X/ref=mt_other?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1638206286

   OK, will do.  This is a large commitment on my part, as I read very slowly.