assembly, and when you, and my spirit with you, are gathered together. . . ." Here
2. The spirit of man is a distinct entity or organism (I Cor. 5:4) "You convene an assembly, and when you, and my spirit with you, are gathered together. . . ." Here is Paul talking about his own spirit being present with the assembled believers in Corinth. Here we have the fact of there being a spirit of man as a distinct entity, or organism. Again in I Cor. 14:14, Paul says, "If I utter prayers in a tongue, my spirit indeed prays, but my understanding bears no fruit". So 'spirit' and mind, or understanding, are not the same thing! "My spirit prays" says the Apostle, apart entirely from the 'soul' - - or understanding. This shows that there is prayer which takes place only in the spirit, without the 'understanding' of what the prayer is about (see Rom. 8:26), and without expression by the voice, or 'feelings' of the body. So, the Apostle says, "I will pray indeed with my spirit, but I will pray with my understanding also; I will sing praises with my spirit, but I will sing with my understanding also". This prayer in the spirit is not of value to others gathered in a meeting, "For if thou, with thy spirit, offerest praise" only, "how shall the Amen be said" by others who are present? The 'understanding' prayer is needed in the assembly. 3. The varied characteristics of the spirit. Now look at the varied expressions which are used concerning the spirit. These characteristics may belong to the spirit of man itself, or be brought about in it by the action of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 12:1 Speaks of a 'fervent' spirit. Something quite different to 'enthusiasm' or fervour in the soul. The 'fervent' spirit is the same in a revival meeting, and in the cold drudgery of daily life. It is this fervency that the world misses in the children of God. People have the counterfeit of it in the things of the world, stirred by the life of nature:surely the children of God should have it from the source of the Spirit of God, setting their spirits on fire. Then it would come out in every detail of life - in action and service, even in handshaking - which can be the warm, heartening, expression of a fervent spirit. We are needing sorely, in a selfish world, an intensity which comes from a true fervency of spirit. In Cor. 7:13, Paul says that the 'spirit' of Titus had been 'refreshed' by seeing the zeal (fervency) of the Corinthian believers in the things of God. Some of you are getting your spirits 'refreshed' here! Again in Acts 18:5, we read that Paul was 'pressed in spirit' to 'testify to the Jews that Jesus was Christ'. This shows the action of the Holy Spirit in the man's spirit urging him to a certain course of action. It is when testimony, or preaching, has its source in this pressure of the spirit - not merely the impulse or emotion of the soul that there are eternal results in blessing to those who are prepared by the Holy Spirit to respond to it. Sometimes the pressure in the spirit is so strong that the man can hardly breathe until the 'testimony' is given. Those who know the active in - working of the Holy Ghost learn to recognize His working in them in this way, and how to discern all that is spurious, or arises from the counterfeit produced by Satan as an 'angel of light'.