Because Christ's spiritual body is compounded of many members, it is absolutely necessary that each of them should be filled with one Spirit only. Working back or upwards from this verse, we may state our conclusions as follows: by this means God ensured that each would not exist separately from, nor operate adversely to His purposes and each other. For this it was not sufficient just to immerse them in Spirit; for God's purposes the Spirit must be in each as much as each is in Him.
Further, because all the members together with the Head are one body, and that one body is Christ, the selfsame Spirit must work in every one of them together; each individual must know that it is happening in them. The will as well as the working of the Spirit must be known by all, for He is the Spirit of the mind (thinking, planning and purposing) of Christ in every member. In this capacity He gives to one member to do one thing and to another to do something else; He does not merely give, He gives to do. He has operation as well as possession in mind for us. Too readily and shortly we rest in an incomplete experience because of incomplete conception of what the Lord is wanting to do; too often we come short of the glory of God through ignorance.
We must realise that we only have eternal life in Christ as being a member of Him; this being so, we must also recognise that consequently we have a functional capacity in and for Him. We must also understand that whatever is bestowed upon us cannot be allowed to be our own, for it is in Him and is therefore His. Therefore no functional action may be taken as from ourselves, but only by Him through us. By this we see that the Spirit distributes His gifts with the sole object in view that He should be the one who exclusively operates and administers them. This is clearly shown by the repeated use of the phrase 'the same Spirit', 'to one is given by the same Spirit the word of wisdom, to another by the same Spirit ... the same Spirit'. This is so because God wants the Spirit of the Body as well as the function of the Body manifest to all.
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G.W. North (1913 - 2003)
G. W. North was born in London England in 1913. As a young man he became aware that the Lord was calling him into the work of the ministry. At timely stages the Lord placed folk in his path who were able to direct him into the truth of heart purity and a more expansive understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He held pastorates in Kent and Bradford. By the late 1960s, following a significant period of ministry in Liverpool, he began a more itinerant ministry. This led him to many parts of the world, and occupied him until well into his eighties. His powerful preaching and the unique sense of the Lord's presence, which seemed to brood over his meetings, were always intensely challenging.The true secret of his remarkable ministry stemmed from his personal communion with the Lord Jesus. To him, 'entering the holiest' was not merely a theological concept; it was a distinct spiritual reality - and the central feature of his spiritual life. It was here, in the place of worship, that his revelatory ministry found its source. He preached from understanding and conviction. He was never the echo of another, nor did he take on board the ebb and flow of various contemporary emphases. He was not a man of 'books'; he soaked himself in Scripture and allowed it to saturate his heart and mind. Truly, this is a man who has lifted up a standard for the people. Mr North went to be with the Lord on 29th April 2003, shortly after his ninetieth birthday.