September 7

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. — Phlm 1:25 BSB

It’s the regenerating breath of the Lord Jesus Christ that makes the soul alive to him. This is clear from his own words: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). For the first time, “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with our spirit.” Notice that his grace isn’t with our carnal nature—that remains the same: a body of sin and death, flesh—corrupt flesh, in which nothing good dwells. Therefore, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ doesn’t rest with the flesh.

His grace is with our spirit, the “new man” that is created in the image of God in righteousness and true holiness. This is referred to as our “spirit” because it’s born of the Spirit, as Jesus explained to Nicodemus: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” This isn’t just a subtle distinction, but an essential truth. Unless we understand the difference between these two natures—the spirit and the flesh, the law in our members and the law of our mind—we’ll constantly find ourselves in bondage, expecting holiness from the flesh.

When the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with our spirit, it breathes upon it, moves in it, and acts on it. There is a spiritual union between them. Just as the earth cannot live without the sun, we cannot live without the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. He must shine on us, or we have no light; he must revive us, or we have no warmth; he must nourish us, or we bear no fruit. Time and time again, there is an outpouring of the soul’s desire to the Lord Jesus Christ, that his grace would be with our spirit, that it would continually flow into us, renewing us, dispelling doubt and fear, breaking all bonds, filling us with love and humility, conforming us to his image of suffering, producing in us every good fruit to his glory, sustaining us in life and death, and leading us safely into eternity.