主耶稣在约翰福音六章六十三节告诉我们说，“我对你们所说的话，就是灵。”所以圣经的话不只是话语，不只是字句，并且也是灵。我们也要记得约翰福音四章二十四节，主耶稣说，“神是灵，所以拜祂的，必须用灵…。” 主在这里告诉我们一个基本的原则，就是神是灵，人非用灵不能摸着祂。
神是灵，我们如果不用灵，就不能拜祂；神是灵，我们如果用灵以外的东西，就不能拜祂；神是灵，我们如果用思想，就不能拜祂；神是灵，我们如果用情感，就不能拜祂；神是灵，我们如果用意志，就不能拜祂。歌罗西二章二十三节所说的“用私意崇拜，”就是用意志敬拜，那是不行的。为甚么？因为神是灵。神是灵，所以拜祂的，必须用灵。约翰六章主所说“我…的话，就是灵，”这里基本的原则也是一样的，意思说，主的话是灵，所以读祂的话也必须用灵，所以读祂的话必须用灵。换句话说，属灵的东西必须用灵才能摸着。
圣经这一本书，不只是话语，不只是文字，不只是用纸所印的书；圣经这一本书，以它基本的性质来说，乃是灵。所以一切要读这本书的人，非用灵来摸它不可，非用灵来读它不可。我们这里所说的灵，乃是指重生的人所有的灵，我们姑且简称它为“重生的灵。”这个灵不是每一个人都有，所以圣经不是每一个人都能读；惟独有这个灵的人才能读圣经，没有这个灵的人就不能读。这个灵是为着敬拜神用的，也是为着读圣经用的。人没有这个灵就没有法子认识神，也没有法子读圣经。人在甚么时候才能明白圣经呢？从他接受主的那一天起，他就会明白圣经了。从那一天起，圣经对于他就变作一本新的书。从那一天起，他开始懂得了，他宝贵这一本书了。虽然一下子不能懂得许多，但总是喜欢读它，天天读，年年读，不读好像觉得饿，好像有所缺。人这样读圣经，就会明白神的话。缘故在那里？缘故是人得着了重生，缘故是“从灵生的，就是灵。”（约三6。）
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To Be Spiritual (1) – John 4:24
The Lord Jesus tells us in John 6:63, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit.” Therefore, the words of the Bible are not merely words, not merely letters, but are also spirit. We must also remember John 4:24, where the Lord Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit…”
The Lord tells us here a fundamental principle: God is Spirit, and man cannot touch Him without using the spirit. God is Spirit; if we do not use our spirit, we cannot worship Him. God is Spirit; if we use anything other than our spirit, we cannot worship Him. God is Spirit; if we use our mind, we cannot worship Him. God is Spirit; if we use our emotions, we cannot worship Him. God is Spirit; if we use our will, we cannot worship Him. What Colossians 2:23 calls “self-made worship” is worshiping with the will, and that does not work. Why? Because God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit. The fundamental principle is the same in what the Lord said in John 6, “My words…are spirit,” meaning that since the Lord’s words are spirit, reading His words must also be done with the spirit. In other words, spiritual things can only be touched with the spirit.
This book, the Bible, is not merely words, text, nor a book printed on paper. This book, the Bible, in its fundamental nature, is spirit. Therefore, all who would read this book must touch it with the spirit and read it with the spirit. The spirit we speak of here refers to the spirit possessed by regenerated ones; we shall briefly call it the “regenerated spirit”. Not everyone has this spirit, so not everyone can read the Bible. Only those who have this spirit can read the Bible; those without the spirit cannot read it. This spirit is for worshiping God and also for reading the Bible. Without this spirit, man has no way to know God and no way to read the Bible. When can a man understand the Bible? From the day he receives the Lord, he will be able to understand the Bible. From that day on, the Bible becomes a new book to him. From that day on, he begins to understand it and treasure this book. Although he cannot understand much all at once, he still loves to read it — reading it daily and yearly. Not reading it makes him feel hungry, as if something is lacking. When a person reads the Bible this way, he will understand God’s word. The reason is that the person has regenerated, because “…that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)