The Communion of the Holy Spirit (3 page)

Our being the children of God also begins with the resurrection of Christ. Ever since the fall of man we human beings have all come short of the glory of God (see Rom. 3.23). Except for resurrection, we cannot be saved. Of all human beings the Lord Jesus alone has not fallen short of God’s glory for He is the perfect man. However, besides His desire for a
perfect
man God had an added desire that this perfect man must be a man of
power
. God wants a powerful man as well as a moral man. From the moment of His birth on earth in Bethlehem, the Lord is a man of morality. But from the moment of His resurrection He has manifested himself as a man of power; for after His resurrection Christ is able to be omnipresent. Time and space can no longer limit Him since He has become a man with resurrection power. Thus does the Lord Jesus fulfill God’s plan in the creation of man and becomes the Man of God’s desire.

After His resurrection, the Lord is not only unrestricted by time and space but is also unbound by death. He has broken the barrier of death. The rising of Lazarus from the dead is different from the Lord’s resurrection: with Lazarus it is but a resuscitation, not a real resurrection: he was still bound by graveclothes and eventually he died: the power of death was yet upon him. At the resurrection of the Lord, however, the boundary of death was broken through by Him, “because it was not possible that he should be holden of it [held in its power]” (Acts 2.24). The gates of Hades could not close against Him nor swallow Him up. Christ is risen and He dies no more. Death has no power upon Him.

When the Lord was resurrected, even His disciples, such as Peter and Thomas, did not believe it. Mary Magdalene ran and reported to Peter and John that the Lord was not to be found in the tomb. These two immediately left to investigate. They saw “the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, that was upon his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself”; yet the Lord was not there (see John 20.1-8). In the case of Lazarus coming out of the tomb, we know that he was still “bound hand and foot with grave-clothes” and “his face was bound about with a napkin”; he was still under limitation (see John 11.44). But at the Lord’s resurrection, the linen graveclothes and napkin were left in the tomb, yet He himself had departed. This indicates that the Lord has transcended all restrictions. And hence His resurrection is essentially different from that of Lazarus.

Brother Sparks had two words about the Lord and resurrection: It is not His coming but His appearing; it is not His going, but His disappearing. Since His resurrection, nothing can confine Him. In Christ Jesus nothing can limit Him, neither death, nor time, nor space, nor anything else. Not only that, after He was resurrected, the Lord Jesus was exalted by God to the highest place, seated in heaven at the Father’s right hand, “far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Eph. 1.20-21). Consequently, the resurrected Christ transcends all. Today the Lord is leading us, on the one hand, to be as moral as He is and, on the other hand, to have resurrection power such as He has. The man whom God desires is morally, as well as powerfully, perfect.

It is after His resurrection that Christ became the Head of the Church. Before His resurrection, He was on earth as a man; He had not become the Head of the Church. Only after resurrection did He ascend up to the Father and receive the promised Holy Spirit, whom He then poured forth to give birth to the Church. The Lord is resurrected in order to be the Head of the Church as well as to join us believers together to be the Body. God now makes Christ the Head and us the body of Christ. Just as the nature of the human head is, so is the nature of the human body. The word of God shows us that just as the Lord is in resurrection so the Church is in resurrection. Hence what is the Church? It is that which holds the resurrection of Christ.

The Church is built on resurrection ground, or else it cannot be reckoned as the Church. Ephesians 1.19-20a speaks of “the exceeding greatness of his [God’s] power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.” Today this same resurrection power works in us. This power in
Christ
makes Him the
Head
; this same power in
us
makes us the
Body
. This is what the Church is. Hence, unless we experience the power of the resurrection of Christ we do not know what the Church is. The Church should not be restricted at all, but should overcome everything just as Christ has.

Why is it that the letter to the Ephesians is considered to be the book in the Bible which uncovers the height of truth? Because it reveals the body of Christ. In nature and in power the body of Christ is the same as Christ. Yet to understand the body of Christ we need revelation. Otherwise, what we profess to know about the Church is but a matter of terminology. We need to stand on the ground of the Church experientially. There should be at least two persons who together touch that resurrection power of Christ and pray with one accord. The word of the Lord is clear: “All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28.19-20). Today the Lord entrusts us with the execution of this authority. This is because we are His body. Besides the fact of our still being in these earthly mortal bodies, there is also the fact that we are joined to the Lord in one spirit. We are not different from the Lord spiritually. What a tremendous reality this is!

When we see what resurrection is, we become clear about what the Body is. After His resurrection the Lord poured forth the Holy Spirit to give birth to the Church. He becomes the Head, and the Church becomes His body. How all-important is the Body! There is nothing higher than that a person would be willing to accept others to be members of his body. Just so, the Lord Jesus accepts us to be members of His body and He gives us His authority to exercise. How great is the Lord!

Brother Sparks also said this: the work of the Holy Spirit is found wherever the resurrection power of the Lord is working; otherwise, it cannot be reckoned as His work. Once again, it must be said that this cannot be comprehended by the human mind. We must pray and ask God to grant us the spirit of wisdom and revelation. What we need today is this revelation, the revelation concerning the power which God has already given us. If there be two or three believers with this revelation and praying with one accord on the ground of resurrection, they can execute the authority of heaven.

Hallelujah, today we do not need to have more of what we already have; rather, we need to see how glorious, rich and great that indeed is which we already have. Heavenly authority is glorious and exceedingly great, but it is being restricted by earth. If today, however, two persons on earth recognize resurrection and stand on resurrection ground, they can shake the ends of the earth. Now we are merely touching the hem of the resurrection garment, for only in these recent years have we begun to have the word of the Lord on resurrection. Praise God! What He has revealed to us uncovers the height of Biblical truth: that we are one with the Lord! The problem today is on our side. May we all humble ourselves before God and pray: “O God, grant us the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may see.”

THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
[2]

[3]
Concerning the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it is a subject that is not easy to explain. Being limited in time, we can only share a little today. This, however,

does not mean that the Bible has only this much on the subject. We can only scan through the material; we cannot conduct an in-depth study. Nevertheless, let us study as much as we can on the one hand and pray much on the other. May God give us more light.

With regard to the outward appearance of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, many wonder about some “abnormal” or unusual phenomena. In the Bible, such phenomena are truly mentioned. Over the past eight or nine years as I have studied this subject, I discovered that these manifestations are indeed in the Bible. Nevertheless, abnormal or unusual phenomena in and of themselves do not necessarily prove the genuineness of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The biblical proof is found in 1 Corinthians 12.1-3. Verse 1 speaks of spiritual gifts. However, we find that the English word “gifts” has been placed in italics in the text, which indicates that this word is not in the original Greek. So Paul is not speaking here of spiritual
gifts
. The Greek word
pneumatikos
here is equivalent to “spiritualities” or “spiritual inspirations.” Govett, Pember, Panton, and other Biblical scholars translate this as “being inspired”; that is to say, the spirit in question comes upon a person, thus causing strange movement or manifestation. In verse 2, “led away” originally refers to a being inspired by the evil spirit. And hence, in the original this phrase does not point to a being led away according to the common, ordinary understanding; rather, it has to do with supernatural matters. Paul wants the Corinthian believers to know about spiritual inspiration.

In our brief study today we shall come to see the difference between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the outpouring of the evil spirit. Paul has not told us here of the outward manifestations of these two outpourings. He certainly knows, but he does not explain. In spite of his omission, though, we still need to pay attention to them. Outwardly these two outpourings are quite difficult to distinguish, yet inwardly the differences are great.

The main difference between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and that of the evil spirit lies in the area of speech, not in body movement, attitude and so forth: “No man speaking in the Spirit of God saith, Jesus is anathema; and no man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12.3). Whether or not a person receives the outpouring of the Holy Spirit can be recognized by the word of his mouth. Only those who are inspired by the Holy Spirit can say that Jesus is Lord. This cannot be falsified. Unless a person is inspired by the Holy Spirit, he is not able to say “Jesus is Lord.” He who cannot say
this
is definitely being poured upon by the evil spirit. When a spirit comes upon a person, we can use this method to examine and test that spirit. He who can say “Jesus is Lord” has the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, he who cannot say “Jesus is Lord” is poured upon by the evil spirit. If when a person is challenged, and he moves away, it becomes doubtful that he has been poured upon by the
Holy
Spirit. But if he can say, “Lord, I am unworthy, this is Your grace,” he is being inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Yet do not doubt simply because there are sometimes “abnormalities.” If inspiration is common and regular, it is no more inspiration. He who is inspired by the Holy Spirit has the Spirit upon him. Hence he
should
be somewhat different from the ordinary.

We may also judge the difference between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and that of the evil spirit by the diverse working principles involved. In order for the evil spirit to be poured out upon a person two conditions are required. First, there must be a passive will. One with a passive will can easily give ground to an evil spirit. For this reason, Christians should not be passive. Second, there must be a vacant mind. The minds of many are idle. These people are unwilling to exercise their own minds. Such people can also be easily deceived by evil spirits. So then, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit differs profoundly in principle from that of an evil spirit. The main differences are in the stances taken by the human will and mind. People who receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit have these two characteristics: first, their minds are clear; second, their wills are not passive. They themselves are active, not allowing outside forces to work upon them. The Holy Spirit always requests a believer to actively exercise his will to cooperate with Him. How distinctly different is His working from that of the evil spirit who requires man’s will to be passive. Thus can we judge whether it is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit or the outpouring of the evil spirit.

For us to seek for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, there are certain conditions we must fulfill. First of all, we must not have any hidden or undealt sin before the Lord. If a person seeking the outpouring of the Holy Spirit has hidden sin in him, he is open to be deceived by evil spirits. This is because he gives ground in his heart to the evil spirit.

Secondly, for the Holy Spirit to come upon us, He requires the active desire of our will. Only then will He come. Not so with the evil spirit, who does not need our active desire but will come when the will is passive. Some people may pray, “If this is the Holy Spirit, this I claim. If it is the evil spirit, this I reject.” Such prayer is still not positive enough with regard to the Holy Spirit. Our cooperation with the Spirit is like this: When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, He will probably ask you with a still, small voice within you, how much you will allow Him to come. In the measure of your allowance will be the measure of His coming. The power of decision is with you. Whatever is contrary to this is being passive, and is therefore not the work of the Holy Spirit but the work of the evil spirit. For the Holy Spirit to come upon you, you yourself must express your desire, and so He comes. It is not the Holy Spirit working independently. It is you who works actively and the Spirit comes to help. The Holy Spirit makes me laugh because I have begun to laugh. He then gives me power to laugh. This is what I mean by cooperation. As you seek the outpouring of the Spirit, you need to ask the Lord to cover you with His precious blood. You do your part, and the Spirit will most definitely do His part.