The Communion of the Holy Spirit (5 page)

In the time of seeking for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, you must test the spirit that falls upon you to see if this is of God (see 1 John 4.1). You should co-operate with God, never letting your mind become blank. Do not imitate others. Do not let your will be passive. Do not exert too much control nor let loose of all control. This is because evil spirits may counterfeit the Holy Spirit and give supernatural sensation and experience. The believer must test what he receives whether it is of the Holy Spirit or of the evil spirit. In order to distinguish the work of the Holy Spirit from the work of the evil spirit, we must first of all know their working principles. The Holy Spirit wants men to co-operate actively with Him, but the evil spirit looks for the passivity of man so as to manipulate him.

Consequently, in the process of seeking the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we cannot afford to let our mind be blank and our will be passive. Passivity greatly delights the evil spirit. Trying to imitate others’ experience also gives opportunity to the evil spirit to work. It is imperative that we practice that which we mentioned before: that we be actively working together with the Holy Spirit; and that we be watchful lest we be deceived. For it is possible for everyone to be deceived.

The Old and New Testaments show us that the work of the Holy Spirit is threefold: first, He gives people life; second, He dwells in people as life; and third, He falls upon people as power. These three include all the aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit. In Old Testament times there were only the first and the third of these aspects, but not the second. For at that time the Holy Spirit did not dwell in men. The difference between the Old and New Testaments lies in this second aspect, that is, in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament period people might have received life; such as, for example, David, who had life. But there was also evidence of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during that period, although it came upon only a chosen few such as the two artisans involved in the building of the tabernacle-Bezalel and Oholiab-who were “filled . . . with the Spirit of God, in wisdom,” so as to be “skillful” in “all manner of workmanship” (Ex. 31.1-11). The Spirit of God was also upon Moses, and was evenly distributed upon the seventy elders (see Num. 11.16-25); the Spirit of God likewise fell upon the prophets, though many of the sons of the prophets-such as those of Elisha- did not have the Spirit falling upon them. There were altogether few in number who had the phenomenon with them. The book of the Judges, too, recorded some having the Spirit who were able to achieve things impossible to ordinary men. But like the prophets, the number was also quite small (see Judges 3.10, 6.34,11.29,13.25).

During the opening period of the New Testament era, when the Lord was on earth, the Holy Spirit also fell upon certain people, such as Mary, Zacharias, John the Baptist, and the Lord himself. Nevertheless, at this time, but apart from the Lord Jesus, in whom the Holy Spirit had taken up His abode (see John 1.32-33), the Holy Spirit had not yet begun to dwell in men to be their life. Not until the time of Jesus’ utterances about the Holy Spirit, as recorded in John 14.16-17, did the Holy Spirit begin to have a new work. Please notice the words “shall be” in verse 17, not “has been.” For this will be a totally new aspect of His work. He is to “abide with you, and shall be in you.” Unlike in the Old Testament period wherein the Holy Spirit did only the first and the third mentioned aspects of His work, here He begins a new work. He not only falls upon men to give them power, He also dwells in them.

Before His ascension, the Lord gave His disciples two great promises. The first He promised before His death, and the second He promised before His ascension. The first promise is that the Holy Spirit shall abide
in
the disciples (John 14.17). The second promise is that the Holy Spirit will come
upon
them (Acts 1.8). Thus, the Holy Spirit completes His threefold work. Because we are Gentiles, we may not realize the preciousness of this event. If we are Jews, though, we would know that the words “abide within” are quite marvelous, beyond our comprehension. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, Jeremiah, and so on-none of them had the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. The Old Testament merely stated that the Spirit of the Lord was upon them (see, for example, the case of David, in 1 Samuel 16.13). Only the New Testament speaks of the Holy Spirit as indwelling man. This is too wonderful a promise! “The word became flesh” is marvelous in our Lord’s life. Now, later on, in us believers, the Spirit became flesh. How amazing this is!

When did the Holy Spirit begin to dwell in men? In John 14.17 we are told that the Lord said that the Holy Spirit “shall be in you.” This word was spoken before His crucifixion. Then in John 20.22 we find that the Lord breathed on the disciples and said to them, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit.” This happened after His resurrection. After the Lord was resurrected, the Holy Spirit came, and the disciples received the breathing of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is the breath of life of the Lord. Just as God breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of Adam after He had fashioned his body with the dust of the earth so that man became a living soul (see Gen. 2.7), so today the Lord breathes into us the Holy Spirit of life. Without the breathing of God into man, man was dead. So also, without such breathing of the Lord into the Church, the latter is likewise dead. This is the second aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit. Once we become familiar with the history of His work, we can interpret our present experience.

The promise of the Holy Spirit indwelling believers has its fulfillment on the day of the resurrection of the Lord. Forty days after His resurrection He further promised the disciples concerning the power of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost this promise of the Lord had its fulfillment. Comparing the two, which is better? In the Old Testament period the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the special privilege of only some people-those such as the priests, prophets, judges, and so forth. Throughout the nation of Israel there might be only one person, either a king or some other special person, who possessed this blessing. The rest of the people had to go to him to hear his word. During Old Testament history such a person might appear but once in decades or in centuries. It was a very rare thing. But now in the New Testament time each and every one can have such an experience. This promise is so extraordinary that today all of us can possess it. This is indeed a special grace of the Lord. How joyful that we all may have the Holy Spirit coming upon us!

Before His ascension the Lord Jesus had commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised power from on high (see Luke 24.49). By that time the disciples had already received the in dwelling life. They listened to the Lord and waited in prayer. Ten days later the day of Pentecost arrived and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2.4). All who have read Acts 2 know that this speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit upon them. This is external. The Gospel according to Luke also speaks of the external work of the Holy Spirit upon men. It does not deal with His internal work. By comparing the Gospel according to John with the Gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts, we come to realize that the Holy Spirit works along two lines. One is that He works within men; the other is that He works on the outside of men.

The Holy Spirit indwelling man is for life, whereas the Holy Spirit upon man is for power. Unless we can distinguish these two aspects of work, we will not be able to understand the difference between the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old and in the New Testaments. The promise in the New Testament of the indwelling Holy Spirit is made by Christ before His death. This promised aspect of the Spirit’s work is related to the death of the Lord and is fulfilled at the time of His resurrection. This work of the Holy Spirit within man is for the believer’s life, for his daily living that he may bear those fruits of the Spirit such as holiness, righteousness, patience, joy, and so forth.

The promise of the Holy Spirit coming upon man is made by the Father in the Old Testament time and is reaffirmed by the Lord at His ascension. This aspect of the Holy Spirit is related to the ascension of the Lord and has its fulfillment at His ascension and exaltation. The Holy Spirit falls upon believers to clothe them with the Lord’s power in being witnesses and in manifesting the gifts of the Spirit, thus having power to work for God and to accomplish His will.

As we read the Old and New Testaments we must distinguish clearly between the Holy Spirit’s work within men and upon men. Then shall we see that there is no contradiction in the many references to the work of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we will be puzzled by many seeming contradictions. According to God’s word, each and every regenerated person must have the Holy Spirit indwelling him so that he also may receive the Spirit’s outpouring. The one is “must”; the other is “may.” Without any doubt, as soon as a person believes in the Lord, the Holy Spirit “must” dwell in him. On the other hand, he “may” also receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. By simply differentiating these two words you are able to see the wonder of it all.

Let me illustrate this. One day the Samaritans believed in the Lord and were baptized. The Bible does not say that they received both the indwelling and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Acts 8 records that these people had believed in the Lord and were baptized, but “as yet” the Holy Spirit “was
fallen
upon none of them” (v.16). So when the apostles in Jerusalem heard about it, they sent Peter and John to lay hands on the Samaritan believers so that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Now if a person is ignorant of the distinction between the indwelling and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, he will find it difficult to explain this incident of the Samaritans who had believed and were baptized and yet had not received the Holy Spirit. Moreover, he will not know how to interpret certain passages in Romans 8, 1 John 4 and 1 Corinthians 6 in relation to this event. For all these passages indicate that as soon as one believes in the Lord that person has the Holy Spirit indwelling him. The fact of the matter is that the Samaritans did not lack the
indwelling
Spirit, they only lacked the
outpoured
Spirit.

The work of the Spirit
within
man is for life and living, enabling him to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The work of the Spirit
upon
men is for witness and service, causing us to manifest spiritual gifts. Were a person to be filled with the Holy Spirit inwardly and have the Holy Spirit fall upon him outwardly, he would possess great power in serving the Lord. Yet if he is not filled within with the Holy Spirit and only receives outwardly the outpouring of the Spirit, he may be hurt instead of helped because he can easily become proud. For he who does not know the victorious life in his walk may receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but a few months or years later, his spiritual condition will be exposed to everybody. Hence, we must experience both aspects of the Spirit’s work.

The Holy Spirit does not bear witness to himself; He bears witness to Christ (see John 15.26). When a person sees the redemption of the cross he can be taught to ask the Holy Spirit to help him believe. This is to lead him to see Christ. As we talk about the work of the Holy Spirit in men, our attention is not on the Holy Spirit himself, because He bears witness concerning Christ. Even when we speak on the victorious life, we only mention how the Lord is resurrected to be our life; we do not focus on the Holy Spirit. For the latter’s work is directly joined to Christ and His work. By seeing the work of Christ, people have the work of the Holy Spirit. By seeing the death of the Lord, they receive the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. By seeing the resurrection of the Lord, they have the Holy Spirit as their life. And when people see the ascended and enthroned Lord, they receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Not only the Spirit’s outpouring witnesses to Christ, the Spirit’s indwelling also testifies of Christ. On the one hand, the Holy Spirit in us gives us victory. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit in us testifies that Christ is our all. The Holy Spirit in us enables us to bear the fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5.22-23), and such fruit is Christ in His entirety. For God has not given us the fruit of the Spirit in piecemeal fashion, such as a little love, a little joy, or a little patience, and so on. He gives us the total Christ. The fruit spoken of in Galatians 5.22 is presented to us as but
one
fruit, for in the original, the Greek word for fruit is cast in the
singular
number: having therefore the
one
fruit of the Holy Spirit, we have
all
the ingredients. It is not love without joy, or joy void of patience, etc. etc. God gives in wholesale fashion, not in retail. He gives us Christ. If we have love but not joy, this proves that it is
our
fruit and not the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

There are three chapters in the Bible which deal particularly with the Holy Spirit. These are found in 1 Corinthians 12-14: with chapters 12 and 14 speaking of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit- the Spirit without-and chapter 13 speaking of love, which bespeaks the Spirit within. We use “love” here to represent the fruit of the Spirit discussed in Galatians 5. This refers to the indwelling Spirit. The first ingredient of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned there is love, for without it nothing else counts-neither joy, nor peace, nor patience and so forth. Paul exhorts believers to seek after love, because with love they shall have all the above-mentioned qualities.