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Scripture Reading: Luke 24:49; Acts 1:5, 8; 2:1-4; 11:15-16; 7-10, 1 Cor. 12:13, 28-31; 14:4-6, 19-25; 3:16; 17, 6:19; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 3:3, 6, 17-18; Rev. 1:4
In the New Testament two aspects of the Spirit are revealed — the Spirit of life and the Spirit of power. The Spirit of life is within us, whereas the Spirit of power is outside of us. The Spirit of life is essential, and the Spirit of power is economical. Anything that is economical is not as crucial as something that is essential. The Spirit of life comes to us and reaches and enters into us as the divine essence to constitute us into something divine. However, the Spirit of power is not related to the divine essence but to the economy. Many New Testament readers and teachers have not been clear concerning the Spirit of life, the essential Spirit, and the Spirit of power, the economical Spirit.
Concerning the Spirit, in the New Testament there is the line of life and the line of power. In the Gospel of John there is the Spirit of life (6:63; 20:22), and in Paul’s Epistles there are many references to the Spirit of life. In Romans 8:2 Paul uses the term the Spirit of life, and in 2 Corinthians 3:6 he says, “The Spirit gives life.” However, in the writings of Luke there is another line. Luke 24:49 says, “Behold, I send forth the promise of My Father upon you; but as for you, stay in the city until you put on power from on high.” Here the power refers to the power of the Spirit. This is not something inside but outside of us. Luke even illustrates that the Spirit of power is like an article of clothing. Clothing is put upon us for a certain purpose. A policeman’s uniform is his clothing. While he is on duty, he must have his uniform. Without such a uniform, the policeman has no authority. Medical doctors likewise put on their white coats. The Spirit of power is likened to a uniform to cover us that we may function. Acts is the continuation of Luke’s writing. In Acts 1:5 the Lord Jesus said, “You shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit.” This was to receive the power from on high (v. 8).
The line of life is within; the line of power is without. In John 14:16-17 the Lord Jesus told His disciples, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever; even the Spirit of reality.” This is the promise given by the Lord Jesus concerning the coming of the Spirit. This promise is not concerning the Spirit of power but the Spirit of life, and it was fulfilled on the day of resurrection in John 20. On the day of Pentecost, fifty days after the day of resurrection, there was the fulfillment of another promise, the promise in Joel 2:28-32 (Acts 2:16-21). This was referred to by the Lord Jesus in Luke 24:49. The fulfillment in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost was the fulfillment of God the Father’s promise in the Old Testament. In Joel 2 the promise of God the Father was concerning the Spirit as power to enable people to prophesy, to see visions, and to dream dreams. This has nothing to do with life.
The Spirit of life, not the Spirit of power, is the central line of the revelation concerning the Spirit. A person’s life is obviously more central and crucial than his clothing. You may put on and take off a piece of clothing, but you cannot put on your life and then take it off. In the same way, the Spirit of life is essential; the Spirit of power is not essential. Whether or not we have the Spirit of power, we are still living because we have the Spirit of life. The Spirit of life is essential to my constitution and my being, and is essentially vital. However, the Spirit of power is not so essential but is only economical. The Lord’s promise in John 14 concerning the Spirit of life was to make us alive, to regenerate us. By this Spirit we have been regenerated to be the children of God, and by this Spirit of life we are the sons of God. This is our essence; it is essential to our spiritual being and is vital to our spiritual constitution. Without the Spirit of life, we could not be children of God; we could have never been regenerated and could never be spiritually constituted.
According to God’s economy, there was still the need of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Baptism is not regeneration. We must not confuse baptism with regeneration, as some believers today do. On the day of resurrection the Lord Jesus became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). He came in the evening to the disciples and breathed into them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). At that time the disciples received the Holy Spirit. However, fifty days later at Pentecost, the Spirit still descended upon them.
The Lord Jesus was conceived and born of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18). Since He was born of the Holy Spirit, He surely had the Holy Spirit essentially. However, after His baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon Him economically (3:16). It was the same with the disciples. On the day of resurrection the Holy Spirit entered into them, and they received the Holy Spirit essentially for their spiritual existence and being. Yet after fifty days the Holy Spirit descended upon them economically, just as the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord Jesus after His baptism.
Some Christians are accustomed to asking others, “Have you received the Holy Spirit?” In reply to this question I would ask two more. First I would ask, “Before the Lord Jesus was baptized, had He received the Holy Spirit?” Then I would ask, “Before the day of Pentecost, had all the disciples received the Holy Spirit?” Some would answer that the disciples before the day of Pentecost did not receive the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit descended upon them on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. However, in John 20 on the day of resurrection the Lord came and breathed into them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Some have said that this was merely a demonstration in which nothing happened and that this demonstration was fulfilled fifty days later on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit came. In this respect we should consider the case of Peter. In the four Gospels he made many mistakes, but in Acts 1 Peter became so spiritual. He knew how to interpret the Scriptures, and he took the lead with the one hundred twenty to pray in one accord for ten days (vv. 13-22). Only a few weeks before this time the disciples were fighting with one another (Matt. 20:20-24), but now they could pray together in one accord, even under the threatening of the Jews. They did not care for the threatening of the Jews. They kept the Lord’s word to stay in Jerusalem, and they prayed together in one accord, not just for one prayer meeting but for ten days. If they did not have the Spirit within them, how could they do this? It would have been impossible. This was a strong sign that before the day of Pentecost, in Acts 1, they had the Spirit within them already. This was the essential Spirit, the Spirit of life. In Acts 1, Peter and all the one hundred twenty disciples were really spiritual. They were altogether in the Spirit, and they were full of the Spirit within. Therefore, they could be one, and they could pray together in one accord for ten days. This was marvelous. They did this not by themselves but by the Spirit of life. When did the Spirit of life enter into them? It was on the day of resurrection in John 20:22.
The disciples had the life within, but they still did not have the power. They had drunk the living water, but they did not have the proper uniform. To drink water is essential; to put on a uniform is economical. You may be drinking water in your kitchen, but when you come out to meet me, you cannot come without the proper clothing. To drink water is essential for you to exist, but to put on the proper clothing is economical for you to meet someone. On the day of resurrection the disciples began to drink the “water,” yet they did not have the power from on high to clothe them. They had all received the Holy Spirit, they were all regenerated, and they had all become children of God. Yet they were not made one Body. They were still individual children of God. Now, according to God’s economy, God had to put all His sons together to baptize them in the Spirit of God into one Body. This is the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
To receive the Spirit of life into you is the regeneration of the Spirit of life. That is not the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Regeneration is by the Spirit of life to regenerate us, to make us children and sons of God, but baptism is the putting of all the believers by the Lord as the Head into this one Spirit to make them all one Body. So 1 Corinthians 12:13 says, “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.” The Jewish believers as well as the Gentile believers in the past, present, and future were all baptized once for all into one Body.
Paul tells us in this verse that this baptism has transpired already. To know when this baptism transpired, you must study the Bible carefully. Only two events are referred to as the baptism in the Holy Spirit — on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and in Cornelius’s house in Acts 10. In Acts 1:5 the Lord Jesus said, “John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” This transpired on the day of Pentecost. Then afterward, Peter was invited to the house of Cornelius to preach the gospel (10:1-48). While Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit descended upon this Gentile family. In Acts 11:15-17 Peter reported that this was exactly what happened on the day of Pentecost to the Jewish believers. Only these two events, one on the day of Pentecost and the other in the house of Cornelius, were the baptism in the Holy Spirit. These were the two parts of one complete baptism in the Holy Spirit. The first part was to baptize all the Jewish believers. If you are a Jewish believer, you have to realize that you were baptized in the Holy Spirit by the Head, the Lord Jesus, on the day of Pentecost with Peter, James, and John. All Gentile believers, on the other hand, were baptized in the Holy Spirit in the house of Cornelius. By these two events the entire baptism in the Holy Spirit was fully completed (1 Cor. 12:13). This is an accomplished fact. The Lord Jesus died for all sinners once for all almost two thousand years ago. If two hundred new believers will be saved tomorrow, the Lord Jesus will not need to come to die for them again. In the same principle, all the believers, the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers, were once for all baptized in the Holy Spirit to be one Body. This was done by the resurrected Christ, the ascended Head.
If some come to ask you if you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you must surely reply that you have. If you are a Jewish brother, you can say, “On the day of Pentecost when Peter was baptized, I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.” If you are a Gentile, you can say, “I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit with Cornelius.” When did the Lord Jesus die for you? It was two thousand years ago, even though you had not yet been born. In the same way, 1 Corinthians 12:13 tells us that we all, the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers, were already baptized in the Holy Spirit. We became fallen six thousand years ago. We were redeemed two thousand years ago. Then, shortly afterward, we were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Before we were born, all this happened, and everything was accomplished. Now, we have been born into this blessing.
We do not need Christ to die for us once more. Likewise, we do not need to be baptized by the Head once more. He already died for us once for all, and He baptized us already once for all. Now we just say, “Amen! Lord Jesus, You died for me. Amen! Lord Jesus, You baptized me in the Spirit. Amen!” This is the glad tidings, the gospel. Jesus died for me, and Christ baptized me. I do not need to do anything but say, Amen! The Bible tells us that Jesus died for us, but the Bible tells us further that Christ baptized us into one Body. This is not the essential but the economical aspect. If Christ had never baptized us, we would still be saved and would still be the sons of God. Peter and the other disciples were baptized on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, but before that time they were still saved.
In the early 1900s Pentecostalism came to the United States and spread to the West Coast, where a conference was held on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California. Then two schools of doctrine came into being. One was mild, saying that if you do not speak in tongues, you do not have the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The stronger school, however, said that without this baptism with the speaking in tongues you could not be regenerated. These Pentecostals became divided. A. B. Simpson was among the leaders there. Because he could not agree with these teachings, he departed and formed the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Many among the remainder of the milder ones went on to form the Assemblies of God.
From that time onward in the United States, many Pentecostals believe that if you do not speak in tongues, you have not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. To some this also means that you have not been regenerated. However, I have the full assurance that I was regenerated in 1925, even though I had not spoken in tongues. Likewise, many saints who never spoke in tongues have also been regenerated. D. L. Moody, C. H. Spurgeon, and John Nelson Darby never spoke in tongues. Martin Luther did not speak in tongues either. All these great men, although they did not speak in tongues, were regenerated. Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission, also did not speak in tongues, yet you cannot say that he was not regenerated. Many great speakers of the Keswick conventions never spoke in tongues, yet we could not say that they were not regenerated. There is no verse in the Bible saying that if I have not been baptized in the Spirit and have never spoken in tongues, I am not regenerated.
In 1936 we thought there might be something in the Pentecostal movement of the Lord and felt that we should not be narrow but should remain open to them. We went to their meetings and spent some time to watch them. The more I observed them, the more I doubted whether they spoke in genuine tongues.
The Greek word for tongue in Acts 2:4 is glossa, whereas the Greek word for dialect, dialektos, is used in verses 6 and 8. In Acts 2 these two words are used interchangeably. This indicates that the tongue spoken must be a dialect, an understandable language, not merely a voice or sound uttered by the tongue. However, as I observed those who spoke in tongues, they all spoke in sounds that could not be a dialect. A dialect cannot consist of as few sounds as were uttered by these tongue-speakers. When I questioned an American leader of this movement, using an Interlinear Greek Bible, he could not give me an adequate answer. This disappointed me very much. He was a top leader in the Pentecostal movement in China and knew Greek, but he could not explain how this kind of speaking could be a dialect.
In a Pentecostal meeting, one may speak in tongues using only four syllables in his utterance. Another may interpret for him, saying, “My people, time is short. I come quickly. Watch and pray. Be zealous, love one another, and preach the gospel.” On the next day they all will come together, and the same one will speak in tongues again, using the identical utterance from the previous night. However, on this night, another may interpret for him, saying, “My people, the church here needs a big hall. All you who have money should donate it to build the hall. The Lord will bless you.” On the third day the brother may speak in tongues again in the same way, and another will interpret in yet a third different way. A linguist could tell you that this simple utterance of four syllables was the same on each of the three nights. Yet there were three very different interpretations for it. This indicates that this kind of speaking in tongues is not genuine but altogether a human-manufactured utterance.
There is no real dialect consisting of only four or five syllables. Such a speaking as practiced in Pentecostal meetings is only a sound made with the tongue. When the Japanese speak in tongues in this way, they do it with a Japanese accent. When the Chinese speak in tongues in this way, they do so with a Chinese accent. Likewise, the Mexicans speak in tongues with a Mexican accent. I am not against the genuine speaking in tongues as mentioned in the Bible. There is the speaking in tongues in the Bible, but it is not as the tongue-speaking practiced today. The tongues in the Bible are surely a dialect, which is altogether understandable and meaningful. In this matter we should come back to the pure Word because there is such an influence today that disturbs God’s seeking people.
We must take the baptism in the Holy Spirit by living faith. If we are right with the Body of Christ, we are in a position to take the baptism in the Holy Spirit. We should realize that it has already been accomplished and now exists upon the Body of Christ. As members of the Body of Christ maintaining a right relationship with the Body, we are entitled to claim it through the exercise of living faith. We must take it just as we took the value of the Lord’s redeeming death. We did not take that according to our feeling or any kind of so-called manifestation. We received the Lord’s redemption simply by believing, and the Lord honored it. When we believe in the accomplished fact of the Lord’s death for our sins, the Holy Spirit quietly honors our faith; forgiveness of sins and divine life are imparted to us, and we have peace and joy within. We just believe what the Lord has accomplished according to what we are told in His Will (the New Testament). This Will also tells us that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is accomplished upon the Body of Christ and waiting to be taken. We who are rightly related with the Body of Christ should simply take it by living faith. If we mean business with the Lord, He will honor our faith, and we will experience it.
