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We who serve the Lord have two weapons. One is outward and the other is inward. Our outward weapon is the Holy Bible, the Lord’s word, which is in our hands. Our inward weapon is the Holy Spirit, who is in our spirit. This is why Paul tells us to “receive...the sword of the Spirit, which spirit is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17), and reminded us, “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit” (5:18). In order to serve the Lord, we must be equipped with the truth in the Scriptures and must also pursue the filling of the Spirit.
In the past year many of you have spent much time in the Word. I believe that you all are clear that there are two aspects of the filling of the Spirit. One aspect is the filling of the Holy Spirit in life, essentially. The other aspect is the filling of the Holy Spirit in power, economically. You must study further, however, to see which verses in the Bible speak of the essential filling of the Spirit and which verses speak of the economical filling of the Spirit. Then when you go out to teach people, you will be able to quote the Scriptures and speak in a logical way so that people will understand and be convinced.
Five major religions have evolved over the past six thousand years of human history. Of these five major religions, the best religious writing is the Christian Bible. This is a well-known fact. This Bible is far superior to all the famous literary writings of both the past and the present. The Bible is the most precious heritage of mankind. Hence, people often show great respect to those who study the Bible. Even many atheists dare not despise the Bible, acknowledging that the Bible is the most difficult book to deal with. Regardless of how much people have sought to discredit the Bible, the Bible still has not been eliminated from human society. Indeed, this book is the Book of books. Although most people are aware of the existence of such a precious Scripture, they are still quite baffled by the truths contained within it. Therefore, when you go out to preach the truths in the Bible, once people see that you have a Bible in your hand, they will respect you, and when you begin to expound the truth to them, they will gladly receive it.
Although so many philosophies, theories, and “sacred” writings have been written and preserved throughout human history, none of these writings claims that its author is the Lord. Moreover, those who believe in these philosophies and theories do not say that their belief is in the Lord. When people believe in Jesus, however, they say that they have believed in the Lord. This is wonderful. It is also wonderful that the Bible is the only book described as being holy. The Bible is called the Holy Bible. Why is it that the Bible is the only book with such a title? It is because the Bible is in fact the only holy book. We cannot call the earth heaven, because only heaven is heaven. We cannot call iron gold, because only gold is gold, and although copper looks very much like gold, we cannot say that copper is gold. If we refer to a deer as a horse, we create confusion. We cannot do this, because a fact is a fact.
God created all things according to their kind. Even though monkeys resemble humans, we still cannot call a monkey a human. Furthermore, we cannot say that humans evolved from monkeys. Some Europeans are very hairy, yet none of them would ever say that they are European monkeys. Instead, they would call themselves Europeans. In the same way, throughout the six thousand years of human history, thousands and thousands of books have been written and preserved, but only one book is called holy. As such, people cannot help but respect this book. Since people respect the Bible, we must know this book. When we go out to visit people one-on-one, if we bring the Bible with us and speak to them in a proper way, they will surely respect us.
Today many Christians pursue the filling of the Spirit. If we meet someone who asks concerning the matter of being filled with the Spirit, we must immediately tell him that according to the Bible there are two aspects of being filled with the Spirit—the outward, economical aspect and the inward, essential aspect. Then we have to exercise our spirit to speak to him with our whole being according to the Bible concerning these two aspects of the Spirit’s filling.
The economical aspect of the filling of the Spirit is frequently mentioned in Acts. The first time that it is mentioned is in 2:4. The second time is in 4:8. These verses are the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise in 1:8. The essential aspect of the filling of the Spirit is mentioned only once in the entire book of Acts. It is mentioned in 13:52, which says, “The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” The Greek word for filled in this verse is pleroo, a word which denotes inward filling. This is the aspect of the inward filling of the Spirit essentially. This aspect of the Spirit’s filling is for life, not for power. The fact that joy is a matter of life and not of power proves this point. Here the Greek word that is translated filled is a different word from the Greek word that is translated filled in 2:4 and 4:8.
While I was serving as the editor of The Christian, I wrote an article on the filling of the Holy Spirit titled “The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Believers.” In 1932 I started to study the New Testament by using Greek-English interlinear reference books. In 1936, while I was editing The Christian, I found out that when Luke wrote the book of Acts, he used the word pletho in 2:4 and 4:8 and pleroo in 13:52. These two words are both translated into English using one word, the word filled. Thus, in English there is no apparent distinction. These two Greek words are both derived from the same root, yet they are two different words. In English both words are translated filled because there is no other English word that can be used. Nevertheless, we have to see that pleroo refers to the inward filling of the Spirit, and pletho refers to the outward filling of the Spirit.
Acts 6:3a says, “Brothers, look for seven well-attested men from among you, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.” Verse 5 continues, “And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” The Greek word in these two verses is pleres. According to Luke’s usage of this word, pleres is an adjective form of pleroo. When a person is filled with the Spirit essentially (pleroo), he is full of the Holy Spirit (pleres). I discussed these matters in detail in The Christian.
In Acts the word pleroo is used in 13:52 with regard to people. In 2:2 it is used with regard to a house—“Suddenly there was a sound out of heaven, as of a rushing violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” In 2:2-4 both pletho and pleroo are used. Pleroo is used to describe the wind’s filling of the house inwardly, and pletho is used to describe the Spirit’s filling of people outwardly. This clearly shows us Luke’s understanding of these two words. Although Luke’s meaning is made clear by studying the Greek words, since both words are translated filled in English, it is impossible to tell the difference and know the proper meaning simply by reading the English translation.
To repeat this point again—the word translated filled in these verses is two different words in Greek. The word pleroo used in 2:2 denotes the filling of a house inwardly; the word pletho used in 2:4 denotes the filling of the disciples outwardly. When describing the condition of a person who has been filled inwardly with the Spirit, Luke uses the word pleres. Hence, when you speak the truth concerning the filling of the Spirit, first you have to tell people that there are two aspects of the Spirit’s filling. One aspect is the outward filling of the Spirit. This aspect is of power and is economical. The other aspect is the inward filling of the Spirit. This aspect is of life and is essential. Regarding the economical aspect of the filling of the Spirit, you can use 2:4, 4:8, and 4:31. Regarding the essential aspect of the filling of the Spirit, you can use 13:52.
Which part of our being does the Spirit fill when He fills us inwardly? According to Ephesians 5:18, He fills us in our spirit. Thus, when we speak of the inward filling of the Spirit, our presentation should be based on Acts 13:52 and Ephesians 5:18. If we speak concerning the outward filling of the Spirit, we need to use the Greek words to prove what we are saying. Hence, I encourage you to always have an interlinear Greek-English New Testament with you so that you can use it at any time to show people the Greek words. If you do this, many of the young people who hear your speaking will believe and be saved.
When we preach the gospel to elderly people, we do not need to reason with them that much, but when we preach the gospel to young people, we need to reason with them a great deal. After you speak to them about the filling of the Spirit, you need to tell them in which part of our being the Spirit fills us. According to the Scriptures, man was created with three parts—spirit, soul, and body (1 Thes. 5:23). Both the spirit and the body are substantial, but the soul is abstract. This is because when God created man, He used only two kinds of material—the dust of the ground and His own breath, which He breathed into man (Gen. 2:7). Dust became man’s human body, and the breath became the human spirit. When the two mixed together, this produced man’s soul. Therefore, man’s soul was not created with a specific material. The human body was created with dust, so our body has all the elements of dust and needs to be maintained by minerals. The human spirit was created with God’s breath. This breath, the breath of life, became our spirit.
The human spirit is more important than the human body. This is why Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit.” To be drunk with wine is to be filled in the body. Here it says that we should not be filled with wine in our body but that we should be filled in spirit. We need to be filled with Christ unto all the fullness of God (1:23; 3:19). Today all the riches of Christ are included in the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17). To be filled in our spirit is to be filled with the essential Spirit. The essential Spirit is the life-giving Spirit, and the life-giving Spirit is the Spirit of reality as the realization of Christ, referred to in John 14:17.
The essential Spirit had to pass through a process before He could fill us. The essential Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the Triune God. Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God, and the life-giving Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the Triune God (Col. 2:9; 1 Cor. 15:45b). When the ultimate consummation, the ultimate expression, of the Triune God reaches us, He comes to us as the life-giving Spirit, the essential Spirit. We need to be filled with the essential Spirit in our spirit. Ephesians 3:17 says that Christ wants to make His home in our hearts. When we are completely filled with the essential Spirit in our spirit, then Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God will occupy our heart and make His home in our heart. When we are filled in our spirit experientially with the essential Spirit, the ultimate consummation of the Triune God, and when Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God fully occupies, possesses, and makes His home in our hearts, the result will be that we are filled with and occupied by the Triune God completely. This is the significance of the filling of the Spirit.
The inward filling of the Spirit is different from the outward filling of the Spirit. The outward filling of the Spirit is far less precious than the inward filling of the Spirit. Hence, after the book of Acts the word for outward filling is not used in the twenty-two Epistles from Romans to Revelation. Instead, inward filling is emphasized. Although the New Testament uses two different words for the filling of the Spirit and emphasizes the inward filling of the Spirit, the Pentecostal movement regards the two as one thing, thinking that spiritual baptism and drinking of the spiritual drink are the same. This is an incorrect understanding. Among Christians in general, groups such as the Southern Baptist Church and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship almost do not talk about the Spirit at all. Although the Bible mentions the Spirit and they have read about the Spirit, they almost completely ignore the Spirit. Those in the Pentecostal movement, especially those who emphasize tongue-speaking, pay attention to the Spirit, but in doing so, they mix the inward, essential aspect of the Spirit’s filling with the outward, economical aspect. As a result, they equate so-called spiritual baptism with drinking of the spiritual drink. This does not correspond to 1 Corinthians 12:13, which says, “Also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body...and were all given to drink one Spirit.” Here the conjunction and indicates that to be baptized and to drink are two matters. To be baptized is to be filled outwardly, and to drink is to be filled inwardly. Therefore, the Pentecostals are mistaken in neglecting the distinction between the two.
I stayed in Shanghai after the Second World War. From time to time I ministered in Nanking. At that time there was a saying in the region around the lower Yangtze River. The saying was, “In the morning the skin encompasses the water; at night the water encompasses the skin.” When a person drinks tea in the tea house in the morning, his skin “encompasses” the water. When he goes to take a bath at night, the water encompasses the skin. They believed that if one practiced this, he would surely be healthy. After I heard this saying, I found it to be very good and meaningful. The skin encompassing the water is a picture of the inward filling, and the water encompassing the skin is a picture of the outward filling. If you want to be a healthy Christian, you have to be revived every morning. This is the skin encompassing the water. You also need to receive the outward filling of the Spirit when you go out to labor for the Lord at night. This is the water encompassing the skin. The Pentecostals make these two “encompassings” into one “encompassing.” As a result, many of them get too deeply immersed in water and drown.
How can we be filled with the Triune God? We can be filled with the Triune God through thorough prayer and confession. When you began the full-time training, you renewed your consecration. This is good, but you also have to find some time in your busy schedule to kneel down before the Lord by yourself and to thoroughly pray and confess. This is most precious. At the beginning of this time, you may tell the Lord, “O Lord, forgive me. Although You have forgiven me of all my sins, I have never had a thorough confession and a thorough dealing. Today I would like to confess all my sins thoroughly before You. Please shine on me!”
When you pray in this way, do not seek for feeling. You have to believe that the Lord’s Spirit is with you. You also do not need to confess according to a sequence. Simply confess according to what you sense within and according to what you remember. Confess your sins to the Lord one by one until, according to your inner sense and your memory, you have nothing more to confess. Once you have done this, you should simply believe that you have been filled in your spirit with the ultimate consummation of the Triune God. Every Christian should have one time in which he thoroughly confesses in this way. In medical science this is equivalent to changing the blood cells in your entire body in order to cleanse away all the germs and filthiness from your system for the sake of your health. Every one of you needs to be filled with the Spirit in this way.
How much the Spirit can fill you within depends on how much room you give Him. The more room you give Him, the more He fills you. Similarly, the amount of air that fills a bottle depends on how much space there is in the bottle. If half the bottle is filled with soil, air can fill only half the bottle. The more the soil is removed from the bottle, however, the more the air will fill it. In the same way, the more you remove the defilement of sin and the filthiness that is within you, the more the Holy Spirit will be able to fill you. As you empty out, the Spirit will fill you. When you have completely emptied yourself of all filthiness, then you will also be completely filled with the Spirit.
When you have a time with the Lord to confess, do not seek any feeling; just confess and pray thoroughly. To confess is to empty yourself out, and to pray is to receive the Lord into you. Hence, confession plus prayer is a breathing out and a breathing in. We breathe out our sins and breathe in God Himself. A. B. Simpson wrote a hymn that says, “I am breathing out my sorrow, / Breathing out my sin; / I am breathing, breathing, breathing, / All Thy fulness in” (Hymns, #255). Through continuous confession we breathe out our filthiness until all of our uncleanness is gone, and as we breathe out, we also breathe in. As we breathe out our sins, we breathe in God Himself. Thank and praise the Lord that although we are still filthy, He comes to us with His blood as the Lamb-God, the redeeming God. As soon as I breathe out, my sins are gone, and as soon as I breathe in, God comes in. This does not take any effort. As long as I breathe out a little of my sins, I immediately breathe in a little of God. When I confess my sins a little, God comes in to fill me a little. When I have completely breathed out all of my sins, I will be completely filled with God within, completely filled inwardly with the life-giving Spirit as the consummation of the Triune God.
I am not boasting of my seniority, but I have studied this matter for more than fifty years. In the message titled, “The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Believers” (The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932-1949, vol. 1, The Christian), I pointed out that the work of the Holy Spirit is first to regenerate us and then to fill us. When I went to the United States, I saw that the Pentecostal movement was very prevailing there. Although the Pentecostals were very prevailing, when I stood up and trumpeted this word concerning the filling of the Spirit, no one was able to say anything to refute me. The truth is with the Lord’s recovery. When we put forth the truth of the Bible, no one can refute it.
Both our actual experience and the truth of the Bible give us a clear picture of the inward filling of the Spirit. Those in the Pentecostal movement also talk about confession, but they wrongly teach people that confession must be accompanied by speaking in tongues. The Bible never says that we must speak in tongues to be filled with the Spirit. Today people are hungry and thirsty for God. Thus, those in the Pentecostal movement use tongue-speaking to attract them. Because the Pentecostals lack the truth, they encourage people to pursue after tongue-speaking. Actually, in many cases their so-called speaking in tongues is not genuine. They simply ask people to roll their tongue and speak out anything that comes to their mind. As a result of this practice, they are not filled with the Holy Spirit. They are not even filled with the evil spirits. They are filled only with themselves.
Those in the Pentecostal movement uplift speaking in tongues and encourage those who are hungry and thirsty for God to make speaking in tongues their goal. Actually, their kind of tongue-speaking is often a fraud. I have collected many materials in order to study the matter of tongue-speaking. These materials prove that an ancient form of tongue-speaking has existed in China, Egypt, and Japan. The tongue-speaking practiced by the Corinthians was also prevalent in the Gentile region of Asia Minor. Later this practice spread to the Greek peninsula. A brother from Ghana, Africa, told me that when he was around ten years old, he saw a priest of the native religion of his own country also speak in tongues. Therefore, those who have discernment know that the tongue-speaking practiced among the Pentecostals is often not genuine and not according to the truth.
On the one hand, this fellowship is meant to help you by giving you the proper way to pursue the filling of the Spirit. On the other hand, it is meant to give you an inoculation. When you speak to people concerning the filling of the Spirit, they may say, “We also talk about the filling of the Spirit,” and they may ask you, “Do you speak in tongues?” If you do not know how to answer them, you will be poisoned by them. You must be clear that the filling of the Spirit has two aspects—an outward aspect and an inward aspect. The outward aspect is mentioned only in Acts, but in the Epistles from Romans to Revelation, the inward filling is emphasized because it is the more important aspect.
When we are filled inwardly, what are we filled with? We are filled with the Spirit of life, the essential Spirit, the life-giving Spirit, the Triune God who has been processed and consummated through death and resurrection. When we were saved, the Spirit entered into us. However, there are still many things within us that are not of Him, things that have not been dealt with and are filthy and sinful. Hence, if we want to be filled with the Spirit, we need to go before the Lord to repent, confess, and pray. Through repenting, confessing, and praying, we will breathe out our sins and breathe in God Himself as the life-giving Spirit. Through this breathing out and breathing in, we will be filled with the Spirit.
Acts 5:32b says, “The Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” This verse reveals that when we breathe in God and are filled with God as the life-giving Spirit, we need to closely follow and obey the Spirit. Obedience is both the way and the requirement for us to receive and enjoy the Spirit of God. Today we must pass through the crisis of being filled with the Spirit. This filling is the inward filling (pleroo), but it is also accompanied by the outward filling (pletho), because once you are filled inwardly, you will overflow outwardly. If we practice “encompassing the water with the skin” every morning—being filled inwardly in our morning revival, in our prayer, and in our walking according to the Spirit—then we will spontaneously experience the “water encompassing the skin”—the outward filling of the Spirit in our living and work. This is the normal Christian life.
