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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 12:13; Acts 2:2, 4; 13:52; Eph. 5:18; Luke 1:15, 41, 67; Acts 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:9; Luke 4:1; Acts 6:3, 5; 7:55; 11:24; 8:15-17; 10:44-47; 19:2, 6; Eph. 1:13-14; Acts 1:5; 11:15-17
As we saw in the previous chapter, the work of the Holy Spirit is of two aspects: the inward aspect and the outward aspect. The Holy Spirit comes into us and comes upon us. The Holy Spirit in us is for life and as life, and the Holy Spirit upon us is for power and as power. As proper, normal Christians, we need life and power. Life is for the Christian walk and living, and power is for the Christian work and service. For our daily walk and living as the Lord’s children, we need the inner life. For the work, the gospel preaching, the winning of souls, the service, and the ministry, we need power. Therefore, throughout the entire Scriptures the Holy Spirit is revealed to us in these two aspects. One aspect is that the Holy Spirit comes into us and dwells in us to be life to us, the flow of life, the life supply, and all matters related to life. The other aspect is that the Holy Spirit comes upon us as power to empower us, to endow us with power, that we may be powerful and prevailing in the Lord’s service.
In the previous message we saw several items of the Holy Spirit within us. He is the Spirit of life, the Spirit of reality, the seal, the pledge, the anointing, and the Comforter. After the Lord died, He came back to the disciples on the day of His resurrection. When He came back to the disciples, He brought the Spirit of life to them. He breathed into them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). The Spirit was breath breathed by the Lord. We all know that breath is not for power; breath is for life.
After His ascension, however, on the day of Pentecost the Lord poured down the Holy Spirit from heaven upon the disciples as power. This pouring down was like a heavy rain. In this way all the disciples were empowered. Before the day of Pentecost, the disciples were together for ten days. Those were not days of power but days of life. For the one hundred twenty to be in one accord and pray was a matter of life, not of power. But on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit came down upon them, they stood up to speak to the people, and three thousand people were brought under conviction. This was a matter of power; the disciples had power in their preaching. Therefore, to have the Spirit of life within us is one thing, while to have the Spirit of power without is another.
As we have seen, the Gospel of John deals with the matters of life. In this Gospel, the Spirit of life is likened to living water for us to drink. According to the Gospel of Luke, however, the Spirit of power is likened to clothing that we put on, because this Gospel deals with the gospel of forgiveness, which requires power for preaching to bring people under conviction. To drink water is one thing, and to put on an item of clothing is another thing. We cannot say that these two are the same. In my own room I can drink water without proper clothing, but when I come out to minister, I must put on proper clothes. If I do not have proper clothing covering me, I am not qualified or equipped to come out to minister. On the other hand, I may be dressed very well, but I may still be thirsty because I have not drunk anything. This illustrates the two aspects of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of life within us is to refresh us, satisfy us, and quench our thirst. This is one aspect. But to have the Holy Spirit as power to equip us, to empower us, is another aspect. We should not consider these two aspects as one. Many think that the work of the Holy Spirit has only one aspect. This is a problem among the Lord’s children today.
Concerning the Holy Spirit within us, there are several steps. The first step is that the Spirit comes into us to regenerate us. From that time on, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; this is the second step. Then, as He dwells within us, He is expecting to fill us. We are regenerated, and we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but we need the infilling as something further. Regeneration, indwelling, and infilling are the inward aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit. We should discern the inner aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit from the outward aspect. We should never confuse them; to confuse them is terrible.
The two aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit can be seen in 1 Corinthians 12:13, which says, “Also 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.” To be baptized in one Spirit is one aspect, and to drink one Spirit is the other aspect. Both aspects are illustrated by water, but one aspect is to go into the water, and the other aspect is that the water comes into us. To be baptized in water is to get into the water, and to drink water is to take the water into us; these are two different actions.
We may have the inward aspect of the Spirit—regeneration, indwelling, and infilling—but we may not have the outward aspect of the Spirit. In the Old Testament, however, some people had the outward aspect without the inward aspect. We may have the drink within but not the clothing without, or we may have the clothing without but not the drink within. These are two different aspects, and neither can substitute for the other.
There are two kinds of filling with the Holy Spirit, the inward filling and the outward filling, which are illustrated by water. To be filled with water as our drink is an inward filling. To be put into water to be baptized by immersion is an outward filling; to be buried, immersed in water, is to be filled outwardly with the water.
In order to discern the two aspects of the work of the Spirit, we must point out a problem with translation. In the New Testament there are two different Greek words used for the filling of the Holy Spirit. In English, however, they are translated into the same word; this causes people to be unclear about this matter. In the New Testament there is always a distinction between these two fillings, and they are never confused.
Acts 2:2 says, “Suddenly there was a sound out of heaven, as of a rushing violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Filled here is the inward filling. This word in Greek is pleroo, meaning “to fill inwardly.” In this verse the wind filled the house inwardly. Verse 4 says, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” The word filled here is another word in Greek, pletho, meaning “to fill outwardly.” The wind filled the house inwardly, and the Holy Spirit filled the disciples outwardly. We may compare this to water in a baptistery. The baptistery is filled with water inwardly, but when someone is baptized in the baptistery, he is filled with the water not inwardly but outwardly.
Pleroo is used in Acts 13:52, which says, “The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” It is also used in Ephesians 5:18, which says, “Be filled in spirit.” This is the inward filling. The word pletho is used in Luke 1:15, 41, and 67, referring to John the Baptist, his mother, and his father, who were filled with the Spirit outwardly. This same word is used also in Acts 4:8 and 31, when the Spirit came upon Peter and the disciples. In 9:17 and 13:9 the Spirit also came upon Paul outwardly. Pletho in all these passages refers to the outpouring of the Spirit for the outward filling.
Luke 1:15 says, “He will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall by no means drink wine and liquor. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” This filling is the outward filling. For John the Baptist to be filled with the Holy Spirit outwardly means that the Holy Spirit would come down upon him to equip and empower him for his ministry. Verse 41 says, “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” When Mary, the mother of the Lord, came to the mother of John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit came upon Elizabeth. She was filled outwardly with the Holy Spirit, so she prophesied. Verse 67 says, “Zachariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied.” The Holy Spirit came down also upon the father of John the Baptist, so he also prophesied. This was not the inward filling; it was the outward filling.
As we have seen, Acts 2:4 says that on the day of Pentecost the disciples were in the house, which was filled with the Holy Spirit as the rushing wind, and they were all filled outwardly with the Holy Spirit. That is, they were baptized in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. To be baptized is to get into something, not to take something into us; this is the outward filling.
Acts 4:8 says, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders.” This filling was for power. At that time, Peter was empowered, equipped, with the Holy Spirit. He had received the outward filling on the day of Pentecost, but at this time the Holy Spirit came down upon him once more. In verse 31 Peter, with the disciples, was filled for a third time: “When they had so besought, the place in which they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.” They were filled outwardly with the Holy Spirit for power, not for life; this filling was something coming down upon them.
Acts 9:17 says, “Ananias went away and entered into the house; and laying his hands on him, he said, Saul, brother, the Lord has sent me—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road on which you were coming—so that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” A little disciple laid his hands on Saul, who later became the apostle Paul, that Saul might be filled with the Holy Spirit outwardly. Acts 13:9 says, “Saul, who is also Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him.” On all the above occasions, this kind of filling was the outward filling for ministry.
By all these verses we can be clear about the two kinds of filling: the inward filling and the outward filling. The inward filling is for life, and the outward filling is for power in the ministry. The Lord Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit, so we must believe that He was filled inwardly with the Holy Spirit. However, at the age of thirty, before He came out to minister, He was baptized in the water, and the Holy Spirit came down upon Him as a dove. His inward filling and His outward filling were two different experiences. It was the same in principle with the apostles, such as Peter and John. On the day of resurrection they received the Holy Spirit of life within them. It was many days later, however, on the day of Pentecost, that the Holy Spirit came down upon them, but before this day they had the Holy Spirit within them already.
When Saul, who later became the apostle Paul, was on the way to Damascus, he was met by the Lord. At that very moment he repented, he received the Lord Jesus as his Savior, and the Holy Spirit came into him. It is not logical to say that he received the Lord but did not receive the Holy Spirit within. Logically speaking, it must have been that when he was met by the Lord, he received the Lord, and at that very juncture the Holy Spirit came into him. Then after a certain period of time, the Lord sent a disciple named Ananias to lay hands on him so that he might be filled outwardly. This does not mean, however, that before that time Saul did not have the Holy Spirit within him. Paul’s being filled with the Holy Spirit inwardly and outwardly were two different aspects.
The adjective form of pleroo is pleres, referring to the condition after one has been filled with the Spirit inwardly. It is used in Luke 4:1, which says, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, while being tempted for forty days by the devil.” The Lord Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit within. This is a matter of life. Similarly, Acts 6:3 says, “Brothers, look for seven well-attested men from among you, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this need.” Their being full was inward, not outward. Verse 5 continues, “And the word pleased all the multitude; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” Full here also refers to something within for life. Acts 7:55 also says that Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit within, and Acts 11:24 says of Barnabas, “He was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” This also is an inward filling for life. All these passages make it easy to realize that there are two aspects of the work of the Spirit: the inward filling and the outward filling.
In the book of Acts there are five particular cases of the outward filling. The first case was on the day of Pentecost. On that day the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples, and they were filled with the Spirit outwardly.
The second case was with the group of believers in Samaria, in Acts 8. Verse 15 says of Peter and John, “Who went down and prayed for them so that they might receive the Holy Spirit,” and verse 17 says, “Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” These Samaritans were believers; they already had believed in the Lord Jesus. Therefore, it is impossible that they had not received the Holy Spirit within. For what then did the apostles Peter and John pray? It was for the outward work of the Holy Spirit. The Samaritans had received the Holy Spirit inwardly as life, but they had not received the Holy Spirit outwardly as power. Therefore, the apostles laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came down upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit. If we read this passage carefully, we can see that it speaks of the Spirit upon them, not in them. As far as the Spirit being within them is concerned, this work was fully accomplished. They already had received the Spirit as life, but they had not received the Spirit coming down upon them as power.
The third case was the case of the apostle Paul, of which we have spoken already.
The fourth case was in the house of Cornelius in Acts 10:44-47. While Peter was speaking there, the Holy Spirit came upon the audience.
The fifth case is in Acts 19, with the believers in Ephesus. Verse 6 says, “When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” This does not mean that before this time these believers did not have the Holy Spirit within them. Before this time, at the time they received the Lord, they had received the Holy Spirit within them, but they had not yet received the Holy Spirit coming down upon them. In verse 2 Paul asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Paul did not mean that when these believers believed in the Lord, they did not receive the Holy Spirit within.
This was a word spoken to the disciples in Ephesus, and in Ephesians 1:13-14 Paul says clearly that at the time we believe in the Lord Jesus, we receive the Spirit within. If we compare Acts 19 with Ephesians 1, we can see that what the apostle asked about was not something inward but outward. The Ephesians had received the Holy Spirit within at the very time they believed in the Lord Jesus, but they had not received the Holy Spirit coming down upon them. By all these passages we can be very clear that the Holy Spirit within us for the inward filling is one matter, and the Holy Spirit upon us for the outward filling is another. These are two kinds of filling.
Now we must see the way to be filled. In order to fill a bottle or a cup with water, we must first empty it to make room for the water. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us; now it is a matter of whether or not we give Him the room within us. If we give Him the room, He will fill us. If we do not give Him the room, He will not fill us. The more we love the Lord and the more we give Him the room in us, the more the Holy Spirit will fill us.
Moreover, to be filled is not absolute; it is comparative. It is doubtful that we are absolutely filled within, but we may be filled to a comparative degree. Today we may feel that we are filled with the Holy Spirit within, but tomorrow we may realize that we are not yet filled; there is still some part not filled. Some part within us is occupied by something other than the Lord, something other than the Spirit.
The more room we give to the Lord, the more the Holy Spirit will fill us. We need to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit. This means that we always need to give all the room within us to the Holy Spirit. We must have nothing other than the Lord occupying us, and we must not seek anything but the Lord Himself. Then we will be filled within. Why must we consecrate ourselves? It is simply to give all the room to the Lord. Why must we deal with so many sinful things? It is simply that we may give the room to the Lord so that He may fill us with the inward Spirit. Being filled depends on our giving room to the Holy Spirit.
In two of the five cases in Acts—the first at Pentecost (2:4) and the fourth at the house of Cornelius (10:44-47)—there was no laying on of hands, but in three cases—the second, third, and fifth—there was the laying on of hands. The Spirit’s speaking in Acts is that what happened on the day of Pentecost was the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and what happened in the house of Cornelius was also the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1:5; 11:15-17). Only these two cases are called the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The case on the day of Pentecost was the baptism of the Jewish believers, and the case in the house of Cornelius was the baptism of the Gentile believers. By these two cases the Lord as the Head of the Body baptized the entire Body into the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is absolutely an accomplished fact, just as the crucifixion of the Lord is an accomplished fact. After the Lord ascended to the heavens, He baptized the first part, the Jewish part, of His Body into the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Then in the house of Cornelius, He baptized the other part, the Gentile part, into the Spirit. By doing this, the Lord as the Head already has baptized His entire Body into the Holy Spirit. Thus, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is an accomplished fact.
When we preach the gospel, we must preach in this way. The Lord was incarnated as a man, bringing God into man. Then He was crucified on the cross to bear our sins so that we may be forgiven. Then He resurrected to impart His life to us so that we could have His life. After this, He ascended and poured down the Holy Spirit upon His Body so that we could have the baptism of the Holy Spirit. By His crucifixion and resurrection we have forgiveness of sins and eternal life, and by His ascension we have the Holy Spirit. The Lord has accomplished all these things, and this is the gospel.
We must realize that the baptism in the Holy Spirit has been accomplished in the Body, the church. In order to share in this baptism as a member of the Body, we must be right with the Body. This is the principle of the laying on of hands. The Body has been baptized into the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is now upon the Body, and now we have become members of the Body. Therefore, we need a representative member of the Body to contact us so that the Holy Spirit on the Body can come upon us through that contact. This is why we need another member of the Body to lay hands on us. When a member representing the Body contacts us, the oil upon the Body flows onto us.
The principle here is that we must be right with the Body. If we simply get right with the Body, it is easy to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Whenever we need it, we can simply claim it and take it. The baptism in the Spirit already has been accomplished on the Body, the Spirit is upon the Body, and we are members of the Body. If we are right with the Body, we can claim this baptism by faith.
Do not ask me what the evidences or manifestations of this fact will be. I do not want to tell you, because I do not know what they will be for you. However, I am sure that you will have certain manifestations. If we have a right relationship with the Body and if we stand in the right position, claiming it and receiving it by faith, we will experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit. This is the right way.
Sometimes we experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit with certain kinds of feelings. However, it is still a matter of faith. We may be about to minister, to preach. At that time we realize that the baptism of the Holy Spirit has been accomplished on the Body already. The Holy Spirit has poured Himself upon the Body, and we are members of the Body, so we make our relationship with the Body right, and we stand in this right position, claiming this baptism and taking it by faith. If we do this, then when we preach, we will preach in power. It does not matter whether or not we feel it; we will still preach powerfully. Sometimes the Lord does give us a feeling, and we can sense the baptism. But whether or not we sense it, we have the liberty and the release. When we are in the Holy Spirit and under the power of the Spirit, we have liberty, boldness, and release.
The laying on of hands is not a form. It is a principle. The principle is to get right with the Body. If we are not right with the Body, then even if someone comes and lays hands upon us, this will not work. In this case, it is only a form. The principle is to realize that the Holy Spirit has been poured down upon the Body, and today the Holy Spirit from the Lord as the Head is upon the Body already. Now we have become members of the Body, we are right with the Body, and we take this standing and claim it by faith. Then we will have the baptism. This is a matter of faith based upon what the Lord has accomplished.
In my many years of ministry, I can testify that at least once, while I was ministering on the platform in 1935, I did sense the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It was like a cloud coming down upon me. While I was ministering, I was in a room, but I was also in the cloud. Many times I have sensed something in a different way. However, there is no need to pay attention to this sense. We should simply get right with the Body and take the standing that we are members of the Body. We should claim this fact with the saints.
We have the outpouring. Do you believe this? Do not listen to the other voices that say we must tarry, fast, cry, or even roll, jump, or exercise our mouth to speak in tongues in order to receive the outpouring. Some say you must jump up and down before you are filled with the Holy Spirit. Others say you must roll, laugh, or twist your tongue to make strange utterances. I cannot find such things in the Scriptures. I know about these practices, and I have seen them. I am not against anything genuine or real, but I must tell you the truth. The right way to receive the outpouring is to have a proper standing with the Body and to claim it by faith.
All these things have been accomplished by the Lord. He died, resurrected, and ascended. By His death He dealt with our sins, by His resurrection He imparted Himself as life to us, and in His ascension He has poured down His Spirit upon His Body. This is the gospel. Now we must simply receive it by faith. If we say, “Lord, I thank You that You died for me on the cross,” all our sins are forgiven. If we say, “Lord, You have been resurrected, so I take You as my life,” we have eternal life. In the same way, we must take the fact, saying, “Lord, You have ascended to the heavens and have poured down Your Spirit upon the Body. Lord, I am a member of that Body, and I have the standing, the liberty, and the right to claim what You have poured down.” This is the gospel, and we should happily receive it by faith.
We must realize that all these things have been accomplished by the Lord. Everything is ours. There is no need to tarry, cry, shout, laugh, roll, jump, or dance. We simply take them by faith. However, in order to exercise faith, we must have the right position and stand upon it.
