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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 12:7-11
We have seen clearly from the teachings of the Scriptures that the work of the Holy Spirit is of two different aspects. One aspect is that the Holy Spirit comes into us and dwells within us. The other aspect is that the Holy Spirit comes down upon us. The Holy Spirit within us as life is the inward aspect, and the Holy Spirit upon us as power is the outward aspect. In order to be clear about the work of the Holy Spirit, we must differentiate these two aspects. Moreover, we must know that the Holy Spirit as life dwells within us to be the Spirit of life, the Spirit of reality, the seal that seals us as the inheritance of God and the pledge that guarantees that all God is and God has is our portion. In addition, this Spirit dwells within us to be the very Paraclete, the Comforter, the One who takes care of us in our daily life. These are the different items of the work of the Holy Spirit as life within us.
The Spirit also comes upon us as power. We may have the Spirit within us as life, yet it is very possible that we have not experienced the Holy Spirit as power upon us. In order to have a proper life and walk as a Christian, we need the Holy Spirit within us as life day by day, even moment by moment. By the Holy Spirit within us as life, we may have a very nice, spiritual Christian walk and daily life. However, we may still be very weak in the service. We may have a very spiritual daily walk, yet when we go to preach the gospel to people, we find that we are weak. Our preaching of the gospel is often weak. We feel that we are bound by something; we are not released, and we do not have the boldness, the encouragement, to speak something for the Lord. We are nice and spiritual in our daily Christian walk, but we are weak in the service, in the preaching of the gospel, and in the ministry. This proves that although we have the Holy Spirit within us as life, we do not have the Holy Spirit upon us as power.
This is not merely a theory. This can be proved by many cases. Throughout my life I have met many nice Christians who are spiritual in their life and walk. However, I realize, and even they themselves realize, that they are very weak in the Lord’s service, in gospel preaching, in winning souls, and in the ministry of the word. They are weak because they lack the Holy Spirit upon them as power. They have the first aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit, but they do not have the second aspect.
Consider the Lord Jesus. When He came out to preach the gospel for God at the age of thirty, He needed to be baptized. Then the Holy Spirit came down upon Him as the dove so that He might be empowered to preach the gospel. He needed to be anointed outwardly by the Holy Spirit to have the power for preaching.
The principle is the same with the disciples on the day of Pentecost. Before that day the disciples already had the Holy Spirit within them as life, but they did not have the Holy Spirit upon them as power. Therefore, after they had received the Spirit of life within, the Lord told them to tarry, to wait, in Jerusalem until the day the Spirit would be poured out upon them as power. After that time, on the day of Pentecost Peter and the other apostles did not manifest how much life they had or how spiritual they were. Rather, they manifested how powerful they were.
To be spiritual is one thing, but to be powerful is another. We can be very spiritual in life. We can know how to discern the soul from the spirit, and we may know how to walk and do things in the spirit and not the soul. However, we may be weak in preaching, ministry, and service. Therefore, we need power. We need the outpouring, not only the infilling, of the Holy Spirit. The infilling of the Spirit is for our spiritual life, but the outpouring of the Spirit upon us is for spiritual service. On the day of Pentecost, Peter and the other disciples were powerful because on that day they received the Spirit coming down upon them as power.
The Holy Spirit upon us is not only for power but for release. We cannot find the word release used in this way in the New Testament, but we can demonstrate it by the experience of many saints. When we have the Holy Spirit coming down upon us, we are released from all bondage, care, and fear. If we have the Holy Spirit upon us, we have the boldness to utter and release whatever we feel in our spirit. But if we do not have the Holy Spirit upon us, even if we have something spiritual, heavenly, and divine in our spirit, we do not have the liberty, the release, and the boldness to release it.
A brother may love the Lord very much and walk in the spirit. He may be a truly spiritual person, but he may not have the Spirit upon him. Therefore, when he has the opportunity to speak for the Lord to others, he is very reluctant and afraid to speak. He does not have the boldness, and he is limited. He has much within, but very little without to utter or express. It seems that he is fearful of something. This is due to the lack of the power and the release of the Holy Spirit. If we have the Holy Spirit upon us, we have release and boldness.
Everyone who has the Holy Spirit upon him does not care about his face. He has the boldness and the release to speak everything that he feels within. This is why when we go to preach the gospel, we need the Holy Spirit not only as power but as release. I was saved when I was less than twenty years old through the preaching of a young sister who was less than twenty-five years old. In all the campaigns she had, there were always more than one thousand people. She was a young Chinese girl who did not even finish high school, but whenever she stood to speak, she did not regard any man, no matter how old or big he was. She came as a judge with boldness for utterance. Her speaking was even terrifying because she had the Holy Spirit upon her not only as power but also as her release. If you would go to her after her preaching, you could see that she was simply a small, quiet young woman, but when she went to the platform, her whole person and everything within her was released. She had the full release and liberty.
When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, there is a manifestation. Each of the nine gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 is a different manifestation of the Holy Spirit upon us. However, we must be careful. This does not mean that if we do not have one of these nine gifts, we do not have the Holy Spirit upon us. We may have the Holy Spirit coming down upon us as power, yet we may not have any of these nine gifts.
More than one person has told me that they can speak in tongues by themselves without the Holy Spirit coming upon them. One Caucasian brother demonstrated to me and a second brother, who also spoke Chinese, how he could speak in a Chinese dialect in this way. After speaking, he asked us if we could understand it, and we replied that we could not. Then he began to speak in another tone of voice. He spoke in four or five ways, but we could not understand him. We could understand all the leading dialects of Chinese, but we could not understand what this brother said. His speaking in tongues was absolutely false. If someone can exercise to speak in tongues by himself without having the Spirit, it is not genuine. Speaking in tongues is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit coming upon us. Without the Holy Spirit coming upon us, how can we speak in another tongue? If speaking in many tongues is a matter of merely changing our tone of voice, that is ridiculous.
Speaking in tongues must be by a miraculous power from the Holy Spirit. If one can speak in tongues at any time by himself, it is human-manufactured. It is not by the outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit. The genuine speaking in tongues must be something in the power of the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit comes down upon us like burning electricity, our speaking in tongues is miraculous and truly genuine. We cannot exercise to speak in tongues in a genuine way at any time without having the Holy Spirit coming upon us.
To be sure, when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we will have power. If we have something other than power, we should not believe it, because the main purpose for the Holy Spirit coming upon us is for power. Regrettably, I have seen many persons who spoke in tongues but did not have power. Therefore, I am dubious that this kind of speaking was genuine. The genuine speaking in tongues must be in power.
We may have the power of the Holy Spirit, yet we may not have one of the nine gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. Verses 7 through 11 say, “To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable. For to one through the Spirit a word of wisdom is given, and to another a word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; to a different one faith in the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing in the one Spirit, and to another operations of works of power, and to another prophecy, and to another discerning of spirits; to a different one various kinds of tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues. But the one and the same Spirit operates all these things, distributing to each one respectively even as He purposes.” Here there is no hint that these nine gifts are the only manifestation of the Spirit. In the same chapter, verse 28 says, “God has placed some in the church: first apostles.” This verse speaks of apostles, but verses 7 through 11 mention nothing about apostles. Therefore, we should not think that the nine gifts in these verses are all the manifestations or the only manifestations. Besides these nine gifts there are other aspects of the manifestation of the Spirit.
The preaching of the gospel, for example, is not included in these nine gifts. I saw a number of brothers in China who were very powerful and prevailing in the preaching of the gospel, yet they never spoke in tongues or prophesied miraculously. One of them was Dr. John Sun. Thousands of people were brought to the Lord through him. Not only did certain powerful brothers not speak in tongues, but they were opposed to it. I do not agree with their opposition; they opposed too much. Nevertheless, although they did not agree with speaking in tongues, they were very powerful in the preaching of the gospel. I went to their meetings several times when I was young. Their speaking about the Lord was powerful. There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit was there. Is this not a manifestation of the Holy Spirit? To be sure, it is.
When the Spirit comes upon us, we first have power. Second, we have release, and third, we have a gift as a manifestation, such as one of the nine gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. However, these nine gifts are not the only gifts, the only manifestation, of the Spirit. We can prove this by the experiences of the saints. We may have one of these nine gifts, or we may have some other manifestation. How can we know that we have the Holy Spirit upon us? It is by the power, release, and some sort of gift.
We must be very clear that the Holy Spirit upon us is for power. When we have the Holy Spirit upon us, we are empowered and released. The purpose of the Holy Spirit coming down upon us outwardly is for power and gifts. We may compare power to gasoline in a car. If we do not have gasoline, we do not have power for our car. Gifts, on the other hand, are a technical ability. We may have a car with power, but we may not have the ability to drive. The ability to drive is a gift.
I have seen many brothers who had both the power and the gift to preach the gospel. When I first met Brother Watchman Nee, I realized that he had the gift of teaching. Later I realized that he also had the gift of preaching. His preaching was more a matter of gift than power. Once, a number of brothers were dealing with an unbelieving schoolmate, doing their best to convince him and win his soul. They could not do it, so they came to Brother Nee. He told them to bring the classmate to him. They were happy to do so, and they all came to see what would happen. After only a few minutes, that man was saved. To be sure, Brother Nee had a gift.
Sometimes when the Spirit comes upon someone, He endues him with a certain gift, a spiritual “technical” ability, to do a work in the spiritual realm. When Brother Watchman Nee was young, he preached in Nanking to some university students. After his preaching, a thoughtful young man came to him and said, “I am very influenced by your preaching. I have the desire to believe in the very Jesus Christ whom you preach. However, I have a problem I wish for you to solve. My parents are old and are strong in Buddhism. To be sure, they will oppose my becoming a Christian. Therefore, I must wait until they die. Then I will become a Christian. Mr. Nee, do you agree with me about this?” Brother Nee was very skillful. He spoke a simple, brief word in a very solemn attitude, saying, “Do you honor your parents so much that you wish to send them to hell first, and then you will go to heaven?” In tears the young man said, “Mr. Nee, I must believe in the Lord Jesus and open the way to bring my parents to heaven.” This simple word took only one minute. Brother Nee had a gift; he knew how to handle such a person. Others do not have such a gift. They are like someone who ruins an appliance by handling it the wrong way.
When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we may not have a special manifestation, but we will have a gift, especially for gospel preaching. That also is a kind of manifestation. The Holy Spirit within us is for life and as life, and the Holy Spirit upon us is for power and gift. If we do not have power and gift but rather do many foolish things, we do not have the Holy Spirit upon us. If we have the Holy Spirit upon us, we will have power and an effective gift.
We may now come back to the five cases of receiving the Spirit outwardly in the book of Acts. In the first case, all the disciples were powerful on the day of Pentecost, and they had the release, boldness, and encouragement. They dared to speak as the Lord led. They also had the gifts; they spoke in tongues, in different human languages. Peter and the others also had the gift of preaching. Before the day of Pentecost, Peter spoke foolishly many times. Only once, in Matthew 16:16, did Peter speak clearly according to the heavenly vision. He recognized the Lord as the Christ, the Son of the living God. This was the clearest and most accurate word he spoke. Besides this, whatever he spoke was often foolish. However, his message on the day of Pentecost was wonderful. It was clear, powerful, and given in a good way. At that time he received the gift of preaching. He had not only the power to preach but also the gift to present the gospel in a good, effective, prevailing, and brief way in a good order. This was the sermon, the message, given by Peter, an unlearned fisherman, who received a gift.
In the second case, the case of the Samaritan believers in Acts 8, there is nothing concerning speaking in tongues. However, people could see that the believers had the Holy Spirit upon them. There must have been certain signs that indicated to those present that the Spirit was upon the believers. Some today may insist that what they saw was speaking in tongues. However, the Holy Spirit in composing Acts 8 does not mention speaking in tongues, and what the Scriptures do not say may be more meaningful than what they do say. There is nothing mentioned by the Spirit about speaking in tongues, yet people saw that the Holy Spirit came down upon the saints. Many times I have seen people receive the Holy Spirit upon them without speaking in tongues. There is some kind of sign by which we know that the Holy Spirit is upon a person.
The third case is concerning Saul, who later became the apostle Paul. Shortly after he was saved, a disciple, a believer by the name of Ananias, came to him and laid hands on him, and Saul received the Holy Spirit. In this case, nothing more is mentioned. The Scriptures in Acts 9 tell us only that the Holy Spirit came upon Saul. Later, the apostle Paul said that he spoke in tongues more than others (1 Cor. 14:18), but when he received the Holy Spirit upon him, the record of the Scriptures says nothing about speaking in tongues. Therefore, we should not insist that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of the Holy Spirit. We have at least the two cases of the Samaritan believers and of Saul, in which the Scriptures do not mention speaking in tongues.
The fourth case is concerning the house of Cornelius. This case is very wonderful. At the time the people in that house were regenerated, they all received the Holy Spirit upon them, and they spoke in tongues (Acts 10:44-46). The people there received almost everything. They received the Holy Spirit within as life, and at the same time they received the Holy Spirit without as power. They received life, they received power, and they received a gift. This is the normal case. In the normal condition, a person is saved in the way of the house of Cornelius. At the same time that the Holy Spirit comes into him as life to regenerate him, He comes upon him as power. Then this person has life within and power and gift without. However, the experience of many believers is not normal.
The fifth case is concerning a small group of believers in Ephesus. When the apostle Paul came to them, he laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues (19:6). They had speaking in tongues as the manifestation of the Spirit.
We have the Holy Spirit within as life and without as power and gift. If we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit within, we have the riches of the life of the Lord. If we do not have the riches of the spiritual life, this proves that although we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we are not filled with Him. In the same way, if we have the Holy Spirit upon us, we have power and a certain kind of gift. We cannot say that we have the Holy Spirit upon us if we are not powerful and are unable to do anything. We must have power and gift.
All of the above show us the two aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit. However, we must realize that these are not aspects of the work of two Spirits. They are different aspects of the work of the one Holy Spirit.
As Christians, we must experience the Holy Spirit in regeneration, infilling, power, and gifts. If we have only regeneration, we are merely at the beginning of being a Christian. Inwardly we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and outwardly we need power and gift. If we do not have power and gift, we are not complete in the experience of the Holy Spirit.
The experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the last item of the experience of the Spirit. The Lord gives us the Holy Spirit first for regeneration, then for infilling, and then for power and gift, or simply stated, for baptism. On the one hand, we must be regenerated with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit, and on the other hand, we must be baptized in the Spirit. To be baptized in the Spirit means that we are not only filled with the Spirit, but we are absolutely in the Spirit. Inwardly we are filled with the Spirit, and outwardly we are in the Spirit. In this way we have life, and we have power and gift. Then we are normal Christians.
We should not merely say, “Praise the Lord, I have been regenerated and filled to some degree by the Holy Spirit. Now I love the Lord, I walk in the Spirit, and I am more or less spiritual. I am satisfied as a good Christian.” We may be a very good brother or sister, but do we have power, release, and a certain kind of gift? The only way to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to stand in the position of being a member of the Body to claim the Spirit, who has been poured upon the Body. In this way we will experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit; we will be empowered, and we will be gifted.
What we are saying here is very general and according to the Holy Scriptures. I do not say that you must speak in tongues. Perhaps the Lord will give you this gift, but I do not say that this must be the initial evidence of the Spirit. Rather, speaking in tongues is only one of many aspects of the manifestation of the Spirit. The Spirit upon us is for power and gifts, not for anything peculiar. Do not look for something peculiar; rather, seek the experience of power and gifts.
Many of us read the Scriptures, but if we receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us as power and the means for gift, we will have a new way to understand the Scriptures. We will understand the old book in a new way; that is, we will have the gift to understand the Scriptures. On the one hand, we do not have the scriptural ground to speak of “the gift of reading,” but on the other hand, we should not be too technical and legal about words.
Similarly, as brothers and sisters, we love the Lord, and we are concerned about the church, the saints, and the souls of others. However, some say, “I am too weak, and I can do nothing. I am concerned about the saints, but when I go to them, I do not know what to say or what to do.” I fully sympathize with you, but I wish to tell you that if you experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you will immediately know how to contact people. You will have the power, the boldness, and the gift to contact them. I cannot show you where the Scriptures speak of “the gift of visitation,” but I can tell you that if you have the experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you will be able to contact persons. You will have not only the power but also the way, the gift, and the technical ability to contact them.
Many times when we come to the meetings, we have a heart to express something in prayer, but when the time comes to pray, we are weak and simply do not have the way to pray. Instead, we have many excuses not to pray. However, if we would experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we will have the power and the gift to pray when we come to the meeting. Again, I cannot find the ground in the Scriptures that there is “the gift of prayer.” On the one hand, prayer is not a gift, but on the other hand, in order to have the way to pray and to pray in the right way, we should experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit. After the experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we will have a prevailing way to pray.
With all spiritual things—service, preaching, reading, and prayer—there is the need of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us. It is not sufficient only to have the Holy Spirit within us; we need the Holy Spirit upon us. Do not say, “As long as I have the Holy Spirit within me, that is good enough. I simply do not care for the so-called Pentecostal activities.” We can forget about the so-called Pentecostal activities, but we must realize that the Holy Spirit is not only for us inwardly as life but also outwardly as power and gift.
Do we have these two aspects? We need the outward experience of the Holy Spirit in order to experience the Holy Spirit as power and as the Giver. If we only have the Holy Spirit within and we never experience the Holy Spirit without, we are short. We are not complete in the experience of the Holy Spirit. The last step of the work of the Holy Spirit is the baptism, the outpouring, the outward aspect. We must experience the Holy Spirit as power with gift to us. On the one hand, we must seek to be filled with the Spirit within, and on the other hand, we must seek to be filled by the Holy Spirit as power with different kinds of gifts without.
I present this to you as a clear picture of our situation so that we may know where we are and what we are short of. May the Lord enable us to seek, to make up, what we are short of. We should forget about the different situations, different speakings, and different teachings in today’s Christianity concerning this matter. Let us come back to the Scriptures in a simple and clear way to see that the Holy Spirit is within us for life and upon us for power with gift.
We must know what we have experienced and what we have not experienced, what we have and what we are short of. May the Lord be merciful to us that we may seek what we are short of and make it up. We need the inward filling of the Spirit and also the outward filling, that is, the Holy Spirit as power with different kinds of gifts to us.
We need some time to be with the Lord to deal with this matter. We should also come together and pray about how to take the position and claim what the Body has received already and how to experience the outpouring, the accomplished baptism, of the Holy Spirit on the Body, so that we may have the real experience of the Holy Spirit upon us as power with gift. Then we will be empowered, and we will be gifted. We will have not only life within but also power and gift without. In this way we will be normal Christians. On the one hand, we will be normal in life, and on the other hand, we will be normal in service. We must seek this, and we should not be satisfied with the present situation.
