1. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses” (Acts 1:8).
The Holy Spirit descends upon us so that we may receive power to witness for the Lord. This clearly shows that the function of the Holy Spirit as power is not related to the inward life we receive from the Lord but to the outward work we do for the Lord.
2. “Proclaimed in His name to all the nations...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” (Luke 24:47-49).
When the Spirit of power promised by the Father descends upon us, we receive power from on high and are able to preach the gospel of the Lord to the uttermost parts of the earth. Since the Spirit as power enables us to preach the gospel, it is obvious that His function in the aspect of power is for work.
The Holy Spirit as the Comforter is the Spirit of life within us. He is a person within us to be our Lord, the One whom we should obey. The Holy Spirit as power is the Spirit of power outside of us. He is outside of us as our power, the One whom we can employ. For our inward life God gave us the Holy Spirit as the Comforter so that He could be the Revealer, Leader, Supplier, and Maintainer of life within us. For our outward work, God gave us the Holy Spirit as power so that He could be the power, authority, ability, and skill of our work. The Holy Spirit whom God has given to us is truly complete.
1. “He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).
When the Lord came to His disciples on the evening of the day of His resurrection, He breathed out from Himself and breathed into the disciples. This signifies that the Holy Spirit as the Comforter came out from the Lord and was imparted into the disciples. Breath is for life and signifies life. Therefore, breath is the symbol of the Holy Spirit as life.
1. “A rushing violent wind...And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:2-4).
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples as power while they were in the upper room in Jerusalem. In this aspect, He was not breath as on the day of resurrection when the Lord breathed into them. Instead, on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was like a rushing violent wind that blew upon them from the outside. This signifies that the Holy Spirit as power blew upon them outwardly. Wind is powerful; it symbolizes power. Thus, wind here is a symbol of the Holy Spirit as power, which is different from breath. When breath is mentioned, we think of life. When wind is spoken of, we think of power. We receive breath into us to maintain our life, but no one receives wind into him. Wind is a motivating power outside of us.
The promise of the Comforter is recorded by John in his Gospel (John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15) and is also fulfilled in his Gospel (20:19-23); John speaks of the Spirit of life. The ministry of John concerns the word of life (1:4). He shows that the Lord came so that man could have life. He came to be man’s life. The Lord gives the Spirit as the Comforter so that He can get into man as the Spirit of life and cause this life to become richly flowing rivers of living water. Thus, John speaks of the Spirit of life, according to the line of life. He also speaks of the promise of the Comforter and of the fulfillment of this promise. The promise and the giving of the Comforter are recorded and fulfilled in his Gospel. The events written by Luke in Acts are not related to the promise of the Spirit in the aspect of life.
The promise of power, which is recorded by Luke in his Gospel and in Acts (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8), is fulfilled in Acts (2:1-4); Luke speaks of the Spirit of power. The ministry of Luke concerns the word of repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47). He tells us that the Lord came to redeem man from sin and to be man’s Savior. The Lord caused the Spirit to descend so that He could be the Spirit of power upon man to cause man to repent, believe, and receive salvation for the forgiveness of sins. Thus, Luke speaks of the Spirit of power, according to the line of power. He speaks of the promise of power and of the fulfillment of this promise. The promise of power is recorded in the Gospel of Luke and in Acts, and it is fulfilled in Acts. The descending of the Holy Spirit recorded by Luke fulfilled the promise of the Holy Spirit in the aspect of power. The events written by Luke are not related to the promise of the Holy Spirit in the aspect of life. Many do not pay attention to this fact; consequently, they confuse the records of Luke and John to the point that they do not discern any difference between the aspect of the Holy Spirit as power and the Holy Spirit as life. Thus, in their knowledge of the Holy Spirit, they fall into error because of this confusion.