1. “Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them”; “They believed Philip, who announced the gospel of the kingdom of God and of the name of Jesus Christ”; “In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Him also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise” (Acts 8:5, 12; Eph. 1:13).
God works according to principles. Ephesians 1:13 speaks of God’s principle involving man’s receiving the Holy Spirit based on faith. Once a person believes in Christ, he receives the Holy Spirit according to God’s principle of faith. The Samaritan believers heard the gospel and believed in Christ. Therefore, according to Ephesians 1:13, they must have received the Holy Spirit. The sealing of the Spirit in Ephesians 1:13 refers to the aspect of life. Since the Samaritan believers received the Holy Spirit, they received the Holy Spirit of life inwardly.
2. “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John...so that they might receive the Holy Spirit...Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:14-17).
Although the believers in Samaria experienced the Holy Spirit entering into them inwardly as life through faith, they did not experience the Holy Spirit falling upon them outwardly as power until the apostles came and laid hands on them. Those who do not see the difference between the inward and outward aspects of the Holy Spirit with respect to the believers think that these verses show that the Samaritan believers had not received the Holy Spirit at all. They think that even though the Samaritans believed in the Lord’s name, they did not receive the Holy Spirit until the apostles came and laid hands on them. This view is not correct. Since the Samaritans heard the complete gospel from Philip the evangelist and believed in this gospel and in the Lord’s name, they must have received the Holy Spirit inwardly. To think in any other way is not logical. The Holy Spirit entered into them when they believed according to God’s principle of faith. When the apostles came and laid hands on them, they had a further experience of the Holy Spirit falling upon them. This caused them to experience the outward aspect of the Holy Spirit as power.
1. “In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Him also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise” (Eph. 1:13).
Ephesians 1:13 was written to the Ephesian believers, and it says that when a person believes in Christ, he is sealed with the Holy Spirit. This clearly proves that these believers received the Holy Spirit of life when they believed in the Lord.
2. “Believe...into Jesus. And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them” (Acts 19:4-6).
The experience of the Ephesian believers was similar to the experience of the Samaritan believers. When the Ephesians believed into Jesus, the Holy Spirit entered into them, but the Holy Spirit did not come upon them until Paul laid his hands on them. We must pay attention to the phrases fallen upon in Acts 8:16 and came upon in 19:6. These phrases are very specific expressions; they do not refer to the Holy Spirit entering into the believers in Samaria and Ephesus as the Spirit of life. They refer to the Holy Spirit coming upon them outwardly as the Spirit of power.
Paul, when he was known as Saul of Tarsus, first experienced the Holy Spirit inwardly and then experienced the Holy Spirit outwardly three days later (9:5-18). When he was enlightened by the Lord and received the Lord on the road to Damascus, he surely received the Holy Spirit of life. He received the outward filling of the Holy Spirit, however, three days later when Ananias came and laid hands on him. According to the record of the Bible, those of the household of Cornelius were the only ones who simultaneously experienced the inward and outward filling of the Holy Spirit (10:43-48). When they heard Peter say, “Through His name everyone who believes into Him will receive forgiveness of sins,” they immediately believed in their hearts. Therefore, the Holy Spirit fell upon them at that moment. In order for the Holy Spirit to fall on them, the Holy Spirit must have entered into them. Thus, they simultaneously experienced the inward and outward aspects of the Holy Spirit.
These examples in the Bible show that there are two aspects of the Holy Spirit; the first aspect is related to inward life, and the second aspect is related to outward power. Our experience of the Holy Spirit, therefore, is related to these two aspects. For example, we often meet believers who have the Holy Spirit inwardly but not outwardly. Even many who love and pursue the Lord do not have the Holy Spirit outwardly. They are very good in the aspect of life. They are holy and godly with a proper human living and a careful manner in doing things, but they lack much in the aspect of power. When there is a need to testify for the Lord, they become fearful and withdraw, and they are not released and have no power to testify for the Lord. Other believers, however, who are released and bold and who seemingly preach the gospel with power, are lacking in the inward life. It is possible to pay attention to life and neglect power, and it is possible to focus on power but neglect life. We should place an equal emphasis on both aspects. We should not pay attention to just the inward aspect of life and overlook the outward aspect of power. Neither should we emphasize the outward aspect of power but overlook the inward aspect of life. We must emphasize both aspects equally, paying attention to both the inward and the outward, pursuing both life and power. In this way, our condition will be proper and normal.
Twenty years ago in northern China, many Christians received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Those who received the outpouring began to teach that if a person did not receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, he had not received the Holy Spirit. They overemphasized the outward aspect of power but overlooked and even denied the inward aspect of life because of ignorance. Consequently, their life was immature and shallow. They also made many mistakes despite the fact that they were burning, bold, and seemed to have much power. At this same time, a group of pious believers who loved the Lord began to oppose this teaching. They said that a believer needs only to obey the Holy Spirit in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit because a believer receives the Holy Spirit when he believes in the Lord. Thus, they said that there is no need to pursue the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They considered the teaching about the outpouring of the Spirit as a false doctrine. These brothers overemphasized the inward aspect of life and neglected and even opposed the outward aspect of power because of ignorance. Therefore, they lacked zeal and power and did not obtain many positive results in their work for the Lord even though their living was holy and their faith was pious. The first group accused the second group of keeping dead doctrines. The second group accused the first group of preaching an erroneous, even a fanatical heresy. When viewing their actions according to the light in the Bible concerning the two aspects of the Holy Spirit, each group emphasized only one aspect. This should be a warning to not overemphasize either aspect. We must pay attention to the aspects of life and power as they relate to the Holy Spirit. We should check to see if we are lacking in either aspect, and if we are, we should pursue this lack in order to be balanced.