1. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses...unto the uttermost part of the earth”; “As the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled...they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:8; 2:1, 4; see also Luke 24:49).
Being filled with the Holy Spirit inwardly is for our spiritual living and causes our spiritual life to mature. Being filled with the Holy Spirit outwardly is for our spiritual work and causes our spiritual work to have power. Being filled with the Holy Spirit inwardly for life is good, but it is not adequate for the work. Peter and the early apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit inwardly before the day of Pentecost, but they were unable to work for the Lord because they had not been filled with the Holy Spirit outwardly to work for the Lord in power. When they were filled with the Holy Spirit outwardly by receiving the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of power, they were empowered to do a great and efficacious work for the Lord.
The Holy Spirit within us causes us to repent, to listen to God’s word, and to know the Lord. The Holy Spirit upon us causes others to repent, to listen to God’s word, and to know the Lord. Many who are saved and come to the Lord are unable to bring others to salvation and to the Lord because they lack the outward filling of the Holy Spirit. They have the Holy Spirit inwardly but not outwardly. They are lacking in zeal and courage. They are embarrassed and regard the preaching of the gospel as a difficult matter. They are not released and do not have power. They are restrained, they retreat, and they cannot testify for the Lord. Those who receive the outward filling of the Holy Spirit burn with zeal and have a double portion of boldness. When they preach the gospel, they are not embarrassed or afraid of difficulties. They are released and free, strong and empowered. They do not retreat but bravely testify for the Lord.
Many brothers and sisters read the Bible, pray, and truly love the Lord, but they are not released in their gospel preaching and are afraid to testify for the Lord. They even find it difficult to open their mouths in the meetings. This is because they have the Holy Spirit inwardly but not outwardly. If they pursue this matter, one day they will experience the outward filling of the Holy Spirit, and their spiritual condition will have a great change. They will be bolder, and they will become “thick-skinned.” They will testify to others and open their mouths in the meetings, and they will not have the slightest fear of preaching the gospel to a crowd or of speaking and singing on the streets. At Pentecost, those unlearned Galilean fishermen received the outward filling of the Holy Spirit upon them, and they were greatly released. They did not have the slightest concern. They were not afraid of the opposition or the threatenings of those in authority. They had great power and boldness to testify for the Lord, and they influenced thousands of people. If the brothers and sisters in our gospel groups were all filled with the Holy Spirit outwardly, people would be moved whenever we went out. I truly hope that every brother and sister in a gospel group would pursue the outward filling of the Holy Spirit in order to be empowered. Once we are filled with the Holy Spirit outwardly, we will be released and bold. We will not be afraid. We will know only how to testify for the Lord and how to treasure people’s souls. When people meet us, they will be moved. If we want to testify and work for the Lord, we must seek the outward filling of the Holy Spirit. I hope that the brothers and sisters would pursue this matter in small groups consisting of a few saints. If we do not have the outward filling of the Holy Spirit, we will not have the power to work for the Lord. If we want to gain this power, we must pursue the outward filling of the Holy Spirit.
1. “Having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear...Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified” (Acts 2:33, 36).
The outward filling with the Holy Spirit not only gives us power to testify for the Lord but also proves Jesus’ ascension and exaltation. Furthermore, the outward filling of the Holy Spirit empowers us by bringing us into a heavenly condition. The Holy Spirit who fills us outwardly has been poured out by the ascended Lord; He has come down from the ascended Lord, bringing the heavens and the Lord’s heavenly condition to us. When we receive the outward filling of the Holy Spirit, we feel as if we are in a heavenly condition. The exalted and glorified Lord Jesus upon His throne is before our eyes, enabling us to ignore every situation and difficulty on earth and to testify for the Lord in the heavens by the power from the heavens.
When the Holy Spirit falls upon us, not only do we feel our heavenly condition, but others can sense our heavenly condition. When the early apostles stood up on the day of Pentecost and testified of the ascended Lord, the listeners noticed their heavenly condition (v. 37). When the heavenly power was poured upon the apostles, others were affected by their heavenly condition. Thus, if we want to testify for the Lord in the heavens to enable people on earth to feel the reality in the heavens, we must be outwardly filled with the Holy Spirit in order to gain the heavenly power.