All the prophets in the Old Testament typify the Holy Spirit as the anointing ointment in the New Testament. In the New Testament the Holy Spirit, the anointing ointment, has entered into us personally and directly to be our Prophet. The law in the Old Testament represents and declares the nature of God’s life, which is love, light, holiness, and righteousness. Today the nature of God’s life has entered into us directly, so there is no longer any need for an outward law to declare it to us. In the Old Testament everything was a shadow, a type, a representation, but in the New Testament the reality has come. The sacrificial lamb in the Old Testament typified the Lord Jesus; in the New Testament the Lord Jesus has come, so there is no need for a type. Similarly, the law in the Old Testament declared the nature of God’s life; in the New Testament the nature of God’s life has entered into us directly so that the outward law is no longer needed. In the Old Testament the representatives through whom the Holy Spirit gave revelations were the prophets. Today the Spirit of revelation, typified by the prophets, is in us, and the Spirit gives us revelations directly. There is no need of any representative.
Everything in the Old Testament, in principle, is also in the New Testament, but there is a difference. For example, the Old Testament required the shedding of blood for the expiation of sins; the New Testament also requires the shedding of blood for the redemption of sins. This is a principle. However, in the Old Testament the blood that was shed for the expiation of sins was through a type, whether it was a lamb or a bull. But in the New Testament the reality of the type, Christ, has come. In the Old Testament the law, as the declaration of the nature of God’s life, regulated man. In the New Testament the principle is the same, but we are regulated by the law of God’s life in us. In the Old Testament the law was a representation; in the New Testament God’s life in us is the reality of what is represented by the law.
The principle of God’s giving revelation to people is the same in the New Testament as in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament the prophets, as the representatives of the Holy Spirit, gave revelations to people; in the New Testament however, the Holy Spirit has entered into the believers directly to give us revelations, so there is no need of prophets. The principle in the Old Testament is the same as in the New Testament. Those who carried out the principle in the Old Testament, however, were not the reality but were merely types. In the New Testament the reality—Christ—has come, so there is no need of types such as bulls or lambs. When life comes, there is no need of the law of letter; when the Holy Spirit comes, there is no need of prophets.
This kind of knowledge is not a small matter. It is difficult to find a book in Christian bookstores that says that the purpose of the law is for us to know the nature of God’s life and that the prophets are for us to know God in His infiniteness. Hardly any book speaks of the Holy Spirit in us replacing the prophets of the Old Testament. The light concerning the law of life replacing the law in the Old Testament was seen by God’s children one hundred or even two hundred years ago, but the light concerning the Holy Spirit replacing the prophets of the Old Testament has not been seen until today. This kind of spiritual light is not that easy to see.
The knowledge that the law of life gives us is different from the knowledge that we receive from the anointing. Everything related to the nature of God’s life is made known to us through the law of life; everything related to God’s infinite self is made known to us through the Holy Spirit as the anointing ointment. For example, when we purchase some fabric, the colors and patterns we choose are related to our Christian conduct, which is a reflection of God’s nature; hence, this is a matter of the law of life. However, we may also have a sense within us as to whether we should buy one or two pieces of fabric or whether we should buy five or twenty yards of fabric. This is made known to us by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, not the law of life.
The Holy Spirit as the anointing is absolutely related to the Holy Spirit as the law of life. For example, a brother may want to see a movie, but he does not know which movie to see. He may seek the anointing to get a sense of the Holy Spirit. Since he wants to see a movie, he prays, “O Lord, I do not know which movie is good. Please give me a sense. Lord, the anointing teaches me concerning all things, and I have no need that anyone teach me, so please give me a leading, that I may know which movie to see.” The Holy Spirit will never give him a sense in response to such a request because the anointing is based on the law of life. The Holy Spirit will not act as the anointing if we desire to do something that is against the law of life. The knowledge that we receive from the law of life is always strengthened by the anointing. These two interact as both cause and effect.