The Spirit that dwells within the believers and the Spirit that descends upon the believers are not two Spirits, but one Spirit in two aspects. From His incarnation through His resurrection, He became this Spirit of breath, which is for life intrinsically and essentially. Then after His ascension, He became the Spirit of wind, which is for power. The breath is very close to the wind. When the breath is strengthened, it may become the wind. When the wind is softened or slowed down a little bit, the wind becomes the breath. Also, the Greek word pneuma and the Hebrew word ruach can be translated into Spirit, wind, or breath. In John 3 the Greek pneuma is translated first into Spirit (John 3:6), and then into wind (v. 8). In Ezekiel 37, the word ruach, which is an equivalent to the Greek pneuma, is translated in the English version into three words: Spirit (v. 14), wind (v. 9), and breath (vv. 6, 8). We should not consider the breath as something separate from the wind. After being strengthened, the breath becomes the wind. After being softened, the wind becomes the breath. The wind and the breath are two aspects of one matter. Also, the wind brings us the fresh air to breathe. The fresh air for our breathing depends upon the proper, strong wind. The wind is for power, and the breath is for life. Praise the Lord for the breathing of the Spirit, and praise the Lord for the blowing of the Spirit! The Spirit is the breath and also the wind. The breath comes into us, and the wind comes upon us. In the Pentecostal movement, the breath has been neglected, and the wind has been misunderstood.
In the past century, the Brethren teachers in England saw these two aspects to some extent. They called the Spirit on the day of resurrection the indwelling Spirit. Then they called the Spirit on the day of Pentecost “the mantle Spirit.” The mantle Spirit is the Spirit as the outer clothing, the uniform. The British Brethren teachers saw from Luke 24:49 that the disciples were to wait in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from on high. The word clothed reminded them of the mantle of Elijah, which was a symbol of the power of the Spirit (2 Kings 2:13-14). The aspect of the mantle Spirit, which is outward, is different from the indwelling Spirit, which is inward. Their teaching has greatly helped us, but by the Lord’s mercy, standing on their shoulders, we have gone a little bit higher to see that this indwelling Spirit as the breath of life is the resurrected Christ Himself. The Brethren teachers did not see this in full.
The life-giving Spirit, who is still God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is the pneumatic Christ, the resurrected Christ. This Christ, who is the embodiment of God mingled with man, comprising all His processes, is the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit. The Lord has also shown us that the mantle Spirit is the very exalted Christ. The indwelling Spirit is the resurrected Christ, and the outpoured Spirit is the exalted Christ. This Christ in exaltation is the mantle Spirit, which is the Spirit of power and the Spirit of authority. Both the resurrected Christ and the exalted Christ are the all-inclusive Spirit with these two aspects: the indwelling aspect and the mantle aspect.
Even though these hundred and twenty had received the Lord as life essentially, they still had not been equipped and qualified to carry out God’s economy. They still needed to be clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49). After we wake up in the morning, our eating of breakfast fills us with life essentially. Even though we have been filled with life essentially, we still are not qualified to come to the meeting to speak something for the Lord. We need to wash, comb our hair, and put on the proper clothing. Now we are not only constituted intrinsically, essentially, but we are also equipped economically. If a policeman did not have a uniform, no one would respect him or recognize him. When a person is driving his car and he sees a man with a police uniform, he becomes very careful in his driving. The uniform means a lot to the policeman because it represents the government for which he is working. It is his authority which qualifies him to carry out the administration of his state or government.
After the Lord had breathed Himself as the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit into the disciples on the evening of the day of His resurrection, the disciples were filled inwardly with the Spirit, but they still had not received their uniform. They did not have the proper clothing to carry out God’s administration, God’s economy. In Luke 24:49 the Lord told the disciples, “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you, stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” After their forty-day training, the hundred and twenty still needed the uniform, so the Lord charged them to wait in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from on high. This power from on high was the outpoured Spirit who is the ascended, pneumatic Christ. This power from on high was the heavenly uniform to be put on God’s chosen and prepared people for their qualification to carry out God’s administration.