LESSON NINETEEN

BEING FILLED INWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

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We have already seen in lesson ten that the Holy Spirit is the ultimate expression of the Triune God and that He is the Triune God reaching and entering into the believers. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is for our experience of the Triune God. To experience the Triune God, we must have the practical experience of the Holy Spirit. A great part of our practical experience of the Holy Spirit is related to our being filled inwardly and outwardly with Him.

I. THE TWO ASPECTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Bible clearly shows us that the Holy Spirit is with us in two aspects.

A. The Significances of the Two Aspects

1. In

1)“The Spirit of reality...shall be in you” (John 14:17).

Here the Lord tells us clearly that the Holy Spirit will be in us.

2. Upon

1)“...the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8).

On the one hand, the Lord spoke of the Holy Spirit being in us; on the other hand, He spoke of the Holy Spirit being upon us. To be upon us is outward and is absolutely different from being in us.

B. The Promises of the Two Aspects

1. The Lord Promising the “Comforter”- Being Promised before the Lord’s Death

1)“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter...even the Spirit of reality...shall be in you” (John 14:16-17); “If I go, I will send Him [the Comforter] to you” (John 16:7).

These are the words of the Lord before His death, promising the disciples that He would go in order to send the Holy Spirit as the Comforter.

2. The Father Promising the “Power”- Being Promised by the Father in the Old Testament and Spoken of Again by the Lord after His Resurrection

1)“I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you...until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49); “Wait for the promise of the Father...you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:4-8).

The Lord spoke these words to the disciples after His resurrection and before His ascension, speaking again of God’s promise in the Old Testament concerning the Holy Spirit. He promised that after He ascended to the heavens, He would send forth the Holy Spirit to be their power. The “power” is different from the “Comforter.” The Comforter was the One who would enter into the disciples and be “in” them, while the power would come “upon” them. Thus, what the Lord said before His death and what He said after His resurrection are two different promises.
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