The principle is the same with Christ’s incarnation, resurrection, ascension, breathing of the Spirit into His disciples, and the pouring out of the Spirit upon His disciples. It is not the case that whenever someone believes in the Lord Jesus, it is necessary for Him to breathe the Spirit into that one, or pour out the Spirit upon him. On the contrary, the breathing of the Spirit into the believers has been accomplished once for all in John 20. In the same principle, Christ, the Head of the Body, has baptized all His believers, every member of the Body, into the Spirit once for all in two steps. The first step was on the day of Pentecost, when the Jewish believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit. The second step was in the house of Cornelius, when the Gentile believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
Suppose we are about to baptize a new convert. As we baptize him, we need to realize that the breathing of the essential Spirit and the pouring out of the economical Spirit have taken place once for all. Therefore, we should not say to a new convert, “Now that you believe in the Lord Jesus, you have received the essential Spirit. After a while, the economical Spirit will fall upon you.” We should not understand the essential Spirit and the economical Spirit in this way.
Let us use the making and eating of a sandwich to illustrate how the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the breathing of the essential Spirit, the ascension, and the pouring out of the economical Spirit apply to us today. In preparing a sandwich we may take two slices of bread. We then may apply mayonnaise to the bread and put on turkey, cheese, tomato, and lettuce. In the preparation of such a sandwich we go step by step. But in the eating of the sandwich, we do not take first the bread, then the turkey, and then the other elements of the sandwich. Instead, we take all the ingredients of the sandwich at once. In like manner, the six matters of Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, breathing of the Spirit, ascension, and outpouring of the Spirit are applied to us at the same time. They were accomplished step by step, but they are applied to us simultaneously. Using the illustration of the sandwich, we may say that the incarnation is the bread, that the crucifixion is the turkey, and the resurrection, the breathing of the Spirit, the ascension, and the pouring out of the Spirit are yet other ingredients. When we come to eat this all-inclusive “sandwich,” we do not first “eat” the “bread” of the incarnation and then the “turkey” of the crucifixion. Rather, we take the whole sandwich at one time. We do not consider which item comes first and which comes last.
We have given many messages in the effort to point out what the Triune God has accomplished. The Triune God in the Son became flesh. That was the incarnation. The incarnation has been accomplished once for all, and there is no need for it to be repeated. Likewise, Christ was crucified and died once for all. Furthermore, He was resurrected, He breathed Himself as the life-giving Spirit into His disciples, He ascended, and He poured out Himself as the all-inclusive Spirit once for all. Christ has accomplished all these things, and He has accomplished them once for all. Now all these matters are included in the Lord’s name. Therefore, when we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we receive all these things.
There is no need for us to analyze what we receive through calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. We should not ask ourselves, “Have I received the essential Spirit? Has the economical Spirit fallen upon me? Perhaps I have the essential Spirit within me, but I wonder if I have the economical Spirit. Maybe the economical Spirit will leave me, although the essential Spirit will not leave. If the economical Spirit leaves, when will He come back?” It is not a healthy practice to analyze these matters in this way.
Instead of engaging in unnecessary analysis, we need to see the divine revelation in the New Testament. The Bible presents the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the breathing of the essential Spirit, the ascension, and the pouring out of the economical Spirit as accomplished facts. In the Old Testament there were types, figures, and shadows, but there were not the accomplished facts. But according to the New Testament, within a period of less than thirty-four years, six eternal matters were accomplished. As we have strongly emphasized, these six eternal and accomplished things are the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the breathing of the life-giving Spirit, the ascension, and the outpouring of the all-inclusive Spirit. Because all these have been accomplished, whenever a sinner repents, believes in the Lord Jesus, and is baptized in water, which represents the Triune God, Christ, and the death of Christ, he receives everything. This means that he participates in Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, breathing of the Holy Spirit, ascension, and outpouring of the Spirit. If a new believer realizes this, he will be full of praise to the Lord.
Believers may analyze their experience of the Holy Spirit because of the influence of their religious background or of the peculiar teachings common among certain Christians today. We should not analyze our experience in this way, and we should not follow the inaccurate teachings concerning the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Instead of analyzing our experience, we should praise the Lord for all we have received.
Suppose someone asks you if you have received the Holy Spirit. This question actually applies to an extraordinary case, like the case of the twelve believers in chapter nineteen of Acts. The two other extraordinary cases in Acts are those of the Samaritan believers and Saul of Tarsus. Today, however, there are no extraordinary cases. Hence, if you are asked whether you have received the Holy Spirit, you should boldly reply, “Yes, I definitely have received the Holy Spirit!” In giving such an answer we need to realize that actually we received the Holy Spirit more than nineteen hundred years ago and that now day by day we are enjoying Him by faith.