In 1 Corinthians 12:1-3 we see that the Spirit is the means for us to speak for Christ. “I make known to you that no one speaking in the Spirit of God says, Jesus is accursed; and no one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit” (v. 3). Paul’s thought was that the dumb, voiceless idols in verse 2 make their worshippers dumb and voiceless. But the living God causes His worshippers to speak in His Spirit. This kind of speaking is related to the spiritual gifts. No one who speaks in the Spirit of God would say, “Jesus is accursed”; he would like to say, and he is able to say, “Jesus is Lord!” Paul’s intention in this portion of the Word was to impress us with the importance of speaking in the Spirit. We cannot speak for Christ unless we are in the Spirit. The Spirit is the element, the sphere, and the means for us to speak for Christ. When we speak Christ in the Spirit, the Spirit will work in our speaking for the dispensing of the Triune God into ourselves and into those who are listening.
The Spirit is with us in two aspects: He is in us as the Spirit of life essentially, and He is upon us as the Spirit of power economically. The Spirit’s coming upon us as power is for us to have Him as the power, authority, ability, and capacity of our work for the Lord on earth. The Spirit’s coming upon us is His filling us outwardly. This is the ascended Head’s baptizing of His Body into the Spirit. The fact of the baptism in the Holy Spirit was accomplished in two steps, on the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius, on the Body of Christ once for all; the experiences of the baptism in the Spirit are shared by individual believers numerously, at different times and in different places. The Spirit in us is the element that makes us sufficient ministers of the new covenant. As the divine element is being dispensed into us by the Spirit, He works in us to transform us and constitute us the new covenant ministers. The Spirit is also the element of the New Testament ministry. The ministry of the new covenant is not merely a matter of our work or preaching or teaching. It is a matter of spiritual constitution, a constitution of the Spirit with the divine life and the divine truths. The Spirit also gives us utterance to speak in different tongues, with which we speak the things concerning Christ in His resurrection and ascension. This is a manifestation of our being filled outwardly with the Spirit. The Spirit in us also witnesses of the resurrected and exalted Christ that we may witness outwardly for Christ. The Spirit is also the power for us to preach the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles that the unclean Gentiles may be sanctified in the Holy Spirit and become acceptable offerings to God. As we preach the word of the Lord, the Spirit demonstrates Himself with power in our preaching that people may be subdued. He is also the element, the sphere, and the means for us to speak for Christ. If we speak Christ in the Spirit, the Spirit will work in our speaking for the dispensing of the Triune God into ourselves and into those who are listening.