The work of the Holy Spirit is a great and deep subject. In these messages we cannot go into detail on this subject, but we will cover some main points.
As we know, God is one God in three persons. Therefore, we call Him the Triune God. This does not mean that there are three Gods, but rather one God in three persons-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Father is the source, the Son is the expression, and the Spirit is the communion, the divine transmission. The Father is the source in eternity, in a realm to which we cannot go and which we cannot touch (1 Tim. 6:16). The Son is the expression of the Father. He is the Word of God, the expression of the invisible God. However, we still need another Person, the Spirit, so that all that God is as the Father and is expressed in the Son might be transmitted, communicated, to us. Therefore, the Spirit is the transmission, the communion, of what the Father is and what the Son of God expresses.
We may illustrate the Triune God in His divine economy with water in three stages. The first stage is the water in the source, the fountain, and the second stage is the water in the spring. The water comes out of the fountain as the source, and the spring contains the water. The third stage is the flow, the current to flow out the water, to bring the water to all places, to reach other places with the water. These are not three different waters, but one water in three stages-the water at the source, the water in the spring, and the water in the current. God the Father is the source; Christ, who is God the Son, is the divine well, the divine spring; and the Holy Spirit is the divine flow, the divine current to reach us.
It is as the Holy Spirit that God in Christ can visit us and reach us. In Himself, God the Father cannot reach us, and even when expressed in God the Son, He still cannot reach us today. It is as the Spirit and by the Spirit that God the Father in God the Son can reach us, visit us, come upon us, and come into us. Therefore, in the divine economy, the Spirit is the third and last stage in which God comes out to visit us.
According to the teachings of the Scriptures, the work of the Holy Spirit is in two aspects. If we are not clear about the two aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit, we cannot properly know the truth concerning the Spirit. Several verses speak clearly concerning these two aspects. John 7:37-39 says, “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” In this passage, there are two main points to remember. First, the Spirit, whom the disciples were about to receive, would be in them and would flow out from within them. Second, the Holy Spirit here is likened to water for drinking. Anyone who thirsts can come to the Lord and drink of this living water, who is the Holy Spirit. In addition, John 14:17 says, “Even the Spirit of reality, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you.” These verses clearly say that the Spirit is the living water to drink, and He is within us. This is one aspect of the Holy Spirit.
Luke 24:49 shows us the other aspect of the Holy Spirit. It says, “And behold, I send forth the promise of My Father upon you; but as for you, stay in the city until you put on power from on high.” The promise of the Father is the Holy Spirit. Please notice the word upon; it is different from in. We all know the difference between upon and in. In this verse, the Holy Spirit comes upon us, not into us. To put on power is to be clothed with power. In the Gospel of John the Holy Spirit is likened to living water to drink, but in the Gospel of Luke the Holy Spirit is likened to clothing upon us. Water is different from clothing. When we drink water, it is within us, and when we put on clothing, it is upon us. The Spirit upon us as clothing is the power from on high, while the Spirit within us as the water we drink is for life. On the one hand, we have the Spirit within us as life, and on the other hand, we have the Spirit upon us as power. The Spirit within us as life is likened to water for drinking, and the Spirit upon us as power is likened to clothing.
In the Old Testament, when Elijah was taken up into the heavens, he left his outer garment, his mantle, to Elisha (2 Kings 2:9-15). In that way Elisha received the power which Elijah had. The mantle is an item of clothing, signifying that Elisha was clothed with power from on high. The Lord ascended to the heavens as Elijah did, and He sent His Spirit as clothing down from the heavens. Now we are clothed with this power. On the one hand, the Holy Spirit is within us as the water we drink, and on the other hand, the Holy Spirit is upon us as our clothing. These are two different aspects.
Luke also wrote the book of Acts. Acts 1:5 says, “For John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Verse 8 continues, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” Verse 5 says the disciples would be baptized in, not merely with, the Holy Spirit. When we are baptized in water, we are put into the water, and the water is upon us. In the same way, we have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is upon us. This is the power in verse 8. This baptism was accomplished on the day of Pentecost. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down from heaven upon the disciples, and they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
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