We have seen clearly from the teachings of the Scriptures that the work of the Holy Spirit is of two different aspects. One aspect is that the Holy Spirit comes into us and dwells within us. The other aspect is that the Holy Spirit comes down upon us. The Holy Spirit within us as life is the inward aspect, and the Holy Spirit upon us as power is the outward aspect. In order to be clear about the work of the Holy Spirit, we must differentiate these two aspects. Moreover, we must know that the Holy Spirit as life dwells within us to be the Spirit of life, the Spirit of reality, the seal which seals us as the inheritance of God, and the pledge to guarantee that all that God is and God has is our portion. In addition, this Spirit dwells within us to be the very Paraclete, the Comforter, the One who takes care of us in our daily life. These are the different items of the work of the Holy Spirit as life within us.
The Spirit also comes upon us as power. We may have the Spirit within us as life, yet it is very possible that we have not experienced the Holy Spirit as power upon us. In order to have a proper life and walk as a Christian, we need the Holy Spirit within us as life day by day, even moment by moment. By the Holy Spirit within us as life, we may have a very nice, spiritual Christian walk and daily life. However, we may still be very weak in the service. We may have a very spiritual daily walk, yet when we go to preach the gospel to people, we find that we are weak. Our preaching of the gospel is often weak. We feel that we are bound by something; we are not released, and we do not have the boldness, the encouragement, to speak something for the Lord. We are nice and spiritual in our daily Christian walk, but we are weak in the service, in the preaching of the gospel, and in the ministry. This proves that although we have the Holy Spirit within us as life, we do not have the Holy Spirit upon us as power.
This is not merely a theory. This can be proved by many cases. Throughout my life I have met many nice Christians who are spiritual in their life and walk. However, I realize, and even they themselves realize, that they are very weak in the Lord’s service, in gospel preaching, in winning souls, and in the ministry of the word. They are weak because they lack the Holy Spirit upon them as power. They have the first aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit, but they do not have the second aspect.
Consider the Lord Jesus. When He came out to preach the gospel for God at the age of thirty, He needed to be baptized. Then the Holy Spirit came down upon Him as the dove so that He might be empowered to preach the gospel. He needed to be anointed outwardly by the Holy Spirit to have the power for preaching.
The principle is the same with the disciples on the day of Pentecost. Before that day, the disciples already had the Holy Spirit within them as life, but they did not have the Holy Spirit upon them as power. Therefore, after they had received the Spirit of life within, the Lord told them to tarry, to wait, in Jerusalem until the day the Spirit would be poured out upon them as power. After that time, on the day of Pentecost, Peter and the other apostles did not manifest how much life they had or how spiritual they were. Rather, they manifested how powerful they were.
To be spiritual is one thing, but to be powerful is another. We can be very spiritual in life. We can know how to discern the soul from the spirit, and we may know how to walk and do things in the spirit and not the soul. However, we may be weak in preaching, ministry, and service. Therefore, we need power. We need the outpouring, not only the infilling, of the Holy Spirit. The infilling of the Spirit is for our spiritual life, while the outpouring of the Spirit upon us is for spiritual service. On the day of Pentecost, Peter and the other disciples were powerful because on that day they received the Spirit coming down upon them as power.
The Holy Spirit upon us is not only for power but for release. We cannot find the word release used in this way in the New Testament, but we can demonstrate it by the experience of many saints. When we have the Holy Spirit coming down upon us, we are released from all bondage, care, and fear. If we have the Holy Spirit upon us, we have the boldness to utter and release whatever we feel in our spirit. But if we do not have the Holy Spirit upon us, even if we have something spiritual, heavenly, and divine in our spirit, we do not have the liberty, the release, and the boldness to release it.
A brother may love the Lord very much and walk in the spirit. He may be a truly spiritual person, but he may not have the Spirit upon him. Therefore, when he has the opportunity to speak for the Lord to others, he is very reluctant and afraid to speak. He does not have the boldness, and he is limited. He has much within, but very little without to utter or express. It seems that he is fearful of something. This is due to the lack of the power and the release of the Holy Spirit. If we have the Holy Spirit upon us, we have release and boldness.
Everyone who has the Holy Spirit upon him does not care about his face. He has the boldness and the release to speak everything that he feels within. This is why when we go to preach the gospel, we need the Holy Spirit not only as power but as release. I was saved when I was less than twenty years old through the preaching of a young sister who was less than twenty-five years old. In all the campaigns she had, there were always more than one thousand people. She was a young Chinese girl who did not even finish high school, but whenever she stood to speak she did not regard any man, no matter how old or big he was. She came as a judge with boldness for utterance. Her speaking was even terrifying because she had the Holy Spirit upon her not only as power but also as her release. If you would go to her after her preaching, you could see that she was simply a small, quiet young woman, but when she went to the platform, her whole person and everything within her was released. She had the full release and liberty.
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