The Communion of the Holy Spirit (7 page)

1. Regeneration relates to initial salvation, while filling relates to victory thereafter.

2. Regeneration is associated with life, whereas filling is associated with living.

3. Regeneration is connected with justification, while filling is connected with sanctification.

4. Regeneration gives to the believer in Christ a new life other than the old life in Adam, whereas filling gives
increase
of that new life through the repeated infillings of the Holy Spirit in the believer.

5. Regeneration in a believer is the work of the Holy Spirit that is based on Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross, while filling is the filling of the Holy Spirit in the human spirit for implementing or working out in the believer all the meanings of the cross.

6. Regeneration speaks of the commencement of life, whereas filling speaks of the maturation of life.

After receiving the Spirit’s outpouring you daily need to control your spirit. God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. So, you must learn to obey God and not overly let loose of your spirit. In this matter,
you
are responsible not to lose control of your spirit. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not for amusement. Do not ask for the outpouring if the need for it is not present. Once a brother in Chefoo received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Then, while at mealtime he again experienced an outpouring. Since there was no need, he later on refused it. On another occasion-this time while he was on a train-he experienced a further outpouring which he declined, for there was no need at that moment. He was most powerful in winning difficult souls. He was right in following the principle that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is to be sought after only in time of need and not to be treated as an object of amusement or for spiritual enjoyment.

When a person receives the Spirit’s outpouring for the first time, I believe it most likely is genuine. I cannot be so certain of his later experiences. Jesus declared to His disciples: “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11.13) If we stand on this scripture verse and ask, what we will be given by God is the Holy Spirit. Many ask God for the outpouring of the Spirit with improper motives-such as, a desire to satisfy their curiosity, to show their superiority or spirituality, and so forth. And thus, the evil spirit is given ground to counterfeit. We therefore need to be very cautious in this matter. Never ask for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit out of curiosity or to be amused. Ask only when there is a definite need.

On the other hand, concerning the testing of the spirits, we must at all times test the spirit whenever there is any kind of outpouring. We have to test each time because we are no match for the evil one in the spiritual realm.

In our working for God we must not rely on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit more than on prayer and faith. In God’s work, prayer and faith are absolute necessities. The Spirit’s outpouring gives us power; nonetheless, we should not desire after it as a shortcut. Prayer and faith cannot be substituted for by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In a meeting for the seeking of the outpouring, many may outrageously let loose of themselves. They think the more they let go, the more spiritual they become. This will result in many problems. We ought to realize that for the Holy Spirit to be released His working must begin from our inner spirit, pass through our soul, and reach to our body.

It is therefore most dangerous for a person to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit without first having the dealings of the cross within. In experiencing the Spirit’s outpouring, what one receives is first the power of the Holy Spirit, and then it is released together with the strength of the soul and the energy of the body. And hence there is the danger that if a believer has not been dealt with by the cross, the release of the Holy Spirit’s power will result in an impure amalgam as it passes through that person’s undealt-with soul and body. Indeed, this process can be likened to how
clean
underground water passing through the various strata in the earth eventually flows forth as
un
clean water.

How do we distinguish whether or not it is the power of the outpoured Spirit that is being manifested? We can test it by means of the cross. The life of the body and soul needs to be dealt with by the cross; and then, at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, what is released is only the power of the Spirit. But if the life of the body and soul has not been dealt with by the cross, then the energies of soul and body will be released at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Here, therefore, we can discover an acid test: when a person is free and loses control, what will he do? The one whose bodily energy has not been properly dealt with by the cross will discharge its power at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The same is true of the soul. If the person’s soul has not been dealt with, his soul power will be released.

May I speak seriously to my fellow-workers that they must especially guard against the release of their soul power. The weaker the physical strength, the easier will be the release of the latent power of the soul.
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For those who have been dealt with by the cross, however, they can detect in a meeting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit exactly what soul power is being released and from where. Someone may mislead a thousand
un
knowledgeable people, but he cannot deceive the one who has been dealt with by the cross.

The Bible mentions two kinds of power: one is the power of resurrection (see Phil. 3.21), which is inside of us. The other is the power of the Holy Spirit which is outside of us, and is the power manifested at the Spirit’s outpouring. If there is the power of the Holy Spirit without but not the power of resurrection within, the power of the soul and body will also be released at the release of the power of the Holy Spirit. Those with experience can discern these two streams. This is not what we seek. We want only one stream, that of the absolutely pure Spirit.

We must also know what is the resurrection life. Resurrection life is the power of living again. “Living again” signifies that power which has already passed through death. All the natural goodness in us-such as the power, affection and influence of the soul-must go through death. In a meeting, those who have been dealt with by the cross can supply others with a pure spiritual supply. The life they give is pure. There is not a mixture in it of soul or flesh.

In China there was a servant of God. He was a dear brother. He was very powerful and was used to win many souls. One day I saw him pour oil on the heads of thirty or forty people. He struck their faces, even kicked them. Yet they were all healed. No one should ever say that this was the result of the evil spirit. For no doubt about it, this brother had the power of the outpoured Spirit upon him; but he did not have the power of resurrection life within him. And hence there were these uncrucified behaviors present during this healing service. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit gives a blessed power, and the working of the cross purifies this power as it passes through the human vessel. For the cross stands against the old creation: with the cross the old creation is set aside. So that when those who have been dealt with by the cross do the work of God, they have the power of resurrection within and the power of the Holy Spirit without. As a consequence, though today we are talking mainly about the Spirit’s outpouring, we must not lay aside the truth of the cross heretofore mentioned. For this truth of the cross is most essential because it alone can enable the believer to walk in a clean path.

In helping brothers and sisters, we must be sure that we first help them to experience the victorious life and then lead them to seek the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This advice should never be reversed, for having the power of the outpoured Spirit without also having the resurrection power within is dangerous. Before a person receives the Spirit’s outpouring, we should tell him to exert a certain degree of control lest he become totally disengaged. We must teach the brethren how to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Until people can cooperate with Him we must teach them the basic truth.

Let us look again at the difference between the outpouring and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The outpouring is for all the saints, whereas the infilling is for a special group of people: those who have
emptied
themselves. While studying the Bible, we should notice the contrasting connection there is between words. For example: resurrection is linked with death, filling with emptying. By bringing related words together we come to the accurate knowledge of a given word. People who are filled with the Holy Spirit are those who have emptied themselves, for filling is linked to emptying. Before Pentecost, one hundred and twenty disciples were assembled at one place. They all received the outpouring as well as the infilling of the Holy Spirit because they had been dealt with by the risen Lord (see Acts 2.2,3-4). For this reason, they could gather for ten days and pray with one accord. The three thousand on the day of Pentecost also received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but the Scriptures did not say that they had experienced the Spirit’s filling. The one hundred and twenty had both the outpouring and the infilling, whereas the three thousand had only the outpouring. Later on, another five thousand received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but they too had not received the filling of the Holy Spirit.

How do we know that the three thousand and the five thousand received only the outpouring and not the infilling of the Holy Spirit? Because in the church at that time, if all the people had been filled with the Holy Spirit, the problem of daily ministration could not have arisen. But “there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration” (Acts 6.1). This incident proves that these disciples were not filled with the Holy Spirit. Due to this problem, the apostles appointed seven to serve tables. These seven, we are told, were all persons full of the Holy Spirit (see v.3). Had the entire congregation been filled with the Holy Spirit, the infilling would have been so pervasive among these new believers that there would have been no need to choose. But because of the fact that not all among these many thousand believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, there needed to be the choosing of the seven. This proves that though many at that time had experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they had not had the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

As regards the Spirit’s outpouring, the ascended Lord pours forth the Holy Spirit upon us because of our faith. Yet it has little relationship to life. But with respect to the filling of the Holy Spirit, it is the risen Lord who infills us because of our obedience. It requires a holy life in us.

If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit you must empty yourself: you must be hungry and unsatisfied. Only in this way can you be inwardly filled and satisfied. There must always be an emptying, always a hungering. Then you can always be filled with the Holy Spirit. Never accept what you have already received as being sufficient. To the contrary, let the cross work
daily
in your life so as to be
daily
filled. The moment you fail to live victoriously, at that moment you forfeit the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Today you are filled with the Holy Spirit because you experience the dealing and emptying of the cross and live a victorious life.

Once I was having a meal in a brother’s house. I finally decided I had eaten enough. But that brother continued to add food to my plate, and not just once or twice but twenty-odd times. I thought to myself, When will he stop adding? Now this is just the way it is for us in the state of grace. For the supply of God is always something to be experienced more and more. In God’s grace, it is a matter of grace
upon
grace, an
abundance
of His grace. The more we experience victory, the more we are filled with the Holy Spirit. We are to be filled numberless times. But we must never reach the point of being content with what we have received, for the Holy Spirit can fill us more and more. The measure of the first filling is different from that of the second, the second from the third, the third from the fourth, and so on. The deeper you are dug into by the cross, the fuller you shall be filled with the Holy Spirit. The deeper the cut by the cross, the greater the filling of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes your heart may ache, sometimes your trials may be too much to bear, sometimes you feel it is impossible to run the course. These are the crosses which keep burrowing down through you in order to enlarge your capacity to make you fuller and richer.

Under such circumstances, do not be afraid of shedding tears or of having the heart wounded. If you can bear the digging up and the burrowing down, you will be used of the Lord. But if you fret and have controversy with God, you at once lose your victorious life and any outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be of no help. Therefore, be before the Lord and let His cross pierce deeply and cut you. Each cutting of the cross severs something from you that you love and long for. These cuttings are the work of the cross for the increase of your measure of grace. The greater your capacity, the more the grace.

Someone may consider himself as having already been cut and wounded by the cross and filled with the Holy Spirit. Actually, however, he is as a mere shell that is filled with water; such cannot yet be termed true affliction nor a real filling. When we are confronted with things that are opposite to our wish, they can enlarge us the most if handled properly. Each time we submit ourselves under the will of God in such matters and allow the cross to cut us, we give opportunity to the Holy Spirit to fill us once more.