The unique work God is doing today and the unique work in the Lord’s recovery is a work in ascension, by the Spirit, and in the divine stream.
We have seen that for us to work one with God in what He is doing today we need to be in ascension, that is, in our mingled spirit.
Today we need to see that the unique work in the Lord’s recovery is a work carried out by the Spirit (see Acts 1:8; 2:4; 13:2, 9), and particularly we will see the two aspects of the Spirit (inward and outward, intrinsic and extrinsic).
Today Christ is working in the heavens in His many statuses, but on earth, He is operating through and by the Spirit, who is Himself in a pneumatic form.
He breathed the Spirit into His disciples (John 20:22) for their life, existence, and living, and He poured out the Spirit at Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius in Acts as power, clothing the entire Body of Christ with the Spirit as power.
Now in everything we do we need to exercise our spirit to be one with the Spirit by drinking the Spirit (to have life and live by the Spirit) and by claiming the power of the Spirit (to work for God and accomplish His purpose).
Hallelujah, we have the Spirit as our drink to supply and sustain us for our life – we were all given to drink one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13)!
Hallelujah, we have the power of the Spirit available to us to work for God and with God in His economy!
The Inward and the Outward Aspects of the Spirit
There is only ONE Spirit, but this One Spirit has two aspects – the inward aspect for life (John likens it to water and to breath in his gospel) and the outward aspect for work (Luke likens it to clothing and rushing violent wind).
For our living and walking as Christians, we need to drink of the Spirit and receive Him as the water of life, the breath of life, and the supply of life – this aspect is “in” us, it is within, to supply us for our Christian life (see John 14:17; 4:14; 7:38).
For us to preach the gospel, speak the truth, and work with God in His economy, we need the Spirit as the authority and the power to clothe us and qualify us to work with Him (see Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8; 2:3; 8:16; 10:44; 19:6).
The baptism in the Holy Spirit has been accomplished already – the entire Body of Christ has been baptized in the Holy Spirit both inwardly and outwardly, and now we simply need to claim the power of the Spirit whenever we preach the gospel!
Inwardly, we need to drink the Spirit by exercising our spirit to breathe Him in, drink the living water in the Word, calling on the name of the Lord, and allowing Him to flow into all our being.
Outwardly, we need to be clothed with the Holy Spirit for authority, just as a policeman needs his uniform in order to work as a representative of the government.
If we don’t eat and drink of Christ, we are not supplied within, and if we don’t claim the power and authority of the Spirit, we can’t work for Him.
We Are Doing a Work By the Spirit
As those joined to the Lord as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17) who love the Lord and aspire to participate in God’s unique work today, we need to do a work by the Spirit. We simply follow the pattern of the Lord Jesus who did everything by the Spirit.
We need to know the two aspects of the Spirit – inwardly we need to drink of the Spirit for life, and outwardly we need to be clothed with the Spirit for power.
Daily we need to be drinking of the Spirit as He flows gently within us, as He breathes His Spirit in us, that we may be enabled and supplied to live the Christian life.
When we work for the Lord, we need to simply exercise our spirit and claim the power of the Spirit economically for us to move, work, minister, and carry out God’s commission.
According to 1 Cor. 1:21, God has firmly attached us to one another and to Christ (by His divine life inwardly) and He has anointed us (outwardly).
The Holy Spirit is ONE but has two aspects, and we need to know these two aspects to apply them in our daily life and work for and with God.
We as God’s new creation have Christ as the life-giving Spirit as our life and essence (1 John 5:12; 2 Cor. 5:17), and we are baptized into the Holy Spirit economically by being in the Body of Christ (see Mark 1:8b; Acts 1:5b; 11:16b).
How wonderful! Such a basic truth, yet so practical to us in our life with the Lord and work for the Lord!
Thank You Lord for becoming the life-giving Spirit to be the living air and the living water. We can breathe You in anywhere and at any time. Lord, You are our life and our life supply. Keep us drinking of You as the Spirit so that we may be supplied to live the Christian life. And as we work for You and with You, may we do so by claiming the baptism in the Spirit! The Spirit as the power is ours! We are in the Body: we claim the Spirit!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from portions in, The Baptism in the Holy Spirit (by Witness Lee), and, Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 3 (pages 106-113), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Unique Work in the Lord’s Recovery, week 3 (entitled, A Work in Ascension, by the Spirit, and in the Divine Stream).
- Further reading: God’s New Testament Economy, chs. 7-10 (by Witness Lee);
- Hymns on this topic:
# To be baptized in the Spirit / Is to get into the Spirit / And to be lost in Him. / To drink of the Spirit / Is to take the Spirit in / And have our being saturated with Him.
# Thy Spirit of pow’r with might, / Send in our midst, we pray, / And come upon each seeking soul; / Baptize us with power today.
# Here, as Thy Body, Thy pow’r we claim; / Claiming by faith in Thy mighty Name, / Thy heav’nly show’r with Thy heav’nly flame; / Clothe us with pow’r we pray! - Pictures credit: both are via, Grace Upon Grace (facebook page).
About aGodMan
The believers’ being joined to God the Spirit is of two aspects. On the one hand, they have received Him inwardly and essentially; on the other hand, they have been baptized into Him outwardly and economically. For the believers to be baptized into Him economically is for them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8b; Acts 1:5b; 11:16b) to receive Him as the Spirit of power for their spiritual work and function. The Holy Spirit as the Spirit of power was poured out economically first on the day of Pentecost to baptize the Jewish believers in the Spirit (Acts 2:4), and then in the house of Cornelius to baptize the Gentile believers in the Spirit (Acts 10:44-45). By these two steps all the believers of the Lord Jesus, in all times and in all places, have been baptized once for all in the Spirit and into one Body (1 Cor. 12:13). (Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 3, pp. 106, 111, 113)