Will you please turn to the book of Romans? Just one verse: Romans 8:2.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, as we continue in Your presence, we wait to hear from You. May Your Spirit open Your Word unto us and lead us into all truth. We commit ourselves to You for this morning.
Allow Your Holy Spirit to enlighten us, to transform us, and to bring us to Christ. We give You all the glory. In Your precious name, amen.
Our brother Kenny, two weeks ago, spoke to us on this matter of the Holy Spirit. This will be the lesson for our exercise during this whole month.
I feel that this subject is so tremendously important that we cannot just let it go. So we would like to continue this morning on this subject of the Holy Spirit.
I would like to ask a few questions. Number one: What is your concept, your understanding, of the Holy Spirit? Is He a power to you, or is He a Person?
We do remember that there is a promise of the Father, and that promise is that we will be clothed with power from on high. But is the Holy Spirit just a power, a force, an influence in your life—powerful, but impersonal? Or is the Holy Spirit a Person, a divine Person, one of the Three in the Godhead, worthy of equal honor and equal glory?
The reason why I ask this question is because our concept determines our attitude. If you think the Holy Spirit is just a power, a wonderful power for you to use, then you are in charge: you use the Holy Spirit.
Or, if your concept is that the Holy Spirit is a living, divine Person—God—then He is to use you. So you find the great difference. It is a difference of heaven and earth. What you think of the Holy Spirit decides how you treat the Holy Spirit.
It is true that the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit is the power of God, but He is more than just an impersonal power. He is one of the Trinity.
We remember, at the end of 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul gives a benediction. In that benediction, he says:
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
God blesses us with the love of the Father. God blesses us with the grace of our Lord Jesus. And God blesses us with the communion of the Holy Spirit.
The Father’s love plans everything. The Son’s grace prepares, makes ready, everything. But it is the Holy Spirit Who communicates, Who brings the love of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus to us.
If you only have the love of God without the grace of our Lord Jesus and the communion of the Holy Spirit, God’s love is there, but we have no part in it.
If we have the love of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus, then everything is prepared. But who is to enjoy it? It is the communion, the fellowship, of the Holy Spirit. He is the One Who brings the love of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus to each and every one of us.
Salvation will not be complete without the communion of the Holy Spirit.
Strangely, we have some idea of God as the Father because we have the mirror image. We have our earthly father, so somehow it makes it easier for us to understand that God the Father is a Person.
Also, it seems as if it is easier for us to believe the Lord Jesus as a Person because He has become a man. But the Holy Spirit seems to us a little bit abstract. We do not have a mirror image of Him, and that is the reason why, oftentimes, we treat the Holy Spirit as a mere power.
We want His power, but we do not want Him.
If God is a Person and our Lord Jesus is a Person, then surely the Holy Spirit is also a Person—Three in One.
What is a person? A person is one who has personality. He is able to express Himself.
As we read the Bible, you will find that the Holy Spirit speaks. He commands. He is to be obeyed. He can be grieved. A power cannot grieve. He can be worshipped.
So, if we search the Bible, I believe it is very clear to us that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person.
You remember our Lord Jesus, during His last feast with His disciples. He was leaving them, and the disciples were sorrowful. So our Lord Jesus comforted them and said, “I am going, but if I go, I will send another Comforter, just like Me.”
It is not another of a different kind; it is another of the same kind. In other words, as Christ Jesus was to the disciples, so is the Holy Spirit with us.
The only difference is that our Lord Jesus said He could be with them, but He would leave them. But the Holy Spirit will come and dwell in them and will never leave them nor forsake them.
A comforter—that term, in the old English, means “strengthener.” He is One Who strengthens. He is One Who comes alongside us, even inside of us. And He is One Who is responsible to bring us to the fullness of our Lord Jesus.
So, dear brothers and sisters, I think first of all we have to settle this question in our hearts. Do you consider the Holy Spirit just a power? You want His power, and if you have His power, you become powerful: you use Him.
And that is what you find among Christianity today. People are seeking for power on high, and if they have the power, they become powerful. Instead of obeying the Holy Spirit, it is as if the Holy Spirit and His power obey them. And what a mess it has created in Christianity.
If we really believe that the Holy Spirit is another Comforter, if we really believe that He is the divine Person Who dwells in us, then what respect we should give to Him! We should give Him the same respect as we give to God the Father and God the Son.
But are we doing it? If we view it as our duty to obey the Father, that we must obey the Son, then how about the Holy Spirit? Do we really obey Him? Because He is none other than God.
So I think this is the first question that I would like to ask. And I do look to the Lord that every one of us will have the right understanding, because this is extremely important to us.
You know, the Holy Spirit is the custodian of the life of Christ. He is called the Spirit of life.
Thank God, when we believe in the Lord Jesus, He has given us life—a new life. This is the life of our Lord Jesus Himself, a divine life.
But who is to take care of this divine life? Who is responsible to see that this divine life grows into maturity? Not you or me, not anybody else. Nobody is fit. Only the Holy Spirit.
He is the only One Who is fit and able to take care of that life of Christ in us. Without the Holy Spirit, there can be no spiritual life.
We are talking about spiritual life, but what is spiritual life? If it is not because of the Holy Spirit, because of His working in us, because of His bringing Christ to us, teaching Christ, glorifying Christ, how can we have any spiritual life to talk about?
So do you see the importance of it? But somehow, sadly, our understanding, our concept, and our attitude toward the Holy Spirit are so inadequate.
Hopefully, the Lord will really impress this upon each and every one of us. But of course, the reason why we do not give the Holy Spirit the right place in our lives is because we do not understand Him. We do not really know Him. We have little—or, I hope not, no—experience of Him.
So it is not enough just to know that, according to the Word of God, the Holy Spirit is another Comforter, in charge of the life of Christ in us. We need to know Him personally.
So my second question is: How can we know the Holy Spirit? Because He is Spirit, how can we know Him? We know Him by His operation.
The Holy Spirit Who dwells in us is living and operating. He is not there within our spirit merely as a dormant spirit. He Who dwells in our spirit is very living, very active.
It is not only that He will never leave us nor forsake us, but, on the contrary, you will find He is the most diligent Teacher, the most diligent Operator. He never ceases, continuously working in us.
But remember, He is in our spirit. So He is working in our spirit, and it is in our spirit that we are able to know Him.
One day, as I was meditating, suddenly the phrase came to me: “The law of the Spirit of life.”
How do we know the Spirit of life? We know the Spirit of life by His law.
Now, the law here does not mean in contrast with grace. It does not mean the Ten Commandments. The law here simply means principle.
The Holy Spirit operates with His own law, His own principle. Now, of course, we know that He is God. He can do anything He wants. But do you remember the Bible says that He cannot deny Himself?
In other words, all His operations are according to His own nature. He will never do anything against His own nature. He cannot deny Himself. He will do everything according to what He is, and that is His law, His principle of operation.
Now, if we can know the principle, the law of the Spirit of life, then we have the key to know Him.
Now, this morning, I am not going to elaborate on the various aspects of the law of the Spirit of life. Rather, I want to leave this to all of you for your examining the Bible and for your meditating upon it.
But I will give you five different aspects, or the fivefold law of the Spirit of life.
Number one: the ground, or sphere, of the operation of the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit operates, He has a ground. He has a certain place; He has a certain realm, sphere, in which He works. And what is it?
Well, Romans 8:2 says, “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” In other words, the Holy Spirit works only in Christ Jesus. Outside of Christ Jesus, He does not work.
His work is all based upon the finished work of Christ. He is working Christ into us. He is bringing us into Christ. He is bringing Christ into us. So all His work is in Christ.
If it is not Christ Jesus, that is not His operation; that is man’s work. If the result of His work is not exalting Christ, but exalting man, exalting self, then you know this is not the work of the Holy Spirit, because He would never do that.
Now, there is much to meditate upon, and I want to leave it with you.
Number two: the means, or strategy, of the Holy Spirit.
What is the means that He uses when He is trying to work Christ into us? Very clearly: the cross.
Where there is no cross, there is no Christ. Where there is no cross, there is not the work of the Holy Spirit.
Certainly, in Christianity today, there are lots of works, lots of activities, but there is no sign or mark of the cross. If the cross is missing, you know this is not the work of God.
Think about it. I think there is much that we need to meditate about.
Number three: the condition, or limitation, of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit only works under certain definite conditions. Even though He is God, we would think God is limitless. He is, but He is limited in His working by us.
If we do not limit Him, He will do much more. But many of His works are limited because of us. He cannot do them because we do not believe.
So you find there is a condition for the working of the Holy Spirit, and that condition is consecration: our consecration, our presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, our giving over to Him the right to our lives.
Because the Holy Spirit will never force us. He always respects our will. He has created us with a free will, and He respects it. If you will not, He cannot do anything. He is almighty, but you can limit Him.
That is the condition, and that is the reason why we find the Holy Spirit is so limited in His work today. That is our responsibility. Think about that. Meditate on that. Much repentance is needed here.
Number four: the agreement, or confirmation, of the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit works, it must agree with the Holy Scripture. The Holy Scripture is God-breathed, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and He cannot contradict Himself.
So that is the safeguard. How do we know that it is the working of the Holy Spirit? Search the Scripture. If it agrees, thank God for that. If it is not there, or even contradicts the Word of God, then it is a sure sign that it is not the work of the Holy Spirit.
Number five: the objective, or purpose, of the Holy Spirit.
Our brother has already mentioned this. Personally, the objective of the operation of the Holy Spirit is to bring each and every one of us to be conformed to the image of Christ. Anything short of that is short of the work of the Holy Spirit.
Corporately, He is to build up the church as the Body of Christ, to become the bride of Christ. And the Holy Spirit always has that objective in His work. So anything that is outside of that, you know, is outside of the work of the Holy Spirit.
So I will just leave these five points before you, dear brothers and sisters. I hope you will not just let them go, but that you will really search the Scripture, meditate upon it, and learn this law of the Spirit of life.
Now, if you do, it will help you greatly in your living knowledge of the Holy Spirit.
Number three: How do we experience the Holy Spirit? Do you have any experience of the Holy Spirit?
If you have no experience of the Holy Spirit, are you saved? I do believe that everyone who is born by the Spirit will experience something of the working of the Holy Spirit in his life.
I have heard people say to me, “Why is it that people say, ‘I hear the Holy Spirit,’ but I have never heard? What is the trouble? What is the problem?”
Well, if you are thinking of hearing the Holy Spirit just like you hear from your friend—audibly, with your natural ear—then you may look in vain.
Now, it is true that in Old Testament times, when the Holy Spirit spoke, people could hear, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come to dwell in our spirit. So where can you hear the Holy Spirit? In your spirit, not with your body, not with your natural ear.
Sometimes His speaking can be so loud that you even hear it as if someone is really talking to you. Now, have you had such an experience? But most of the time it is a still, small voice.
You remember Elijah? He retreated to Mount Sinai, and the Lord came. He was waiting to hear from the Lord: a mighty wind, a great fire—nothing. Then a still, small voice: “Why are you here?”
That is the way the Holy Spirit speaks. Whenever the Holy Spirit speaks in your spirit, usually His voice is just still, small, clear, but soft; persistent, but tender.
When the evil spirit speaks, it is usually overwhelming, oppressing, never clear. You do not really know what it is speaking, but you feel so oppressed, as if you are under such a burden, urging you to do this immediately. But that is not the way the Holy Spirit speaks.
Why is it that we do not hear Him speak? We are not quiet. As a matter of fact, the Holy Spirit speaks every day in your spirit, but you do not hear it because you are too busy, too involved. You are not quiet.
You hear too many voices, and you are listening to the voices outside instead of learning to listen to the speaking of the Holy Spirit in your spirit.
Brothers and sisters, we have to train ourselves. We have to be in a position to hear Him.
Is it not true that after we are saved, thank God, when we believe in the Lord Jesus, all our sins are cleansed? It is gone.
But that does not mean that sin ceases altogether. We still have much darkness, much that we are not aware of. And because of that, we may continue sinning without knowing.
In other words, we have some old habits that need to be changed, but we still cling to our old habits. We have no idea that, as a born-again child of God, this is so unlike our Lord Jesus. It is sinful in the sight of God and needs to be dealt with. We do not know about it.
Brothers and sisters, the only way to experience the Holy Spirit is through daily dealings. He will deal with us, and we will deal with Him. And this is a daily matter all throughout our life.
Really, this will be going on because He is trying to transform us and conform us to the image of Christ.
So maybe, first of all, you will find that after you believe in the Lord Jesus, He will deal with this whole realm of sin. He will bring you into righteousness, because God is righteous.
You may have the habit of exaggerating things. But after you believe in the Lord Jesus, does it occur to you that when you are exaggerating, Someone within you is checking: “Are you exaggerating? Is it the truth?”
Now, do you have such an experience? If you do, that is the Holy Spirit. He is dealing with you, enlightening you. He is bringing you into practical righteousness.
Look into your life experience. See your daily life—how the Holy Spirit, untiringly, constantly, in small things at the beginning of your life, is trying to correct you, adjust you, and bring you out.
What is your reaction? If you ignore Him, you can. If you grieve Him, you can. If you quench Him, you can. But where will be your spiritual life?
It is in these small things of our daily life that we may be able to walk before God by listening, obeying, and cooperating with the Holy Spirit.
Now, I think anyone who has read The Normal Christian Life knows the story Brother Nee told. It is a true one. I know the person.
There was an electrician in Kuling Mountain. He got saved.
Now, in the winter, he still stayed in the mountain. The missionaries and the other people had all left. And he had a habit: when he was cold, he wanted to drink wine.
And not only did he drink wine, but it was also his habit that every time he drank, he became drunk.
So the weather was cold, and he asked his wife to warm up the wine. In China, you know, that is what they usually do: warm up the wine. So the wine was warmed and set on the table.
Then the brother said, “Well, I have been saved, so we have to thank the Lord for it.” So they bowed their heads, but he could not pray.
And this happened a few times. So his wife said, “Should a Christian drink?” He told his wife, “Get the Book. Let us look it up,” because Brother Nee had given him a Bible.
But they were half-illiterate, and the Book was so thick. Where could they find it? Hopefully, they did not have to search that much. The Lord told him about it.
So the wife said, “Well, the wine is getting cold. Drink it, and when the preacher comes up next year, we will ask him.” That sounded reasonable. So he started to pray, but he could not.
So he told his wife, “Take it away.” And the next year, when our brother went to the mountain, he asked him, “Could a Christian drink?”
And Brother Nee said, “Why do you ask this question?” Well, he explained what had happened to him. Not knowing the Bible very well, he did not know the term “Holy Spirit.” He said, “My resident boss will not allow me.”
Thank God, you have a resident Boss—not just eight hours, but twenty-four hours; not just in the office, but everywhere. And He is bringing you into righteousness.
All these old habits must go. These old things must go. Well, that is the beginning.
Then you begin to see that He begins to deal with you in the whole matter of the world. Do not tell me that you do not love the world. We do.
And you will find that the Holy Spirit begins to point His finger at the things of the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Brothers and sisters, has the Holy Spirit ever pointed His finger at your dress? Has the Holy Spirit ever pointed His finger at your relationship with the world?
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Have you been dealt with in this fashion?
I want to tell you a secret. Before I was saved, one thing I loved was movies.
The first thing I looked at in the newspaper was movie news. I spent my Saturdays, oftentimes, in the theater. I was a preacher’s son. I dared not go to the theater on Sunday. So far as I can remember, only once did I go; the temptation was so great.
After I believed in the Lord Jesus, I still loved movies. I still continued to go to cinemas.
But that still, small voice began to say, “Do you think you should do it?”
I said, “Lord, good movies, religious movies—that should be all right.” But still my conscience would not pardon me.
So I said, “Lord, all right. I will try. I will try.” I tried for a few months. That was quite a feat.
Then there was a religious movie, and I was given a ticket. You know, I could go to the theater without paying anything because I had friends who owned the theater.
And I debated it. “It is a religious movie. It should be all right.” So I went.
For two hours I was sitting there under the same conviction. But I would not leave. I still sat there. But that was the end of it. The Lord delivered me.
Now, you may not have such an experience, but in this area of the world, what is your relationship with the world? Do you love the world? If you do, the love of the Father is not in you.
Then you find the Holy Spirit turns to deal with your self. Now, the world is connected with sanctification, holiness, separation. But then you find the Holy Spirit deals with you in the matter of yourself, your flesh.
He is getting deeper now, and this is for glorification. What is glorification? Only Christ, only God, is glory. To be glorified simply means to be like Christ.
And this self, this flesh, is the opposite of Christ. Even your good flesh is opposite to Christ. And the Holy Spirit has to patiently deal with us in this area, daily, incessantly, to deliver us from ourselves.
Self is the last thing to go.
He also will deal with us according to His principle and objective. In other words, He will deal with our relationship with the brothers and sisters. He will search our hearts.
I heard someone tell me, “When is the last time that you said, ‘Forgive me’?” That is a measurement of your spiritual condition.
Do you think you are so perfect that, in your relationship with your brothers and sisters, or in your relationship in the family with people, you never need to say, “I am wrong. Forgive me”?
There is only one Person, our Lord Jesus, Who has no need to say, “I am sorry. Forgive Me.”
Where is your pride? Where is yourself? Is it dead, or is it very much alive?
The Lord will begin to deal with our relationship with one another, especially when we work closely together.
Have you ever been ignored? If you are misunderstood, if you are rejected, what is your reaction?
No wonder some people say Christians are like butterflies. They are flying here and there—not like bees, going deep in and getting the honey, but butterflies.
Do you see, brothers and sisters? It is through this dealing in our daily life. Do not think that people are dealing with you. All our circumstances are arranged by the Holy Spirit.
It is the Holy Spirit Who is dealing with you, trying to conform you. Do not misunderstand and blame your brothers and sisters. They do not just happen. The Lord allows it. The Holy Spirit arranges it.
And if only we can learn, how holy! That is the way that we come to experience the Holy Spirit.
Dear brothers and sisters, the experience of the Holy Spirit is a daily matter. You will never graduate.
So, when we are all learning this lesson of the Holy Spirit, hopefully we will not just fill our minds with knowledge, but that we will learn daily to know Him.
The more you learn, the more you respect Him. You realize that He is divine. He is God. His standard is so much higher than our standard.
But be encouraged, because He is the power to bring us into the fullness of Christ. We can depend upon Him. Cast ourselves upon the Lord, and He will bear us and bring us. Let us pray.
Dear Lord, we want to thank You that You have made known the Father to us. You have also sent us the Holy Spirit, that through Him we may know You and know the Father.
Lord, it is the deep prayer of our hearts: we want to know Him, and through Him to know You and the Father. We ask in Your precious name. Amen.