John 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:5 For John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 1 Cor. 12:13 For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.
[Part 2 of 2] As for the Spirit of life we need to breathe Him in as the breath (John 20:22). As for the Spirit of power, we need to put Him on as the uniform, typified by the mantle of Elijah (2 Kings 2:9, 13-15). The former as the water of life requires our drinking (John 7:37-39); the latter as the water for baptism requires our being immersed (Acts 1:5). These are the two aspects of the one Spirit for our experience (1 Cor. 12:13). The indwelling of the Spirit of life is essential for our life and living; the outpouring of the Spirit of power is economical for our ministry and work. We need to be impressed with the fact that in addition to receiving the Spirit of life essentially, the disciples still needed to be "clothed with power from on high," to be empowered by the Spirit economically. What took place in John 20 was a matter of life essentially, but what happened in Acts 2 was a matter of power for ministry economically. In order to be clothed with power, we need to put on the Spirit as a uniform. This is typified by the mantle of Elijah. For this reason, some Bible teachers have called the Spirit of power the "mantle Spirit," the Spirit as an outer coat. In 2 Kings 2 Elisha was expecting to receive Elijah's mantle. When Elisha received this mantle, it was an indication that he had received the spirit of Elijah. In Luke 24:49 the Lord has a similar thought, the thought of the mantle Spirit. He told the disciples to wait until they were clothed with power from on high. We also need to realize that the Spirit of life and the Spirit of power are two aspects of the one Spirit for our experience. We see both aspects in 1 Corinthians 12:13. On the one hand, we have all been baptized in one Spirit into one Body; on the other hand, we have all been given to drink of the one Spirit. To be immersed in water is outward, but to drink water is inward. Furthermore, drinking the Spirit inwardly is essential, and being baptized in the Spirit outwardly is economical. The inward aspect of the Spirit is for life essentially, and the outward aspect is for ministry and work economically. (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 479-480. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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