We Merely Receive and Appropriate; We Do Not Plead

The Lord’s Death, the Descent of the Spirit, and the Believer’s Walk
What is the relationship between the death of the Lord Jesus and the descending of the Holy Spirit?

Answer:

This question has great significance in salvation and the gospel; therefore it must be investigated.

A great number of people have an erroneous concept about the Holy Spirit. They think that to be filled with the Holy Spirit costs a great deal and requires much self-denial and hard pleading until they feel elated, and that only then will they be able to be good Christians as well as to have power to preach the gospel. But in carefully reading the Bible we do not find this to be the case. Instead, the Bible tells us that the only cost for having the Holy Spirit has been paid by the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, God has given the Holy Spirit. The descent of the Spirit is due to the death, the blood, and the merit of the Lord Jesus and not due in any way to what price or merit we pay or obtain.

While the Lord Jesus was on earth He told the disciples that the Father would give the Holy Spirit to those who asked Him (Luke 11.13), for at that time the Holy Spirit had not yet come. But after His resurrection He "breathed on" the disciples "and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit" (John 20.22). Henceforth it is no longer a matter of asking for the Holy Spirit but of receiving the Holy Spirit.

A servant of God once put it this way. "The Holy Spirit has already descended. Now if the water pipe for the Holy Spirit is blocked, remove the cork and the water will flow. We must not consecrate ourselves just once, but should do it often." On the basis of the Lord’s blood, death, resurrection, and ascension, the Holy Spirit has already come. The problem today is to remove the cork by consecrating ourselves to the Lord and so we shall be filled with the Holy Spirit. Consecration is the way to the filling or inflow of the Holy Spirit, while the blood of the Lord is the basis for the outflow of the Holy Spirit. If we wish to be filled with the Spirit we need to consecrate ourselves. The more thorough our consecration the fuller the filling of the Holy Spirit. The blood of the Lord Jesus, on the other hand, is that which gives water to the pipe; that is to say, it gives us the Holy Spirit.

It is recorded in the Old Testament that while the children of Israel were in the wilderness Moses smote the rock with the staff and water flowed out of the rock. First Corinthians 10 says that "the rock was Christ" (v.4). The outflow of the Holy Spirit is not caused by our consecration but depends on the death of the Lord Jesus. In Leviticus 14, according to the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing, he shall have the blood of the trespass-offering put upon the tip of his right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the great toe of his right foot before he has the oil in the left hand of the priest put upon the tip of his right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the great toe of his right foot and the rest of the oil put upon his head. The blood here points to redemption, while the oil points to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes upon the leper not because he himself declares that he is well but because he is cleansed by the blood, and only then is he anointed with oil.

Our ear is to listen to God’s voice, our hand is to do His work, and our foot is to walk in His path. All these must first be cleansed by the blood. On the basis of the redemptive work of the Lord we have our sins washed by His blood, and then we shall be filled with the Holy Spirit who gives us power to live and to work.

The New Testament speaks more clearly on this matter than does the Old Testament:

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7.37-39)

At that time the Holy Spirit was not yet given because the Lord Jesus was still to die, be resurrected and ascend back to heaven. The reason the Holy Spirit did not come was not because people did not pray and beg but because the Lord Jesus Christ had not yet been glorified. But when the Lord Jesus was glorified, the Holy Spirit did indeed come: "Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear" (Acts 2.33). The Holy Spirit was poured forth after the Lord Jesus had died, been resurrected and been exalted by God. His descent is therefore due to the Lord himself, and not to our pleading.

In the past we have seen some people begging and penalizing themselves in order to obtain the power of the Holy Spirit. We have also known of other people who thought that those who receive the power of the Holy Spirit must be extraordinary Christians, for surely it is not meant for the ordinary believers. To them, receiving the power of the Holy Spirit is exceptional. Truly, the gift of the Holy Spirit is most special and truly the price is most expensive, yet it is the Lord Jesus who is the one who has already paid this price. He it is who has died and been raised, therefore we may have the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s blood is the cost, the Lord Jesus himself is the source of the Holy Spirit. Naturally, on our side, we need to get rid of all hindrances; otherwise, and no matter how much water there is, it will not be available if the pipe is blocked. If we understand the source of the Holy Spirit and know that Someone else (and not any of us) has already paid the price, do we need to plead piteously for Him?

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3.13,14). We are told here that the purpose of the Lord Jesus’ hanging on the cross is for the blessing of Abraham to come upon the Gentiles. What does the blessing of Abraham coming upon the Gentiles mean? It means that by faith we might have the promised Holy Spirit.

If you feel weak, if your spiritual life flows and ebbs intermittently, if you frequently fall and have not the power of the Holy Spirit, you should know that the Lord Jesus has already died and His blood has been shed; therefore, you can come to God and claim the promised Holy Spirit. You may thank God for the blood price already paid by Jesus Christ, which thus gives you the power of the Holy Spirit. You have no need to live an abnormal life of ups and downs. One thing, however, you must be careful to consider: if any hindrance in your life remains unremoved or if your consecration is less than thorough, you will still not have the power of the Holy Spirit.

We do not plead compellingly for the Holy Spirit. We merely receive what the Lord Jesus has already accomplished. And for this we simply believe and appropriate. For the Bible clearly affirms that since the Lord Jesus has already been sent to fulfill God’s will, the Holy Spirit is poured forth upon us.