Free The Communion of the Holy Spirit by Watchman Nee

Spirit.
    There is yet another matter you should pay special attention to; which is, that you should not treat the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as something of a curiosity that is to be propagated everywhere you go. Only when you are led by the Lord should you testify to it. If a person has a need for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, take him to your Lord, gather a few, and then pray together till he receives the Spirit’s outpouring.
     
     

6 STILL MORE ON THE SPIRIT’S WORK AND HIS OUTPOURING [10]
A. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
    We find that in the Old Testament times the Holy Spirit provided people with new life; yet we find the same work being done by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament period: the granting of new life. So that with respect to this matter of new life, both the Old and New Testaments agree , all occurrences of life- giving work included therein having been that of the Holy Spirit. Let us never think that the granting of new life is a specialty to be found only in the New Testament. The Lord told Nicodemus (who at that moment was still under the Old Testament dispensation) that he being the teacher of Israel ought to have understood the new birth of which He was then speaking (see John 3.10). This is therefore strong evidence that those in the Old Testament era must have been conversant about this matter of life, too.
    What, then, is the basic difference between the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament period and in the New? What can we say is the special work of the Holy Spirit found in the New Testament which sets it apart from the Old Testament? One thing which is certain about this matter in the Old Testament is, that we never find being mentioned that the Holy Spirit dwelt in men. Yes, there is no doubt that during those earlier times He worked in human hearts, but He never took up His abode there. We cannot find a single verse in the Old Testament which states that the Holy Spirit dwelt in man. We do indeed read about the Holy Spirit falling upon men, but not about His dwelling in them. In relation to the Spirit, the Old Testament scriptures always use the word spi -which is “upon”-and never use the word en -which is “in.” In the New Testament, we still see mentioned the Holy Spirit falling upon men. He indeed continues to do this kind of work, but He does far more in this new era. As the moment for the Lord’s betrayal approached, Jesus said: “he [the Holy Spirit] abideth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14.17c). This is a totally new work. Henceforth, the New Testament scriptures will speak of man as the temple of the Holy Spirit, which means that the Holy Spirit dwells in men.
    Therefore, we see in the New Testament era the two fold work of the Holy Spirit: (1) He comes upon men; (2) He dwells in men. His coming upon men is still for power, for doing miracles, and for witnessing. His dwelling in men is for sanctification. In dwelling in us, the Holy Spirit supplies Christ to us to be our life and to enable us to bear the fruit of holiness.
    By carefully distinguishing the above-mentioned twofold work of the Holy Spirit, we come to realize that certain concepts about the Holy Spirit are erroneous. Many consider all their problems solved if they experience their own “Pentecost.” But now that they have had their Pentecost, is their problem of sanctification being resolved? Does it help them to overcome their temper? No, it has not settled this matter of overcoming sin. For Pentecost can only bestow gifts, not fruits.
    When Paul looked at the condition of the church in Corinth, he did not say, “The situation here is so bad that we must stop everything.” Many teachers would cast the Corinthian church out because of all the carnal things present there. Not so with Paul; he brought in something to balance the Corinthian believers: “Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Cor. 3.16) In essence he told them they