CHAPTER FOUR

BEING FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

THE NEED TO BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

We have seen that the Lord is our meaning and that we are the meaning of the universe. Without us, the universe has no purpose. Without Christ, we also have no purpose. Christ is our meaning, and we, as Christians, are the meaning of the universe. In addition to these points, we have also seen that the Lord Jesus now is the Spirit. He was incarnated to be the last Adam, and He died and resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit. Second Corinthians 3:17 says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” The One who is in us is the Spirit. For this reason, our primary concern is for us to be filled with the Spirit.

Concerning being filled with the Holy Spirit, we do not need too much doctrine. We are the Lord’s expression and representatives. The Lord Jesus is the Spirit within us. Hence, in order to express and represent Him, we must be filled with Him. If we are not filled with the Spirit, we cannot properly express the Lord, nor can we properly represent Him. Without being filled with the Spirit, the Lord will not be the meaning of our human life in reality.

THOROUGHLY CONSECRATING OURSELVES TO THE LORD

In order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we first must turn to the Lord so that our face is toward Him. If we are not facing Him, He will not be able to fill us. If the opening of a vessel is turned down instead of up, it can never be filled. In order for the vessel to be filled, the vessel must be turned so that the opening is facing up. We are the Lord’s vessels, but are we facing the Lord? Although He is in us and desires even more to fill us, we need to be facing Him. In order to face Him, we must consecrate ourselves to Him.

We should all go to the Lord and take a specific step of consecration. We need to have a transaction with the Lord, consecrating ourselves to Him. It does not matter whether we have previously [156] consecrated ourselves. Even if we have consecrated before, we still need to go to the Lord today and again thoroughly give ourselves to Him. The more times that we give ourselves to Him the better, and the more thoroughly the better. We have said that we should be beside ourselves to the Lord, but it is not enough to be merely beside ourselves. If there is no consecration, our actions will only be outward, making us the same as those who act in a drama, who are merely pretending. Pretending is to act in a drama. However, when Paul was beside himself, it was not a performance. Paul’s being beside himself was genuine; it came from within. What he was within was expressed outwardly.

The saints have been very responsive to the messages that have been spoken. They are calling on the Lord, singing, and even playing drums. On the one hand, this makes me joyful, but on the other hand, I am concerned. I do not know whether the saints are acting or are genuinely beside themselves, whether they are performing or are genuinely crazy. To be genuinely beside ourselves is to be filled with the Spirit. We are beside ourselves because we are filled with the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost all the disciples seemed to be filled with new wine (Acts 2:13). We can say that they were “drunk,” filled with the Spirit, to the point of being crazy (Eph. 5:18). Are we as “drunk” as they were? I am afraid that not many of us are “drunk” in this way. It is possible that some of us have not yet touched the Lord as the new wine (Matt. 9:17). We need to be filled inwardly with the Lord so that we are truly beside ourselves. This means that we must go to the Lord and have a thorough consecration.

Consecration is a serious matter. We must go to the Lord and pray to Him. We have seen that the Lord is the meaning of our human life, and the meaning of our human life is also the meaning of the universe. If there were no Christians in the universe, the universe would have no meaning. If a country has no Christians, it has no meaning. If a social group has no Christians, it is a pitiful group. If no one in a family is a Christian, the family is dark and miserable. We are the meaning of the universe, as well as the meaning of society.

However, we cannot work this out by ourselves. It is the Lord who works this out in us. We have meaning in our human life and are the meaning of the universe, the meaning of society, and the [157] meaning of our country because the Lord Jesus is in us. Hence, we must say, “Lord, I praise You. You have opened my eyes to see that You are the meaning of my existence and that I am the meaning of the universe. Lord, I need to be filled with You inwardly. I give myself, my life, my future, what I am, what I can do, and what I have to You. I do not want to do anything for You. I want to be an empty vessel fully filled and occupied by You.” We need to make this kind of consecration.

We are not asking the saints to give themselves to go and preach the gospel in remote regions. In Christianity believers consecrate themselves to preach the gospel in remote regions. We are not promoting this. Rather, we desire to give ourselves completely to the Lord in order to be His vessels. Whether or not we will go to the mountains or overseas for the gospel is an entirely different matter. We are not speaking about the people in remote regions. We should first take care of whether we are filled with the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is in us, waiting to gain ground in us so that He may fill our whole being. Have we given Him the ground? Perhaps we have not given Him any ground, or we have not given Him enough ground. We have received the Lord, but we have not allowed Him to occupy us completely.

When we truly see the meaning of human life, we will go to the Lord in consecration, placing ourselves completely in His hand. We should not be doctrinal with the Lord, telling Him to place us on the altar. We should be simple and tell Him that we want to give ourselves to Him. We were created in His image, and we are His vessels. He is already in us. Now He is waiting for us to give ourselves completely to Him. We must take care of this matter with the Lord, saying, “Lord, I give myself completely to You. My life, my future, what I am, and what I can do are altogether Yours. Lord, fill me with Yourself!”

CONFESSING OUR SINS ONE BY ONE
 ACCORDING TO THE LORD’S LEADING

When we consecrate ourselves in this way, we are open to the Lord and our whole being is turned to Him. Then the true and living Lord will immediately begin a sweeping and emptying work in us. We do not know the situation of our inner being. Most young people are filled with many things. We should ask ourselves whether [158] we are clean and whether we are empty. On one hand, we are empty without the Lord. On the other hand, we are not empty, but rather we are full of all kinds of things other than the Lord. However, when we consecrate ourselves to the Lord, He will begin to touch us within. He will check with us concerning the things that fill us, item by item. Whatever the Lord touches, we should confess and deal with.

We first consecrate ourselves to the Lord. Then we deal with our sins according to the Lord’s leading. When we enter into the Lord’s presence and consecrate ourselves to Him, He will do a cleansing work within us to deal with the filthy things that occupy us, such as jealousy or despising others. Even while we are wearing gospel vests, we may be jealous of others or may despise others. These things are sins.