The Communion of the Holy Spirit by Watchman Nee Read Free Book Online Page A

indwelling also testifies of Christ. On the one hand, the Holy Spirit in us gives us victory. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit in us testifies that Christ is our all. The Holy Spirit in us enables us to bear the fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5.22-23), and such fruit is Christ in His entirety. For God has not given us the fruit of the Spirit in piecemeal fashion, such as a little love, a little joy, or a little patience, and so on. He gives us the total Christ. The fruit spoken of in Galatians 5.22 is presented to us as but one fruit, for in the original, the Greek word for fruit is cast in the singular number: having therefore the one fruit of the Holy Spirit, we have all the ingredients. It is not love without joy, or joy void of patience, etc. etc. God gives in wholesale fashion, not in retail. He gives us Christ. If we have love but not joy, this proves that it is our fruit and not the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
    There are three chapters in the Bible which deal particularly with the Holy Spirit. These are found in 1 Corinthians 12-14: with chapters 12 and 14 speaking of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit- the Spirit without-and chapter 13 speaking of love, which bespeaks the Spirit within. We use “love” here to represent the fruit of the Spirit discussed in Galatians 5. This refers to the indwelling Spirit. The first ingredient of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned there is love, for without it nothing else counts-neither joy, nor peace, nor patience and so forth. Paul exhorts believers to seek after love, because with love they shall have all the above-mentioned qualities.

THE SPIRIT WITHIN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE SPIRIT WITHOUT
    There is no comparison between the Spirit without and the Spirit within; that is to say, between the outpoured Holy Spirit and the indwelling Holy Spirit. For the outpouring of the Spirit cannot be deemed to be as essential as the indwelling Spirit. God had mercy on me in making me a minister, yet not for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit but for the victorious life; though in the ministry given me I also address the matter of the outpoured Spirit. The inward Spirit together with the outward Spirit is something tremendous. But to have the external outpouring minus the internal indwelling is dangerous. The best Christian walk is to have both the inward and the outward realities of the Spirit. Once having the inward ministry of the Spirit, one should seek the outward ministry of the Spirit. If there is not the inward Spirit, it is advisable to suspend temporarily the seeking of the outward Spirit.
    In the Old Testament dispensation, after the priest had put the blood upon the tip of the right ear of him that was to be cleansed, upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, he followed by putting oil upon the same places (see Lev. 14.14-17). First he applied the blood, then he applied the oil. This means that the cross must first work upon your ear, hand and foot before the Holy Spirit can help you to walk and to work. The cross gets rid of your self, while the Holy Spirit comes to live for you. For the blood to be put on the ear, hand and foot means that the blood has blotted you out and thus removed you. But then the Holy Spirit comes to stand in as your ear, hand and foot. First, the victorious life, then the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Accepting the application of the blood denotes co-death with Christ. And the work of the oil is to release the life of the Lord. Today, we expect the oil to fall upon our heads, yet having the outpouring of the oil before the working of the blood will only make us proud.
    The saints in Corinth had the outward Spirit but not His inward fillings. They were carnal believers. Many have received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but within they are not full of life. In such people their lives have not changed. They live like the rest of the world. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them is not linked to their inward life. A