THE HOLY SPIRIT PRESERVING
THE ETERNAL FRESHNESS OF THE LORD’S WORK
I do not want to enumerate in detail all the items of the Holy Spirit’s work of fellowship. I will only stress one thing: all of the work of the Lord Jesus is conveyed to us today through the Holy Spirit. Even the Lord Jesus Himself is conveyed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit. This is God’s salvation. Many people do not understand the Holy Spirit’s work of fellowship. They ask me how the Lord’s work that was accomplished nineteen hundred years ago could be applied to us today. Actually, if there were not the work of the Holy Spirit, their question would be fully justified. How can a work accomplished nineteen hundred years ago be applied to us today? What the Lord accomplished nineteen hundred years ago was not left to "dry in the wind and the sun." God has preserved and nurtured this work in the Holy Spirit. That is why this work remains so fresh. Today we can receive the work of the Lord Jesus. This work can be the same as it was before.
Once I went to a shop and the shopkeeper gave me a can of imported vegetable soup. The can looked old and ugly outside. It was covered with dust. The shopkeeper recommended it very much and was willing to sell it to me at a discount. I bought it and took it home. When I examined the date afterwards, I found out that the date was older than my age. Later, when I opened it and cooked it, I found out that the soup was still quite palatable. If the Lord Jesus’ work were not preserved in the Holy Spirit, the question of time and space would come in. How could the Savior who died on Calvary nineteen hundred years ago come into me? But with the Holy Spirit, there is no question of time and space. God has preserved the work of the Lord in the Holy Spirit. Now the work of the Lord is living. This is why the Holy Spirit is able to convey the work of the Lord into us.
I have a brother who studies biochemistry. He conducts experiments all the time. In order to cultivate a certain bacteria, he has to use a certain kind of chemical. As long as he maintains a certain temperature, the bacteria will live. If the temperature becomes too high or too low, or if other elements are added into the culture, the bacteria will die. The best environment to preserve the work of the Lord is the Holy Spirit. Once the work of the Lord leaves the Holy Spirit, it will not be able to live and will die. The same is true with the Christian life. A Christian life can never be separated from the Holy Spirit. If the truths understood by the Lord’s children are separated from the Holy Spirit, they will gradually dry out and die. Hence, all spiritual matters have to be in the Holy Spirit. Apart from the Holy Spirit, everything will die. Nothing will survive. We have to see that the Holy Spirit is the source of life. In Him is life. Apart from Him, everything is dead.
Through the Holy Spirit, God conveys everything of Himself and the work of the Lord into us. God has prepared everything related to our salvation. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit has come and is ready to convey everything that God has prepared. If there is anyone who is not saved yet, he cannot say that God has not loved him, or that the Lord Jesus has not accomplished redemption for him. He cannot say that the word is too far from him and is unreachable.
My friends, do you have a mouth? Some people may argue that they are dumb and that they do not have a mouth. But they have a heart. They can be without a mouth. But they cannot be without a heart. Romans 10:8-9 says, "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Why is this? Because God has said that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Perhaps you wonder how it can be so simple and how it is that one can be saved just by calling. This is because the Holy Spirit has come. He will save you as soon as you call. How does one call? If he has a mouth, he can use his mouth. If he does not have a mouth, he can call with his heart. This word is not far from us. It is in our mouth and even in our heart. This word is the word of justification by faith that we have been speaking of in the past few days.
(Gospel of God, The (2 volume set), Chapter 8, by Watchman Nee)
