THE SPIRIT’S LEADING AND WITNESSING
BEING HIS PRESENCE
Romans 8:14 says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." The leading of the Spirit is His presence. It is the presence of the Spirit as His leading that designates us as the sons of God. Verse 16 says, "The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God." The Spirit’s witnessing is also His presence. Romans 9:1 says, "In Christ I speak the truth, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit." "In the Holy Spirit" again indicates the presence of the Spirit.
ENJOYING THE DISPENSING OF THE TRIUNE GOD
THROUGH HIS PRESENCE AS THE SPIRIT
The Lord Jesus became the Spirit in His resurrection, and this Spirit, who is the consummation of the Triune God, is always with us. We do not need to pray and fast for the Spirit’s coming to us. He is already here. Moreover, we are filled with the Spirit. Christ is the wonderful Savior, and we have the wonderful Spirit always within us. Before the incarnation, God was objective to us. However, He was incarnated, lived on the earth, died on the cross, resurrected, and became a life-giving Spirit. Now all things have been accomplished for the dispensing of the divine Trinity. We are now in His dispensing, and the basic factor of His dispensing is His presence as the Spirit. If water did not have a presence in our homes through the water pipes, we could not enjoy the water. However, since the water has been installed in our homes, we can enjoy it at any time by turning on the faucets. In the same way, God’s dispensing today is in His presence, and the presence of the Triune God is the Spirit.
The Triune God’s presence is all-inclusive. Many times we fail and make mistakes, but His redeeming blood is His provision for us. Moreover, this provision is found in His presence. He is the very consummated Spirit, and He is the totality of the Triune God, compounded with all the divine attributes, human virtues, His redeeming death, and His life-giving resurrection. As such a One He is in us as His presence. We are under His presence, so we must exercise our faith to "turn on the faucet" and enjoy His presence. We must not take the natural way, considering our feelings and seeking to have outward evidence of the divine facts. We should reject our feelings. Our feelings mean nothing, and we should not trust them. We should rather treasure what the New Testament says. Some among us should compose poems and songs about the items of the New Testament which we have enjoyed. When we sing such songs, we will be victorious, holy, spiritual, divine, and heavenly. This is to enjoy the fullness of the Spirit within us essentially and upon us economically.
(Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990, Chapter 13, by Witness Lee)
