Hymns, #544 says, "Lord Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine; / For Thee all the pleasures of sin I resign; / My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou, / If ever I loved Thee, Lord Jesus, 'tis now." The typical experience of new believers after they are saved is that they desire to be delivered from their sinful living because of their love for the Lord. A sister may pray, "Lord, thank You for cleansing me with Your precious blood, and thank You that the Holy Spirit has entered into me. From now on I will be more patient with my husband and will no longer lose my temper with him," However, this kind of prayer does not work. After she prays, this sister may still lose her temper and may even become worse. Some believers who have had such an experience may begin to doubt the Lord Jesus, feeling that He is not real, because such prayers and vows do not work.
I wish to give an illustration of this kind of experience. About fifty years ago I lived in Chefoo. At that time not many families in that city had electric lights; instead, most used kerosene lamps. A brother among us who specialized in installing electric lights told me that I needed electric lights and offered to install them for me. However, the evening after he installed the electric lights, I still asked my children to bring matches to light the lamps, because after decades of using kerosene lamps I was not yet accustomed to turning on electric lights. As soon as they heard me asking for matches, they broke out into laughter, saying, "We already have electric lights installed in the house. Why do we need to light the kerosene lamps!" I was reminded then to use the switch, and the lights turned on. Twenty-five years ago when I visited different places in the United States to minister, I often took hospitality in the saints' homes. In some homes the rooms in which I stayed had electric lights, but I was unable to turn them on because the switches were hidden from view.
The salvation that we received at our regeneration may be likened to electric lights. Before we received salvation, it was as if we had no ''electric lights" installed and were still using "kerosene lamps." After we received salvation, the "electric lights" were installed, yet we were still not accustomed to "switching on the lights." Thus, we did not know how to apply the salvation that we had received. The fact that the Lord Jesus was crucified for us may be easy to understand, but the fact that He became the Spirit to dwell in us may be abstract. Some believers may wonder how the great Savior can dwell in man who is small. However, this is the word of the Bible (John 14:17; 1 Cor. 3:16). The Gospel of John records that after the Lord resurrected, He came to the disciples and breathed into them, saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (20:22). This indicates that the Lord be-came the Spirit and that the Spirit is the Lord's breath (1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17). The disciples' receiving the Spirit may be compared to our breathing in air. Whether sitting or standing, we are always breathing, and our breathing refreshes us. After we believed in the Lord, we had not only peace and joy but also the feeling of being refreshed. Although we may not have shouted excitedly, we nevertheless felt inwardly refreshed because the Lord as air entered into us.
As saved ones, we have the Lord's precious blood and the Holy Spirit, both of which are effective. We love the Lord and desire to please Him, but we often unintentionally fail. For instance, when a saint speaks a word contrary to our opinion, we may feel offended and lose our temper. After believing in the Lord, our inner being was refreshed, but today we may no longer feel refreshed, because we may have often failed and lost our temper. Whenever we fail, we need to heed 1 John 1: 9, which says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This refers to the efficacy of Christ's precious blood. His blood not only cleanses us from our sins but also purifies our con-science (Heb. 10:22). Whenever we sin, our conscience becomes un-clean. However, when our conscience is cleansed by the blood, we can have fellowship with God and with our fellow believers (1 John 1:6-7). Moreover, the Holy Spirit within us supplies us continually. If we are willing to remain in the death of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit will be able to apply the effectiveness of His death to us. When we deny ourselves, we afford the Holy Spirit within us an opportunity to supply life to us. When He supplies us, we can bear the unbearable and do the impossible. Although I sometimes feel powerless to speak for the Lord, the Holy Spirit supplies me within so that I am empowered to speak.