The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 164

:

THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY

124

Holy

of the

SPIRIT

came rushing through the connecting channels

Spirit

into the heart of every believer.

Formerly of all the

isolation,

every

members under

man

for himself;

their one

between the days before and

Head:

after Pentecost.

now

organic union

this is the difference

The

essential fact of

on that day the Holy Spirit entered for the first time into the organic body of the Church, and individuals came to drink, not each by himself, but all together in organic Pentecost consisted in

this, that

union.

To

the question where that system of connecting channels uni-

ting us in one

no answer.

body under our Head may be found, we can give

This belongs to things invisible and spiritual which

escape our observation, of which tion than that

Yet

of

other representa-

this does not alter the fact that the organic union really

exists. life

we can have no

by an image.

The Word

of

God

is to

us

its

man and

illustrate

said: "I

undeniable witness.

Organic

body These are the very types that Christ uses to the spiritual union between Himself and His people. He

appears in nature in two forms

am

:

in the plant,

and

in the

animal.

the Vine, ye are the branches."

And

St.

Paul speaks

become one plant with Christ. And he frequently uses the image of the body and its members. Hence there can be no doubt that there exists a mystic union between Christ and believers which works by means of an organic connection, uniting the Head and the members in a for us invisible and incomprehensible manner. By means of this organic -union the Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost from Christ the Head into us, the members of His body. of having

If it were possible to construct the city's water-works in the air above the city, the chief engineer could properly say " When I turn on the water for the first time I will baptize the city with water. In similar sense Christ may be said to have baptized His Church with the Holy Spirit. For the word of John the Baptist, " I indeed baptize you with water, but He that cometh after me is mightier than I; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost," is explained by Christ Himself as referring to the day of Pentecost (Acts i. 5) " And being assembled together with Him, He commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with thj :

"

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