The Fullness of the Holy Spirit — Corrie Ten Boom

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

The fullness of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And in some way I have the idea I should like to sit at your feet and listen to all that you can teach me. But perhaps afterwards we can have some talk about what I have said, and I pray that the Lord will speak to us tonight.

And will you also in the time that I speak, will you pray? You can have the horizontal and the vertical connection at the same time. Pray that the Lord will give that message that we need. And pray for me that I may not stand in the way when the Lord will speak.

In Joel 2, 28, we read, And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.

And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. It was in 1951 that I was a short time in Holland. And already 16 years long I am traveling over the world. And it is about once in the six years that I come in the same countries.

And I said to my friends in Holland, I have the idea when I come back after six years that I can tell you that the Lord gives the great miracles in all the churches where they are faithful to the word of God.

And that the Christians experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit, the fruit and the gifts. I came back after five years in 1956 and I said, no, it has not happened. But when I come now back in Holland, I can tell that it happens in many countries of the world.

And I'm very happy that here in America, I have come in, oh, also in Canada and in other countries where I have seen that the Holy Spirit has done great miracles in the hearts of Christians. I will have written down some of the things that the Lord has taught me.

Perhaps you will not be in everything, be united in this. And then I hope that you will tell me what you think about it. And I like very much to learn from you. But there are some things that I know from the word of God that is important for all of us.

The Command to Be Filled With the Spirit

Finney has once said, the greatest sin for a sinner is not to believe and even refuse Jesus as a savior. The greatest sin for a Christian is to refuse the Holy Spirit. Billy Graham came in church and they told him that a deacon had been drunk and they had immediately dismissed him.

And Billy said, I understand that, but tell me, what do you do with a deacon who is not filled with the Holy Spirit? Do you dismiss him? And they said, no. He said, that is the very same text, Ephesians 5, 18, be not drunk of wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.

You must understand that the Bible has no suggestions, only commandments. And I believe this is one of the sweetest commandments of the whole Bible. Is there in your heart a longing to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to have the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

I know that many of you have already got it. Then I will ask you, why do you long for it? There are three reasons. And is it for the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit? Sure, it is very important when children of God have the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.

But that's not the most important reason. Is it for service? That is also very important. For the Lord Jesus has said, you will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And then go and bring the gospel in Jerusalem, in Judea, and over the whole world.

Service in the kingdom of God without spirit fullness is powerless. And the world needs Christians who have power. But I believe the most important reason that we must be filled with the Holy Spirit is that we then are used to glorify Jesus.

The Holy Spirit Glorifies Jesus

In Romans 8 .16 we read, the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. But also in John 15 .26, when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, the Spirit of truth which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me.

In heaven, I believe that God the Father glorifies Jesus. Here in the world, the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus. And when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we glorify him. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we experience what a wonderful name Jesus has.

And we understand that the Bible has told us that we must do very much in Jesus' name. What does it mean, the name of Jesus? It is very important to read in the Bible that the Lord said, in my name, you shall cast out demons.

In my name, you shall lay hands on the sick. In my name, you must pray. In my name, in my name. Just study in the Bible how often Jesus says, in my name. What does it mean? It is a question what is behind that name.

When I give you a check of thousand dollars and I write my name on that check, you do not get a penny. Why not? Because behind my name is not thousand dollars. It is a question what is behind the name of Jesus.

Do you know what is behind that name? All the power in heaven and on earth. And that name, you and I, me, must use. And when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we understand what Jesus has said that we may and must do in his name.

The Power of Jesus' Name

During the war in Holland, I was an underground worker. My family, my friends, and I saved Jewish people. And in my book, A Prisoner And Yet, you can read how we worked in the underground work and how at last we were arrested.

Tonight, I will not tell so much about that, but in the other talks that I have this week, I will tell more. Now, I must tell you that the man who arrested me asked me where is your secret room. I didn't tell him that.

I had in that secret room six Jews. And I knew when I tell him where that room is, that means a cruel death for the six Jews. So you understand that I did not tell him. Then he started to beat me in the face.

He slapped me in the face cruelly. And after he had done that at the time, then I got so scared and I cried, Oh Lord Jesus, cover me. And the man said, when you say that name, I'll murder you. But he could not beat me any longer.

The wonderful name of Jesus. When the Russians entered into Germany after the war, they molested all the girls. A Christian lady invited all the girls in her surrounding to come into her basement. And when the Russians came, she stood in the door and she said, don't enter.

Jesus is here. And not one could enter. Then she said to the girls, follow me. And she went straight through the army of the Russians till she came into the American zone. And when Russian soldiers came too close, she said, don't touch us.

Jesus is here. And not one could touch them. The wonderful name of Jesus. And that name, you and I, we may, we must use. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we use the name of Jesus. The Holy Spirit does not speak about himself, but about Jesus.

You shall ask in my name, Jesus said, and my father will do it. We are here in this world that through us, Jesus Christ may be glorified. And that is why it is so very important that we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Powerless Christians grieve God's heart more than powerful communists, I believe. He that believes on me, says Jesus, out of him shall flow rivers of living water. This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him shall, should receive.

Love Through the Holy Spirit

Rivers of living water streaming out of you. Now, the great joy is that the love of God is yet brought into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us. And I learned that we can only know that that love of God is in our heart when we act God's love.

A bird does not know that it can fly before it uses its wings. And we cannot know that we are filled with God's love before we act it. What do I mean with this? In the concentration camp, people were very cruel for us.

And when they were cruel, then the hatred tried to enter into my heart. But the Holy Spirit taught me a prayer, a thank you for Romans 5, 5. The love of God is yet brought into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us.

And I said, thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have brought into my heart God's love through the Holy Spirit who is given to me. And thank you, Father, that your love in me is victorious over the bitterness that is in my heart and the cruelty that is around me.

And there was no room for bitterness. God's love still stands also when all else has fallen. And God's love never fails. And that is the great joy, that that love is available for every one of us. But the fullness of the Holy Spirit means defeat for the enemy.

Spiritual Warfare and Victory

No wonder that he strives to keep us back. And when I tell you what I have found going over the world, in many different churches, then first I can say only hallelujah. I found formal churches where there was a peace and joy and a hallelujah that I had never expected that should come in these churches.

But I also found that the enemy had been very active. We must understand that you and I are standing in the front line of the battle. And there is a terrific battle between the powers of darkness and light in this time.

And when you are standing in the front line, you are a strategic point for the enemy. And I have found that the people who have had the baptism of the Holy Spirit are very often attacked by the enemy.

And then I found that several results. Now, when I speak about this, I don't tell you this to be discouraged. For we must understand that every Christian, although he stands in the front line of the battle, stands on victory ground.

We are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. And we are in the midst of the battle, but those who are with us are far more and far stronger than those who are against us. And we fight from the position of victory towards the position of victory.

Hallelujah. Jesus is always victorious. We have only to keep a right relationship with him and his victorious light will find us and stream through us and touch other people. Now, one of the tricks of the enemy is that he tries to bring into the hearts of these people who have had this tremendous experience, criticism on other Christians.

I have found spirit-filled people who were quarreling with each other. And that is a very sad thing. But I am so thankful to the Lord that sometimes he has used me to bring them together. I was in a church where the Lord had done great miracles.

And there were people who had had the gift of tongues, the real baptism of the Holy Spirit. And there were people who were really also filled with the Holy Spirit, but had never spoken in tongues. And what did these people, they just fought and quarreled with each other.

I said, for shame, are you filled with the Holy Spirit and you have the gift of tongues? Then show that you are filled with the Holy Spirit. But by the fruit of the Spirit, love. And love these dear people, these dear Christian people, who have not the privilege that they speak in tongues.

And you have the Holy Spirit and you have not the tongues? Then just love these people who have that privilege. There is an ocean of God's love available for every spirit-filled Christian. And criticism among the Christians is a terrible victory for the enemy.

Rejecting Criticism and Fear

We know that the brethren have come from darkness into light because they quarrel with each other. No, because they love each other. I like the translation of Phillips because that's an English that even a Dutch can understand.

And in Romans 14, he said some very good things about criticism. And sometimes he is so full of humor that I do not know who has such a sense of humor, if it is Phillips or Paul or the Holy Spirit, perhaps all three of them.

Sure, they are all three of them. Now, welcome a man whose faith is weak, but not of arguing over his cripples. After all, who are you to criticize the servant of somebody else, especially when that somebody else is God?

Isn't that good? It is to his own master that he gives or fails to give satisfactory service. And don't doubt that satisfaction, for God is well able to transform men into servants who are satisfactory.

Why then criticize your brother's actions? Why try to make him look small? We shall all be judged one day, not by each other's standards or even our own, but by the standard of Jesus Christ. Let us therefore stop turning critical eyes on one another.

If we must be critical, let us be critical of our own conduct and see that we do nothing to make a brother stumble or fall. So let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony. Your personal convictions are a matter of faith between yourself and God.

We who have strong faith ought to shoulder the burden of the doubts and qualms of others and not just to go our own sweet way. That's good English, eh? Criticism. You can't be a Christian, some people say.

I've heard them say, you can't be a Christian if you have not had the same experience as I. And, you know, that is something that is not very new. Even Isaiah speaks about the people who have the attitude of holier than thou.

And he says that this is smoke in God's nose. Then there is, when the enemy has been busy, there is confusion and fear. I found that in many churches where God had given this tremendous blessing, but this confusion and fear is of course not from the Lord.

In 2 Timothy 1 .7 we read God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind. And love casts out fear. These things we may not accept when there is confusion. Then ask the Lord to show if there is in your heart, in your fleshlight, a rag.

And be sure that you have a clean heart. Not by trying to be good, but by just bringing your sins to the Lord. And he will forgive and cleanse. The victorious life is the normal life for a Christian. We all can be, can have a clean heart, because Jesus not only died for us, but far more, he lives for us.

In Romans 8 it is written, 1. No condemnation now hangs over the head of those who are in Jesus Christ, for the new spiritual principle of life in Christ lifts me out of the old vicious circle of sin and death.

Isn't that good? We all know that vicious circle of sin and death. The vicious circle of death. We are ill. We go to bed and rest and we are better. We are ill again. We take some drugs and we are better.

We get ill again and we call a doctor. He gives us an operation and we are better. We are ill again and we die. A vicious circle. And now Jesus lifts us out of that vicious circle. And he gives us everlasting life.

He that believes on the name of the Son of God, Jesus, can know that they have everlasting life. And a vicious circle of sin. Oh, we all know that. I try to be good. And I'm good. Boy, how good I am. But the devil is far stronger than me.

It may be true what the scoffer says, that the devil is dead and gone, but sensible people should like to know who carries the business on. I know that the devil is still alive. And I fall again. But now I do my best again to be good.

And I am victorious, yes, but I fall again. It is a vicious circle. Because the devil is stronger than I. And now Jesus lifts us out of that old vicious circle of sin and death. And he brings us into the blessed circle of the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Confession, Cleansing, and Holy Living

What do I mean? I sin. Oh, yes. We need the whole armor of God till the last moment of our life. In our battle. We are a strategic point for the enemy. And we sin. But hallelujah, we have not to accept it.

I bring the rag to the Lord. I confess my sin. I repent. And the blood of Jesus is available. And he cleanses me. And then he fills me with the Holy Spirit. And the fruit of the Spirit is love and peace and kindness and goodness and joy and self-control.

Just opposite of what the sins were. What a joy. We sin again, but the blood of Jesus is available. And like a windshield wiper is there. And there comes rain on your windshield. And the windshield wiper takes it away.

But it comes immediately again with rain. The windshield wiper goes through right and left, right and left. I gave a talk in Calcutta. And afterwards I had spoken about our victory over sins and the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

And I gave an invitation and there came a couple to me. And the man said, I don't like your too easy gospel. That is easy. You tell that you sin and that you repent of your sins. And there is forgiveness and cleansing by the blood of Jesus.

But again you sin. And then the blood of Jesus is available like the windshield wiper is available. That is too easy for me. I said, wait a moment. Have you listened the whole hour that I spoke? The Lord Jesus says that when we have cast out one demon and the house is empty.

Then that demon will get seven other demons and fill the heart. And the last is worse than the first. If we only repent of our sins and we stop there, then it is an easy life. And then you could say, oh, come along.

I can sin just as much as I like. No. Then you must be filled with the Holy Spirit. And that is the joy. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you do not like to sin. It is a terrible experience when we sin.

And we hate the sins because the Holy Spirit in us hates the sins. And then because of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we love the Lord. And we love goodness and we hate sins. And then that man said, oh, now I understand it.

I said, did you ever receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior? He said, no, I never did. I said, will you do it? And I showed him the way of salvation. And that man folded his hands and he said, Lord Jesus, my wife and I receive you now as our Savior.

And my wife and I will bring all our sins to you. We will repent of our sins. And my wife and I thank you that you will cleanse our hearts. And that went on a beautiful prayer, but all in the weak form.

My wife and I, I've never heard a thing like that. After he said amen, I said, I'm very happy for that prayer. I thought it was beautiful. But may I ask, Mrs., did you agree with what your husband said?

For this is a decision that everyone must take for him, him, or herself. Oh, she said, sure, I stand behind that prayer, for I brought my husband forward. I said, all right. And as a good counselor, I wrote down their name and address.

But I was not a very good counselor, for I forgot to write down what denomination they were. And I think we must always write it down to tell the minister of the church that these people have made a decision.

So I went to the minister and I said, see, I was a couple who have both accepted the Lord, but I forgot to ask the church where they belong. But will you find that out and do the follow-up work? And he said, what?

Do you know who that is? I said, no. He said, that is the Seventh-day Adventist minister and his wife. No, I understood that man was still under the law. He could not understand it first. And I like that little poem of John Bunyan.

Run, John, run, the law commands, but gives us neither feet nor hands. Far better news the gospel brings. It bids us fly and gives us wings. Isn't that good? The fruit of the Spirit. We must love even our enemies, but the Holy Spirit in its fullness gives us the love.

It tells us fly, but gives us wings. Hallelujah. Isn't that a joy? That is what means that we live under grace and not under the law. Yes, that is why we can be very strict. And the Bible is strict in its discipline.

But it gives the answer. It bids us fly and gives us wings. Now there is one other thing that I have found. That some people say, after the enemy has worked in them, Oh, I don't need the Bible anymore.

Now I have so much contact with the Lord myself that that book I don't need. I get my inspiration direct from the Lord. Now I know that the enemy is busy. Jesus needed the Bible. Jesus always said it is written.

And you and I need the Bible. And where there is the real thing, I can tell you, that Father Bennett in Seattle said, after I have had a baptism of the Holy Spirit, it is as if the Lord has poured out thousands of riches in the Bible for me.

I can't understand. And I got a new look on the old book. And that's what we must have. And we need the Word of God. The Lord Jesus said in John 5 .39, Search the scriptures, for they are they which testify of me.

When, yes, that is the thing we must be very, very careful for. And you know, through such things the confusion comes. And we are not called to bring confusions, but we are called to be the channels of streams of rivers of living water.

Spirit-Filled Witness in Suffering

I believe that I know that God knows what is going to come. And I believe that very soon, no, now already, many thousands of Christians have to suffer as martyrs. And I think it is God's providence that He gives this baptism of the Holy Spirit to many people who perhaps have to suffer and to die as martyrs.

We all know that one of the terrible means of the Antichrist is the brainwashing. And there is nothing what can make such, only one thing what can make you strong in that terrible brainwashing, and that is the fullness of the Holy Spirit and also the gift of tongues.

When we speak in tongues, the enemy cannot attack us as that we have not this gift. And that's why I'm so happy that a lot is doing this in this time. I believe it is good that we see the reality. We must, I believe that a Christian may not have any fear, but we must be very realistic.

I don't believe that there is one inch less danger in the world now than in the first week of the Cuba crisis. It is just as serious as in this week, and everyone who has brains knows that we are at the verge of a terrible crisis in world history.

And if I had never believed in the Bible, I should now believe in the Bible when I read the newspapers, for all the signs of the time that the Bible has given are written now in the newspapers. And when I understand it well, then I believe that a great tribulation for some, it will be that we will be translated.

But now already many Christians go through the tribulation, and it could be that we have to go through it, but don't fear. Be filled with the Holy Spirit, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit will give you all the grace that you have to stand in the evil day, and even when you have come to a standstill, still stand your ground.

I believe that the fullness of the Holy Spirit is for all who are far. In Acts 2 we read that the promise is for all, even who are very far. And the only thing is that we must be open for Jesus and all what he will give us, and be closed for the world and all what the world will give us.

Do we need a fresh infilling? Immediately we should, by prayer and faith, appropriate a fresh filling. The heavenly Father does not refuse the Holy Spirit, just like an earthly father does not refuse a child's bread.

That's what Jesus has said. Perhaps it is for you interesting that I tell you how when I had the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it was years ago, I believe about eight years ago, that I was in my hometown and I had a little accident.

It was not serious, but after all, I had so hurt my hip that I could not move. And it was very difficult for me, full of energy and pep and work, and suddenly I had to be in my bed and could not move and was dependent on my nurse.

I had to go to Germany after that, and I knew that in a conference of students, they were waiting for me. I said to the doctor, what can we do? Oh, the doctor said, you have to take rest a long time and just be happy that your hip is not broken, but it is so wounded that you cannot walk a long time.

I said, Lord, I can't believe that that is your will. And I said to my friend, don't you know someone who has the gift of healing? He said, yes. And they phoned a brother who had the gift of healing, and he came to me.

The first thing he asked me is, is there in your heart an unrepentant sin? And I had not to look very far, and I saw a very dirty rag. I was very demanding for my nurse. I was not ill, and I was full of pep and action, and suddenly I had to be so dependent on my nurse, and I was very impatient.

And I had to repent of my sins, that was the first thing. The rags had to be removed. And then that brother laid his hand on me, and when he did that, I got the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and a tremendous joy came in my heart.

And I spoke in tongues, and I was so happy, and I said to that brother, can I now walk? He said, you have prayed for a cup full, and you got an ocean. And I could not walk, but I was so happy, and it was not difficult at all to be patient with my nurse, because the Holy Spirit filled my heart.

Now after a short time, I could walk first with a stick, and I went to Germany. Now I did not know what God knew, that in Germany I had to fight face to face with the demons. And God gave me power after the Holy Spirit had filled me, and so I could be used to overcome the demons.

It was a great joy. And now I will close with... I will tell you one thing. Be sure that you do not give room for the enemy. Be thankful for what the Lord has given or is willing to give you. But put on the whole armor of God, that you need to stand in the evil day, and even if you have come to a standstill, still stand your ground.

The Whole Armor of God

Ephesians 6, 10. In conclusion, be strong. Not in yourselves, but in the Lord, in the power of His boundless resource. Put on God's complete armor, so that you can successfully resist all the devil's methods of attack.

For our fight is not against any physical enemy. It is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil.

And they know that their time is very short. Therefore you must wear the whole armor of God, that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when you have fought to a standstill, you may still stand your ground.

Take your stand then with truth at your belt. Who is our truth? Jesus. Righteousness, your breastplate. Who is our righteousness? Jesus. The gospel of peace firmly on your feet. Who is our peace? Jesus.

Salvation as your helmet. Jesus is our salvation. And in your hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Above all, be sure you take faith as your shield, for it can quench every burning missile the enemy hurls at you.

Pray at all times with every kind of spiritual prayer, keeping alert and persistent as you pray for all Christ's men and women. John 15, the branch of the vine. Jesus said, I in you, you in me. Then we have the armor of God.

And it is so. It is not easy. Napoleon once said to his men, Gentlemen, when you fight for me, when you are my soldiers, I must warn you. When you are hungry, I cannot promise you food. When it is bad weather, I cannot promise you shelter.

When you follow Napoleon, that means blood and sweat. But one thing I can tell you, when you follow Napoleon, you are in your fight for an emperor who never lost a battle. But Napoleon lost the last battle.

But when we are in Jesus' service, and have his armor, then it can mean starvation. It can mean hardships. It can mean martyrdom. But we fight for a king who never lost a battle and who will never lose a battle.

For Jesus was victor, Jesus is victor, and Jesus will be victor. And very soon, every knee will bow for King Jesus. We stand at the victorious side. And one thing I have forgotten to tell you, God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him.

We have to be obedient, and otherwise we cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit. When I came from Germany, the concentration camp, back to Holland, I said to my friends, one thing I can tell you, I hope that I will go over the world wherever God sends me, but one thing I hope that God will never send me to Germany.

I hope never to see again a German or hear a German word. Was that obedience? No. Guidance? The Lord did not give me an answer. There are many promises in the Bible that God has said, even you will hear a voice behind you, this is the way.

And have you ever heard about a good shepherd who does not guide his sheep? I knew there was nothing wrong with the shepherd but with the sheep. And I said, Father, is there perhaps a disobedience in my life?

And immediately came the answer, Germany. And I said then also to Germany, God, and in my book Amazing Love and Not Good If Detached, you can read how God used me in Germany. No, they are not my enemies.

Because of my experiences, my judgment was not right. My greatest friends live in Germany, but I found also my enemies. And it was the greatest joy to bring them the gospel of forgiveness and love. But I had learned that we must obey.

And I am so glad that the Holy Spirit gives us all the power that we need. And that's what Jesus has said. You will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And then go and bring the gospel in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and over the whole world.

Hallelujah. Amen. Oh, thank you, Father, in Jesus' name, that you have given us the Holy Spirit, and your love, the fruit of the Spirit, and that your love is victorious over everything, every problem.

Now, Lord, here we are. Oh, how we need a new infilling of the Spirit. And, Lord, you know how the enemy tries to bring confusion, and criticism, and all kinds of fear. How he tries to shut our eyes for the word of God.

Oh, Lord, give us the armor, the whole armor, so that we can stand victoriously. Thank you, Jesus, that you are our armor. You and us. We in you. Hallelujah. Amen.

We urge everyone to stay for 24 minutes of the talk, which was removed in order to make a shorter talk for those who cannot program a longer one.

The Christian's Mission to the Lost

I was in a prison in New Zealand, and I spoke to these men, these criminals, about a text where Jesus has said, like the Father has sent me, so I send you. Why did God send Jesus? To seek and to save that what was lost.

Why does Jesus send you and me? To seek and to save that what was lost. Jesus said, you are the light of the world, the salt of the earth. Now, wait a moment. Can you speak in that way to criminals in a prison?

Mustn't you tell you are the darkness of the world? A prisoner told me that he had, that 10 Sundays, every Sunday, there had been a different speaker in the chapel, and all 10 had spoken about a prodigal son.

That's good for criminals. Say, decent sinner, have you never been a prodigal son? Then it's high time that you become one. I like to speak to criminals in prisons about the great task that every saved sinner has in this world.

And I hope all of you to see later in heaven. And I hope to introduce you to my friends who are still serving their terms as criminals in prisons. But the Lord Jesus has touched their hearts, and they are the greatest soul winners that I know.