nd go on in our work leaving the matter of experience to God's
time and place. We get assurance that we have received the baptism with
the Holy Spirit in precisely the same way that we get assurance of our
salvation. When an inquirer comes to you, whom you have reason to believe
really has received Jesus but who lacks assurance, what do you do with
him? Do you tell him to kneel down and pray until he gets assurance? Not
if you know how to deal with a soul. You know that true assurance comes
through the Word of God, that it is through what is "written" that we are
to know that we have eternal life (1 John v. 13). So you take the inquirer
to the written Word. For example, you take him to John iii. 36. You tell
him to read it. He reads, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting
life." You ask him, "Who has everlasting life?" He replies from the
passage before him, "He that believeth on the Son." "How many who believe
on the Son have everlasting life?" "Every one that believes on the Son."
"Do you know this to be true?" "Yes." "Why?" "Because God says so." "What
does God say?" "God says, 'He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting
life.' " "Do you believe on the Son?" "Yes." "What have you then?" He
ought to say, "Everlasting life," but quite likely he will not. He may
say, "I wish I had everlasting life." You point him again to the verse and
by questions bring out what it says, and you hold him to it until he sees
that he has everlasting life; sees that he has everlasting life simply
because God says so. After he has assurance on the ground of the Word, he
will have assurance by personal experience, by the testimony of the Spirit
in his heart. Now you should deal with yourself in precisely the same way
about the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Hold yourself to the word found in
1 John v. 14, 15, and know that you have the baptism with the Spirit
simply because God says so in His Word, whether you feel it or not.
Afterwards you will know it by experience. God's order is always: first,
His Word; second, belief in His Word; third, experience, or feeling. We
desire to change God's order, and have first, His Word, then feeling, then
we will believe. But God demands that we believe on His naked Word.
"Abraham _believed God_ and it was accounted to him for righteousness"
(Gal. iii. 6; cf. Gen. xv. 6). Abraham had as yet no feeling in his body
of new life and power. He just believed God and feeling came afterwards.
God demands