The Normalcy of the Spirit 417
A Spirit of RaptureOne other facet of the normal spirit needs to be discussed besides
those features mentioned already. This one we would term the spirit
of rapture. Christians ought to have a spirit which is perpetually in an
out-of-this-world and ascending-into-heaven state. Such a spirit as
this is deeper than one of ascension, for those who possess the former
not only live on earth as though in heaven but also are truly led of the
Lord to wait for His return and their own rapture. When a believer’s
spirit is united to the Lord’s and they become one spirit, he
commences to live in the world as a sojourner, experiencing the life
of a heavenly citizen. Following that, the Holy Spirit will call him to
take one further step and will give him the spirit of rapture. Formerly
his impetus was “Go forward!”—now it becomes “Ascend up!”
Everything about him rises heavenward. The spirit of rapture is that
spirit which has tasted the powers of the age to come (Heb. 6.5).
Not all who accept the truth of the Second Coming possess this
spirit of rapture. Men may believe in the Lord’s return, preach His
Second Coming, and pray for His return and yet not have this spirit.
Even mature ones do not necessarily possess it. The spirit of rapture
is the gift of God. It is sometimes dispensed by God as He pleases
and sometimes granted by Him in response to prayers of faith. When
possessed of this spirit the believer’s inner being seems always to be
in a state of rapture. He believes not only in the return of the Lord
but also in his being transported. Rapture is more than an article of
faith; it is to him a fact. Just as Simeon, through the revelation of the
Holy Spirit, trusted that he would not taste death before he had seen
the Lord’s Christ (Luke 2. 26), so believers should have the
assurance in their spirit that they will be transported to the Lord
before they die. Such faith is the faith of an Enoch. Now we are not
being stubbornly superstitious here; but if we live in the time of
rapture, how can we be lacking in such faith? Such belief will help us
to understand more of what God is doing in this age as well as obtain
heavenly power for our work.