eases ever more, and yet more. And, too, we may
become much more sensitive to the Spirit's presence. We may grow into
better mediums for the transmission of His power. As the hindrances and
limitations of centuries of sin's warping and stupefying are gradually
lessened there is a freer better channel for the through-flowing of His
power.

A Transition Stage.

Such seems to be the teaching of the old Book. Let us look into it a
little more particularly. One needs to be discriminating in quoting the
Book of Acts on this subject. That book marks _a transition stage_
historically in the experience possible to men. Some of the older
persons in the Acts lived in three distinct periods. There was the Old
Testament period when a salvation was foretold and promised. Then came
the period when Jesus was on the earth and did a wholly new thing in the
world's history in actually working out a salvation. And then followed
the period of the Holy Spirit applying to men the salvation worked out
by Jesus. All these persons named in the Book of Acts lived both before
and after the day of Pentecost, which marked the descent of the Holy
Spirit. The Book of Acts marks the clear establishing of the transition
from the second to the third of these three periods. Ever since then men
have lived _after_ Pentecost. The transitional period of the Book of
Acts is behind us.

Men in Old Testament times both in the Hebrew nation and outside of it
were born of the Spirit, and under His sway. But there was a limit to
what He could do, because there was a limit to what had been done. The
Holy Spirit is the executive member of the Godhead. He applies to men
what has been worked out, or achieved for them, and only that. Jesus
came and did a new thing which stands wholly alone in history. He lived
a sinless life, and then He died sacrificially for men, and then
further, arose up to a new life after death. The next step necessary was
the sending down of the divine executive to work out in men this new
achievement. He does in men what Jesus did for them. He can do much more
for us than for the Old Testament people because much more has been done
for us by God through Jesus. The standing of a saved man before
Pentecost was like that of a young child in a rich family who cannot
under the provisions of the family will come into his inheritance until
the majority age is reached. After the Son of God came, men are _through
Him_ reckoned as being _as He is_, n