The Holy Spirit GROWTH IN SURRENDER
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18.
The first phase of the Holy Spirit's work in this world is to convict the sinner. The second phase is to convert the sinner. The third work is to cleanse the Christian, and the fourth work is to commission for service.
It is during the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit that the fruits of the Spirit are developed and manifest in the life. It is not the gifts of the Spirit that change our lives--their purpose is to make us useful in God's service. Our lives must be cleansed beforewe are empowered for service.
When a person is converted he has come to the place of giving up on himself and depending totally on Christ. If he were to stay in this stance the rest of his days and depend totally on Christ all the time and never on himself, he would not fall or fail. So long as we rely upon God's power we do not fail; the devil has no power over us. But growing Christians are cruelly aware that they do fall and fail. This is because we do not stay in total dependence upon God's power. We depend upon Him part of the time and part of the time we go back to our old habits of depending upon self.
At the beginning of the Christian life, when a person is born again, he experiences a sample of what God has in mind for him. As he grows he learns to depend upon God's power more and more constantly. We are perfect in birth, when we are born again; and as we grow, we can be perfect in growth. When we have learned to depend upon God's power all the time and never upon our own power, we will be perfect in maturity.
The cleansing work of the Holy Spirit begins at the time of conversion, and brings growth in the constancy of surrender. Surrender is an all-or-nothing thing at any given point. We can never depend partly upon God and partly on ourselves. The only way partial or incomplete surrender happens is as we depend upon God part of the time and on self part of the time. The growth in the Christian life is progressing toward a more constant dependence upon His power. This is not our work, because "no man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work."--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 159. Christ does this work through the power of the Holy Spirit as we continue our daily fellowship with Him.
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18.
The first phase of the Holy Spirit's work in this world is to convict the sinner. The second phase is to convert the sinner. The third work is to cleanse the Christian, and the fourth work is to commission for service.
It is during the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit that the fruits of the Spirit are developed and manifest in the life. It is not the gifts of the Spirit that change our lives--their purpose is to make us useful in God's service. Our lives must be cleansed beforewe are empowered for service.
When a person is converted he has come to the place of giving up on himself and depending totally on Christ. If he were to stay in this stance the rest of his days and depend totally on Christ all the time and never on himself, he would not fall or fail. So long as we rely upon God's power we do not fail; the devil has no power over us. But growing Christians are cruelly aware that they do fall and fail. This is because we do not stay in total dependence upon God's power. We depend upon Him part of the time and part of the time we go back to our old habits of depending upon self.
At the beginning of the Christian life, when a person is born again, he experiences a sample of what God has in mind for him. As he grows he learns to depend upon God's power more and more constantly. We are perfect in birth, when we are born again; and as we grow, we can be perfect in growth. When we have learned to depend upon God's power all the time and never upon our own power, we will be perfect in maturity.
The cleansing work of the Holy Spirit begins at the time of conversion, and brings growth in the constancy of surrender. Surrender is an all-or-nothing thing at any given point. We can never depend partly upon God and partly on ourselves. The only way partial or incomplete surrender happens is as we depend upon God part of the time and on self part of the time. The growth in the Christian life is progressing toward a more constant dependence upon His power. This is not our work, because "no man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work."--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 159. Christ does this work through the power of the Holy Spirit as we continue our daily fellowship with Him.
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