“The Lord is thy keeper… The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil,… He shall preserve thy soul” Psalm 121:5,7.

“I know Him whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day” 2 Timothy 1:12.

The Lord has not only received you, but He will also keep you.1 For young disciples of Christ who are still weak, there is no lesson that is more necessary than this. The lovely name, “the Lord thy keeper,” must be carried in the heart until the assurance of an Almighty keeping becomes as strong with us as it was with Paul, when he spoke that glorious word, “I know Him in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” Come and learn this lesson from him.

Learn from Paul to deposit your pledge with Jesus. Paul had surrendered himself, body and soul, to the Lord Jesus–that was his pledge which he had deposited with the Lord. You have also surrendered yourselves to the Lord, but perhaps not with the clear understanding that it is in order to be kept every day. Do this now daily. Deposit your soul with Jesus as a dear pledge that He will keep it secure. Do this same thing with every part of your life. Is there something that you cannot properly hold? Yom heart, because it is too worldly?2 Your tongue, because it is too idle?3 Your temper, because it is too passionate?4 Your calling to confess the Lord because you are too weak?5 Learn, then, to deposit it as a pledge to be kept with Jesus, so that He may fulfill in you the promise of God concerning it. You often pray and strive against a sin in vain. It is because-although this too is done with God’s help–you want to be the person who overcomes. No, entrust the matter wholly to Jesus, “the battle is not yours, but God’s.”6 Leave it in His hands. Believe in Him to do it for you. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even your faith.”7 But you must first place it wholly out of your hands and into His.

Learn from Paul to set your confidence only on the power of Jesus. I am persuaded that He is able to keep my pledge. You have an Almighty Jesus to keep you. Faith keeps itself occupied only with His omnipotence.8 Let your faith be especially strengthened in what God is able to do for you.9 Expect, with certainty, that He will do great and glorious things for you, entirely above your own strength. See in the Holy Scriptures how constantly the power of God was the foundation for the trust of His people. Take these words and hide them in your heart. Let the power of Jesus fill your soul. Ask only, “What is my Jesus able to do?” What you really trust Him with, He is able to keep.10

And learn also from Paul where he obtained the assurance that this power would keep his pledge. He found it in his knowledge of Jesus. “I know Him whom I have believed,” therefore I am assured.11 You can trust the power of Jesus, if you know that He is yours, if you converse with Him as your friend. Then you can say, “I know whom I have believed. I know that He holds me very dear. I know and am assured that He is able to keep my pledge.” This is the sure way to the full assurance of faith. Deposit your pledge with Jesus, and give yourselves wholly into His hands. Think much on His might, and rely upon Him. Live with Him so that you may always know in whom you have believed.

Young disciples of Christ, please receive this word, “The Lord is thy keeper.” For every weakness, every temptation, learn to deposit your soul with Him as a pledge. You can depend on it, you can shout joyfully over it. “The Lord shall keep you from all evil.”12

Holy Jesus, I take You as my Keeper. Let Your name, “The Lord thy keeper, “sound as a song in my heart the whole day. Teach me to deposit my case as a pledge with You in every need, and to be assured that You are able to keep it. Amen.

Footnotes

1)Gen. 28: 15; Deut. 7:9; 32:10; Ps. 17:8; 89:33,34; Rom. 11:2,29

2) Ps. 51:17; Jer. 31:33

3) Ps. 31:6; 141:3

4) Ps. 119:165; Jer. 26:3,4; John 14:27; Phil. 4:6,7; 2 Thess. 3:16

5) Isa. 1:7; Jer. 1:9; Matt. 10:19,20

6) Ex. 14:14; Deut. 3:22; 20:4; 2 Chron. 20:15

7) Matt. 9:28; 1 John 5:3,4

8) Gen. 17:1; 18:14; Jer. 32:17,27; Matt. 8:27; 28:18; Luke 1:37,49; 18:27; Rom. 4:21; Heb. 11:19

9) Rom. 4:21; 14:4; 2 Cor. 9:8; 2 Tim. 1:13

10)John 13:1; 1 Cor. 1:8,9

11) John 10:14,28; Gal. 2:20; 2 Tim. 4:18; 1 John 2:13,14

12) Josh. 1:9; Ps. 23:4; Rom. 8:35

Notes

1. There was once a woman who for years, and with much prayer, had striven against her temper but could not obtain the victory. On a certain day she resolved not to come out of her room until by earnest prayer she had the power to overcome. She went out in the opinion that she would succeed. Scarcely had she been in the household when some thing gave her offence and caused her to be angry. She was deeply ashamed, burst into tears and hastened back to her room. A daughter, who understood the way of faith better than she, went to her and said, “Mother, I have observed your conflict. May I tell you what I think the hindrance is?” “Yes, my child.” “Mother, you struggle against temper and pray that the Lord may help you to overcome. This is wrong. The Lord must do it alone. You must give your temper wholly into His hands. Then He takes it wholly and He keeps you.” The mother could not understand this at first, but later it was made clear to her. And she enjoyed the blessedness of the life in which Jesus keeps us, and we by faith have the victory. Do you understand this?

2. The expression, “The Lord must help me to overcome,” is altogether outside of the New Testament. The grace of God in the soul does not become a help to us. He will do everything. “The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin” (Rom. 8:2).

3. When you surrender anything to the Lord for keeping, take heed to two things:

–that you give it wholly into His hands,

— and that you keep it there.

Let Him have it wholly. He will carry out your case gloriously!

“He said unto me, My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore will I rather glory in my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in weakness: for when I am weak, then am I strong” 2 Corinthians 12:9,10.

There is almost no word that is so imperfectly understood in the Christian life as the word weakness. Sin and shortcoming, sluggishness and disobedience, are given as the reasons for our weakness. With this interpretation of weakness, the true feeling of guilt and the sincere endeavour after progress are impossible. How can I be guilty, when I do not do what it is not in my power to do? The Father cannot demand of His child what He can certainly do independently. That, indeed, was done by the law under the Old Covenant, but the Father, under the New Covenant, does not do that. He requires nothing more of us than what He has prepared for us to do in His Holy Spirit. The new life is a life in the power of Christ through the Spirit.

The error of this mode of thinking is that people estimate their weakness, not too highly, but too meagrely. They would still do something by the exercise of all their powers, and with the help of God. They do not know that they must be nothing before God.1 You think that you have still a little strength, and that the Father must help you by adding something of His own power to your feeble energy. This thought is wrong. Your weakness appears in the fact that you can do nothing. It is better to speak of utter inability, for that is what the Scriptures mean by the word “weakness.” “Without me ye can do nothing.” “In us is no power.”2

Whenever the young Christian acknowledges and admits to his weakness, then he learns to understand the secret of the power of Jesus. He then sees that he is not to wait and pray to become stronger, to feel stronger. No, in his inability, he is to have the power of Jesus. By faith he is to receive it. He is to believe that it is for him, and that Jesus Himself will work in and by him.3 It then becomes clear to him what the Lord means when He says, “My power is made perfect in your weakness.” He knows to return the answer, “When I am weak, then am I–yes, then am I–strong.” Yes, the weaker I am, the stronger I become. And he learns to sing with Paul, “I shall glory in my weaknesses.” “I take pleasure in weaknesses.” “We rejoice when we are weak.”4

It is wonderful how glorious that life of faith becomes for him who is content to have nothing. How glorious to feel nothing in himself and to always live on the power of his Lord. He learns to understand what a joyful thing it is to know God as his strength. “The Lord is my strength and song”5 He lives in what the Psalms so often express, “I love Thee, O Lord, my strength.” “I will sing of Thy strength: unto Thee, O my strength, will I sing praises.”6 He understands what is meant when a psalm says, “Give strength to the Lord: the Lord will give strength to His people,” and when another says, “Give strength to God: the God of Israel, He giveth strength and power to His people.”7 When we give or attribute all the power to God, then He gives it to us again.

“I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:14). The Christian is strong in his Lord.8 Not sometimes strong and sometimes weak, but always weak, and therefore always strong. He has merely to know and use his strength trustfully. To be strong is a command, a mandate that must be obeyed. From obedience there comes more strength. “Be of good courage and He shall strengthen thine heart” (Psalm 31:24). In faith, the Christian must simply obey the command, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”9

O God of the Lord Jesus, the Father of glory give unto us the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, so that we may know the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Rom. 4:4,5; 11:6; I Cor. 1:27,28

2) 2 Chron. 16:9; 20:12; John 5:19; 15:5; 2 Cor. l:9

3) John 15:5; 1 Cor. 1:24; 15:10; Eph. 9:18,19; Col.1:11

4) 2 Cor. 11:30; 12:9,11; 13:4,9

5) Ps. 89:13; 118:14

6) Ps. 18:1; 28:7,8; 31:4; 43:2; 46:1; 59:17; 62:7; 87:2

7) Ps. 29:1,11; 68:35

8) Ps. 71:16

9) Ps. 27:14; Isa. 40:31; Eph. 6:10

Notes

1. As long as the Christian thinks of the service of God or of sanctification as something that is hard and difficult, he will make no progress. He must see that this very thing is impossible for him. Then he wilt cease endeavouring to do something. He will surrender himself so that Christ may work all in him.

2. The complaint about weakness is often nothing else except an apology for our idleness. There is power to be obtained in Christ for those who will take the energy to have it.

3. “Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10). Mind that. I must abide in the Lord and in the power of His might, then I become strong. To have His power I must have Himself. The strength is His, and continues to be His. The weakness continues to be mine. He, the strong, works in me, the weak. I, the weak, abide by faith in Him, the strong, so that I, in the same moment, know myself to be weak and strong.

4. Strength is for work. He who wants to be strong simply to be pious will not be so. He who, in his weakness, begins to work for the Lord, will become strong.

“We walk by faith, not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7.

“Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” John 20:29.

“Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God” John 11:40.

In connection with your conversion, there was no greater hindrance than your feelings. You thought, perhaps for years, that you must experience something, must feel and perceive something in yourselves. It seemed to you as if it were too hazardous to simply, and without some feeling, believe in the Word, and to be sure that God had received you–that your sins were forgiven. But finally you had to acknowledge that the way of faith, without feeling, was the way of the Word of God. And it has been the way to salvation for you. Through faith alone you have been saved, and your soul has found rest and peace.1

In the further life of the Christian, there is no temptation that is more persistent and more dangerous than this same feeling. We do not find the word “feeling” in Scripture. What we call “feeling” the Scripture calls “seeing.” And it tells us without ceasing that not seeing yet still believing–believing in opposition to what we see–gives salvation.”(Abraham), not being weak in faith, considered not his own body” (Romans 4:19). Faith simply adheres to what God says. Those who see, yet have no faith, will not partake of the glory of God. Those who have faith in God, but do not see, will witness His glory.2 The man who seeks for feeling and mourns about it will not find it. The man who does not care for feeling will have it overflowing. “He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39). Faith in the Word later on becomes sealed with true feeling by the Holy Spirit.3

Child of God, learn to live by faith. Let it be firmly implanted in you that faith is God’s way to a blessed life. When there is no feeling of liveliness in prayer, when you feel cold and dull in the inner chamber, live by faith. Let your faith look upon Jesus as near and upon His power and faithfulness. Though you have nothing to bring to Him, believe that He will give you all. Feeling always seeks something in itself. Faith keeps itself occupied with what Jesus is.4 When you read the Word and have no feeling of interest or blessing, read it yet again in faith. The Word will work and bring blessing, “the word effectually worketh in those that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). When you feel no love, believe in the love of Jesus, and say in faith that He knows that you still love Him. When you have no feeling of gladness, believe in the inexpressible joy that there is for you in Jesus. Faith is blessedness and will give joy to those who are not concerned about the self-sufficiency which springs from joy, but about the glorification of God which springs from faith.5 Jesus will surely fulfill His Word, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”

Every day the Christian has to choose between the life of feeling and the life of faith. Happy is he who, once and for all, has made the firm choice. For every morning, he renews the choice not to seek or listen for feeling, but only to walk by faith, according to the will of God. The faith that occupies itself with the Word–with what God has said–and, through the Word–with God Himself and Jesus His Son–will taste the blessedness of a life in God above. Feeling seeks and aims at itself. Faith honours God and will be honoured by Him. Faith pleases God. Through faith the believer will receive from Him the witness in the heart that he is acceptable to God.

Lord God, the one, the only thing that You desire of Your children is that they should trust You, and that they should always hold conversation with You in that faith. Lord, let it be the one thing in which I seek my happiness, to honour and to please You by a faith that firmly holds You, the Invisible, and trusts You in all things. Amen.

Footnotes:

1) John 3:36; Rom. 3:28; 4:5,16; 5:1

2) 2 Chron. 7:2; Ps. 27:13; Isa. 7:9; Matt. 14:30,31; Luke 5:5

3) John 12:25; Gal. 3:2,14; Eph. 1:13

4) Rom. 4:20,21; 2 Tim. 1:12; Heb. 11:5,6; Jas. 5:15,16

5) Rom. 15:13; Gal. 2:20; 1 Pet. 1:5,7,8

Notes

1. There is indeed something marvellous in the new life. It is difficult to make it clear to the young Christian. The Spirit of God teaches him to understand it after he perseveres in grace. Jesus has laid the foundation of that life in the first word of the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). A feeling of deep poverty and of royal riches, of utter weakness and of kingly might, exist together in the soul. To have nothing in itself, to have all in Christ–that is the secret of faith. And the true secret of faith is to bring this into exercise and, in hours of emptiness, to know that we still have all in Christ.

2. Do not forget that the faith God’s Word speaks so much of does not stand in opposition to works alone, but also in opposition to feelings. Therefore, for a pure life of faith, you must cease to seek your salvation, not only in works, but also in feelings. Let faith always speak against feeling. When feeling says, “In myself I am sinful; I am dark; I am weak; I am poor; I am sad,” let faith say, “In Christ I am holy; I am light; I am strong; I am rich; I am joyful.”

“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father” Galatians 4:6.

The great gift of the Father, through whom He obtained salvation and brought it near to us, is the Son. On the other hand, the great gift of the Son–whom He sends to us from the Father to apply to us an inner and effectual salvation-is the Holy Spirit.1 As the Son reveals and glorifies the Father, so the Spirit reveals and glorifies the Son.2 The Spirit is in us to transfer to us the life and the salvation that are prepared in Jesus– to make them wholly ours.3 Jesus, who is in heaven, is made present in us, dwells in us, by the Spirit. We have seen that in order to partake of Jesus two things are always necessary–the knowledge of the sin that is in us, and the understanding of the redemption that is in Him. It is the Holy Spirit who continually promotes this double work in believers. He reproves and comforts. He convicts of sin and He glorifies Christ.4

The Spirit convicts us of sin. He is the light and the fire of God. Through Him sin is unveiled and consumed. He is “the Spirit of judgement and of burning,” by whom God purifies His people.5 There is no limit as to how deep repentance must be for the anxious soul who complains of not feeling his sin deeply enough. He must come daily just as he is.

The deepest conviction often occurs after conversion. To the young convert we simply have to say let the Spirit who is in you always convince you of sin. He will make you hate sin, which formerly you knew only by name. He will make you know –and with shame confess–sin, which you had not seen in the hidden depths of your heart. He will point out to you sin, which you fancied was not with you, and which you had judged severely in others.6 With repentance and self-condemnation, He will teach you to cast yourself upon grace as being entirely sinful. In this way, you will be redeemed and purified from sin.

Beloved brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit is in you as the light and fire of God to unveil and to consume sin. The temple of God is holy, and you are this temple. Let the Holy Spirit in you have full mastery to point out and expel sin.7 After He makes you know sin, He will, at every turn, make you know Jesus as your life and your sanctification.

And then the Spirit, who rebukes, will also comfort. He will glorify Jesus in you, and will take what is in Jesus and make it known to you. He will give you knowledge concerning the power of Jesus’ blood to cleanse,8 and the power of Jesus’ indwelling to keep.9 He will make you see how literally, how completely, how certainly Jesus is with you every moment, so that He may do all his own Jesus-work in you. Yes, in the Holy Spirit, the living, almighty, and ever-present Jesus will be your portion. You will also know this, and have the full enjoyment of it. The Holy Spirit will teach you to bring all your sin and sinfulness to Jesus. He will teach you to know Jesus with His complete redemption from sin as your own. As the Spirit of sanctification, He will drive out sin in order that He may cause Jesus to live within you. 10

Beloved young Christian, take time to understand and to become filled with the truth–the Holy Spirit is in you. Review all the assurances of God’s Word that this is so.11 Please, do not think, for even a moment, of living as a Christian without the indwelling of the Spirit. Take pains to have your heart filled with the faith that the Spirit lives in you and will do His mighty work. It is through faith that the Spirit comes and works.12 Have a great reverence for the work of the Spirit in you. Seek Him every day to believe, to obey, to trust, and He will take and make known to you all that there is in Jesus. He will make Jesus very glorious to you and in you.

Father, I thank You for this gift which Jesus sent to me from You. I thank You that I am now the temple of Your Spirit, and that He dwells in me. Lord, teach me to believe this with my whole heart, and to live in the world as one who knows that the Spirit of God is in him to lead him. Teach me to think on this with deep reverence and loving awe, that God is in me. Lord, in that faith I have the power to be holy.

Holy Spirit, reveal to me all that is sin in me. Holy Spirit, reveal to me all that is Jesus in me. Amen.

Footnotes

1) John 7:39; 14:16,26; Acts 1:4,5; 2:33; I Cor. 3:16

2) John 15:26; 16:14,15; 1 Cor. 2:10,12; 12:3

3) John 14:17,26; Rom. 8:2; Eph. 3:17,19

4) John 16:9,14

5) Isa. 4:4; Zech. 12:10,11; Matt. 3:11,12

6) Ps. 139:7,23; Isa. 10:17; Matt. 7:5; Rom. 14:4; I Cor. 2:10; 14:24,25

7) Ps. 19:13; Mic. 3:8; I Cor. 3:17; 2 Cor. 3:17; 6:16

8) John 1:7,9

9) Eph. 3:17-20; 1 Pet. 1:5

10) Rom. 1:4; 8:2,13; 1 Pet. 1:2

11) Rom. 8:14,16; l Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 1:22; 6:16; Eph. 1:13

12) Gal. 3:2,5,14; 5:5

Notes

1. The knowledge of the person and the work of the Holy Spirit is for us of just as much importance as the knowledge of the person and the work of Christ.

2. Concerning the Holy Spirit, we must endeavor to hold firm the truth that He is given as the fruit of the work of Jesus for us, that He is the power of the life of Jesus in us, and that through Him, Jesus Himself, with His full salvation, lives in us.

3. In order to enjoy all of this, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. This simply means emptied of all else and full of Jesus. The way to be filled with the Spirit is to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and to follow Jesus. Or rather, this is the way in which the Spirit leads us to His fullness. No one has the power to enter fully into the death of Jesus unless he is led by the Spirit. But He takes him who desires this by the hand and brings him into it.

4. As the whole of salvation, the whole of the new life, is by faith, so is this also true of the gift and the working of the Holy Spirit. By faith–not by works, not in feeling–do I receive Him, am led by Him, and am filled with Him.

5. As clear and definite as my faith is in the work that Jesus only and alone finished for me, so clear and definite must my faith be in the work that the Holy Spirit accomplishes in me–to work in me the willing and the performing of all that is necessary for my salvation.

“As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God” Romans 8:14,16.

The very same Spirit who leads us as children also assures us that we are children. Without His leading there can be no assurance of our relationship as children of God. True, full assurance of faith is enjoyed by him who surrenders himself entirely to the leading of the Spirit.

Of what does this leading consist? Mainly of this, that our whole, hidden, inner life is guided by Him so that it may be what it ought to be. We must firmly believe this. Our growth and increase, our development and progress, is not our work but His. We are to trust Him for this. As a tree or animal grows by the spirit of life given to it by God, so does the Christian grow by the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.1 We have to cherish the joyful assurance that the Spirit–whom the Father gives to us–guides our hidden life with His divine wisdom and power. He brings it where God will have it.

Then there are also special directions of this leading. “He will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). When we read the Word of God, we are to wait for the Spirit to make us experience the truth and the essential power of what God says. He makes the Word living and powerful. He leads us into a life corresponding to the Word.2

When you pray, you can rely on His leading, “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities” (Romans 8:26). He leads us to what we must desire. He leads us to the way in which we are to pray–trustfully, persistently, and mightily.3

He leads us in the way of sanctification. He leads us in the path of righteousness. He leads us into all the will of God.4

He will lead in our speaking and working for the Lord. Every child has need of Him to know and to do the work of the Father. Without Him, no child can please or serve the Father. The leading of the Spirit is the blessed privilege, the sure token, and the only power of a child of God.5

And how can you fully enjoy this leading? The first thing that is necessary for this is faith. You must take time, young Christian, to have your heart filled with the deep and living consciousness that the Spirit lives within you. Concerning what the Spirit is in you and for you, you are to read God’s glorious declarations in the Word until you are filled with the conviction that you truly are a temple of the Spirit. Ignorance or unbelief on this point makes it impossible for the Spirit to speak in you and to lead you. Cherish an ever-abiding assurance that the Spirit of God lives in you.6

Then the second thing that is necessary is this–hold yourself still, so that you may hear the voice of the Spirit, “He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street” (Isaiah 42:2). He whispers gently and quietly. Only the soul that sets itself very silently toward God can perceive His voice and guidance. When we become needlessly involved with the world–its business, its cares, its enjoyments, its literature, its politics–the Spirit cannot lead us. When our service for God is a bustling and working in our own wisdom and strength, the Spirit cannot be heard in us. The weak and the simple–who are willing to have themselves taught in humility–receive the leading of the Spirit. Sit down every morning, and often in the day, to say, “Lord Jesus, I know nothing; I will be silent. Let the Spirit lead me.”7

And then–be obedient. Listen to the inner voice, and do what it says to you. Fill your heart every day with the Word. When the Spirit reveals to you what the Word says, take it upon yourself to do it. Therefore, you will become capable of further teaching. The full blessing of the Spirit is promised to the obedient.8

Young Christian, know that you are a temple of the Spirit. Know that it is only through the daily leading of the Spirit that you can walk as a child of God, with the witness that you are pleasing the Father.

Precious Saviour, imprint this lesson deeply on my mind. The Holy Spirit is in me. His leading is every day and everywhere indispensable for me. I cannot hear His voice in the Word when I do not wait silently upon Him. Lord, encircle me with Your holy love; keep watch over me so that I may always walk as a pupil of the Spirit. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Hos. 14:6,7; Matt. 6:28; Mark 4:26,28; Luke 2:40; Rom. 8:2

2) John 6:63; 14:26; 1 Cor. 2:10,14; 1 Thess. 2:13

3) Zech. 12:10; Rom. 8:27; Jude 20

4) 1 Thess. 5:23,24; 1 Pet. 1:2, 15

5) Matt. 10:20; Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:9,13; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:13

6) Acts 19:2; Rom. 5:5; 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:5; Gal. 3:5,14

7) I Chron. 19:12; Ps. 62:2,6; 131:2; Heb. 2:20; Zech. 4:6

8) John 14:15; Acts 5:32

Notes

1. It is often asked, “How do I know that I will continue standing, that I will be kept, that I will increase?” The question dishonours the Holy Spirit–it is the sign that you do not know Him or do not trust Him. The question indicates that you are seeking the secret of strength for perseverance in yourself, and not in the Holy Spirit, your heavenly guide.

2. As God sees to it that every moment there is air for me to breathe, so the Holy Spirit will increasingly maintain life in the hidden depths of my soul. He will not break off His own work.

3. From the time that we receive the Holy Spirit, we have nothing to do but to honour His work, to keep our hands off of it, and to trust Him and let Him work.

4. The beginning and the end of the work of the Spirit is to reveal Jesus to me and to cause me to abide in Him. As soon as I become concerned with the work of the Spirit in me, I hinder Him. He cannot work when I am not willing to look upon Jesus.

5. The voice of the Father, the voice of the good Shepherd, the voice of the Holy Spirit, is very gentle. We must learn to become deaf to other voices, to the world and its news, to friends and their thoughts, to our own ego and its desires. Then we will recognise the voice of the Spirit. Let us often set ourselves silent in prayer, entirely silent, to offer up our will and our thoughts, and with our eyes upon Jesus, to keep ear and heart open for the voice of the Spirit.

Chapter 24

Grieving the Spirit

“Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” Ephesians 4:30.

It is by the Holy Spirit that the child of God is sealed, separated, stamped, and marked as the possession of God. This sealing is not a dead or external action that is finished once and for all. It is a living process, which has power in the soul, and gives a firm assurance of faith, only when it is experienced through the life of the Spirit in us. Because of this, we are to take great care not to grieve the Holy Spirit. In Him alone can you have the joyful certainty and the full blessing of your childship every day.1 It is the very same Spirit who leads us and witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.

How can anyone grieve the Spirit? Above all, by yielding to sin. He is the Holy Spirit, given to sanctify us, and–for every sin from which the blood cleanses us–to fill us with the holy life of God, with God Himself. Sin grieves Him.2 For this reason, the Word of God names the sins which, above all, we are to guard against. Notice the four great sins which Paul mentions in connection with our text.

The first is lying. There is no single sin in the Bible that is so brought into connection with the devil as lying. Lying is from hell, and it goes back to hell. God is the God of truth. And the Holy Spirit cannot possibly carry forward His blessed working in a man or woman who lies, who is insincere, who does injury to the truth. Young Christian, review with care what the Word of God says about lying and liars. Pray God that you may never speak anything but the literal truth. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.3

Then there is anger. “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away from you” (Ephesians 4:31). Along with lying, the most common sin which keeps the Christian from increasing in grace is the sin of temper–hastiness, the proneness to anger.4 Christian, let all ill-temperedness be put away from you. This follows from the command not to grieve the Spirit. Believe that the Holy Spirit, the great power of God, is in you. Surrender yourself every day to His indwelling in faith that Jesus can keep you by Him. He will make and keep you gentle. Yes, believe in the power of the Father, the power of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome temper.5 Confess the sin. God will cleanse you from it. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

Then there is stealing. This is all sin against the property or possession of my neighbour, and all deception and dishonesty in trade, in which I wrong my neighbour and seek my own advantage at his cost. Christ’s law is love which works to the advantage of my neighbour as well as myself. The love of money and property–inseparable from self-seeking–is incompatible with the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Christian must be a man who is known to be honest, righteous, and who loves his neighbour as himself.6

Then the apostle says, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29). Even the tongue of God’s child belongs to his Lord. He must be known by his manner of speech. By his speaking, he can grieve or please the Spirit. The sanctified tongue is a blessing not only to his neighbour, but to the speaker himself. Foul talk, idle words, foolish jests–they grieve the Holy Spirit. They make it impossible for the Spirit to sanctify, to comfort, and to fill the heart with the love of God.7

Young Christian, please do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by these or other sins. If you have committed such sins, confess them, and God will cleanse you from them. By the Holy Spirit you are sealed. If you want to walk in the stability and joy of faith, listen to the word, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.”

Lord God, my Father in heaven, I pray that you would cause me to understand what marvellous grace You are manifesting to me, giving me Your Holy Spirit in my heart. Lord, let this faith be the argument and the power for cleansing me from every sin. Holy Jesus, sanctify me, that in my thinking, speaking, acting–in all things–Your image may appear. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Childship–a word used by the author to express the relationship of a child. Childhood expresses the state of a child rather than the relationship.

2) Isa. 53:10; Acts 7:51; Heb. 10:29

3) Ps. 5:6; Prov. 12:22; 21:28; John 8:44; Rev. 21:8,27; 22:15

4) Matt. 5:22; 1 Cor. 1:10,11; 3:3; 13:1,3; Gal. 5:5,15,21,26; Col. 3:8,12; 1 Thess. 5:l5; Jas. 3:14

5) Matt. 11:29; 1 Cor. 6:19,20; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 2:16,17; Col. 1:8; 2 Tim. 1:12

6) Luke 6:31; Rom. 13:10; 1 Thess. 4:6

7) Prov. 10:19,20,21,31; 18:20; Eccles. 5:1,2; Matt. 12:36; Eph. 5:4; Jas. 3:9,10

Notes

1. The thought of the Christian about this word, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit,” is a test of whether or not he understands the life of faith. For some it is a word of terror and fear. A father once brought his child to a train to go on a journey with the new governess with whom she was to remain. Before her departure he said, “I hear that she is very sensitive and takes things amiss. Take care that you do nothing to grieve her.” The poor child did not have a pleasant journey. It appeared to her very grievous to be in anxious fear of one who was so prone to take everything amiss. Many have this same view of the Holy Spirit. They think that He is a Being whom it is difficult to satisfy, who thinks little of our weakness, and who, even though we take pains, is discontented when our work is not perfect.

2. Another father also brought his daughter to a train to go on a journey, and to be a time away from home, but in the company of her mother whom she loved very deeply. “You are to be a good child,” said the father, “and do everything to please your mother. Otherwise you will grieve her and me.” “Oh, certainly Papa!” was the joyful answer of the child. For she felt happy to be with her mother and was willing to do her utmost to be agreeable to her.

3. These are children of God to whom the Holy Spirit is so well-known in His tender, helpful love as the Comforter and the good Spirit–that the word, “Grieve not the Spirit of God,” has for them a gentle and encouraging power. May our fear to grieve Him always be the tender, childlike fear of trustful love.

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ” I Corinthians 3:1.

“I am carnal, sold unto sin: to will is present with me, but to perform that which is good I find not. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you” Romans 7:14,18; 8:2,9.

“Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? If ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” Galatians 3:3; 5:18,25.

It is of great importance for the young Christian to understand that within him there are two natures which strive against one another.1 If we study the texts noted above, we will see that the Word of God teaches us the following truths on this point.

Sin comes from the flesh. The reason why the Christian still sins is that he yields to the flesh and does not walk by the Spirit. Every Christian has the Spirit and lives by the Spirit, but every Christian does not walk by the Spirit. If he walks by the Spirit, he will not fulfil the desires of the flesh.2

So long as there are strife and envy in the Christian, the Word of God calls him carnal. He would like to do good, but he cannot. He does what he should not, because he still strives in his own strength and not in the power of the Spirit.3

The flesh remains under the law and seeks to obey the law. But through the flesh the law is powerless, and the endeavour to do good is vain. Its language is, “I am carnal, sold under sin: to will is present with me, but to perform that which is good is not.”4

This is not the condition in which God would have his child remain. The Word says, “It is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). The Christian must not only live by the Spirit, but also walk by the Spirit. He must be a spiritual man, and live entirely under the leading of the Spirit.5 If he walks in this way, he will no longer do what he should not. He will no longer be as in Romans 7–a newborn babe seeking to fulfil the law. But, as in Romans 8, the Spirit will set him free from the law which gives no power but brings death, and he will no longer walk in the oldness of the letter but, rather, in the newness of the Spirit.6

There are Christians who begin with the Spirit, but end with the flesh. They are converted, born again through the Spirit, but fall unconsciously into a life in which they endeavour to overcome sin and be holy through their own exertion–through doing their best. They ask God to help them in these endeavours and think that this is faith. They do not understand what it means to say, “In me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing” (Romans 7:18). They do not know that they are to cease from their own endeavours so that they may do God’s will, wholly and only through the Spirit.7

Child of God, please learn what it means to say to yourself just as you are, even after the new birth–“I am carnal, sold under sin.” No longer strive to do your best under your own strength, merely asking God to help you in your endeavours. No, learn to say, “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Every day, let your goal be to have the Spirit work in you. Walk by the Spirit, and you will be redeemed from the life of complaining about your inability to do good into a life of faith, in which it is God who works in you both to will and to do (Philippians 2:13).

Lord God, teach me to acknowledge with all my heart that in me, that is, in my flesh, there dwells nothing good. Teach me also to cease from every thought, as if I could with my own endeavours serve or please You. Teach me to understand that the Spirit is the Comforter, who frees me from all anxiety and fear about my own powerlessness, in order that He may work the strength of Christ in me. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Gal. 5:17,24,25; 6:8; Eph. 4:22,24; Col. 3:9,10; 1 Pet. 4:2

2) Rom. 8:7; 1 Cor. 3:3; Gal. 5:16,25

3) Rom. 7:18; I Cor. 3:3; Gal. 5:15,26

4) Rom. 4:14,15; 7:4,6; 8:3,8; Gal. 5:18; 6:12,13; Heb. 7:l8

5) Rom. 8:14; I Cor. 2:15; 3:1; Gal. 6:1

6) Rom. 7:6; 8:2,13

7) Rom. 7:18; Gal. 3:3; 4:9; 5:4,7

Notes

1. In order to understand the conflict between flesh and Spirit, we must especially seek to have a clear insight into the connection between Romans, chapters 7 and 8. In Romans 7, verse 6, Paul spoke of the twofold way of serving God, the one in the oldness of the letter, the other in the newness of the Spirit. In Romans 7, verses 14-16, he describes the first way; in Romans 8, verses 1-16, he describes the second. This appears clearly when we observe that in chapter 7 he mentions the Spirit only once, the law more than twenty times; while in chapter 8, he mentions the Spirit sixteen times. In Romans 7 we see the regenerate soul, just as he is in himself with his new nature–desirous, but powerless to fulfil the law, and mourning as one who “is captive under the law of sin.” In Romans 8 we hear him say, “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 7 describes the ever-abiding condition of the Christian, contemplated as renewed, but not experiencing by faith the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8 describes his life in the freedom which the Spirit of God really gives from the power of sin.

2. It is important to understand that the conflict between grace and works, between faith and one’s own power, between the Holy Spirit and confidence in ourselves and the flesh, always continues to go on. This applies not only to conversion and the reception of the righteousness of God, but even further into a walk in this righteousness. The Christian has to watch very carefully against the deep inclination of his heart to still work in his own behalf when he sees anything wrong in himself, or when he would follow after holiness, instead of always and only trusting in Jesus Christ, and so serving God in the Spirit.

3. In order to clarify the opposition between the two methods of serving God, let me consecutively cite, in their entirety, the passages in which they are expressed with special distinctions. Compare them with care. Pray to God for the Spirit in order to make you understand them. Take deeply to heart the lesson as to how you are to serve God well, and how not to serve Him.

“The circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter” (Rom. 2:29).

“To him that worketh not but believeth, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:5).

“Ye are not under the law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).

“We are delivered from the law, that we should serve in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter” (Rom. 7:6).

“We know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin” (Rom. 7:14).

“The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4).

“Ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption” (Rom. 8:15).

“The righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? Who shall descend into the deep? But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart” (Rom. 10:5-8).

“If by grace, then it is no more of works” (Rom. 11:6).

“I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Gal.2:20).

“The just shall live by faith; yet the law is not of faith; but the man that doeth them shall live in them” (Gal. 3:11,12).

“If the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise” (Gal. 3:18).

“So that thou art no more a servant, but a son” (Gal. 4:7).

“Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free” (Gal. 4:31).

“Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).

“If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Gal. 5:18).

“Who worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3).

“Another priest, who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life” (Heb. 7:16).

4. Beloved Christian, you have received the Holy Spirit from the Lord Jesus to reveal Him and His life in you, and to mortify the working of the body of sin. Pray often to be filled with the Spirit. Live in the joyful faith that the Spirit is in you, as your Comforter and Teacher, and that through Him all will be right. Learn this text by heart, and let it live in your heart and on your lips, “We are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3).

“The just shall live by his faith” Habakkuk 2:4.

“We are delivered from the law, that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter” Romans 7:6.

“I live; and yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” Galatians 2:20.

The word from Habakkuk is quoted three times in the New Testament as the divine representation of salvation in Christ by faith alone.1 But that word is very often misunderstood–as if it ran, Man will be justified by faith on his conversion. The word includes this, but signifies much more. It says that the just will live by faith–the whole life of the righteous, from moment to moment, will be by faith.2

As presented in God’s Word, we all know how sharp the opposition is between the grace that comes by faith and the law that demands our works. This is generally noted with reference to justification. But that distinction holds just as much for the whole life of sanctification. The just will live by faith alone. That is, they will have power to live according to the will of God. At his conversion, the sinner found it necessary to understand that there was nothing good in him–that he must receive grace as one who was powerless and godless. As a believer, he must understand just as clearly that in him there is nothing good–that every moment he must receive his power for good from above.3 And his work must therefore be to look up and believe and receive his power from above–from his Lord in heaven–every morning and every hour. I am not to do what I can, and hope in the Lord to supply strength. No, as one who has been dead–literally able for nothing in himself, and whose life is in his Lord above–I am to lean by faith on Him who will work mightily in me.4

Happy is the Christian who understands that his greatest danger is to fall under the law–to be eager to serve God in the flesh with his own strength. Happy is he when he realises that he is not under the law–which demands and yet is powerless through the flesh–but is under grace where he simply has to receive what has been given. Happy is he when he fully accepts for himself the promise of the Spirit who transfers all that is in Christ to him. Yes, happy is he when he understands what it is to live by faith–to serve, not in the oldness of the letter, but in the newness of the Spirit.5

Let us make the words of Paul our own. They present the true life of faith to us, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live” (Galatians 2:20). Not only my sin, but my flesh, all that is of myself–my own living and willing, my own power and working–I have given up to death. I no longer live of myself. I cannot. I will not live or do anything.6 Christ lives in me. He Himself–by His Spirit–is my power, and teaches and strengthens me to live as I ought to. And that life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in Him. It is my responsibility to believe in Him to work the willing as well as the accomplishment.

Young Christian, let this life of faith be your faith.

Lord Jesus, You are my life. Yes, my life. You live in me, and are willing to take my whole life into Your own hands. And my whole life may be a joyful trust and experience that You are working all in me daily.

Precious Lord, to that life of faith I will surrender myself. Yes, to You I surrender myself, to teach me and to reveal Yourself fully in me. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38

2) Rom. 5:17,21; 6:1l; 8:2; Gal. 2:20; 1 John 5:11,12

3) Rom. 7:18; 8:2,13; Heb. 11:33

4) Rom. 4:17; 2 Cor. 1:9; Col. 1:29; 2:3

5) Rom. 7:4,6; 12:5,6; Gal. 5:18; Phil 3:3

6) John 15:4,5; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 12:9,10

Notes

1. Do you understand the error in saying–if the Lord helps me? The Lord must help me. In natural things we speak like this because we have a certain measure of power, and the Lord will increase it. But the New Testament never uses the word “help” of the grace of God in the soul. We have absolutely no power–God is not to help us, because we are weak. No, He is to give His life and His power in us because we are entirely powerless. He who discerns this correctly will learn to live by faith alone.

2. “Without faith it is impossible to please God; Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). Such words of the Spirit of God teach us how every deed and disposition of our life is to be full of faith.

3. Hence, our first work every day is to exercise faith in Jesus as our life, to believe that He dwells in us, and will do all for us and in us. This faith must be the mood of our soul the whole day. This faith cannot be maintained except in the fellowship and nearness of Jesus Himself.

4. This faith has its power in the mutual surrender of Jesus and the believer to each other. Jesus first gives Himself wholly for us. Then, the believer gives himself wholly in order to be taken into possession and to be guided by Jesus. Then the soul cannot even doubt if He will do all for it.

“Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat: but I prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” Luke 22:31,32.

Nothing makes an enemy more dangerous than the fact that he remains hidden or forgotten. Of the three great enemies of the Christian–the world, the flesh, and the devil–the last is the most dangerous. Not only because it is he who lends the others what power they have, but also because he is not seen and, therefore, little known or feared. The devil has the power of darkness. He darkens the eyes, so that men do not know him. He surrounds himself with darkness, so that he is not observed. Yes, he even has the power to appear as an angel of light.1 It is by the faith that recognises things unseen that the Christian is to endeavour to know Satan–even as the Scriptures have revealed him.

When the Lord Jesus was living on earth, His great work was to overcome Satan. When He was filled with the Spirit at His baptism, the Spirit brought Him into contact with Satan as head of the world of evil spirits, and He was to combat and overcome him.2 After that time, the eyes of the Lord were always open to the power and working of Satan. In all sin and misery He saw the revelation of the mighty kingdom of the evil one. He saw the enemy of God and man, not only in the demoniacs, but also in the sick.3 Jesus saw the work of Satan in Peter’s advice to avoid the cross, and in his denial of the Lord. Yet, we would have considered those events to be the natural revelation of Peter’s character.4 In His own suffering–where we rather speak of the sin of man and the permission of God–Jesus perceives the power of darkness. His whole work in living and in dying was to destroy the works of Satan. As likewise, He will utterly destroy Satan himself at His second coming.5

His word to Peter, compared with the personal experience of the Lord, gives us a fearful insight into the work of the enemy. “Satan hath desired to have you,” says Jesus. “As a roaring lion, he walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,” says Peter himself later on (1 Peter 5:8).6 He does not have unlimited power, but he is always eager to make use of every weak or unguarded moment. “That he might sift you as wheat.” What a picture! This world, even the Church of Christ, is the threshing floor of Satan. The corn belongs to God–the chaff is Satan’s own. He sifts and sifts continually, and all that falls through with the chaff, he tries to take for himself. And many a Christian falls through in a terrible fashion and, were it not for the intercession of his Lord, would perish forever.7

Satan has more than one sieve. The first is generally worldly-mindedness–the love of the world. Many are spiritual in time of poverty, but when they become rich, they again eagerly strive to win the world. Or in the time of conversion and awakening they appear very zealous, but through the cares of the world, they are led astray.8

A second sieve is self-love and self-seeking. Whenever anyone does not give himself undividedly to serve his Lord and his neighbour—to love his neighbour in the Lord–it soon appears that he lacks the principal characteristic of a disciple. It will be made clear that many who profess devotion to the service of God utterly fail on this point and must be regarded with the chaff. Lovelessness is the sure sign of the power of Satan.9

Still another sieve, a very dangerous one, is self-confidence. Under the name of following the Spirit, one may listen to the thoughts of his own heart. He is zealous for the Lord, but with a carnal zeal, in which the gentleness of the Lamb of God is not seen. Without being observed, the movements of the flesh mingle with the workings of the Spirit. While he boasts that he is overcoming Satan, he is being secretly ensnared by him. 10

What a serious life here on earth, where God gives Satan permission to set his threshing floor even in the Church. Happy are they who, with deep humility, fear, and trembling, distrust themselves. Our only security is in the intercession and guidance of Him who overcame Satan.11 Far be it from us to think that we know all the depths of Satan and are a match for all his cunning strategies. As well as in the visible, he works and has power in the region of the spirit–the invisible. Let us fear that while we have known and overcome him in the visible, he might prevail over us in the spiritual. May our only security be the conviction of our frailty and weakness, and our confidence in Him who certainly keeps the humble heart.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to know our enemy and his wiles. Cause us to see him and his realm, that we may dread all that is of him. And open our eyes to see how You have overcome him, and how in You we are invincible. Teach us what it is to be in You, to mortify all that is of the mere ego and the will of the flesh, and to be strong in weakness and lowliness. And teach us to bring into prayer the conflict of faith against every stronghold of Satan, because we know that You will destroy him under our feet. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Matt. 4:6; 2 Cor. 4:4; 11:14

2) Matt. 4:1,10

3) Matt. 12:28; Mark 4:15; Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38

4) Matt. 16:23; Luke 22:31,32

5) Luke 10:18; 22:3,53; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Rom. 16:20;

Col. 2:15; 2 Thess. 2:8,9; 1 John 3:8

6) 1 Cor. 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:10,11

7) 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:20

8) Matt. 4:9; 13:22; 1 Tim. 6:9,10; 2 Tim. 4:10

9) John 8:44; 1 John 3:10,15; 4:20

10) Gal. 3:3; 5:13

11) Eph. 6:10,12,16

Notes

1. What comfort does the knowledge of the existence of Satan give us? We know that sin is derived from a foreign power which has thrust itself into our nature and does not naturally belong to us. We know, besides, that he has been entirely vanquished by the Lord Jesus, and thus has no power over us so long as we abide trustfully in Christ.

2. The whole of this world, with all that is in it, is under the domination of Satan. Therefore, there is nothing, even what appears to be good and fair, that may not be dangerous for us. In all things, even in what is lawful and right, we must be led and sanctified by the Spirit if we want to continue to be liberated from the power of Satan.

3. Satan is an evil spirit. Only by the good Spirit, the Spirit of God, can we offer resistance to him. He works in the invisible. In order to combat him, we have to enter into the invisible by prayer. He is a mighty prince. Only in the name of One who is mightier, and in fellowship with Him, can we overcome.

4. What a glorious work is labour for souls, for the lost, for drunkards, for heathen–a battle to rescue them from the might of Satan (Acts 26:18).

5. In the book of Revelation, the victory over Satan is ascribed to the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 12:11). Christians have also testified that there is no power in temptation, because Satan readily retreats when one appeals to the blood. It is by the blood that sin has been entirely expiated, and we are thus also wholly freed from his power.

“Strive to enter in by the narrow door” Luke 13:24.

“Fight the good fight of faith” 1 Timothy 6:12.

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” 2 Timothy 4:7.

These texts speak of a twofold conflict. The first is addressed to the unconverted– “Strive to enter in by the narrow door.” Entrance by a door is the work of a moment. The sinner is not to strive to enter during his whole lifetime. He is to strive and do it immediately. He is not to allow anything to hold him back–he must enter in.1

Then comes the second, the lifelong conflict–by the narrow door I come upon the new way. On the new way there will always be enemies. Of this lifelong conflict Paul says, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” With respect to the continuous conflict, he gives the charge, “Fight the good fight of faith.”

There is much misunderstanding about this twofold conflict. Many strive all their life against the Lord and His summons. Because they are not at rest, but feel an inner conflict, they think that this is the conflict of a Christian. Assuredly, it is not. This is one–not willing to abandon everything and surrender himself to the Lord–who struggles against God.2 This is not the conflict that the Lord would have. What He says is that the conflict is concerned with entering in–but not a conflict for long years. No, He desires that you should break through the enemies who hold you back, and immediately enter in.

Then follows the second conflict, which endures for life. Twice Paul calls this the fight of faith. The chief characteristic of it is faith. He who well understands that the principal element in the battle is to believe, and who acts accordingly, will certainly succeed. In another passage Paul says to the Christian combatant, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the firey darts of the wicked one.”3

And what then does it mean, this “fight of faith”? That, while I strive, I must believe that the Lord will help me? No, it is not so, although it is often misunderstood as such.

In a conflict, it is of supreme importance that I be in a stronghold or fortress which cannot be taken. With such a stronghold, a weak garrison can offer resistance to a powerful enemy. Our conflict as Christians is now no longer concerned with going into the fortress. No, we have gone in, are now in, and so long as we remain in it, we are invincible. The stronghold, this stable fort, is Christ.4 By faith we are in Him. By faith we know that the enemy can make no progress against our fortress. All of Satan’s wiles go forth on the line of enticing us out of our fortress–engaging us in conflict with him on the open plain. There he always overcomes. But if, in faith, we strive and abide in Christ, then we overcome Satan, because he has to deal with Him who fights and overcomes.5 “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). Our first and greatest work is thus to believe. As Paul said before he mentions the warlike equipment of the Christian, “My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

The reason why the victory is only by faith, and why the fight of faith is the good fight, is this–it is the Lord Jesus who purchased the victory, and who alone gives power and dominion over the enemy. If we abide in Him, surrender ourselves to live in Him, and by faith appropriate what He is, then the victory is in itself our own. Then we understand– “The battle is not yours, but God’s. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (2 Chronicles 20:15; Exodus 14:14). Except that we be in Christ, pleasing Him, opposition to Satan can achieve nothing good. In ourselves we achieve nothing, but 77in Christ we are more than conquerors. By faith we stand in Him, righteous before God, and likewise so in Him, we are strong against our enemies.6

In this light we can read and understand all the noble passages in the Old Testament–especially in the Psalms–where the glorious conflict of God in behalf of his people is spoken of. Fear or spiritlessness or uncertainty weakens and cannot overcome. Faith in the living God is equal to everything.7 In Christ this truth is now still more real. God has come near. His power works in us who believe–it is really He who fights for us.

Lord Jesus, who is the Prince of the army of the Lord, the Hero, the Victor, teach me to be strong in You, my stronghold, and in the power of Your might. Teach me to understand what the good fight of faith is. Teach me that the one thing I need is to always look to You, the supreme Guide of faith. And consequently, in me, too, let this be the victory that overcomes the world, namely, my faith. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Gen. 19:22; John 10:9; 2 Cor. 6:2; Heb. 4:6,7

2) Acts 5:39; 1 Cor. 10:22

3) Eph. 6:16; 1 John 5:4,5

4) Ps. 18:2,3; 46:1,2; 62:2,3,6-8; 144:2

5) Josh. 5:14; John 16:33; Rom. 8:37; 2 Cor. 2:14

6) Ps. 44:4-8; Isa. 45:24

7) Deut. 20:3,8; Josh. 6:20; Judg. 7:3; Ps. 18:32-40; Heb. 11:23

Notes

1. The conflict of faith is no civil war, in which one half of the kingdom is divided against the other. This would be insurrection. This is the one conflict that many Christians know–the unrest of the conscience, and the powerless wrestling of a will which consents to that which is good, but does not perform it. The Christian does not have to overcome himself. This his Lord does when he surrenders himself. Then he is free and strong to combat and overcome the enemies of his Lord and of the Kingdom. No sooner, however, are we willing that the Lord should have His way with us than we are found striving against God. This also is truly conflict, but it is not the good fight of faith.

2. In Galatians 5, reference is made to the inner conflict because the Galatians had not yet entirely surrendered themselves to the Spirit–to walk after the Spirit. The believer must not strive against the flesh to overcome it. This he cannot do. What he is to do is to choose to whom he will subject himself. By the surrender of faith in Christ, to strive in Him through the Spirit, he has a divine power for overcoming.

3. Hence, as we have seen in connection with the beginning of the new life, our one work every day and the whole day is to believe. Out of faith come all blessings and powers, and also the victory for overcoming.