The NT Believer's daily guide
one of the greatest needs in the church today is the
power of the Holy Spirit. Man in his natural ability
is not able to serve God acceptably; and even if he
has been renewed through salvation by the Spirit,
this in itself does not assure him spiritual power in
his life. Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit a
believer is not able to use effectively the gift of
teaching, is not able to interpret God's guidance to
him, or in other ways to make effective the grace of
God. It is for this reason the believer is
commanded to "walk by the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16).
Learning to Walk by the Spirit
In exhorting the believer to walk by the Spirit, the
concept is advanced that the Christian life can be
accomplished only by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Walking implies progress and direction. Each step is
an incipient fall, as the body is supported by one
limb and then the other. The verb "walk" in Galatians
5:16 is in the present tense and has the thought of
"keep on walking" or continuously walking by the Holy
Spirit. The Greek for "by the Spirit" is the
dative, pneumati, best translated as "by the Spirit"
instead of "in the Spirit," as in the Authorized
Version. While it is true that the believer is
walking in the sphere of the Spirit, the thought is
rather that it is by the Spirit's enablement that the
believer is able to accomplish the high standard of
the Christian walk. As the life of a Christian
unfolds step by step, each foot of progress must be
marked by the sustaining power and ministry of the
Holy Spirit. Learning to walk by the Spirit is
realized when one walks in dependence on and is
supported by the presence and power of the Holy
Spirit.
In the light of the New Testament standards for the
Christian life which are far beyond anything which
the natural man could attain, it is obvious that only
by the grace of God and the indwelling presence of
the Holy Spirit can a measure of attainment be
achieved in keeping with the will of God for the
believer. Accordingly, the believer is exhorted to be
as holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16), and to love as
Christ loved (John 13:34). As both experience and
Scripture demonstrate, man beset by constant
temptation and opposition to the holy life could
never even partially attain this high standard of
conduct apart from the grace and power of the Holy
Spirit. The obstacles confronted by the Christian in
the Christian walk are massive and frontal. A
Christian is living in a world system which is
utterly contrary to the things of God. He is under
constant influence to love the world, to compromise
with the world and to conform to the world. In
himself a Christian does not have the resources to
confront such a formidable foe and needs the power
and presence of the Holy Spirit.
In addition to the world itself, the Christian also
encounters Satan as his arch enemy. The warfare with
Satan is very real for anyone who attempts to lead a
Christian life, and Paul bears witness to wrestling
not with flesh and blood but with satanic powers in
Ephesians 6:11-18. Satan not only blinds the minds of
unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:4), but like a roaring lion is
seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). He is
deceptive, often appearing as an angel of light (2
Cor. 11:14), and according to Christ is both a liar
and a murderer (John 8:44). Against such an enemy
whose wisdom and power far exceed the resources of an
individual Christian, there could be no victory apart
from the power and grace of God.
In addition to the confrontation of both the world
and Satan, a Christian is faced with his own inner
weakness. Although a Christian has a new nature and a
new life in Christ, the old nature is still there
trying to reassert itself and gain control. As Paul
makes clear in Romans 6 and Romans 7, in his own
resources he was helpless to contend against such an
inner betrayer and needed the power of the Spirit to
gain victory. It is a marvelous testimony to the
grace of God that believers with all these problems
can nevertheless have a life that is glorifying to
God if they are empowered by the Spirit.
In seeking to realize the holy life in Christ and to
translate the power of the Holy Spirit into living
experience, it is all too easy to go to excesses in
one direction or another. One of the pitfalls to the
holy life is the concept that it is possible to
attain sinless perfection in this life. At the outset it is clear that the standard for the Christian life is the perfect holiness of God. There can be no compromise on the ideal and no lowering of the standard. However, taking into consideration what man is in his total context, it is obviously impossible for man to fulfill continuously such a high standard. Hence perfectionism defined as the doctrine that a state of complete freedom from sin is obtainable in earthly life, is an ideal which is never attained by man except in a relative sense. It is possible for man to avoid willful sin, at least for a time, or to be free from known sin; but the sin nature itself cannot be eradicated, and it is inevitable that attainment of the standard will be marred by imperfection.
A study of the words containing the concept of
"perfect" in both the Old and New Testaments makes
plain that perfection is not considered to be sinless perfection. In general the thought of perfection in
the Bible is that of being complete or properly
adjusted. A second thought often presented is that of perfection in the sense of reaching a goal and hence has the concept of attainment. As both completeness and attainment are relative terms, so is also the concept of perfection. The concept of perfection in the Bible is further considered under three aspects. Sometimes perfection is considered as positional, as in Hebrews 10:14 where it is stated, "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." This indicates that we have a perfect position in Christ.
A second aspect of perfection relates to spiritual
maturity which is relative. In Philippians 3:15 the Philippians were exhorted, "Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded." He is referring to spiritual maturity and not sinless perfection, because in verse 12 [Phil. 3:12] in the same passage he plainly states that he has not reached ultimate perfection. Spiritual maturity like physical maturity indicates the person has reached full spiritual vigor, but not necessarily infinite in its proportions. In Scripture, maturity is viewed in respect to various aspects of the will of God, such as knowing the will of God (Col. 4:l2), love (1 John 4:17-18), personal holiness (2 Cor. 7:1), patience (James 1:4), and various good works (Heb. 13:21). Spiritual maturity can also be viewed as progressive as in 2 Corinthians 7:1 where perfection is viewed as a process with the gifts bestowed upon the laborers being used for the perfecting of the saints (Eph. 4:12). The concept of ultimate perfection is, of
course, found in passages like Philippians 3:11-12,
contemplating the results of resurrection from the
dead and presentation in heaven. While the concept of
ultimate perfection is therefore recognized, it is
also plainly indicated that it is not obtainable
prior to achieving the resurrection body. The
recognition that absolute perfection is impossible in
this life should not deter the believer from doing
all he can to measure up to the highest divine
standard, and it is for this purpose that the
enablement of the Holy Spirit is provided that the
believer may be empowered to serve God and attain
personal holiness.
Another approach to the concept of the holy life is
afforded in the word "sanctification" itself. In
sanctification there are three main ideas presented
in the Bible--that of consecration or being set apart for holy use; separation, that is, distinction from
that which is unholy; and purification, or the result of the cleansing process. Like the doctrine of
perfection, sanctification is found in three tenses
relating to that which is positional, that which is
already perfect, the experiential or progressive type of sanctification in which a believer grows in
holiness, and the ultimate sanctification when he
stands complete in the presence of God.
Positional holiness by far has the most references in the New Testament and is the thought in the use of
the word "saint" which appears some sixty-five times. The emphasis in sanctification is that we already
have a perfect standing or position, and it is on
this basis that we are called to bring our experience as far as possible up to the standard. A few
Scriptures refer to progressive sanctification as in
John 17:17 where Christ prayed, "Sanctify them
through thy truth: thy word is truth." The same
thought is found in Ephesians 5:26 where the present
ministry of Christ is revealed to be that of
sanctifying His church by cleansing it by the washing of water by the Word of God (cf. Also 1 Thess. 5:23). The concept of ultimate sanctification as a state is not expressly brought out in Scripture, but it is
clear that when we are in heaven we will be
completely set apart for holy use and will be like
Christ (1 John 3:2). Similar passages are found in Ephesians 5:27 and Romans 8:29. It may be concluded
that while sanctification is, therefore, perfect in
position, its experiential attainment is relative;
and complete sanctification will be realized when we
are in heaven where we will be completely set apart
for holy use and will be like Christ (1 John 3:2).
It is most important to note from Scripture that for a believer to declare himself sinless, either in
nature or in life, is to contradict both the
Scriptures and experience as 1 John 1:8 makes plain,
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." The exhortations of the
New Testament teach that the path to victory over sin is not to arrive at a plateau where sin is
impossible, but rather through moment-by-moment
dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit to provide deliverance. Those who claim sinless perfection are self-deceived, and because of their supposed complete victory over sin tend to neglect the means of power provided by the Holy Spirit. As 1 John 1:8 indicates, while they may deceive themselves they do not deceive anyone else, as sinless perfection is a crown which is unattainable in this life. To understand the doctrine of sanctification properly is to open the door for the power of the Holy Spirit to provide for the believer moment-by-moment victory over sin. Probably the most extreme of all the holiness doctrines is the thought that the sin nature can be eradicated. In this concept a Christian is not only declared not to sin, but it is claimed that it is impossible for him to sin. Nothing should be more clear in the New Testament than the fact that the spiritual life is one of ceaseless warfare. Nowhere is the believer exhorted to attempt by any means whatever to eradicate the sin nature. Instead, the exhortations of Scripture constantly take into consideration that this is impossible and that victory over sin requires yieldedness to God and walking by the Spirit. One of the contemporary erroneous concepts of holiness is the theory that it is possible for a Christian to die completely to self. Exhortations are sometimes made to the Christian to crucify himself.
The figure is not only unscriptural, but physically
impossible as crucifixion must always be administered by another. The error has arisen through an incorrect understanding of the tense of the verb in passages
such as Romans 6:6. The verb is not in the present
tense but correctly translated the passage reads,
"Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with
him." The same is true with Galatians 2:20 where the
perfect tense is used, signifying that we not only
are crucified with Christ already, but also that we
have been crucified with Him ever since Christ died
upon the cross. The exhortation is to the point of recognizing this fact. It is impossible for a
Christian by act of his will to die to self, but he
can by the grace of God reckon himself dead to the
sin nature which is still very much alive. By this he is disclaiming the right of the sin nature to rule
over him in view of the power of God released through the death of Christ upon the cross. Christians who have foolishly concluded that they have actually died to self are soon disillusioned as they find that the
old nature is still very much alive, and apart from
the power and grace of God would again assert itself. The Christian life as a whole is so constituted that not only our salvation is completely dependent upon God and His grace, but also our daily victory is moment-by-moment possible only as the reservoirs of
divine power are released in the life of the
Christian. This is what is meant by walking by the Spirit, letting the Spirit empower and direct and
control. Walking by the Power of the Spirit
In contrast to the other exhortations to "quench not
the Spirit" or to "grieve not the Spirit," walking by the power of the Holy Spirit is a positive command
and is one of appropriation of what God has proved.
It is the walk by the Spirit that produces contagious Christian experience, holiness of life, and a glorifying of God. It is only thus that holiness can be achieved and the fruit of the Spirit realized. Walking by the Spirit is only possible as the Christian is first of all yielded to the Spirit of God and second is walking in unhindered fellowship with the Spirit through confession of sin. Walking by the Spirit, however, is a positive moment-by-moment dependence upon the Spirit of God and what the Spirit of God can empower the Christian to do. The walk by the Spirit includes dependence upon the Word of God as providing the necessary standards of life and instruction in holy living. As one walks by the Spirit, he must be guided by the Spirit of God. Many moral issues are not dealt with explicitly in the Scriptures, and the personal direction of an individual life into a proper sphere of service is possible only as the Spirit guides. Walking by the Spirit also implies dependence upon prayer, and spiritual power often is directly related to the prayer life of the believer. Walking by the Spirit is also aided by fellowship with other believers who also are seeking the work of the Spirit in their lives. While the Spirit of God directly empowers, He also uses means in effecting in the individual life a perfect will of God.
In the great program of God for the redemption of the lost human race, the Scriptures make clear that
Christ's death on the cross is God's provision for
fallen humanity. Apart from this sacrifice there
could be no permanent forgiveness, no release of the
grace of God, and no relief from condemnation from
sin. In the purpose of God it is also clear that
salvation thus purchased by Christ is made effective
by the Holy Spirit. It is only by the power of the
Spirit that a lost soul can see and understand the
gospel and believe. It is the power of the Holy
Spirit revealed in salvation which delivers a person
from his lost estate and makes him a new creature in
Christ, possessing eternal life, indwelt by the Holy
Spirit, and made one with the saints. Just as the
deliverance from sin and condemnation and our new
position in Christ is made possible by the Holy
Spirit, so the daily walk of the believer who
experiences deliverance from sin and achieves a
quality of life which brings glory to God is possible only as the Holy Spirit fills and empowers. God has made rich provision both for the salvation and the sanctification of those who come to Him through
Christ. Those who have put their trust in Christ have the privilege and responsibility of availing
themselves of this wonderful provision for joy and
victory in Christ now, anticipating that perfect
experience which will be theirs in heaven.
THE INDEPENDENT BAPTIST DOCTRINE.
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