the Spirit himself, and, second, our spirit. The Spirit testifies as to
who is a child of God; our spirits testify as to what we are. If our
spirits testify that we are the character which the Spirit says belongs
to a child of God, then we have the testimony of the Spirit himself
bearing witness with our spirits that we are children of God. The
testimony of the Spirit, in the nature of the case, must be general. He
testifies that whosoever believes in Christ, repents of his sins, and is
baptized into him, is a child of God. This is the whole of his
testimony. Your spirit, likewise, must bear witness to your position on
all of these points.
No one but your own spirit can testify that you believe in Christ; you
may profess to, and the whole world may believe that you do, but your
own spirit knows that you are a hypocrite in making the profession.
Likewise, no one can testify but your own spirit that you have repented;
you may make professions of repentance, and the world may believe you
thoroughly sincere, but your own spirit may tell you that your
profession is false. In a similar manner, no one but your own spirit can
testify that you have been baptized; your father and mother may say so,
the church record may so testify, and yet it is possible for them to be
mistaken. To be certain you are a child of God you must have the
testimony of your own spirit that you believe, that you have repented
and that you have been baptized. If, in the judgment day, God should ask
such people, "Have you obeyed me in the act of Christian baptism?" they
would not have the testimony of their spirit that they had so obeyed;
they would have to fall back upon the church record or that of their
father and mother. Others may be satisfied with such testimony, but, as
for myself, if I did not have the testimony of my own spirit that I had
obeyed the Lord in Christian baptism, I would obtain that testimony
before the going down of the sun.
"Well," says one, "is that all the witness of the Spirit mentioned by
the apostle?" Yes, that is all; absolutely and unqualifiedly all. What
more can you desire? "Well," says another, "I want something more than
the mere word; I want to be saved like the thief on the cross." How do
you know that the thief on the cross was saved? "Oh, the Bible says he
was." True, but that is the testimony of the "mere word"; so you have as
much testimony to your own salvation as you have for the salvation of
the thief on the cross, and it would be impossible for you to have any
more. Suppose the Lord were to come down and take you up bodily and set
you down before his throne in heaven, and, in the presence of all the
angels and archangels, say to you: "My child, your sins are all
forgiven." "Now," says one, "that would be testimony indeed." Yes, it
would be testimony, but no more testimony than you have in the word of
God now; you would then have only the testimony of the "mere word" of
God that you were forgiven. All such criticisms arise out of infidelity
as to the truthfulness of God's word.
3. _The Spirit maketh intercession for us_. This is not a work done in
us nor upon us, but is something done for us before the throne of God.
We can not dogmatize as to _how_ the Spirit maketh intercession, but
Paul says he does it "_according to the will of God_." This is a fact
that appeals to _our faith_ and not to our Christian _experience_. It
"can not be uttered." We can rest upon it and draw comfort from it as a
child draws strength from its mother's breast. We can also draw comfort
from the fact that Christ "ever liveth to make intercession for us,"
though we have no knowledge as to _how_ he does it.
4. Another work of the Spirit is to "_change us from glory to glory_."
"But we all, with unveiled face, reflecting as a mirror the glory of the
Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as
from the Lord the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18). The figure used here by the
apostle is taken from the process of mirror-making among the ancients.
They hadn't the glass mirrors of our day, but a mirror of highly
polished metal. A piece of coarse metal would be placed upon a stone and
the workmen would begin to polish it; at first it made no reflection at
all, but when polished for awhile would give a distorted and perverted
reflection; but in the process of polishing, that reflection would grow
clearer and clearer, when finally a man could behold his face in it
perfectly reflected. And so with us. When taken into the great spiritual
laboratory of Christianity we are blocks in the rough, but in the
polishing process of the church and spiritual surroundings we begin to
reflect the image of our Master, and when we have completed the work, we
reflect him as perfectly as a human being can. Take, for illustration,
the brothers Peter and John. At first they were called Boanerges, sons
of thunder; they wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy men who
differed from them; but in the great laboratory of the Christian life
they grew more and more Christlike, transformed by the Spirit of God,
until at last we see the old apostle John at Ephesus, beautified and
ennobled, sitting in his chair and lifting up trembling hands, and
saying to the young disciples: "Little children, love one another, for
love is of God." We see the transforming power of the spiritual
atmosphere of the church and the Christian life upon human nature.
Christian, with this illustration before you, how can you excuse
yourself for keeping out of the spiritual atmosphere of God, for staying
away from the communion and the spiritual convocation of God's people?
Is it a burden and a duty to attend the house of God, or is it a
pleasure gladly and joyfully anticipated? When you rise on the Lord's
Day morning, do you say, "Must I go to church to-day?" or do you say:
"You may sing of the beauty of mountain and dale,
The water of streamlet and the flowers of the Vale,
But the place most delightful this earth can afford,
Is the place of devotion, the house of the Lord"?
5. The last work of the Spirit which the word of God mentions is the
"_quickening of our mortal bodies_." "But if the Spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ
Jesus from the dead shall quicken your mortal bodies through his Spirit
that dwelleth in you" (Rom. 8:11). This Spirit which has ever been with
us, watching over us, will never leave us until he raises our bodies
from the dead and fashions our vile bodies like unto the glorious body
of our Lord. It matters much where we now live; it matters little where
and how we die. Our bodies may be buried in the unfathomed caves of
ocean; they may lie upon some mountain-peak or be placed in a crowded
cemetery of some great city. No stone may mark our resting-place, no
friend may be able to find the spot and place a flower of love upon it;
but that abiding-place is known to the infinite Spirit of God, and from
our ashes he will quicken our bodies and present us faultless before the
throne of God.
"I know not where His isles may lift
Their fronded palms in air:
I only know I can not drift
Beyond His love and care."
We have not space in this chapter to notice other than the principal
passages which refer to the work of the Spirit as it relates to
Christians, but in the five above mentioned there is no hint that he
does anything in us other than through the instrumentality of the
gospel, and there are no other passages that teach a direct work upon
us more clearly than those mentioned.
There are many passages that trace the blessed and glorious work of the
Spirit in us and through us, but they all confirm the clear statement
quoted from the _Sunday School Times_ that he works _mediately_, and not
_immediately_.
X
THE PARTING WORD
_Blasphemy against the Spirit_. This is a subject that is intensely
interesting to many people. They imagine that in some way unknown to
themselves they _may_ have committed this act, and it causes them great
concern. I will say that such people need have no alarm. The man who has
actually committed this sin _never_ feels any alarm about it. He is the
last man to feel concern over it. By reading the twelfth chapter of
Matthew the reader can obtain a clear view of this sin. Jesus was being
hounded by the Pharisees, who had determined to procure his death at all
hazards. They were watching, exaggerating and criticizing everything he
did.
He went on a Sabbath day through the field of corn and his disciples
plucked and ate some of the corn. There was an immediate outcry of "The
Sabbath is violated." Again, Jesus healed the man with a withered hand
and the Pharisees went out and held a council to plan his destruction.
Again, there was brought to him a man possessed of a devil, rendering
him blind and dumb. Jesus healed him by casting out the devil, so that
he "both saw and heard." Casting out devils had always been regarded by
the Jews as a direct work of the Spirit of God. The people are amazed,
and proclaimed him the Son of David, or the Messiah. The Pharisees could
not deny the fact, but they said: "He does it by Beelzebub, the prince
of devils."
These three incidents show a disposition on their part to deliberately
reject all testimony contrary to their plan to compass his death. They
had rendered their verdict in advance and were not open to conviction,
no matter _what_ testimony might be offered. Jesus tells them that if he
casts out devils by Beelzebub, then Satan is divided against himself.
"But if I by the Spirit of God cast out devils, then is the kingdom of
God come upon me" (Matt. 12:28). "_Therefore_ I say unto you, Every sin
and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the
Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak a word against
the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever shall speak
against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this
world, nor in that which is to come" (Matt. 12:31, 32). That these men
had committed, or were in great danger of committing, this blasphemy is
evident from the caution uttered above.
When a man to-day reaches the comprehensive state of mind that he is
going to reject Jesus _over any and all evidence,_ he has gone into the
house, shut and locked the door and thrown away the key. God can not
reach him. Such a man will be let alone by the Spirit of God. That Paul
understood this condition to be unpardonable, we read in Heb. 6:4-6:
"But as touching those who were once enlightened, and tasted of the
heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted
the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then fall
away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they
_crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh_, and put him to an open
shame." Paul says it is impossible to renew such a one to repentance.
Why? "_Seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh_." That
is, they have reached the same state of mind the Pharisees had who
_crucified him the first time_. Men can commit that same act to-day, but
when they do it they lose all concern regarding the consequences. As
long as one has concern, he may rest assured that he has not blasphemed
the Holy Spirit.
_The Fruits of the Spirit_. I have not treated this passage hitherto,
because I do not understand the apostle to be referring to the Holy
Spirit, but to man's spirit. In this fifth chapter of Galatians the
apostle divides man into two domains, one of the flesh and another of
the spirit. He says: "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh: for these are contrary the one to the other:
that ye _may not do the things that ye would_" (Gal. 5:17). It is
impossible to imagine "the flesh" preventing the Holy Spirit from doing
"the things he would." It is also impossible to conceive that the Holy
Spirit is lusting against man's flesh. But we all recognize that there
is a terrible conflict between man's flesh and _his spirit_. These are
contrary the one to the other and lust against each other. When man's
flesh triumphs over his spirit, certain works are inevitable which Paul
enumerates. When the Spirit (in man) dominates the flesh, then certain
"fruits of the Spirit" appear. They are the fruits of man's spiritual
nature triumphing over his fleshly nature. The same contrast is set
forth in Galatians, chapter 6, where it speaks of sowing to the flesh
and to the Spirit. How can any man sow to the Holy Spirit? Paul
describes the same conflict in the seventh chapter of Romans. I think
that the spirit (of man) can be aided by the Holy Spirit in its battle
against the flesh, but the "fruits" mentioned are of man's spirit and
not the Holy Spirit.
_The Spirit of God at Work To-Day_. Says one, "Is not the Spirit
actively at work in the world to-day?" Of course he is. It is not a
question of _what_ he is doing but _how_ he is doing it. The religious
world is pretty generally agreed that the Spirit is pleading with the
world of the unsaved through the motives and inducements of the gospel,
the moral truth which appeals to the intellect and heart of the
unconverted to turn to God and be saved; that all the saving power of
God is found in Christ and the gospel which reveals him; that God will
not go beyond the cross of Christ to save any man. It is Christ "who was
made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and
redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him
glory in the Lord." All that is necessary for wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification and redemption--and that is all we need--is found in
Christ. This being so, we need no other power but gospel power in our
attempts to become children of God or to live as children of God. We get
into confusion when we try to obtain some other and more direct power.
We are led into a dependence upon our feelings, which are unreliable.
Bishop J.H. Vincent, than whom stands no higher in the Northern M.E.
Church, aptly states the whole matter thus: "There are people who put
stress on sentiment and emotion in religion. If they 'feel good,' they
have no doubt as to their present security and their acceptance with
God. These people covet moods and states of feeling. They revel in songs
and prayers and hallelujahs. The thrill of sentiment and the warm
currents of emotion are 'the all and in all' of religion. Such saints
forget that mere mental exhilaration and good feeling may coexist with
carnal hearts, selfish aims, and utter worldliness of temper." His
brethren will scarcely accuse the Bishop of not believing in "heartfelt
religion," and yet they used to strongly accuse us of denying it,
because we plead for the testimony of the Book rather than the testimony
of feelings.
We get into the same confusion when we attempt to fall back upon some
inward power, independent of God's word, in living the Christian life.
The writer has known many good, honest people that claimed to have an
inward monitor to lead them, who at the same time would reject the clear
teaching of God's word. The Spirit of God never led any man to
contradict _the Word_ which he has so clearly revealed. The whole
Christian life is a life of faith. _It begins, continues and ends in
faith._ "God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that
_fears God and works righteousness_ is accepted of him." "The sword of
the Spirit" is "the word of God."
End of Project Gutenberg's The Spirit and the Word, by Zachary Taylor Sweeney