SEPT S Ee BEER ES LEA Eee samen £4 Ve “ Tet z 9.0 ioe 8 8 ee = uM SES 2 a Bas $67 nO YY ee 8 si 8) a ND ee * Dama YN ime Nf tla aN Hrom the Library of Hrofessor Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield Bequeathed by him to the Lihrary of | Princeton Cheologiral Seminary BI st21...C46' 4918 Chafer, Lewis Sperry, 1871- O52. He that is spiritual t For Review “A, Cs Gaebeletn tan yO Aa hares. s. AN t . . é 4 m 1 ye) I ) < s ‘ ’ ; 7 \ ew , 4 ee { * ao ah ee Y tena rey gd He that is Spiritual BY Me LEWIS SPERRY CHAFER Author of << Satan and the Satanic System ”’ ‘<'True Evangelism ”’ « fect that their sin is the sin of an unfallen being, such as Adam was before he sinned. Concerning this claim it may be said that we are not saved into conformity to the first Adam: we are now im Christ and saved into conformity to the Last Adam. If this theory were true, the first sin committed by any person in that innocent state would result in a fall as far reaching and serious as was the ef- fect of Adam’s sin on his own nature and on his relation to God. Again, some fancy a distinction between their fallen nature and the human nature, and they claim that they sin from the human nature even though the fallen nature is eradicated. Such a theory finds no basis in the Scriptures. God has a better way of preventing sin, which is clearly revealed. It is free from bold assumption because it makes “‘no provision for the flesh” and depends only upon the power of the Spirit. The claim of eradication is foreign to the experience of the most spiritual saints in this and past genera- tions. There is no example of eradication in the Word of God. | . Third, Eradication is not according to Revela- tion. o> 66 ‘In the Word of God we have “instruction,” “cor- rection,” and “reproof.” By these we must deter- mine our conclusions rather than by any impression of the mind, or by analyzing any person’s experience whatsoever. The Bible teaches: (1), All believers are warned against tle as- ‘Walk in the Spirit” 137 sumptions of the eradication theory: “If we say that we have no sin (nature), we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). (2), The Spirit has come to be our Deliverer and the whole Bible teaching concerning His presence, purpose and power is manifestly meaning- less if our victory is to be by another means alto- gether. For this reason the eradication theory makes little place for the Person and work of the Spirit. | (3), The Spirit delivers by an unceasing con- flict. “The flesh (which includes the old nature) lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that (when walking by the Spirit) ye cannot do the things that ye (otherwise) would” (Gal. 5:17, cf Jas. 4:5). So, also, in Rom. 7: 15-24, and 8:2, the source of sin in the believer is said to be the sin nature working through the flesh, and the victory is by the superior power of the Spirit. The teachings of the eradication theory are to the effect that a Christian will have no disposition to sin tomorrow and thus the theory prompts one to an alarming disregard for true watchfulness and reliance upon the power of God. The Bible teaches that, while the divine provision is unto perfection of life, the human appropriation is always faulty and therefore the results are +m- perfect at best. It also teaches that the latent source of sin remains and, should the “walk in the Spirit” cease, there will be an immediate return to the “desires” and “lusts” of the flesh. So long as “by the Spirit ye are walking, ye shall not fulfil the 138 He That is Spiritual lust of the flesh.” We are all creatures of habit and may become increasingly adapted to the walk in the Spirit. We store knowledge through ex- perience as well. Thus the practice of the walk in the “flesh” may constantly decrease; but the ability to walk after the “flesh” abides. (4), The divine provisional dealings with the “flesh” and the “old man” have not been unto eradication. God has wrought on an infinite scale in the death of His Son that the way might be made whereby we may “walk in newness of life.” The manner of this walk is stated in such injunc- tions as “reckon,” “yield,” “let not,” “put. off,” “mortify,” “abide”: yet not one of these injunc- tions would have the semblance of meaning under the eradication theory. The Scriptures do not counsel us to “reckon” the nature to be dead: it urges us to “reckon” ourselves to be dead unto tt. (5), The teachings of the eradicationists are based on a false interpretation of Scripture con- cerning the present union of the believer with Christ in His death. That in the Bible which is held to be positional and existing only in the mind and reckoning of God, and which is accomplished once for all for every child of God, is misunder- stood to mean an experience in the daily life of a few who dare to class themselves as those who are free from the disposition to sin. (6), The conclusions of the doctrine of eradica- tion are based on false teachings concerning the Bible use of the word “flesh.” The advocates of this teaching do not understand that the word “Walk in the Spirit” 139 “flesh” refers to all,—spirit, soul and body,—of the natural man, and, were it possible, the removal of the sin nature would not dispose of all the problems created by the limitations of the “flesh.” “In me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing.” The “flesh” must, therefore remain as long as the “earthen vessel,” the “body of our humiliation” re- mains. Certainly the body is not eradicated. (%), Eradication teaching is more concerned with human experience than with the revelation of God. It has always been content to analyze ex- perience and attempt to prove its conclusions by such analysis. That which is a normal experience of deliverance by the power of the Spirit can easily be supposed to be an evidence of “sinless perfec- tion,” “entire sanctification” and “eradication.” A human supposition can never take the place of the divine revelation. The two theories are irreconcilable. We are either to be delivered by the abrupt removal of all tendency to sin and so no longer need the enabling power of God to combat the power of sin, or we are to be delivered by the immediate and constant power of the indwelling Spirit. The Bible teaches the latter. WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY ? The third condition, then, upon which one may be spiritual, is a conscious reliance upon the Spirit, which is a “walk by means of the Spirit.” Such a reliance upon the Spirit is imperative because of the impossible heavenly calling, the opposing power of Satan, and the continued presence of the “flesh” 140 He That is Spiritual with its Adamic nature. We cannot. meet to7 morrow’s issues today. It is step by step in the walk and this demands a constant appropriation cf the power of God. The Christian life is never likened to a balloon ascension in which we might go up once for all and have no trouble or tempta- tion again. It is a “walk,” a “race,” a “fight.” All this speaks of continuation. The fight of faith is that of continuing the attitude of reliance upon the Spirit. To those who thus walk with God, there is open a door into “fellowship with the Father and with his Son” and into a life of fruit- bearing and service with every spiritual manifesta- tion to the glory of God. What, then, is true spirituality? It is the un- hindered manifestations of the indwelling Spirit. There are in all, seven of these manifestations. These blessed realities are all provided for in the presence and power of the Spirit and will be normally produced by the Spirit in the Christian who is not grieving the Spirit, but is confessing every known sin; who is not quenching the Spirit, but is yielded to God; and who is walking in the Spirit by an attitude of dependence upon His power alone. Such an one is spiritual because He is Spirit-filled. The Spirit is free to fulfil in him all the purpose and desire of God for him. There is nothing in daily life and service to be desired be- yond this. “But thanks be unto God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” CHAPTER VII 4m ANALOGY AND THE CONCLUSION I. AN ANALOGY. The Bible treats our deliverance from the bond- servitude to sin as a distinct form of salvation ana there is an analogy between this and the more familiar aspect of salvation which is from the guilt and penalty of sin. In the first five chapters of the letter to the Romans we have presented our salvation from the guilt and penalty of sin into justification and security through the redemption that is in Christ. Beginning with chapter six, a new question is raised: “Shall we (who have been saved into safety) continue in sin?’ The major portion of three chapters, as has been seen, is then devoted to a statement of the facts and conditions of salvation from the reigning power of sin in the daily life of the child of God. The analogy be- tween these two aspects of salvation may be con- sidered in five particulars: First, THE EstaTE oF THE ONE WHO NEEDS TO BE SAVED. a, From the penalty of sin. The Word of God presents an extended descrip- tion of the estate of the unregenerate in their need of salvation from the guilt and penalty of sin. They are said to be “lost,” “condemned,” and spiritually “dead” ; “there is none righteous, no, not one”; “all have sinned and come short of the 142 He That is Spiritual glory of God.” But back of all this is the revela- tion that in themselves they are helpless and with- out power to alter or improve their condition. Their only hope is to depend completely on Another for His saving power and grace. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” b, From the power of sin. In like manner the Scriptures reveal the estate of the regenerate in relation to the power of the sin nature, to be that of impotence and helplessness: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing’; “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” The hope of the child of God in salvation from the power of sin is also a complete dependence upon the power and grace of Another. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” “If by the Spirit ye are walking, ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” SECOND, THE Divine OBJECTIVE AND IDEAL IN SALVATION. a, From the penalty of sin. The greatest possible contrast exists between what an unregenerate person is before he is saved, and that estate to which he is brought in the saving power of God. Eternity will hardly suffice to give opportunity to discover the manifold marvels of Flis saving grace, “When we see him, we shall be like Him.” Even now “are we the sons of God.” We are to be “conformed to the image ef his Son.” Analogy and Conclusion 143 b, From the power of sin. So, also, the Christian, in the purpose of God, is to find a perfect victory through Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Spirit. “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” “Grieve not the Spirit.” “Quench not the Spirit.” ‘Walk in the light.” ‘Abide in me.” Tuirp, SALVATION Is OF Gop ALONE. a, From the penalty of sin. Salvation must be of God alone; for every as- pect of it is beyond human power and strength. Of the many great miracles which taken together constitute salvation from the guilt and penalty of sin, not one of them could even be understood, let alone be accomplished, by man. “It is the power of God unto salvation”; “That he might be the justifier of him which believeth.” b, From the power of sin. It is equally true that the believer is helpless to deliver himself from the power of sin. God alone can do it, and He proposes to do it according to the revelation contained in His Word. There is no power in man to deliver from “the world, the flesh and the devil.” “If by the Spirit ye are walk- ing, ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh”; “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” ; “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” “Finally, my brethren, be strong 144 He That is Spiritual in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” “Through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Fourtu, Gop Can Save ONLY BY, AND THROUGH, THE Cross. a, From the penalty of sin. There would be no sinner left to save, if God had to deal with the sin question in us, as to its guilt and penalty, at the moment He would exercise saving grace. It is only that He has already dealt with the penalty of sin in the death of Christ that He can save the sinner apart from consuming judgments. Now, the sinner has only to believe that such saving grace is open to him through the Son of God. The Lord Jesus suffered unto death “for’ our sins. “He bore our sins in his body on the tree’; ‘““He was delivered for our transgres- sions”; “Because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then all died” (in the One). By this death He so perfectly met the condemnation of sin for us that God is now free even to justify any sinner without penalty or condemnation. A moral hind- rance in any sinner’s life is no longer an issue in his salvation. By the death of His Son, God has rendered Himself free to save the chief of sinners. In such salvation He is righteous and just because the Lord Jesus has suffered for our sins. b, From the power of sin. There could be no salvation of the Christian from the power of sin if God had not first taken the “old man” into judgment. Our condition would be hopeless if God had first to judge the sin nature in us before He could take control of our lives. He Analogy and Conclusion 145 has already judged the “old man” by our co-cruci- fixion, co-death, and co-burial with Christ. The Lord not only suffered for our sins. He also died unto sin. He suffered under the penalty for our sins: He also died unto our sin nature. ‘For in that he died he died unto sin once.” “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him.” Because Christ has died unto sin, God, is righte- ously free to take control of the “flesh,” and the Adamic nature, and exercise His power for our sal- vation from the bond-servitude to sin; exactly as He is righteously free to save the unregenerate from the penalty of sin because Christ has met every judgment for the sinner. Firtu, SALVATION Is BY FAITH. a, From the penalty of sin. Since salvation is always and only a work of God, the only relation man can sustain to it is that of expectation toward the One Who alone can under- take and accomplish it. Salvation from the guilt and penalty of sin is wrought for us the moment we believe. It is conditioned on the act of faith. Men are not saved, or kept saved, from the con- sequences of sins because they continue their faith. Saving faith, as related to the first aspect of salva- tion, is an act of faith. We are saved by grace through faith. b, From the power of sin. Salvation unto sanctity of daily life is equally a work of God and the only relation the child of God can sustain to it is an attitude of expectation toward the One Who alone is able. There should be an 146 He That is Spiritual adjustment of the life and will to God, and this salvation must then be claimed by faith; but in this case it is an attitude of faith. We are saved from the power of sin as we believe. The one who has been justified by an act of faith must now live by faith. There are a multitude of sinners for whom Christ has died who are not now saved. On the divine side, everything has been provided, and they have only to enter by faith into His saving grace as it is for them in Jesus Christ. Just so, there are a multitude of saints whose sin nature has been perfectly judged and every provision made on the divine side for a life of victory and glory to God who are not now realizing a life of victory. They have only to enter by faith into the saving grace from the power and dominion of sin. This is the reality of a “walk,” a “race,” a “warfare.” It is a constant attitude. We are to “fight the good fight of faith.’ Sinners are not saved until they trust the Saviour, and saints are not victorious until they trust the Deliverer. God has made this possible through the cross of His Son. Salvation from the power of sin must be claimed by faith. The Spirit, when saving from the reigning power of sin does not set aside the personality of the one He saves. He takes possession of the faculties and powers of the individual. It is the power of God acting through the human faculties of the will, emotions, desires and disposition. The experience of the believer who is being empowered is only that of a consciousness of his own power of choice, his own feelings, desires and disposition as related to his own self. He is “strong in the Lord and in Analogy and Conclusion 147 the power of his might.” He is conscious that he is strong, to some degree; but he knows that it is “in the Lord and in the power of his might.” Il, THE CONCLUSION. Because thus far this discussion has dealt prim- arily with the theory, or doctrine of the spiritual life, the addition of a few practical suggestions may not be amiss. _ Since a life in the power of the Spirit depends on a continuous attitude of reckoning and appro- priation, it is important for most Christians to have a time of definite dealing with God in which they examine their hearts in the matter of known sin and their yieldedness, and in which they acknowl- edge both their insufficiency and His sufficiency by the Spirit. There, at that time, they may claim His power and strength to supplant their weakness. The Bible makes no rules as to time or condi- tions. It is the individual child, in all the latitude of his own personality, dealing with his Father. Be it remembered, too, that His provisions are always perfect; but our appropriation is always imperfect. There is much misleading reference to human attitudes and actions in relation to God as being “absolute”: such as “absolute surrender,” “absolute consecration,’ and “absolute devotion.” If there are well defined conditions upon which we may be spiritual, let us remember that, from the standpoint of the Infinite God, our compliance with those conditions are at best imperfect. What He provides and bestows is in the fullest divine per- fection; but our adjustment is human and there- 148 He That is Spiritual fore subject to constant improvement. The fact of our possible deliverance, which depends on Him alone, does not change. We will have as much at any time as we make it possible for Him to bestow. We will always be learning to “walk in the Spirit.” How awkward we are! Most of us must creep before we walk and some even creep back- ward before they creep forward; but like the child who falls, we must profit by our failure, make our full confession, claim His immediate forgiveness and cleansing and arise by His grace and press on. No Christian can really look to Him for victory and not be constrained to give ceaseless thanks- giving for the evidence of His power. We know this because it is according to His promise. Normally, the spiritual Christian will be occupied with effective service for his Lord. This is not a rule. We need only to know that we are yielded and ready to do whatever He may choose. To “rest in the Lord” is one of the essential victories in a spiritual life. “Come ye apart and rest awhile.” We are just as spiritual when resting, playing, sleeping or incapacitated, if it is His will for us, as we are when serving. The Spirit-filled life is never free from tempta- tions; but “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able: but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” The plain teaching of the promise, in harmony with all Scripture on this subject, is that temptations which are “common to man” come to us all, but there is a divinely pro- vided way of escape. The child of God does not Analogy and Conclusion 149 need to yield to temptation. There is always the possibility of sin; but never the necessity. Living in unrealities is a source of hindrance to spirituality. Anything that savors of a “religious pose” is harmful. One may be over confident, or over humble. The Spirit-filled life is natural. It will not do to impersonate ideals or to imitate others. Just here is the great danger in analyzing experi- ences. Some are so easily induced to try to imitate someone else. That which gives us our priceless distinctiveness is our own personality, and we can- not please Him more than to be what He designed, unaffected and simple hearted. Some Christians are disposed to “traffic in unlived truth”; repeating pious phrases the truth of which they have never really experienced. This must always grieve the Spirit. It is far better to pass for Jess than we are, than for more. It is possible to pass for just what we are through His grace. We are dealing always with our Father. Too often the walk in the Spirit is thought to be a me- chanical thing. This is perhaps due, again, to so much being said about “absolute conditions” that must precede, and “absolute results” that will fol- low. A machine demands absolute conditions and returns absolute results; but we are not dealing with a machine. We are dealing with the most lov- ing and tender-hearted Father in all the universe. The deepest secret of our walk is just to know H im, and so to believe in His Father-heart that we can cry out our failures on His loving breast, or speak plainly to Him in thanksgiving for every victory. ‘When we know the consolation and relief of such 150 He That is Spiritual communion we will have less occasion to trouble any one else. It is ours to tell Him just what we feel, just how bad we are at heart, and even our darkest unbelief. To do this only opens our hearts to Him for His blessed light and strength. Separation from close-up communion is the first thing that we should fear, and the “first aid” in every spiritual accident is the simple act of telling Him everything. Never pose before God. We are never wonderful saints of whom God may justly be proud: we are His little children, immature and filled with foolishness, with whom He is endlessly patient and on whom He has been pleased to set all His infinite heart of love. He is wonderful. We are not. Believe what is written. Remember the vital words of Rom. 6:6, 9: “Knowing this,” or ‘“be- cause we know this.” We are always justified in acting on good evidence. Where is there a safer word of testimony than the imperishable Word of our God? From that Word we know that God has provided a finished judgment for our sins and for our sin, and that the way is open for an overflowing life in the power of the blessed Spirit. We know that such a life is His loving purpose for us. We know from His Word that when we confess our sins He immediately forgives us and cleanses us. We must not wait until we feel forgiven and cleansed. Ours is to believe His unfailing promise. So far from imposing on Him by claiming His grace, to fail to claim all that His love would bestow will hurt Him more than all else. True spirituality is a reality. It is all of the mani- festations of the Spirit in and through the one in Analogy and Conclusion 151 whom He dwells. He produces the life which is Christ. He came not to speak of Himself but to make Christ real to the heart, and through the heart, of man, Thus the Apostle Paul could write: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abund- antly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. 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