(The following is the latest installment in our series of articles drawn from Pastor Stam’s classic work on True Spirituality. Since this book never appeared as a series in the Searchlight, many of even our long-time readers may not be familiar with these selections.)

PAUL’S FOURFOLD CLASSIFICATION OF THE HUMAN RACE

In the Pauline Epistles the human race is divided, by the Spirit, into four classes:

• The natural man.
• The babe in Christ.
• The carnal Christian.
• The spiritual Christian.

All four of these are referred to in one passage of Scripture (I Cor. 2:14-3:4) and it should be noted that they are classified according to their ability to appreciate and assimilate “the things of God” as revealed in His Word. We quote the passage here in full:

“But the NATURAL man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

“But he that is SPIRITUAL judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto CARNAL, even as unto BABES in Christ.

“I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

“For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

“For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?”

THE NATURAL MAN

The “natural,” or soulish man is the man we have described in the first chapter of this book; the fallen son of fallen Adam, as he is, without God; his fallen soul dominating his entire being. God says with regard to him, that he “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,” that “they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them” (I Cor. 2:14). This is so even where the simple “preaching of the cross” is concerned, for we read that “the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness” (I Cor. 1:18).

This is not intended as a rebuke. It is a simple statement of fact. Man, by nature, does not receive the things of the Spirit, “neither can he know them.” By worldly standards he may be generous and kind, gifted, cultured and refined; he may be possessed of superior intellectual powers, yes, and even be quite religious, but with all this he still remains utterly helpless to comprehend “the things of God.” Why? “Because they are spiritually discerned” (I Cor. 2:14).

“The things of God” must remain completely incomprehensible to the wisest, most religious man on earth until God reveals them to him by His Spirit (I Cor. 2:10) and this is effected only as God imparts the Spirit to him:

“For what man [or, who] knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God” (I Cor. 2:11).

An animal cannot appreciate “the things of a man,” for the simple reason that he possesses an animal nature, rather than human nature. In the same way man, as he is, cannot understand “the things of God,” unless God imparts to him His nature. Indeed, man cannot even truly understand the animal world, which is beneath him; how could he understand God, who is above him, unless the Spirit of God be imparted to Him?

This explains why otherwise intelligent men fail, no matter how they try, to take in spiritual truths which seem so simple to the child of God; it explains why great intellectual leaders can make such fools of themselves when they begin to discuss “the things of God”; indeed, it explains why even religious leaders can display such abysmal ignorance of spiritual truths so clearly revealed in the Word, for neither intellectual acumen nor religious zeal qualify or enable the natural man to understand the things of God. Man, by nature, can know only “the things of a man” because he has only “the spirit of man” within him (I Cor. 2:11).

In this connection the apostle does not divide the unsaved into classes, for all are equally, because totally, in darkness as to “the things of the Spirit of God.” They may observe and recognize certain facts which give them to feel that they are on the “right track,” but actually they are in such spiritual darkness that they fail utterly to comprehend the things which the Word reveals about God, or to understand and have fellowship with God Himself.

But the apostle does classify the saved into three groups, of which the first to be considered is:

THE BABE IN CHRIST

It will be observed that when Paul first came to the Corinthians in their unsaved condition, he proclaimed to them “Christ crucified”:

“And I, brethren, when I came to you…determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (I Cor. 2:1,2).

The reason for this is not difficult to determine. It was by “the death of the cross” that our blessed Lord procured salvation for us, hence it is by “the preaching of the cross” that the Spirit works in men’s hearts to save them. On the cross our Lord paid the just penalty for sin, and the Spirit uses the proclamation of this fact to convict and convert the lost; thus, for a twofold reason the preaching of the cross is said to be the power of God unto salvation.

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (I Cor 1:18).¹

“But we preach Christ crucified…unto them which are called, both Jews: and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (I Cor. 1:23,24).

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you…by which also ye are saved…how that Christ died for our sins…that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day…” (I Cor. 15:1-4).

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…for therein is the righteousness of God revealed…” (Rom. 1:16,17).

The “preaching of the cross” then, is what the Holy Spirit uses to save men. Even this message, to be sure, is “foolishness” to them until the Spirit operates within them and causes them to see, but He uses no other. No man in the present dispensation is saved apart from the preaching of the cross. It is only as that message is preached, and the Holy Spirit reveals it to the heart that the child of Adam is begotten anew and becomes a babe in the family of God; a “babe in Christ.”

The “babe in Christ” is not, of course, ready immediately for the “strong meat,” the solid food, of the Word. He could not yet digest these “deep things of God” (Heb. 5:13,14 cf. I Cor. 2:10) but must first be fed on the “milk of the Word” (I Pet. 2:2) the elementary truths of the gospel, by which he was saved and wherein he must learn to stand (I Cor. 15:1,2).

Babes in Christ can hardly be called either “carnal” or “spiritual,” since the things they do and say may be attributed so largely to the fact that they have not yet grown up. They may, however, be “carnally minded” or “spiritually minded” (Rom. 8:6). If “carnally minded,” they will wither and shrivel up, rather than grow, and will become carnal Christians, no longer possessing even the bloom and freshness of youth. If “spiritually minded,” they will blossom and grow from the freshness of spiritual childhood to the vigor of spiritual manhood,

“For to be carnally minded is death;² but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Rom. 8:6).

What is it to be “spiritually minded”? Simply to be vitally interested in the things of God, as revealed in the Word of God. Let man’s criterion of spirituality be what it may; God’s is simply this: How interested is this child of Mine in what I have to say and wish him to do? How much has he grown in the knowledge of it? Thus it is a sincere effort to know and obey God’s Word that produces true spirituality. The Word is the food on which we grow. This is why babes in Christ are exhorted:

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere [pure] milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby” (I Pet. 2:2).

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect [fullgrown] man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

“But speaking [holding] the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ” (Eph. 4:13-15)

THE CARNAL CHRISTIAN

How often have we all been reminded of the exhortation of the Apostle Peter: “Desire the sincere [pure] milk of the Word”! But how seldom have these words been emphasized in their relation to the rest of the verse:

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby” (I Pet. 2:2).

How often have preachers of the gospel used as their motto the words of Paul to the Corinthians: “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified”! (I Cor. 2:2). “Christ crucified,” they think, is the very acme of Christian truth, when in fact it is but the very beginning, the foundation, for the apostle goes on to write in this same passage:

“Howbeit, we speak wisdom among them that are perfect [mature]…” (I Cor. 2:6).

How many there are, even among those who have known Christ for years, who boast about believing the Bible but show little or no desire to understand it! Rather than study to attain to a better understanding of the Word of God and become such as know how to wield “the Sword of the Spirit,” they boast that they have gotten no farther than “the simple things.” To them the Bible is actually little more than a fetish; a mystical book containing many wonderful comforting passages. They give the curses and difficult passages but passing glances and choose for their meditation and discussion only those which “warm their hearts.”

The Bible itself calls such people carnal, or fleshly (Gr., sarkikos). They possess the Spirit, but walk after the flesh, with little interest in learning what the Spirit would have them know. They have been born of God but have not grown. They are not actually babes, for they have been saved long enough to have grown to spiritual maturity, but having failed to grow they must be dealt with “as babes.” It was among such that the apostle determined not to know anything save Jesus Christ and Him crucified (I Cor. 2:2 cf. 3:1-4). The natural man, of course, cannot take in even this. The carnal Christian, like the babe in Christ, can take in the fact that Christ died for him but can digest little more than this. To such the apostle wrote, by inspiration:

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

“I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able” (I Cor. 3:1,2).

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat [solid food].

“For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the Word of righteousness: for he is a babe” (Heb. 5:12,13).

RETARDED GROWTH

What joy and fellowship there is in gatherings where the newly-saved are present! In the spiritual realm, as well as in the physical, everyone loves a baby! But the joy that fills the hearts of loving parents is turned to bitter sorrow and disappointment if their babe fails to grow. The latter condition is as unspeakably sad and embarrassing as the former is joyous. Just so it is in the realm of the spirit.

The carnal Christian has failed to grow. He continues in a state of protracted infancy. He must be kept exclusively on a milk diet because, though saved for years, he is still unable to “bear” solid food, still “unskilful in the Word” and needing to be taught the elementary things.

THE EVIDENCES OF RETARDED GROWTH

Retarded spiritual growth is evidenced in many ways, all of which come under the heading of carnality or fleshliness. The Corinthians, so sternly rebuked for their carnality by the Apostle Paul, are said to have been careless about morals (I Cor. 5:1), puffed up (I Cor. 4:18; 5:2), inconsiderate of each other (I Cor. 6:1-7; 8:1,9,12), stingy (II Cor. 8:6-11; 11:7-9). While possessing the Spirit, they walked after the flesh.

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness.

“Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

“Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.³

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

“Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:19-23).

One of the most marked indications of retarded spiritual growth is self-interest and party strife, as seen in the case of the Corinthian believers. They were spiritually small and petty, so that the apostle had to write them:

“For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

“For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos;⁴ are ye not carnal?” (I Cor. 3:3,4).

It is not without significance that Peter’s exhortation to “newborn babes” to “desire the sincere milk of the Word” that they may “grow thereby,” is prefaced by the words: “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings” (I Pet. 2:1).

Similarly the Apostle Paul writes:

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

“With all lowliness, and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

“Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

“There is one Body…” (Eph. 4:1-4).

We do well to give heed to these admonitions today, with the professing Church divided into hundreds of denominations. To think or talk in terms of “my church” or “our church,” rather than “the Church”; to consider only self and party, is a sign of spiritual immaturity. It is childish and petty, and sincere believers should grow up from such an attitude.

In connection with this the apostle writes to the Corinthians: “Are ye not carnal and walk as men?” i.e., as other men, in their natural, unsaved state. This aptly sums up the condition of the carnal Christian. He is saved, but walks, in many respects, as the unsaved about him. Put him among a group of unsaved people, and it will be difficult to tell the difference. Fortunately, we are told in II Timothy 2:19 that “the Lord knoweth them that are His,” but this passage goes on to say: “AND, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” Thank God, the simplest of believers are no longer “the children of wrath, even as others,” but believers who “walk as men” will surely suffer loss at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

THE CAUSE OF RETARDED GROWTH

In the physical realm retarded growth may be due to some mishap or may be simply one of the results of the curse, having no direct bearing on the behavior of the parents, and certainly not of the child itself. In the spiritual realm this is not so. God has made abundant provision for every child of God to grow to spiritual manhood, and Paul rebukes the Corinthian believers for not having grown.

The trouble with the Corinthians was that they did not have much of an appetite for the Word; they did not have a passion to know and obey the truth, for the babe in Christ who “desires” the pure milk of the Word will surely “grow thereby.” This was the trouble with the Hebrew believers too, for when the apostle would have gone further into the great subject of Christ as “an high priest after the order of Melchisedec,” he was forced to write:

“Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull [Gr., Nothros, slothful] of hearing” (Heb. 5:11).

And this is precisely the cause of the carnality among believers today.

During World War II there were several occasions when parents came to the writer with letters from their sons in the armed forces, explaining that a code had been arranged by which “Johnny” could let them know to which theatre of the war he had been sent, but that now it was difficult to understand his letter. Together we would sit down and study the letter in detail in an effort to make out exactly what it was that “Johnny” was trying to make his parents understand.

Such interest and concern over a letter from “Johnny”! and appropriately so, but do the majority of believers show such interest in the Word of God to them? Are they as deeply concerned to understand its contents as they would be over a letter from “Johnny”? They are not. They are satisfied with “the simple things,” with knowing only a few passages which “warm their hearts.” This is what is back of their spiritual immaturity and their carnality.

BELIEVERS RESPONSIBLE TO GROW

Let us put it down, then, and never forget it: God holds us responsible to grow to spiritual maturity through sincere and diligent study of His Word.

To the newly saved He says:

“Desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby” (I Pet. 2:2).

“Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Pet. 3:18).

To those who have been saved for some time He says:

“Ye ought to be teachers” (Heb. 5:12).

To all He says:

“For everyone that useth milk is unskilful in the Word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

“But strong meat [solid food] belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine [Gr., Word of the beginning] of Christ, let us go on unto perfection [maturity]…” (Heb. 5:13-6:1).

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to an fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ” (Eph. 4:14,15).

THE SPIRITUAL CHRISTIAN

“But he that is spiritual judgeth [discerneth] all things, yet he himself is judged [discerned] of no man.

“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ” (I Cor. 2:15,16).

From the above passage alone it is evident that the spiritual Christian stands far above the carnal Christian or the babe in Christ—certainly above the natural man—as far as spiritual discernment is concerned. He discerns all things, yet none can discern him, for he is spiritually above them. “For who,” asks the apostle, “can understand the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him?”

Through diligent, prayerful study of the Word, and with a sincere desire to obey it, the spiritual man has come to understand God and to know His Son more and more intimately. Babes in Christ and carnal believers cannot “judge” or “discern” him, simply because they have not come to know God as he. But he, having grown to spiritual maturity, quite understands them, for he has “the mind of Christ.” He is among those of whom it is written:

“But strong meat [solid food] belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5:14).

Thus there is a great difference between the mere child of God and the man of God. The immature child of God can digest the milk of the Word and pass that on to others, but he must necessarily come far short of God’s will for him. But of the man of God we read:

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;

“That the man of God may be perfect [complete] thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (II Tim. 3:16,17).

THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD

But what is this “meat,” this “solid food” of the Word? What are these “deep things of God,” this “wisdom,” that Paul proclaimed to the spiritually mature?

The apostle gives us the answer himself when he says:

“Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect [mature]; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery…the hidden…which God ordained before the world unto our glory” (I Cor. 2:6,7).

The “wisdom” which Paul made known to mature believers, then, concerned “the mystery,” the secret of God’s eternal purpose and of all His good news; the most precious and exalted truth in all the Word of God.

The apostle says of this great body of truth that believers are established by it (Rom. 16:25) that God would have His saints know the riches of the glory of it (Col. 1:27) that it knits hearts together in love and gives the full assurance of understanding (Col. 2:2). He calls it “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8) and prays for open doors and an open mouth to proclaim it (Eph. 6:19,20; Col. 4:3,4) and open minds and hearts to receive it (Eph. 1:15-23; 3:14-21). Naturally, the devil hates it and those who stand for it will, like Paul, have to suffer for it (II Tim. 2:8,9; Eph. 6:10-20) but such suffering is sweet—”the fellowship of His suffering.”

But alas, the vast majority of Christians are too willing to wait until they get to heaven to understand these glorious truths, not realizing that their indifference to the written Word of God will cost them dearly in rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ. How many there are who suppose that the apostle is referring to heaven when he says:

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (I Cor. 2:9).

But Paul does not refer to heaven here. He refers to truths now made known, for he goes on to say:

“But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (I Cor. 2:10).

It is not with respect to heaven, but with respect to the riches of God’s mercy to all under the present dispensation of the Mystery, that the apostle exclaims:

“For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all.

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:32,33).⁵

SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING

We have already seen that it is honest, prayerful study of the Word, not some emotional religious experience, that brings us to spiritual maturity and understanding. But does it not require superior intellectual powers to understand these “deep things of God?” No indeed. Superior intellects of unsaved men are unable to appreciate even the “simple” truths of the Word, for, as we have already seen, “they are spiritually discerned” (I Cor. 2:14). And as to the mystery, the apostle wrote that it was “revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Eph. 3:5).

The mystery is not merely something more difficult to grasp intellectually, for the apostle specifically states that it is “not the wisdom of this world” but “the wisdom of God” (I Cor. 2:6,7) and that only by the Spirit of God can it be understood and appreciated. This explains why many of the humblest believers rejoice in the mystery and understand it so clearly, while so many great theologians and religious leaders fail to grasp it and keep confusing it with God’s prophesied program regarding the kingdom of Christ. The mystery is not “hard to be understood” because men are slow of mind to understand, but because they are “slow of heart to believe,” because the devil, who “hath blinded the minds of them that believe not” also seeks to keep God’s people from seeing and rejoicing in the truth of the mystery with its riches of grace, its “one body” and its “one baptism.” This is why the apostle prayed so fervently that the believers to whom he ministered might be given “spiritual understanding” to take in the glorious message he was commissioned to proclaim:

“[I] cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him:

“The eyes of your understanding [Lit., heart] being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling and…the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

“And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe…” (Eph. 1:16-19 cf. Col. 1:9,10,26-2:3).

WHERE DO WE STAND?

As we bring this part of our study to a close, a few basic questions are in order.

If carnal Christians “walk as men” rather than as Christ, is the Church today mostly carnal or spiritual? If divisions among believers evidence carnality, is the Church today mostly carnal or spiritual? If the mystery revealed through Paul cannot be appreciated by carnal believers, but only by the spiritual, is the Church today mostly carnal or spiritual?

Here we must be careful, for the best of us must humbly acknowledge that we are as yet far from having attained to full spiritual maturity, and must say with Paul: “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect” (Phil. 3:12).

In the light of this shall we not join the apostle in prayer for ourselves and for the whole household of faith, and shall we not add hard work to earnest prayer, that we may indeed stand approved of God, workmen who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth?

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).

THE SUPREME IMPORTANCE OF GOD’S WORD TO THE BELIEVER

Since, as we have seen, an interest in the Word of God and an understanding of it are the first and surest signs of true spirituality, it is evident that the Bible will always have first place in the life of the spiritual Christian.

It is of utmost importance that we understand this, for some who feel themselves quite spiritual give much time to prayer, but little, if any, to the study of the Word. Such have actually fallen for the subtle trick of the adversary to play upon their natural human pride and cause them to exalt self and push God into the background.

In saying this we do not for one moment minimize the importance of prayer, as we will prove when we discuss the subject later on; we only stress the supreme importance of the holy Word of God. In this we are surely Scriptural, for David says, by inspiration:

“For thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy name” (Psa. 138:2).

Of those who would still object and place first emphasis upon prayer rather than upon the Word, we would ask one simple question: Which is the more important, what we have to say to God or what He has to say to us? There can be but one answer to this question, for obviously what God has to say to us is infinitely more important than anything we might have to say to Him. Our prayers are as fraught with failure as we are, but the Word of God is infallible, immutable and eternal.

Yet some, having fallen for one of Satan’s “devices” and feeling quite spiritual about it, are like the talkative person to whom one listens and listens, occasionally nodding his head, but receiving little or no opportunity to “get a word in edgewise.” They do all the talking; God does all the listening.

They expect God to pay close attention to their prayers, but show little interest in His Word.

THE ONE ESSENTIAL THING

The place of the Word in the life of the believer is settled once and for all in the inspired record of one of our Lord’s visits to the home of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Commentaries on this passage generally point out that both Mary and Martha had their good points! This, of course, is true, but if we limit ourselves to this observation we rob the account of its intended lesson, for our Lord did not commend both sisters for their “good points.” He reproved Martha and commended and defended Mary with regard to one particular matter.

What, exactly, was Mary commended for? How often she has been portrayed as an example to us to spend more time with the Lord in prayer! But this is missing the point of the passage again. Mary was not praying; she “sat at Jesus’ feet, and HEARD HIS WORD.” She just sat there, drinking in all He had to say. This was “the one essential thing” which Mary had “chosen” and which our Lord said was not to be “taken away from her.” Thus, while prayer and testimony and good works all have their importance in the life of the believer, hearing God’s Word is “the one essential thing” above all others. Indeed, let this “one thing” be given its rightful place and all the rest will follow naturally.

It is granted, of course, that we must even study the Word prayerfully and with open heart, or it will have disastrous, rather than beneficial results, but this only goes to place still further emphasis upon the supreme importance of the Word of God, which we seek, by sincere and prayerful study, to understand and obey.

RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD

It must not be supposed, however, that it is enough to use the Bible as a grand book of wonderful sayings from which we may choose what we wish for our inspiration, nor will one who truly realizes that “God hath spoken” ever hold so shallow an opinion of the sacred Scriptures.

“The Word of truth” must be “rightly divided”; for while it is all given for our spiritual profit, it was not all addressed to us, nor written about us. Thus one who truly desires to understand and obey God’s Word will seek first to determine what Scriptures are particularly related to him and will study all the rest in the light of these.

Sad to say, however, there are many who fail to give the Book of God the respect and reverence it deserves. They flip it open at random, let a finger light upon the open page and then read the verse indicated to see if perchance they may find leading from the Lord in that way. And if it doesn’t “work” the first time they try it again and again until it does “work.”

They use “promise boxes” in the same way, on the basis that “every promise in the Book is mine.” A mother begins her day by taking a promise out of the box. She reads: “Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day” (Psa. 91:5). Her brow, wrinkled in apprehension, she murmurs to herself: “Oh dear, I wonder what’s going to happen today!” After further reflection, however, she comforts herself as she remembers that the verse said: “Thou shalt not be afraid”!

They take passages out of their contexts, “spiritualize” them, and give them “private interpretations.” Finding “precious passages” anywhere at all, no matter to whom addressed or when or why, they place their own constructions upon them and claim them as promises of God to them!⁶ To take isolated statements from the writings of men and use them in such a manner would be considered dishonest, but even Bible teachers do it with the Word of God!

They say: “If it’s in the Bible I believe it!” while even the most superficial examination of the Bible will reveal that it records many lies of men and Satan, that much of it is not addressed to us but to those of other dispensations, and that therefore things commanded in one passage may be positively forbidden in another (E.g., Cf. Gen. 17:14 with Gal. 5:2).

The Word, rightly divided, is of supreme importance to the Church at large as well as to the individual believer, and it is because this fact has not yet been sufficiently recognized that we have not experienced the true, heaven-sent spiritual revival that the Church so sorely needs.

How much is said about “praying down” a revival; how little about the relation of Bible study to revival! In many cases the “revivalist” asks his hearers to raise their hands to indicate how many have spent one hour, one half-hour or fifteen minutes a day in prayer. But when has the reader last heard one inquire how many of his hearers have spent one hour, one half-hour or fifteen minutes a day in the study of God’s Word?

Notes:

1. In preaching the cross as good news, we do not, however, know Christ “after the flesh” (Cf. II Cor. 5:16; Heb. 2:9, and see the writer’s booklet: The Preaching of the Cross).
2. This, of course, has to do with the believer’s experience. It does not mean that the saved may be lost again, but that as far as Christian experience is concerned, carnal mindedness brings death.
3. Obviously this does not mean that the saved who indulge in these things are therefore lost, for God counts us as perfect in Christ (Eph. 1:6; Col. 2:10). After a similar list the apostle says to the failing Corinthian believers: “And such were some of you: but ye are washed…in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (I Cor. 6:11). This is why we should desire with all our hearts to please and honor Him.
4. As though Paul and Apollos were rivals.
5. The phrase “past finding out” is the very same in the original as “unsearchable” in Ephesians 3:8, where the apostle has been unfolding the mystery of the Body of Christ.
6. Some time ago the writer received a circular letter from a missionary in Africa, using the following Scripture passage as a heading: “And behold I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land” (Gen. 28:15). The body of the letter contained these words: “During this year of furlough we claim, and have claimed, the above promise….For us, `this land’ is Africa.” Clearly, the passage in Genesis records God’s promise to bring Jacob back to Canaan, not to bring a missionary back to Africa. The missionary may have felt that the promise applied to him in some way but in reality he was perverting the Word and claiming from God a promise which He had not made. See the author’s booklet entitled: Your Faith in God’s Word; Is it Superstitious or Intelligent?

THE BELIEVER’S SPIRITUAL OBJECTIVE

The majority of believers are very much confused with regard to the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives and the exact extent to which they may expect His help in overcoming sin. This confusion has been brought about mainly by the unscriptural tradition that the present dispensation began with the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost. A further word in this connection will therefore be necessary.

Those who hold that Pentecost marks the beginning of the present dispensation should examine carefully those Scriptures which deal with the Holy Spirit and His work. A simple comparison, for example, of His operation at Pentecost with His operation today, as outlined in the Pauline epistles, can lead to but one conclusion: that the baptism with, or in, the Spirit at Pentecost has been superseded by another baptism altogether—that by which believers are baptized into one body—and that the Body of Christ did not exist (except in the mind of God) when the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost. If our Fundamentalist leaders will verify and accept this fact, they will have the answer to the “Pentecostal” fanaticism that is sweeping the country today.

THE SPIRIT’S OPERATION AT PENTECOST

Concerning the one hundred twenty believers gathered in the upper room at Pentecost, we read:

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4, R.V.).

This, of course, is another way of saying that the Holy Spirit took complete possession of them.¹ Those who have come to appreciate the meaning of the Bible word baptism, will see at once the connection with the Lord’s promise that His own should be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). Indeed, they were “filled” with the Spirit (Acts 2:4) in fulfillment of the promise that they should be “baptized” with the Spirit.

And the result of this baptism, this filling, with the Spirit, was not only that they possessed miraculous powers, but also that they lived the kind of lives which God’s people prior to that time had failed to live, and this is the particular matter with which we are here concerned.

Mark well: in Acts 2:4 we do not have an exhortation to be filled with the Spirit, as we have later in the Pauline epistles. Rather, we have a simple statement of fact: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The one hundred twenty had, of course, been much like any other group of believers in history. They had not all been equally spiritual or devoted or faithful. Some had been more so than others, and where some had excelled in one virtue, others had excelled in another. Yet now they were all FILLED with the Spirit, from the least to the greatest of them.

The thoughtful student of Scripture will, of course, ask why all these believers were now filled with the Holy Spirit. Was it, perhaps, because they, as a group, had been more godly than those before them? The gospel records prove that this is not so. Peter boasted, Thomas doubted, James and John sought personal gain, and when our Lord was taken prisoner, “they all forsook Him and fled.” Was it then because they had prayed long enough or earnestly enough for the Spirit to come upon them and take control? No; they had been instructed to go to Jerusalem, not to pray for the Holy Spirit to come, as some suppose, but to “wait for the [fulfillment of the] promise” regarding the Spirit (Acts 1:4,5)—and right here is the answer to our question. The believers at Pentecost were filled with the Holy Spirit, not because they had prayed long or earnestly enough for the Spirit to come, but because the time had arrived for the fulfillment² of the divine promise. The Old Testament prophets and the Lord Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit should some day come to take control of God’s people, and that day had come. They were filled with the Spirit because God, according to His promise, had baptized them with the Spirit.

THE SPIRIT’S OPERATION TODAY

The Apostle Paul never anywhere says that all the members of the Body of Christ are filled with the Holy Spirit. It is surely clear from the record that the Corinthians and the Galatians, for example, were not filled with the Spirit, for Paul’s letters to these churches contain much of rebuke and correction. And it is also evident that believers today are not—even the best of them—wholly filled with the Spirit. The filling with the Spirit is now a goal, an attainment, which the apostle, by inspiration, sets before us. We are not all filled with the Spirit as a matter of fact, as were the Pentecostal believers. While the Spirit does indeed dwell within us by God’s grace, we must daily appropriate His help and blessing by faith.

Hence the apostle now exhorts believers: “Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18) just as he exhorts them and prays for them, that they may be “filled with the fruits of righteousness” (Phil. 1:11); “filled with the knowledge of His will” (Col. 1:9); “filled with all the fulness of God” (Eph. 3:19).

But why are not we automatically filled with the Spirit as the believers were at Pentecost? We will proceed to answer this question, but let the reader not fail to first recognize the fact that while the believers gathered in the upper room at Pentecost were all filled with the Spirit, the believers under Paul, since that time, have not all been filled with the Spirit. Moreover, while it is distinctly stated, again and again, that the Pentecostal believers were, or were to be, baptized with the Spirit, not once does Paul in his epistles teach that members of the Body of Christ are baptized with the Spirit.³ Instead he exhorts them to appropriate God’s grace by faith so that they may be filled with the Spirit.

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR

The prophesied work of the Holy Spirit in connection with His people Israel should be clearly understood if we would understand His work today, in connection with the members of the Body of Christ. In Joel 2:28,29 God promised to supernaturally cause them to prophesy, etc., but in Ezekiel 36:26,27, He also promised to supernaturally cause them to do His will:

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

“And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

Thus God would show that the only way in which even His own people can perfectly obey Him is when He takes possession of them and causes them to do His will. Indeed He is still demonstrating this. Though we today have all the advantages and blessings of the dispensation of Grace, and though we desire most earnestly to obey and serve God as we ought, we still continually fall short. This is because, contrary to popular opinion, none of us has been baptized with the Spirit.

THE CONDUCT OF THE BELIEVERS AT PENTECOST

At Pentecost the time had come, so far as prophecy was concerned, for the fulfillment of the promise concerning the Holy Spirit. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come…they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:1,4).

We must be careful to notice the immediate change that took place in the behavior of these believers, now that the Holy Spirit had come to take possession of them. Not only did they speak with tongues and prophesy and work miracles, but they all began living for one another.

“And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

“And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need” (Acts 2:44,45).

“And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.”

“Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

“And laid them down at the apostles’ feet; and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need” (Acts 4:32,34,35).

Never before had the disciples of Christ even approached such a spirit of utter selflessness and love for one another. In spite of the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount and our Lord’s repeated exhortations to sell and distribute their earthly goods and live for one another, they—even the twelve—had heretofore been fully as human and selfish as those who had gone before them.

One day James and John came to ask a special favor of Christ: that they might occupy the first places in the kingdom, sitting, the one at Christ’s right hand and the other at His left! (Mark 10:37). Modest fellows! And the other ten were really no different at heart, for we read: “When the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John” (Ver. 41). We can almost hear them exclaim to each other: “Who do James and John think they are!” Nor was this the first time the apostles had “disputed among themselves who should be the greatest” (Mark 9:34).

But now, suddenly, all this was changed! Now each one put self aside and placed others first. And, as Jeremiah had predicted, this came from the heart. Mark well, it was of a multitude numbering more than five thousand (Acts 4:4) that we read that they were all of one heart and of one soul, and sold their lands and houses and brought the proceeds to the apostles for distribution among the needy. Imagine the freedom and joy and blessedness that must have prevailed among the disciples under these conditions! These were indeed “the days of heaven upon earth”!

God’s children in this present dispensation—the so-called Pentecostalists included—have never lived together as the believers at Pentecost did. Imagine even suggesting having all things common among believers today! Those who cry “Back to Pentecost” would not, we fear, be the first to step up and hand over their hard-earned investments as Barnabas and all the believing property owners did at Pentecost. Indeed, it would be wrong if we did this today, for the Spirit’s instruction for this present evil age is:

“If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (I Tim. 5:8).

PENTECOST RELATED TO THE KINGDOM, NOT TO THE BODY

Pentecost was an earnest of the kingdom reign of Christ, when peace and prosperity will prevail on earth and men will not need to lay up store for the future. But as Israel stubbornly rejected the King and His kingdom and judgment seemed imminent, God graciously intervened and ushered in the dispensation of Grace, under which we now live.

During this present dispensation God is doing a thing never once mentioned in Old Testament prophecy: forming a body of believers composed of Jews and Gentiles, reconciled to Himself by the Cross (Eph. 2:16). This body is called “the body of Christ,” since its members are eternally and inseparably united to Christ by one divine baptism. This baptism, in turn, is something altogether separate and distinct from the baptism with the Spirit at Pentecost, and has superseded it. This is evident from the following facts:

At Pentecost the Lord Jesus Christ was the Baptizer, and He baptized the believers with, or in, the Holy Spirit.

Matt. 3:11: “He [Christ] shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost…” (cf. Luke 3:16).

John 15:26: “The Comforter…whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth…shall testify of me.”

John 16:7: “If I depart, I will send Him unto you.”

Today, under the dispensation of Grace, however, the Holy Spirit is the Baptizer, baptizing believers into Christ and His Body.

I Cor. 12:13: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body….”

Gal. 3:27,28: “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

To those who would trace the Body of Christ back to Pentecost, we ask: Where in early Acts do we read of the Holy Spirit baptizing Jews and Gentiles into one joint body, the Body of Christ? Until Cornelius, the disciples preached the Word “to none but unto the Jews only” (Acts 11:19) and surely the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles to God in one body could not be preached until the Jews as well as the Gentiles had been alienated from God. This is why we read of “the casting away of them [Israel]” in connection with “the reconciling of the world” (Rom. 11:15).

“For God hath concluded them ALL in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all” (Rom. 11:32).

Certainly God had not yet cast Israel away or concluded her in unbelief at Pentecost, for at Pentecost, and for some time thereafter, God still dealt with Israel as a nation, pleading with her to repent, so that her Messiah might return and bring the long-promised times of refreshing (Acts 3:19-21).

To those, on the other hand, who would bring Pentecost into the present dispensation, we ask: Where is the Scriptural warrant for the continuance of a Pentecostal experience in this dispensation? It is clear from Acts and from Paul’s epistles that the Pentecostal program has been suspended because of the rejection of Christ and His kingdom. Certainly the gifts of prophecy, tongues and (supernatural) knowledge have passed away (I Cor. 13:8). And so with the gifts of healing (Rom. 8:22,23; II Cor. 4:16-5:4; I Tim. 5:23; II Tim. 4:20, etc.). Paul himself, who had been saved during the Pentecostal era and had possessed miraculous powers at least as great as those of the twelve, writes concerning his own illness:

“For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

“And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…” (II Cor. 12:8,9).

And as to Pentecostal conduct in this dispensation: where, even among the “Pentecostalists,” do we find it? The early chapters of Acts record neither sin nor blunder in the lives of the believers at Pentecost,⁴ but there is plenty of both, not only among the “Pentecostalists” as a group, but in each individual “Pentecostalist.” And as to selling all and living for one another, many of their leaders are rich and increased in goods while those under them suffer need, both rich and poor bearing witness that the Pentecostal program has broken down and passed away. Indeed, it passed away during Paul’s lifetime, for whereas in Acts 4:34 we read: “Neither was there any among them that lacked,” we later find Paul taking up collections for “the poor saints at Jerusalem” (Rom. 15:26). This is because the King and His kingdom were refused, but “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20) and today we enjoy even greater blessings, the blessings of “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:2). The Pentecostal believers lived pleasing to God because the Spirit took control of them. For us there are moral and spiritual victories to be gained, as we appropriate by faith what God provides by grace.

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE BELIEVER TODAY

Grace and faith are the characteristic features of the present dispensation. Not only is salvation now declared to be by grace, through faith, but the Spirit also operates in the believer by grace, through faith. He does not take possession of us and cause us to do what is right, but dwells within each believer (I Cor. 6:19) to provide needed guidance and the strength to withstand temptation, and we may avail ourselves of this provision by faith.

We have already seen how the Spirit, who first imparted life to us will also impart strength to withstand temptation and overcome sin. In our inability to even pray as we ought, “the Spirit…helpeth our infirmities” and “maketh intercession for us” (Rom. 8:26). In our weakness we are “strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man” (Eph. 3:16) and God even stoops to “quicken [our] mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in us” (Rom. 8:11).

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh” (Rom. 8:12).

The implication from the above passage is that though sorely tempted we are debtors to the Spirit who dwells within and provides overcoming power.

The question, in times of temptation, is generally whether we truly desire to overcome, for we may overcome in any given case by grace, through faith. In the present dispensation it is not true that it is not possible for the believer to sin, but it is blessedly true that in any situation it is possible for him not to sin, for the Spirit is always there to help.

If we go to the Scriptures and claim, by faith, the Spirit’s help in overcoming our sins, we enter into the enjoyment of the fulness of spiritual life and blessing. If we fail to do so, we wither and die—as far as our spiritual experience is concerned. We can never lose our salvation, of course, for “everlasting life” was obtained by faith in Christ, not by walking in the Spirit. This is confirmed by the fact that the same apostle who pleads: “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God,” hastens to add: “whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).

But failure to appropriate God’s gracious provision for victory over sin does result in death as far as our Christian experience is concerned. This is what the apostle means, when he says, by the Spirit:

“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Rom. 8:6).

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Rom. 8:13).

To the careless Corinthians, the Apostle Paul exclaimed:

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (I Cor. 6:19,20).

This passage perhaps describes our relationship to the Holy Spirit better than any other. God, by His Spirit, dwells within us, and our bodies are meant to be shrines, temples, where He is worshipped. In the measure that He is given His rightful place and is truly worshipped within—in the measure that our bodies are given over to His glory—in that measure sin will be overcome, God exalted, and we blessed. True, the world, the flesh and the devil all clamor for a place too, but we should thank God for the testings that arise from this. We praise God for the privilege of toiling, suffering and sacrificing for Him now, since that privilege will forever be gone when we are caught up to be with Him. Let us then also praise Him for the temptations that daily beset us, for each temptation overcome will gain for us a rich reward.

God does not—He cannot—say of us: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit,” but He does set before us the glorious objective: “Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). And as we seek, by faith, to realize this objective, rich, deep blessings are already ours, to say nothing of the rewards to come. What a challenge to faith!

It was no particular victory for the Pentecostal believers to be filled with the Spirit, for the Spirit simply took possession of them according to His own sovereign will and promise. But great spiritual victories are ours as we, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the flesh in order that our bodies may be the temples of God indeed. May God grant us many such victories as we take Him at His Word!

“Grieve not the Holy Spirit” (Eph. 4:30).

“Walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16).

“Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).

Endnotes

1. Much as whatever takes possession of the mind is said to fill it.

2. Some look upon Pentecost merely as a foreshadowing of the promised Millennial blessing. We believe it was the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise, but that the complete fulfillment was interrupted by the dispensation of Grace. Note: “This is that…” (Acts 2:16).

3. Not even in I Corinthians 12:13.

4. Ananias and Sapphira tried to join the company by deceit, but were stricken dead.

(The following is the sixth in a series of excerpts from Pastor Stam’s classic work on True Spirituality. Since this book never appeared as a series in the Searchlight, many of even our long-time readers may not be familiar with these selections.)

A PRECIOUS TRUTH TOO LITTLE APPRECIATED

It is regrettable that so many Bible commentaries take so shallow a view of the subject of sanctification.

Most Bible students know that in the Authorized Version of both the Old and New Testament Scriptures the words “holiness” and “sanctification,” with scarcely any exceptions have the same meaning. In the Old Testament both words come from the single Hebrew root qodesh, while in the New both come from the single Greek root hagiazo.

According to most commentaries qodesh and its Greek equivalent hagiazo, simply mean “to set apart” or “to separate.” Now it is true that this is the organic meaning in both cases, but very often the organic meaning of a word falls far short of expressing its true significance in actual usage. Such is the case with the Hebrew and Greek words for sanctification. Organically they mean a separating or setting apart, but as used in the Scriptures they mean much more than this.

CONSECRATION

In Bible usage, both in Old and New Testaments to make holy, or to sanctify, means “to set apart as sacred,” “to consecrate,” “to dedicate.” The following passages are but a few that bear out this fact:

Gen. 2:3: “And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.”

Ex. 3:5: “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”

Matt. 6:9: “Hallowed be Thy name.”

II Cor. 11:2: “…I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”

In the above passages the Hebrew and Greek words in question are variously rendered “sanctified,” “holy,” “hallowed” and “espoused,” but in each case the meaning is, “set apart as sacred,” “consecrated,” “dedicated.” Thus Jerusalem is called “the holy city” (Matt. 4:5) and the sanctuary of the tabernacle, “the holiest of all” (Heb. 9:3,8); the Bible is called “the holy Scriptures” (Rom. 1:2) and the Spirit of God, “the holy Spirit” (Eph. 4:30).

THE BELIEVER’S SANCTIFICATION

How it would touch the hearts of many believers if they realized that both in our salvation and in our walk it has been God’s purpose, not merely to set us apart from the world, but to set us apart as sacred to Himself! Sanctification speaks of God’s love to us more than of ours to Him. This truth, to many, would cast an entirely new light on the doctrine of sanctification.

Sanctification is not a negative matter, but a positive one. God wants us for Himself. He considers us His hallowed possession much as a bridegroom considers his bride his very own, sacred to himself. This shows how precious the believer is to the heart of God and makes our separation from the world and sin the natural result of our consecration to Him. “Ye turned to God from idols,” says the apostle, not “from idols to God” (See I Thes. 1:9). True Scriptural sanctification, or holiness, then, does not consist in “dos” and “don’ts,” nor is it to be confused with sinless perfection. It is rather a consecration to God which results in a closer walk with Him.

POSITIONAL SANCTIFICATION

In a very real sense every true believer has already been sanctified, or consecrated, to God. Some view sanctification as a second work of grace, after salvation. Actually it is the very first work of grace. Sanctification begins with God as He chooses us and sets us apart for Himself through the work of the Holy Spirit, who convicts us of sin and leads us to faith in Christ. Thus we read:

“…God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (II Thes. 2:13).

“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 1:2).

Nor is this phase of our sanctification affected by our conduct. In Ephesians 5:2,3 the apostle declares that believers should “walk…as becometh saints [sanctified ones]” but this in itself implies that some who are saints do not walk so.

Even the carnal Corinthians are addressed as “saints”—”sanctified in Christ Jesus” (I Cor. 1:2). Naming sins which some of them were even then committing, he goes on to say:

“And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (I Cor. 6:11).

Thus believers, whatever their state, are called:

“…them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:32; 26:18).

“…the elect of God, holy and beloved…” (Col. 3:12).

All this, of course, pertains to our position and standing before God. It was He who, in infinite love and grace, set us apart as His own, declaring us righteous before all. But how can a righteous God justify a sinner? How can a holy God embrace a fallen son of Adam? The answer is, through the glorious, all-sufficient work of Christ on the sinner’s behalf.

“We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10).

“For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14).

Positionally, then, every believer has been sanctified, or set apart, by God for Himself through the operation of the Holy Spirit and on the basis of the shed blood of Christ. Little wonder the Spirit thunders forth the challenge:

“Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth?…” (Rom. 8:33,34).

How precious are these truths! Yet, the apostle never teaches positional truth without applying it in a practical way. If God in love set us apart as His own, should not our love respond to His? Should it not also be our heart’s desire to be His, wholly His, in experience and conduct? Should not our hearts be touched with gratitude and wonder at His condescending love and result in spontaneous and eager consecration to Him?

PRACTICAL SANCTIFICATION

It is this that the apostle has in mind as, by the Spirit, he writes that God—

“…hath chosen us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him,

“In love¹ having predestinated us unto the adoption of children…” (Eph. 1:4,5).

“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification…” (I Thes. 4:3).

But here a word of caution is needed, lest in seeking to be wholly sanctified to God, we leave ourselves open to discouragement and disillusionment.

Nowhere in Scripture are we instructed to sanctify the “flesh” to God. The Scriptures teach that the “flesh,” the old Adamic nature, is totally bad and experience bears witness that this is so. The “flesh” cannot be improved, or reformed, or converted, and “they that are in the flesh² cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8). It is for this reason that God sent His own Son “in the likeness of sinful flesh” to “condemn sin in the flesh” at Calvary (See Rom. 8:3).

We are not, then, to seek to improve the old nature or dedicate it to God, but to recognize it as condemned by God and crucified with Christ.

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him…” (Rom. 6:6).

“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:11).

But while the believer’s “flesh” cannot be sanctified to God, his body can and should be. The Apostle Paul has much to say about this:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1).

“What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (I Cor. 6:19,20).

Thus the apostle writes to the Thessalonians:

“That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor” (I Thes. 4:4).

“For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (I Thes. 4:7).

And thus he concludes:

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thes. 5:23).

In his very last epistle he declares that while “the Lord knoweth them that are His,” all who name the name of Christ should “depart from iniquity,” and goes on to explain that—

“…in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor.

“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (II Tim. 2:20,21).

The Church is indeed “a great house,” and in it there are all sorts of vessels. Most of these, it is to be feared, are dishonoring to the Lord and unfit for the Master’s use. God grant that we may not belong to this number, but may rather be vessels which will bring honor to God, “sanctified, and meet [fit] for the Master’s use.”

THE “HOW” OF PRACTICAL SANCTIFICATION

As we consider how to be sanctified to God in walk and experience we must again place the emphasis where God has placed it: upon His blessed Word.

No one will deny that prayer is an important element in practical sanctification, yet the Word places the supreme emphasis upon itself in this matter. Our Lord prayed for His disciples:

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy Word is truth” (John 17:17).

The Apostle Paul declares that our Lord “loved the Church, and gave Himself for it,

“That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word” (Eph. 5:25,26).

Many dear Christians have said to the writer: “If only I could remember these Bible truths better, but I have a mind like a sieve.” But pour water through a sieve and it will at least have a cleansing effect. And so does the blessed Word of God have a cleansing effect upon those who prayerfully read it and meditate upon it. It is the Word which its Author, the Holy Spirit, uses to cleanse and sanctify us more and more to God, and those who are not deeply and sincerely interested in the study of the Word will never enjoy true, practical sanctification no matter how much they pray.

Notes:

1. While there is no punctuation in the original, it appears from the context that the words “in love” belong with Verse 5.
2. I.e., who have not been begotten again by the Spirit.