LAWTON CHURCH OF GOD, LAWTON,
OKLAHOMA
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DISCOURSE
VIII.
THE DIVINE TEACHER.
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”—2 Corinthians 3:17–18.
IN the verses preceding, the apostle
speaks of the veil that was over the mind of the Jew, in the reading of the
Scriptures, and which prevented his understanding their true import. In the text
he speaks of the privileges which Christians enjoy through the illumination of
the Holy Spirit. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty;” i.e.,
there is a full and direct aspect of truth, and a full experience of its
renovating power. “But we all, with open face, beholding, as in a glass, the
glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as
by the Spirit of the Lord.” Every real Christian can call to mind seasons when
he had such views of truth as are here referred to—views which melted his
whole soul into love and tenderness, and brought all the powers of his being
into sweet subjection to the will of God. Could these visions be rendered
perpetual in the mind of the Christian, his heart would never wax cold or
unfeeling; nor would there ever be any rival to Christ in his heart, to dispute
with him the empire of the soul. In the absence of such views, darkness enters
and spreads itself over the mind, and temptations to sin have a sovereign power.
Now, to impart these visions of truth, to render them perpetual, and thus
preserve the mind under the uninterrupted influence of the love of Christ, and
give to that love the highest possible efficacy over the heart, is the
appropriate office of the Holy Spirit. This is the part which he now acts in the
plan of redemption. Christ is of God made unto us “wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption.” The office of the Holy Spirit is to
present Christ to our minds in such a manner that all these objects shall be
fully accomplished in us. The attention of the reader is now
invited to a few general observations, designed to illustrate the office of the
Holy Spirit in the work of redemption, as above presented. To accomplish this
object, I remark,— I. The Holy Spirit enlightens the
intellect, and carries on the work of sanctification in the heart, by the
presentation of truth to the mind; and the truth presented does not respect
himself, but Jesus Christ. “The sword of the Spirit is the word of God.”
“Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all
truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that
shall he speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me; for he
shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” The Holy Spirit sustains
to Christ the same relation that a teacher does to the particular science which
he teaches. His object is not to present himself to the pupil, but the science.
So the Spirit shows not himself, but Christ, to our minds. We feel and recognise
the presence of the Spirit, only as Christ is presented to our minds, and thus
the “love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is
given unto us.” II. In thus accomplishing the work of
redemption, the Holy Spirit sustains to Christians and sinners entirely
different relations. To the latter, he sustains the exclusive relation of a
reprover of sin, his object being conviction, for the purpose of leading the
sinner, humbled and penitent, to Christ. “And when he is come, he will reprove
the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” To the Christian, on the other
hand,—the Christian, I mean, in a state of love and obedience to God,—he
sustains the relation of a teacher, a comforter, an indwelling light in which
the glory and love of Christ are continually reflected upon the eye of the mind.
“He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” “He shall testify of
me.” “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send
in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” “He dwelleth in you, and
shall be in you.” III. The Holy Spirit, in the relation
last described, is given to Christians after they believe in Christ, and in
consequence of their faith in him. IV. The design of God, in the gift of
his Spirit, is that he be to Christians, not as a “stranger or a sojourner,
that turneth aside to tarry but for a night,” but as the perpetual light of
their souls, of whose illumination they are never to be destitute. V. We will now consider the state of
those who thus enjoy the perpetual illumination of the Holy Spirit. 1. They have all those full, and
direct, and perpetual visions of the love of Christ, which are necessary to
their highest purity and blessedness. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is liberty.” “But we all, with open face beholding, as in a glass, the glory
of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by
the Spirit of the Lord.” “He that is spiritual”—i.e., taught by
the Spirit—“judgeth all things,” has a distinct perception of all truth
which it concerns him to understand. “He shall guide you into all truth.” 2. All the wisdom that is necessary,
that they, as the servants of Christ, may in every sphere and condition in life,
glorify him in the most effectual manner. This is implied in the
promise,—“he shall lead you into all truth.” It is also included in the
promise, “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth unto men
liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.” 3. They have such views of Christ as
impart to them full and unfailing consolation in every affliction. In special
reference to this part of his office, he is called the “Comforter.” 4. Such a full and perpetual fruition
of the presence and love of Christ as constitutes the richest foretaste of
future blessedness. The gift of the Spirit, for this reason, is called the
“earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased
possession.” 5. The Spirit is given to such, as
Heaven’s signet; as God’s seal to their title to the eternal inheritance
which Christ has purchased for them. “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God,
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” “Ye are sealed with the
Holy Spirit of promise.” Such are your privileges, Christian,
in the gift of the Holy Spirit. All truth is perfectly known to him. “The
Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” Every truth that
you need to understand, he is able to present to your mind, in such a manner,
that, from it, you shall receive the highest possible influence. He is equally
able to present those truths, and those aspects of truth, which are perfectly
adapted to your necessities in every condition in life. To you he is given as
the last and richest gift of your God and Saviour, to be in you as a perpetually
indwelling light, through which you are to be “filled with all the fulness of
God.” Christ has promised, that “whosoever believeth in him shall not walk
in darkness; but shall have the light of life.” By availing yourself of the
illumination of the Holy Spirit, this promise may be fully accomplished in your
own blessed experience. Remember this, also, that without this Divine
illumination, you will and you must walk in darkness. Those life-giving aspects
of truth, presented to the mind by the Spirit, you can obtain from no other
source whatever. “Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God.” “The natural man,” the man that trusts to his own wisdom, without
the aid of Divine illumination, “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.” VI. We will now consider the
conditions on which we can enjoy the perpetual illumination of the Holy
Spirit.” 1. His perpetual presence and
illumination must be sought by prayer and “faith on the Son of God.” “How
much more shall your Father, which is in heaven, give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask him!” 2. Your motives in seeking his illumination must be identical
with those of the Spirit as your teacher. His appropriate office is, to “take
of the things of Christ and show them unto you;” to impart to you that
knowledge which is necessary to your highest holiness, blessedness, and
usefulness, as a Christian. When you ask of God for the indwelling light of his
Holy Spirit, ask it for this exclusive purpose, that you may know Christ, and
fully experience the renovating power of his love upon your heart, that you may
“know the things which are freely given you of God,” and understand, as the
servants of Christ, all the responsibilities devolving upon you, in every
relation and condition in life. 3. Seek the illumination of the Holy
Spirit, with a full consciousness and acknowledgement of your own blindness and
ignorance, and entire dependence upon his teaching. “Except ye be converted,
and become as little children, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
heaven.” “If any man would be wise among you, let him become a fool, that he
may be wise;” that is, let him acknowledge his total darkness and ignorance in
himself, and seek for Divine illumination as the only source of true wisdom. 4. Seek the illumination of the Spirit
in the diligent use of all appropriate means—the study of the Scriptures,
attendance upon the instructions and ordinances of God’s house, and in social
converse and prayer with such as are themselves spiritually taught. In the use
of such means, with such a Spirit and object, your cup will be always full. It
will overflow for ever.
REMARKS.
I. In the light of this discourse, a
few important passages of Scripture admit of a ready explanation. For example, II. We may now understand one, at
least, of the ways in which the “Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God.” When, for example, the Christian asks for wisdom
from above, or for Divine illumination in respect to any question of truth or
duty, and receives from the Spirit an answer to his request; in that answer, the
Spirit of God bears witness with his Spirit that he is a child of God. Such is
the testimony that he is perpetually bearing in the heart of all who are humble
and contrite in spirit, and tremble at God’s word. Reader, do you know what it
is to have the witness of the Spirit in your own heart? III. We are also fully prepared to
answer the question, In what consists the grand secret of holy living? It is an
indwelling Christ, whose image is perpetually reflected upon the eye of the
mind, by the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Reader, is your piety of such a
character as this? IV. In what sense only is the Holy
Spirit a sanctifier? “Christ is of God made unto us wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption.” The Spirit sanctifies by presenting
Christ to the mind in such a manner, that we are transformed into his image. The
common error of Christians, in respect to this subject, seems to be
this—looking away from Christ to the Holy Spirit for sanctification, instead
of looking for the Spirit to render Christ their sanctification. V. For not having Christ perpetually
dwelling in your heart, reader, as your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, you are without excuse. For this special purpose, the Holy
Spirit is given to you. In his light it is your blessed privilege perpetually to
walk. “How much more shall your Father which is in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask him?” “Ask, and it shall be given you.” “For every one
that asketh receiveth.” VI. We see, in the light of this
subject, the true ground of the expectation, that, in our efforts after
holiness, we may attain to a state of entire consecration to Christ. “Work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of his own good pleasure.” Our hope of attaining to
this state rests not at all upon a view of our own natural powers as moral
agents, but upon the provisions of Divine grace for our “redemption from all
iniquity,” and our perfect “completeness in all the will of God,” together
with the Divine aid that is promised to succeed all sincere efforts made in
simple faith in Christ, for the attainment of that state. In the redemption of
Christ, as we have seen in former discourses, full provision is made for the
entire sanctification of every believer. The Holy Spirit is given for the
express purpose of so presenting the Lord Jesus Christ to our minds, that we may
experience in our hearts the full power of his redemption. The Spirit, it should
be remembered, has a perfect understanding of all truth pertaining to our
salvation. He has, at all times, direct access to our hearts, and is perfectly
able to present the image of Christ to our minds in such a manner, that it shall
exert upon us the highest possible transforming power. He is always in us, a
perpetually indwelling light, whose highest illuminations we can always enjoy,
by opening our hearts with simple faith and prayer to receive it. With such
provisions and such a helper, to what state ought we to expect to attain? Who is
strongest, Christian, let me put the question again,—“he that is in you, or
he that is in the world?” Which has the greatest power, the Spirit of the
living God, together with an indwelling Christ, or your fleshly lusts and
propensities? Shall the followers of Christ proclaim the fact, that the Spirit
and grace of Christ are less strong in their hearts, than the “world, the
flesh, and the devil?” that that grace which changed an enemy into a friend,
is not adequate to render that friend “perfect and complete in all the will of
God?” “Tell it not in VII. We are now prepared, in the light
of this and of the preceding discourse, to understand the great and fundamental
errors of the Perfectionists, a sect which rose some years ago in the state of
New York, and subsequently spread to a small extent over various parts of the
country. The following are some of the tenets of this sect:—They maintained,
1. That in the Gospel there is a total abrogation of the moral law as a rule of
action, and that Christians are for ever freed from all obligation to God, or
any other being. 2. That, by one act of faith, the Christian is brought into
such a state, that it is absolutely impossible that he should ever afterwards
commit sin. 3. That the Spirit now communicates truth to Christians by direct
revelation; and hence the study of the Scriptures, the ministry of
reconciliation, prayer, the Sabbath, and all the ordinances, and the Church
itself, they wholly dispensed with. 4. For the teachings of the Spirit they
substituted impressions and impulses, maintaining that every existing desire or
impulse is produced by the direct agency of the Spirit, and therefore to be
gratified. Hence, 5. Many of them maintained the abrogation of marriage, even,
and became the advocates of gross licentiousness from principle, and all this
under the profession of absolute perfection in holiness. The reader will at once
perceive, that no system could possibly be devised, which placed the subject
more perfectly under the power of the great enemy, than this. The sect,
containing in itself the principle of disunion and disorganisation, very soon
burst asunder, and now lie in scattered fragments in various parts of the
country. Its entire history has been the perfect opposite of that union which
Christ prayed might exist among believers, and which perfect love must and will
produce. In the rise and subsequent disorganisation of the sect, however, the
great enemy has gained one important object. Whenever the true doctrine of
holiness is urged upon Christians, and Christ held up as a sanctifying Saviour,
he can raise the cry of Perfectionism, and thus prevent many from receiving the
substance, because a few have grasped a shadow. If, in this attempt, reader, you
permit him to gain an advantage over you; if, because you have turned the grace
of God into lasciviousness, you will reject that grace itself,—you foolishly
jeopardise your immortal interests. VIII. The reader will now clearly
perceive that the sentiments maintained in these discourses have no alliance
whatever with Perfectionism. The two systems, in their essential features and
elements, are the direct opposites of each other. An individual holding the
sentiments here maintained, cannot become a Perfectionist, without a full and
total renunciation of all the principles which he previously held. This every
one will perceive who candidly examines the two systems. IX. There is one error of the
Perfectionists, into which Christians not unfrequently fall; against which I
wish, in a special manner, to guard the reader. It is this: considering impulses
and impressions as the teachings of the Spirit. An individual has upon his mind
an undefined impression, that he ought, for example, to speak in meeting, or to
pursue some particular course of conduct. In following that impression, he
conceives himself to be following the leadings of the Spirit. In refusing to
follow it, he supposes him self to grieve or quench the Spirit. Now, the
principle that I maintain is this—that such impressions are of no authority
whatever. The man who is led by the Spirit, is filled, not with impressions and
impulses, but with light. He will always be able to give such reasons for his
conduct as will commend themselves to his own and the conscience of every other
man. Suppose, reader, that you should come to me for instruction or advice in
respect to any question of truth or duty; what you would expect of me would be,
that I should present such considerations to your mind, as would enable you to
form an intelligent judgment in respect to the question before you. Much more
should you expect the same thing, when you pray for Divine teaching. Remember
that it is when, and only when, you are led by such considerations, that you are
led by the Spirit of God. The individual who turns away from the Spirit, as a
teacher and guide, and gives himself up to the control of impulses and
impressions, regarding these as the teachings of the Spirit, will very soon find
himself in the “snare of the devil.” X. We may also understand, in the
light of this discourse, the nature of spiritual-mindedness. It is a mind, all
of whose powers and susceptibilities are under the sweet, and perpetual, and
all-pervading influence of the “things of the Spirit,” the truths revealed
and presented by the Spirit. All such persons are “led by the Spirit of
God,” and “they are the sons of God.” XI. You may now, reader, answer the
question, whether you are really spiritually-minded or not. Do you, in your own
experience, reap the blissful fruits of the Spirit? “The fruit of the
Spirit,” remember, “is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth.”
Again, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no
law.” Is this the character of your religion? Is this the fruit of the Spirit
that dwells in you? “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of
his;” and of the Spirit of Christ, these are the appropriate and invariable
fruits. XII. We see when and how it is that
Christians “quench” and “grieve the Holy Spirit of God, whereby they are
sealed unto the day of redemption.” It is when they turn away from the glory
and love of Christ, upon which the Spirit is endeavouring to fix their supreme
affection and regard, and give their hearts to other and inferior objects. When
you do this, reader, you not only grieve the Holy Spirit of God, but you put out
the light of your own soul. XIII. Finally. We are now prepared to
look once more at the question, whether the great doctrine maintained in these
discourses accords with the mind of the Spirit, by whose inspiration the
Scriptures were written. Here permit me to present a few considerations, bearing
upon this question, in addition to those already presented, and which naturally
suggest themselves from the train of thought which we have pursued. 1. The first that I notice is a fact
which can hardly have failed to impress the mind of the attentive reader of
these discourses. It is this: Whenever I have had occasion to give a full and
definite expression of my sentiments upon this subject, no phraseology
conceivable has been found to be so perfectly adapted to that object, as the
simple, unadorned, and most frequent phraseology of the Holy Spirit, as found in
the sacred Scriptures. Can it be, reader, as asked in a former discourse, that
the Holy Spirit has dictated a phraseology so perfectly adapted to convey one
sentiment, and only one, when his design was to convey precisely the opposite
sentiment? 2. It was just as easy for Christ to
make such provisions, and to give the Holy Spirit to Christians in such
measures, as to render their perfect as practicable as partial
holiness. Of what conceivable use can sin be as an element of Christian
character, that Christ should have left it as an inseparable element of that
character? 3. That Christ should have made
provision for the entire sanctification of believers, and given his Spirit in
such measure to them as to render that state attainable, best accords with his
infinite love, and the absolute perfection of all his other attributes and
works. Why should he leave this, the last and greatest of all his works, thus
imperfect? 4. This view of the subject best
accords with the relations which Christians sustain to Christ and the world
around them. They are Christ’s witnesses, to
testify to the world, from their own experience, to the truth of the
“exceeding great and precious promises” of Divine grace; promises, many of
which are, as we have seen, conditioned upon a state of entire consecration to
Christ. How infinitely absurd, as shown in a former discourse, is the
supposition that Christ has so arranged the dispensations of his grace and
Spirit, that he shall never have a witness upon earth, who can bear full
testimony to the truth of his promises! Christians are also constituted of
Christ “the light of the world,” by reflecting upon it his image. “God,
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus
Christ.” Who can believe that Christ has definitely arranged the dispensations
of his grace and Spirit, so that his own image, as reflected through the
character of his own people, shall always be presented to the world in a deep
and dark eclipse? Again, Christians are Christ’s
representatives—his ambassadors— labourers together with God in the great
work of saving lost men. Who can conceive a greater absurdity than this, that
God has so arranged his dispensations toward his people, that all who are
co-operating with him in this work, shall be but partially devoted to the duties
of their sacred calling. Once more, Christians are the
“members of Christ’s body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” Reader, can
you believe that Christ has made no provision, but that the members of his own
body shall be in a state of disease and moral death? Dare you cast such an
imputation upon the Lord Jesus Christ? 5. This doctrine leads the soul
directly to Christ as a certain remedy for sin, and for all temptations to sin,
and tends to induce the most vigorous efforts after pure and perfect holiness.
The opposite doctrine tends directly to weaken confidence in Christ as a Saviour
from sin, and to paralyze efforts after holiness. 6. This doctrine meets perfectly a
changeless demand of our being, a state of perfect moral rectitude, and tends to
inspire the mind with life and peace. The opposite doctrine fails to meet that
demand, and thereby covers the mind, that is hungering and thirsting after
righteousness, with thick gloom. What can be more gloomy to such a mind than the
thought that he is to be perpetually wounding his Saviour, in the house of his
friends? 7. Finally, this doctrine has all the
internal evidence in its favour, that the Bible itself, or any doctrine of the
Bible, that can be named, has. What higher internal evidence can be adduced, in
favour of any doctrine, than this—that it tends directly to moral virtue, and
meets fully the changeless laws of our being; while the tendency of the contrary
doctrine is precisely the opposite in both the respects above named? Say the
opposers of this doctrine, If it is untrue, its tendency must be bad. The same
might, with equal propriety, be said of the Bible, and of every doctrine of the
Bible. When we speak of the tendency of a doctrine, we then look away from the
question whether it is true or false, to what is intrinsic in the doctrine
itself. When we try the doctrine under consideration by this principle, we find
it to have all the evidence in its favour, that any Divine truth can have. No, reader; in embracing this
doctrine, we have not “followed cunningly devised fables.” We have followed
the plainest teachings of the Spirit and Word of God. In taking our stand upon
this doctrine, we are standing upon the “foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.” In looking with
humble faith to “the very God of peace,” that he may “sanctify us wholly,
and preserve our whole spirit, and soul, and body, blameless unto the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ,” we only look to him for a fulfilment of one of his own
“exceeding great and precious promises,”—“Faithful is he that calleth
you, who also will do it.” Reader, “believest thou this?” And
will you now come to Christ, to have this promise, in all its fulness,
accomplished in your own blessed experience? “Now the just shall live by
faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”
“Wherefore, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us, and let
us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the
author and finisher of our faith; who, for the joy that was set before him,
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God.”
CONCLUSION.
In drawing my remarks to a close, I
will, in conformity with the desires of my own mind, and the suggestions of some
brethren, in whose judgment I place much confidence, give the reader a short
account of the manner in which I was led, by the Spirit of God, as I believe, to
adopt the sentiments maintained in these discourses. In regard to my early
experience as a Christian, I would say, that that experience had two prominent
characteristics,—a desire, inexpressibly strong, to be freed from all sin in
every form, and to be entirely consecrated to the love and service of God, in
all the powers and susceptibilities of my being. Nor can any one conceive the
gloom and horror that covered my mind, when older Christians assured me, and, as
I supposed, with truth, that that was a state to which I should never, in this
life, attain; that my lusts would not be perfectly subdued or subjected to the
will of Christ, and that one of the brightest evidences of my conversion and
growth in grace was new discoveries of the deep and fixed corruptions of my
heart,—corruptions from which I was never to be cleansed till death should
deliver me from my bondage. Notwithstanding all the impediments thrown in the
way of my progress in holiness, I continued to press forward for a succession of
years, till I could say, in the language of another,—“I do know that I love
holiness for holiness’ sake.” In this state, I commenced my studies
as a student in college. Here I fell, and fell, by not aiming singly at the
“prize of the high calling,” but at the prize of college honours. I
subsequently entered a theological seminary, with the hope of there finding
myself in such an atmosphere, that my first love would be revived. In this
expectation, I grieve to say, I was most sadly disappointed. I found the piety
of my brethren apparently as low as my own. I here say it, with sorrow of heart,
that my mind does not recur to a single individual connected with the “school
of the prophets,” when I was there, who appeared to me to enjoy daily
communion and peace with God. After completing my course under such
circumstances, I entered the ministry, proud of my intellectual attainments, and
armed, as I supposed, at every point, with the weapons of theological warfare,
but with the soul of piety chilled and expiring within me. Blessed be God, the
remembrance of what I had been remained, and constantly aroused me to a
consciousness of what I was. I looked into myself, and over the Church, and was
shocked at what I felt and what I saw. Two facts in the aspect of the Church and
the ministry, struck my mind with gloomy interest. Scarcely an individual,
within the circle of my knowledge, seemed to know the Gospel as a sanctifying
or peace-giving Gospel. In illustration of this remark, let me state
a fact which I met with in the year 1831 or 1832. I then met a company of my
ministerial brethren, who had come together from one of the most favoured
portions of the country. They sat down together, and gave to each other an
undisguised disclosure of the state of their hearts; and they all, with one
exception—and the experience of that individual I did not hear—acknowledged
that they had not daily communion and peace with God. Over these facts they
wept, but neither knew how to direct the others out of the thick and
impenetrable gloom which covered them; and I was in the same ignorance as my
brethren. I state these facts as a fair example
of the state of the Churches, and of the ministry, as far as my observation has
extended; and that has been very extensive. I here affirm that the great mass of
Christians do not know the Gospel, in their daily experience, as a life-giving
and peace-giving Gospel. When my mind became fully conscious of this fact, I was
led to compare my own, and the experience of the Church around me, with that of
the apostles and primitive Christians, and with the “path of the just,” as
portrayed in the sacred Scriptures. I found the two in direct contrast with each
other. Hence the great inquiry arose in my mind, What is the grand secret of
holy living?
How shall I attain to that perpetual fulness and peace in
Christ, which, for example, Paul enjoyed. Till this secret was fully disclosed
to my mind, I felt that I was, and must be, disqualified, in one fundamental
respect, to “feed the flock of God.” While the Gospel was not life and peace
to me, how could I present it in such a manner that it would be life and peace
to others. I must myself be led by the Great Shepherd into the “green pastures
and beside the still waters,” before I could lead the flock of God into the
same blissful regions. For years, this one inquiry pressed upon my thoughts; and
often as I have looked over a company of inquiring sinners have I said within
myself, I would gladly take my place among those inquirers, if any individual
would show me how to come into possession of the “riches of the glory of
Christ’s inheritance of the saints.” But clouds and darkness covered my mind
in respect to this, the most momentous of all subjects. In this state of mind, I became
connected with the Institution at Oberlin, and continued to press my inquiries
with increasing interest upon this one subject, till the fall of 1836. At that
time, during a series of religious meetings held in the Institution, a large
number of the members of the Church arose and informed us that they were fully
convinced that they had been deceived in respect to their character as
Christians, and that they were now without hope, and appeared as inquirers, to
know “what they should do to be saved.” At the same time, the great mass of
the remainder disclosed to us the cheerless bondage in which they had long been
groaning, and asked us if we could tell them how to obtain deliverance. I now
felt myself, as one of the “leaders of the flock of God,” pressed with the
great inquiry above referred to, with greater interest than ever before. I set
my heart, by prayer and supplication to God, to find the light after which I had
been so long seeking. In this state I visited one of my
associates in the Institution, and disclosed to him the burden which had weighed
down my mind for so many years. I asked him if he could tell me the secret of
the piety of Paul, and tell me the reason of the strange contrast between the
apostle’s experience and my own. In labouring for the salvation of men, I
observed, that my feelings often remained unmoved and unaffected, while Paul was
constantly “constrained”
by the love of Christ. Our conversation then turned upon the passage,
“The love of Christ constraineth us,” &c. While thus employed, my heart
leaped up in ecstasy indescribable, with the exclamation, “I have found it.”
I have now, by the grace of God, discovered the secret after which I have been
searching these many years. I understood the secret of the piety of Paul, and
knew how to attain to that blissful state myself. Paul’s piety all arose from
one source exclusively—a sympathy with the heart of Christ in his love for
lost man. To attain to that state myself, I had only to acquaint myself with the
love of Christ, and yield my whole being up to its sweet control. Immediately after this, I came before
the Church, and disclosed to them what I then saw to be the grand defect in my
ministry:—1. Christ had been but as one chapter in my system of theology, when
he should have been the sun and centre of the system. 2. When I thought of my
guilt, and need of justification, I had looked to Christ exclusively, as I ought
to have done; for sanctification, on the other hand, to overcome the “world,
the flesh, and the devil,” I had depended mainly on my own resolutions. Here
was the grand mistake, and the source of all my bondage under sin. I ought to
have looked to Christ for sanctification, as much as for justification, and for
the same reason. The great object of my being now was to know Christ, and in
knowing him to be changed into his image. Here was the “victory which
overcometh the world.” Here was the “death of the body of sin.” Here was
“redemption from all iniquity,” into the “glorious liberty of the children
of God.” At this time, the appropriate office of the Holy Spirit presented
itself to my mind with a distinctness and interest never understood nor felt
before. To know Christ was the life of the soul. To “take of the things of
Christ and show them unto us;” to open our hearts to understand the
Scriptures; to strengthen us with might in the inner man, that we might
comprehend the “breadth and depth, and length and height, and know the love of
Christ, which passeth knowledge,” and thus be “filled with the fulness of
God,”—is the appropriate office of the Spirit. The highway of holiness was
now for the first time, rendered perfectly distinct to my mind. The discovery of
it was to my mind as “life from the dead.” The disclosure of that path had
the same effect upon others who had been, like myself, “weary, tossed
with tempest, and not comforted.” As my supreme attention was thus fixed upon
Christ; as it became the great object of my being to know him, and be
transformed into his likeness; and as I was perpetually seeking that Divine
illumination by which I might apprehend him,—an era occurred in my experience,
which I have no doubt will ever be one of the most memorable in my entire past
existence. In a moment of deep and solemn thought, the veil seemed to be lifted,
and I had a vision of the infinite glory and love of Christ, as manifested in
the mysteries of redemption. I will not attempt to describe the effect of that
vision upon my mind. All that I would say is, that, in view of it, my heart
melted, and flowed out like water. The heart of stone was taken away, and a
heart of love and tenderness assumed its place. From that time I have desired to
know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified.” I have literally “esteemed
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my
Lord;” and the knowledge of Christ has been eternal life begun in my heart. Now, when the Lord Jesus Christ was
thus held up among us, by myself and others, a brother in the ministry arose in
one of our meetings, and remarked that there was one question to which he
desired that a definite answer might be given. It is this: “When we look to
Christ for sanctification, what degree of sanctification may we expect from him?
May we look to him to be sanctified wholly, or not?” I do not recollect that I
was ever so shocked and confounded at any question, before or since. I felt, for
the moment, that the work of Christ among us would be marred, and the mass of
minds around us rush into Perfectionism. Still the question was before us; and
to it we were bound, as pupils of the Holy Spirit, to give a scriptural answer.
We did not attempt to give a definite answer to it during that time. With that
question before us, Brother Finney and myself came to There is one circumstance connected
with my recent experience, to which I desire to turn the special attention of
the reader. I would here say, that I have for ever given up all idea of
resisting temptation, subduing any lust, appetite, or propensity, or of
acceptably performing any service for Christ, by the mere force of my own
resolutions. If my propensities, which lead to sin, are crucified, I know that
it must be done by an indwelling Christ. If I overcome the world, this is to be
the victory, “even our faith.” If the great enemy is to be overcome, it is
to be done “by the blood of the Lamb.” Believing, as I now do, that the Lord
Jesus Christ has provided special grace for the entire sanctification of every
individual, for the subjection of all his propensities, for a perfect victory
over every temptation and incentive to sin, and for rendering us, in every
sphere and condition of life, all that he requires us to be; the first inquiry
with me is, In what particular respects do I need the grace of Christ? What is
there, for example, in my temper that needs correcting? Wherein am I in bondage
to appetite, or to any of my propensities? What are the particular
responsibilities, temptations, &c., incident to each particular sphere and
condition in life in which the providence of God has called me to act? What is
the temper that I ought there to manifest, so that I may everywhere, and under
all circumstances, reflect the image of Christ? Thus, having discovered my special
necessity, in any one of the particulars above referred to, my next object is,
to take some promise applicable to the particular exigency before me, and go
directly to Christ for the supply of that particular necessity. By having the
eye of faith perpetually fixed upon Christ in this manner; by always looking to
him for special grace in every special exigency; yes, for “grace to help in
every time of need,”—how easy it is to realise in our own blessed experience
the truth of all the “exceeding great and precious promises” of Divine
grace! How easy it is to have the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
“keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” “Our peace is then as a
river, and our righteousness as the waves of the sea.” The mind seems to be
borne upward and onward, as upon an ocean of light, peace, and blessedness,
which knows no bounds.
“O
glorious change! ‘tis all of grace, By
bleeding love bestowed On
outcasts of our fallen race, To
bring them home to God; Infinite
grace to vileness given, The
sons of earth made heirs of heaven.”
And now, reader, “my heart’s
desire and prayer to God” for you is, that you may know this full redemption.
If you will cease from all efforts of your own, and bring your sins, and
sorrows, and cares, and propensities which lead into sin, to Christ, and cast
them all upon him; if, with implicit faith, you will hang your whole being upon
him, and make it the great object of life to know him, for the purpose of
receiving and reflecting his image—you will find that all the “exceeding
great and precious promises” of his Word are, in your own blissful experience,
a living reality. The waters that Christ shall give you “shall be in you a
well of water springing up into everlasting life.” You shall have a perpetual
and joyful victory over “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” Everywhere,
and under all circumstances, your peace in Christ shall be as a “river, and
your righteousness as the waves of the sea.” “O taste and see that the Lord
is good.” “There is no want to them that fear him.” And, reader, when your
cup is once filled with the love of Christ, you will then say with truth, “The
half has not been told me.” “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him.”
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