Bible Study The Work of the Holy Spirit: Divine Strengthening.

[Tenchi]

Philippians 2:12-13
12 ...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you, both
to will and to work for his good pleasure.
​

Perhaps in no other area, spiritually, is there more confusion than in the area of how the born-again person "works out their salvation." The New Testament offers only two sources from which they can do so:

1.) The Flesh.
2.) The Spirit.

The Flesh.

In every other dimension of life, if a Christian wants to achieve some goal - education, physical skill, travel destination, career success, etc. - they must exert themselves in pursuit of that goal. If, for example, the born-again person wants to learn to play the piano, they can't simply pray for the skill and in the next instant be able to play the piano masterfully. No, instead, the Christian has to act, s/he must exert him/herself in accomplishment of this goal for years, playing scales daily, learning to read music, practicing various musical pieces, and so on. Because this is always the case in every area of development the believer adopts outside of the spiritual realm, it's quite natural to think that this is how things work in one's relationship with God, too.

The Bible is, after all, filled with commands to Christians. Seeing these commands, the Christian person typically just assumes that God intends that they should obey them all in the power of their own human resources of determination, and endurance, and self-sacrifice - just as they do in every other area of personal endeavour. They hear fellow Christians talk of "the power of the Holy Spirit," of course, but what they see in practice among their spiritual siblings is fleshly effort that is ascribed to the Spirit. This is revealed in how the Christian person describes their spiritual life: "I'm trying my hardest," "I'm working every day to be who God wants me to be," "I just keep at it," "I just make myself do what I ought to do," and so on.

This is what used to be called "Boot-Strap Theology." Imagine a man who tries to lift himself up off the ground by his own boot-straps. He grips the straps on the back of his boots and heaves upward as hard as he can. Except for turning red in the face, nothing happens. No matter how much the man exerts himself, he will never manage to actually lift himself from the ground. But he can jump as he pulls on his boot-straps and thus appear to have pulled himself off of the ground - at least for a brief moment.

This silly trick deceives no one into thinking the man has actually lifted himself from the ground. Usually, such an antic is a cause for laughter. But, you know, Christians are doing essentially this very sort of thing spiritually when, by the power of their flesh, they "pull on their boot-straps and jump" in an effort to achieve a godly, spiritual end. For a moment, superficially, these believers appear to have succeeded; for they do actually rise into the "air" of proper Christian living. But instead of seeing this as a desperate and silly trick that creates only the illusion of having overcome the impossible, they think that if they do it again, they might jump higher and so remain in the air a bit longer and that this is spiritual growth and success.

And so begins a lifelong pattern of spiritual "pulling and jumping," the constant up-and-down of fleshly effort thought to be the normal Christian life. But the flesh has very finite limits, and the constant "pulling and jumping" of Boot-Strap Theology is quite exhausting, and so, inevitably, the one who tries to walk with God in this way soon collapses. In this collapse, the Boot-Strap Christian will tell themselves various things:

- "The righteous person falls seven times and rises again. It's a virtue to just keep at it no matter how often I fail."
- "It's okay. God is a God of grace, mercy and forgiveness. He's got all my sin covered."
- "A pattern of trying, briefly succeeding, and then failing is the normal Christian life."
- "I may still be a really sinful person, but I'm still better than I used to be."
- "This Christian life stuff doesn't work. For some mysterious reason, God won't enable me to change myself."
- "There is no God. And Christianity is a joke."

All of these things are distortions of the truth, for the born-again person who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Instead, the Bible gives a very different description of being divinely-strengthened:

Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Psalm 84:5, 7
5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You...

7 They go from strength to strength...

2 Timothy 1:7
7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

How is it, in light of these statements (and many others in Scripture, too), that so many Christians settle into the exhausting, failure-riddled experience of Boot-Strap Theology, thinking it is normal Christian living? Well, there are many reasons for this that must wait for another study. Instead, consider the dire warnings God gives to those who try to achieve a godly end by fleshly means:

Galatians 6:7-8
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption...

Romans 8:7-8
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Galatians 5:17
17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another...

Galatians 3:3
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

Colossians 2:23
23 ...self-abasement and severe treatment of the body...are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Romans 8:4
4 ...the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

It isn't merely that the flesh is impotent to produce true godliness; the flesh is at war with the Holy Spirit, it is hostile toward God such that it cannot be brought by mere human will into subjection to God and His commands, and is, therefore, utterly unable to please God. The flesh cannot be brought under control by "severe treatment of the body" - fasting, cold showers, exhausting runs, isolation in a monastery, self-flagellation, etc. - either, but will always, at some point, yield a "harvest" of corruption (i.e. destruction) in one's life.

These facts don't stop most Christians from trying to achieve a godly end by fleshly effort. As was already pointed out, it's the usual way of things in life to achieve various goals by means of physical effort, determination, intelligence and persistence and this reflex typically informs Christian living, too. But God's purposes in the life of a Christian can only be obtained by His power; nothing less will suffice. And He exerts His power in our lives only as He has control of us, which control is the fundamental and crucial difference between fleshly "spirituality" and genuine life in the Spirit. Desiring a love-relationship with us, God will never wrest from us by force the throne of our hearts, however, but rules us from it only as we consciously, explicitly submit to His will and way, throughout each day. See: Romans 6:13-22, Romans 8:14, Romans 12:1, James 4:6-10, 1 Peter 5:6, Luke 22:42, John 6:38.

"Fleshly effort," then, is human action taken under the control of, and in the power of, one's own Self, attempting to do for God what He must do for us. Being Self-driven, "fleshly effort" is always, at its very core, Self-interested, focused on Self, not God, however "spiritual" that effort appears. "Fleshly effort" will always also migrate - often very subtly - into those things that attend upon the flesh: high emotion, sensuality (that which stimulates the physical senses), moralistic piety (self-righteousness), prestige, power, and so on. And in that "fleshly effort" which is always Self-directed, it must be, unavoidably, in rebellion to God; for whenever Self is in the "driver's seat" of the Christian and not God, that Christian is in rebellion to the authority and control of their Maker. God has no co-pilot, no human equal, or near-equal, only inferiors: servants, children, sheep, vessels, and branches (Romans 6:13-22; Romans 8:14-16; John 10; 2 Timothy 2:21; John 15:4-5). Only as the Christian lives in constant acknowledgement of this fact, yielding themselves as "living sacrifices" to God all throughout each day, can they be sure to be living in the power of the Spirit and not the flesh.


Continued below.

 

[Tenchi]

The Spirit.

Galatians 5:16
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Galatians 5:25
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Romans 8:13-14
13 ...if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Ephesians 3:14-16
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,

Ephesians 6:10
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

Philippians 2:13
13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

God's word is crystal clear that, apart from the life and work of the Holy Spirit, the born-again person, as a "branch" in the Vine, can do nothing (John 15:4-5). But few Christians seem to really believe this, most of them operating constantly in the flesh, as they do. These believers assume that, if they're pursuing spiritual ends, the Spirit will always participate in their efforts, supporting whatever "ministries" and spiritual goals upon which the believer decides to embark. Though they may depend upon God at times, and trust Him to "be there" for them when they really need Him to be, and obey His commands as best they're able, never do these believers ever consciously, explicitly submit themselves to God. Certainly, they don't do so repeatedly throughout a day, understanding that they often migrate out of the Spirit's control. Because this is so, what the chronically unsubmitted believer imagines concerning the Spirit's support of their "spiritual" effort is only imaginary.

Submission to God is an oft-repeated, necessary event for the Christian, you see; for every time a child of God fantasizes along some nasty line, even for a moment, or imagines some wretched thing about another person, or harbors bitterness and resentment in their heart toward another person, or indulges in fear, or hatred, or lust, or cowardice, or selfishness, they have stepped out from under the Spirit's control.

Genesis 6:5-6
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

Romans 1:21
21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Psalm 73:3-7
3 For I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked....
...The imaginations of their heart run riot.

Proverbs 6:16-18
16 ...the LORD hates...
18 a heart that devises wicked plans...

Ephesians 4:30-31
30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Philippians 4:6
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Every time a believer watches a foul show on t.v., entertaining themselves with scenes of adultery, or gratuitous violence, or addiction, or fornication, or demonism, or gives a passive ear to worldly philosophies, and values, and prejudices, they have abandoned the control of the Spirit.

Psalm 101:3-4
3 I will not set before my eyes anything that is wicked. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.

Isaiah 33:15
15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly... stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,

2 Peter 2:7-8
7 and if he rescued righteous Lot...
8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);

Ephesians 5:3-4
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Ephesians 5:11-12
11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

Philippians 4:8
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Every time a believer overeats, or gets drunk, or fornicates, or neglects to study God's word, or is a poor steward of the resources of time, energy and money God has given to them, they cease to be under the Spirit's control.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20
18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Ephesians 5:18
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

Hebrews 5:12-13
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,
13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

Colossians 3:5-9
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In these and many other things, a believer every day diverges from the Spirit's control, operating in a Self-directed and thus fleshly way. Until they recognize they have, and consciously and explicitly repent (Revelation 2:5, 16, 21) of their rebellion (which is what each of these instances are, at bottom), confessing their sin to God (1 John 1:9) and submitting to the Holy Spirit once more (James 4:6-7), they remain in a fleshly, rebellious condition, which God actively opposes (1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6; 1 Peter 3:12). In such a condition, the work of the Holy Spirit (save his conviction of sin), his life-changing power, lies dormant in the believer.

So, then, a constant returning to the control of the Holy Spirit is necessary for every born-again person throughout every day. As they learn to live in submission to God, less and less often they diverge from His control because the Spirit progressively transforms the constantly submitted believer, making them increasingly, over time, like Jesus (Romans 8:29).

What, then, of your own walk with God? Are you a Boot-Strap Christian, trying to walk with God in a fleshly way? Or are you learning to live always under the Spirit's control, a child of God who is not merely "living in/by the Spirit" but also "walking in/by the Spirit"? If you're the former sort of Christian, to be frank, you're just "spinning your wheels" spiritually. If you're the latter, though, what realms of divine joy, peace, love and wonder are yours to enjoy!

Psalm 16:11
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 36:7-9
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.

Ephesians 5:8-9
8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),

Galatians 5:22-24
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 

[Tenchi]

Philippians 2:12-13
12 ...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you, both
to will and to work for his good pleasure.
​

Often, I have heard men in the Church dismiss the life of constant submission to God as too passive. Are we not to "fight the good fight of faith" as Paul did, they say? (1 Timothy 1:18; 2 Timothy 4:7) Are we not to "run the race" as he did (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)? Do we not "wrestle" with "principalities and power" (Ephesians 6:12)? Are we not those who wage spiritual warfare (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)? The Christian life is active! We've got stuff to do!

Yes, Paul wrote to the Christians at Philippi, "work out your own salvation," so he did not think the life of a born-again believer was to be completely passive and inactive, the believer always sequestered in some quiet place waiting on God to move them, puppet-like, through life. But more than any other writer in the NT, Paul wrote of the submitted Christian life. He commanded the believers at Rome to present themselves to God as His "bondservants" and "living sacrifices" (Romans 6:13-18; 12:1); he told the believers at Rome that only those led of the Spirit were children of God (Romans 8:14); he instructed the brethren at Ephesus to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10); he informed the believers at Philippi that they could "do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Again and again, Paul located the impetus and power for Christian living in God, not in the fleshly powers of the individual believer.

The life of submission to God, then, isn't at odds with "working out one's salvation" but is actually the necessary predicate to doing so. If one doesn't want to end up "running the race" in the tenuous power of one's flesh, which Scripture warns will lead to disaster spiritually (Galatians 6:7; Galatians 3:3), or "waging spiritual warfare" in a fleshly way that is therefore weak and ineffective, or "fighting the good fight" by means of one's own human determination, physical strength, and skills and thus losing the fight, then one MUST first be a submitted "living sacrifice" to God, consciously, explicitly under the control of the Holy Spirit throughout each day.

God must work into the believer what they work out. If He hasn't, then the believer has only their own weak, finite, human resources upon which to draw in their spiritual "fighting," and "running," and "wrestling." Such "power" is impotent before the demands of eternal, spiritual living, capable only of creating the illusion of spiritual success, as was the case for the church at Sardis that had a reputation for being "alive" but was, in reality, near death.

Revelation 3:1-2
1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die...

This is the product of fleshly Boot-Strap Theology: spiritual activity that is actually devoid of spiritual power. When action is put before submission to God - or, as is often the case, separated from submission entirely - this is what happens. And so, Paul wrote,

Philippians 3:3
3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

Romans 7:18
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh...

Romans 8:7-8
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Just to be clear: Being "fleshly" in one's Christian living does not necesssarily mean one is living in an overtly sinful manner, adulterous, or deceitful, or grossly selfish, or temperamental, or whatever, but simply working toward spiritual, godly ends by means of fleshly, human power. However, the longer one does this, the more like the church at Sardis they become. Human power, the power of the flesh, simply cannot achieve on its own a truly godly life.

When one is "walking in/by the Spirit," living in consistent and persistent submission to him, and thus filled, changed, and directed by him, THEN one is to work out one's salvation; for it is always only "God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." All the spiritual "fighting", "wrestling" and "running" can go on - and ought to go on - successfully when this order of things is carefully observed. Too often, though, it is only lip-service that Christians give to the submitted life, running far ahead of the leading of God's Spirit, highly active in spiritual things while devoid of the work and power of the Holy Spirit.

So, then, how can one tell if one is operating in the flesh and not in the power of the Holy Spirit? Here are some clarifying questions to ask:

Who is this? The Spirit, or just me?

Is my fear and anxiety of God? No. Is my temper and bitterness of God? No. Is my need for recognition and applause in my work for God of Him? No. Is my inner, antagonistic story-telling about so-and-so in the church of God? No. Is my envy of my brother or sister in the Lord who sings better, or speaks better, or leads better, or knows more, or is better liked generally, of God? No. And so on. Whenever I recognize that my thinking, desires and attitudes are not reflecting the Spirit of Christ, I know I've departed from his control and so am operating in the flesh (or I'm about to).

Am I changing, becoming more and more like Jesus?

The one constant in a Spirit-led-and-controlled life is change. And that change is always in one direction: Toward becoming more like Jesus (Romans 8:29). Like the growth of a tree branch, this change may not be observable in any one moment, but it is happening. This is evident in a variety of ways but particularly as one looks back in time and can see a clear, positive (that is, Christ-conforming) difference between who one once was and who one is at present.

Sometimes, this realization happens abruptly when one is confronted with an opportunity to act as one has in the past but finds oneself unable to do so. Perhaps a movie one once found enjoyable is now deeply offensive and disturbing; maybe a gossipy conversation in which one would have once readily engaged is now repugnant and impossible to be a part of; possibly, an old destructive pattern of deceitful passivity and conflict-avoidance is dissolved and a new, direct, truthful, unwavering and loving capacity to hold one's ground is in place. And so on.

When one can observe a clear, consistent development of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in one's life over time, one can be sure this is a work of the Spirit, not the flesh.

Am I exhausted by resisting temptation and collapsing regularly into sin?

One of the main purposes of the Spirit's strengthening is to keep us sin-free. "Without holiness, no man shall see God," the writer of Hebrews explained (Hebrews 12:14b). God becomes obscured to the unholy, sinful believer; and as He does, fellowship with Him dissolves. The sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit is offered to us, in part, to prevent this collapse of intimate, daily communion with God. Sin also hardens, blinds, and deafens us, even searing our consciences, and bringing to our lives "death" of various kinds: Death of joy, of peace, of inner stability, of relationships, of physical health, even. (Hebrews 3:13; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Timothy 4:2; 1 John 1:6; Romans 6:23; James 1:14-16, etc.)

When the Spirit is working to liberate the child of God from sin, he exerts his infinite and unequaled power on behalf of the submitted believer so that they are astonished by the difference between the laborious and exhausting effort of resisting temptation in their own fleshly, human power and the subtle, profound and effortless liberation from sinful tempation that the Spirit achieves for those in whom he dwells. Rather than bitter self-restraint and regular defeat, the submitted, Spirit-controlled believer goes "from strength to strength" (Psalms 84:5-7; Isaiah 40:28-31).

Galatians 5:16
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Ephesians 3:20-21
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

1 Peter 5:10
10 ...the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

Here, then, are three clear indicators of what is the "power source" for one's Christian living. When you examine your own life, are these three indicators present? If not, what will you do about it?

 

[Hopeful 2]

Philippians 2:12-13
12 ...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you, both
to will and to work for his good pleasure.
​

Often, I have heard men in the Church dismiss the life of constant submission to God as too passive. Are we not to "fight the good fight of faith" as Paul did, they say? (1 Timothy 1:18; 2 Timothy 4:7) Are we not to "run the race" as he did (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)? Do we not "wrestle" with "principalities and power" (Ephesians 6:12)? Are we not those who wage spiritual warfare (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)? The Christian life is active! We've got stuff to do!

Yes, Paul wrote to the Christians at Philippi, "work out your own salvation," so he did not think the life of a born-again believer was to be completely passive and inactive, the believer always sequestered in some quiet place waiting on God to move them, puppet-like, through life. But more than any other writer in the NT, Paul wrote of the submitted Christian life. He commanded the believers at Rome to present themselves to God as His "bondservants" and "living sacrifices" (Romans 6:13-18; 12:1); he told the believers at Rome that only those led of the Spirit were children of God (Romans 8:14); he instructed the brethren at Ephesus to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10); he informed the believers at Philippi that they could "do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Again and again, Paul located the impetus and power for Christian living in God, not in the fleshly powers of the individual believer.

The life of submission to God, then, isn't at odds with "working out one's salvation" but is actually the necessary predicate to doing so. If one doesn't want to end up "running the race" in the tenuous power of one's flesh, which Scripture warns will lead to disaster spiritually (Galatians 6:7; Galatians 3:3), or "waging spiritual warfare" in a fleshly way that is therefore weak and ineffective, or "fighting the good fight" by means of one's own human determination, physical strength, and skills and thus losing the fight, then one MUST first be a submitted "living sacrifice" to God, consciously, explicitly under the control of the Holy Spirit throughout each day.

God must work into the believer what they work out. If He hasn't, then the believer has only their own weak, finite, human resources upon which to draw in their spiritual "fighting," and "running," and "wrestling." Such "power" is impotent before the demands of eternal, spiritual living, capable only of creating the illusion of spiritual success, as was the case for the church at Sardis that had a reputation for being "alive" but was, in reality, near death.

Revelation 3:1-2
1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die...

This is the product of fleshly Boot-Strap Theology: spiritual activity that is actually devoid of spiritual power. When action is put before submission to God - or, as is often the case, separated from submission entirely - this is what happens. And so, Paul wrote,

Philippians 3:3
3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

Romans 7:18
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh...

Romans 8:7-8
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Just to be clear: Being "fleshly" in one's Christian living does not necesssarily mean one is living in an overtly sinful manner, adulterous, or deceitful, or grossly selfish, or temperamental, or whatever, but simply working toward spiritual, godly ends by means of fleshly, human power. However, the longer one does this, the more like the church at Sardis they become. Human power, the power of the flesh, simply cannot achieve on its own a truly godly life.

When one is "walking in/by the Spirit," living in consistent and persistent submission to him, and thus filled, changed, and directed by him, THEN one is to work out one's salvation; for it is always only "God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." All the spiritual "fighting", "wrestling" and "running" can go on - and ought to go on - successfully when this order of things is carefully observed. Too often, though, it is only lip-service that Christians give to the submitted life, running far ahead of the leading of God's Spirit, highly active in spiritual things while devoid of the work and power of the Holy Spirit.

So, then, how can one tell if one is operating in the flesh and not in the power of the Holy Spirit? Here are some clarifying questions to ask:

Who is this? The Spirit, or just me?

Is my fear and anxiety of God? No. Is my temper and bitterness of God? No. Is my need for recognition and applause in my work for God of Him? No. Is my inner, antagonistic story-telling about so-and-so in the church of God? No. Is my envy of my brother or sister in the Lord who sings better, or speaks better, or leads better, or knows more, or is better liked generally, of God? No. And so on. Whenever I recognize that my thinking, desires and attitudes are not reflecting the Spirit of Christ, I know I've departed from his control and so am operating in the flesh (or I'm about to).

Am I changing, becoming more and more like Jesus?

The one constant in a Spirit-led-and-controlled life is change. And that change is always in one direction: Toward becoming more like Jesus (Romans 8:29). Like the growth of a tree branch, this change may not be observable in any one moment, but it is happening. This is evident in a variety of ways but particularly as one looks back in time and can see a clear, positive (that is, Christ-conforming) difference between who one once was and who one is at present.

Sometimes, this realization happens abruptly when one is confronted with an opportunity to act as one has in the past but finds oneself unable to do so. Perhaps a movie one once found enjoyable is now deeply offensive and disturbing; maybe a gossipy conversation in which one would have once readily engaged is now repugnant and impossible to be a part of; possibly, an old destructive pattern of deceitful passivity and conflict-avoidance is dissolved and a new, direct, truthful, unwavering and loving capacity to hold one's ground is in place. And so on.

When one can observe a clear, consistent development of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in one's life over time, one can be sure this is a work of the Spirit, not the flesh.

Am I exhausted by resisting temptation and collapsing regularly into sin?

One of the main purposes of the Spirit's strengthening is to keep us sin-free. "Without holiness, no man shall see God," the writer of Hebrews explained (Hebrews 12:14b). God becomes obscured to the unholy, sinful believer; and as He does, fellowship with Him dissolves. The sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit is offered to us, in part, to prevent this collapse of intimate, daily communion with God. Sin also hardens, blinds, and deafens us, even searing our consciences, and bringing to our lives "death" of various kinds: Death of joy, of peace, of inner stability, of relationships, of physical health, even. (Hebrews 3:13; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Timothy 4:2; 1 John 1:6; Romans 6:23; James 1:14-16, etc.)

When the Spirit is working to liberate the child of God from sin, he exerts his infinite and unequaled power on behalf of the submitted believer so that they are astonished by the difference between the laborious and exhausting effort of resisting temptation in their own fleshly, human power and the subtle, profound and effortless liberation from sinful tempation that the Spirit achieves for those in whom he dwells. Rather than bitter self-restraint and regular defeat, the submitted, Spirit-controlled believer goes "from strength to strength" (Psalms 84:5-7; Isaiah 40:28-31).

Galatians 5:16
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Ephesians 3:20-21
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

1 Peter 5:10
10 ...the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

Here, then, are three clear indicators of what is the "power source" for one's Christian living. When you examine your own life, are these three indicators present? If not, what will you do about it?

Do you think anyone actually picks the right 'power source' ?

 

[Tenchi]

Bump.