The Person and Work of The Holy SpiritTorrey, R. A. (Reuben Archer)
Religion
The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
Torrey, R. A. (Reuben Archer)
Holy Spirit
4. The fourth step is _absolute surrender to God_. This comes out in what
has been already said, namely, that we _must accept Jesus as Lord_ as well
as Saviour. It is stated explicitly in Acts v. 32, “And we are His
witnesses of these things; and so is also _the Holy Ghost, whom God hath
given to them that obey Him_.” That is the fourth step, “obey Him,”
obedience. But what does obedience mean? Some one will say, doing as we
are told. Right, but doing how much that we are told? Not merely one thing
or two things or three things or four things, but all things. The heart of
obedience is in the will, the essence of obedience is the surrender of the
will to God. It is going to God our heavenly Father and saying, “Heavenly
Father, here I am. I am Thy property. Thou hast bought me with a price. I
acknowledge Thine ownership, and surrender myself and all that I am
absolutely to Thee. Send me where Thou wilt; do with me what Thou wilt;
use me as Thou wilt.” This is in most instances the decisive step in
receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament types it
was when the whole burnt offering was laid upon the altar, nothing kept
back within or without the sacrificial animal, that the fire came forth
from the Holy Place where God dwelt and accepted and consumed the gift
upon the altar. And so it is to-day, in the fulfillment of the type, when
we lay ourselves, a whole burnt offering, upon the altar, keeping nothing
within or without back, that the fire of God, the Holy Spirit, descends
from the real Holy Place, heaven (of which the Most Holy Place in the
tabernacle was simply a type), and accepts the gift upon the altar. When
we can truly say, “My _all_ is on the altar,” then we shall not have long
to wait for the fire. The lack of this absolute surrender is shutting many
out of the blessing to-day. People turn the keys of almost every closet in
their heart over to God, but there is some small closet of which they wish
to keep the key themselves, and the blessing does not come.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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