Spurgeon: February PM
* 02/29/PM
"Now we have received . . . the spirit which is of God; that we
might know the things that are freely given to us of God."
--1 Corinthians 2:12
Dear reader, have you received the spirit which is of God,
wrought by the Holy Ghost in your soul? The necessity of the
work of the Holy Spirit in the heart may be clearly seen from
this fact, that all which has been done by God the Father, and
by God the Son, must be ineffectual to us, unless the Spirit
shall reveal these things to our souls . What effect does the
doctrine of election have upon any man until the Spirit of God
enters into him? Election is a dead letter in my consciousness
until the Spirit of God calls me out of darkness into marvellous
light. Then through my calling, I see my election, and knowing
myself to be called of God, I know myself to have been chosen in
the eternal purpose. A covenant was made with the Lord Jesus
Christ, by His Father; but what avails that covenant to us until
the Holy Spirit brings us its blessings, and opens our hearts
to receive them? There hang the blessings on the nail--Christ
Jesus; but being short of stature, we cannot reach them; the
Spirit of God takes them down and hands them to us, and thus
they become actually ours. Covenant blessings in themselves
are like the manna in the skies, far out of mortal reach, but
the spirit of God opens the windows of heaven and scatters the
living bread around the camp of the spiritual Israel. Christ's
finished work is like wine stored in the wine-vat; through
unbelief we can neither draw nor drink. The Holy Spirit dips our
vessel into this precious wine, and then we drink; but without
the Spirit we are as truly dead in sin as though the Father
never had elected, and though the Son had never bought us with
His blood. The Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary to our
well-being. Let us walk lovingly towards Him and tremble at the
thought of grieving Him.