Galatians 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received you the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?… The helmsman may work the wheel with the greatest dexterity and earnestness, but unless he hears and obeys the captain's signal, his work will be worthless, and the ship must go out of its course. The builder may accumulate the best materials, and may put them together with industry and skill; but what if he be so busy as to have no time to listen to the architect's instructions? His labour will be lost, and lost in proportion to his very carefulness: and the house he builds will be thrown upon his hands as not according to the plan, and may possibly be his ruin. A child to whom a father has promised a gift may earn what he deems an equivalent, and may offer it as a filial recompense; but that is not the way to secure it, and will probably lead to disappointment. And so men may work in what moral manner they like, and in what moral direction they like, but they will only labour in vain and go astray unless they hear God's voice, and obey His directions respecting the Divine gift of the Spirit. "If ye being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask for Him?" The Holy Spirit comes through the believing hearing of that message. Works will only obstruct, but faith will open an entrance for the Spirit. And we have learned this as individuals, but we have yet to learn it as Churches. How many revivals are manufactured, yet how few Churches are revived, but on the contrary made more impotent by the manufacture. The patching of organizations, the utilization of special agencies may be hindrances rather than helps. The Spirit alone quickeneth a dead Church, and He is to be had not by special services as such, but by the hearing of faith. "Not by might nor by power," etc. "I will pour My blessing on thy seed, and My spirit on thy offspring." Hear this, ye Churches, and your souls shall live. Parallel Verses KJV: This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? |
    |