[BBC List] the Holy Spirit

[Mike Abendroth]

Reversing the Curse 
The Holy Spirit's Work in Bringing Sinners to Faith in Christ
(Excerpts from The <http://www.monergismbooks.com/holyspirit698x.html>  Holy
Spirit) <http://www.monergismbooks.com/holyspirit698x.html> 
by John Owen

"To say that we are able by our own efforts to think good thoughts or give
God spiritual obedience before we are spiritually regenerate is to overthrow
the gospel and the faith of the universal church in all ages." 
- John Owen 

All men can be divided into two groups. They are either regenerate or
unregenerate. All men are born unregenerate (John 3:3-8). 

...Spiritual darkness is in all men and lies on all men until God, by an
almighty work of the Spirit, shines into men's hearts, or creates light in
them (Matt 4:16; John 1:5; Act 26:18; Eph 5:8; Col 1:13; 1 Pet 2:9). ...The
nature of this spiritual darkness must be understood. When men have no light
to see by, then they are in darkness (Exod. 10:23). Blind men are in
darkness, either by birth or by illness or accident (Psa. 69:23; Gen 19:11;
Acts 13:11). A spiritually blind man is in spiritual darkness and is
ignorant of spiritual things. 

There is an outward darkness on men and an inward darkness in men. 

Outward darkness is when men do not have that light by which they are
enabled to see. So outward spiritual darkness is upon men when there is
nothing to enlighten them about God and spiritual things (Matt 4:16; Psa
119:105; Psa. 19:1-4,8; 2 Pet 1:19; Rom 10:15, 18). It is the work of the
Holy Spirit to remove this darkness by sending the light of the gospel (Acts
13:2, 4; 16:6-10; Psa. 147:19,20). 

Inward darkness, on the other hand, arises from the natural depravity and
corruption of the minds of men concerning spiritual things. Man's mind is
depraved and corrupted in things which are natural, civil, political, and
moral, as well as in things which are spiritual, heavenly and evangelical.
This depravity is often held back from having its full effects by the common
grace of the Holy Spirit. So, man's mind being darkened, he is unable to
see, receive, understand or believe to the saving of his soul. Spiritual
things, or the mysteries of the gospel, without the Holy Spirit first
creating within the soul a new light by which they can see and receive those
things, cannot bring salvation. 

However brilliant the mind may be, and however brilliant the preaching and
presentation of the gospel might be, yet without the Holy Spirit first
creating this light in them, they cannot receive, understand and agree with
the truths preached, and so will not be led to salvation (Eph 4:17, 18). 

So the unregenerate 'walk in the futility of their mind' (Eph 4:17). The
natural inclination of the unregenerate mind is to seek those things that
cannot satisfy (Gen 6:5). It is an unstable mind (Prov. 7:11-12). The
unregenerate understanding is darkened and cannot judge things properly (Jhn
1:5). The unregenerate heart is blind. In Scripture the heart includes the
will also. Light is received by the mind, applied by the understanding and
used by the heart. 'But if the light within is darkness,' said Jesus, 'how
great is that darkness.'

...Even though the unconverted mind is highly educated and talented, yet it
is utterly unable to receive and understand spiritually those things needful
for its eternal salvation. It will not respond to the preaching of the
gospel until renewed, enlightened and enabled to do so by the Holy Spirit:
"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for
they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned' (1 Cor 2:14). The subject of this verse is the
natural man. The natural man is quite opposite of the spiritual man (1 Cor
15:44; Jude 19). 

Paul tells us that the first Adam became a living being; the last Adam
became a life-giving spirit (1 Cor 15:45). The natural man comes from the
first Adam and the spiritual man comes from the last Adam. The natural man
is one that has all that is or can be had from the first Adam. He has a
rational soul and is well able to use it. The natural man trusts in his
reasoning powers and sees no need for any spiritual help. He does not see
that God has given him a soul in order that it might learn and receive what
he, God, has to give. Man is never made to live independently of God. Eyes
are beautiful and useful, but if they try to see without light, their beauty
and power will be of no use and the eyes might even be damaged. And if the
unconverted mind tries to see spiritual things without the help of the
Spirit of God, it will only end up destroying itself. 

In verse fourteen [1 Cor 2] we see things put to the natural man. These
things are 'the things of the Spirit of God'. Now what are these things of
the Spirit of God which are put to the natural man? Here are some of them,
all from 1 Cor chapter 2, 'Jesus and him crucified' (v.2). 'The hidden
wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory' (v. 7). "The things
that are freely given to us by God' (v.12). 'The mind of Christ' (v. 16). 

These are the things of the Spirit of God. These are things that cannot be
received except by sovereign, supernatural illumination. These are the
things that 'eye has not see, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart
of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him' (v.9). They
are things from God's eternal counsel. These are the things which the mind
of man at his first creation had no idea existed (Eph 3:8-11). 

Two things can be said of the natural man and the things of the Spirit of
God. Firstly, he does not receive them: secondly, he cannot know them. 

In this double assertion we learn firstly that the power to receive
spiritual things is denied the natural man (Rom 8:7). He cannot receive them
because they are spiritually discerned. We learn secondly that the natural
man willingly rejects them. This is implied in the words 'does not receive
the things of the Spirit of God'. And he rejects them because they appear to
him to be foolish. 

The natural man cannot, will not and does not receive the things of the
Spirit of God. He can know the literal sense of the doctrines presented to
him. He can know that Jesus Christ was crucified. But there is a wide
difference between receiving doctrines as mere statements presented to him
and knowing the reality which those statements present. 

The natural man can know the way of righteousness as a mere statement (2
Pet. 2:21). Other things he can know, merely as ideas presented to him
(Titus 1:16; Rom 2:23, 24). But these truths have no transforming effect on
his life. The spiritual man, on the other hand, knows them in reality and
they have a transforming effect on his life (Rom 12:2; Eph 4:22-24). 

Now before spiritual things can be received two things are necessary. It is
necessary that we understand them, agree with them and receive them because
they agree with wisdom, holiness and righteousness of God (1 Cor 1:23, 24).
It is also necessary that we see how well adapted they are to glorifying
God, the salvation of sinners and bringing the church to grace and glory.
The natural man cannot do this. He can, however, receive exhortations,
promises, commands and threatenings in the gospel (1 John 5:20). But to him
the wisdom of God is foolishness. Paul says that the 'foolishness of God is
wiser than men' (1 Cor 1:25). But to the natural man they are
foolishness.... He cannot [receive them] because they are spiritually
discerned. The natural man by the natural light of reason can discern
natural things. The spiritual man by a spiritual light received from Jesus
Christ discerns spiritual things.

Paul teaches us the Christ 'has delivered us from the power of darkness and
translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love' (Col 1:13). 

[Due to the corruption of nature] ...the darkness fills the mind with enmity
against God and all the things of God ( Col 1:21; Rom 8:7). If God is great
in goodness and beauty, why do men hate him? This hatred arises from this
darkness which is the corruption and depravity of our nature. 

This darkness fills the mind with prejudices against all spiritual things,
and the mind is utterly unable to free itself from the prejudices. The
darkened mind sees first the things that it lusts after. Then, later, it
recognizes those lusts in itself. But when men are called to seek God above
all other desires, then this is considered to be foolish, because to the
unconverted mind things that are spiritual things will never bring
contentment, happiness and satisfaction. In particular, the unregenerate
mind has a special bias against the gospel.

The gospel...shows that obedience can arise only from a regenerate heart
that is no longer at enmity with God. It also shows that the whole purpose
of obedience is to being glory to God. It shows that we cannot obey until we
have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. All these things put moral
duties into a new framework, the framework of the gospel. Secondly, by
giving us his Spirit, God strengthens and enables us to obey according to
the gospel framework. 

The eye is the natural light of the body. By means of the eyes, the body is
led safely round dangerous obstacles, and so is kept from hurting itself.
But if the eye is blind, or is surrounded by darkness and so cannot see,
then the body has no idea where it is going and will inevitably bump into
objects to trip over obstacles. What the eye is to the body, the mind is to
the soul. If the mind sees the glory and beauty of Christ and his salvation
presented in the gospel, it will excite the heart to desire them as truly
good and the will to receive and embrace them. 

If the mind is ignorant of the gospel, or is blinded by prejudice, then the
heart will not be roused to desire Christ, nor the will be urged to embrace
him. ...We see, therefore, how important are the words of Jesus when he
said, 'You must be born again.'

...As the body cannot live without the soul, so the soul cannot live to God
without spiritual life. Without the spiritual life the soul becomes morally
corrupt (Rom 8:7,8; John 6:44; Matt 7:18; 12:33; Jer. 13:23). 

As the body has only passive power to receive life, for it cannot give life
to itself and raise itself from the dead, so the soul also has only a
passive power to receive spiritual life, for it has no power to regenerate
itself from spiritual death to spiritual life. Exhortations, promises and
threatenings in Scripture do not tell us what we can do, but what we ought
to do. They show us our state of spiritual death and our inability to do any
spiritual good. God is pleased to make these exhortations and promises the
means by which we can receive spiritual life (James 1:18; 1 Pet 1:23). 

This inability to live to God is due to sin (Rom 5:12). Unregenerate persons
are able to do something towards regeneration, but this they neglect to do,
so they wilfully sin. Though they cannot live to God, they can and do resist
God, because their depraved minds are alienated from the life of God.
Unregenerate persons freely and wickedly choose to disobey God. 

Jesus complained, 'You will not come to me that you might have life' (John
5:40). There is in this death a ceasing of all vital activities.
Unregenerate persons cannot do any vital activity that could be called
spiritual obedience. True spiritual obedience springs from the life of God
(Eph 4:18). 

...God is the origin of all life and specifically spiritual life (Psa.
36:9). So our life is 'hid with Christ in God' (Col 3:3). 

Our spiritual life differs from every other kind of life. It does not come
to us directly from God, but it is first deposited in all its fullness in
Christ our mediator (Col. 1:19). So it is out of his fullness that we
receive this life (John 1:16). So Christ is our life (Col 3:4). It is,
therefore, not so much we who live but Christ who lives in us (Gal 2:20). We
can do nothing of ourselves but only by Christ's power and virtue (1 Cor
15:10). 

The origin of this life is in God. The fullness of this life is in Christ.
And it is imparted to us by the Holy Spirit. We experience it as a new power
and ruling principle in us (Rom 8:11; Eph 4:15, 16). Christ is our life and
without him we can do nothing (John 15:5) [including believe the gospel with
our own natural resources]. This spiritual life imparted to us by the Holy
Spirit is still also in Christ. So, by this life we are joined to Christ as
a branch is joined to the tree, derives its life from the tree and can never
live independently of the tree (John 15:4). 

This spiritual life is imparted to us by the Holy Spirit in order that we
might be enabled to obey the terms of God's holy covenant. By this new life,
God writes his law in our hearts and then we are able to walk in obedience
to his commandments. Without this ruling principle of spiritual life there
can be not spiritual obedience. To say that we are able by our own efforts
to think good thoughts or give God spiritual obedience before we are
spiritually regenerate is to overthrow the gospel and the faith of the
universal church in all ages. It does not matter how powerfully we are
motivated and encouraged, without regeneration we can do no good works which
are pleasing and acceptable to God. A religious, decent, moral life, derived
from self and not 'born of God' is as sinful as the worst of sinful lives. 

Preachers of the gospel and others have sufficient warrant to press on all
men the duties of repentance, faith and obedience; although they know the
unregenerate have no ability to do these things. They must show the
unregenerate why they are unable and that it is their own fault they are
unable to do these things. It is the will of God and the command of God that
the unregenerate should be told his duties. We are not to consider what man
can or will do, but what God says they should do. There are two good reasons
why these duties should be pressed on the ungodly. The ungodly must be
stopped from going further into sin and being more and more hardened, and
these duties are the means appointed by God for their conversion. ...by
God's grace working in due time . 

...According to Pelagianism, the preaching of God's word [apart from the
regenerating work of the Spirit] is quite sufficient as an outward means to
bring a person to repentance and faith. The revelation made of God and his
mind is quite sufficient to teach men all they need to believe and do, that
they may be converted to God and begin to obey him. [in the Pelagian view]
...regeneration is the result of responding to the Word preached. 

Yes the Word of God is powerfully persuasive in itself, but until born
again, unregenerate men cannot and will not be persuaded by it. The
unregenerate must be persuaded that these are not 'cunningly devised fables'
(2 Pet 1:16). Things in Scripture are not just truths, but divine truths.
These are things that 'the mouth of the Lord has spoken'. And only when a
person is born again will he believe that. 

The unregenerate must be persuaded that the things preached are good, lovely
and excellent. They must be persuaded that only faith in God can bring them
to the height of all happiness. They must be persuaded of the sinful
depravity of their souls and their utter inability to do any good acceptable
to God without first being born against by His Spirit. All these truths are
divine truths, and therefore the person hearing them must be convinced that
they have been revealed by one who has divine authority. Not only must the
mind be persuaded but also the heart must be activated to desire and the
will heartily to embrace these things for salvation. 

If the preaching of God's Word is done with great eloquence and ability of
speech, then men will be persuaded to repent and believe, say the Pelagians.
But Paul utterly rejects this in his ministry. He says, "My speech and my
preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power' (1 Cor 2:4). 

...The real effectiveness of preaching does not lie in the clever oratorical
ability of men, nor in the ability to back up the preaching by doing
miracles. It lies in the following two things. Firstly, the preaching must
have been instituted by God. He has appointed the preaching of his Word to
be the only outward means for the conversion of the souls of men (1 Cor
1:17-20 Mark 16:15, 16; Rom 1:16). Secondly, the power that makes preaching
effective in the hearts of men for their salvation is in God's hands alone.
To some, preaching is made effective for salvation, to others for damnation.
God also gives his appointed preachers special spiritual gifts and abilities
to preach his Word (Eph 4:11-13). So the power to persuade a person to
repent and believe the gospel by preaching lies in the sovereign will of
God. 

The Pelagians and all who believe that sinners must first repent and believe
before they are born again say that the only work the Holy Spirit does in
preaching is to persuade by motives, arguments and reasons put to the
natural unconverted mind, and that by these alone the sinner is convinced
and persuaded to repent. The sinner therefore repents and believes of his
own free will and choice.

But we have shown that the mind of man is so corrupt and depraved, that
unless preaching is accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit in
regeneration no sinner will be persuaded to repent and believe. The outward
means of conversion then is the preaching of God's Word. The inward work
necessary to persuade men to respond to the preaching is regeneration, which
is a transforming, not merely a persuading work done on the souls of men by
the Holy Spirit....

If the Holy Spirit does nothing more than present reasons, arguments and
motives to conversion, the will of the unregenerate person will remain
unmoved. If it is up to the unregenerate first to repent and believe before
the Holy Spirit will do his work of regeneration, then this denies salvation
to be of the sovereign grace of God. It is indeed true that the will of the
unregenerate can resist and refuse the gospel and the grace that accompanies
its preaching. But it is false to say that God is unable to effect a work of
grace in us that cannot be resisted and will infallibly lead to conversion.
It is false to say that the only work of grace God can do in us is that
which can be resisted and rejected. It is false to say that the will of the
unregenerate can make use of that grace of God or not, as it chooses. It is
false to say that the power of conversion lies alone with the sinner, and
that God cannot regenerate the sinner and bring him to conversion without
the sinner first giving his consent. This is Pelagianism. 

These things are false because this gives all the glory of our regeneration
and conversion to ourselves and not to the sovereign grace of God. It is
false also because it leaves man to decide who will be in heaven and who
will not. In spite of God's purpose to save, and in spite of Christ's
incarnation and redemption, nobody could be saved and God would be
frustrated and disappointed of his sovereign will and purpose. 

These things are false because this teaching is contrary to Scripture, which
tells us that conversion is from first to last dependent on God's grace
(Phil 2:13). God works in us to will our conversion, and by his sovereign
power brings it about. 

If regeneration is nothing more than persuading a person to be good, then no
new, real, supernatural strength has been conferred on the soul, though
prejudices may have been removed from the mind. According to this teaching,
man has no need to such supernatural power, because he has been able by his
own power, the power of his own will, to overcome his depraved, sinful,
corrupt nature, remove all errors and prejudices from his mind and bring
himself to such holiness of life as to make himself wholly acceptable to
God. This is the power of free will which some have believed and taught.
Such people deny that man must first be born again before he can do anything
pleasing and acceptable to God. 

Some teach that grace enlightens the mind, and that all man has to do is to
choose the good which God's grace has shown him, and then that grace will
work along with his choosing and willing and so bring the soul to new birth.
But all the grace of God is doing here is enlightening the mind, exciting
the desires and helping the will, and this only by persuading the person to
repent and believe. No real strength is imparted to the soul. The will is
left perfectly free to cooperate with this grace or not, as it chooses. This
also denies the whole grace of Christ and to make it of no use at all in
salvation. It ascribes to man's free will the honor for his conversion. It
makes a man give birth to himself which is nonsense. It destroys the analogy
between the work of the Holy Spirit in forming the natural body of Christ in
the womb and the work of the Holy Spirit in the forming of his mystical body
in regeneration. It makes the act of living to God by faith and obedience to
be a mere natural human act and not the result of Christ's mediation. It
allows the Spirit of God no more power in regenerating us than is in a
minister who preaches the Word or an orator who eloquently and feelingly
persuades a person to turn from evil to doing good. 

We do not pray to God for anything but for what he has promised to give us.
Does anyone then pray that God would merely persuade him or others to
believe and obey? Do people pray to be converted or to convert themselves?
The church of God has always prayed that God would work these things in us.
Those who are truly concerned for their souls pray that God will bring them
to true repentance and faith, that he will graciously work these things in
their hearts. They pray that he will give them faith for Christ's sake and
increase it in them and that he will work in them by the exceeding greatness
of his power both to will and to do according to his good pleasure. 

To think that by all these prayers, and with all those examples of prayer
given in Scripture, we desire nothing more than that God would persuade,
excite and stir us up to act by our own power and ability to bring about the
answers to our prayers by our own efforts, is contrary to all Christian
experience. For a man to pray with importunity, earnestness and with fervent
zeal for that which he is quite able to do by himself, and which cannot be
done except he will it to be done by his own free choice, is ridiculous.
They mock God who pray to him to do for them what they can do for
themselves. Suppose a man has ability to believe and repent. Suppose that
his ability to believe and repent lies only in his free will and that God
cannot by his grace work in him, but only persuade him to repent and
believe, and to give him good reasons why he should do so, what would be the
purpose of praying to God. Why ask God to give him faith and repentance? 

It is because many believe that they have it in their own power to repent
and believe when they so choose, that they think Christian prayers are
useless and foolish. But it is as easy to persuade a person to regenerate
himself by persuading himself to repent and believe as it is to persuade a
blind man to see, or a lame man to walk normally or a dead man to rise from
the grave. Conclusion: The work of regeneration is not the Holy Spirit
[merely] persuading sinners to repent and believe. 

How Regeneration is Accomplished

In regeneration a person the Holy Spirit makes use of the law and the
gospel. There is not only a moral but also a direct nature-changing work of
the Spirit on the minds or souls of men in regeneration. This is what we
must hold on to, or all the glory of God's grace is lost, and the grace
which comes to us by Christ will be neglected. Paul tells us of this direct
work of the Spirit: "That you may know ... what s the exceeding greatness of
his power towards us who believe, according to the work of his mighty power
which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead' (Eph 1:18:- 2).
The power here mentioned has an exceeding greatness attributed to it,
because by this power Christ was physically raised from the dead. Paul would
have us know that the same mighty power which God worked in Christ when he
raised him from the dead is the same mighty power which the Holy Spirit
works when he raises us from spiritual death to spiritual life in
regeneration. By this same mighty power we are kept by God to the day of
salvation. It is because of his mighty power continually working in
Christians that they are kept from ever falling away so as to be eternally
lost. 

...Where any work of grace begun in a person does not result in regeneration
and the salvation of that person, it is because God never intended to
regenerate that person, and so did not work that work in him. There is an
important doctrinal principle to learn here. When the Holy Spirit intends to
regenerate a person, he removes all obstacles, overcomes all resistance and
opposition, and infallibly produces the result he intended. 

...how can this be done without forcing and compelling the will? ..the work
of regeneration is an internal work, transforming our very nature. This work
of regeneration is not preached to the will and so it not resisted by the
will, but it works effectively on the will, wonderfully renewing it. The
will, in the first act of conversion, does not will or choose to act first
and then is regenerated. Rather it is first renewed by regeneration and then
it wills or chooses. The will lies passive or inert until roused by the Holy
Spirit in regeneration. There is an inward, almighty, secret act of power
producing or working in us the will to be converted to God. This act of
power so works on our wills [affections] that we freely and gladly will what
God wants us to will and choose, which is to do his will. 

God Works in Us What He has Promised to Do

Before the work of grace the heart is 'stony'. It can do no more than a
stone to please God. A stony heart is obstinate and stubborn. But God says
that he will take away this stony heart (Ezek 11:19). He does not say he
will try and take it away, or give us some power so that we can take it away
ourselves, but that he will take it away. When God says he will take it
away, he means that he will infallibly take it away and that noting can stop
him taking it away. He promises to give us a new heart and a new spirit
(Ezek 36:26). 

There is an 'eye' in the understanding of man. This eye is the ability to
see spiritual things. It is sometimes said to be blind, darkness, shut. By
these descriptions we are taught that the natural mind cannot know God
personally for salvation, and nor can it see, that is, discern spiritual
things. It is the work of the Spirit of grace to open this eye (luke 4:18,
Acts 26:18). He does this, firstly, by giving us the spirit of wisdom and
revelation. Secondly, he gives us a heart to know him (Jer 24:7).

We are enabled to obey God firstly by an inward, spiritual, ruling principle
of grace ... by virtue of the life and death of Jesus Christ according to
the terms of the new covenant... by which God writes his laws in our hearts
and enables us to obey them by the Holy Spirit.

Excerpt from The Holy Spirit by John Owen
<http://www.monergismbooks.com/holyspirit698x.html>  Banner of Truth Trust 

 

 

Thanks.

 

Charis,

 

Mike Abendroth

 

 <http://www.bbcchurch.org> www.bbcchurch.org

 

2 Tim 1:2b  "Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord."

 

"After the reading of Scripture, which I strenuously inculcate, and more
than any other ... I recommend that the Commentaries of Calvin be read ...
For I affirm that in the interpretation of the Scriptures Calvin is
incomparable, and that his Commentaries are more to be valued than anything
that is handed down to us in the writings of the Fathers -- so much that I
concede to him a certain spirit of prophecy in which he stands distinguished
above others, above most, indeed, above all."  Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609)

 

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