A.W. Pink

JESUS! In Word and Song

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WEEK 46

NO LONGER WILLINGLY HABITUALLY DISOBEDIENT

“The genuine Christian finds clear evidence of two natures, two contrary principles at work within him.”1

Before I believed in CHRIST through faith, I was enslaved, giving all my body to sin as instruments for unrighteousness (Rom 6:13). But now, having been set free from sin that entangles my natural flesh, I am able to present my new-nature self as a slave to righteousness (Rom 6:18-19). 

My fleshly nature still lives and tempts me to choose unrighteousness even though I have the desire to do what is right (Rom 7:18). 

He who is born again does not sin habitually, or is not habitually a sinner. [T]he act is against the habitual inclination and purpose of his soul. [H]e who is born again does not do wrong deliberately and by design. He means to do right. He is not willfully and deliberately a sinner. It is true that when one does wrong, or commits sin, there is a momentary assent of the will; but it is under the influence of passion, or excitement, or temptation, or provocation, and not as the result of a deliberate plan or purpose of the soul.2 

I have died to trying to obey GOD’s law with my natural flesh and now walk in the new way of living in the SPIRIT (Rom 7:5-6).

“We are progressively becoming more and more like Christ as we go on in the Christian life. Paul tells the Colossians they have ‘put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator’ (Col 3:10).”3

When we repudiate all idols, surrender to Christ as Lord, and trust in the efficacy of His sacrifice, the heart is prepared for the Spirit to enter and take possession for Christ’s use. When we give up ourselves to Christ, He owns the dedication by making our bodies the temples of the Holy Spirit, there to maintain His interests against all the oppositions of the Devil.4

When Jesus commands us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect (Matt 5:48), this simply shows that God’s own absolute moral purity is the standard toward which we are to aim and the standard for which God holds us accountable. The fact that we are unable to attain that standard does not mean that it will be lowered; rather, it means that we need God’s grace and forgiveness to overcome our remaining sin.5

“Let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Rom 13:13-14 ESV).

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ENDNOTES

(46) I Recognize the Sin in Me

            1. Arthur W. Pink, “The Exaltation of Christ,” Studies in the Scriptures XI (September 1932) : 29-30.

            2. Albert Barnes, “Commentary on 1 John 3:6,” 1870, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/1-john/3-6.html#verse-bnb.

            3. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 749.

            4. A.W. Pink, 1 John, Part Two (Pensacola, FL: Chapel Library, 2005) 83-84.

            5. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 751.

            6. R.C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible (Orlando, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2005) 1624.

            7. Arthur S. Way, Letters of Paul, Hebrews and the Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1901) 242.

            8. “Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:18 ESV).

            9. “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22 ESV).

            10. Matthew Henry, “Complete Commentary on Romans 7:14,” 1706, Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/romans/7-14.html#verse-mhm.

            11. Albert Barnes, “Commentary on Romans 7:15,” 1870, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/romans-7.html.

            12. Theodore Beza, “Commentary on Romans 7:15,” 1599-1645, The 1599 Geneva Study Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/romans/7-15.html#verse-gsb.

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WEEK 37

THIS JESUS—

Who He Is_2

“His life, from the manger to the tomb, was via a path of shame and sorrow. It was not until His resurrection, that the glory which was to follow His sufferings began to shine forth in unmistakable splendor.”1

JESUS, the Eternal One: (Heb 1:10-12).

“[T]he son of God, in his eternal divine nature, was active in the world from the beginning of creation, long before his incarnation.”2

JESUS, the First and the Last: (Rev 1:17-18).

“Jesus is the beginning of all history (the Creator) and also the goal for whom all things are made (all history is moving toward glorifying him).”3

JESUS, Himself God: (Heb 1:2-3).

Jesus makes five claims to equality with God: (1) He is equal with God in His person (John 5:17-18); (2) He is equal with God in His works (John 5:19-20); (3) He is equal with God in His power and sovereignty (John 5:21); (4) He is equal with God in His judgment (John 5:22); (5) He is equal with God in His honor (John 5:23).4

JESUS, the fullness of GOD: (Col 1:19).

“Jesus not only bears God’s glory, but all that God is also dwells in him. He possesses the wisdom, power, Spirit, and glory of God. To say that all this divine fullness dwells in Jesus is to say that he is fully God (see also Col. 2:9).”5

JESUS, the Justifier: (Rom 4:24-25).

Justification is by a righteousness [outside of] us. [It] is based entirely upon the work of Christ wrought for us, a deliverance from punishment, a right to the reward.6

The wisdom of God’s plan allowed Him to punish Jesus in the place of sinners and thereby justify those who are guilty without compromising His justice.7

JESUS, the Sanctifier: (Heb 10:14).

Sanctification is that inward spiritual work that the Lord Jesus Christ works in a man by the Holy Spirit when He calls him to be a true believer. He not only washes him from his sins in His own blood, but He also separates him from his natural love of sin and the world, puts a new principle in him heart, and makes him practically godly in life.8

JESUS, the King: (1 Cor 15:22-25).

“As God-man Mediator, Christ has been made Governor of the universe. ‘All power in heaven and in earth’ has been given to Him (Matt 28:18).”9

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ENDNOTES

(37) JESUS is the Son of GOD

            1. Arthur W. Pink, “The Exaltation of Christ,” Studies in the Scriptures XI (August 1932) : 1.

            2. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2450.

            3. ESV Study Bible, 2463.

            4. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 123.

            5. ESV Study Bible, 2294-2295.

            6. A.W. Pink, “Justification and Sanctification,” Free Grace Broadcaster 215 (2011) : 36.

            7. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 509.

            8. J.C. Ryle, “The Nature of Sanctification,” Free Grace Broadcaster 215 (2011) : 8.

            9. A.W. Pink, “The Kingdom of Christ,” Free Grace Broadcaster 215 (2011) : 2.

            10. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature . . .” (Hebrews 1:3 ESV).

            11. “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24 ESV).

            12. A. W. Pink, The Holy Spirit (Pensacola, FL: Mt. Zion Publications) http://www.mountzion.org.

128.

            13. “ . . . we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man” (Hebrews 8:1-2 ESV).

            14. “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,” (1 Corinthians 1:30 ESV).

            15. A.W. Pink, “Justification and Sanctification,” Free Grace Broadcaster 215 (2011) : 36.

            16. “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,” (1 Corinthians 1:30 ESV).

            17. “ . . . Your throne, O God, is forever and ever . . .” (Hebrews 1:8 ESV).

            18. “ . . . the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings . . .” (Revelation 17:14 ESV).

            19. “ . . . Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 9:5 ESV).

            20. “. . . . To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18 ESV).

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WEEK 34

THE MEDIATOR

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Tim 2:5 ESV).

The Father gave a people to the Son, and the Son voluntarily made Himself responsible to God for them. God the Father said He would grant forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration, new life, and a new nature to all who belonged to His Son. The condition was that the Son should come into the world and take human nature and the sin of mankind upon Himself to bear its punishment, stand for them, represent them, and suffer for them.1

Because we were alienated from God by sin, we needed someone to come between God and ourselves and bring us back to him. We needed a mediator who could represent us to God and who could represent God to us. There is only one person who has ever fulfilled that requirement: ‘There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus’ (1 Tim 2:5). In order to fulfill this role of mediator, Jesus had to be fully man as well as fully God.2

“The grand end of Christ’s mediation is the appeasing of God’s anger and the securing of His favor. He is the Advocate with the Father on behalf of His sinning people, pleading His righteousness and blood for them.”3

“The Lord Jesus is the anointed Mediator.”4 “Christ presents His people before God as those who are inestimably dear unto Him. He not only died for them, but lives for them (Rom 5:10). He died to render satisfaction to God on their behalf; He lives to keep them secure.”5

Christ sits at God’s right hand as no silent and inactive Spectator, but as an industrious and mighty Intercessor: to prevent the sins of His people making any breach, to preserve a perpetual amity between God and them. Thus we have ‘a Friend at court’ who spreads before the Father the odours of His merits as the all-sufficient answer to every indictment which Satan prefers against us. He requests not the Father to show mercy at the expense of justice.  There is no compromise of holiness in God’s pardoning His children, for Christ made full atonement for all their sins.6

[Christ’s] mediation on the throne is as real and indispensable as on the cross. [I]t engages all His time and powers [and] is His unceasing occupation at the right hand of the Father. And we participate not only in the benefits of this His work, but in the work itself.7

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ENDNOTES

(34) I See a Man at GOD’s Right Hand

            1. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “God’s Great Plan of Redemption,” Free Grace Broadcaster 236 (summer 2016) : 3.

            2. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 541.

            3. A.W. Pink, 1 John, Part One 1:1-2:11 (Pensacola, FL: Chapel Library, 2005) 123.

            4. Charles Spurgeon, “God’s Purpose Consummated,” Free Grace Broadcaster 236 (summer 2016) : 27.

            5. A.W. Pink, 1 John, Part One 1:1-2:11 (Pensacola, FL: Chapel Library, 2005) 120.

            6. Pink, 120-122.

            7. Andrew Murray, “With Christ in the School of Prayer,” PC Study Bible by Biblesoft, Inc, 2003, twenty-sixth lesson.

            8. Horatius Bonar, “I See A Man at God’s Right Hand,” 1872 Hymnary, 20 February 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/i_see_a_man_at_gods_right_hand.

            9. “Oh the Valley,” music and melody, author unknown.

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WEEK 31

GOD’S MASTER PLAN

[H]ere are you and I, miserable worms in this world, miserable worms with our arrogance and our pride and our appalling ignorance. We deserve nothing but to be blotted off the face of the earth. But what has happened is that before the foundation of the world this blessed God considered us, considered our condition, considered what would happen to us and planned a way whereby we might be forgiven and redeemed.1

“God’s act of choosing His people in Christ was without the consideration of the fall, nor was it upon the foresight and footing of works, but was wholly of grace, and all to the praise and glory of it.”2

“[I]n love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” (Eph 1:4-5 ESV). “God predestined his elect to redemption and holiness in Christ according to the free council of his will.”3

“God has imputed the believer’s sin to Christ and God imputes Christ’s righteousness to the believer.”4 “[We] are pardoned because [our] sin is punished in Christ. And [we] are restored because his righteousness becomes [ours].”5

“Christianity rest on an unveiling of the hidden Creator Himself.”6 “[B]eing creatures, we cannot know God unless He acts to make Himself known to us. Even Adam in Eden needed direct divine speech to make known to him all God’s will.”7 “God created man in his own image. And God blessed them. And God said to them . . . And God said . . . ”(Gen 1:27-29 ESV).

“Revelation does not mean man finding God, but God finding man, God sharing His secrets with us, God showing us Himself.”8

It always bothers me when we gather for worship and people say things like, ‘Lord, we invite you into our presence.’ When we should be humbly thanking him for allowing us into his presence. You see, proper worship begins with a proper perspective of who we are and who God is. When we gather to worship, it’s good for us to remember that God is not in our presence, we are in his.9

“He is a friend to us, and we to Him, He finding His joy in giving us gifts and we finding ours in giving Him thanks.”10

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ENDNOTES

(31) GOD’s Love Self-generated

            1. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “God’s Great Plan of Redemption,” Free Grace Broadcaster 236 (summer 2016) : 4.

            2. A.W. Pink, “The Mediator Chosen,” Free Grace Broadcaster 236 (summer 2016) : 25.

            3. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2260.

            4. ESV Study Bible, 2231.

            5. G. I. Williamson, The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing Company, 1964, 2004) 105.

            6. J.I. Packer, God Has Spoken (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979) 45.

            7. Packer, 53-55.

8. Packer, 46.

            9. Denny Johnson, “The Intimacy of God’s Sovereignty,” NHC sermon notes, 7 February 2021: 4.

            10. Packer, 50.

            11. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Life in Christ, Studies in 1 John (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2002) 550-551.

            12. Horatius Bonar, Words Old and New (Carlisle, PA: THE BANNER OF TRUTH TRUST, 1866, 1994) 126-127.

            13. “ . . . Jesus Christ—Loyal Witness, Firstborn from the dead, Ruler of all earthly kings” (Rev 1:4-7 MSG).

            14. Isaac Watts, “Jesus Shall Reign,” 1719, Hymnary, 19 February 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/jesus_shall_reign_whereer_the_sun.

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WEEK 30

GOD BEFORE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE WORLD

[L]ong ere the day-star knew its place, before God had spoken existence out of nothing, before angel’s wing had stirred the unnavigated ether, before a solitary song had disturbed the solemnity of the silence in which God reigned supreme, He had entered into solemn council with Himself, His Son, and His Spirit and had in that council decreed, determined, proposed, and predestinated the salvation of His people.1

“God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun” (Rom 8:29-30 MSG).

“God chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world according to the purpose of his will” (Eph 1:3-5 ESV).

“God’s great love has been manifested in what He has done for us in and through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”2 “God created the world so we could share in the joy of knowing him.”3

“It is a superlative honor that Christ is the channel through which all the grace and glory we have, or shall have, flows to us, and was set up as such from the beginning.”4

“[T]he mystery hidden for ages and generations [is] now revealed to his saints. [T]his mystery is Christ in you”(Col 1:26-27 ESV).

To make sure that the FATHER had a people to shower His love on, He selected His elect before He created them, cementing all His purposes in stone before He set up the world—making sure the ones He purchased would not (could not) fall away from Him.  Through His Son’s work and drawing His people to accept His plan in faith, He will always have a people to love. 

God is able to work out his sovereign will within the distinctive characteristics of what he has created. He moves a rock as a rock, and moves a human heart as a human heart. He does not turn a person into a thing when he brings about his sovereign intentions in a person’s life. Paul describes sanctification as the result of both human effort and ultimate divine enabling. He sees no conflict between divine and human activity. Rather, God is uniquely able to bring about his purposes within human beings so that they are fully engaged as persons and responsible for their own decisions, attitudes, and actions.5

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ENDNOTES

(30) To GOD Be Glory Forevermore

            1. Charles Spurgeon, “God’s Covenant in Eternity,” Free Grace Broadcaster 236 (summer 2016) : 5.

            2. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Life in Christ, Studies in 1 John (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2002) 517.

            3. Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008) 176.

            4. A.W. Pink, “The Mediator Chosen,” Free Grace Broadcaster 236 (summer 2016) : 27.

            5. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2529.

            6. Charles Spurgeon, “God’s Covenant in Eternity,” Free Grace Broadcaster 236 (summer 2016) : 5.

            7. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2529.

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WEEK 25

DISCIPLES WAITING FOR THE PROMISE

[JESUS’] right to send the Spirit into the hearts of fallen men was acquired by His atonement. It was the well-earned reward of all His toil and sufferings. One of the chief results of the perfect satisfaction which Christ offered to God on behalf of His people, was His right now to bestow the Spirit upon them.1

“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:45-49 ESV).

Ten days they waited together attempting to comprehend this power that was coming. They also had plenty of time to ruminate their commission of proclaiming CHRIST’s ability to grant repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

This SPIRIT would: “teach them all things, lead them into all truth, take of the things of Christ, and show them to them, and bring to their remembrance all things they had seen and heard.”2

The SPIRIT would fortify and inspire them with “courage and greatness of soul with undaunted courage, and resolution, and boldness.”3

And it is the same power the SPIRIT endues to us who believe. “[T]hough God promised special grace to the apostles, and Christ bestowed it on them, we ought to hold universally that no mortal is of himself qualified for preaching the gospel, except so far as God clothes him with his Spirit.4

“That bountiful supply of the Spirit was designed for the erecting and equipping of the New Testament church.”5 We, too, are to wait to be “aided by the power of the Holy Spirit.”6

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ENDNOTES

(25) At the Temple Praising

            1. A.W. Pink, The Holy Spirit (Pensacola, FL: Mt. Zion Publications), http://www.mountzion.org. 30, brackets mine.

            2. John Gill, “Commentary on Luke 24:49,” 1999, John Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible, 15 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/luke/24-49.html#verse-geb.

            3. Gill.

            4. John Calvin, “Commentary on Luke 24:49,” 1840-57, Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible, 15 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/luke/24-49.html#verse-cal.

            5. A.W. Pink, The Holy Spirit, (Pensacola, FL: Mt. Zion Publications), http://www.mountzion.org. 30.

            6. Albert Barnes, “Commentary on Luke 24:49,” 1870, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, 15 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/luke/24-49.html#verse-bnb.

            7. “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer . . .” (Acts 1:14 ESV).

            8. “ . . . he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22 ESV). “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,” (Luke 24:45 ESV).

            9. “And they . . . were continually in the temple blessing God” (Luke 24:52-53 ESV).

            10. “ . . . stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49 ESV).

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WEEK 15

THE SUFFERINGS OF JESUS

“The Heidelberg Catechism says that Christ sustained the anger of God against the sin of His people ‘during his whole life on earth, but especially at the end’ (Q&A 37).”1

“One who is the Creator of the universe lived His life on the same plane ours is lived, passed through the same trials we experience, and suffered not only as we do, but far more acutely.”2

A large boulder on the seashore takes the full force of each wave, while small rocks and pebbles move back and forth with the waves. JESUS took the full brunt of resistance against Him (for He never sinned), while we move back and forth with sin making it not as severe as the suffering of JESUS.

He was made perfect ‘through suffering’ (Heb 2:10). Therefore we should see all the hardship and suffering that comes to us in life as something that God brings to us to do us good, strengthening our trust in him and our obedience, and ultimately increasing our ability to glorify him.3

The suffering of JESUS consisted of two reasons: (1) He suffered because He was the Son of GOD and spoke Truth and lived it out (Matt 4:17) and (2) He suffered because He was the Son of Man and tempted to sin but did not (Heb 2:18).

Scripture speaks of two kinds of suffering Christians experience: (1) We will suffer as JESUS suffered by unholy men because we speak Truth and live it out (Acts 4:1-3) and (2) we will suffer because we are mere men; we’re tempted to sin, and succumb to it (1 John 1:8).

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12 ESV).

The indwelling of Christ in the believer is a kind of second incarnation of the Son of God. When Christ enters the heart of a poor sinner, He once more clothes Himself with our nature. The life Christ lived in the days of His time on earth was a life of sorrow, of conflict, of temptation, of desertion, of want and of suffering in every form. Does He now live a different life in the believer? No; He is still tempted and deserted, in sorrow and in want, in humiliation and in suffering—in His people. Did you think that these fiery darts were leveled at you? Did you suppose that you were deserted, you suffered, you were despised, you were trodden under foot? No, it was Christ dwelling in you. All the cruelty of Satan, all the power of sin and all the contempt of the world are leveled, not against you, but against the Lord dwelling in you.4

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ENDNOTES

(15) JESUS, You Suffered

1. “The Sufferings of Christ,” Ligonier Ministries, 17 June 2021 https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/the-suffering-of-christ/.

            2. A.W. Pink, “Commentary on Hebrews 2,” A.W. Pink’s Commentary on John and Hebrews, 9 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/awp/hebrews-2.html.

            3. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 812.

            4. Octavius Winslow, Evening Thoughts (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2005) November 7th.

            5. John Newton, Letters of John Newton (Carlisle, PA: THE BANNER OF TRUTH TRUST, 1960, reprinted 1990) 82.

            6. “ . . . ‘Sing aloud with gladness . . . and raise shouts . . . proclaim, give praise, and say, . . .” (Jeremiah 31:7).

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WEEK 11

JESUS GREW IN WISDOM

“And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom” (Isa 11:2 ESV).“And Jesus increased in wisdom”(Luke 2:52 ESV). “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him”(Luke 2:40 ESV).

“The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught” (Isa 50:4 ESV).

“Christ was filled with the Spirit from the womb and received his gifts and graces from [God] without measure.”1

“From birth to baptism the Spirit directed His mental and moral development, and strengthened and kept Him through all the years of preparation and toil. He was in the Carpenter as truly as in the Messiah, and the work at the bench was as perfect as the sacrifice on the Cross” (S. Chadwick).2

As CHRIST was able to perform the will of His FATHER by relying on the HOLY SPIRIT, so I, too, can perform the will of my FATHER. All I have to do is ask.

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke 11:13 ESV)!

“As Jesus was entirely dependent on the Father for all His words and all His works, so the believer can do nothing of himself. He must cease entirely from his own doing, and wait for the working of God in him”3

Octavius Winslow, in his comments below speaks of the HOLY SPIRIT and how He works in man. It is by the same process and progression He worked in JESUS, as the Son of Man.

It is a work of time. The soul is placed in the school of deep experience and is led step by step, stage by stage. The knowledge of self and of Christ increases, deeper views of indwelling sin are discovered, the heart’s treachery is more acutely felt, the devices of Satan are better known, the mystery of God’s gracious and providential dealings are more clearly unfolded and better understood.4

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ENDNOTES

(11) STOP. ASK. For the SPIRIT

1. John Gill, “Commentary of Isaiah 11:2,” 1999, The New John Gill Exposition of the Whole Bible, 29 January 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaires/eng/geb/isaiah-11.html.

            2. A. W. Pink, The Holy Spirit (Pensacola, FL: Mt. Zion Publications), http://www.mountzion.org, 32.

            3. Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1979) 118.

            4. Octavius Winslow, Evening Thoughts (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2005) 188.

            5. Robert Hawker, “Commentary of Isaiah 11:2,” 1828, Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary, 30 January 2021, https://www.studylight.org/commentary/isaiah/11-2.html#verse-pmc.

            6. Albert Barnes, “Commentary on Isaiah 11:2,” 1870, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, 30 January 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/isaiah/11-2.html#verse-bnb.

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WEEK 6

JESUS IS FULLY GOD, FULLY MAN

Christ possesses the fullness of the divine nature and attributes (Col 1:19). In Greek philosophical thought, matter was evil; spirit was good. Thus, it was unthinkable that God would ever take on a human body. [The Apostle] Paul refutes that false teaching by stressing the reality of Christ’s incarnation. Jesus was not only fully God, but fully human as well.1

“Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:5-7 ESV).

“Our Lord emptied Himself, but the Father gave to His self-emptied Son the fullness of His Spirit. He did not cease to be God, but He became in all things human and was subject to such conditions as were possible to human nature possessed of His Spirit.”2

Fully GOD: “Jesus did not give up any of his divine attributes at the incarnation. He remained in full possession of all of them. For if he were to ever give up any of his divine attributes, he would cease being God.”3

Fully man: “He was not only a man in appearance and likeness, but in reality, having the same common nature, distinguished by the same specific differences, but united to his own eternally divine nature.”4 “Jesus did not cease to be fully human after the resurrection. He will be a man forever as he represents redeemed humanity for all of eternity.”5

[A]ll proceeds from the Father, through the Son, and is by the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit who formed Christ’s human nature, and directed the whole tenor of His earthly life. Nothing was undertaken but by the Spirit’s directing. The right use of the faculties of His soul owed their exercise to the Holy Spirit who fully controlled Him.6

Just as JESUS, the Son of Man navigated life on earth, so must I. “Jesus’ humanity means he is a true example and pattern for human character and conduct. ‘For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps’ (1 Per 2:21; cf. 1 John 2:6).”7

The two mysteries which exist in the manhood of Christ exist also in the ransomed soul; the presence of the Spirit, and the union with the Son of God. Each soul in grace is a partaker of the Divine Nature. The pure nature of Christ is the instrument of the Spirit in the soul. [T]ransformation of our nature is being accomplished, and His character gradually impressed.8

“The full flood of my life is in the perfect understanding of God and in the communion with Him that Jesus Himself had.”9

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ENDNOTES

(6) Fully GOD Fully Man

            1. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 18.

            2. Samuel Chadwick, The Way to Pentecost (Fort Washington, PA: CLC Publications, 2000, 2014) 79.

            3. Matt Perman, “How Can Jesus be Both God and Man?” 5 October 2006, desiringGod, 28 January 2021 https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-can-jesus-be-god-and-man.

            4. Thomas Coke, “Philippians 2:7,” 1801-1803, Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible. 18 January 2021 https://pro.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/tcc/philippians-2.html.

            5. The ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition, 2011) 2517.

            6. A. W. Pink, The Holy Spirit (Pensacola, FL: Mt. Zion Publications), http://www.mountzion.org, 32.

            7. The ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition, 2011) 2518.

            8. W. H. Hutchings, “Commentary on Ephesians 1:17,” 1905-1909, The Biblical Illustrator, 28 January 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/tbi/ephesians-1.html.

            9. Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (New York, NY: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1935, Fifty-fifth printing) August 31st.

            10. “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering” (Hebrews 2:10 ESV).

11. Isaac Watts, The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1997) 302. Oliver Holden, Hymn tune: Coronation, 1792.

            12. “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect . . .” (Hebrews 2:17 ESV).

            13. “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,” (Hebrews 2:11 ESV).

            14. “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things . . .” Hebrews 2:14 ESV).

15. Isaac Watts, The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts, Book 1, Hymn XVI, (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1997) 302. Oliver Holden, Hymn tune: Coronation, 1792.

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CHRIST TEACHES SUFFERING

“For us all—for you, tempted to interpret your afflictions as signals of wrath and your sins as seals of condemnation, your poverty as the mark of neglect, your seasons of darkness as token of desertion, and your doubts and fears as evidences of a false hope and of self-deception. For you, dear saint of God, Jesus was delivered up” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Dec 14th).

“[L]et no Christian call into question God’s love when he is brought under painful afflictions and trials. God did not enrich Christ on earth with temporal prosperity. But He [gave] Him the Spirit without measure (Jon 3:34). Learn that spiritual blessings are the principal gifts of divine love” Arthur W. Pink (ref#253, p10).

“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God” (1 Pet 4:1 ESV).

“Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. 1 Peter 2:21 “Christ teaches us how to live, and He also teaches us how to suffer. Because we live in a world of suffering and we need to be taught how to suffer, He teaches us how to suffer. The cross teaches us how to suffer—not only how to live morally and ethically, but how to suffer. ‘The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ come to us all: people misunderstanding us, injustices done to us, the failure of trusted friends, people letting us down, disappointments, loneliness, physical pain” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#189, April 30th).

“He that abides in Christ the Crucified One, learns to know what it is to be crucified with Him, and in Him to be indeed dead unto sin” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p199).

“He suffered for us; he calls us to be conformed to him in sufferings. He conquered in his own person, and he will make each of his members more than conquerors in due season” John Newton (ref#322, p182).