Samuel Chadwick

JESUS! In Word and Song

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WEEK 27

PENTECOST

Pentecost Sunday is a commemoration and celebration of the official birthday of the Christian church, marked by the receiving of the Holy Spirit by the early believers. Pentecost Sunday is observed on the seventh Sunday after Easter and ten days after Ascension.1

“[Y]ou will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5 ESV).

The effects are seen in the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost. Pentecost changed all their outlook. The Scriptures were made luminous in the light of the Holy Ghost. The change in their characters was even greater than the change in their knowledge. The Gospels portray these men as proud and contentious, selfish and cowardly; but the first pages of the Acts of the Apostles tell another story. Pentecost transformed them.2

Under the training of Christ the disciples had been led to feel their need of the Spirit. Under the Spirit’s teaching they received the final qualification, and went forth to their lifework. No longer were they ignorant and uncultured. No longer were they a collection of independent units or discordant, conflicting elements.3

“[L]et us recall and realize all the mighty and marvelous signs of this first Pentecost, and its instant and immediate results and effects; of conquered cowardice, of utterance, of courageous speech, of other tongues.”4

The preaching of the cross of Christ was the very center and heart of the message of the apostles. It was not the teaching of Christ, nor the example of Christ either. What they preached was His death on the cross and the meaning of that event.5

[T]hey were to proclaim to the world the truths entrusted to them. The events of Christ’s life, His death and resurrection, the prophecies pointing to these events, the mysteries of the plan of salvation, the power of Jesus for the remission of sins.6

“[T]he gospel must be proclaimed. The wonderful truth that through Christ alone could remission of sins be obtained, was to be made plain.”7

[W]e should read the writings of the New Testament as God’s very words, still living and powerful to speak to our hearts today with the authority of God himself. No other words spoken today can ever equal the words of Scripture itself in authority, in purity, or in power.8

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ENDNOTES

(27) Abiding Miracle

            1. Joe Carter, “9 Things You Should Know About the Christian Calendar,” 1 December 2019, The Gospel Coalition, 3 July 2021 https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-know-christian-calendar/.

            2. Samuel Chadwick, The Way to Pentecost (Fort Washington, PA: CLC Publications, 2000) 169-170.

            3. Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1911) 45.

            4. W.C. Doanne, “Commentary on Acts 1:2,” 1876, James Nisbet’s Church Pulpit Commentary, 16 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/acts/2-1.html#verse-cpc.

            5. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Walking With God Day by Day (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2003) April 2nd.

            6. Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1911) 27.

            7. White, 31-32.

            8. Wayne Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1988) 49.

            9. W.C. Doanne, “Commentary on Acts 1:2,” 1876, James Nisbet’s Church Pulpit Commentary, 16 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/acts/2-1.html#verse-cpc.

            10. Samuel Chadwick, The Way to Pentecost (Fort Washington, PA: CLC Publications, 2000) 35.

            11. Chadwick, 37.

            12. Chadwick, 40.

            13. Chadwick.

            14. Chadwick 43.

            15. W.C. Doanne, “Commentary on Acts 1:2,” 1876, James Nisbet’s Church Pulpit Commentary, 16 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/acts/2-1.html#verse-cpc.

            16. Alexander MacLaren, “Commentary on Acts 2:1,” Alexander MacLaren’s Expositions of Holy Scripture, 16 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mac/acts-2.html.

            17. MacLaren.

JESUS! In Word and Song

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WEEK 9

GRACED WITH SPIRIT

“God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10:38 ESV).

“And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom” (Luke 2:40 ESV).

“[Jesus] was continually filled with new degrees ‘of wisdom.’ [T]his growth was the peculiar work of the Holy Spirit.”1

Thus, JESUS as the Son of Man was “graced with the SPIRIT.” And I, once redeemed can say I am “graced with the SPIRIT.”

Jesus utilized all of the resources given to him in his humanity. He loved and meditated on God’s Word; he prayed to his Father; he trusted in the wisdom and rightness of his Father’s will and Word; and very significantly, he relied on the supernatural power of the Spirit to strengthen him to do all that he was called upon to do.2

“Christ at all times performed his preaching, worked his miracles, and yielded perfect obedience, in entire dependence upon the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.”3 “He was led of the Spirit, taught of the Spirit, and strengthened in the Spirit. He was constantly dependent upon the Spirit.”4 CHRIST did exactly what we are called to do.

Jesus’ humanity is an example for believers, as it has to do with how we live our lives. The Christian life should be an imitation of the life of Jesus. We are called to live our lives as He lived His. Just as Jesus was tempted, endured suffering, and faced hatred, so as Christians we will also face those things in the world.5

“Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” (1 Pet 2:21 ESV).

“Jesus’ life of obedience and faithfulness is an example to us when we face temptation since we have the same resources that Jesus relied on to fulfill His ministry: the Word of God, prayer, and the Holy Spirit.”6

“It is the Holy Spirit who also dwells in believers, thus creating, sustaining, and determining in them that life which is the life of Christ.”7

JESUS, coming from heaven to earth, was led by the SPIRIT to show earthlings the operations of His FATHER. Thus, He became our big brother—our example of how we can depend totally on the HOLY SPIRIT to live as our FATHER wishes. The SPIRIT changes us from stuck-in-the-mud-of-the-earth, GOD-hating, self-serving people to be fitted to carry out our FATHER’s desires.

“The Son of God became the Son of Man, that we, the sons of men, might become the children of God.”8

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ENDNOTES

(9) Graced With SPIRIT

            1. John Owen, “Work of the Holy Spirit in and on the Human Nature of Christ,” 2018, Monergism, 28 January 2021 https://www.monergism.com/work-holy-spirit-and-human-nature-christ.

            2. Bruce Ware, The Man Christ Jesus: Theological Reflections on the Humanity of Christ, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 84 quoted in Simon Turpin, “Why Did Jesus Take on a Human Nature?” 14 June 2016, Answers in Genesis, 28 January 2021 https://answersingenesis.org/jesus/why-did-jesus-take-on-a-human-nature/.

            3. G. I. Williamson, The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing Company, 1964, 2004) 100.

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

            5. Simon Turpin, “Why Did Jesus Take on a Human Nature?” 14 June 2016, Answers in Genesis, 28 January 2021 https://answersingenesis.org/jesus/why-did-jesus-take-on-a-human-nature/.

            6. Turpin.

            7. G. I. Williamson, The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing Company, 1964, 2004) 255.

            8. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Children of God, Life in Christ, Studies in 1 John (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993) 3:19.

            9. “And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.  He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge . . .” (Isaiah 11:3-4 ESV).

            10. “ . . . you were washed, you were sanctified . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV).

            11. “ . . . you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV).

            12. “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might . . .” (Isaiah 11:2 ESV).

            13.  “And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. . . .” (Isaiah 11:3 ESV).

JESUS! In Word and Song

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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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SOUL EXERCISE

Outward actions first, inward state of the heart second, No! Our outward actions cannot be correct if our heart remains unchanged.

“When we consider that soul exercise is a term which has almost passed out of our religious vocabulary and that more attention is paid to the outward actions of the Christian life than to the state of the heart, we cannot but come to the conclusion that vital godliness is at a low ebb” John Newton (ref#322, p11).

“He that rightly understands the Lord Jesus, understands how to have his guilt removed, his heart renewed, his conscience calmed, his soul secured. The better Christ is understood, the more the soul that understands Him is at rest” Nathanael Vincent (ref#225, July 23rd).

“The deep things are not discovered; they are received. They are not achieved; they are believed” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p108).

“Whereas false teaching results in meaningless speculation, proper apostolic teaching results in practical good behavior rooted in love. And that love must come for internal, Spirit-worked changes that have produced a pure heart (rather than one filled with sinful desires), a good conscience (rather than one laden with guilt), and a sincere faith (rather than pretense and hypocrisy)” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p2325).

“It is only when you understand the completeness of your justification (that your penalty has been paid and you have been made eternally right with God by the life and death of Jesus) that you are able to rest in the ongoing discipline of your sanctification. That discipline is not to make you right with God, but an expression of the fact that you have been made right with God, and because you have, you are not the object of his Fatherly love. You can expect his discipline, but you do not have to fear his anger. You will experience his correction, but you will never face his rejection. He disciplines all his children in order to produce a harvest of righteousness, but he will never punish you for your sin” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Nov 1st).

“’My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline then you are illegitimate children and not sons” (Heb 12:5-8 ESV).

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THE SPIRIT, OUR PROVISION

“Jesus cannot come as long as there is anything in the way either of goodness or badness. When He comes am I prepared for Him to drag into the light every wrong thing I have done? It is just here that He comes. Repentance does not bring a sense of sin, but a sense of unutterable unworthiness. ‘He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire.’ John does not speak of the baptism of the Holy Ghost as an experience, but as a work performed by Jesus Christ. ‘He shall baptize you.’ The only conscious experience those who are baptized with the Holy Ghost ever have is a sense of absolute unworthiness” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Aug 22nd).

“God has made provision for our holiness and He has also given us a responsibility for it. God’s provision for us consists in delivering us from the reign of sin, uniting us with Christ, and giving us the indwelling Holy Spirit to reveal sin, to create a desire for holiness, and to strengthen us in our pursuit of holiness. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and according to the new nature He gives, we are to put to death the misdeeds of the body” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p78).

“The saving work of the Spirit in the heart of God’s elect is a gradual and progressive one” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p78).

“It is not the work of the Spirit to tell you the meaning of Scripture, and give you the knowledge of divinity, without your own study and labour. To reject study on the pretense of the sufficiency of the Spirit, is to reject the Scripture itself” Richard Baxter (ref#225, July 22nd).

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom 8:16 ESV).

“Weakness is a reproach when such a might is at our service. Defeat is dishonor when the partnership of God is rejected” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p73).

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WHO THE SPIRIT IS

“The Third Person of the Holy Trinity agreed to sanctify the object of the Father’s eternal choice, and of the Son’s redemptive satisfaction” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p21).

“The Spirit sets apart God’s people into the sphere of the holy so that believers are now holy and righteous in their standing before God, and they grow in actual holiness in their lives” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p2405).

“The Spirit dwells in men, clothes Himself with consecrated humanity, and accomplishes extraordinary things through quite ordinary people on the simple conditions of abiding surrender, implicit obedience, and simple faith” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p66).

“[T]he gracious Holy Spirit pledged Himself to sanctify wretches, and frame and fit them to be partakers of holiness, and live forever in God’s spotless presence” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p21).

“[The Spirit] comes to the things that are weak and despised and dignifies them with His Glory. Before Glory comes, the church will have to elevate those things that are despised by the world, such as modesty, chastity, inner beauty, self-effacement, willingness to serve, and willingness to be in the background. These are the kinds of values the Holy Spirit is exalting” Bob Sorge (ref#197, p17).

“[The Spirit] clothes Himself with sanctified men and women. The Spirit of the Lord clothed Itself with Gideon (Judges 6:34), He did not come upon him like a garment, but the Spirit clothed Himself with Gideon as with a garment” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p54, 60).

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THE SPIRIT’S HELP IN SANCTIFICATION

“For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph 2:18-22 ESV).

“God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thes 2:13 ESV).

“[T]he Pentecostal gift of the Spirit is the gift of a God-possessed personality. The gift turns ordinary persons into extraordinary personalities” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p87).

“We are encompassed with innumerable sinful infirmities; we have a law in our members warring against the law of our mind, and bringing us into captivity to the law of sin in our members. We are constantly assailed by Satan, and as constantly liable to yield. Oh, with what power and constant acting of faith should we throw ourselves on the Spirit! How ceaselessly should we pray to Him with all supplication, imploring His guiding, teaching, sealing, and comforting grace to help us in every time of need” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Apr 12th).

“He put His own nature into us. [I]t is acting and manifesting and expressing itself by the Holy Ghost (Rom 5:5)” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#211, p17).

“[A]s the first man Adam was made in the image of God, so we, by the renewal of the Holy Spirit, are in a diviner sense made in the image of the Most High and are partakers of the divine nature” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Sept 16th AM)

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GOAL OF SANCTIFICATION

“It is God’s work, wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit who makes Christ our sanctification. Generally there is an awakening of heart and mind in which there comes vision and persuasion. There is a conviction of need and a revelation of grace, a hunger and a search, a process and a crisis, an act of faith and an assurance of cleansing. It is as distinctly a second work of grace as regeneration is a new birth” Smauel Chadwick (ref#195, p115-116).

“[T]his is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thes 4:3 ESV).

“[A Christian] is in a partnership with God, and he will reap its benefits only when he has fulfilled his own responsibilities. He cannot do what God must do, and God will not do what [He] should do. No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part. God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness. But He has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p9).

“[God] first ‘counsels and directs’ as to what is to be done, and then He ‘excites and effectually inclines’ to the doing thereof” Thomas Jacombe (ref#225, July 20th).

“The aim is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim 1:5 ESV).

“Weak, unskillful, and unfaithful, as I am in practice, the Lord has been pleased to give me some idea of what a Christian ought to be, and of what is actually attainable in the present life, by those whom he enables earnestly to aspire towards the prize of their high calling” John Newton (ref#322, p135).

“[W]hoever does what is true his works have been carried out by God” (John 3:21 ESV).

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INTRO TO SANCTIFICATION

Posts on the subject of “Sanctification” start today and will conclude in July, LORD willing. These posts are divided into three categories: (1) GOD’s work in my sanctification, (2) My work in my sanctification, and (3) Our work together in sanctification.

At the beginning of sanctification “Generally there is an awakening of heart and mind in which there comes vision and persuasion. There is a conviction of need and a revelation of grace, a hunger and a search, a process and a crisis an act of faith and an assurance of cleansing. It is as distinctly a second work of grace as regeneration is a new birth” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p116).

“[V]ast pieces of your existence are out of your control, beyond your power to alter. But you must not conclude that your life is out of control. Because your story is woven into the fabric of the redemption story, there is meaning, purpose, and direction to every part of it.  The inertia of redemption carries your story along. The goal of redemption guarantees your destiny. The future grace of eternity secures for you all the grace you will ever need in between. No, you won’t understand all that you face, and yes, God’s will will confuse you at points, but your story has been infused with meaning and purpose because it’s been included in God’s story of redemption and restoration. He rules over all things so that his grace can finish its work in you unabated” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Nov. 8th).

“God’s tender love for His servants makes Him concerned for the state of their emotions. [O]ur Master would not have us entangled with fears. He wants us to be free of cares, doubts, and cowardice. Our Master takes our unbelief more seriously than we do. When we are despondent, we are subject to a grievous disease that should not be ignored, but should be taken immediately to the Beloved Physician” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, May 11th PM).

“Be most engaged in those experiences that have proven to draw you nearest to Christ, because it is from Him that all your fruit proceeds. Any holy exercise that will bring you to Him will help you to bear fruit” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Nov 13th AM).

“God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears” (Phil 1:3-6 MSG).

Instruct our minds; our wills subdue;

To heaven our passions raise;

That hence our lives, our all may be

Devoted to thy praise” B. Beddome (ref#224, song #434).

TRUE CHRISTIAN OR FAUX?

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FANATICISM

“Rightly did Jonathan Edwards affirm, ‘Many have been the mischiefs that have arisen from that false and delusory notion of the witness of the Spirit, that it is a kind of inward voice, suggestion, or revelation from God to man, that he is beloved of Him, and that his sins are pardoned—sometimes accompanied with, sometimes without, a text of Scripture; and many have been the false and vain (though very high) affections that have arisen from hence.  It is to be feared that multitudes of souls have been eternally undone by it.’  Especially was this so in the past, when fanaticism made much of the Spirit witnessing to souls” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p138).

Samuel Chadwick defines this as ‘will-worship.”  “…a kind of will-worship, by which man substitutes his own enthusiasms for the will of God” (ref#195, p126).  These thoughts came from a spirit all right, but it was an unholy spirit and not the HOLY SPIRIT.

“…They tripped over what little they knew about him [JESUS] and fell, sprawling….” (Mark 6:3 MSG).

“He who is seldom with Jesus in private will only exhibit, in all that he does for Jesus publicly, the fitful movements of a mind urged on by a feverish and unnatural excitement” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, May 17th).

“Man-made enthusiasm and emotionalism is superficial and cheap.  In real revival emotion is not produced or manipulated by man.  It is a response to the unsought, unexpected, but powerful working of God’s Spirit upon the inner depths of people’s souls” Wesley Duewel (ref#341, p12).