Chapter 42—Silent Working of the Holy Spirit
The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the
old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin,
and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about only by
the effectual working of the Holy Spirit.
Nicodemus was still perplexed, and Jesus used the wind to illustrate
His meaning: “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
The wind is heard among the branches of the trees, rustling the
leaves and flowers; yet it is invisible, and no man knows whence it
comes or whither it goes. So with the work of the Holy Spirit upon
the heart. It can no more be explained than can the movements of
the wind. A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place,
or to trace all the circumstances in the process of conversion; but
this does not prove him to be unconverted. By an agency as unseen
as the wind, Christ is constantly working upon the heart. Little by
little, perhaps unconsciously to the receiver, impressions are made
that tend to draw the soul to Christ. These may be received through
meditating upon Him, through reading the Scriptures, or through
hearing the word from the living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit
comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders itself to
[158] Jesus. By many this is called sudden conversion; but it is the result
of long wooing by the Spirit of God,—a patient, protracted process.
While the wind is itself invisible, it produces effects that are seen
and felt. So the work of the Spirit upon the soul will reveal itself
in every act of him who has felt its saving power. When the Spirit
of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful
thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and
peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place
of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven. No
one sees the hand that lifts the burden, or beholds the light descend
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from the courts above. The blessing comes when, by faith, the soul
surrenders itself to God....
It is impossible for finite minds to comprehend the work of
redemption. Its mystery exceeds human knowledge; yet he who
passes from death to life realizes that it is a divine reality. The
beginning of redemption we may know here through a personal
experience. Its results reach through the eternal ages.—The Desire
of Ages, 172, 173.
Evidence of Divine Aid
If you have a sense of need in your soul, if you hunger and thirst
after righteousness, this is an evidence that Christ has wrought upon
your heart in order that He may be sought unto to do for you, through
the endowment of the Holy Spirit, those things which it is impossible
for you to do for yourself.—Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing,
19. [159]
Chapter 43—The Indwelling Christ
If we are rooted and grounded in love, we shall be “able to
comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth
knowledge.” O precious possibilities and encouragement! In the
human heart cleansed from all moral impurity dwells the precious
Saviour, ennobling, sanctifying the whole nature, and making the
man a temple for the Holy Spirit....
His Response to Our Faith
We are abiding in Christ by a living faith. He is abiding in our
hearts by our individual appropriating of faith. We have the companionship
of the divine presence, and as we realize this presence
our thoughts are brought into captivity to Jesus Christ. Our spiritual
exercises are in accordance with the vividness of our sense of this
companionship. Enoch walked with God in this way; and Christ
is dwelling in our hearts by faith when we will consider what He
is to us, and what a work He has wrought out for us in the plan of
redemption. We shall be most happy in cultivating a sense of this
great gift of God to our world and to us personally.
These thoughts have a controlling power upon the whole character.
I want to impress upon your mind that you may have a divine
companion with you, if you will, always. “And what agreement hath
[160] the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living
God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I
will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Molded by His Love
As the mind dwells upon Christ, the character is molded after
the divine similitude. The thoughts are pervaded with a sense of His
goodness, His love. We contemplate His character, and thus He is in
all our thoughts. His love encloses us. If we gaze even a moment
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upon the sun in its meridian glory, when we turn away our eyes the
image of the sun will appear in everything upon which we look.
Thus it is when we behold Jesus; everything we look upon reflects
His image, the Sun of Righteousness. We cannot see anything
else, or talk of anything else. His image is imprinted upon the eye
of the soul, and affects every portion of our daily life, softening
and subduing our whole nature. By beholding, we are conformed
to the divine similitude, even the likeness of Christ. To all with
whom we associate we reflect the bright and cheerful beams of His
righteousness. We have become transformed in character; for heart,
soul, mind, are irradiated by the reflection of Him who loved us and
gave Himself for us. Here again there is the realization of a personal,
living influence dwelling in our hearts by faith.
When His words of instruction have been received, and have
taken possession of us, Jesus is to us an abiding presence, controlling
our thoughts and ideas and actions. We are imbued with the
instruction of the greatest teacher the world ever knew. A sense of [161]
human accountability and of human influence, gives character to our
views of life and of daily duties.
Jesus Christ is everything to us,—the first, the last, the best in
everything. Jesus Christ, His Spirit, His character, colors everything;
it is the warp and woof, the very texture of our entire being. The
words of Christ are spirit and life. We cannot, then, center our
thoughts upon self; it is no more we that live, but Christ that liveth
in us, and He is the hope of glory. Self is dead, but Christ is a
living Saviour. Continuing to look unto Jesus, we reflect His image
to all around us. We cannot stop to consider our disappointments,
or even to talk of them; for a more pleasant picture attracts our
sight,—the precious love of Jesus. He dwells in us by the word of
truth.—Testimonies to Ministers, 387-390.
The Pearl of Great Price
We are to give ourselves to Christ, to live a life of willing obedience
to all His requirements. All that we are, all the talents and
capabilities we possess, are the Lord’s to be consecrated to His service.
When we thus give ourselves wholly to Him, Christ, with all
146 Messages to Young People
the treasures of heaven, gives Himself to us. We obtain the pearl of
[162] great price.—Christ’s Object Lessons, 116.
