This study was first taught on June 18, 2013

Topic: The Essence of the Holy Spirit In Our Lives (6.1): The Work of Grace

(use the audio to study)

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Background
Last week, we saw that the devil’s success rate in bringing about the fall of the believer in Christ through temptation is made possible by the continued existence of the believer’s old desires for fame and gain; for worldly pleasures; for convenience and comfort; to live and not die; and, to enjoy and not suffer. And so long as these desires remain in the believer in Christ, so long will he be drawn to, and entice by, the devil through temptation, which seeks to get the believer to live contrary to God, and so end up in hell with the devil! We also saw that the continued survival of the old desires of the believer in Christ is responsible for the failing of the believer when he is tested by God. Our focus therefore must be to ensure that the flesh and its passion and desires, are crucified, mortified, and swallowed up by the desires of God. And since God cannot be tempted to do evil, so also, the believer in Christ, whose old desires have been swallowed up by God’s desires, cannot yield to temptation.

When temptation engages in intercourse with the yet-to-be-crucified desire of the believer in Christ, sin is born, and which mature, it leads to death in eternity! Similarly, if God were to test a believer, whose desires are yet to be crucified, the believer fails the test, and falls into the hands of the devil because he is still mindful of the things of the flesh and its concerns. The way to deal with the problem therefore, is to cut away, the flesh and its passion and desires, in what is known as the “circumcision of the flesh”. The circumcision of the flesh, is the ‘cutting off’ of that part of man that desires to sin and do evil, and rids the believer in Christ of things that can defile him, and the things that do not glorify God in his life. This circumcision is not a physical one, but one done by the Lord, through the Holy Spirit—a work of grace, also known as sanctification—and it enables the believer to obey God and His word regardless of the circumstance or condition he finds himself. As a result, the believer passes God’s test, and overcomes temptation.

Sanctification is thus what makes the believer in Christ to be fruitful; to endure trials and tribulations; to overcome temptation; and, to succeed in the proving of God! Therefore, the sanctified believer in Christ is not concerned with whether or not a situation is one of trial and tribulation, temptation or testing; all that matters to him, is doing the will of God and obeying Him!

Scripture Text(s)
2 Peter 1:1-11
Tonight, we read a portion of an important letter written to all believers in Christ (through Simon Peter) by the Holy Spirit. This portion of the letter can be summarised as, the greeting (v.1-2), the bestowals of the power of God (v.3-4), the supplies needed to make our faith living and not dead (v.5-7), and the joy of diligence in our walk with God (v.8-11). We shall leave out the greetings and focus on the other aspects of the summary of the portion of the letter. May the Lord grant us the grace to fully comprehend what the Holy Spirit is working in us, in Jesus' name, Amen.
The power of God has bestowed on all believers, the things that are needful to live a full and godly life, as well as promises that are exceedingly great (beyond human comprehension) and precious (of greater value than any valuable thing on earth)! By these bestowals, the believer is made ready for fruitfulness.
1 Corinthians 1:24; Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 1:18; Romans 1:16; James 1:21; Acts 8:9-10; 1:8; 10:38; Proverbs 24:3-4; John 10:10; 17:3; Jeremiah 9:23-24; Philippians 3:4-10; Galatians 4:1-11; Proverbs 9:10; Job 28:28; 2 Timothy 2:19; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 2:3-6; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 John 2:25; Hebrews 8:10-12; 10:35-39; 6:9-20; 1 John 3:9-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 23; 2 Corinthians 1:19-20.

Conclusion
The bestowal of all that pertains to life and godliness, and of the promises which are exceeding great and precious, are a work of grace which the Holy Spirit does in the life of every believer in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the power of God, does everything that is needful for the believer to have all that He (Christ) has prepared for Him, through the Holy Spirit, and the word of God (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15). The Holy Spirit is Himself, the power of God in operation in the life of every believer in Christ, as well as the greatest and most precious of the promises of God to the New Testament believer! The word of God is also the power of God that brings about the salvation of souls, as well as the means of conveying the promises of God to the believer.

But for all that has been bestowed on the believer in Christ, he will not be able to experience that full and godly life, unless he has an intimate and experiential knowledge of God. This knowledge of God, which must be borne out of a relationship occasioned by the saving grace of Christ, and constant fellowship with God, is the very essence of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer—bringing the believer to the true worship of God; hatred of, and departure from evil; and, obedience to God and His word. Furthermore, God’s exceeding great and precious promises is an assurance to the believer that he indeed has the nature of God in him, and will doubtless escape the corruption of the world and its consequences through sinful desires, because God’s promises are His word, and find expression and experience in Christ Jesus—the eternal “Yes”!

All these (holiness, glory and virtue, Christ-likeness, escape from corruption of the world, etc.) are the work of grace, and, the first step in the plan of God for you! The next stage of God’s plan is the subject of next week’s study, and must be present if step one is to be meaningful. May we ask, at this time, that you give thanks to God for His work of grace which you do not deserve, but which He did anyway; and also, that His work of grace will be manifest in your life.

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