Deeper Life in the Spirit
Conclusion
The message of the deeper life in the Spirit is, as we have shown, the message of the cross: the crucifixion of the self-life. It is Jesus' call to total commitment and to the crucified Life; it means to walk in the Spirit along a five-fold pathway involving: yielding one's life to the Holy Spirit without reservation; self-emptying or the kenosis experience of Philippians 2; dying through the crucifixion of self, overcoming in all things; and following Jesus in full commitment as His disciple. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not, as many believe, an end in itself, but is only the doorway to a deeper spiritual experience with God. Now at the consummation of the age God is calling a people to walk on a higher spiritual level of faith and consecration than they have ever experienced before. Those who accept the message of the crucified life and submit themselves fully to Him are to be brought by the Spirit to the fullness of God Himself: "Unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Ephesians 3:19; 4:13). As they humbly yield themselves to the Spirit of truth, He will loose them more and more from their bondage of error and tradition, and will implant in their hearts the deeper-life principles of Jesus' teachings, especially as set forth in the Sermon on the Mount. God's ultimate purpose in bringing a body of saints into this deep place of consecration through trial and crucifixion is that they might be perfected and prepared for a great end-time ministry, when they shall be manifested to all creation as the matured sons of God, in the world-wide restoration of all things which is now at hand (Acts 3:21)