Deeper Life in the Spirit
Preface
The message of the Deeper Life in the Spirit
soars on wings to heights far too lofty to be seen by many
modern-day Christians whose consecration is shallow and whose
vision seldom reaches into the highest heavens. Jesus' call to total
commitment and His emphasis upon the crucified life will
seem far too demanding and mystical, if not in fact impossible,
for the followers of popular religion, to whom the term
"discipleship" has lost all real meaning. Indeed, the
cultivation of the inner life, devotion to such disciplines as
sincere prayer and fasting, the serious study and practical
application of the teachings of Christ to everyday life, are
things too tedious and impractical to be given serious
consideration by contemporary, institutional Christianity with
its devotion to externalism and emphasis upon religious activism.
A Church which long ago left its first love and in whose heart
the fire of the Holy Spirit has gone out will not feel at ease in
the company of those saints who advocate the need of a new
baptism of power from on high, and a return to the apostolic
message, faith, and practice.
A message of holiness and
crucifixion of the self-life is still as unwelcome at present as
when first advocated by Christ and the apostles, who insisted
this to be the ultimate goal of the Christian experience. But for
an increasing number of those saints who are being brought into
higher realms of experience and truth by the Spirit now at the
consummation of the age, the present-day outpouring of the Holy
Spirit in fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, and the renewed
emphasis upon the Spirit-filled life, come as refreshing rain in
the midst of a dry wilderness.
— Hobart E. Freeman. 1970
Introduction
What exactly is meant by the Deeper Life in the
Spirit? As
God in this present hour is pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh, fulfilling
the prophecy of Joel 2:28-29, thousands of believers are discovering that there
is a deeper experience with God after salvation, namely, the baptism in the
Holy Spirit. Yet, astonishingly few Christians, including most who have
received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, have the remotest idea what is meant
by the deeper life in the Spirit. While countless thousands in all
denominations have experienced the reality of the promise in Acts 2:38-39, it
comes as a surprise to most of them to learn, after they have received this
experience, that they still have not attained God's highest purpose for them.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is, in reality, the "means" to a
greater spiritual experience—the fullness of God Himself (Ephesians 3:19). The
deeper life in the Spirit is the Spirit-led life (Romans 8; Galatians 5:16-25);
it is the crucified life (Galatians 2:20); it is a life of total faith in and
dependence upon God (Matthew 6:33); and it is the Spirit-filled believer's
growth "unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13).
How is this deeper life in the Spirit to be
attained? The subject will be more fully discussed in the following chapters
where it will be shown that the message of the deeper life is basically the
message of the cross. The way into the deeper life in the Spirit is the way of
the cross. It means to take up the cross and follow Jesus. In a word, it is the
death of the self-life. God, in this hour, is calling a people to walk on a
higher spiritual level than they have ever experienced before, and He is
offering them nothing less than the fullness of Himself! The deeper life is
walking in the Spirit in total commitment as disciples. The future goal is the
fullness of God.
More and more disciples who have entered into the glorious experience
of the baptism of the Holy Spirit are now being brought by the Spirit into a
place of the crucifixion and death of "self." This is the essential
condition to receiving the fullness of God, because to whatever extent one is
filled with "self," he cannot be filled with the presence of God. The
deeper life in the Spirit is not some mere doctrine to be studied with the
intellect, discussed, and then forgotten; but it is a real experience with
Christ, as the Holy Spirit brings us into conformity to the death of Christ, so
that His resurrection life and power may be manifested fully in us. This is the
message of the hour. God is at this very moment preparing a body of believers
which He intends to bring into the fullness of Himself. They will experience the
fullness of Christ's resurrection life and power and be used to fulfill His
glorious purposes in the restoration of all things now at the consummation of
the age (Acts 3:21). For those who are unfamiliar with this great truth we
suggest a reading at this point of some of the more significant passages
dealing with the deeper life: Matthew 5:1-7:29; 20:25-28; Mark 11:22-24; Luke
9:57-62; 14:25-35; Romans 8; 12:1-2; Galatians 2:20; 5:16-25; 6:14; Ephesians
3:1-19; 4:7-16; Philippians 2:5-8; 3:10; Colossians 3; I Peter 2:19-23; 4:1-16;
Revelation 2:1-3:22.
The present age is characterized by two evils affecting both
the secular and religious spheres of life. One concerns moral discernment; the
other involves moral authority. The spiritual and moral character of the
present age shows how far conditions have deteriorated. At this point, the only
solution, as well as the greatest need of Christianity, is the restoration of
the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in the church. This is not to be
construed as some sort of mystical empowering of the present religious
institution, whereby its current programs, organization, and methods are made
more effective. The need is for a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit by
individual Christians in an experience identical to that received by the
disciples at Pentecost.
To compensate for its lack of power and effectiveness
against the present-day flood of wickedness and unbelief, the church has turned
to such substitutes as increased religious activity, new methods, dynamic
programs, and the merger of denominations in order to multiply its membership
and increase its outreach. However sincere the effort may be on the part of
some, all such attempts are destined to fail, just as they have in the past.
Man cannot restore life to the body by means of artificial respiration when the
spirit has departed, for "the body without the spirit is dead" (James
2:26). Only an effusion of power from on high within the lives of Christians
themselves can deliver the contemporary Laodicean church from the moral and
spiritual chaos affecting the whole of mankind in this hour.
1. Moral And
spiritual characteristics of our age.
The imperative need of the restoration of the
sovereign operation and ministry of the Holy Spirit once more in the church
will be seen, we believe, from the following discussion of the two moral and
spiritual characteristics of the age in which we live.
a. It
is an age without moral and spiritual discernment.
Although the present age has been described by some
observers as an age of scientific progress, human achievement, and tremendous
advancements into new frontiers of technology, it may, from a moral standpoint
at least, be more accurately described as an age of moral and spiritual crisis.
This
is reflected in such things as the phenomenal increase in crime, war, and drug
addiction, the almost universal preoccupation with sex, the general disregard
for authority, the great social upheavals and racial strife, and the almost
abysmal lack of moral understanding and concern on every hand. We find
ourselves living in an age analogous to the dark ages of the Judges when
"every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).
The great apostasy of our day and the perilous times in which we live were
foretold by the Apostle Paul as characterizing the last days:
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.
– II Timothy 3:1-5
Truly it is an age when men and
women, in many respects, seem to have lost the capacity for moral discernment,
calling darkness light and evil good, as was true of Israel in Isaiah's time
when he declared, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that
put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and
sweet for bitter" (Isaiah 5:20).
As in the period of the Judges, young and
old alike consider themselves adequate authorities in spiritual and moral
matters, judging what is right and wrong, scorning all attempts at instruction
or restraint as outmoded "authoritarianism." The carefree moral
philosophy of today is conformity and compromise. It is a time when, even among
professing Christians, being "accepted" by the group seems to be more
important than being accepted by God. The distinction between the sacred and
the secular is rapidly becoming more difficult to discern; there is a loss of a
sense of reverence toward God and sacred things; the concept of holiness in the
life and character of the Christian is for the most part a thing of the past;
and a lack of respect for parents and authority by the younger generation is
reflected in a lack of respect for and fear of God. Within Christendom itself the
church and family as the center of interest has been largely replaced with
secular interests, and the once quiet Christian home is now monopolized by TV
and rock music. Two global conflicts in this century, together with the
constant turmoil, world-wide unrest, confusion, and uncertainty about the
future have taken their toll, resulting in moral decay, increased drunkenness,
divorce, juvenile delinquency, crime, and a loss of spiritual concern. Modern
scientific and technological achievements, in spite of their beneficial
results, have only added to the problem. They have placed at our disposal
hundreds of improvements to save time and make life easier, but have provided
thereby more time for development of the secular life, leisure, pleasure, and
sin.
b. It
is an age without moral and spiritual authority.
The prevailing moral
philosophy of this age can be characterized by three words: everything is
relative. Morals are relative to time, place, and circumstance. Conduct is
largely determined by the principle "when in Rome do as the Romans
do," and "right" is now defined as whatever is popular and
acceptable by the majority, The erroneous notion that "the end justifies
the means" frequently prevails both inside and outside the confines of
Christendom. "Truth" and "right" are whatever work and
produce results; failure is wrong and cannot be tolerated. Conscience is
explained as merely the childhood memory of the "do" and
"don't" of one's parents; so-called sins are written off as
"mistakes" or "errors in judgment" in our evolution to a
higher morality; and pleasure and happiness are seen as good ends in
themselves, to be pursued for their own sakes.
What is responsible for such
moral and spiritual confusion? For the majority at least, there is no longer an
objective moral authority to guide their lives and conduct, to teach them
truth, to indicate the difference between right and wrong, or to establish a
standard. In this age of materialism and skepticism, men have lost faith in the
integrity of the Holy Scriptures, and there remains, therefore, no reliable,
unchanging standard of right by which to measure conduct and character. Moral conduct is largely
determined by the principle of expediency. Without an infallible, objective
moral standard (the Word of God), the principle of expediency reigns. If it
works, if it relieves pain or displeasure, and if it promotes one's welfare and
happiness, then it is right, Too often the contemporary church, denying the
inerrancy of Scripture and influenced by the principle of expediency, asks but
one question in conducting its affairs, in securing its funds, or in promoting
its programs and institutions: "Will it work?" As a result, the
church, more and more, has come to resemble the secular community in which it
exists, reflecting its customs, attitudes, and moral values, rather than being
seen as the moral and spiritual influence upon the community. Moreover, it has
become increasingly indifferent to the moral declension, decay, and spiritual
shallowness within its own confines, and as a consequence, can no longer speak
with moral and spiritual authority to the community at large.
What is the
solution, in an age without spiritual discernment and authority, for those who
possess a measure of spiritual awareness and concern, and who desire to walk in
the ways of truth and faithfulness? God Himself has provided the answer to the
dilemma, thereby enabling the sincere Christian to rediscover the
distinctiveness of his calling to be the "salt of the earth" and
"light of the world." The move of the Spirit of God throughout the
world today, as God pours out His Spirit in fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, is
Heaven's answer to man's spiritual need now at the end of the age.
2. Significance
of the present-day outpouring.
The significance of the present-day charismatic
revival and outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon believers in all denominations
throughout the world may be summarized as follows:
It is God's answer to
Jesus' prayer in John 17, "that they all may be one." This is not an
organizational oneness promoted by ecclesiastical leaders, but a oneness of
love and purpose in the Spirit. Through the experience of the baptism in the
Holy Spirit, God is gathering the divided, scattered members of His body,
separated by doctrine, traditions, misunderstanding, fear, and distrust, and
uniting them once more in a bond of love. What the religious leaders are
attempting to do by organizational mergers, God is doing by His Holy Spirit.
When the church lost the reality of the experience of the baptism in the Holy
Spirit, it lost its one true unifying force, and the body of Christ, as an
inevitable consequence, became divided. But those who receive the baptism in
the Holy Spirit can testify that an immediate effect in their lives is the
restoration of a spirit of love and true oneness with all saints everywhere.
The present outpouring of the Holy Spirit is also God's answer for the Laodicean state of the contemporary church, a church which has the form of godliness, but denies the power thereof. Where the Holy Spirit has been invited to return, a charismatic revival is taking place: the gifts of the Spirit are being restored (1 Corinthians 12), the signs are following the preaching of the Word once again (Mark 16:17-18), and the supernatural character of the gospel is once more being demonstrated.
The great moving of the Spirit of God over the world in this hour is also God's reply to the great demonic flood sweeping throughout the world in preparation for the reign of Antichrist. We are witnessing a fantastic increase in Satanic wickedness and influence in the form of crime, sexual perversions, suicide, wars, fear, anxiety, divorce, physical and mental illnesses, drug and alcohol addiction, racial strife, hate, deceit, skepticism, and moral decay, as well as the spread of spiritualism and a phenomenal increase in occultism of all forms.
As the Apostle Paul has shown, the believer's warfare is not against flesh and blood, nor is he contending merely with contemporary secular and materialistic philosophies, but against the spirit of this world (Ephesians 6:10-12). This is the precise reason men and their methods of reform have failed and will fail to promote world peace, check the increase in crime and moral decay, or stem the tide of social unrest. The need of the hour is for Christians to experience once more a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit, and to rediscover His blessed ministry in their lives. Only He can bring the believer into a place of total consecration and the deeper life, so that he will be able to overcome the spirit of this age, to withstand in the evil day, and having done a& to stand. Never before in history has the church needed a baptism of power from on high more than at present, in an age without moral discernment or spiritual authority.