Well last week we were looking
at the end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2 of Philippians,
and there was an exhortation to live by gospel precepts, that
the people of God, the believers at Philippi, should live by gospel
precepts. And he summarizes this in verse
27 of chapter 1, only let your conversation be as it becometh
the gospel of Christ, that matches the gospel of Christ. He wants
to hear that they've been standing fast in one spirit, with one
mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel of grace. Standing solidly, standing together,
united for the faith of the gospel. And in the early verses of chapter
2, the first four verses, he encourages unity. He encourages,
based on the blessings of the gospel, he encourages unity.
He encourages selflessness, self-abasement, humility, esteem for others. Let each esteem other more highly
than himself. He encourages care for others,
which are the natural outworking of the gospel of grace in the
heart of the believer. It's the natural outworking of
that new man of the Spirit of God. Now, why does he do this? Why does he encourage living
by gospel precepts? if it's because of the law, if
it's because the law is the believer's rule of life as so many maintain,
if that was the case, wouldn't you think that here and other
places in the epistles, but especially here, surely Paul would use the
law to say you should live by these gospel precepts, you should
live in this particular way, you should bear this fruit of
the Spirit. If it was the law that was the
believer's rule of life, surely here Paul would apply to the
law and say look what the law says. He would say, you're constrained. He would say, look what the law
threatens if you don't obey it. Look at the loss that the law
threatens. Look at the promises of rewards that the law promises. If you do obey, surely then he
would use the law. But he doesn't. He never does. Paul never does. The way God
transforms the attitudes and behavior of his people is not
by constraint of law. It's not by compelling. Who are
the best workers? Who are the best soldiers? Who
are the best in any situation? Is it not always those who have
volunteered rather than those who have been forced into it?
Isn't it? Volunteers. rather than pressed
men. That's what the military always
will tell you that they want. Give me five volunteers rather
than fifty pressed men any day because they want to do it. They
want to do it. Why do they want to do it? Why
do God's people want to live for Christ? Why do God's people
want to do that? Why are they volunteers in the
army of God? Why are they volunteers? Because
He makes them willing. He gives them that volunteering
spirit. He does it. Why volunteers? Because
their hearts have been changed. Their desires have been changed.
There's ownership. God calls his people my sheep
and his people call him my God. My God. my lord and my god. There's ownership. It's the same
in all things, isn't it? My garden is my garden. You know,
I'm not saying this out of kind of a selfish attitude, but it's
my garden. You don't need to compel me to
do it. In fact, the very opposite. Ask
my wife. You need to compel me to stop at times because I love
it so much. It's mine. I'm a volunteer. I'm
not a press man when it comes to doing those things. I do it
because I love doing it. Think about anything else. Think
about your wife, your husband, where there's love involved. It's not compulsion, it's not
the constraint of law, it's the volunteering of love. My children,
think what you wouldn't do for your children. Think what you,
honestly, you parents and grandparents, what you wouldn't do for them. Because you're not a hireling,
You know, Jesus talks about the shepherd and the sheep, and he
says, the hireling, the one who's hired and paid to do the job
of looking after the sheep, when the wolf comes, the hireling
thinks, well, these are not mine, I don't care about them, and
he's off. But the one who owns the sheep, oh no. He'll make
sure the wolf doesn't get them. Ownership. You see? This is the
motivation. Made volunteers, made willing
in the day of God's power. Motivated by looking unto Jesus,
which is what Paul at the end of Hebrews chapter 12. Let's
run this race that is set before us, surrounded by so great a
cloud of witnesses who by faith did such things in the name of
the gospel of grace. Motivated. He says therefore
let's run this race. How? looking unto Jesus. Not constrained by law. Wouldn't
it say it there? Those who maintain the law as
the believer's rule of life, and that's why we have to obey
it, and so on and so forth. Wouldn't it say there that that's
how we run the race? Constrained by... No, it says
looking unto Jesus, running the race with patience, looking unto
him. So, child of God, I'm talking
to God's children this morning. If such you are, let's follow
Paul in looking for a moment at Christ, our motivation. I
know these verses are very, very well known, but they bear looking
at again. Verses 5 to 11. Christ, our motivation. Christ, the motivation of the
new man of God, that's born of the Spirit of God, in the child
of God. When the wind blows where it
listeth, the Spirit of God comes and implants a new life in that
child of God. that makes them alert, gives
them spiritual discernment, causes them to see things by faith,
saved by grace, through faith, but that not of themselves, the
gift of God, to see the things of God. Let's look, let's look. Verse five, let this mind be
in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Let this mind, what's
the mind he's talking about? It's the mind of Christ. Paul
talks about that in 2nd Corinthians I think it is, no 1st Corinthians.
1st Corinthians chapter 3 I think. We have the mind of Christ. We
have the mind, we're going to look at it in a minute. Chapter
2, the end. Let, he says, let, allow, not by fleshly improvement,
but by God's spirit working within. Let the mind of Christ be in
you. Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ. Turn to 1st Corinthians chapter
2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Let's look at some verses together
here. From verse 5. And I know it's not many weeks
since we looked at these, but they'll bear a reminder. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse
5. That your faith Why do you believe? That your faith should not stand
in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. For the gospel
of God's grace is the power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believes. How be it, verse 6, we speak
wisdom among them that are perfect, yet so What he's saying is that
this gospel wisdom we speak is amongst those who's perfect,
not this flesh but the new man of the Spirit of God that cannot
sin, that God has planted within. We speak this wisdom amongst
those that have an ability because of that perfection that comes
from God to see these things, yet not the wisdom of this world,
nor of the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world
that come to note. Whatever the world tries to do,
or thinks, or aspires to, will all come to nothing. But we speak
the wisdom of God in a mystery. even the hidden wisdom, which
God ordained before the world unto our glory. This is why the
natural man cannot understand these things. It's a hidden mystery,
which none of the princes of this world knew, for had they
known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.
But as it is written, I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him. These are things that the man
of the Spirit of God sees, eternal things that God has prepared
for them that love him. God hath revealed them unto us
by his Spirit. God's revealed, that you know,
if you know anything of salvation, and of eternal truth, and of
the things of God, there's only one way you know it, God has
revealed it to you, by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. The Spirit knows the
things of God, and that Spirit must reveal them to you, if you're
to know any of them. For what man knoweth the things
of a man? Do I know the things that are
going on in any of your heads at the moment? No, I don't. The
only one that knows what's going on in your head at the moment
is you. It's only the spirit of the man which is in him that
knows those things. Even so, the things of God, it's
the spirit of God that knows those things and reveals them
to his people. The things of God, no man naturally
knows them, but the spirit of God. Now, verse 12, we have received,
not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God.
We've received it. by a gracious gift from Him,
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of
God, which things also we speak, not in the words which man's
wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth." You see
how different this is to a fleshly, worldly view of religion? You
know, it's not by head knowledge doctrine, It's in the heart,
by the Spirit. Comparing spiritual things with
spiritual. This is what the Holy Ghost teacheth.
But the natural man, verse 14, you know this verse well. The
natural man receiveth not. Doesn't receive the things of
the Spirit of God. They're foolishness to him. It's
as much like the case that someone who has never had the sense of
sight can never appreciate what a beautiful scene looks like.
You know, they can appreciate lots of other things, but that
they can never appreciate. It's foolishness to them. Neither
can he know them, because they're spiritually discerned. But he
that is spiritual, he that has this new man, judgeth, discerneth
all things. Yet he himself is judged, understood,
of no man. This is it. Is this not the experience
of the child of God? If you are a child of God and
you have this gift from the Spirit of God, you discern spiritual
things that the natural man cannot discern. But you're not understood
by anybody in the world. For who has known the mind of
the Lord that he may instruct him? Come on, who's known them? God's thoughts are so much higher
than our thoughts and his ways than ours. But, with this man
from the Spirit of God within, Paul says, we have the mind of
Christ. We have the mind of Christ. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ. This mind, these thoughts, this,
it's not the right term but I can't think of a better one, this philosophy
of the heaven-born man. Let this be in you. Paul's not
speaking to the flesh. He's not speaking to the flesh
to whip it into line to cause it to improve. He's rather speaking
to the Spirit, which is from God on high, exhorting the new
man to subdue the old man. This is what is exhorting, as
only a new man can. It's only the new man that can
subdue the old man, that can constrain the old man and the
old flesh. But what will motivate this new
man? Is it law that will do it? can't
threaten the new man with any loss, can you? The new man of
the Spirit of God that's planted with it, you cannot threaten
the new man with any loss, salvation's finished. Christ has finished
it. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit. You can't threaten the new man
of the Spirit of God with any loss, What's gonna motivate? What's gonna constrain? You cannot
promise any more reward than the new man of the Spirit of
God already has. For what did God say to Abraham?
He says it to all of his people. He says, Abraham, I am your exceeding
great reward. What more reward? When you've
got everything, if you've got God, if you've got God in Christ,
you've got everything. What more could he reward you
with? He's rewarded his people with everything. No, he says,
Look with me at Christ, our forerunner. This is what Paul is saying here.
Look with me at Christ, our forerunner. He is the author. He is the one
who started. He is the one who initiated your
faith. He is the one who saved you by his sovereign choice.
He is the one who will finish it. I and the children that he
has given me. Behold, as he brings his people
finally into heaven, into that eternal state. He's the author
and finisher of our faith. And look what it cost him to
do that. Look, new man of the Spirit of God, look, new man
if there is one within, look at what it cost. Look at what
it cost. See how precious it is that he
has accomplished for you. Look at it, the ultimate self-denial. Look, who being in the form of
God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, being in every way God. He is God. He was there in eternity
with his Father in the form of God. He took nothing away from
God that was not rightfully his. It wasn't robbery that he took
anything away from God in being in the form of God. Thought it
not robbery to be equal with God? But what did he do? that
God's justice might be maintained, and at the same time justify
those upon whom he had set his love in gracious salvation. He
made himself of no reputation. He who was above everything,
very God of very God, in perfect, blissful union with the Father
and the Spirit, made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant a servant. Can you imagine, you know, let's
think, you know, member of the royal family. I mean, I love
the way the younger princes have served their time in the armed
forces and they've just been just ordinary troops and they've
been subject to the discipline of the army and the forces and
they've done, that's really good. Taking the form of a servant. Imagine Imagine the heir to the
throne, Prince Charles, and we always see him smartly dressed
because that's his office, but let's imagine that we saw him
with his overalls on and he's clearing out a trench somewhere,
and it's a dirty, smelly, horrible trench. You know, that's what
we're talking about. We're not even coming close to
it, really. He took upon him the form of a servant. He became
a man. He was made in the likeness of
men. He was a real man. People looked on him, they didn't
see anything special. The likeness of a man. And being
found in fashion as a man. Fully man. He was. He became. Why? Because the children. The
children that he was to save were children of flesh. And he
had to take upon him that flesh in order that he might satisfy
justice. He must make satisfaction. He
must pay for their sins. He must establish all righteousness. He must fulfill all righteousness. He must become a man. He must
take upon him the flesh that the children had. And he became
obedient, even unto death. Even the death of the cross,
the death of ultimate shame, he became obedient. Wherefore?
He's accomplished everything. He's done it. Let this mind be
in you. Look how much he laid aside. Look at the ultimate self-denial
for the purpose of the benefit of others that he went through
that his people might be raised to eternal glory. And because
of that, God also has highly exalted him and given him a name
which is above every name. There is no higher name than
the name of Jesus. There is no higher name than
the name of God our Saviour, our Jehovah Jesus. There is no
other name higher. The Jehovah's Witnesses blasphemously
talk about Him not being God. What could be more clear than
what these words here say to the spirit the new spirit that's
within each believing child of God. Here is our God, come to
save his people, laying aside his glory for a little while,
lower than the angels. That at the name of Jesus, every
knee should bow, because his name is exalted above everything. He's exalted above things in
heaven and things in earth and things under the earth. At the
name of Jesus, every knee should bow. We won't do it now for the
sake of time, but you can look at Isaiah 45 verse 23, and you
will see there God saying exactly the same thing about God. That
at His name, every knee shall bow. Who is it? It's our Lord
Jesus Christ, Jehovah Jesus. And that every tongue, every
tongue, everyone, those that deny Him should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord. Yes, He is. He's Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. This is God the Son. This is
the Father's obedient servant. You know, we read of it in the
Psalms and the Prophets, this is the obedient servant. Behold
my servant. This is the Father's obedient
servant, doing the Father's will. What was the Father's will? Jesus
told us. This is the will of him that
sent me, that of all that he has given me, I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up at the last day. Here he is fulfilling
the law. Here he is magnifying the law. Here he is paying his people's
law debt in his shed blood on the cross. Here he is turning
away the anger of God at the mercy seat. He's making propitiation. here he is paying redemption's
price for the price of sin the soul that sins it shall die and
he poured out his infinite precious blood for his people here he
is finishing salvation it's accomplished not getting us started Habakkuk
3.13 thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people even
for salvation with thine anointed this is what God reveals through
his prophet that God went forth from heaven for the salvation
of his people. He went out. You know, Jesus
told the parable of the 99 sheep and he goes out seeking the one
that is lost. He went out for the salvation
of his people. Just as Abraham went out when
he heard that Lot had been taken captive and Abraham got his band
together and they went and they rescued Lot. It's a picture of
salvation. And why? Because of love. because
of grace, because of what it says of Christ for the joy that
was set before him. He endured the cross, he despised
the shame, for the joy, the joy of saving his people. He says,
behold, I and the children whom thou hast given me. In eternal
reckoning, it's already accomplished. In eternal reckoning, we're already
there in heaven, seated in him. You are, says Paul, seated in
heavenly places, in Christ. Salvation is accomplished, and
he is exalted, and he is preeminent. Our Lord Jesus Christ is preeminent.
He's triumphant over all things. And how much did it cost? Do
you know now? Do I know now? No, I don't know.
I don't know a fraction of what it cost. Is that hymn which I
love? It's not in our book. It says, when this passing world
is done, when has sunk yon glaring sun, when we stand with Christ
on high, looking all life's history, then, Lord, shall I fully know,
not till then, how much I owe, I don't know what it costs, I
don't know a fraction of what it costs, but then I shall know,
I shall know, not till then, how much I owe. Can you look
by faith on Him, God made man, paying your sin debt in such
humiliation, and your new man of grace not desire to do His
will? Is it possible Child of God,
if there's a new man of grace, can you look that man of grace
on him who is exalted above everything, laying aside all that glory,
and coming in such humiliation to accomplish the salvation of
his people, and your new man of grace... I know the flesh
is corrupt. The flesh has to die. The flesh
has to die. You know, the more you know of
this, you know, as man fears death, the child of God knows,
this flesh has to die. I must put off this mortal, I
must put off this sinful, fleshly frame, that I be perfect with
Christ. Can you, verse 3, let nothing
be done through strife or vainglory. If you've seen Him, Doing what
he did, can a spirit of strife and vain glory reside in you? Surely your new man, the flesh
might, but your new man will want to subdue that old man of
flesh. Flesh will still fall constantly,
but the spirit will resist. Wherefore, verse 12, wherefore,
and this is the second point, wherefore, work out, work out,
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in
my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God
which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. What faith sees that Christ has
done, it must have a result. it must have a result, the first
part of verse 12, as ye have therefore, because of this, because
of what you've just seen, man of faith, what you've just seen,
you've obeyed, because of it, you've always obeyed, as in my
presence when he was with them, but now hearing of what he's
going through in his imprisonment, in his confinement for the sake
of the gospel, and what he's facing with fortitude, looking
beyond these physical things, what he's looking forward to,
knowing that This is encouraging the new man that's in these Philippians
to more obey gospel precepts. He says, wherefore my beloved,
as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now
much more in my absence. Then he says, work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling. Now this is so misunderstood
in the religious world. Free will religionists will trot
out this verse. Those that hold that the law
is the rule of life for believers. Those laws rule of life religionists. These things are in God's word,
you know, it's as if God sets traps for the unbelieving in
his word. It's as if he puts traps there.
Job chapter 5, verse 13, and it's repeated in 1 Corinthians
3. Job 5, verse 13 says this, he
taketh the wise in their own craftiness. He trips them up
with their own craftiness. That's what the Word of God says.
Those that are deliberately unbelieving, those that are deliberately rebellious
against his revelation, he says he trips them up. In their own
wisdom, in their own worldly wisdom, in their own godless
wisdom, he trips them up in it. He trips them up. Those who willfully
neglect and deny gospel truth find what he says in Romans 11,
8 and 9. God hath given them the spirit
of slumber, eyes that they should not see, ears that they should
not hear. You know, the gospel is a savor
of life to those that believe, but it's the savor, it's the
smell of death to those that disbelieve it. First Peter chapter
2 verse 8 talks of Christ. Christ. To you who believe, what
do you think of Christ? To you who believe, He is precious. He is precious above all else.
But, to those who disbelieve, Christ is a stone of stumbling,
something they trip over. in their efforts to get to heaven.
A rock of offense, not a rock that is precious. Even to them
which stumble at the word, being disobedient, unbelieving, whereunto
also they were appointed. So then, what does Paul mean
by work out your own salvation? You see, it can't mean do anything
to contribute to your salvation. Can it? It cannot mean that.
Why can it not mean that? It isn't a works addition. Because
salvation is complete. The salvation of God's people
is complete in Him. This cannot mean add anything,
add any works to what Christ has done to work out your salvation. It cannot mean that. It's finished. Christ said it is finished. Second
Timothy chapter 1 verse 9, Paul says, who has saved us and called
us. He has saved us. It's accomplished. It's finished. There are those
who preach like this. They say, in salvation, well,
God has set the ball rolling, now it's up to you to finish
the job and get ready for heaven. And so they say, there you are,
I've shown you, God's given you a leg up onto the route to eternity,
but now it's up to you to work out your own salvation. You've
got to carry on the job and finish it and get ready for heaven.
If that were the case, who gets the glory? Who gets the glory? Ah, God gets a lot of the glory
for starting it off, but, you know, there's a fair bit due
to me. Surely I'm due for a reward or two for my efforts to get
here. No, God says He will have all
the glory. God says He will not share His
glory with another. This is not living to add to
Christ's saving work. Rather, it is living out the
consequences of the salvation that God has worked within. For it is God which worketh in
you. This is living out the consequences
of the salvation that God has worked within. What is the work?
That God works in his people. Does he not begin, as we saw
in recent weeks, does he not begin with a conviction of sin? A sinner is a sacred thing. The
Holy Ghost has made him so. All have sinned, everybody, but
it's only the people of God who truly know what they are in the
flesh, as sinners, in a completely lost condition. Sinners. He gives conviction of sin. God
works that in the true believer. God works in the true believer
a sense of utter ruin. a sense of what we truly are
by virtue of the fall, by virtue of our sin. God works in a feeling
of helplessness before the law and justice of God, a feeling
of complete helplessness, a feeling that we have nothing with which
to pay to make satisfaction for what we are as sinners before
the law of God. God works within a sense of the
judgment to come, that it is appointed to man to die once
and then the judgment. And the soul that is saved works
out, work out your own salvation, it works out, it experiences,
it feels that which God has worked in. Work it out. What does it
feel in response to conviction of sin, to a sense of ruin, to
a feeling of helplessness? It works out repentance. in the
heart, a true sense and experience of repentance, of confession,
of godly sorrow. Not the false sorrow, not just
the human remorse, not like Esau, who wept bitterly, not like Ahab,
that wicked king, who repented, that wasn't true repentance,
not like Judas, who went and hanged himself, for what he'd
done. No, not that kind, but true godly sorrow. This is what
works out. Work out your own salvation,
for God has worked in those senses of sin and ruin and helplessness.
So work out, says Paul, in this new man. Work out that which
God has worked in. Repentance, confession, godly
sorrow. God works light in the soul. for it is God who said let there
be light in the beginning and there was light and God saw the
light that it was good and then Paul tells us in Corinthians
in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6, God tells us that it is God
who shined light in the darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. He works light in the soul, the
light of his word, which is Christ. He shows us Christ in all his
word and he shines that light into the soul, and the soul works
out faith, believing Christ. These are the concepts. We're
trusting, believing Christ, experiencing, feeling redemption. Praise God,
my sins are forgiven. This is working out your salvation,
for it is God that has worked that in you. It works out resting
on the fact that Christ has made satisfaction to the justice of
God. It works out trusting of Christ.
It works out following Him in this new man. It works out obeying
the Spirit's leading in all things. God works in Self-denial. God works those things in the
soul, and the soul works out esteem for others. God works
in self-denial. You know, know who you are, know
what you are, deny self, as this mind that was in Christ, who
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation. Self-denial took upon him the
form of a servant. God works in that in the heart,
and it works out in esteem for others. Let each of you esteem.
Is it hard to do? For the flesh, it's impossible
to do. Let each esteem the other more
highly than himself for the flesh. The flesh can't do that. The
flesh wants its own way, wants its own dominance, wants its
own preeminence. But the new man that's created
by God in the soul esteems others more highly than itself. Work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling. All because God
has created a new man within with spiritual discernment from
God. And that spiritual discernment is what the flesh does not have. Work out your salvation with
fear. Work out that which God has done. Work out in the new
man that which God has worked in your soul, in implanting that
new man in your soul. and showing the things of the
salvation of God. And do it with fear and trembling. With fear and trembling. Work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling. You say, fear
and trembling's got nothing to do with the gospel, has it? Well
certainly not in respect of judgment. Perfect love drives out that
fear of judgment. No, this isn't a fear of the
wrath of judgment. No. Work it out with fear and
trembling. It's in contrast to living your
life as one of presumption in the things of the gospel of God's
grace. We mustn't presume. We mustn't be arrogant and presumptuous.
we mustn't be. Like Moses, we must fear before
God. I exceedingly fear and quake,
said Moses. Isaiah, when he saw the glory
of God in Isaiah chapter 6, he said, woe is me, I am undone
for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell among a people of
unclean lips. Seeing what he saw, woe is me. Daniel, when
he saw that great faithful servant of God. We never read a wrong
thing about Daniel in all that account, and yet, when he sees
that man, who is Christ, he says, my loveliness is turned to corruption. That's what Daniel thought of
himself, my loveliness is turned to corruption. This fear and
trembling is the reverence of sons in the presence of majesty. I'll say it again, it's the reverence
of sons in the presence of majesty. It's not the dread of impending
wrath and judgment and condemnation, for there is no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus. It's with fear and trembling.
And yet, and yet, we're bidden to come boldly to the throne
of grace, confident that he who has a name above every name,
as Paul has just told us, this one who has a name that is above
every name, come boldly before the throne of grace, confident
of this, that the one who has a name which is above every name,
what does he call his people, his children? He says, you are
my friends. I call you no longer servants,
you are my friends. You're my brethren, go and tell
my brethren. This is God who has a name above
every name, said, go to Galilee and tell my brethren. I am your
friends, he says. His brethren and his friends.
Isn't that an amazing thing? Yes, it's fear and trembling.
It's the awe, the reverence of sons in the presence of majesty. And then it's God who works in
us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. The working
of God within each one of us is all of his grace. He does
it, to will and to do of His good pleasure. It's not of works,
lest any man should boast. It's not of our works. It's not
of man's will or of our ability, not in the slightest. It's God
who works according to His good pleasure, in accordance with
the measure that He gives of this. Oh, that we might pray
that He would give us more and more of this sight of His glory. So if you're a child of God,
by grace, if there's a new man within, and there must be, there
must be the Spirit of Christ. If any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he's none of his, he doesn't belong to him. If
so, you'll experience the reality of it in your heart. Your soul
will sense and respond to the inner workings of God's Spirit.
You'll work it out with fear and trembling, conscious of what
it cost to save your soul, constrained by Christ's love, willingly volunteering,
despite the flesh, to follow, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith? Or is your belief mere head knowledge
that isn't worked out because God has, in reality, not worked
in you?