In the Spirit, pt. 2

“In Thy presence is fulness of joy.” (Ps. 16:11).

What is it like to be in the Spirit of Christ? Is it boring? Is it depressing? Does it cause sadness? Is it “an horror of great darkness”? (Gen. 15:12).

No. It is pleasant and wholesome. It is life-giving, health-giving happiness. It is fullness of joy and peace, hope and power. “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Rom. 15:13). “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: …at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Ps. 16:11).

This fullness in the Spirit by the presence of Jesus is not something we can manufacture. It is “the gift of God.” (John 4:10). It is sent from above. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again [G509 anōthen, “from above”], he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Like “living water” (John 4:10), the Spirit is refreshing. It brings back hope to our hearts and brightness to our minds. We are born anew. “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5). And the invitation to all is to drink without reservation of this heavenly gift from Jesus. “And the Spirit [of Christ] and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17). “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” (John 7:39).

All the privileged seekers after Jesus “have tasted of the heavenly gift, ...were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come.” (Heb. 6:4,5). “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Luke 11:13). “The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek Him: your heart shall live for ever.” (Ps. 22:26).

Nothing good will be withheld from all who have come to Jesus for His justification and peace. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (Jas. 1:17). “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Ps. 84:11).

The encouraging and emboldening gift of Jesus’ Spirit from above He abundantly showers upon His children during times of trouble and persecution. “Ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.” (1Thess. 1:6). He comes that, by His own Spirit, “they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10). Therefore, the endangered church can say, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” (2Cor. 4:8-10).

God’s Spirit has always enthralled the hosts of heaven, evoking from them praise, only joyful praise. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14).

“And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa. 6:3).

“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” (Rev. 5:11-13).

Like the sweetness of honey, the “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 14:17) has filled every prophet. The infinite acceptance and forgetting of past sins leave the prophet in possession of great happiness. The love from the Spirit of Christ constrains such a person to go into any amount of danger. “The Spirit driveth him into the wilderness” (Mark 1:12) of persecution and perplexity, tribulation and trouble. But, none of that difficulty weakens the constant happiness and peace of the messenger of the Lord. Nothing gives more pleasure to that blessed soul than to go where the One sends him who is constantly anointing him with peace. He has special discernment and senses that God is near to protect.

“And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:7,8).

“And the Spirit entered into me when He spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard Him that spake unto me.

And He said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against Me: they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, even unto this very day.

For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.

And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house….
 

Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll.

And He said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.” (Eze. 2:2-6; Eze. 3:1-3,8,9).

Despite the dangers, the person who has God’s wonderful Spirit lives constrained to give his life for those God is trying to save.

The Spirit of God transforms the heart of sinful man. “And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.” (1Sam. 10:6). Drinking of the water of life freely, Saul couldn’t hold back his confession of the goodness of God. He was on a high that was not damaging to his nervous system or brain. It came from the Source of life, and increased health came to Saul as a result.

“And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.” (1Sam. 10:9,10).

This is the power of the Spirit that the Lord Jesus has over those He gifts with His divine nature. Even after King Saul’s permanent falling away from that beautiful experience, and finding it impossible “to renew [him] again unto repentance” (Heb. 6:6), God could choose to give a demonstration of His Spirit for a teaching moment. After an “evil spirit from God came upon Saul” (1Sam. 18:10) which drove him to spend the last years of his remaining probation trying to destroy David, at his final attempt the king was stopped short by the joyful, strong hand of the Lord upon him.

“And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.

And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.

Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.

And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1Sam. 19:20-24). Saul’s heart and soul were tickled. He was temporarily converted.

This is significant. God will pour His holy Spirit upon even His enemies. And when His Spirit thrills them, they completely lose their devils. They sit in heavenly places in Christ. Isn’t this transformation from a carnal nature to a heavenly what conversion is about? The Son of the Highest is raising a standard against His adversary. He is wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. “Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” (Rom. 7:20). “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? ...God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 7:20).

“And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away. Jesus...rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.  And the spirit cried....” (Mark 9:18).

“When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick.” (Matt. 8:16).

“And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God.

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth He even the unclean spirits, and they do obey Him.” (Mark 1:23-27).

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And His fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them.” (Matt. 4:23,24).

The fierce, proud demons were stumbling over themselves to get away from Jesus, but the goodness of God forced them to remain, long enough to request His permission to leave.

“And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.

So the devils besought Him, saying, If Thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.

And He said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.” (Matt. 8:29-32).

Polite demons? Submissive evil spirits? Devils constrained by righteousness? Converted for a moment? They were made submissive because of the presence of the meek One. Just like the possessed King Saul.

This throws light on a statement of Paul’s that I have often wondered about:

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted [Jesus], and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9-11). 

Even Lucifer bows? Listen to Ellen White’s statements on Satan’s strange behavior:

“In that vast throng are multitudes of the long-lived race that existed before the Flood; men of lofty stature and giant intellect, who, yielding to the control of fallen angels, devoted all their skill and knowledge to the exaltation of themselves; men whose wonderful works of art led the world to idolize their genius, but whose cruelty and evil inventions, defiling the earth and defacing the image of God, caused Him to blot them from the face of His creation. There are kings and generals who conquered nations, valiant men who never lost a battle, proud, ambitious warriors whose approach made kingdoms tremble. In death these experienced no change. As they come up from the grave, they resume the current of their thoughts just where it ceased. They are actuated by the same desire to conquer that ruled them when they fell.

     Satan consults with his angels, and then with these kings and conquerors and mighty men. They look upon the strength and numbers on their side, and declare that the army within the city is small in comparison with theirs, and that it can be overcome. They lay their plans to take possession of the riches and glory of the New Jerusalem. All immediately begin to prepare for battle. Skillful artisans construct implements of war. Military leaders, famed for their success, marshal the throngs of warlike men into companies and divisions.  

     At last the order to advance is given, and the countless host moves on--an army such as was never summoned by earthly conquerors, such as the combined forces of all ages since war began on earth could never equal. Satan, the mightiest of warriors, leads the van, and his angels unite their forces for this final struggle. Kings and warriors are in his train, and the multitudes follow in vast companies, each under its appointed leader. With military precision the serried ranks advance over the earth’s broken and uneven surface to the City of God. By command of Jesus, the gates of the New Jerusalem are closed, and the armies of Satan surround the city and make ready for the onset.

     Now Christ again appears to the view of His enemies. Far above the city, upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of God, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding His Son. The brightness of His presence fills the City of God, and flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance.  

     Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions, of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the ‘great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.’ Revelation 7:9. Their warfare is ended, their victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm branch in their hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs.  

     The redeemed raise a song of praise that echoes and re-echoes through the vaults of heaven: ‘Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.’ Verse 10. And angel and seraph unite their voices in adoration. As the redeemed have beheld the power and malignity of Satan, they have seen, as never before, that no power but that of Christ could have made them conquerors. In all that shining throng there are none to ascribe salvation to themselves, as if they had prevailed by their own power and goodness. Nothing is said of what they have done or suffered; but the burden of every song, the keynote of every anthem, is: Salvation to our God and unto the Lamb.

     In the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and heaven the final coronation of the Son of God takes place. And now, invested with supreme majesty and power, the King of kings pronounces sentence upon the rebels against His government and executes justice upon those who have transgressed His law and oppressed His people. Says the prophet of God: ‘I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.’ Revelation 20:11, 12.” Great Controversy, p. 664-666.

“As if entranced, the wicked have looked upon the coronation of the Son of God. They see in His hands the tables of the divine law, the statutes which they have despised and transgressed. They witness the outburst of wonder, rapture, and adoration from the saved; and as the wave of melody sweeps over the multitudes without the city, all with one voice exclaim, ‘Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints’ (Revelation 15:3); and, falling prostrate, they worship the Prince of life.  

     Satan seems paralyzed as he beholds the glory and majesty of Christ. He who was once a covering cherub remembers whence he has fallen. A shining seraph, ‘son of the morning;’ how changed, how degraded! From the council where once he was honored, he is forever excluded. He sees another now standing near to the Father, veiling His glory. He has seen the crown placed upon the head of Christ by an angel of lofty stature and majestic presence, and he knows that the exalted position of this angel might have been his.  

     Memory recalls the home of his innocence and purity, the peace and content that were his until he indulged in murmuring against God, and envy of Christ. His accusations, his rebellion, his deceptions to gain the sympathy and support of the angels, his stubborn persistence in making no effort for self-recovery when God would have granted him forgiveness --all come vividly before him. He reviews his work among men and its results--the enmity of man toward his fellow man, the terrible destruction of life, the rise and fall of kingdoms, the overturning of thrones, the long succession of tumults, conflicts, and revolutions. He recalls his constant efforts to oppose the work of Christ and to sink man lower and lower. He sees that his hellish plots have been powerless to destroy those who have put their trust in Jesus. As Satan looks upon his kingdom, the fruit of his toil, he sees only failure and ruin. He has led the multitudes to believe that the City of God would be an easy prey; but he knows that this is false. Again and again, in the progress of the great controversy, he has been defeated and compelled to yield. He knows too well the power and majesty of the Eternal.

     The aim of the great rebel has ever been to justify himself and to prove the divine government responsible for the rebellion. To this end he has bent all the power of his giant intellect. He has worked deliberately and systematically, and with marvelous success, leading vast multitudes to accept his version of the great controversy which has been so long in progress. For thousands of years this chief of conspiracy has palmed off falsehood for truth. But the time has now come when the rebellion is to be finally defeated and the history and character of Satan disclosed. In his last great effort to dethrone Christ, destroy His people, and take possession of the City of God, the archdeceiver has been fully unmasked. Those who have united with him see the total failure of his cause. Christ’s followers and the loyal angels behold the full extent of his machinations against the government of God. He is the object of universal abhorrence.  

     Satan sees that his voluntary rebellion has unfitted him for heaven. He has trained his powers to war against God; the purity, peace, and harmony of heaven would be to him supreme torture. His accusations against the mercy and justice of God are now silenced. The reproach which he has endeavored to cast upon Jehovah rests wholly upon himself. And now Satan bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence.  
      ‘Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.’” Ibid., p. 670.

“Notwithstanding that Satan has been constrained to acknowledge God’s justice and to bow to the supremacy of Christ, his character remains unchanged. The spirit of rebellion, like a mighty torrent, again bursts forth. Filled with frenzy, he determines not to yield the great controversy. The time has come for a last desperate struggle against the King of heaven. He rushes into the midst of his subjects and endeavors to inspire them with his own fury and arouse them to instant battle.” Ibid., p. 671.

The enemies’ moments of conversion don’t last long, for conversion was put upon them against their will. They never strove to enter in through the strait gate; they never wrestled against their sinful natures in order to be converted. Like King Saul who stumbled upon his conversion, the whole host of the wicked know the fullness of joy only long enough for them to glorify God at their very end. They taste of the goodness that they could have enjoyed all their lives--“the Spirit of the living God.” (2Cor. 3:3). Theirs could have been the very same diet for their soul that fed Jesus. “Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” (Isa. 7:15).

And the ingestion of that holy manna would have overthrown their idols and changed their lives. They experience “the powers of the world to come” (Heb. 6:5), but only long enough to realize their big mistake. They will know what they lost, and “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 22:13).

“Then said the King to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness.” (Matt. 22:13). Let’s not have that happen to us. Let’s strive to submit to the righteousness of God and His rightful chastisement of our peace. Then when He gives us to His Son (who “will in no wise cast [us] out”), let’s strive to know His Son. Let us strive to abide in Him; let us live in His Spirit. Let us refuse any other Spirit than “the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:19). And our wrestling will never end until we are safely sitting on the walls of Zion looking out over Satan and his hosts.

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Heb. 4:9-11).