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Reading: 1 Cor
3:6-7,9,11
6. I
planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. 7.
So then neither is he who plants anything nor he who waters,
but God who causes the growth. 9. For we are God's
fellow workers; you are God's cultivated land, God's
building. 11. For another foundation no one is able
to lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
The foundation of
the work is Jesus Christ and that no one else can lay another
foundation. He also said that we are God's cultivated land and His
building.
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If the seed
sown in the cultivated land is Christ, the harvest must also
be Christ.
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If the
foundation of the building is Christ, the building itself must
also be according to Christ.
At the time of
our regeneration, God put the life of Christ into us, and we
received a life which we did not have before.
The life which we received at the time of regeneration is an
additional life. It is something added to us at the time of
regeneration. This is the work of God. God's work in man is
absolutely based on this added life. This life is Christ
(Col.3:4), and it is the foundation of the work of God. Just as
the regenerated life is absolutely of God, the growth and maturity
of this life can only be brought about by God (2Cor.5:5).
Man's hand has no part in this, and even the best of what man has
cannot participate in this. The greatest responsibility that man
has is to cooperate with God and not afford any hindrance to His
work.
Sanctification is merely the continuation of this life, and
victory is merely the outflow of this life in overcoming sin, the
flesh, the world, and Satan.
The growth and maturity of this life are simply the reigning and
ruling of this life over the whole being.
The life we received at the time of regeneration is the beginning
of the work of God. Therefore, the continuation of this work
cannot be affected by anything other than this life.
Only a regenerated person can testify of the Lord's salvation.
Those who do not have the experience of regeneration cannot do
this work.
Victory, sanctification, the filling of the Spirit, and the
reigning of the indwelling Christ can only be testified by those
who by grace have passed through these experiences in a genuine
way.
Even while they are testifying, they must still trust in the
working of the Holy Spirit. Without the working of the Spirit,
there will not be any anointing from the Lord.
Dependence is an absolute necessity in spiritual work. Unless the
Spirit of the Lord works, no work of man will accomplish anything. |
