Every part yielded to Him?

The above diagram explains to me much of what the Bible says about the way I am made and what God has done in His transforming work.

The first and primary grace of God is giving life to the inner man through His Spirit. That life changed the way I think, feel, and choose. He does not remove those faculties but make it clear to me that all three must function according to the new inner life directed by Him. He tells me not to trust in my own understanding (mind), or trust my emotions, many of which are contrary to His. He also gives the example for volition when Jesus said, “Not my will, but thine be done.”

However, I’ve noticed that there are three major denominational groups that tend to focus on the importance of one of those three faculties. While all three facilities should be yielded to the Holy Spirit, there is a danger that the arrows in the diagram run the wrong direction. Instead of being directed and controlled by Him, the mind, emotions, or will is given a high place of importance. For instance…

Some denominations might say: “The will is the stronghold of our being. If God is to get complete possession of us, He must possess our will. When He says, ‘Give me your heart, it is equivalent to saying, ‘Surrender your will to my control, that I may work in it to will and to do of my good pleasure.’ It is not the feelings of a man that God wants but his will.” (Joshua 24:15)

Others might put it this way: Thinking right means living right. If God is to get complete possession of us, He must possess our thoughts. When He says, ‘Give me your heart,’ it is equivalent to saying, ‘Surrender your mind to my control, that I may work in it to will and to do of my good pleasure.’ It is not our feelings or choices that are vital, but God wants us to think right.” (Romans 12:1-2)

The third group might say: “Our feelings are vital to worship. If God is to get complete possession of us, He must control our emotions. When He says, ‘Give me your heart,’ it is equivalent to saying, ‘Surrender all of your feelings to my control, that I may work in you to will and to do of my good pleasure.’ It is not solid thinking or choices alone that God wants but the full expression of how we feel about Him.”

All of this reminds me of the blind people describing an elephant as they touch its different parts, but more than that, thinking each part is all there is to an elephant. Walking with Jesus means realizing that none of the three are supposed to be the ruling force in our lives; He is!

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:6–7)

The following passage is about the direction of the arrows in the diagram. Doing my own thing apart from God is sin (Isaiah 53:6) so…

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. (Romans 8:3–9)

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery... I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5: 1; 16–17)

PRAY: More than ever, I know that I need to be filled with the Spirit so that my old nature is not the controlling factor. My will is flawed without You. My thinking is selfish without You. My emotions take me away from faith… but the fullness of Your Spirit means  I can obey You with godly thoughts, godly choices, and experience Your deep joy. Thank You, Jesus.

God does not need my help

Over the years I’ve noticed how many times my prayers and the prayers of others are basically us telling God what to do. Finally I realized the arrogance. As MacArthur says, trying to improve on God’s plan is more pretentious than trying to improve the Mona Lisa with an ink pen and wind up ruining the masterpiece.

Because of the number and might of the Hebrew people in Egypt, the current Pharaoh enslaved them. He also ordered all male Hebrew babies be put to death. The parents of Moses refused to ruin the masterpiece. His parents knew God had a plan for Moses and even though they did not know what it was, they trusted Him. The NT says:

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. (Hebrews 11:23)

The story of Moses begins like this:

The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” (Exodus 2:2–10)

I can scarcely imagine the faith it took for them to risk their own lives, as well as the life of their baby, by placing him in that basket and introducing him into the very household of the one who wanted all male Hebrew babies slain.

But by God’s providence, Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby, took pity on him, and adopted him into her family, and He used Moses’ sister to arrange that Jochebed nursed and cared for her own son!

That gave Moses’ family the opportunity to teach him about God’s promises for Israel to inherit the Promised Land, become a mighty nation, and instill within him faith in God that would later characterize his life.

I may never be called on to make the kind of sacrifice that Moses’ parents made, but no matter what the risks, remember that God always honors obedience. Not only that, such faith means ‘stop’ telling God what to do. He knows — I don’t!

PRAY: Lord Jesus, I’m so thankful to finally realize that trying to tell You what to do is the same thing as running my own life — the very essence of sin. I’m thankful that You not only know what is best but are able to communicate it to me when I need to hear it.

PONDER: Romans 12:1-2: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1–2)