To be near unto God - pagina 169

32

'WHO WORKETH By

IN

doing willingly what

YOU TO God

wills

WILL." us to do,

of God; not in barren book-knowledge, but in living soul-knowlThis springs edge, which is itself eternal life. from all sorts of causes, but not least from the

we

increase

in

the knowledge

fact that our willingness is not born from us, but "He it is, writes the is wrought in us by God. apostle, who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). Hence there is first the willing, after that the W9rking through and according to our will, and while we work this action of the will in the soul, it is God who worketh it in us. It is self-evident that in this connection this last distinction must be made. Otherwise our willingness would merely be on the surface, and the child of God, in good works, would merely be a puppet moved mechanically. This distinction should be clearly understood. ourselves will, not because of ourselves, but because God so worketh in us, that now we ourselves truly and actually will to do thus and not otherwise. It takes some pains to see this clearly, and it is easy to follow the advice not to concern ourselves with the several distinctions. But when we lend our ear to this advice of spiritual sloth, we do ourselves a wrong. Ask any physician how many distinctions he makes in a single group of nerves, or how many differences he observes in germs of disease in the And will it do, that so much pains are blood. taken in behalf of the body, which perishes, and not in behalf of the soul, which is so much more

We

precious?

But

this

tendency 165

prevails.

While

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