Gentleness of Spirit
True gentleness of spirit can only be developed through suffering and death, and it is a rare quality in the world.
Charles E. Cowman preaches on the importance of gentleness in the life of a servant of the Lord, emphasizing the rarity of this spirit in a dark world and the necessity of undergoing suffering to attain true gentleness. He highlights that grace does not come by chance but requires intentional discernment, choice, and nurturing in our thoughts. Cowman stresses that every step towards grace begins with understanding it and making a prayerful commitment to embody it, often through a process of dying to self and experiencing crucifixion. He warns against a superficial sanctification that lacks the genuine breaking of the heart and mind, advocating for a deep, transformative work that results in a soft, sweet, and triumphant life.
Text
"The servant of the Lord must be gentle" (2 Tim. 2:24).
When God conquers us and takes all the flint out of our nature, and we get deep visions into the Spirit of Jesus, we then see as never before the great rarity of gentleness of spirit in this dark and unheavenly world.
The graces of the Spirit do not settle themselves down upon us by chance, and if we do not discern certain states of grace, and choose them, and in our thoughts nourish them, they never become fastened in our nature or behavior.
Every advance step in grace must be preceded by first apprehending it, and then a prayerful resolve to have it.
So few are willing to undergo the suffering out of which thorough gentleness comes. We must die before we are turned into gentleness, and crucifixion involves suffering; it is a real breaking and crushing of self, which wrings the heart and conquers the mind.
There is a good deal of mere mental and logical sanctification nowadays, which is only a religious fiction. It consists of mentally putting one's self on the altar, and then mentally saying the altar sanctifies the gift, and then logically concluding therefore one is sanctified; and such an one goes forth with a gay, flippant, theological prattle about the deep things of God.
But the natural heartstrings have not been snapped, and the Adamic flint has not been ground to powder, and the bosom has not throbbed with the lonely, surging sighs of Gethsemane; and not having the real death marks of Calvary, there cannot be that soft, sweet, gentle, floating, victorious, overflowing, triumphant life that flows like a spring morning from an empty tomb. --G. D. W.
"And great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:33).
Sermon Outline
- I. The Rarity of Gentleness of Spirit
- A. The world is a dark and unheavenly place
- B. Few people possess the quality of gentleness
- II. The Importance of Discerning and Choosing Grace
- A. We must be aware of the graces of the Spirit
- B. We must choose and nourish them in our thoughts
- III. The Role of Suffering in Developing Gentleness
- A. We must be willing to undergo suffering
- B. Suffering is necessary for true gentleness to develop
- IV. The Difference Between Mental and Real Sanctification
- A. Mental sanctification is not enough
- B. True sanctification involves real suffering and death
Key Quotes
“So few are willing to undergo the suffering out of which thorough gentleness comes.” — Charles E. Cowman
“We must die before we are turned into gentleness, and crucifixion involves suffering;” — Charles E. Cowman
“But the natural heartstrings have not been snapped, and the Adamic flint has not been ground to powder,” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- We must be willing to undergo suffering in order to develop true gentleness of spirit.
- True sanctification involves real suffering and death, not just mental or logical acceptance.
- We must choose and nourish the graces of the Spirit in our thoughts in order to develop gentleness of spirit.