Merciful Death
The spiritual recession after new birth is an opportunity for believers to discover the righteous Christ-life and detach from self-consciousness, leading to a deep, abiding joy in Christ.
Miles J. Stanford preaches about the importance of setting our affection on things above, emphasizing that our true life is hidden with Christ in God. He highlights the spiritual journey of discovering our sinful nature and the need to shift our focus from self-consciousness to God's revelation of Himself in Christ. Stanford explains that true joy comes from transferring our hearts to a new center in Christ, rather than wrapping blessings around ourselves, and emphasizes the necessity of detaching from our natural center to find deep joy in association with the glorified Lord Jesus Christ.
Text
"Set your affection on things above. . . for ye died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:2, 3).
The spiritual recession that occurs after the early joys of the new birth is not necessarily backsliding at all. The discovery of the sinful old man is the first and foremost step in the discovery of the righteous Christ-life.
"We are more disposed to be occupied in telling the Father what we are in ourselves, than to allow Him to tell us what we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. So often the believer is more taken up with his own self-consciousness than with the Father's scriptural revelation of Himself. His revelation is one thing; my self-consciousness is quite another "
"It gladdens the heart to hear the new convert speak of the blessings he has received, and of his new-found joy in those blessings; but we can often see very distinctly that he is wrapping all these benefits of grace round himself, and we feel pretty sure that he will have to learn some lessons presently that will take the shine out of him. He will have to learn what a poor wretched thing he is, as in the flesh, that his heart may be transferred to a new center altogether.
"Nothing can be more distasteful to a spiritual mind than to hear people professedly giving a Christian testimony which begins and ends with themselves. It is for the effectual displacement of all this, and to transfer the heart to an entirely new center, that the revelation of the old man is divinely necessary for our souls. The Father has to come in and detach us from that which is our natural center, that He may link our affections with another Person-even with the glorified Lord Jesus Christ-and make Him everything to our hearts, so that our association with Him may be known, and may become the deep, abiding joy of our souls." -C.A.C.
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor and glory, and blessing" (Rev. 5:12).
Sermon Outline
- The Spiritual Recession After New Birth
- Self-Consciousness vs. God's Revelation
- The Need for Revelation of the Old Man
- The Result of Revelation of the Old Man
- Association with Christ becomes deep, abiding joy
- Heart is transferred to a new center
Key Quotes
“We are more disposed to be occupied in telling the Father what we are in ourselves, than to allow Him to tell us what we are in the Lord Jesus Christ.” — Miles J. Stanford
“Nothing can be more distasteful to a spiritual mind than to hear people professedly giving a Christian testimony which begins and ends with themselves.” — Miles J. Stanford
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor and glory, and blessing” — Miles J. Stanford
Application Points
- Recognize the difference between self-consciousness and God's revelation of Himself.
- Allow God to detach you from yourself and link you with Christ, making Him everything to your heart.
- Focus on association with Christ as the source of deep, abiding joy in your life.