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Developing Spiritual Discernment, April 5
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they
are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14
.
The jewels of truth lie scattered over the field of revelation; but they have
been buried beneath human traditions, beneath the sayings and command-
ments of men, and the wisdom from heaven has been practically ignored;
for Satan has succeeded in making the world believe that the words and
achievements of men are of great consequence. The Lord God, the Creator
of the worlds, at infinite cost has given the gospel to the world. Through
this divine agent, glad, refreshing springs of heavenly comfort and abiding
consolation have been opened for those who will come to the fountain of
life. There are veins of truth yet to be discovered; but spiritual things are
spiritually discerned.
Minds beclouded with evil cannot appreciate the value of the truth as it is
in Jesus. When iniquity is cherished, men do not feel the necessity of making
diligent effort with prayer and reflection, to understand that they must know
or lose heaven. They have so long been under the shadow of the enemy that
they view truth as men behold objects through a smoked and imperfect glass;
for all things are dark and perverted in their eyes. Their spiritual vision is
feeble and untrustworthy; for they look upon the shadow, and turn away from
the light.
But those who profess to believe in Jesus should ever press to the light.
They should daily pray for the light of the Holy Spirit to shine upon the pages
of the sacred book, that they may be enabled to comprehend the things of the
Spirit of God. We must have implicit trust in God’s Word, or we are lost. The
words of men, however great they may be, are not able to make us perfect, to
thoroughly furnish unto all good works.
“God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctifica-
tion of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (
2 Thessalonians 2:13
). In this text
the two agencies in the salvation of man are revealed—the divine influence,
the strong, living faith of those who follow Christ. It is through the sanctifica-
tion of the Spirit and the belief of the truth that we become laborers together
with God.—
The Review and Herald, December 1, 1891
.
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