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Satan and His Kingdom
that is, presupposing that the will is surrendered to God, as ready to take any course unmistakably shown to be His will. Then let us understand, too, that as the life of Christ matures in the believer, the Spirit leads more from within by the working of life, which manifests itself as simply and naturally as the life of nature. When the believer becomes a “full grown man” (Heb. 6 :1 , R. V. m.), with heart and will under the complete control of the Spirit, the new life will increasingly work in him with less and less perceived action to his consciousness. As many as are led by the Spirit, in this way, are indeed sons of God, with spirit, soul, and body, working out His will with ease and spontaneity. (1) They are “guided by the skilfulness of His hands” (Psa. 78:72), leading them hour by hour into the path prepared for them. (2) They are guided by their faithfulness to God: “The integrity of the upright shall guide them” (Prov. 11:3)—for they know what to do by the very instinct of right and wrong which God has planted within them. (3) The “meek will He guide in judgment” (Psa. 25 :9 ), for He uses their renewed minds (Rom. 12:2), yea, giving them the very mind of Christ, which led Him to empty Himself, and be obedient unto death —the death of the Cross. The soul that knows this principle of sacrifice and self-effacement as the characteristic of the life of Christ, needs no inner voice nor special guidance, to tell him what course he is to take while walking in this present evil world! The wiles concerning “liberty.” “Ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh” (Gal. 5:13, A. V.). The believer who has emerged into the life in the Spirit finds himself free in a way he has never known before. It is just now that the evil one is ready with new wiles to ensnare the freed one, suggesting to him (1) “You have liberty now to do anything, for you are free” ; or (2) “You are under no man’s control now, especially those who are in the flesh.” And the adversary now does his best to
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