If it were not that I believe in the Holy Ghost, I would almost shrink from speaking about the profound philosophy wherewith the apostle Paul deals with the self-life; but I believe that God's Spirit will take my broken words and speak to each of you.
Will you turn to 1Co_2:14 : "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither call he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
"The natural man." The Greek is the "psychical" man, the man in whom the soul is all, and the spirit is like a dark, untenanted chamber.
The temple of old was constituted thus: outer court, holy place, holy of holies. The outer court corresponds to our body, the holy place to our soul, the holy of holies or the most holy place to our spirit. In the regenerate man the most holy place is tenanted by the Spirit of God, but in the unregenerate man it is untenanted and dark, waiting for its occupant. The natural man is the man whose spirit is empty of God.
In the fifteenth verse of the same chapter, we read: " But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man."
Here we have the "spiritual" man, the man whose spirit is quick with the Spirit of God, who speaks and wills and lives beneath the impulse of the Holy Ghost Himself. Oh, that every believer became truly spiritual; spirit-unfilled (written with a small "s"): the Spirit of God (written with a large " S") dominating the spirit of man.
In the third chapter of the same epistle, Paul begins: "And I, brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal even as unto babes in Christ."
Now the "carnal" man is a Christian, a babe in Christ. We might think that the carnal man is unregenerate, but it is not so. He is regenerate, he is in Christ, and Christ is in him; but instead of Christ being predominant, the carnal element is predominant. I believe that there are hundreds of people who are in Christ; but they are babes in Christ. Christ is in them, but He is overcrowded by the superiority of their self, life. Their self, life was once clothed in rags; it is now clothed in the externals of religion; but it is still the self-life, and in the Christian may predominate over the Christ life, and be the cause of unutterable darkness and sorrow.
May God help me now to reverse it, so that the carnal element shall be crowded out, shall be crucified, and the Christ element shall become the pivot of your life!
In order that you may know what the carnal element is, let me say that that word also stands for "flesh," and that the Greek word is sarx. Now the Apostle uses the word "flesh," "carnal," or "sarx" in a very especial form. He does not mean the natural body, but he means the element of self. That is proved from Rom_7:18, where he says: "In me, (that is, in my flesh), dwelleth no good thing." My flesh is "me." Some men spell it with a tiny m, and some with a capital M, but whether the m is in italics or in capitals, the "me" in each person is the flesh. Spell "flesh" backward, drop the h, as we are apt to do in London, and you get s-e-l-f; "flesh" is "self," and "self" is "flesh." It is "me," and as long as "me " is first and Christ second, I am living a carnal life though I am in Christ and a saved man.
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F.B. Meyer (1847 - 1929)
A contemporary and friend of D. L. Moody and A. C. Dixon, was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England involved in ministry and inner city mission work on both sides of the Atlantic. Author of numerous religious books and articles, many of which remain in print today, he was described in an obituary as The Archbishop of the Free Churches.Meyer was part of the Higher Life Movement and was known as a crusader against immorality. He preached against drunkenness and prostitution. He is said to have brought about the closing of hundreds of saloons and brothels. Meyer wrote over 40 books, including Christian biographies and devotional commentaries on the Bible. He, along with seven other clergymen, was also a signatory to the London Manifesto asserting that the Second Coming was imminent in 1918. His works include The Way Into the Holiest:, Expositions on the Epistle to the Hebrews (1893) ,The Secret of Guidance, Our Daily Homily and Christian Living.
Frederick Brotherton Meyer, a contemporary and friend of D. L. Moody was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England involved in ministry and inner city mission work on both sides of the Atlantic. Author of numerous religious books and articles, many of which remain in print today, he has been described as The Archbishop of the Free Churches.
Meyer was part of the Higher Life movement and preached often at the Keswick Convention. He was known as a crusader against immorality. He preached against drunkenness and prostitution. He is said to have brought about the closing of hundreds of saloons and brothels.
F. B. Meyer wrote over 40 books, including Christian biographies and devotional commentaries on the Bible. He, along with seven other clergymen, was also a signatory to the London Manifesto asserting that the Second Coming was imminent in 1918.
Frederick Meyer spent the last few years of his life working as a pastor in England's churches, but still made trips to North America, including one he made at age 80 (his earlier evangelistic tours had included South Africa and Asia, as well as the United States and Canada ). A few days before his death, Meyer wrote the following words to a friend:
Meyer was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England, born in London. He attended Brighton College and graduated from London University in 1869. He studied theology at Regents Park Baptist College.
Meyer began pastoring churches in 1870. His first pastorate was at Pembroke Baptist Chapel in Liverpool. In 1872 he pastored Priory Street Baptist Church in York. While he was there he met the American evangelist Dwight L. Moody, whom he introduced to other churches in England. The two preachers became lifelong friends.
In 1895 Meyer went to Christ Church in Lambeth. At the time only 100 people attended the church, but within two years over 2,000 were regularly attending. He stayed there for fifteen years, and then began a traveling to preach at conferences and evangelistic services.
His evangelistic tours included South Africa and Asia. He also visited the United States and Canada several times.
He spent the last few years of his life working as a pastor in England's churches, but still made trips to North America, including one he made at age 80.
Meyer was part of the Higher Life movement and preached often at the Keswick Convention. He was known as a crusader against immorality. He preached against drunkenness and prostitution. He is said to have brought about the closing of hundreds of saloons and brothels.
Meyer wrote over 40 books, including Christian biographies and devotional commentaries on the Bible.