Surrendering to God
Surrendering to God is the basic mysticism or spirituality of the Bible that brings us inner peace and strength from God the Creator. It’s as simple as being anxious for nothing by casting all of our care on the Lord (see 1 Peter 5:5-7 and Philippians 4:6-7). This would generally be categorized as a patriarchal spirituality. All other spiritual practices, which are generally from matriarchal earth or nature-based spiritualities, can only bring us a temporary worldly peace.
Biblical spirituality brings God directly into the act because when we rest our minds on Him, He brings our minds to rest. Isaiah 26:3-4 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD forever; for in the LORD God is everlasting strength” (KJV). We thrust our minds outward in unconditional trust in God instead of attempting to go inward as is promoted with other spiritual practices even when they may have biblical imagery associated with them. No imagery, mental or physical, is required with unconditional trust in God. We also surrender our imagery in order to enter into complete rest in Him. Isaiah 55:6-9 says: “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” This makes room for God to fill.
Proverbs 3:5 tells us to “trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.” We don’t attempt to abandon our thoughts. We merely relegate them to second place. Our thoughts are not the problem; but they have been elevated to a place which they should not have because of the law of sin that Paul describes in Romans 7:14 through 8:2, which is our human weakness and our weakened willpower. We are born without trust in God, and this is why we have an excessive dependence on our own weakened minds. This is why we are prone to worry, anger, unforgiveness, compulsions and addictions.
Romans 5:6 says: “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Christ came to do more for us than merely forgive past sins. He came to strengthen us against our human weakness by His Spirit abiding within us. The fruit of the Spirit, which contains our peace and strength, is the result of this (Gal. 5:22-23). The Spirit strengthens and moderates us. We are not born with this presence of God, but we acquire it later. We don’t go inward to find God because the only thing that we will find there is the weakened human nature that we are all born with.
Biblical surrender is also called humility toward God. First Peter 5:5-7 says to “be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, Casting all of your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Humility opens us up to God’s grace.
In the New Testament, this biblical spirituality is also applied to Christ because He is part of the Godhead in spite of His humanity. The Godhead now has a human component which it did not have prior to the birth of Christ. Because of this, humanity can avail itself of salvation. Christ made this possible by His death and resurrection. He can now enliven us by His Spirit within us.
In the plan of salvation, the humanity of Christ is as essential as His divinity. There could have been no shed blood without His humanity. The man Christ Jesus now intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father. His divinity allows us to surrender to Him and receive His Spirit within us.
The fruit of the Spirit is the transformation within us that occurs through the Spirit of Christ: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Gal. 5:22-24). Notice that these are all personal qualities. This is what sanctification looks like. These are the qualities that counteract the law of sin. Temperance is the one that specifically deals with our human weakness. It is translated “self-control” in newer translations of the Bible. The fruit of the Spirit moderates us. It is the rest that comes from resting in Christ. It enables us to escape “the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Pet. 1:4).
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (2 Pet. 3:13-14).
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