"Deeper"
Real Change for Real Sinners
by Dane Ortlund
Preparing Your Heart: Supernaturalized
The previous chapters have explored important truths about our growth in Christ: who Jesus truly is, the necessity of self-despair, our union with Christ, God's embrace, the verdict of acquittal, the practice of honesty, the role of pain, and the disciplines of Bible reading and prayer. But there's a vital element that undergirds all of these: the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.
In this final chapter, Ortlund addresses what might be called the "engine" of all spiritual growth. Without the Spirit's empowering presence, all our knowledge of Christ, our despair over sin, our understanding of justification, our desire for honesty, our patient endurance of pain, and our practices of Bible reading and prayer would remain mere intellectual exercises or religious activities.
The Schaeffer quote that begins this chapter is telling: what would happen if everything concerning the Holy Spirit and prayer were removed from our Bibles? Would our churches, our meetings, our decisions, and our activities look any different? The sobering reality is that many of us live as "practical atheists" - doctrinally affirming the Spirit's importance while functionally operating in our own strength.
As you prepare to read this chapter, consider how much you depend on the Holy Spirit in your daily life. Do you tend to see spiritual growth primarily as a product of your own efforts and disciplines? Or do you consciously rely on the supernatural power of God working within you? This chapter invites you to live not just a moral life, but a supernatural one.
Before You Read
- How comfortable are you with the Holy Spirit's role in your spiritual life? Is He a living reality to you or more of a theological concept?
- Where in your life might you be trying to substitute natural effort for supernatural power?
Supernaturalized: The Power of the Holy Spirit
This final chapter addresses the supernatural power that makes all the previous aspects of growth possible: the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, all our efforts to grow would be merely theoretical.
The New Age
To understand the Holy Spirit's work, we need to understand our place in salvation history. The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost marked the dawn of a new age - the final age anticipated in the Old Testament. The Spirit's presence in believers is the proof that we have been "plucked up out of the old age and placed into the new age."
Three Kinds of Men
C.S. Lewis identified three kinds of people:
- Those who live purely for themselves
- Those who acknowledge a moral code but feel constant tension between that code and their natural desires
- Those who have "rejected the claims of Self altogether," whose will has been "turned round, reconditioned, and made into a new thing"
The second kind of person may keep rules, but in a "taxpaying" manner - begrudgingly, hoping to have something left over for themselves. The third kind of person has moved beyond this to a different plane entirely.
We only get from person 2 to person 3 through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit empowers us to do what would be impossible on our own - to embrace "the freefall of total abandon" to Christ.
Redirecting Our Gaze
How does the Spirit actually change us? By making Christ wonderful to us. The Spirit doesn't draw attention to himself but spotlights Jesus. Like a brain enabling us to enjoy a beautiful sight, the Spirit enables us to enjoy Christ.
Discussion Questions
- How would you describe your current relationship with the Holy Spirit?
- Which of Lewis's three kinds of people best describes your current approach to the Christian life?
- In what areas are you trying to live the Christian life in a "taxpaying" manner?
- How does understanding that we live in the "new age" of the Spirit change your perspective on your struggles against sin?
- How can you grow in keeping step with the Spirit in your daily life?
Application
This week, practice moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit. When facing temptation, when needing wisdom, when feeling spiritually dry, consciously pray, "Holy Spirit, I need you right now. I can't do this on my own." Take note of how this practice affects your experience of the Christian life. At the end of each day, reflect on moments when you relied on the Spirit versus when you operated in your own strength.