View source for The incredible greatness of His power',

'''Back to [[Man's religion & God's religion 11]]'''
----
<p>&quot;I pray that you will begin to understand <strong>the incredible<br />
            greatness of His power</strong> to us who believe Him.&quot; Eph. 1:19<br />
          <br />
          <strong>The work of God on the soul</strong>, is a work of sovereign and <br />
          omnipotent power! See what a mighty power was put forth in <br />
          turning us from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan <br />
          unto God; and how it was the outstretched arm of Omnipotence <br />
          alone, which could deliver us from the power of darkness and <br />
          bring us into the eternal heavenly kingdom.<br />
          <br />
          Consider <strong>the difficulties which grace has to overcome</strong>, <br />
          in the &quot;quickening&quot; of a dead soul into spiritual life. View <br />
          the depths of the fall. Contemplate . . .<br />
          the <strong>death of the soul</strong> in trespasses and sins,<br />
          the <strong>thorough alienation</strong> from the life of God,<br />
          the darkness, blindness, and ignorance of the <strong>understanding</strong>,<br />
          the perverseness of the <strong>will</strong>,<br />
          the hardness of the <strong>conscience</strong>,<br />
          and the depravity of the <strong>affections</strong>!<br />
          <br />
          <strong>View the soul's . . .</strong><br />
          obduracy, stubbornness and obstinacy;<br />
          its pride, unbelief, infidelity and self-righteousness;<br />
          its passionate love to, habitual practice of, and long <br />
          imprisonment to sin. Consider its strong prejudices <br />
          against everything godly and holy!<br />
          <br />
          Contemplate the desperate, implacable enmity of the <br />
          <strong>carnal mind</strong> against God Himself—its firm and deep<br />
          rooted love to the world, in all its varied shapes and <br />
          forms—and remember also how all its hopes, happiness, <br />
          and prospects are bound up in the things of time and sense!<br />
          <br />
          <strong>O what a complicated mass of difficulties, do all these <br />
            foes </strong>form in their firm combination, like a compact, well<br />
          armed, thoroughly trained army—against any power which <br />
          would seek to dislodge them from their position!<br />
          <br />
          Add to this—all the power, malice, and deceitful arts of <strong><br />
            Satan</strong>, as the strong armed man—keeping the palace night <br />
          and day, and yielding to none but the stronger than he!<br />
          <br />
          Consider, too, the <strong>sacrifices </strong>which must often be made<br />
          by one who is to live godly in Christ Jesus . . .<br />
          the tenderer ties, perhaps, to be broken;<br />
          the lucrative prospects which have to be abandoned;<br />
          old friends to be renounced;<br />
          family connections to be given up;<br />
          position in life to be lost;<br />
          shame and contempt to be entailed on oneself!<br />
          <br />
          Viewing, then, a soul dead in sin, with<strong> all</strong> <strong>these <br />
            difficulties and obstacles</strong> in their complicated array, <br />
          must we not pronounce that to be <strong>a mighty act of <br />
            power </strong>which, in spite of <strong>all these apparently invincible <br />
              hindrances</strong>, lifts it up and out of them all, into a new <br />
          and spiritual life? So fully and thoroughly is this fruit <br />
          and effect of omnipotent power, and of omnipotent <br />
          power alone, that it is spoken of in the word as . . .<br />
          a new and heavenly <strong>birth</strong>;<br />
          a new <strong>creation</strong>;<br />
          a <strong>resurrection<br />
            </strong>—all which terms imply a putting forth of a divine power,<br />
          as distinct from and independent of any creature effort.<br />
          <br />
          Contemplate also, the mighty power of God in &quot;maintaining&quot;<br />
          divine life in our soul. We have to see and feel . . .<br />
          what mountains of difficulty,<br />
          what seas of temptation,<br />
          what winds and storms of error,<br />
          what assaults and snares of Satan,<br />
          what floods of vileness<strong> </strong>and ungodliness within and without,<br />
          what strong lusts and passions,<br />
          what secret slips and falls,<br />
          what backsliding and departures from the living God,<br />
          what long seasons of darkness, barrenness, and death,<br />
          what opposition of the flesh to the strait and narrow way,<br />
          what crafty hypocrites, pretended friends, false professors <br />
          —all striving to throw down or entangle our steps!<br />
          <br />
          Consider also, what helplessness, inability, and miserable <br />
          impotency <strong>in ourselves</strong> to all that is good; and what headlong <br />
          proneness to all that is evil.<br />
          <br />
          We have also to ponder over <strong>what we have been and what <br />
            we still are</strong>, since we professed to fear God—and how, when <br />
          left to ourselves, we have done nothing but sin against and<br />
          provoke God to His face!<br />
          <br />
          And thus as read over article by article, this long dark catalogue, <br />
          still to have a sweet persuasion that the life of God is in our soul<br />
          —we realize, believe, and feel, and bless God for His surpassing, <br />
          super-abounding grace, in <strong>maintaining </strong>this divine life in our soul.<br />
          <br />
          &quot;Where <strong>sin </strong>abounded, <strong>grace </strong>did much more abound!&quot; Rom. 5:20
----
'''Back to [[Man's religion & God's religion 11]]'''