True Spirituality I. Introduction II. Background ( Objective Context of Spirituality ) III. Technical Development A. Three Considerations of True Spirituality (Rejected-Slain-Raised) B. Three Spiritual Categories of Men C. Three Conditions of True Spirituality IV. Spirituality and Spiritual Growth V. Key Passages VI. Summary

Key Spirituality Passages 1. John 15: John 1:1 – 2:11 3. Eph 5:1-21

Spirituality Expressions 1. Walk in the SpiritGal 5:16; Rom 8:4 2. Be filled with the Spirit/Eph 5:18 Let the Word of Christ dwell in youCol 3:16 3. Abide in Me/Him (Christ)John 15: Fellowship with Him1 John 1:3, Walk in the light1 John 1:7; Eph 5:8 6. Walk in loveEph 5:2 7. Walk in wisdom/truth/commandmentsEph 5:15; Col 4:5; 3 Jn Walk in newness of lifeRom 6:4 9. Walk in manner worthy/pleasing Eph 4:1; Col 1:10; 1 Th 2:12

He That is SpiritualLewis Sperry Chafer pg. 103 “Careless Christians are not concerned with the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, or with the exact distinctions which condition true spirituality; but these distinctions and conditions do appeal to those who really desire a life that is well pleasing to God. We find that Satan has pitfalls and counterfeit doctrines in the realm of the deepest spiritual realities. The majority of these false teachings are based on a misapprehension of the Bible teaching about sin, especially the sin question as related to the believer.”

He That is SpiritualLewis Sperry Chafer pg. 40 “The transition from the carnal to the spiritual, is treated at length in the Bible. However, it is possible to know the doctrine and not to have entered into its blessings; as it is possible, on the other hand, to have entered in some measure into the experience and not to have known the doctrine. This gospel of deliverance has suffered much from those who have sought to understand its principles by analyzing some personal experience apart from the teaching of the Scriptures.”

False Spirituality Emotionalism/Sentimentalism Emotionalism/Sentimentalism Piety/Legalism/Moralism Piety/Legalism/Moralism

GraceLewis Sperry Chafer pg. 288 “Too often the Christian life is presented as being a matter of observing certain rules and sustaining a superficial outward conduct, to the neglect of the divinely provided, victorious, overflowing life in the Spirit. Notwithstanding the consternation of the untaught legalist who proposes to regulate Christian conduct by precept, the truth stands that the Lord's day imposes no rules, and yields to no law.”

Robert Dean, Jr. “Failure to take into account the reality that the sin nature can produce morality has led to much confusion and distortion in teaching about the spiritual life…Paul implies that a believer can distinguish between the good and moral that the sin nature generates, and that which the Holy Spirit produces through the believer…Morality alone is never sufficient to control the lust of the sin nature because that same fallen nature produces human morality…In Galatians 5:16 it becomes clear why Paul makes dependence on the Holy Spirit central to the spiritual life. The moral qualities produced by mere human ability cannot approximate the ethical virtues exemplified in the spiritual life God desires for believers in the Church Age.” “A supernatural means produces the virtues and Christ-like character unique to the Christian life.” Abiding in Christ: A Dispensational Theology of the Spiritual Life (Part 2 of 3), CTS Journal 7 (October-December 2001), pp Abiding in Christ: A Dispensational Theology of the Spiritual Life (Part 2 of 3), CTS Journal 7 (October-December 2001), pp

False Spirituality Emotionalism/Sentimentalism Emotionalism/Sentimentalism Piety/Legalism/Moralism Piety/Legalism/Moralism Intellectualism Intellectualism

GraceLewis Sperry Chafer pg. 344 “The child of God is free. He has been delivered from every aspect of the law - as a rule of life, as an obligation to make himself acceptable to God, and as a dependence on the impotent flesh. Likewise, he has been delivered from ideals and conventionalities of the world. He is as free in himself as though he had already passed on into heaven. “[It is as though we have been released to the freedom we will enjoy in heaven, as long as we align with the grace provision of God to be and walk accordingly. Adherence to law in any form contributes nothing to this at all.]”

He That Is SpiritualLewis Sperry Chafer pg. 141 “We are dealing always with our Father. Too often the walk in the Spirit is thought to be a mechanical thing. We are not dealing with a machine: we are dealing with the most loving and tender-hearted Father in all the universe. The deepest secret of our walk is just to know Him, and so to believe in His Father-heart that we can cry out our failures on His loving breast, if need be, or speak plainly to Him in thanksgiving for every victory. When we know the consolation and relief of such communion we shall have less occasion to trouble anyone else. It is ours to tell Him just what we feel, just how bad we are at heart, and even our darkest unbelief. To do this only opens our hearts in Him for His blessed light and strength.”

YIELDEDNESS DOCTRINE APPLICATION SPIRITUALITY CONFESSION Spiritual Man WALK IN THE SPIRIT

Robert Dean, Jr. “The fruit is the result of the believer’s process of walking in dependence on the Holy Spirit. Fruit is character produced by the Holy Spirit, not the believer. The believer is to abide in Christ, and to walk by the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit produces the fruit.” Abiding in Christ: A Dispensational Theology of the Spiritual Life (Part 2 of 3), CTS Journal 7 (October-December 2001), pg. 17. Abiding in Christ: A Dispensational Theology of the Spiritual Life (Part 2 of 3), CTS Journal 7 (October-December 2001), pg. 17.

Robert Dean, Jr. “The Spirit does not operate in a vacuum, but always in conjunction with the Word of God, the light of divine revelation…Emphasis on the Holy Spirit without equal emphasis on learning and applying the principles of revelation would inevitably lead the believer to a subjective mystical approach. In contrast, emphasis on study apart from the indispensable role of the Holy Spirit leads to knowledge for knowledge’s sake, a merely academic emphasis confusing human morality with [fruitfulness in truth] produced by the Holy Spirit.” Abiding in Christ: A Dispensational Theology of the Spiritual Life (Part 2 of 3), CTS Journal 7 (October-December 2001), pg. 23. Abiding in Christ: A Dispensational Theology of the Spiritual Life (Part 2 of 3), CTS Journal 7 (October-December 2001), pg. 23.