The Good That Is in Us

The Good That Is in Us

“That the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Ph. 6.

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells . . . .” Rom. 7:18.

It can appear as if these two scriptures contradict each other, but if we read the epistle to the Romans, we will see that Paul differentiates between being in the flesh and in the Spirit. If we live according to the flesh, we will die, but if we, by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body, we will live. That is when much good remains in us, because then the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us. Rom. 8:4, 13.

“Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Phil. 1:11.

When the Word of God is spoken with power, and the light shines in the church, we all feel poor when it comes to good works, and we see things that need to be cleansed away. Then there are some who lose courage and conclude that it is hopeless. They would prefer that the light would not shine any further than they have come, so they could feel that they were on top of it all. However, we who reach out for the things that lie ahead, we rejoice in the light.

Not everyone can rejoice in the light. When (because of the light that is shining) they see their poverty of good works and the things that need to be cleansed away, they stand up and whine and lament their poverty and everything that must be cleansed away. They ask for forgiveness and promise that from now on it will be different. That is the very point on which they are wrong, because it can never be different if they are to go from light to light, which is the growth of God. We are not supposed to get to know all the bad things in one another, because we cannot work for Christ in that fellowship. I cannot say to someone who brings out all the bad things that are in him, “Come along, we are going to help people to do the good and work for Christ.” To do that, they must bring out the good that is in themselves. You may ask, “Is that not hypocrisy?” Not at all! The fact that you see things that need to be cleansed away is evidence that you are in the Spirit. You put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit. Do not make a show of it. Do not arrange a big funeral with mourners and sumptuous meals, but rather cleanse it away in all quietness and put it to death.

It is another matter if you are in the flesh and are doing things which you know are wrong. Then you sit there convicted in your conscience and are aware of specific things in your life of which you need to repent. Then it is only hypocrisy for you to stand up and say it is not as it should be with you, and that you ought to be more God-fearing. Then you should rather confess your sin and mention the thing you are living in, by name, and fall on your face and pray to God for salvation. Go to the one against whom you have sinned and confess it; or go to one or two people you can trust and ask them to pray with you so you can get the victory over the sin that binds you. Only then will you begin to take matters seriously.

Everyone likes to hear or see results of his testimony. Perhaps you like to hear one after the other get up—after you have testified—and say, “Now I can see how wretched I am and how far behind I am, and I realize that it must become completely different with me,” etc. Then it appears as if your testimony has had great results. There are a few people who never get any further than standing up and testifying like that. Perhaps you keep them down. Let no one keep you down. You must learn to differentiate between being in the flesh and in the Spirit, so you can grow up to Him who is the Head and become fully equipped for the work of ministry.

“Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to exhort one another.” Rom. 15:14.

That is how it was among the Romans, and Paul worked with them to that end. We also need to see to it that we let Jesus work in our daily life so we can be filled with the fruit of righteousness, and when we then come together, every one of us has something to bring. Then all of us are able to exhort one another. We get to know the good that is in each one of us, and the result is fellowship in the faith and work for Christ.