What is shared herein is designed to further your
acquaintance with the Lord Jesus on high, and to enrich your fellowship with Him and with
the Father. Through prayerful meditation in None But the Hungry Heart #5, we trust the
Holy Spirit will bring about a strengthening of faith and an upward drawing of heart.

Furthermore, it is hoped that these thoughts may provide
you an opportunity to try your “faith wings”–to learn more fully the need to
abide above, and thereby walk here below in the “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:2).

“And this I pray, that your love may
abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment (discernment); that ye may
approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day
of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto
the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).

-Miles J. Stanford; Sept. 1973

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5-1.
THE GREATEST

“We love Him, because He first loved
us” (1 John 4:19).

We first come to know something of the Lord Jesus' love by
what He did for us; but that is only the basis for coming to know His love in what He is
to us. The first is known at the Cross, the latter is entered into through personal
fellowship with the risen Lord.

“There are three steps in appreciation of His love for
us. First, I learn that He loves me so much that He saved me. He is our treasure 'My Beloved is mine' (Song of Solomon 6:3). The second step of affection is the consciousness that He loves me
so much that He has a right to me. He would have me for Himself. 'I am my Beloved's' (Song of Solomon 6:3).

“The third step is the consciousness that He loves me
so much that He wants my company 'His
desire is toward me' (Song of Solomon 7:10). Love's
delight is found in the company of its object. May we know in a deeper way, and in a
fuller measure, the sweetness of personal intimacy with 'the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me' (Galatians
2:20).

“Much ministry is lost upon us as to any practical
result, because we are not prepared to be detached from things here, so as to be simply
here for Christ. And the preparation for this is to come personally under the influence of
the blessed attractiveness of the Lord Jesus. When we sit under His shadow with great
delight, everything else becomes so small, and loses its hold upon our hearts.”
-C.A.C.

“But we all, with unveiled face
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory
to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

5-2.
INITIAL PREPARATION

“Saul armed David with his armor….
And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not tested them” (1
Samuel 17:38, 39).

Years of preparation are worth a moment of truth! Rest
assured that once we are developed and trained by the Holy Spirit, the work whereunto He
has called us will be ready and waiting (Acts
13:2). “Our Lord must have an instrument which He
has formed in the fire and to which He has given peculiar knowledge of Himself.”

“The greater the knowledge committed to a servant, the
more necessary and important it is that he should be much alone with God about it, in
order that he may realize the nature and effect of it on himself before he undertakes to
make it known to others.

“It rebukes the haste and readiness with which many
now enter the ministry, attempting to impress others with a measure of the truth which
they have not proved for themselves. Surely the servant should ever be able to say: 'I believed, and therefore have I spoken' (2
Corinthians 4:13). It is better to lose time as to work
in preparation for service than to lose time in repairing one's mistakes in undertaking a
work for which one is not yet qualified.”

“A servant's discipline must always be in advance of
the service prepared for him. He cannot lead beyond the point to which he himself has been
led. But when the depth and reality of the truth has been established in his own soul, he
is made the channel of it.”

“I have found that many a thing which I had presented
in an extreme way because I was sure of it, I put forth in a simpler and a more real way
when I had touched it in my own experience.” -J.B.S.

“That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you” (1 John 1:3).

5-3.
APPREHENDED TO APPREHEND

“I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

Positionally, our Father subjected our old nature to the
Cross and its resultant death. Experientially, He applies the work of the Cross to our old
life, thereby progressively holding it in the grip of that death. He is
“unforming” the old nature in death, and conforming the new nature in life.

“Life more abundant requires that what He did for us
shall be made good in us. In His Cross He dealt with our sins, and He also dealt with
ourselves; but that is something which has to be made good progressively. It is as we
ourselves are dealt with in the power of the Cross that the way is made for His life to
express itself in ever deepening fullness.

“The fact is that it is the old life which is in the
way of the new life and its full expression. It is the natural life which obstructs the
course of the divine life. Thus what has been done for us has to be done in us, and as it
is done in us that life becomes more than a deposit, more than a simple, though glorious
possession; it becomes a deepening, growing power, a fullness of expression.” -T.
A-S.

“You may have been in the fires and have been having a
pretty hard and painful time in your spiritual life, but that only means that God has been
preparing you for something more. No, God is not a God who believes in bringing everything
to an end. He is always after something more. And if He has to clear the way for something
more by devastating methods (Cross), well, that is all right, for it is something more
that He is after. There is so much more, far, far transcending all our asking or
thinking.”

“I follow after, if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12).

5-4. FIXED
POSITION

“And He said to them all, If any man
will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me”
(Luke 9:23)

True spiritual experience will result from our standing
immovable in our position “in Christ.” All too often believers allow certain
“experiences” to move them from the faith-ground of their objective position,
and they are soon adrift on the sea of subjective feelings and unscriptural influences.

“The Christian life is essentially a continuous dying,
and a continuous living. Of course, there may come a particular crisis in experience where
the Spirit of God brings the soul face to face with a definite issue as to a willingness
for the Cross, and a yielding of the life to God. Yes, the first revelation of the secret
of victory also may constitute a real crisis in the life of the believer, but that crisis
or experience can never, in itself, avail for the future.

“There is a subtle danger in relying upon some
isolated experience of 'sanctification,' so-called. The victorious Christian life is a
Person, not an experience. Following the crisis, whatever phase or landmark in the life
that may represent, there must be the daily reckoning, the moment-by-moment abiding and
the control of the Holy Spirit. Whatever may have been our experience of holiness, and the
measure of spiritual attainment in the past, we can never get beyond the need of abiding
in Christ and the continuous reckoning of faith.” -R.W.

“For we, alive though we are, are
continually surrendering ourselves to death for the sake of Jesus” (2 Corinthians
4:11, Wey.).

5-5. OLD
REJECTED, NEW ACCEPTED

“You were set free from the tyranny of
Sin, and became the bondservants of Righteousness” (Romans 6:18 Wey.).

The principle underlying resurrection life is, of all
things, death. “For since we have
become one with Him by sharing in His death, we shall also be one with Him by sharing in
His resurrection. Surrender your very selves to God as living men who have risen from the
dead” (Romans 6:5, 13, Wey.). Let the facts of
your position overwhelm the feelings of your condition.

“By exercising faith in the Word, apart from any
feelings, be 'planted together with Him
in the likeness of His death' (Romans 6:5). Only by
thus standing in your position will you begin to experience 'the likeness of His
resurrection. Reckon on your life-union with Him. Reject the old life on the basis of your
death in Christ on the Cross, and count yourself alive in Him until He makes experiential
your resurrection position. Do not forget that you must stand firmly upon the specific
truths: 'dead indeed unto sin–alive
unto God in Christ Jesus' (Romans 6:11).

“The sharing of His life is our blessed experience
just in the measure in which we share His death. So many of us are content merely that the
Cross should be the power to save us from the penalty of sin, but death was not the end of
the manifestation of Christ. It was resurrection, and it is the risen life, shining forth
in the believer, that alone can carry out the purpose of God in redemption. The believer,
in whose daily attitude the mark of resurrection is seen, becomes what the world is
looking for, a convincing witness to the power of the Living Redeemer.” -G.W.

“That I may know Him and the power of
His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10).

5-6.
TRANSFERRED AND TRANSFORMED

“If [since] ye, then, be risen with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of
God” (Colossians 3:1).

The growth truths seem complicated and difficult to
understand on first encounter. However, with progress in grace we find them to be as clear
and logical as the truth of justification. For both time and eternity, all is summed up in
John 17:3: “And this is life
eternal. . . [to] know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ.” Study on!

“The marvel of divine grace is that not only has
everything according to the heart of God been secured for me through the death and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, but that I, a child of Adam, should be, not only in peace
with God where I was under His judgment, but that I am transferred from Adam to Christ,
and I am to have Christ formed in me now.

“I am born of God–of new and divine origin–a new
creation to be here on earth now where I was a child of Adam, in the grace and beauty of
Christ, led by His own power to stand for Him; daily more and more 'transformed into the same image from glory to glory
even as by the Spirit of the Lord' (2 Corinthians 3:18).”

“I used to study this passage and that passage to
obtain guidance and light. I see now that if I were really near Him beholding His glory (2 Corinthians 3:18), I should be transformed, should come from Him so impressed with Himself
that His interests would, as it were, naturally control me.” -J.B.S.

“When the heart has found its rest and satisfaction in
Him, it can turn to Him naturally and continually in every circumstance.”

“Set your affection on things above,
not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).

5-7. ABIDE
ABOVE

“And hath raised us up together, and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).

The Cross has separated us from the power of sin (Romans 6:11),
the old man (Romans 6:6), the world (Galatians
6:14), the law (Romans 7:4), and the devil (Hebrews 2:14).
The Spirit has joined us to our risen Lord, and we are “hidden with Christ in
God” (Colossians 3:3). We are free–to abide above; free–to fellowship with our Father
in glory.

“The lack I find in souls is, that while they know
that their sins are forgiven, they do not know their new place. What place do you have? Is
it earth or heaven? It could not possibly be earth, for the Lord Jesus was rejected from
the earth. It has a great moral effect upon a person to be able to say, 'I have a place in
heaven; I have no property on earth at all, it is all in heaven.'

“'It is the Lord's property I have on earth, but in
heaven I have my own.' In the garden of Eden, man lost his place; the question to him then
is, First–Where art thou? then, What hast thou done? Every believer seeks to be clear as
to the latter, but very few are clear about the former.” -J.B.S.

“Many do not go beyond Christ's resurrection; they do
not extend to His ascension. They do not know Him in glory. They are occupied with Him in
relation to their own side. He was at my side and glorified God there both in His walk
here and in His death; but He is now at His own side, and it is there I intelligently
realize the vastness of my life, for He is my life.”

“My mind must rise above what I am to what God is;
then it is that one is formed by the revelation of what God is. To this we are
called.” -J.N.D.

“Faithful is He that calleth you, who
also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

5-8.
POSITION POSSESSED

“The God of peace . . . working in you
that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ” (Hebrews 13:20, 21).

Abiding involves a dual choice. We can abide in the old
nature and thereby become the victims of the internal civil war as depicted in Romans
Seven. Or, we can abide (rest) in the risen Lord Jesus, the Source of our new nature, and
thereby become the glad recipients of His life and liberty, as depicted in Romans Eight. “The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).

“How do we abide? 'Of God are ye in Christ Jesus' (1 Corinthians 1:30). It is all the work of God to place you there, and He has done it.
Now stay there! Do not be moved back onto the ground of the old nature. Never look at
yourself as though you were not in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Him and see
yourself a new creation in Him. Look at Him as the very source of your Christian life.
Abide in Him. Rest in the fact that God has placed you in eternal union with His Son, and
let the Holy Spirit take care of His work in you. It is for Him to make good the glorious
promise that 'sin shall not have
dominion over you' (Romans 6:14).”

“We should be spared years of struggle and failure if
we learned at once–as the converts did in the days of Paul–that we ourselves were taken
through the death of the Lord Jesus. The past blotted out, the pardoned sinner accounted
crucified with the crucified Lord, henceforth joined as a new creation to the risen Lord
and now sharing His life (Romans 5:10).”

“The Lord Jesus is all that we need for all that we
are.”

“Your life is hidden with Christ in
God” (Colossians 3:3).

5-9. WRONG
SOURCE

“Rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no
confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3).

There are two ways in which God reveals to us the true
condition of the natural man. The first is via the Word: “In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing”
(Romans 7:18). The second is via experience: years of
struggle with the constant sinfulness and failure of that old nature. If we were more
willing to face up to the incorrigibility of the Adamic life within, it might not take us
so long to be freed from its domination.

“It is quite possible for every one of us to have a
perfectly good conscience. A happy state to be in! Have you a good conscience? Are you
under accusation, under condemnation? Are you fretting and worrying about the badness of
your own heart? That means that you have not the answer of a good conscience to God. What
is the matter? You are still looking for something from nature, from the old man. You had
better give it up, as that is the only way out; repudiate it.

“Tell yourself and tell the accuser once for all that
in you, that is, in your flesh, dwelleth no good thing, and you never expect to find
anything. The enemy knows it, and yet he is trying to get you on an impossible quest for
something he knows you will never find, and that is how he worries you. Years of it! Then
why not come onto the Lord's ground and out-maneuver him? Let us settle it that we can
never expect to find any good in our old nature. All our good is in another, even our Lord
Jesus. It is 'the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus' (Romans 8:2).” -T. A-S.

“Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty
with which Christ hath made us free” (Galatians 5:1).

5-10.
“SEARCH ME, O GOD”

“I, the Lord, search the heart”
(Jeremiah 17:10).

During the early, carnal years we are afraid to face up to
the sinful nature within, not fully realizing that it was dealt with in condemnation to
God's full satisfaction at Calvary. When we come to see that all the old nature was taken
down into the death of the Cross, and in Christ Jesus we are completely clear of its
penalty and power, then it is that we begin to welcome the work of the Cross upon all that
of which the Holy Spirit convicts us.

“The natural man cannot bear the thought of being
searched by God; he cannot stand to think of being found out in his true condition and
character. But to the truly hungry believer it is a positive comfort to be assured that
God knows everything about us; He knows the very worst that can be discovered. He has
searched out all that we are, and in spite of all He has thoughts of blessing concerning
us. There is, therefore, no fear of anything coming to light that might cause Him to
change or reverse His thought of blessing and acceptance.” -C.A.C.

“Our acceptance with God in Christ is perfect, and
therefore unimprovable. It never alters; never varies. And it is very important for us not
to mix the acceptance itself with our enjoyment of it. Our acceptance is 'in Christ,' and
therefore eternal; the enjoyment is 'by the Spirit,' and therefore (because of the working
of the flesh) often hindered.” -J.B.S.

“The sense of His goodness removes the guile of heart
that seeks to conceal its sin.” -J.N.D.

“For I know the thoughts that I think
toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected
end” (Jeremiah 29:11).

5-11.
RELIANT REST

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My
Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

Our Father allows us to be independent until by that means
we come to know our own weakness and need. “Strength is always the effect of having
to do with God in the spirit of dependence.”

“Some say, 'I want to feel that I am strong.' What we
need is to feel that we are weak; this brings in Omnipotence. We shall have a life of
feeling by-and-by in the glory; now we are called upon to lead a life of faith. What
believer but knows from the experience of the deceitfulness of his own heart, that, had we
power in ourselves instead of in Christ, we should be something. This is what God does not
intend.”

“The very essence of the condition of a soul in a
right state is conscious dependence. Now one may use the fact of completeness in Christ to
make one independent. Two things are implied in dependence: first, the sense that we
cannot do without God in a single instance; and, secondly, that He is 'for us.' In other
words, there is confidence in His love and power on our behalf, as well as the
consciousness that without Him we can do nothing.” -J.N.D.

“We are to walk humbly and lean ever and only on the
mighty arm of the living God. Thus the soul is kept in a well-balanced condition, free
from self-confidence and fleshly excitement, on the one hand; and free from gloom and
depression, on the other. If we can do nothing, self-confidence is the height of
presumption. If God can do everything, despondency is the height of folly.”

“But my God shall supply all your need
according; to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

5-12.
TRUSTED TRAINER

“He knoweth the way that I take; when
He hath tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

In every field, whether the arts, industry, sports, or the
Christian life and service in general, the necessary training goes far deeper and is much
more rigorous than the actual performance. “Now, at the time, discipline seems to be a matter not for joy, but for
grief; yet it afterwards yields to those who have passed through its training a result
full of peace–namely, righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11, Wey.).

“The Father chooses the servant who is suited to carry
out His will; but though that servant be endowed by Him with power to do so, yet unless he
be controlled and disciplined by the Spirit of God he will continually fall into the
devisings of his nature, no matter how godly and divine may be his intent. For we greatly
err if we think that having the divine thought is all that is necessary as to our service;
we must truly and efficiently be expressive of the thought; and this subjects us, as
servants of God, to discipline which we often cannot understand.

“Discipline for known faults or shortcomings we can
easily comprehend; but when it is that peculiar order of training which fits a man to be
God's instrument and witness, we can no more understand it than the plants of the earth
can understand why they must pass through all the vicissitudes of winter in order to bring
forth a more abundant harvest.” -J.B.S.

“God leaves us in the world that we may learn the
sufficiency of His grace in practice, as we know the triumph of it in Christ.”

“Jesus answered and said unto him,
What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter” (John 13:7).

5-13.
FREE, TO SERVE

“No man that warreth entangleth
himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who hath chosen him to be a
soldier” (2 Timothy 2:4).

God has a unique plan concerning each one of us. The secret
of realizing our personal calling is not to look at others, but simply to walk in close
fellowship with the Father. “My
soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him” (Psalm 62:5).

“No one Christian has a right to stop on his way for
another; he must go forward himself in individual faithfulness. The effort to drag others
along with us is in reality but a device of Satan to keep ourselves back. Note Jehovah's
word to Jeremiah, 'Let them return unto
thee; but return not thou to them' (Jeremiah 15:19).
Are any desirous of going forward, let them not stop to carry along with them 'the men of
Ephraim.' Far better is it to go on with but a few to follow, than to get numbers with us
who are only halfhearted.”

“You may say, 'Show me a pattern man.' We all like to
copy; but there is no gain in copying. You have to learn the Lord for yourself. All you
learn for yourself will remain, and nothing else. Every one has his own history.”

“It is plain enough that every believer is called of
God to something definite. The real difficulty is to ascertain the specialty, and this I
do not think can be discovered but in nearness to the Lord, and when you are interested in
His interests. We first learn that He is interested in us, and then we gradually become
interested in His interests. It is then you apprehend your mission in life.” -J.B.S.

“And if a man also strive for
masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully” (2 Timothy 2:5).

5-14. FULL
PROVISION

“Let him ask in faith and have no
doubts; for he who has doubts is like the surge of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed
into spray. A person of that sort must not expect to receive anything from the Lord–such
a one is a man of two minds, undecided in every step he takes” (James 1:6-8, Wey.).

First, we are to rest in the fact that our Father has made
full provision for all our needs; positionally, we are complete in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then it is that we can trust Him daily for His “exceeding abundantly above.” “But my God shall supply all
your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19)

“It is true that all God requires of us we lack; but
it is also true that all we need He supplies. The believer can give thanks that God has
supplied all his need as to standing, and He engages to supply all his need as to walk.
But while we see our Father's requirement, and recognize His provision, let us not
overlook our responsibility.

“When we fail it is to this our failure may be traced.
It is not because the provision has been insufficient, or unavailable, or afar off–but
because the channel has been obstructed, the avenues of the soul have been closed, so that
the need has remained unsupplied. Our responsibility lies in the exercise of faith.”
-E.H.

“I will not think of the infinities of my need, except
to lead me to the divine simplicity of the infinity of His supply.” -H.C.G.M.

“And this is the confidence that we
have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us; and if we
know that He hear us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired
of Him” (1 John 5:14, 15).

5-15. THE
FIRST CAUSE

“A man's goings are established of
Jehovah; and he delighteth in His way” (Psalm 37:23, ASV.) .

Throughout time and eternity the God of circumstances has
every situation planned for our good and for His glory (Romans 8:28, 29). That is all
that should matter to us. “Surely
the wrath of man shall praise Thee” “For all things are for your sakes, that the
abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God”
(Psalm 76:10; 2 Corinthians 4:15).

“What the other person said or did to you was
undoubtedly wrong and cannot be justified. Nor did he do it at God's direction; but God
permitted him to do it for some wise reason which will yet prove to have been abundantly
worthwhile for you. By the time that action reached you it had become the will of God for
you, since to a yielded believer there are no second causes.

“He believes the Psalmist's declaration that every
step of his life's pathway has been ordered by the Lord. No trial or affliction can reach
you who are abiding in Him, without His permission. You can, therefore, be confident in
every circumstance of life, however baffling, that it has been permitted in your own best
interest by the wisest and most loving of fathers, who knows our 'load-limit' (1 Corinthians 10:13).” -O.S.

“All that we pass through is that we may get a fresh
view of the Lord Jesus, or a deepening of a former one; but often we are so occupied with
ourselves and the circumstances, that we fail to 'behold the glory of the Lord.'”
-C.T.

“If the external plannings of men or Satan further
God's plans, they succeed; if not, they come to nothing.” -J.N.D.

“Though he fall, he shall not be
utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand” (Psalm 37:24).

5-16.
SELFLESS SERVICE

“In whom also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things
after the counsel of His own will!” (Ephesians 1:11).

It is easy to just “let George do it,” but it is
so unrewarding. There is a Christ-honoring ministry of being and sharing awaiting each
believer, and the secret is to let Christ do it!

“Our Father has a different line of things for
everyone, and each of us has been sent into this world for some special mission. It is not
a question whether it is great or small; it may be only a flower to shed fragrance, though
this is really the greatest of all.

“There is no higher service than moral influence, 'thy
whole body . . . full of light'; and this, of all the highest moral order, is within the
compass of all. 'Christ shall be
magnified in my body whether by life or by death' (Philippians 1:20).” -J.B.S.

“A mark of the true servant is that he is consciously
nothing. John could speak of himself as only a 'voice,' and a greater than John was
consciously 'less than the least of all saints.' The moment we think ourselves to be
anything, we are out of the servant's true position and spirit. There is a beautiful
contrast between John's account of himself, and the Lord's description of him (John 1:22-27; Luke 7:26-28). The more worthy we are of the Lord's commendation, the less do we think of
ourselves.” -C.A.C.

“For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in
them” (Ephesians 2:10).

5-17.
FRUSTRATED ENEMY

“Then saith Jesus unto him, Begone,
Satan” (Matthew 4:10).

There is a great difference between a foe, and; defeated
foe. A conquered enemy can be put to valuable use in the hands of the victor, and that is
exactly what God is doing with that old serpent. Satan is allowed to sift, and try the
believer; he is used of God as a winnowing machine to clear away the chaff in us.

“No power in present things allowed to Satan annuls
the will of the invisible God.” -W.K.

“The story of Job shows clearly that it is God who
sets the limit to the extent of the devil's activities and power. From the human viewpoint
the Cross looks like a colossal failure. In it the victory of the power of evil seemed
complete. But 'the weakness of God is stronger than men' or the enemy, and by the power of
weakness having 'spoiled principalities
and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it' (Colossians 2:15).” -C.J.M.

“It is inevitable that in a world like this the faith
of Christians must be tried. For we are in an enemy's land, and he resents our presence.
And we have an enemy within our gates–the old man–that opposes us too. But take heart
fellow believer, the trials of your faith will be 'found unto praise, honor and glory at the appearing of the Lord Jesus
Christ' (1 Peter 1:7). The happy outcome is a foregone
conclusion. Trials work patience, experience, hope–and these are abiding qualities.
Satan, as it were, is God's scavenger, and all he can do is to remove out of your life
those things that mar your joy, your growth, and your service.”

“For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, that He might destroy [undo] the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

5-18. GAIN
THROUGH LOSS

“But what things were gain to me,
those I counted loss for Christ” (Philippians 3:7).

As far as our Father is concerned, the early and middle
years of the Christian life have to do primarily with our spiritual development. Maturity
must underlie all abiding effectiveness. Most of our service during this time is learning
how not to do it.

“Incalculable harm has been done to the deeper
spirituality of the Church, by the idea that when once we are saved the using of the gifts
in His service follows as a matter of course. No; for this there is indeed needed very
special grace. And the way in which the grace comes is again that of sacrifice and
surrender. We must see how all our gifts and powers are, even though we be children of
God, still defiled by sin, and under the power of the old nature. We must feel that we
cannot at once proceed to use them for God's glory. We must first lay them at Christ's
feet, to be accepted and cleansed by Him.

“We must feel ourselves utterly powerless to use them
aright. We must see that they are most dangerous to us, because through them the flesh,
the old nature, will so easily exert its power. In this conviction we must part with them,
giving them entirely to the Lord. When He has accepted them, and set His stamp upon them,
we receive them back, to hold them as His property, to wait on Him for the grace to daily
use them aright, and to have them act only under His influence.” -A.M.

“Above all the difficulty which Paul had to meet in
his care of the churches, that which arose from our disposition to return to the law, or
to 'confidence in the flesh,' was the most frequent and the greatest.”

“I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

5-19.
ABIDING PRAYER

“And this is the confidence that we
have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us” (1 John
5:14).

In order for us to pray according to His will, we must
first know His will; not only that, but His blessed will must become our will. “If ye abide in Me . . . ask what ye will, and
it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). Prayer is
the fellowship of an intimate, living union; as with all of the Christian life, it must be
carried on in dependence upon the Holy Spirit. He is known as “the Spirit of grace and of supplications” (Zechariah
12:10).

“If I ask anything of God, and have received His
answer, I then act with assurance, with the conviction that I am in the path of His will;
I am happy and contented. If I meet with some difficulty, this does not stop me; it is
only an obstacle which faith has to surmount.

“But if I have not this certainty before I begin, I am
in indecision, I know not what to do. There may be a trial of my faith, or it may be that
I ought not to do what I am doing. I am in suspense, and I hesitate; even if I am doing
the will of God, I am not sure about it, and I am not happy. I ought therefore to be
assured that I am doing His will before I begin to act.” -J.N.D.

“All flows from the soul being consciously in the
place where it is set, in Christ risen. He can then trust us with the knowledge of His
will; He can trust the sons of the family with the family affairs.”

“And if we know that He hear us,
whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (1 John
5:15).

5-20.
SPIRIT-MOTIVATED SURRENDER

“Keep on seeking the things above
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:7, Wms.).

When the Spirit of Christ has the hungry heart prepared,
there will be surrender. No struggle; no questions. “We reason when we ought to
repose; we doubt when we ought to depend. Confidence in our Father's love is the true
corrective in all things.” “For
I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have
committed unto Him” (2 Timothy 1:12).

“If a believer surrenders or lays aside anything
without an adequate divine motive, he will either secretly hanker after it, and probably
long to return to it, or he will take credit to himself for having given it up, and will
thus reveal self-righteousness and spiritual pride.

“A certain school of religious teachers make much of
'surrender' as the way to attain blessing, but it ends in self-sufficiency, because the
only motive that is presented for it is the acquisition of a better spiritual state, or
power for service, or something of that kind. A divine motive and attraction is needed if
souls are to be drawn into the race and prepared to surrender in a truly spiritual way,
and this divine motive and attraction is our risen Lord in Glory.” -C.A.C.

“Communion with the Lord Jesus requires our coming to
Him in the Word. Meditating upon His person and His work requires the prayerful study of
His Word. Many fail to abide in Him because they habitually fast instead of feast.”
-J.H.T.

“Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us;
for Thou also hast wrought all our works in us. O Lord our God, other lords beside Thee
have had dominion over us; but by Thee only will we make mention of Thy name” (Isaiah
26:12, 13).

5-21.
FULLNESS OF LIFE

“To know the love of Christ which
passeth knowledge that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians
3:19).

Our Father's fullness of supply infinitely exceeds the sum
of our needs. Positionally it is so: “For
in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him.” Conditionally it is so: “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how
shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Colossians 2:9, 10; Romans
8:32).

“As to the Gospel and the work of the Lord Jesus, I do
not find that it is adequately apprehended that the benefit conferred by the Father is far
beyond the need of the sinner. You cannot measure the benefit by the need. You may ask,
'Does it not cover the need?' It does; but you get no clue to the benefit from the measure
of the need. You cannot find it in your own thoughts or expectations; it cannot be found
anywhere save in our Father's heart. It is 'above all that we ask or think. . . . '

“How little, indeed, do we enter into the fullness of
the benefits of the Gospel! The elder brother in Luke 15 did not object to his brother
being forgiven, but it was unwelcome to him to see the wonderful excess of grace bestowed
on him by the Father. 'Thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.' Many have the sense of
forgiveness without the knowledge of His abundance.” -J.B.S.

“We shall never be able to glorify God, if we only
take what we need.”

“Now unto Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh
in us, unto Him be glory” (Ephesians 3:20, 21).

5-22. FROM
MILK TO MEAT

“By people who live on milk I mean
those who are imperfectly acquainted with the teaching concerning righteousness. Such
persons are mere babes” (Hebrews 5:13, Wey.).

Promises and blessings have mainly to do with the milk of
the Word. In order for a believer to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus,
he must fellowship with Him in the Word. There is general Bible study, and there is
feeding upon the Lord Jesus in the Word of life. The former serves for foundation, the
latter is needed for growth.

“People may receive 'blessings' and temporary
'deliverances' in answer to prayer, for God is merciful to His children and His Spirit
refreshes and blesses us even apart from the real walk of faith. But it is of greater
benefit finally to us, and much greater glory to God, if we simply accept His Word and
learn to walk in the power of it by naked faith; which asks no longer certain ecstasies,
but being sure of God's truth because it is His truth, maintains an attitude of faith
therein; attitude–a fixed heart.

“Faith, when once we see the truth, consists of a
believing attitude of the will toward God. This involves a negative attitude toward all
doubt of His promises or anything that would raise a doubt; and it also involves a
continued refusal to rest upon appearances or feelings, even though these may come in
great abundance. It is God's written Word that supplies strength to the heart of
faith.” -W.R.N.

“It is an easy thing to set sail and get fairly out
into the ocean; but when many days have passed and no land is in sight, one is apt to
weary. If the heart is not fully occupied with the Lord in the Word, something is taken on
board to fill up the void.”

“Nourished up in the words of faith
and of good doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:6).

5-23. GOD
WILL DO IT

“For it is God who works in you both
will and deed” (Philippians 2:13, Cony.)

As we mature we come to see more and more clearly that our
Father just as fully controls our lives as He does the universe. As C.A. Fox said,
“Climb on, and you will find the correcting, the chastening, the cleansing, the
calming of the deep affection of God.”

“All the testing and trying is to first deal with, by
the Cross, that which can never stand the stress and which must be forever failure to the
Lord, and then to develop that which is Christ within us. That is the spiritual
life–Christ in us in all His fullness. 'I will make him a pillar.' 'I will write upon him
the name of my God.' He is going to do it. All the striving will never bring that end
about, but He will do it.

“The great majority of us would say, 'If it all
depends on me, then it is a bad lookout!' Well, of course, that is true, but let us look
at the blessing of Joseph–'The arms of
his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob . . . even by the God
of thy father' (Genesis 49:24, 25).” -C.O.

“Let a man renounce himself, and see himself as
crucified with Christ, and soon another Himself–the Lord Jesus Christ–will take the
central place in the heart, and quietly bring all things under His sway.”

“It is a great thing to offer the Lord Jesus Christ as
the Saviour to sinful man, but it is still greater to express Him in a world where He is
rejected.” -J.B.S.

“According as His divine power hath
given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).

5-24.
GRACE CROWN

“The God of all grace, who hath called
us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect
(mature), establish, strengthen, settle you” (1 Peter 5:10).

At first, the old nature hides from us. Then, we try to
hide from it. But when we begin to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus,
we are able to face up to the awful facts concerning the old man and his condemnation at
the Cross. As the Holy Spirit reveals the old man (Colossians 3:9), we count upon death; as
He reveals the new man (Colossians
3:10), we count upon life (Romans 6:11).

“The believer, at the opening of his course, never
knows his own heart; indeed, he could not bear the full knowledge of it; he would be
overwhelmed thereby. 'The Lord leads us not by the way of the Philistines lest we should
see war, and so be plunged into despair. But He graciously leads us by a circuitous route,
in order that our apprehension of His grace may keep pace with our growing
self-knowledge.” -C.H.M.

“It was not for nothing that God let Satan loose upon
His dear servant, Job. God loved Job with a perfect love; a love that could take account
of everything, and, looking below the surface, could see the deep moral roots in the heart
of His servant–roots which Job had never seen, and, therefore, never judged. What a mercy
to have to do with such a God! to be in the hands of One who will spare no pains in order
to subdue everything in us which is contrary to Himself, and to bring out in us His own
blessed image!”

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under
the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him;
for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:6, 7).

5-25.
STAND WHERE YOU ARE!

“God, who is rich in mercy, for His
great love with which He loved us . . . hath made us alive together with Christ . . . and
hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6).

Believers are not occupying their position! At best, most
are trying to attain a victorious position by means of prayer, Bible study, commitment,
reconsecration, surrender, and so forth. But the answer is simply to abide where we have
already been placed–in our risen Lord Jesus Christ. Abide above, and keep looking down!

“Our Father has taken us over Jordan and placed us in
Canaan, but the reality of it is never known until by faith we accept the fact on the
basis of having died with Christ, and that therefore heaven is our place, and we know it
to be our place now; and that this side is not our place, and we know that it is not.

“The more we abide in the Lord on the other side, the
less disappointed we will be here, for when we are there we import new joys and new hopes
into this old world, from an entirely new one, and we therefore in every way surpass the
inhabitants of this lost world.”

-J.B.S.

“You must abide in Christ in heaven before you can
descend with heavenly ability to act for Him down here. The great secret of all blessing
is to come from the Lord. Most Christians go to Him.”

“Christian experience is our measure of apprehension
of that which is already true of us in the Lord Jesus Christ.” -A.J.

“Stand fast in the Lord”
(Philippians 4:7).

5-26.
“GOOD GROUND”

“Jesus answered and said unto him,
Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee” (John
1:48).

“And other fell on good ground, and
sprang up, and bore fruit an hundredfold” (Luke 8:8). The more fully and thoroughly hearts are cultivated before conversion the
more healthy and fruitful they will be after conversion. Many Christians hurriedly seek to
plant the seed in unprepared soil, and then wonder why it is so soon withered, choked, or
snatched away. “Good ground are
they who. . . having heard the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience”
(Luke 8:15).

“I believe that a work of God sometimes goes on behind
a particular man or family, village or district before the knowledge of the truth ever
reaches them. It is a silent, unsuspected work, not in mind and heart, but in the unseen
realm behind these. Then, when the light of the Gospel is brought, there is no difficulty,
no conflict. The battle has been won.

“It is, then, simply a case of 'stand still and see
the salvation of God.' This should give us confidence in praying intelligently for those
who are far from Gospel light. The longer the preparation, the deeper the work. The deeper
the root, the firmer the plant when once it springs above the ground. I do not believe
that any deep work of God takes root without long preparation somewhere.” -J.O.F.

“Concentrate your prayers on behalf of
some soul or souls and pray for such, night and day, until they come to Christ. Then
continue to pray for them until Christ is formed in them!” (Galatians 4:19).

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and
he shall prepare the way before Me” (Malachi 3:1).

5-27. SLOW
BUT SURE

“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently
for Him; fret not thyself” (Psalm 37:7).

Our Father moves on the basis of His finished work,
therefore hurry is not a factor with Him nor should it be with us. We are to 'walk in the
Spirit,' and the blessed Holy Spirit will see to it that we obtain all that our Father has
for us, step by step. “The steps
of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in His way” (Psalm 37:23). Don't be discouraged–Enoch walked with God for three hundred
years before he was translated!

“We cannot become spiritual all at once; we must be
content to begin as babes. Spiritual maturity and strength do not come by effort but by
growth; and growth is the result of being nourished by proper food. But if we do not grow
by effort it is important to remember that we do not grow without exercise.

“God begins by giving our hearts a sense of the
blessedness of the grace in which He has called us, that we may be awakened and enhungered
to pursue the knowledge of all this with purpose of heart and prayerful study.”
-C.A.C.

“Whatever we do accurately must take time and
collectedness of mind, and there is no accuracy in all the world like keeping company with
God, and yet nothing so free from bondage or tediousness. By going slow with the Lord we
accomplish more than by going with a rush, because what we do is done so much better and
does not have to be undone. It is done in a better spirit, with deeper motives, and bears
fruit far out in the future, when all mushroom performances have been dissipated
forever.” -G.B.W.

“Delight thyself also in the Lord, and
He shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4).

5-28.
HEAVEN NOW AND FOREVER

“[God] hath raised us up together; and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).

In the first stage of our Christian life we seek to bring
the Lord Jesus down to our level, for our use; later on we learn to take our position in
Him at His level, for His use.

“The desire of many and the tendency of all is to
connect the Lord Jesus with ourselves on this earth, instead of accepting that we are in
living union with Him in heaven. The Lord give us to apprehend the reality of our true
position; that we are outside this scene when we are in our true place. We are thankful
that Christ was here, and that He made a pathway through the wilderness, but we have
properly to come from Him in glory to learn the path and to find His succor in it.”

“If you do not know your union with the Lord Jesus in
heaven, you cannot come out in the power of the heavenly Man to act from Him on earth, to
be descriptive of Him. You can never be heavenly by effort. Many seek to be heavenly by
prayer, reading the Word, devotedness, but the only pathway to it is to be brought by the
Holy Spirit to realize union with our risen Lord. You are heavenly by union, by nature.
Abide in Him.”

“Are we prepared to accept our union with the
crucified and risen Lord, not only as the basis of being received by the Father, but also
as the way we walk day by day? If this question was honestly faced, and answered
affirmatively by the members of our churches, there would be no need to endeavor to whip
up a 'revival.' There would be a spontaneous upsurge of life and blessing–the direct work
of the Spirit of God Himself.” -J.C.M.

“Risen with Him through the faith of
the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12).

5-29.
CHRISTO-CENTRIC

“Let this mind be in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

Just whose side are we on? The enemy who would occupy us
with ourselves, or the Comforter who would occupy us with the risen Lord Jesus? The spirit
of death, or the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus? “Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his
servants ye are whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness?” (Romans 6:16).

“If we have only learned the Lord at our own side, the
tendency is to be occupied with ourselves, or to seek to be an object of consideration;
whereas if we have been led by the Spirit to His side, His interests and concerns will
singularly occupy us.”

“The natural inclination is to make oneself the center
of everything passing, how it pains or cheers oneself, even musing on oneself as if one
were the one solitary object for the sunshine or the cloud to rest on. If I am a hero, or
a martyr to myself, I look at and regard divine things as they suit my thinking about
myself, and not as answering to what He is thinking of me. I am confining the Lord to
myself instead of rising up and seeing myself lost in Him, and then following Him in all
the greatness and blessedness of His work and ways down here.” -J.B.S.

“We may love as Jonathan, and follow as Ruth, but
until we know that we are united to the Lord Jesus Christ in glory, we will not be free
enough from our own interests, to take up His.”

“[Who] made Himself of no reputation,
and took upon Him the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7).

5-30.
“LOVE NEVER FAILETH”

“And to know the love of Christ, which
passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians
3:19).

God led the children of Israel into the desert with its
thirst, that He might bless them. “For
they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (1
Corinthians 10:4). It is for no less a reason that He
takes us into the desert at times. “How
shall He not with Him [Christ] also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:2).

“Our Father disciplines us that we may be more fully
free from the old nature, and find everything in the Lord Jesus. But He begins the lesson
with the assurance, 'I love you perfectly.'

“'I bring you into the desert to learn what you are,
and what I am; but it is as those I have brought to Myself!' He gives us a place with the
Lord Jesus, but then shows us what He is and what we are. The discipline of the way
teaches this; but if He, in His love, strikes the furrows in the heart, it is that He may
sow the seed which shall ripen in glory.”

“Those who receive deliverance from their troubles
never grow like those who get strengthened in the difficulties.”

“How slowly one learns that His sympathy is not
expressed in removing the affliction but in raising one above it to Himself, so that He
becomes so endeared to the heart that He is more an object to the heart than
oneself.” -J.B.S.

“The hand of God never deals but in concert with His
heart of infinite love towards us.” -J.N.D.

“Now no chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable
fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

5-31.
ETERNALLY NIGH

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who once
were far off are made near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

Until we know our position in the risen Lord Jesus, we can
never really face up to the sinfulness of our old nature. But “hidden with Christ in
God,” we can both face up to and face away from the old, “looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter [marg.] of our
faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

“God sets me in nearness to Himself in the Lord Jesus;
and as I learn my nearness to Him, I am prepared for the exposure of my natural distance
from Him, and I am, through grace, morally apart and sheltered from it (Romans 8:9), at
the very moment when I see it. The greater my height, the greater the enormity of the
depth appears; but I am safe from it. As a consequence I 'rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh'
(Philippians 3:3).”

“Two things mark spiritual growth; one is a deeper
sense of the sinful old nature, the other is a greater longing after the Lord Jesus
Christ. The sinfulness is discovered and felt as the power of the Holy Spirit increases;
for many a thought and act passes without pain to the conscience where the Lord Jesus is
less before the soul, which will be refused and condemned as the knowledge of the Lord
increases in spiritual power within.” -J.B.S.

“When the Lord Jesus Christ is enjoyed, things unlike
Him drop off like fading leaves.”

“For the word of God is living, and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of
soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Go to frames set

© All rights reserved by the author

Occasionally, we receive correspondence
from individuals (liberal, progressive, postmodern, moral relativist, monist, etc.)
being judgmental and seeking to censor our liberty in
Christ and our obligation to exercise discernment. 
Curiously, these individuals fail to see the hypocrisy of their own position–that of
engaging in the very behavior which they CLAIM is religiously, philosophically or politically unacceptable.  Typically,
they quote Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”
as a 'proof text'
to the exclusion of what the rest of Scripture has to say on the subject. 
Of course, their motive is often that of intimidating anyone who would seek to discern
error/falsehood from truth, immorality from virtue.  Consider the following thoughts written by Miles J. Stanford.   

The
terms “judge,” or “judgment,” are used in different ways in the Word of God;
their meanings and usage are mainly governed by the context in which they are
found.

When they mean to condemn, to sentence, or to punish, man
[individually] is to leave that prerogative with God. 
“Vengeance is
mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19).   [During
"the times of the Gentiles," God has
established government--civil authority--as His earthly delegated
representative/agent to administer justice upon evildoers.  See 
Romans 13:1-7.]

An often misapplied Scripture is
“Judge not” (Matthew 7:1).  This is a command against
hypocritical judgment, and is not directed to those who in love and
sincerity discern whether a teacher or teaching is true or false to the Word. 
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall
be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy
brother's eye, but considereth not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how
wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and,
behold, a beam is in thine own eye. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out
of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of
thy brother's eye” (Matthew 7:1-5).

Actually, the last statement
of this Scripture commands sincere judgment: “then shalt thou see clearly
to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.”  We are not to
forget nor seek to avoid the fact that our Lord Jesus commanded us to
“judge righteous judgment.”  He commended one,
“Thou hast rightly judged.”  He asked others,
“Why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?” (John 7:24;
Luke 7:43; 12:57).  Paul wrote, “I speak as to wise men;
judge ye what I say.”  Again, “He that is spiritual judgeth
all things” (1 Corinthians 10:15; 2:15).

It is all too common and easy for Christians
to assume a critical and censorious attitude toward those who do not share their
opinions about matters other than those which have to do with Bible doctrine
and moral practice.  But it is our privilege and duty to do all we
can to encourage their spiritual growth.  We are to love and pray for one
another, and to consider ourselves lest we be tempted.  The safest and most
profitable thing to do is to judge ourselves.
“For if we would judge ourselves, we should not
be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened (child trained) of the Lord,
that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:31,32).

It will make all the difference if we judge our own faults as uncharitably
as we do the faults of others; and judge the failings of others as charitably as
we do our own!

* Mr. Stanford's statement was
written several decades ago, when the profession to be “scripturally born again”
was largely if not exclusively used in fundamental/evangelical circles. 
Accordingly, the exercise of discernment was conditioned upon a “scriptural”
profession.  It was never his intention to convey the idea that it was impossible
to discern
who are true Christians and who are imposters, e.g. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.  Today, the term “born again” has been
prostituted and carries numerous meanings.  Believers have both the right
and the obligation to discern (judge) when the term is abused or the context is not
scriptural.   Dan R. Smedra

Further comments by Dan R. Smedra

• BIBLICAL KNOWLEDGE
  – An understanding (judgment), supernaturally given to
  new-creation
  Christians by God the Holy Spirit, concerning a specific proposition,
  statement, or point-of-view; the truth or falsehood of which is adequately
  supported by the Word of God–the Bible.  In theological terms, the
  process by which such certain knowledge is obtained is referred to as
  “illumination” and is the sole privilege of new-creation Christians. 
  Despite human fallibility, illumination produces genuine
  (qualitative, not exhaustive) knowledge—knowledge with “epistemological
  certainty.” 

  We do, however, speak a message of
  wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of
  this age, who are coming to nothing.  No, we speak of God's secret
  wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory
  before time began.  None of the rulers of this age understood it, for
  if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  However,
  as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived
  what God has prepared for those who love Him”, but God has
  revealed it to us by his Spirit.  The Spirit searches all things, even
  the deep things of God.  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man
  except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no-one knows the
  thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  We have not received the
  spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand
  what God has freely given us.  This is what we speak, not in words
  taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing
  spiritual truths in spiritual words.  The man without the Spirit does
  not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are
  foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are
  spiritually discerned.  The man without the Spirit does not accept the
  things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him,
  and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 
  The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not
  subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that
  he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.

• OPINION —
  Opinion is a point of view regarding any proposition, statement, theory or
  event, the truth or falsehood of which is supported by evidence.  This evidence renders the viewpoint
  probable, but
  does not produce the degree of knowledge or certainty mentioned above. 
  Opinions often contain some degree of bias and can be
  speculative in nature.  Because men and women originally were created in the
  image of God, they possess a God-given right to form opinions, but only
  in those areas in which the Bible is silent or unclear.  To assert a differing
  opinion where God has provided clarity is arrogance and an act of
  independence/rebellion; it is sin.

• PREJUDICE
  and BIGOTRY —
  Prejudice is a premature, emotionally-adverse perspective, which is formed
  without awareness or regard for evidence or facts.  Bigotry is
  prejudice push to an extreme.  It  finds expression in an
  emotionally-controlled,
  unreasonable, and obstinate attitude and often seeks to masquerade as opinion. 
  Because God is reasonable, just, and fair, both prejudice and bigotry are
  ungodly; they are sin.

• BULLSHIT
  – First, an apology for use of this 'expletive' term. 
  However, given its ubiquitous presence in today's society, it's important to
  provide a clear definition so that you can accurately identify it when
  it's encountered.  The rise of 'bullshitting' and 'bullshitters' is
  directly related to the rise in forms of philosophic relativism,
  which reject categories of truth and error.  Without
  these philosophical categories, or the
  ability to discern the difference, all dialogue is reduced to the level of
  propaganda and/or the exercise of power.  Since no viewpoint can be more
  “true” than another, superiority of argument is measured according to the wit, skill, stealth,
  or force by which the viewpoint is presented.

Bullshit is commonly
used to describe statements made by people more concerned with the response of
the audience than in truth and accuracy, such as goal-oriented statements made
in the field of politics or advertising.

“Bullshit” does not
necessarily have to be a complete fabrication; with only basic knowledge about a
topic, bullshit is often used to make the audience believe that one knows far
more about the topic by feigning total certainty or making probable predictions.
It may also merely be 'filler' or nonsense that, by virtue of its style or
wording, gives the impression that it actually means something.

In his essay 'On
Bullshit' (originally written in 1986, and published as a
monograph in 2005), philosopher Harry Frankfurt of Princeton University
characterizes bullshit as a form of falsehood distinct from lying. The liar,
Frankfurt holds, knows and cares about the truth, but deliberately sets out to
mislead instead of telling the truth. The “bullshitter”, on the other hand, does
not care about the truth and is only seeking to impress. It is impossible for
someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires
no such conviction. A person who lies is thereby responding to the truth, and he
is to that extent respectful of it. When an honest man speaks, he says only what
he believes to be true; and for the liar, it is correspondingly indispensable
that he considers his statements to be false. For the bullshitter, however, all
these bets are off: he is neither on the side of the true nor on the side of the
false. His eye is not on the facts at all, as the eyes of the honest man and of
the liar are, except insofar as they may be pertinent to his interest in getting
away with what he says. He does not care whether the things he says describe
reality correctly. He just picks them out, or makes them up, to suit his
purpose.