Apr 24
17
His secret power and influence
J.C.Philpot
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44
“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying,
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:
therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3
None can really come to Jesus by faith, unless this drawing power is put forth.
The Holy Spirit—that gracious and blessed Teacher, acts upon the soul by His secret power and influence, puts ‘cords of love’ and ‘bands of mercy’ around the heart, and by the attractive influence that He puts forth, draws the soul to Jesus’ feet; and in due time reveals Him as the chief among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely one.
As the Spirit reveals and manifests these precious things of Christ to the soul, He raises up a living faith whereby Jesus is sought unto, looked unto, laid hold of, and is brought into the heart with a divine power, there to be enshrined in its warmest and tenderest affections.
All through its Christian pilgrimage, this blessed Spirit goes on to deepen His work in the soul, and to discover more and more of the suitability, beauty, and blessedness of the Lord Jesus, as He draws the soul more and more unto Him. There is no maintaining of the light, life, and power of God in our souls, except as we are daily coming unto Jesus as the living stone, and continually living upon Him as the bread of life.