And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. -Luke 24:49
THE ENDUEMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY PRES. CHARLES G. FINNEY THE INDEPENDENT. NEW YORK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1871 Please permit me, through your columns,
to correct a misapprehension into which
some fell who listened to a few brief
remarks which I made to the late Council
at Oberlin, first on Saturday morning, and
afterward on the Lord's day. 1. In my first remarks I called attention to
the mission of the church to disciple all
nations, as recorded by Matthew and Luke,
and stated that this commission was given
by Christ to the whole church, and that
every member of the church is under obligation to make it his lifework to convert
the world. I then raised two inquiries. 1st.
What do we need to secure success in this
great work? 2d. How can we get it?
Answer. 1st. We need the enduement of
power from on high. Christ had previously informed the disciples that without him
they could do nothing. When he gave them
the commission to convert the world, he
added: "But tarry ye in Jerusalem till ye be
endued with power from on high. Ye shall
be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Lo! I send upon you the
promise of my Father." This baptism of the
Holy Ghost, this thing promised by the
Father, this enduement of power from on
high, Christ has expressly informed us, is
the indispensable condition of performing the work which he has set before us. 2d.
How shall we get it? 1st. Christ expressly
promised it to the whole church, and to
every individual whose duty it is to labor
for the conversion of the world. He
admonished the first disciples not to undertake the work until they had received
this enduement of power from on high.
Both the promise and the admonition
apply equally to all Christians of every age
and nation. No one has at any time any
right to expect success unless he first secures the enduement of power from on
high. 2d.* The example of the first
disciples teaches us how to secure this
enduement. They first consecrated
themselves to the work, and continued in
prayer and supplication until the Holy Ghost fell upon them, on the day of
Pentecost, and they received the promised
enduement of power from on high. This,
then, is the way to get it. The Council
desired me to say more upon the subject.
Consequently, on the Lord's Day, I took for my text the assertion of Christ that the
Father is more willing to give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him than we are to
give good gifts to our children. 1. I said this text informs us that it is
infinitely easy to obtain the Holy Spirit, or
this enduement of power from the Father. 2. That this is made a constant subject of
prayer. Everybody prays for this, at all
times; and yet, with all this intercession,
how few, comparatively, are really endued
with the spirit of power from on high! This
want is not met. The want of power is a subject of constant complaint. Christ says,
"Every one that asketh receiveth"; but
there certainly is a "great gulf" between
the asking and receiving, that is a great
stumbling-block to many. How, then, is
this discrepancy to be explained? I then proceeded to show why this enduement is
not received. I said: 1st. We are not
willing, upon the whole, to have what we
desire and ask. 2d. God has expressly
informed us that if we regard iniquity in
our hearts he will not hear us. But the petitioner is often self-indulgent. This is
iniquity, and God will not hear him. 3d. He
is uncharitable. 4th. Censorious. 5th. Self-
dependent. 6th. Resists conviction of sin.
7th. Refuses to confess to all the parties
concerned. 8th. Refuses to make restitution to injured parties. 9th. He is
prejudiced and uncandid. 10th. He is
resentful. 11th. Has a revengeful spirit.
12th. Has a worldly ambition. 13th. He has
committed himself on some point and
become dishonest, and rejects further light. 14th. He is denominationally selfish.
15th. Selfish for his own congregation.
16th. He resists the teachings of the Holy
Spirit. 17th. He grieves the Holy Spirit by
dissension. 18th. He quenches the Spirit
by persistence in justifying wrong. 19th. He grieves him by a want of watchfulness.
20th. He resists him by indulging evil
tempers. 21st. Also by dishonesties in
business. 22d. Also by indolence and
impatience in waiting upon the Lord. 23d.
By many forms of selfishness. 24th. By negligence in business, in study, in prayer.
25th. By undertaking too much business,
too much study, and too little prayer. 26th.
By a want of entire consecration. 27th.
Last and greatest, by unbelief. He prays
for this enduement without expecting to receive it. "He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar." This, then, is the
greatest sin of all. What an insult, what a
blasphemy, to accuse God of lying! I was obliged to conclude that these and
other forms of indulged sin explained why
so little is received, while so much is
asked. I said I had not time to present the
other side. Some of the brethren afterward
inquired, "What is the other side?" The other side presents the certainty that we
shall receive the promised enduement of
power from on high, and be successful in
winning souls, if we ask in faith and fulfill
the plainly revealed conditions of
prevailing prayer. Observe, what I said upon the Lord's Day was upon the same
subject, and in addition to what I had
previously said. The misapprehension
alluded to was this: If we first get rid of all
the forms of sin which prevent our
receiving this enduement, have we not already obtained the blessing? What more
do we need? Answer: There is a great difference
between the peace and the power of the
Holy Spirit in the soul. The disciples were
Christians before the day of Pentecost,
and as such had a measure of the Holy
Spirit. They must have had the peace of sins forgiven, and of a justified state; but
yet they had not the enduement of power
necessary to the accomplishment of the
work assigned them. They had the peace
which Christ had given them, but not the
power which he had promised. This may be true of all Christians: and right here is, I
think, the great mistake of the church, and
of the ministry. They rest in conversion,
and do not seek until they obtain this
enduement of power from on high. Hence,
so many professors have no power with either God or man. They prevail with
neither. They cling to a hope in Christ, and
even enter the ministry, overlooking the
admonition to wait until they are endued
with power from on high. But let any one
bring all the tithes and offerings into God's treasury, let him lay all upon the altar and
prove God herewith, and he shall find that
God "will open the windows of Heaven
and pour him out a blessing that there
shall not be room enough to receive it." * numbered 3rd in original by mistake.
THE ENDUEMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY PRES. CHARLES G. FINNEY THE INDEPENDENT. NEW YORK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1871 Please permit me, through your columns,
to correct a misapprehension into which
some fell who listened to a few brief
remarks which I made to the late Council
at Oberlin, first on Saturday morning, and
afterward on the Lord's day. 1. In my first remarks I called attention to
the mission of the church to disciple all
nations, as recorded by Matthew and Luke,
and stated that this commission was given
by Christ to the whole church, and that
every member of the church is under obligation to make it his lifework to convert
the world. I then raised two inquiries. 1st.
What do we need to secure success in this
great work? 2d. How can we get it?
Answer. 1st. We need the enduement of
power from on high. Christ had previously informed the disciples that without him
they could do nothing. When he gave them
the commission to convert the world, he
added: "But tarry ye in Jerusalem till ye be
endued with power from on high. Ye shall
be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Lo! I send upon you the
promise of my Father." This baptism of the
Holy Ghost, this thing promised by the
Father, this enduement of power from on
high, Christ has expressly informed us, is
the indispensable condition of performing the work which he has set before us. 2d.
How shall we get it? 1st. Christ expressly
promised it to the whole church, and to
every individual whose duty it is to labor
for the conversion of the world. He
admonished the first disciples not to undertake the work until they had received
this enduement of power from on high.
Both the promise and the admonition
apply equally to all Christians of every age
and nation. No one has at any time any
right to expect success unless he first secures the enduement of power from on
high. 2d.* The example of the first
disciples teaches us how to secure this
enduement. They first consecrated
themselves to the work, and continued in
prayer and supplication until the Holy Ghost fell upon them, on the day of
Pentecost, and they received the promised
enduement of power from on high. This,
then, is the way to get it. The Council
desired me to say more upon the subject.
Consequently, on the Lord's Day, I took for my text the assertion of Christ that the
Father is more willing to give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him than we are to
give good gifts to our children. 1. I said this text informs us that it is
infinitely easy to obtain the Holy Spirit, or
this enduement of power from the Father. 2. That this is made a constant subject of
prayer. Everybody prays for this, at all
times; and yet, with all this intercession,
how few, comparatively, are really endued
with the spirit of power from on high! This
want is not met. The want of power is a subject of constant complaint. Christ says,
"Every one that asketh receiveth"; but
there certainly is a "great gulf" between
the asking and receiving, that is a great
stumbling-block to many. How, then, is
this discrepancy to be explained? I then proceeded to show why this enduement is
not received. I said: 1st. We are not
willing, upon the whole, to have what we
desire and ask. 2d. God has expressly
informed us that if we regard iniquity in
our hearts he will not hear us. But the petitioner is often self-indulgent. This is
iniquity, and God will not hear him. 3d. He
is uncharitable. 4th. Censorious. 5th. Self-
dependent. 6th. Resists conviction of sin.
7th. Refuses to confess to all the parties
concerned. 8th. Refuses to make restitution to injured parties. 9th. He is
prejudiced and uncandid. 10th. He is
resentful. 11th. Has a revengeful spirit.
12th. Has a worldly ambition. 13th. He has
committed himself on some point and
become dishonest, and rejects further light. 14th. He is denominationally selfish.
15th. Selfish for his own congregation.
16th. He resists the teachings of the Holy
Spirit. 17th. He grieves the Holy Spirit by
dissension. 18th. He quenches the Spirit
by persistence in justifying wrong. 19th. He grieves him by a want of watchfulness.
20th. He resists him by indulging evil
tempers. 21st. Also by dishonesties in
business. 22d. Also by indolence and
impatience in waiting upon the Lord. 23d.
By many forms of selfishness. 24th. By negligence in business, in study, in prayer.
25th. By undertaking too much business,
too much study, and too little prayer. 26th.
By a want of entire consecration. 27th.
Last and greatest, by unbelief. He prays
for this enduement without expecting to receive it. "He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar." This, then, is the
greatest sin of all. What an insult, what a
blasphemy, to accuse God of lying! I was obliged to conclude that these and
other forms of indulged sin explained why
so little is received, while so much is
asked. I said I had not time to present the
other side. Some of the brethren afterward
inquired, "What is the other side?" The other side presents the certainty that we
shall receive the promised enduement of
power from on high, and be successful in
winning souls, if we ask in faith and fulfill
the plainly revealed conditions of
prevailing prayer. Observe, what I said upon the Lord's Day was upon the same
subject, and in addition to what I had
previously said. The misapprehension
alluded to was this: If we first get rid of all
the forms of sin which prevent our
receiving this enduement, have we not already obtained the blessing? What more
do we need? Answer: There is a great difference
between the peace and the power of the
Holy Spirit in the soul. The disciples were
Christians before the day of Pentecost,
and as such had a measure of the Holy
Spirit. They must have had the peace of sins forgiven, and of a justified state; but
yet they had not the enduement of power
necessary to the accomplishment of the
work assigned them. They had the peace
which Christ had given them, but not the
power which he had promised. This may be true of all Christians: and right here is, I
think, the great mistake of the church, and
of the ministry. They rest in conversion,
and do not seek until they obtain this
enduement of power from on high. Hence,
so many professors have no power with either God or man. They prevail with
neither. They cling to a hope in Christ, and
even enter the ministry, overlooking the
admonition to wait until they are endued
with power from on high. But let any one
bring all the tithes and offerings into God's treasury, let him lay all upon the altar and
prove God herewith, and he shall find that
God "will open the windows of Heaven
and pour him out a blessing that there
shall not be room enough to receive it." * numbered 3rd in original by mistake.
