Mediation of Christ and the Work of the Spirit
In order to understand better the dynamic nature of grace, theologians usually talk about common grace and sanctifying grace. From the Adventist perspective, common grace is the kind disposition of God manifested toward sinners in the preservation of life on the planet and in the work of the Spirit in the human heart calling us to repentance, confession, and conversion. Sanctifying grace is usually understood as the work of the Spirit in the heart of the person who accepted Christ as Savior. The death of Christ on the cross released an atmosphere of grace that surrounds the planet: “In the matchless gift of His Son, God has encircled the whole world with an atmosphere of grace as real as the air which circulates around the globe. All who choose to breathe this life-giving atmosphere will live and grow up to the stature of men and women in Christ Jesus.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 68. This is common grace, available to all who choose to accept it for themselves.
What did Christ promise the disciples, and what was the function of that gift? John 14:16, 17; 16:8–11; Rom. 8:9–14.
Jesus said to the disciples that after His departure He was going to send them the Spirit and that the Spirit would “reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). This is common grace. It is the task of the Spirit to make sinful human beings fully aware of their sin, guilt, and separation from God. At the same time, He points them to the Cross of Christ as the only way out of their desperate condition. Without this work of the Spirit, the Cross becomes ineffective in itself. But it is precisely because of the Cross that the Spirit is active in the world, constantly pointing sinners to Jesus for their salvation.
Grace is not irresistible; that is, humans can reject it, and many do. Grace would hardly be grace (would it?) if it were forced upon people. The Lord respects the freedom of His creatures; nothing proves that better than the Cross.
In what ways do you find yourself resisting the prompting of the Spirit? Why do we do that? Why is this resistance, even in “little” things, so dangerous? Most important, how can we learn day by day to surrender ourselves to the promptings that come from on high?
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