A Short Sketch of

Oswald Chambers

Oswald Chambers was not famous during his In 1906, he traveled to the United States,
lifetime. At the time of his death in 1917 at the spending six months teaching at God’s Bi-
age of forty-three, only three books bearing ble School in Cincinnati, Ohio. From there,
his name had been published. Among a rela- he went to Japan, visiting the Tokyo Bible
tively small circle of Christians in Britain and School, founded by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cow-
the U.S., Chambers was much appreciated as man. This journey around the world in 1906–7
a teacher of rare insight and expression, but marked his transition from Dunoon College to
he was not widely known. full-time work with the Pentecostal League
Chambers was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, of Prayer.
in 1874, the youngest son of a Baptist minis- During the last decade of his life, Chambers
ter. He spent his boyhood years in Perth, then served as:
his family moved to London when Oswald • Traveling speaker and representative of
was fifteen. Shortly after the move to Lon- the League of Prayer, 1907–10
don, Oswald made his public profession of • Principal and main teacher of the Bible
faith in Christ and became a member of Rye Training College, London, 1911–15
Lane Baptist Church. This marked a period of • Y.M.C.A. chaplain to British Common-
rapid spiritual growth, along with an intense wealth soldiers in Egypt, 1915–17
struggle to find God’s will and way for his life. He died in Cairo on November 15, 1917, of
A gifted artist and musician, Chambers complications following an emergency ap-
trained at London’s Royal Academy of Art, pendectomy.
sensing God’s direction to be an ambassador During the seven years of their marriage,
for Christ in the world of art and aesthetics. his wife, Gertrude (Biddy) Hobbs, took verba-
While studying at the University of Edinburgh tim shorthand notes of nearly all his lectures
(1895–96), he decided, after an agonizing in- and sermons. After his death, she spent the
ternal battle, to study for the ministry. He left rest of her life publishing her husband’s spo-
the university and entered Dunoon College, ken words. His best-known book, My Utmost
near Glasgow, where he remained as a stu- for His Highest, has been continuously in print
dent, then a tutor for nine years. since it was first published in 1927.

book_OC.indb 7 5/20/24 11:19 AM

 How to Use
This Bible
Full My Utmost for His Highest
devotional and reading plan
January 1

Let Us Keep to the Point

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed,
but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ
will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

Philippians 1:20

My utmost for his highest. To be all for God; to act with boldness, ex-
pressing Christ in every word and deed. This, Paul says, is how to walk
through life unashamed.
The journey isn’t a journey of reason or debate. We can’t think or
argue our way through it. It is a journey of surrender, of abandoning
ourselves to God, absolutely and forever.
There will always be good reasons not to. We debate with God, telling
him that we are concerned for others, that if we start on the journey,
our loved ones will suffer. Really, we are worried for ourselves, for our
own comfort and safety. We tell God he doesn’t know what he’s asking.
Keep to the point: he does know. Shut out your worries and stand
before God with one thing only in your heart: my utmost for his highest.
Determine to be absolutely and entirely for him and him alone.
My best for his glory. At first, the call comes gently. Then it grows
louder, until finally God produces a crisis in our lives that demands we
make a choice. For or against; yes or no; stay or go.
Has the crisis come to you? If it has, go. Paul, like Christ, would let
nothing deter him, whether it meant life or death. As a new year dawns,
let us embrace this same spirit, surrendering all with boldness and with
joy.
Intercession
Genesis 18
Read: Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1

W
e pray on the great fundamen- and yet it is that kind of intercession that
tal basis of Redemption, and the New Testament places most emphasis
our prayers are made effica- on, though it has so little to show for it.
cious by the wonderful presence of the It seems stupid to think that we can pray
personal Holy Spirit in the world. Prayer and all that will happen, but remember
is simple, prayer is supernatural, and to whom we pray: we pray to a God who
to anyone not related to our Lord Jesus understands the unconscious depths of
Christ, prayer is apt to look stupid. It does personality about which we know noth-
sound unreasonable to say that God will ing, and he has told us to pray. The great
do things in answer to prayer, yet our Master of the human heart said, “And he
Lord said that he would. Our Lord bas- will do even greater works than these. . . .
es everything on prayer, then the key to If you ask me anything in my name, I will
all our work as Christians is, “Therefore, do it” (Jn 14:12–14).
pray” (Lk 10:2). There is only one field of service that
When we pray for others, the Spir- has no snares, and that is the field of in-
it of God works in the unconscious do- tercession. All other fields have the glo-
main of their being that we know nothing rious but risky snare of publicity; prayer
about, and the one we are praying for has not. The key to all our work for God
knows nothing about, but after the pass- is in that one word we are apt to de-
ing of time the conscious life of the one spise—“Pray.” If Ye Shall Ask, pp. 630–31.
prayed for begins to show signs of unrest I do believe that by intercesso-
and disquiet. We may have spoken until ry prayer, as Jesus himself has told us,
we are worn out but have never come the great power of God works in ways
anywhere near, and we have given up we cannot conceive. I think sometimes
in despair. But if we have been praying, we will be covered with shame when we
we find on meeting them one day that meet the Lord Jesus and think how blind
there is the beginning of a softening in and ignorant we were when he brought
an inquiry and a desire to know some- people around us to pray for, or gave us
thing. It is that kind of intercession that opportunities of warning, and instead
does most damage to Satan’s kingdom. It of praying we tried to find out what was
is so slight, so feeble in its initial stages wrong. We have no business to try and
that if reason is not wedded to the light find out what is wrong; our business is to
of the Holy Spirit, we will never obey it, pray. The Philosophy of Sin, p. 1117.

More than 30 topical articles

placed throughout

book_OC.indb 8 5/20/24 11:19 AM

 ix 13 Genesis 13–14
13 (Now the men of Sodom were evil, sinning Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar)
immensely A against the LORD.) Bookwent introductions
out and linedwith up for battle in the Sid-
14 After Lot had separated from him, the
Introduction
“Wisdom dim Valfrom OswaldKing Chedorlaomer of
ley 9 against
LORD said to Abram, “Look from the place Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel
where you are. Look north and south, east and Chambers” of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar — four

Genesis
west, 15 for I will give you and your offspring B kings against five. 10 Now the Siddim Valley
forever all the land that you see. 16 I will make contained many asphalt pits, and as the kings
your offspring like the dust of the earth, so of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into
anyone could count the dust of the them, D but the rest fled to the mountains.
that ofifWriting
Circumstances

S
ince pre-Christian times, authorshipearth, then
of the Torah, the fiyour offspring
rst five books of the Bible,could
has be counted. 11 The four kings took all the goods of Sodom
been attributed to Moses, an enormously influential Israelite leader from the second
17 Getbackground.
millennium BC with an aristocratic Egyptian up and Even walk thougharound the land, through and Gomorrah and all their food and went on.
Genesis is tech-
nically anonymous, both the Old and Newits length and width, for I will give it to you.” 12 They also took Abram’s nephew Lot and his
Testaments unanimously recognize Moses as the
Torah’s author (Jos 8:35; 2Ch 23:18; Neh 8:1; Mk 12:19, 26; Lk 2:22; Rm 10:5; Heb 10:28). At the same
time, evidence in Genesis suggests that minor 18 So Abram
editorial changes datingmoved histimes
to ancient tent have and went to live possessions, for he was living in Sodom, and
been inserted into the text. Examples include the mention of “Dan” (Gn 14:14), a city that was
not named until the days of the judges (Jdg near
18:29), the
and theoaks
use of of Mam
a phrase thatre at He
assumed thebron, where he they went on. 13 Genesis 13–14
existence of Israelite kings (Gn 36:31). built an altar to the LORD. 13 (Now the men of Sodom were evil,
The Torah (Hb for “law”) was seen as one unit until at least the second century BC. Sometime A
13 One sinning of Zetheboiim,surandvi thevors
king ofcame Bela (thatand told
is, Zoar)
prior to the birth of Christ, the Torah was divided into five separate books, later referred to immensely against the L ORD.)Abram the Hebrew, who lived nearin the
went out and lined up for bat tle oaks
the Sid-
as the Pentateuch (lit. “five vessels”). Genesis, the first book of the Torah, provides both the14 After Lot had separated from him, the dim Valley 9 against King Chedorlaomer of
universal history of humankind and the patriarchal history of the nation of Israel. The first L ORD said to Abram, “ Look be
from longthe ing
place to Mam
Elam, re
King Ti the
dal ofAmGoi o
im,rite,
King the
Am rabroth-
phel
section (chs. 1–11) is a general history commonly called “Receive
the “primeval thehistory,”
Holy
all humanity descended from one couple and became sinners. The second section (chs. 12–50)
Spirit”:
showing whereit
how youisare.
anLook north andersouth, of east
Esh andcolofandShinar,the
B
and King
broth
west, 15 for I will give you and your offspring kings against five. 10 Now the Siddim Valley
Arioch
er ofofEllaAner.
sar — four They
invasion, oneJacob’s
thattwelve
is a more specific history commonly referred to as the “patriarchal history,” focusing on the
cannot forever all the land that you see.
happen were bound
16 I will make con bytained
a treamany tyasphalt
withpits, Abram.
and as the When
14kings
covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants: Isaac, Jacob, and sons.
your offspring like the dust of the earth, so of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into
Genesis unfolds God’s plan to bless and redeem humanity through Abraham’s descendants. Abram heard that his relative had been tak-
D
The book concludes with the events that led to the until
Israeliteswebeingcome to ofthe
in the land end that
Egypt.
if anyone could count the dust of the them, but the rest fledE to the mountains.
of ourselves.
earth, then your offspring could en bepris count [Link],11 The
hefour assem bledall the
kings took hisgoods318of trained
Sodom
17 Get up and walk around the men,land, through and Gomorrah and all their food and went on.
born in his household, and they went
Contribution to the Bible My Utmost for His Highest , January 5
its length and width, for I will give it to you.” 12 They also took Abram’s nephew Lot and his
Genesis lays the groundwork for everything else we read and experience in Scripture. Through18 So Abram moved his tentin andpur wentsuitto liveasposfar sesas Dan.
sions, for he And
15was heinand
living Sodom, hisandser-
near the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he they went on.
Genesis we understand where we came from, how we got in the fallen state we are in, and the
beginnings of God’s gracious work on our behalf. Genesis unfolds God’s original purpose built for an altar to the LORD.
vants deployed against them by night, defeat-
13 One of the survivors came and told
Abram Rescues Lot ed them, and purthe
Abram sued
Hebrew,them who as livedfarnearas theHo oaksbah

14
humanity.
Genesis provides the foundation from which we understand God’s covenant with Israel belonging to Mamre the Amorite, the broth-
In those
that was established with the giving of the law. For the Israelite community,days KingofAm
the stories the ra phel the
“Receive ofHoly Shi-Spirit”: toitthe is annorth er ofofDa mascus. broth
Eshcol and the16
Heerbrought
of Aner. They
back
origins of humanity, sin, and the covenant relationshipnar, with GodKing Arioch of Ellasar,
helped them understand Kingone Ched- allhappen
the goods and also his relative Lot14and his
were bound by a trea ty with Abram. When
why God gave them the law. invasion, that cannot
Abram heard that his relative had been tak-
orlaomer of Elam, anduntil King Tidal
we come to theofend ofgoods,[Link] well en prisasontheer, hewomassemen bledand his 318 the
E other
trained
Goiim C 2 waged war against King Bera
Structure offorSod-
My Utmost His Highest, peo
Januaryple.
5 men, born in his household, and they went
in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 And he and his ser-
om, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of
Genesis is chiefly a narrative. From a narrative standpoint, God is the only true hero of the
vants deployed against them by night, defeat-
Lotwell Melchizedek’s Blessing
Bible, and the book of Genesis has the distinct privilege of introducing him. God is the first
subject of a verb in the book and is mentionedAdmah, and King
more frequently thanShem
any othereber ofAbram
character Zeboi im, as
Rescues ed them, and pursued them as far as Hobah

14
in the Bible. The content of the first eleven chapters is distinct from the patriarchal sto- In those days King Amraphel of Shi- to the north of Damascus. 16 He brought back
ries in chapters 12–50. The primary literary asdevice
the isking of Bela“these
the catchphrase (that is, family
are the Zoar). 3 All of these 17 Af ter Abram
nar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Ched- all the regoods
turned from
and also deafeat
his rel tive Loting andChed-
his
records.” The phrase is broader in meaning came as allies to the Siddim Valleyor(that
than simply “lists of generations”
more to a narrative account. This was a common practice in ancient Near Eastern writings.
and refers laomer is,ofthe
C
Elam, and orKinglaomer Tidal ofand goods,theaskings
well as thewho wom were
en andwith the othhim,
er
Goiim 2 waged war against King Bera of Sod- people.
This phrase also serves as a link between Dead
the keySea).
person 4inThey were
the previous subject
narrative and
om, Kingto Bir Ched
sha ofor Gola-
morrah,the KingkingShinabof of Sodom went out to meet him in the
the one anticipated in the next section. Genesis could be described as historical genealogy, Melchizedek’s Blessing
o mer for
which ties together creation and human history in one continuum. twelve years, but in
Ad the
mah, thir
and teenth
King Shem e ber of Sha
Ze boi veh
im, as Val
well ley ( that is, the King’s Val ley). 18 Mel-
year they rebelled. 5 In the as came
the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All of these 17 After Abram returned
four asteenth
allies to theyear
Siddim Val chiz edek,
ley (that is, theking
orlaoof merSa lem,
and
F from defeating Ched-
brought
the kings who wereout bread
with him,
Wisdom Chedfrom Chambers
orlaomer and the kingsDead who Sea).were withsubject
4 They were and wine;
to Ched orla-he thewasking ofaSod
priest
om went tooutGodto meet Mosthim inHigh.
the
Jesus Christ, the last Adam, took on him our human form, and it is through his seed in that omer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth Shaveh Valley (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 Mel-
him came and de feat ed
human form that Satan is to be overcome. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your the Reph a im in Ash-
year they rebelled. 5 In the four He blessed him and said:
19 teenth year chizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread F

feet” (Rm 16:20). Everything that Satan and tesinroth-kar

have marred, Godna im,
holds inthe Zuzim
an unimpaired in
stateHam,
Ched orlaomer the andEmimthe kings who were Abram with andis blessed
wine; he was by a God
priest to Most
God Most High, High.
for every son of man who will come to him by the way back which Jesus Christ has made. him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ash- 19GHe blessed him and said:
Our Portrait in Genesis, p. 961. in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites
teroth-kar naim, thein Zuzim
the in Ham, the Creator
Emim ofAbram
heaven andbyearth,
is blessed God Most High,
mountains of Seir, as far as El-paran by the wil-
in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the 20Horites and blessed
in the be God
Creator Most
G
of heaven andHigh
earth,
mountains of Seir, as far as El-paran by the wil- 20 and blessed be God Most High
derness. 7 Then they came back to in vade En-
derness. 7 Then they came back to invade En- who has handed over your
who has handed over your enemies
enemies
mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and mishthey
pat (that deis,feat ed and they defeat
Kadesh), toedyou. to you.
the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
the whole territory of the Am asathelekAm ites,
oritesaswho well And Abram gave
lived in Hazazon-tamar. 21 Thenhim a tenth
the king of Sodom of said
every thing.
to Abram,
as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar. 8 Then the king of Sodom, the21 Then
king of Go-the king
“Give me theofpeo Sodple, om
but takesaidthe postosesAbram,
sions
morrah, the king of Admah, the king of for yourself.”
8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Go- “Give me the people, but take the possessions
morrah, the king of Admah, the
13:13 Lit king
evil and
A
sinful of 13:15 Litfor
B
seed your 14:1 Orself.”
C
nations 14:10 Sam, LXX; MT reads fell there 14:14 Sam;
D E

MT reads poured out F

14:18 = Jerusalem G
14:19 Or Possessor

15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. This is the act
A
13:13 Lit evil and sinful B 13:15 Lit seed C
by which 14:1 nations
Or goes
Abraham
D
14:10
out of himself Sam,
and relies LXX;
upon GodMT reads fell and
for righteousness there E
14:14 Sam;
grace. Abra-
Genesis 2–3 4 MT reads pouredham had
outmanifested
F many
14:18 noble qualities of
= Jerusalem G heart and many virtues in his walk of faith, but he
14:19 Or Possessor
is not made righteous before God by these. The lack in Abraham is supplied through his living
confidence in God. The justification of every sinner is by faith and by faith alone, and when a

Man and Woman in the Garden 15:6 Abram believed the LORD , and
is the he
first credited itdoctrine
to him as righteousness.
man walks in that faith his justification appears in his flesh and justifies God (see Ps 51:4). This
Lord our Righteousness.”This is the act
deep sleepbyto come
which over goes
Abraham the man, and
verse
out of himself
must neverheand
be slept.
germ of the great
maderelies
to meanupon God
less than
of “The
for righteousness
a guiltless and
position in the presence
Righteousness
grace.
of justice andAbra-
right.
4 These are the records of the heavens and God took ham onehad of his ribs and
manifested manyclosed
noble the
saving me; iffl
qualities esh
I do not at in theand
God justifies me by my supernatural faith in him, but it is my just walk that proves him just in
of walk
heart many
life of faith, I virtues intohis
am a slander [Link] of faith,
Not Knowing but
Whither, he
p. 876.
the earth, concerning their creation. At the that [Link] is not made righteous before God by these. The lack in Abraham is supplied through his living
22 Then the LORD God made the rib
dence in God. The justification of every sinner is by faith and by faith alone, and when a
A
time that the LORD God made the earth and he had takman
Genesis 2–3 4
Man and Woman in the Garden
en walks
frominthe thatman into
faith his a wom
justifi cationan and in his flesh and justifies God (see Ps 51:4). This
appears
deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept.
the heavens, 5 no shrub of the field had yet brought her verseto
4 These are the records of the heavens and
the earth, concerning their creation. At the
is the
thefiman.
rst germ23ofAnd
the great
the doctrine
man said: of “The Lord our Righteousness.” Righteousness
God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at
that place. 22 Then the LORD God made the rib
B must never be made to mean less than a guiltless position in the presence of justice and right.
time A that the LORD God made the earth and he had taken from the man into a woman and
grown on the land, and no plant of the field This God one,justifi
the heavens, 5 no shrub of the field had yet
grown on the land, B and no plant of the field
at last,
es meisbybone of my bone
my supernatural faith in him, but it is my just walk that proves him just in
brought her to the man. 23 And the man said:
This one, at last, is bone of my bone

had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not and fl
had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not
made it rain on the land, and there was no
man to work the ground. 6 But mist would
esh me;
saving of my flnot
if I do esh;walk in the life of faith, I am a slander to God. Not Knowing Whither, p. 876.
and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called “woman,”
for she was taken from man.
made it rain on the land, and there was no this one will be called “woman,”
come up from the earth and water all the
ground. 7 Then the LORD God formed the man 24 This is why a man leaves his father and

man to work the ground. 6 But mist would for she was taken from man.
out of the dust from the ground and breathed
the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man
mother and bonds with his wife, and they be-
come one flesh. 25 Both the man and his wife

come up from the earth and water all the

became a living being.
8 The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in
the east, and there he placed the man he had
were naked, yet felt no shame.
Commentary from other select
ground. 7 Then the LORD God formed the man before God24withThis isinwhy a man leaves his father and works by Oswald Chambers
Shut out your worries and stand
formed. 9 The LORD God caused to grow out of
the ground every tree pleasing in appearance
one thing only
and good for food, including the tree of life in
out of the dust from the ground and breathed yourDetermine
moth to beer and and bonds with his wife, and they be-
heart — my utmost for his highest.
the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of
absolutely
the knowledge of good and evil.

the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man come one flesh. 25 Both the man and his wife
C
10 A river went out from Eden to water the
entirely for him and him alone.
garden. From there it divided and became the
source of four rivers. D 11 The name of the first My Utmost for His Highest, January 1

became a living being. were naked, yet felt no shame.

is Pishon, which flows through the entire land
E
of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 Gold from
The Temptation and the Fall
8 The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in
that land is pure; F bdellium G and onyx H are

3
also there. 13 The name of the second river is Now the serpent was the most cunning
Gihon, which flows through the entire land of of all the wild animals that the LORD God
the east, and there he placed the man he had
Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris,
which runs east of Assyria. And the fourth riv-
had made. He said to the woman, “Did
God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in

formed. 9 The LORD God caused to grow out of

er is the Euphrates.
Shut out your worries and stand
15 The LORD God took the man and placed
him in the garden of Eden to work it and
the garden’? ”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may
eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But
the ground every tree pleasing in appearance
watch over it. 16 And the LORD God command- about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the
before God with one thing only in
ed the man, “You are free to eat from any tree garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch

and good for food, including the tree of life in

of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the it, or you will die.’ ”
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on 4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the ser-

the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of your heart — my utmost for his highest.
the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”
18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for
the man to be alone. I will make a helper cor-
pent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows
that when J you eat it your eyes will be opened
and you will be like God, knowing good and
responding to him.” 19 The LORD God formed evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good
the knowledge of good and evil.
C
Determine to be absolutely and
out of the ground every wild animal and every
bird of the sky, and brought each to the man
for food and delightful to look at, and that it
was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she 365 callout quotes from My
10 A river went out from Eden to water the
to see what he would call it. And whatever the took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave
entirely for him and him alone.
man called a living creature, that was its name.
20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to
garden. From there it divided and became the
the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal;
some to her husband, who was with her, and
he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were
opened, and they knew they were naked; so
Utmost for His Highest placed
but for the man I no helper was found corre-

source of four rivers. D 11 The name of the first

they sewed fig leaves together and made cov-
My Utmost for His Highest, January 1
sponding to him. 21 So the LORD God caused a erings for themselves. throughout the Bible.
is Pishon, which flows through the entire land
2:4 Lit creation on the day B 2:5 Or earth C 2:10 Or goes D 2:10 Lit became four heads E 2:11 Or of the
A

Havilah F 2:12 Lit good G 2:12 A yellowish, transparent gum resin H 2:12 Identity of this precious stone uncertain
I
2:20 Or for Adam J 3:5 Lit on the day

of Havilah, E where there is gold. 12 Gold from

3:4 You will certainly not die. Eve finds that what Satan told her is true; death does not

that land is pure; F bdellium G and onyx H are The Temptation and the Fall
strike them all at once, but its possibility has come in [see 2:16–17]. . . . “For the wages of sin is
death” [Rm 6:23]—man becomes subject to death, not because he is a finite being but because of

3
sin. Whenever a man touches sin, death is the inevitable result; it is the way God has constitut-
ed him. When he is “alive” in sin, he is “dead” to God. [Rm 6:11] Our Portrait in Genesis, p. 961.

also there. 13 The name of the second river is Now the serpent was the most cunning
Gihon, which flows through the entire land of of all the wild animals that the LORD God
Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris, had made. He said to the woman, “Did
which runs east of Assyria. And the fourth riv- God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in
er is the Euphrates. the garden’? ”
15 The LORD God took the man and placed 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may
him in the garden of Eden to work it and eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But
watch over it. 16 And the LORD God command- about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the
ed the man, “You are free9to eat from any tree garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch
book_OC.indb 5/20/24 11:19 AM
of the garden, but you must not eat from the it, or you will die.’ ”
 January 1

Let Us Keep to the Point

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed,
but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ
will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

Philippians 1:20

My utmost for his highest. To be all for God; to act with boldness, ex-
pressing Christ in every word and deed. This, Paul says, is how to walk
through life unashamed.
The journey isn’t a journey of reason or debate. We can’t think or
argue our way through it. It is a journey of surrender, of abandoning
ourselves to God, absolutely and forever.
There will always be good reasons not to. We debate with God, telling
him that we are concerned for others, that if we start on the journey,
our loved ones will suffer. Really, we are worried for ourselves, for our
own comfort and safety. We tell God he doesn’t know what he’s asking.
Keep to the point: he does know. Shut out your worries and stand
before God with one thing only in your heart: my utmost for his highest.
Determine to be absolutely and entirely for him and him alone.
My best for his glory. At first, the call comes gently. Then it grows
louder, until finally God produces a crisis in our lives that demands we
make a choice. For or against; yes or no; stay or go.
Has the crisis come to you? If it has, go. Paul, like Christ, would let
nothing deter him, whether it meant life or death. As a new year dawns,
let us embrace this same spirit, surrendering all with boldness and with
joy.

Read: Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1

book_OC.indb 29 5/20/24 11:19 AM

 June 14

Get a Move On
Remain in me, as I also remain in you.

John 15:4

The Spirit of Jesus has been put into me by the atonement. Now I must
begin to construct, with patience and determination, a way of thinking
that is exactly in line with my Lord’s. God will not make me think like
Jesus; I have to do it myself, bringing every thought into captivity for
him. “Remain in me” means to abide in Jesus in intellectual matters, in
money matters—in everything that makes human life what it is.
Am I preventing God from making changes to my circumstances
because I think it will disrupt my communion with him? If so, I’m being
impertinent. I don’t need to carefully guard my schedule in order to
spend time alone with God; I need to learn to abide in Jesus no mat-
ter the circumstance. It’s as easy to commune in a kitchen as it is in a
prayer meeting.
Our Lord had an inner abiding that was never disturbed. He was at
home with God wherever he found himself. He never chose his own
circumstances but was obedient to his Father’s choices for him. Think
of the amazing openness and acceptance with which our Lord met the
events of his life! We come to the Father in a state of high excitement
and anxiety, with none of the serenity of the life that is hid with Christ
in God.
Consider the things that take you out of Christ. Are you always prom-
ising to start abiding in him later—once this or that crisis is resolved,
once this or that task is completed? Get a move on! Begin to abide now.
In the early stages, abiding requires continual effort, but eventually it
becomes an unconscious habit. Decide to abide in Jesus now, wherever
you are placed.

Read: Ezra 9–10; Acts 1

book_OC.indb 194 5/20/24 11:19 AM

 673 Isaiah 5–6
the mountains quaked, covered their faces, with two they covered
and their corpses were like garbage their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one
in the streets. called to another:
In all this, his anger has not turned away, Holy, holy, holy is
and his hand is still raised to strike. the LORD of Armies;
his glory fills the whole earth.
26 He raises a signal flag 4 The foundations of the doorways shook at
for the distant nations the sound of their voices, and the temple was
and whistles for them from the ends filled with smoke.
of the earth. 5 Then I said:
Look — how quickly and swiftly Woe is me for I am ruined C
they come! because I am a man of unclean lips
27 None of them grows weary or stumbles; and live among a people
no one slumbers or sleeps. of unclean lips,
No belt is loose and because my eyes have seen
and no sandal strap broken. the King,
28 Their arrows are sharpened, the LORD of Armies.
and all their bows strung.
Their horses’ hooves are like flint; 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and
their chariot wheels are in his hand was a glowing coal that he had tak-
like a whirlwind. en from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my
29 Their roaring is like a lion’s; mouth with it and said:
they roar like young lions; Now that this has touched your lips,
they growl and seize their prey your iniquity is removed
and carry it off, and your sin is atoned for.
and no one can rescue it.
30 On that day they will roar over it, 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking:
like the roaring of the sea. Who will I send?
When one looks at the land, Who will go for us?
there will be darkness and distress;
light will be obscured by clouds. A I said:
Here I am. Send me.
Isaiah’s Call and Mission

6
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw 9 And he replied:
the Lord seated on a high and lofty Go! Say to these people:
throne, and the hem of his robe filled Keep listening,
the temple. 2 Seraphim B were standing above but do not understand;
him; they each had six wings: with two they keep looking, but do not perceive.
A
5:30 Lit its clouds B
6:2 = heavenly beings C
6:5 Or I must be silent

6:1 I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne. If my worship is consumed in the
glory of the Lord till that is the one thing left in my mind, I have come to the right place of
vision. In the Old Testament the idea of God’s holiness is that of aloofness and separateness,
the sublimity of God. No unholiness can ever stand before God; therefore if God is going to
bring man into fellowship with himself, he has to reinstate him in every particular. Anything
that belittles or obliterates the holiness of God by a false view of the love of God is untrue to the
revelation given by Jesus Christ. In this prophet we have a marvelous picture of the atonement.
Notes on Isaiah, p. 1372.
6:5 I am a man of unclean lips. Isaiah’s words are a confession not of sin but of the sense
of absolute grossness. “I was an unthinking animal toward you” [Ps 73:22] said the psalmist,
not an immoral animal but—“What an incapacitated type of man I am! I have seen the Lord,
but how am I going to come anywhere near his marvelous holiness?” Any man will go to God
for deliverance from sin, but it is another thing to have this consciousness of grossness dealt
with; it takes discipline and patience and concentration. Will I agree that I am gross: “Woe is
me for I am ruined” [Is 6:5]? If so, I am coming slowly to the condition Isaiah was in. It was
his consciousness of grossness that brought Isaiah into a right relationship to God; that is an
illuminating point. It is never my sense of goodness that brings me into touch with God but my
sense of unworthiness. He Shall Glorify Me, p. 508.
6:8. Isaiah’s soul was so attuned to God by the tremendous crisis he had gone through that he
recorded the call of God to his amazed soul. The majority of us have no ear for anything but
ourselves; we cannot hear a thing God says. To be brought into the zone of the call of God is to
be profoundly altered. Called of God, p. 246.

book_OC.indb 673 5/20/24 11:22 AM

 Isaiah 6–7 674
A
10 Make the minds of these people dull; fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of
deafen their ears and blind their eyes; Remaliah. 5 For Aram, along with Ephraim and
otherwise they might see the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against
with their eyes you. They say, 6 ‘Let’s go up against Judah, ter-
and hear with their ears, rorize it, and conquer it for ourselves. Then we
understand with their minds, can install Tabeel’s son as king in it.’ ”
turn back, and be healed. 7 This is what the Lord GOD says:
It will not happen; it will not occur.
11 Then I said, “Until when, Lord? ” And he 8 The chief city of Aram is Damascus,
replied: the chief of Damascus is Rezin
Until cities lie in ruins (within sixty-five years
without inhabitants, Ephraim will be too shattered to be
houses are without people, a people),
the land is ruined and desolate, 9 the chief city of Ephraim is Samaria,
12 and the LORD drives the people far away, and the chief of Samaria is the son
leaving great emptiness in the land. of Remaliah.
13 Though a tenth will remain in the land, If you do not stand firm in your faith,
it will be burned again. then you will not stand at all.
Like the terebinth or the oak
that leaves a stump when felled, The Immanuel Prophecy
the holy seed is the stump. 10 Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz: 11 “Ask
for a sign from the LORD your God — it can be
as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.”
A mountaintop experience isn’t meant 12 But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not
to teach us anything; it’s meant to make test the LORD.”
us something new. God wants our 13 Isaiah said, “Listen, house of David! Is
it not enough for you to try the patience of
experiences to develop our character. men? Will you also try the patience of my God?
D
My Utmost for His Highest, September 29 14 Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a
sign: See, the virgin will conceive, E have a son,
and name him Immanuel. F 15 By the time he
The Message to Ahaz learns to reject what is bad and choose what

7
This took place during the reign of Ahaz, is good, he will be eating curds G and honey.
son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Ju- 16 For before the boy knows to reject what is
dah: Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King bad and choose what is good, the land of the
Pekah son of Remaliah went to fight against two kings you dread will be abandoned. 17 The
Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it. LORD will bring on you, your people, and your
2 When it became known to the house of Da- father’s house such a time as has never been
vid that Aram had occupied Ephraim, the heart since Ephraim separated from Judah: He will
of Ahaz B and the hearts of his people trembled bring the king of Assyria.”
like trees of a forest shaking in the wind. 18 On that day
3 The LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your the LORD will whistle to flies
son Shear-jashub C to meet Ahaz at the end at the farthest streams of the Nile
of the conduit of the upper pool, by the road and to bees in the land of Assyria.
to the Launderer’s Field. 4 Say to him: Calm 19 All of them will come and settle
down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or coward- in the steep ravines, in the clefts
ly because of these two smoldering sticks, the of the rocks,
A
6:10 Lit heart B 7:2 Lit Aram has rested upon Ephraim, his heart C 7:3 = A Remnant Will Return D 7:14 In Hb,
the word you is pl E 7:14 Or virgin is pregnant, will F 7:14 = God With Us G 7:15 Or sour milk

6:10 Make the minds of these people dull. In a hardened heart there is no witness being
crushed down; the heart is simply hard and untouched, and when God’s love and God’s works
are abroad, it remains like ice. It may be smashed and broken by judgments, but it is simply
breaking ice. The only way to alter the hardened heart is to melt it, and the only power that can
melt it is the fire of the Holy Spirit. Biblical Psychology, p. 178.
7:14 See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel. How much
attention, think you, could the mighty Roman Empire, the tramp of whose legions shook the
world and whose laws girdle it till now, pay to that little babe born of a Jewish peasant girl
and laid in a cow’s trough! It was beneath the possibility of that gigantic world power’s notice.
Christian Disciplines, Volume 2, p. 337.

book_OC.indb 674 5/20/24 11:22 AM

 Introduction

1 Corinthians
Circumstances of Writing

P
aul identifies himself as the author of this letter (1Co 1:1; 16:21), which almost all Bible
scholars accept. He wrote it during the last year of his three-year ministry at Ephesus,
probably a few weeks before Pentecost in the spring of AD 56 (15:32; 16:8; see Ac 20:31).
During Paul’s second missionary journey, he had a vision at Troas; he heard a man call to
him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us!” (Ac 16:9). That change in plans led Paul to Philippi,
Thessalonica, Athens, and ultimately to Corinth (Ac 18:1). Paul ministered in Corinth for at least
eighteen months (Ac 18:1–18). He left Corinth accompanied by Aquila and Priscilla (Ac 18:18),
who stopped at Ephesus, where they met and instructed “an eloquent man” named Apollos
(Ac 18:24–26). Apollos then went to Corinth, where he had a powerful ministry (Ac 18:27–19:1).
Paul mentions a previous letter he wrote to the Corinthian church, warning them not to
mix with the sexually immoral (1Co 5:9). The writing of this second letter (1 Corinthians) was
prompted by oral reports from Chloe’s household about factional strife within the church
(1:11). Paul had also received reports about an incestuous relationship there (5:1), factions that
arose during observance of the Lord’s Supper (11:18), and confusion over the resurrection of
the dead (15:12). As a result, Paul addressed these issues in 1 Corinthians. Apparently, as he was
writing the letter, he received a letter from the Corinthians asking his opinion on various is-
sues (7:1, 25; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1, 12). Therefore, he included his replies within this letter to the Corin-
thian believers.

Contribution to the Bible

First Corinthians contributes greatly to our understanding of Christian life, ministry, and rela-
tionships by showing us how the members of the church—Christ’s body—are to function to-
gether. Problems can arise in any church because congregations are made up of redeemed but
sinful people. Paul gave specific solutions to specific problems, but the underlying answer to
all these problems is for the church and its members to live Christ-centered lives. It all comes
down to living under the lordship and authority of Christ, the head of his body (the church).

Structure
Paul’s writing is in the form of a letter, using the standard four parts of a first-century letter:
salutation (1:1–3), thanksgiving (1:4–9), the main body (1:10–16:18), and a farewell (16:19–21). It is
a pastoral letter, driven by the occasion and the present needs of the recipients.
Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the way Paul structured his letter was his use of
the word “about” to introduce a subject. It is apparent that “about” signals that Paul was re-
sponding to items on a list of questions that he had received—perhaps by way of a committee
of men (16:17). These questions dealt with males and females in marriage (7:1); virgins (7:25);
food offered to idols (8:1); spiritual gifts (12:1); the collection for the saints in Jerusalem (16:1);
and Apollos (16:12).

Wisdom from Chambers

Never confuse the cross of Christ with the benefits that flow from it. For all Paul’s doctrine, his
one great passion was the cross of Christ, not salvation nor sanctification but the great truth
that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. . . . He cared about nothing on
earth except for one thing—the cross of Christ. That was the great passion of his preaching;
he paid no attention to what it cost him. “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” [1Co 9:16].
Approved unto God, p. 18.

book_OC.indb 1161 5/20/24 11:25 AM

 Discipleship
2 Corinthians 5:21; see Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46; John 20:21–23; 21:15–19

“S
imon, son of John, do you love unknown, unmarked, he reaches in the
me?” . . . “Feed my sheep” [Jn spirit of travail that sublime agony of
21:17]. Can you feed the lambs loneliness when “Father” seems frozen in
and the sheep? Do you, or are you in the his heart, and he cries out, “Why have you
show business? Listen to the voice of abandoned me?” [Ps 22:1]. It is not a cry of
your Master: “As the Father has sent me, weakness, nor of imperfection; it is not
I also send you” [Jn 20:21]. Is it not time for a cry of doubt in God; it is a cry from the
you to present yourself before God and last touch of heroism on the workman
say, “Father, look at my hands, my heart, for God who is being made conformable
and my head: Jesus has cleansed me”? unto the death of Jesus, not for his own
And he will answer, “Son, go work in the sake or his own perfecting but for the
vineyard today” [Mt 21:28]. work of God. It takes him to the threshold
To make disciples, then, we must of that awful abyss of the Master Work-
have been made disciples ourselves. man himself, where he was left alone
There is no royal road to sainthood and with death and became as lonely as sin,
discipleship. The way of the cross is the and amid the spiritual ramifications of
only way. We see God only from a pure that unshared, unfathomed experience,
heart, never from an able intellect. The he cried out, “My God, my God, why have
elements in the lot of a workman for God you abandoned me?” [Mt 27:46].
are those that first make him a workman The workman for God dare not talk,
and then constitute him a toiler for God. he dare not speculate; but in wonder, love,
The workman for God in all prob- and awe he thanks God for “the glory and
ability will have to go the way his Lord the passion of this midnight,” because it
and Master went. The first flush of the has brought him to the threshold of an
career of a workman for God may be understanding of the loneliness of Jesus
in glory and acclaim, leading to blessed Christ who was made “to be sin for us, so
transfiguration; then there comes the de- that in him we might become the righ-
scent into the valley, deeper and deeper, teousness of God” [2Co 5:21]. Christian
until in that lonely place, toiling unseen, Discipleship, Volume 2, p. 330.

book_OC.indb 1184 5/20/24 11:25 AM

 Cross of Christ
Galatians 6:14; see Matthew 16:24; John 12:32; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 2:2; 6:19–20

W
e can understand the attributes revelation of the redemption, mirrored
of God in other ways, but we and concentrated in the cross of Jesus
can only understand the Fa- Christ as it is presented in the New Tes-
ther’s heart in the cross of Christ. The tament, before we get the shallow, pious
cross of Christ is not the cross of a martyr nonsense shaken out of our religious be-
. . . it is the revelation of redemption. The liefs. To be saved by God’s grace is not a
cross is the crystallized point in history beautifully pathetic thing; it is a desper-
where eternity merges with time. The cry ately tragic thing.
on the cross, “My God, my God, why have The evidence that I have accepted
you abandoned me?” [Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34], the cross of Christ as the revelation of
is not the desolation of an isolated individ- redemption is that the regenerating life
ual; it is the revelation of the heart of God of God is manifested in my mortal flesh.
face-to-face with the sin of man, and go- Immediately [when] I accept the cross of
ing deeper down than man’s sin can ever Christ as the revelation of redemption
go in inconceivable heartbreak in order I am not, I must not be, the same man,
that every sin-stained, hell-deserving sin- I must be another man, and I must take
ner might be absolutely redeemed. If the up my cross from my Lord. The cross is
redemption of Christ cannot go deeper the gift of Jesus to his disciples, and it can
down than hell, it is not redemption at all. only bear one aspect: “I am not my own”
The great condemnation of much [see 1 Co 6:19–20]. The whole attitude of
of our modern preaching is that it con- the life is that I have given up my right
veys no sense of the desperate tragedy to myself. I live like a crucified man. Un-
of conviction of sin. When once the real less that crisis is reached it is perilously
touch of conviction of sin comes, it is hell possible for my religious life to end as a
on earth—there is no other word for it. sentimental fiasco. “I don’t mind being
One second of realizing ourselves in the saved from hell and receiving the Holy
light of God means unspeakable agony Spirit, but it is too much to expect me to
and distress; but the marvel is that when give up my right to myself to Jesus Christ,
the conviction does come, there is God to give up my manhood, my womanhood,
in the very center of the whole thing to all my ambitions.” Jesus said, If any man
save us from it. That is the meaning of the will be my disciple, those are the condi-
cross of Christ as experimentally applied tions. The Highest Good—Thy Great Re-
to us. We have to face ourselves with the demption, pp. 558–59.

book_OC.indb 1201 5/20/24 11:25 AM

 Understanding Oswald Chambers’s Language and Theology

A Glossary of Terms
Abandon, abandonment (to specific denomination or theo- bring out into the world, the new
God). To fully give oneself over logical tradition. Paul, Chambers life God has put inside them.
to God. In Chambers’s usage, writes, had “no other end and aim
“abandon” and “abandonment” than that—to be broken bread and Reality. Everything belonging
carry no negative connotation poured-out wine in the hands of to God and the spiritual realm,
(in the sense of being abandoned God that others might be nour- everything eternal and unchang-
or lost). Rather, “abandoning ished and fed.” ing. Distinct from the material,
oneself to God” is an active, posi- earthly realm, which is tempo-
tive choice, freely undertaken by Disciple. A Christian who has rary, and which Chambers often
those who wish to commit them- answered a divine call to devote refers to as “actuality.” Chambers
selves to the Lord. Abandonment his or her life to following Christ uses “reality” as a descriptor for
brings with it the “glad, reckless and preaching the gospel. For many different concepts, includ-
joy” of allowing God to direct Chambers, not every Christian ing the kingdom of God, personal
one’s course. receives the call to discipleship. redemption, the Holy Spirit, and
God himself. “Once you are root-
Amateur providence. Gener- Disposition. An underlying ed in reality, nothing can shake
ally used to describe a spiritual nature or fundamental makeup you.”
leader who is trying to place him- acquired through inheritance or
or herself at the center of another by heredity. Humans have inher- Redemption / The redemp-
person’s spiritual experience— ited “the disposition of sin,” but tion. Chambers contrasts these
right where Jesus Christ should are able, through redemption, to two concepts. “The redemption”
be. Chambers writes that the acquire “the disposition of holi- refers to a historical event: the
amateur providence is “so noisy” ness” that is in Jesus Christ. death of Jesus Christ on the cross
in his or her “instruction of oth- and everything which followed
ers that God cannot get anywhere Educate (down) to the scru- from that act (namely, the resto-
near them.” ple. Chambers uses this phrase ration of humanity’s relationship
to mean that God inspects and with God). “Redemption” is used
Baptism of the Holy Spirit. brings to light every single aspect to describe an individual’s per-
Chambers defines this baptism, of our lives and personalities, no sonal rebirth in Christ. Christ
which is distinct from baptism matter how small. “Notice in your dealt with sin in the redemption;
by water, as “an invasion” by the own life how he works,” Cham- he deals with sin in redemption.
Holy Spirit. He bases his under- bers writes. “He begins with the
standing on the description of big general principles and then Saint. Chambers uses this word
Pentecost (Acts 2:1–13) and on slowly educates you down to the to signify a Christian who has
Jesus’s declaration in Acts 1:8: scruple.” undergone the baptism of the
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit and has been sancti-
Holy Spirit has come on you.” To Intercession / Intervention. fied (see “sanctification”), whose
receive the baptism of the Holy Used interchangeably to indicate thinking and behavior clearly re-
Spirit, in Chambers’s view, one the kind of prayer Chambers ad- flect this spiritual rebirth. Often
must ask: “How much more will vocates: going to God on behalf of used interchangeably with “dis-
the heavenly Father give the Holy other people, in order to learn his ciple.”
Spirit to those who ask him!” will for them. Intercessory prayer
(Luke 11:13). is distinct from self-centered— Salvation. For Chambers, this
and wrongful—prayer, in which is the “first sovereign work of
Born from above. Another term we go to God “seeking blessings grace,” accomplished for us by
for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, for ourselves.” Jesus Christ on the cross. It is
the baptism that makes sancti- distinct from sanctification, the
fication possible (see “sanctifi- Manifest. Drawn from 2 Corin- “second mighty work of grace”
cation”). It is distinct from both thians 4:11 ( KJV): “For we which (see “sanctification”). All Chris-
salvation and baptism by water. live are always delivered unto tians, for Chambers, have under-
death for Jesus’ sake, that the gone the experience of salvation,
Broken bread and poured-out life also of Jesus might be made but not all have been sanctified.
wine. From the account of the manifest in our mortal flesh.”
Last Supper in Luke 22, Cham- Chambers expands on this verse, Sanctification / Entire sancti-
bers uses this term to describe using the verb “to manifest” to fication. A cornerstone of Cham-
how the Christian disciple should describe how Christians should bers’s theology, based primarily
allow him- or herself to be used relate to Jesus Christ in their on 1 Thessalonians 4: “It is God’s
in God’s hands. Despite carry- everyday lives. Instead of simply, will that you should be sancti-
ing the ritualistic overtones of and passively, experiencing Jesus fied.” Chambers’s elaboration of
the Eucharist, this phrase isn’t Christ as an indwelling presence the concept draws on the Holi-
strictly employed in that sense (through the Holy Spirit), Chris- ness theology of John Wesley, one
by Chambers, who belonged to no tians are to manifest, or actively of Chambers’s favorite thinkers.

book_OC.indb 1333 5/20/24 11:26 AM

 1334
For Wesley, the baptism of the instantaneous, continuous work Chambers declined to specify
Holy Spirit was a second work of of grace. . . . Sanctification means what type of vision he was talking
grace, following and distinct from we have the glorious opportunity about, leaving the interpretation
salvation. In imparting the Holy of proving daily, hourly, momen- up to the reader.
Spirit, sanctification also impart- tarily, this identity with Jesus
ed the ability to lead a sinless, Christ” (from The Moral Founda- Will. What today we might refer
“perfect” life. The doctrine has tions of Life). to as “willpower.” For Chambers,
always been the subject of intense “will” is less something you have
theological debate. Chambers em- Vision. Used to denote several than something you are. It is an
braced the idea of sanctification different types of spiritual in- essential element in God’s make-
(see “baptism of the Holy Spir- sight, all of them meaning, in up of humanity, the element that
it”) but refused to get entangled essence, an idea of some future enables us—and requires us—to
in the perfectionism debate. For occurrence which God brings decide for or against God and
Chambers, sanctification wasn’t to a person’s mind. The vision to put our decisions into action.
simply a single spiritual baptism; might be of a future event; a pur- “Never look upon will as some-
it was a way of living: “Sanctifi- pose God wishes the person to thing you possess as you do a
cation is not once for all, but once fulfill; or something more vague, watch,” Chambers warned. “Will
for always. Sanctification is an like a future state of being. Often, is the whole person active.”

book_OC.indb 1334 5/20/24 11:26 AM