The Basis of Being More Than Conquerors

E. Stanley Jones was a missionary, a theologian, and a prolific writer. In his devotional book Victorious Living he shows how the indwelling Spirit of Christ renews our personality:

"The basis of this conquest of life by Life must be examined to see if it is sound and sure. For this purpose 2 Timothy 1. 7 becomes luminous: 'For the spirit which God has given us is not a spirit of cowardice, but one of power and of love and of sound judgment' (Weymouth).

"Here is the basis of the overcoming--the whole organism is strengthened. The personality made up of will, emotion, and mind is renewed--there is 'power' for the will, 'love' for the emotion, and 'sound judgment' for the mind. By the renewing of the total life the spirit of fear is cast out. You cannot get rid of fear by bidding the fears depart. They will not depart. They will depart only as they are cast out by some positive influence that possesses you, thereby making these fears absurd. This positive influence is the spirit of power, of love, and of sound judgment--in other words, the Spirit of Christ working in the depths of your being.

"The reasons for fear are rooted in one or more of these roots. (1) A sense of being weak in the will, a feeling that we are morally inadequate for life. Life is too much for us. It demands more than we have to give. (2) A lack of love. We do not love people, so we are afraid of them; we do not love God supremely, so we are uncomfortable at the thought of Him; we do not love His will, so we are afraid of what He will ask us to do; we do not love life, so we are afraid of it. (3) We feel helpless and confused, for our minds lack a sound, unified judgment. We have no key in our hands that fits the problem of human living--so we fear because of intellectual inadequacy.

"But now the whole being is brought under a unified control--the Spirit of Christ. That means power for the will, love for the emotions, and sound judgment for the mind. It is the answer of Life to inadequate life."