This is the 13th post in my study of Jonathan Edwards famous text Religious Affections
. I have also created a landing page to hold all of the posts in this study for you here.
This is also the second post on this particular subject. The first post, dealt with becoming a Christian, whereas this post will explore one of the primary evidences of one's rebirth, from Jonathan Edwards' treatise.
Jonathan Edwards was one of the principle evangelists in the Great Awakening. People by the thousands, all up and down colonial America, were experiencing saving faith in Jesus Christ.
The problem, however, was that along with this great revival, came a great many false teachers and false believers. This troubled Edwards greatly, and therein lies the birth of his "Religious Affections".
In Edwards' 7th evidence of true faith (gracious affections), he puts forth the fact that there is indeed a change of nature, a new man, if you will, is born.
Let's together explore this important evidence of saving faith...
Gracious Affection #7:
"Another thing, wherein gracious affections are distinguished from others, is, that they are attended with a change of nature."
Edwards has been arguing that gracious affections consist of various spiritual understandings, which the Holy Spirit discovers to us. Here, however, he states that the true Christian is altered, in the very nature of his soul, by the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit. He becomes a new creature. The true Christian's heart is forever altered and sprung to life, bearing the image of God.
II Corinthians 3:18: "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."
The scriptures are clear, when conversion occurs there is "a change of nature: such as being born again; becoming new creatures;
rising from the dead; being renewed in the spirit of the mind; dying to
sin, and living to righteousness; putting off the old man, and putting
on the new man; a being ingrafted into a new stock; a having a divine
seed implanted in the heart; a being made partakers of the divine
nature, etc."
From Edwards:
"Conversion is a great and universal change of the man, turning him from sin to God. A man may be restrained from sin, before he is converted; but when he is converted, he is not only restrained from sin, his very heart and nature is turned from it, unto holiness: so that thenceforward he becomes a holy person, and an enemy to sin. If therefore, after a person's high affections, at his supposed first conversion, it comes to that in a little time, that there is no very sensible, or remarkable alteration in him, as to those bad qualities, and evil habits, which before were visible in him, and he is ordinarily under the prevalence of the same kind of dispositions that he used to be, and the same things seem to belong to his character, he appears as selfish, carnal, as stupid, and perverse, as unchristian, and unsavory as ever; it is greater evidence against him, than the brightest story of experiences that ever was told, is for him. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision, nor uncircumcision, neither high profession, nor low profession, neither a fair story, nor a broken one, avails anything; but a new creature."
If after your salvation, there is no change, and afterwards there is no visible change in your nature, then, Edwards asserts, there is no real conversion.
One's nature is an abiding thing. "A swine that is of a filthy nature may be washed; but the swinish nature remains. And a dove that is of a cleanly nature may be defiled, but its cleanly nature remains."
Edwards does not suggest that great inclinations are rooted overnight, and that grace must be allowed.
Here is my favorite picture that Edwards paints for us:
"Grace in the soul is as much from Christ, as the light in a glass, held out in the sunbeams, is from the sun. But this represents the manner of the communication of grace to the soul, but in part; because the glass remains as it was, the nature of it not being at all changed, it is as much without any lightsomeness in its nature as ever. But the soul of a saint receives light from the Sun of Righteousness, in such a manner, that its nature is changed, and it becomes properly a luminous thing: not only does the sun shine in the saints, but they also become little suns, partaking of the nature of the fountain of their light. In this respect, the manner of their derivation of light, is like that of the lamps in the tabernacle, rather than that of a reflecting glass; which though they were lit up by fire from heaven, yet thereby became, themselves burning shining things."
The Christian not only has the light of Christ shining in us, but we actually become ourselves little shining lights. When the spirit is great upon us, those little shining lights burn brighter and brighter as we become more and more like Christ.
And lastly:
"When men have been conversing with Christ in an extraordinary manner, there is a sensible effect of it remains upon them; there is something remarkable in their disposition and frame, which if we take knowledge of, and trace to its cause, we shall find it is because they have been with Jesus."
Therefore, as we all look at our lives, we must ask ourselves, "Is there a change of nature in me?" Is there evidence that I have actually become a glowing tabernacle light, or am I merely reflecting light.
The true Christian must find themselves burning shining things!
Are you a burning shining thing?