Jesus addressed the cost of discipleship in three of the four gospels—Matthew 16: 24-27, Mark 8: 34-38 and Luke 9: 23-26. He said: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and My words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s and of the holy angels.” Prior to this Jesus had called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases and sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. That was a temporary anointing given to them at the beginning of His ministry. However, before His ascension He said to them: “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.” This empowerment of His Spirit was two-fold—the power dwelling within for sanctification—to conform them into the image of Christ and the power upon them to fulfill God’s will, purpose and calling. This is the same today for every born-again believer. The first anointing of the disciples involved commitment and the second involved surrender. This is an important principle for us to grasp as we seek to fulfill God’s will, purpose and calling for us today.
Let us consider the difference between commitment and surrender. Commitment involves a person pledging devotion or dedication to something while retaining control over their actions and choices; they can decide how much to commit to, keeping authority over their own life. The disciples committed to Jesus’ command in Luke 9: 1-2. In contrast, surrender means yielding control entirely to another, relinquishing possession, authority, and will, and submitting unconditionally to a higher power. When one surrenders, they no longer dictate the terms; they simply obey, as illustrated by the example of a person raising their hands when confronted with a gun, not negotiating what they are committed to, but simply complying. We need a lot of hand raising today to the Lord!
The examination of these two words—commitment and surrender speak volumes of how we have departed from the true cost of discipleship Jesus spoke of in the Bible. The term “commitment” became common in the English language around the 1960’s, replacing the older term “surrender,” which was previously used to describe a person’s dedication to God. This was a shift to imply a humanistic approach in our faith where individuals maintain control where we decide what we are going to do and commit ourselves to it. When we surrender, God’s in control. He is the King and He is supreme. This surrender is not a one-time event but an ongoing process of yielding oneself to God’s authority each day. It is the foundation upon which genuine, consistent Christ living is built. Only after surrendering can commitment become a natural and empowered response, flowing from the Holy Spirit rather than human effort. Without surrender, commitment is seen as empty and merely a choice, whereas surrender allows for a life fully aligned with God's will, even in the face of difficulty or cost.
The shift from surrender to commitment has resulted in the rapid growth of a new belief system that conceives itself as the successor to early Christianity. It calls itself a “religion.” Its leaders would like to take upon themselves the mantle traditionally reserved for the Church. How did we get to where we are? We look back upon the history of collapsing Apostolic zeal that characterized the second century. In the third and fourth centuries, church fathers wrestled with allegorical interpretations of Scripture, Gnostic heresies, fraudulent insertions of forged pseudo-scripture, and a variety of opinions about what should be considered the canon of the New Testament. Paul plainly predicted this descent into a state in which all the power and authority was controlled by a ruler or system with everyone else in compliance. They fail to comprehend the truth Jesus spoke of concerning the cost of discipleship and that the Church is a Spirit-led movement and not an organization. For their own purposes, they sought to imitate its outward appearance while denying the power of it. “Holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. From these turn away.” (2 Tim. 3:5) This describes an outward appearance of religious piety and devotion, such as attending church, performing religious acts, and speaking the language of faith, yet lacking the inner transformation and genuine relationship with God that defines true godliness. The “power” referred to is the transformative power of God, specifically the power of the Holy Spirit, which is essential for salvation and spiritual renewal. This power is the same force Jesus promised in Acts 1, which empowers believers and brings about change in lives.
Paul addressed this behavior in 1 Corinthians 3: 1-23 as he said, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.” He told them that they were still fleshly, with jealousy and strife among them and walking in the ways of the world. They were committed to the following of men and their teachings (equivalent to denominations today). Paul said, “No man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” God’s word is our authority and not the tradition of men. Paul continues in his rebuke of the church in Corinth with the question: “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” He continues his warnings in 6: 1-20 as sin had been their all-consuming character. He addressed gross sexual immorality in the Corinthian church. He said some in the Corinthian church were drunkards. He taught that sin is sin and God doesn’t differentiate between one type of sin and another and that sin isn’t just something you do. Rather, sinful is what you are. Paul reminded them that they were no longer whom they had been, but they had been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. Most importantly Paul reveals that all types of sin can be forgiven and nothing is beyond God’s forgiveness. Paul had no interest in allowing the sinful patterns from which he had escaped through God’s grace to enslave him again. He didn’t ask, “What’s wrong with it?” as much as, “Is this the Lord’s will for me? Will it honor and glorify Him?” This is the same question that we must ask ourselves as we consider the importance of surrender to God.
Our body is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus as our Savior. We belong to Him. We can no longer say “It’s my body, I can do what I want with it.” Too many have defied God’s ownership and continue to live to please ourselves and therefore causes internal conflict that brings on disease, a lack of peace and power. We must surrender our body, soul and spirit to Him who loves us and gave Himself for us. God’s presence—His Spirit is in our innermost being—closer than the air we breathe. As Christians we have some awareness of His imminent Presence but since He lives in us, we must totally surrender to Him and let Him live through us, shining My Light into the darkness. Psalms 139: 1-7 says, “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou have beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me, Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” God sees and knows all!
Paul instructs us in 2 Corinthians 5: 20-21 about our purpose as believers: “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” To be reconciled is to change completely. This reconciliation is an act of God’s grace—a change initiated by God, where the sinner’s status is transformed from being an enemy to being a friend, and a new relationship of fellowship with God. The process of reconciliation involves a radical transformation of the individual, where the old self is replaced with a new creation, and the believer is called to live in obedience and faith continuing in the faith established by God. As a result of this reconciliation, believers are called to be ambassadors, sharing the message of reconciliation with others.
Again, we return to the teachings of Paul to the early church. In Ephesians 1: 16-20 we read, “I cease not to…(make) mention of you in my prayers: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation…the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know…what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead.” Here is one of the great Scriptures that will make our faith large and strong and bold. Paul was writing to those who had been sealed with the Holy Spirit. And yet he felt the need for unceasing prayer for the enlightening of the Spirit, so that they might truly know the mighty power of God that was working in them. It was nothing less than this very same power, the strength of His might, by which He raised Christ from the dead. And now it is that same power, in its “exceeding greatness…to us-ward who believe” that we, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, are to know as working in us every day of our lives. The Lord, who said to Abraham, “I am God Almighty, nothing is too hard for Me” comes to us with the message that what He did not only in Abraham, but also in Christ Jesus, is the pledge of what He is doing every moment in our hearts and will complete if we learn to trust Him and surrender to Him moment by moment and day by day!
It is by that almighty power that the risen and exalted Christ can be revealed in our hearts as our life and our strength. It is time for Christians to believe this! Oh, let us cry to God; let us trust God for His Holy Spirit to enable us to claim nothing less every day than the “exceeding greatness” of His resurrection power working in us! Let us pray for all believers around us and throughout the Church, that they may have their eyes opened to the wonderful vision of God’s almighty resurrection power working in them. And let ministers, like Paul, make this a matter of continual intercession for those among whom they labor. What a difference it would make in their ministry—the unceasing prayer for the Spirit to reveal the power that dwells and works in them!
Paul in Galatians 2:20 said of himself “Christ liveth in me.” How few Christians experience this! Let us study Paul’s teaching on the way to experience this crowning blessing of the Christian life: “I BOW MY KNEES TO THE FATHER.” The blessing must come from the Father. It is to be found in much prayer. ‘THAT HE WOULD GRANT YOU, ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GLORY—SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL AND DIVINE—“TO BE STRENGTHENED WITH MIGHT THROUGH HIS SPIRIT IN THE INNER MAN.” God gives us the strength to be separate from sin and the world, to yield to Christ as Lord and Master, and to live the life of love for Christ and keeping His commandments to which the promise has been given. (John 14: 23) “THAT CHIRST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS THROUGH FAITH.” Christ, in His divine omnipresence and love, longs for hearts to dwell in. As a believer sees this by faith, bows his knee, and asks for God this great blessing, he receives grace to believe that the prayer is answered. “THAT YOU, BEING ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN LOVE…MAY BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD,” as far as it is possible for man to experience it. We must ask for God’s anointing to become the person we were ordained to become for which we are born so God gets the glory and not us. We are not anointed for sin—but to be one with God—to receive the Spirit and then go forth to witness. Everything we do is to do it in the Spirit! This is the life of surrender—to do everything we do in the power of His Spirit—doing everything with God! We are to lay down our life so that Jesus can take it up and live in and through us!