In the last two posts, we have considered the meaning of dependence as creatures and as sinners. Those pertained to our condition pre-fall and pre-grace. In the next two weeks, we will explore a third and a fourth dimension of our dependence toward God: as saints and sons. These are relations of dependence that pertain us to Christians in the state of grace.

There are five ways in which we depend on God as saints.

• We depend on God for regeneration. Particularly, this is the work of the Spirit of God who regenerates our dead hearts. As the Lord Jesus put it, “You must be born again.”  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:7-8). We depend upon God to blow the wind of life upon us (Gen. 2:7). 

• We depend on God for faith. Once the Spirit regenerates us, we do not become independent.  The first act of obedience that we perform is itself a gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). The moment we come to life, we immediately receive a gift. How about that for independence! The saint never graduates from dependence to independence. His life is a continuous expression of self-dependence on God.

• We depend on God for good works. Once we have received faith from God, we begin to perform good works. Although these are indeed the work of the redeemed, born-again person, these are not performed in complete independence from God. Instead, even our good works proceed from faith - which is itself a gift. Therefore, “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6), and Paul writes, “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Cor. 15:10). Grace encompasses the whole life of the saint.

• We depend on God for sanctification. Justification is a grace that is entirely from God. It does not involve the participation of the saint. We are justified by faith alone. Sanctification, however, is a grace that requires the active participation of the saint. Does this then mean that the believer is independent from God for his sanctification? Let Paul answer this question: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13). Even in sanctification the believer is dependent on God, just like a balloon is dependent upon the air that fills it to be able to fly into the sky.

• We depend on God for glorification. Once God’s plan for this present world comes to an end, the Lord Jesus will come, and we will receive new bodies. Glorification involves the perfecting of all our being and it is the last stage of the plan of salvation (Rom. 8:29-30). As in the other graces, the saint is absolutely dependent on God for this last stage. The glorification of creation and of our bodies will be performed by God as a final, public, cosmic event that will attest to his glorious power and all-pervading divine grace, for “from him and through Him and to him are all things. To Him be glory forever” (Rom. 11:36).

Therefore, dear saint, depend on God and rejoice in your constant need of Him.