Cooperate or Yield to God?

Which is it? Cooperate or Yield?

The question that many of us struggle with is do we cooperate with God? Do we cooperate with Him prior to salvation and/or do we cooperate with Him after we have been saved.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Cooperate is defined as “to work or act together toward a common end or purpose.”

When God calls, the unbeliever is not working with God toward a common end or purpose. Unbelievers and God do not have a common end or purpose — they have absolutely nothing in common. The unbeliever is unaware of his need for salvation or does not acknowledge his sinful nature. The unbeliever may believe that being “good” will gain him entry to heaven. From the foundation, God’s goal was to bring His elect to Himself. Man is utterly incapable of doing anything to save himself. In order for mankind to be redeemed, God had to do all the work Himself, every single bit of it from calling mankind, to offering Himself as a sacrifice to taking on man’s sin upon His body. He did it all. Cooperate entails two or more working together for a common goal. Man does not co-work with God to achieve salvation. Believing in God and accepting His gift of salvation is not a co-achievement. It is an achievement of God alone. The unbeliever and God do not work together, a co-effort, to achieve salvation for God and the unbeliever have nothing in common or an end purpose in mind.

Jesus said He came not to call the righteous but the unrighteous. Call is defined as “to bid or call forth.” To answer His call, one does not cooperate with Him. Jesus compels and based on the effectual nature of His call, a sinner has no other desire but to yield His calling.

Yield is defined as “giving up further resistance or give way.”

Scripture states that mankind is in rebellion towards God. If man is in rebellion towards God, man does not cooperate with Him, he rebels against Him. When God calls, the sinner gives up resistance to Him, gives way to Him. When we answer His call, we are not cooperating or co-working with Him to achieve our salvation. We believe as utter truth that we are sinners, we have no capability to save ourselves, we need Him to save us and declare to Him our need that will enable us to be the recipients of the fruit of His work that is salvation.

Salvation is not a joint effort. The salvation that God provides to us is His work alone. He did all the work, we received the fruits of His work — eternal life.

The second question that seems to come up is after we receive salvation, do we cooperate or work jointly with God? In order to answer this question, the question needs to be answered is what is the goal that God has for the newly saved person? God’s purpose for us is to be conformed to the Image of Christ (Romans 8:29). As believers, those that have received His salvation, are utterly incapable of helping God conform themselves to the image of Christ. It is solely the work of the Holy Spirit that conforms — we do not help Him out. A Christian does not cooperate with the Holy Spirit in His work. A Christian yields or gives up resistance to the Holy Spirit. The work of conforming the Christian to the image of Christ belongs to Him for He stated that He predestined the elect to be conformed to the image of Christ. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; (Romans 8:29 NASB). God determined that His elect would be conformed to the image of Christ before we were born and no one has the ability to thwart the work that He predetermined would take place. Since God predetermined what would take place, the work is His alone and all glory for this work is His alone. To assume that we cooperate would suggest that we have the ability, in some way, to hinder His work that He predetermined would take place.

In relationships, we cooperate with each other. Husbands and wives cooperate with each other; friends cooperate with each other. In relationships with other human beings, for the relationship to flourish, we need to cooperate with each other. There is a joint effort involved. In these relationships, there is a common goal, a shared mutual purpose. For these relationships to work, one should not be attempting to conform their partner or friend to an image that they wish. How many relationships have failed because one attempts to “change” their partner/friend? Yet, that is exactly what God is doing in our lives. In our relationship with God, He does not ask us to cooperate with Him. In fact, the word “cooperate” or any form of the word “cooperate” is not used in scripture. The world “yield” is used in scripture. He asks us to yield ourselves to Him so He can perform the work to conform us to the image of Christ. Allowing Christ to shine in us is not a joint effort. Only Christ is capable of reflecting Himself in us, we are not capable of reflecting Christ. Only God Himself can conform the believer to the image of Christ. It is His work and when we yield to Him, give way to Him, He does His work. When we try to help Him out, we will fail. It simply is not a joint effort.

Remember, Jesus never said, “cooperate with me.” He commands us to yield unto Him. He is our master, we are not “co” anything with Him, we are to obey His commands. A slave (and that’s what we are) is to obey his master without question. We do not work with Him, we work for Him. Our obedience to Him, our giving way to His commands, causes us to be conformed to the image of Christ. We are to submit ourselves to Him, not “co” work with Him. It is His work, His glory — to be jointly or co-working with Him is, by the very definition of “co-work” to receive or accept some of the credit for the conforming image to Christ. There is not a single human being that has any ability to help God out conforming oneself to the image of Christ.

2 Chronicles 30:8 Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified forever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.

Photographer grguy

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