A. W. Tozer - The Deeper Life: Go Beyond Knowledge to Experience Spirit-Filled Living

2022 by
MOODY PUBLISHERS

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Chapters 1, 5, and 6 were previously published in Moody Monthly magazine, 1950 by Moody Bible Institute. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Chapters 2, 3, 7, and 8 were previously published in Christian Life magazine, 1957 Sunday Magazine, Inc. (Charisma Media, 600 Rinehart Rd., Lake Mary, FL, 32746). All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.

Edited by Kevin Mungons

Interior and cover design: Erik M. Peterson

Cover image of liquid blue texture copyright 2022 by korkeng/Shutterstock (1802211250). All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Tozer, A. W. (Aiden Wilson), 1897-1963, author.

Title: The deeper life : go beyond knowledge to experience spirit-filled living / A.W. Tozer.

Description: Chicago : Moody Publishers, [2022] | Includes articles written for Moody Monthly magazine in 1950, and other articles from Christian Life and Alliance Witness, available for the first time in one volume. | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: Christians often know the theory of the Spirit-filled life but not the joy-filled experience. This timely voice provides a timeless glimpse into spiritual maturity and growth. Tozer wants to ignite a divine fire in our souls. Readers are given sequential steps to living The Deeper Life-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022044303 | ISBN 9780802429339 (paperback) | ISBN 9780802473820

Subjects: LCSH: Christian life. | BISAC: RELIGION / Christian Living / Personal Growth | RELIGION / Christian Living / Spiritual Warfare

Classification: LCC BV4501.3 .T6973 2022 | DDC 248.4--dc23/eng/20221024

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022044303

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A. W. Tozer pursued God with unusual zeal, searching for an intimate relationship that he could not fully describe with words. At various times he called it the deeper Christian life, deep things of God, or just the deeper life. But what, exactly, was it? And how do you find it?

His answer came from unlikely places. Not from a conventional educationhe skipped high school to work in a rubber factory. And not from seminary training, which he also lacked. His spiritual understanding didnt come from the glut of programs, Bible conferences, or Christian celebrities that rose to popularity in his era. In fact, he found these distracting. He complained that the church culture was producing Bible knowledge without penetrating the heart.

Tozer stripped away the distractions and found an elemental solution based on the power of the Word and the power of the Spirit. He applied these to a close study of Philippians 3:10, where the apostle Paul drew readers into his lifelong passion: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

As Tozer continued to study, he discovered that others had taken the same path before himthe ancient writers, long forgotten, who knew God with an intense personal fervor. Critics called them Christian mystics, and looked darkly at their theological roots. Tozer, however, read with discernment, filtering out the moments of doctrinal confusion and concentrating on matters of the heart.

One book in particular gave Tozer the insights he craved. Written anonymously in the fourteenth century, The Cloud of Unknowing asked readers to move past mere knowledge and intellect about God. Instead, God should be knownexperiencedthrough intense contemplation, leading the worshiper to feelings of deep love. Tozer immediately recognized the importance of this idea and recognized how it would tweak conventional thought on spiritual growth. For some of the theological gatekeepers, words like experience and feelings could bring the discussion into tenuous territory.

Another insight came from the books obsolete word choices, especially its persistent use of the verb listas in, an earnest and active desire. Tozer took this as a marching order. Contrary to some contemporary advice (let go and let God), the path toward spiritual maturity must be actively pursued. Or, as Unknowing put it, more devoutly and more listily in soberness and in purity and in deepness of spirit.

Oh, the irony! A preacher with an eighth-grade education found spiritual wisdom by reading obscure books written in Middle English. And now that he had discovered these new friends, Tozer wanted to introduce them to his working-class congregation in Chicago (where, it goes without saying, no one read Middle English in their spare time). Tozers task quickly shifted from one of self-discovery to a much broader responsibilityteaching timeless truths in ways that anyone could understand.

He distilled the essence of his ancient sources into a book that became an instant classic, The Pursuit of God (1948). Suddenly his church was crowded with visitors and his mailbox was jammed with speaking invitations. Tozer feared the worstwas he becoming a Christian celebrity? Not if he could help it! Bombarded with more projects than he could ever accept, he made careful plans. He reserved his expanded platform for a narrowly defined purpose, devoted to teaching the essence of spiritual renewal to the regular folks in his church.

Others noticed the effectiveness of his approachincluding pastors and Christian leaders from surprisingly diverse theological perspectives. Tozers Reformed friends didnt see eye to eye with him on the mechanics and timing of Spirit filling. And to be sure, Tozer embraced crisis sanctification, though he generally avoided using the term. Nevertheless, Tozer asked readers to consider the consequences of their own beliefs. Perhaps your doctrinal bias is away from belief in the crisis of the Spirits filling, he says in chapter 8. Very well, look at the fruit of such doctrine. What is your life producing?